NASA is in a strange and expensive pickle with the Russians

NASA, in dealing with Russia’s monopoly on human spaceflight , is hoping Boeing can help – that is, by buying tickets the company owns for rides aboard Russian rockets. When NASA retired its last space shuttle in July 2011, it expected commercial carriers like SpaceX and Boeing to launch its astronauts into space by 2015.

2016 hottest year on record

NASA and NOAA announced today that 2016 was the hottest year on record globally – and the 3rd year in a row of record warming – continuing a decades-long warming trend. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies analyzed measurements from 6,300 locations across the globe.

VIDEO: Army’s ‘Hoverbike’ Prototype Takes Flight

The device could make it possible for soldiers on the battlefield to order and receive supplies in less than 30 minutes. The autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle, known formally as Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle, or hoverbike colloquially, could someday make it possible for soldiers on the battlefield to order and receive necessary supplies in less than 30 minutes, according to Tim Vong, associate chief of the Army Research Laboratory’s Protection Division.

Calling All Pixel Owners: Google Daydream View Now Just $49

Google slashed the asking price of its Daydream View virtual reality headset to $49 this week in a bid to encourage more VR newbies to strap on the comfortable gateway to virtual worlds. The new price, a limited-time discount from the original $79 that ends Feb. 25, is half of what Samsung charges for its comparable Gear VR headset .

Thrify mom: Time to declutter and donate

Around the holiday season, I wrote a lot about shopping at thrift stores, finding good deals on both gifts and decorations. But now it’s January, a time when a lot of people look around and say “where did all this stuff come from?” It’s a great time to take inventory and evaluate what you no longer need.

VEX RoboSLAM tournament Jan. 28 at Miami-Dade County Youth Fair & Exposition

Jan. 18, 2017 – PRLog — More than 1,000 students and their VEX robots from across the state will converge Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair & Exposition’s Arnold Hall to compete in the RoboSLAM tournament. Teams of young robotic enthusiasts in programs at Miami-Dade County Public middle and high schools are tweaking and testing their machines for RoboSLAM, a qualifying tournament for the VEX IQ Robotics Competition.

The Limited Files for Bankruptcy, But May Live On – Online

After closing its stores nationwide and contending with rumors of bankruptcy, The Limited has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But the iconic mall brand may not be dead yet: WWD reports that private equity firm Sycamore Partners has put a nearly $25.8 million bid on The Limited’s intellectual property, meaning the name itself could live on online.

World temperatures hit another record high in 2016

World temperatures hit a record high for the third year in a row in 2016, creeping closer to a ceiling set for global warming with extremes including unprecedented heat in India and ice melt in the Arctic, U.S. government agencies said on Wednesday. The data, supported by findings from other organizations, was issued two days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who questions whether climate change has a human cause.

Kronos Quartet Returns for New Works, 2/11

On Saturday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. , San Francisco’s celebrated Kronos Quartet returns to Zankel Hall for a program of new works, six of which were commissioned as part of Carnegie Hall’s 125 Commissions Project, including the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’s At the Purchaser’s Option with Variations. Additional commissioned works include Garth Knox’s Satellites ; Kala Ramnath’s Amrit ; Nicole Lize’s Another Living Soul ; Tanya Tagaq’s Sivunittinni ; and Fod Lassana Diabat’s Sunjata’s Time on which Diabat will join the quartet on the balafon.

Press release distribution, EDGAR filing, XBRL, regulatory filings

Consumers are altering their buying habits to include more onlin… Global Business Confidence Drops in Q4 2016 Amid Rise in Political and Economic Risks, but Rises in North America to Highest Levels Since Q4 2014, Finds New ACCA-IMA Report )–The latest Global Economic Conditions Survey of Q4 2016 from ACCA and IMA shows business confidence rising in the United States while dropping globally. )–Batchelor, Frechette, McCrory, Michael, & Co.

While We’re On My Favorite Subject

Imagine you’re behind the wheel when your brakes fail. As you speed toward a crowded crosswalk, you’re confronted with an impossible choice: veer right and mow down a large group of elderly people, or veer left into a woman pushing a stroller.

GoFetch like Airbnb for dogs who need a place to stay

The Vancouver Sun highlighted the launch of a dog-sitting service in Vancouver that was co-founded by UBC alumnus Willson Cross. Using Go Fetch, dog owners and care-providers can meet online and arrange short-term accommodation. Cross, an UBC economics graduate, specialized in e-commerce.

Walmart Outlines 2017 Goals for American Job Growth and Community Investment

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer with nearly 1.5 million associates in the U.S., today will discuss company plans to create American jobs and invest in local communities across the country. The investments in the coming year will support an estimated 34,000 jobs through continued expansion and improvement in the company’s store network, as well as e-commerce services, while providing specialty training for more than 225,000 of the company’s frontline associates.

Earth sets a temperature record for third straight year

Marking another milestone for a changing planet, scientists reported today that the Earth reached its highest temperature on record in 2016 – trouncing a record set only a year earlier, which beat one set in 2014. It is the first time in the modern era of global warming data that temperatures have blown past the previous record three years in a row.

#AI news: #Neurala Announces $14 Million Series A to Bring Deep…

January 18, 2017 Neurala, the software company that has invented The Neurala Brain, a deep learning neural networks platform that is making smart products like toys, cameras and self-driving cars more autonomous, interactive and useful, today announced the closing of a $14 million series A funding round. The round was led by Pelion Venture Partners, with participation from Sherpa Capital, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, 360 Capital Partners, Draper Associates Investments, SK Ventures, and Idinvest Partners through its Electranova Capital II Fund and in partnership with Ecomobility Ventures.

2017 Study on Mobile and Internet of Things Application Security

January 18, 2017 – Despite widespread concern about the security of mobile and Internet of Things applications, organizations are ill-prepared for the risks they pose, according to a research report issued today from Ponemon Institute , IBM Security , and Arxan Technologies , the trusted provider of application attack prevention and self-protection solutions. The “2017 Study on Mobile and Internet of Things Application Security” aims to illustrate practices and opinions among IT and IT security practitioners.

Warning over Netflix scam

Netflix users are being urged to watch out for online scammers who are targeting users’ login and bank account details. Site users have received emails prompting them to keep their memberships details up to date, and are then linked to a bogus login page on which they are asked to fill out personal details.

Athersys Subsidiary and Leading Animal Health Company Enter Into…

Athersys, Inc. announced today that through its Belgian subsidiary, ReGenesys BVBA , it has entered into an agreement with a global leader in the animal health business segment to evaluate the cell therapy technology for application in a non-disclosed animal health area. Under the terms of the agreement, ReGenesys will receive an initial payment in exchange for an exclusive period to evaluate the cell therapy technology with an option to negotiate for a license for the development and commercialization of the technology for this area.

Value-based Care and Digital Patient Engagement Drive Growth…

By 2020, the majority of medium- and large-scale hospitals in will implement data interoperability frameworks that enable local, state, national and cross-border health information exchanges . An effective integration between public and private HIEs will facilitate nationwide exchange of health information and fuel acceptance of services such as mHealth, telehealth and remote patient monitoring among patients.

Oregon

Oregon announced that its head strength coach will now report to the school’s director of performance and sports science instead of the football coach. Oregon football suspended its strength and conditioning for one month, following an incident which sent multiple players to a hospital with a dangerous condition.

BSNL to launch 1000 wifi hotspots to address 4G challenges

Public-sector BSNL is all set to set launch 1000 high-speed wifi hotspots across the state to address the challenges posed by its absence in the 4G data services. Kerala Circle CGM of BSNL, R Mani told reporters here that the proposed hotspots would provide 4.5G speed and it would be commissioned within a months’ time.

Pijul strives to be a simpler, safer Git

Pijul, a distributed version control system emphasizing patches rather than commits, could emerge as a potential challenger to Git and Subversion. Snapshot-based systems like Git or Mercurial are typically fast, but they’re hard to use for more than simple operations.

Netflix users targeted in latest scam

Netflix users in Scotland are being urged to stay vigilant after an online scam has emerged targeting users’ login and bank account details. The Scottish Business Resilience Centre is warning people who use the online streaming service to be on high alert following a spate of fraudulent emails.

Trump’s populism won’t work, says former Treasury chief

U.S. economist Larry Summers speaks during a panel on the second day of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. U.S. economist Larry Summers speaks during a panel on the second day of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017.

BSNL to launch 1000 wifi hotspots to address 4G challenges29 min ago

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 18: Public-sector BSNL is all set to set launch 1000 high-speed wifi hotspots across the state to address the challenges posed by its absence in the 4G data services. Kerala Circle CGM of BSNL, R Mani told reporters here that the proposed hotspots would provide 4.5G speed and it would be commissioned within a months’ time.