Justice Credit: Disability Support Services, Monash University
The forgery was not detected until the un-named, 53-year-old woman had been working at a nursery, as a cleaner, for 15 years.
And the extent of the crime? Alteration of a school record to show that she had completed 6 years of primary school, rather than 5!
Needless to say, this case has caused an uproar in Greece:
“This decision is not simply inhuman. It is another very indicative sign of permanent pathogens in the criminal justice system.” — Hellenic League for Human Rights
/ Marvel public figurehead cameo appearances in movies Marvel characters honorary executive producer credit superheroes Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man /
And so with that very brief tweet, & a rather longer post on the Tesla web site, the flirtation with becoming a privately held company1 comes to an end:
A few expressed concerns for how this would impact retail investors. In fact, their interests seem to have been provided for:
My hope is *all* current investors remain with Tesla even if we’re private. Would create special purpose fund enabling anyone to stay with Tesla. Already do this with Fidelity’s SpaceX investment.
Recently had a box delivered. That’s it in the picture above. By my measurement, its 370 x 495 mm (14.5 x 19.5 inches). Not shown – the packing material in the box, to stop the card from rattling around.
The part I ordered on the ’Net? The small dark rectangle in the middle of the card. Up close, it looks like this:
SanDisk iXpand Mini Flash Drive Credit: SanDisk
Sandisk says it’s 12.1 x 4.6 x 53.0 mm1 (0.48 x 0.18 x 2.1 inches). As far as I'm aware, Sandisk doesn't quote a spec on that absurd, oversize card it’s attached to in the image at the top.
Initially, this article was headed: “We’ve all heard of excess packaging, but this may be a record” – obviously had to change it on seeing the the image below:
Credit: Emily-Jane Clark
Emily-Jane Clark (pictured) received the “spider catcher” she's holding, in the box she's crouching in.
/ tonnes consumer packaging landfill packaging litter overall recycling rate consumer packaging volume of packaging material mail postal system grown increasing popularity online shopping clicks plastic foam paper cardboard packing packed retailers transport transit transportation companies take responsibility damaged products bulk up buffer packaging cost environment extra material costing money creating new problem re-use re use recycle discarded recycling lighter more compact packaging more stuff being shipped consumers greater volume packaging higher product prices increased fees for recycling consumers concerned excess packaging retailers e-commerce companies minimise packaging lobby local government local councils state governments environmental organisations information on recycling understand the size of the problem /
Update 07 July: crowd funding period has ended, with over half a million dollars raised, but you can still pre-order on Indiegogo – see below.
● Short enough to fit into your backpack – 7 fret version is just 18 inches (45.7 cm) long – but if you’d prefer, the 12 fret version is 24.5 inches (66.23 cm)
● Length is OK, but where’s the body? – add on body available for both models
● Teaches you to play with software for iOS & the Chrome browser
● Never needs tuning – overcoming a significant barrier for many beginners – & very unlikely to ever need strings replaced
● Already a player? ‘Jamstik 12 is designed as a no-compromise MIDI controller that simply, “works” with the studios & production software producer-guitarists are used to. Finally, a way for guitarists to express themselves the way keyboardists & drummers have been able to for years.’
At the Q&A following the Tesla Shareholders’ Meeting on Tuesday, some interesting questions were raised & some even more interesting answers were forthcoming. See the video below, or more briefly:
Will Tesla build a compact car – around the 00:30 mark – “... compact car in less than 5 years …”
Autopilot remains a work in progress, with no promise of a major improvement any time soon – 00:45
Steering wheel – 13:16 – “Model Y ... will not have any leather in it … in the steering wheel, even if it does have a steering wheel.”
Battery energy density – 13:45 – “Twice as much is tricky, but we can certainly see a path to about a 30% improvement, maybe a 40% improvement in energy in the same size battery pack, that’s technology we are confident does work & needs to be scaled up & made very reliable … 2-3 years to get to about a 30% improvement in volumetric energy density … 6 to 8 years to get to a doubling … highly dependant on … lithium anode …”
Tesla time estimates – “Elon time” – 23:37 – “I think I do have like an issue with time [laughter & clapping] … my brother used to, like when we were catching a bus to school, he would lie to me about the time … & then we’d actually be able to catch the bus.”
Will Tesla make a motorcycle – 25:30 – “… used to ride motorcycles when I was a kid … dirt biking … had a road bike until I was 17 & was almost killed by a truck, so we’re not gonna do motorcycles.”
Improvements in Model S1 – 29:45 – “One thing we haven’t been good at educating people on is that the Model S ... has improved very dramatically from 2012 … arguably on version 3 or 4 of the Model S right now ... really a gigantic improvement … I really encourage anyone who’s got an early Model S to test drive the current version. I think you’ll be blown away by how much it has improved.”
__________
1 It’s easy to forget that the Model S has been in production since 2012 – partly because the original aesthetics were so good (after 6 years, it still looks as fresh as tomorrow). To the casual observer, the only change has been the revised nose in 2016.
Credit: fau4u2.wordpress.com
For anyone following the Tesla story, there have been many improvements, including:
● Supercharger network – wasn't even promised when the first owner took delivery – not a change to the car per se, but as important to the long-range driving experience as petrol stations (gas stations, service stations – what ever they are called where you live) are to a fossil car
● Greatest available battery capacity has jumped from 85 kWh to 90 & most recently, 100 kWh
● 4 wheel drive
● Software, including Autopilot has seen many upgrades,2 which has necessitated;
● Computer upgrades – more than 40 times increase in computing power in October 20163 & a further upgrade in February 20184
● Autopilot hardware upgrade – increase in the number of cameras (8 cameras provide 360° vision) & other sensors3
Stephen Hawking with Felicity Jones & Eddie Redmayne at the London premier of the biographical movie, “The Theory of Everything” Credit: independent.ie
Many were saddened by the death this week, of Professor Stephen Hawking. There is some comfort, though, in the memory that Stephen Hawking was a really funny guy. Take this interview with John Oliver:
JOHN OLIVER: First off, congratulations on being the first subject of our, “Great Minds”, series. Be honest, is this the single greatest honour you have ever received?
STEPHEN HAWKING: Yes.
JOHN OLIVER: Good. It’s a little hard to read your tone of voice. When you say that, are you being sarcastic?
STEPHEN HAWKING: Yes.
&
JOHN OLIVER: You’ve stated that there could be an infinite number of parallel universes. Does that mean that there is a universe out there where I am smarter than you?
STEPHEN HAWKING: Yes. And also a universe where you’re funny.
Here’s the entire interview:
Interesting to see John Oliver abandon his irreverent tone & use of expletives (mostly).
Update 15 April 2018: Another Model X towing a semi, this time from Bjørn Nyland in Norway: “I know that this is not the first time a Model X pulls a semi. But in that other video, it was done with the help of the semi as well. And the Model X had poor all season tires not fit for snow and ice. I wanted to see if it was possible to pull a semi trailer despite having slippery surface like ice and snow.”
With the recent cold snap in the USA, another use has come to light: towing a semi truck after it has become stuck in the snow.
Update: Unfortunatley, videos on YouTube are removed or have availability changed from time-to-time. If the video above no longer works for you, try this:
