FTA: "That legal assessment of the defeat device scandal seems to have held up as the researchers analyzed the cars’...

FTA: "That legal assessment of the defeat device scandal seems to have held up as the researchers analyzed the cars’ code. The VWs and Audis in question checked for a number of parameters at startup, and if a lab test was a possibility, the car would start with that assumption, enabling full emissions controls. The code permitted the car “to operate... as if two distinct personalities took turns controlling the vehicle,” the paper’s authors wrote."
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/05/volkswagen-bosch-fiat-diesel-emissions-cheats-cracked-open-in-new-research/

I saw Star Wars (I will die calling it that while all the younger nerds run around tut-tutting and calling it "A New...

I saw Star Wars (I will die calling it that while all the younger nerds run around tut-tutting and calling it "A New Hope") in the theater in July, 1977 at the ripe old age of 8. It was a magical moment.

I remember my mind being absolutely blown away at the spectacles and concepts the original film included. Holograms. Laser swords. Credible space ships that were made to kick ass, not just weaponized for self-defense (sorry, Enterprise). Bad guys that I actually feared. Good guys that I really liked. Aliens that weren't clearly people in blue make-up (sorry, Star Trek) and places that felt dirty and dangerous...that felt like they could be real.

In 1977, the state of the art in movie special effects wasn't very compelling at all, so a science-fiction blockbuster that was extraordinary in nearly every way had just that much more impact on young, impressionable minds like mine.

I was instantly obsessed. I conned my grandparents into taking me to see it a second time a few weeks later (seeing a movie twice in the theater was something you really almost never did in those days, at least if you weren't filthy rich). They didn't understand it, so I spent the evening after we went trying to explain it to them. (Aside: They seemed much older to me that day than they ever had before.)

While I'm certainly not the world's biggest uber-fan of Star Wars, I do sincerely look forward to every movie. Sometimes I'm thrilled beyond measure (The Empire Strikes Back) and sometimes I'm disappointed beyond words (The Phantom Menace). I've done my fair share of cursing George Lucas' directing while at the same time marvelling at the man's imagination and his insistence that the films' special effects break paradigms left and right.

I am sincerely glad for the "franchise" that is Star Wars. While I am delighted by one-off films that thrill and inspire and endure, I'm equally delighted by the series that give us both something to cherish and something to look forward to. I hope it continues to delight us for generations to come.

Originally shared by StarTalk

A long time ago… (40 years, to be exact!)
Happy Geek Pride Day!
May the Force be with you. Always.
Image: © 1977 Twentieth Century-Fox

Title

Ohh shots fired

Originally shared by Colin Fish

Ohh shots fired

My older kids watched it a lot, but I don't remember this episode of Barney.

My older kids watched it a lot, but I don't remember this episode of Barney.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5ZqYc1CZiw

::crying::

::crying::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvT_gqs5ETk&feature=share

I love this so much. Go Toby!!

I love this so much. Go Toby!!
https://laughingsquid.com/guinness-world-record-fastest-time-dog-pop-100-balloons/