motd - 02/##/2025
-----------------
02/28/2025 iMac G4(K):
https://jcs.org/2025/02/26/imacg4k
@00:41
02/28/2025 Framework 12in laptop:
https://frame.work/laptop12
Looks interesting, somewhat like a 12in MacBook.
@00:18
02/25/2025 Git configurations used by Git core devs:
https://blog.gitbutler.com/how-git-core-devs-configure-git/
Sorting branches into columns by most recently used:
$ git config --global column.ui auto
$ git config --global branch.sort -committerdate
Sorting tags in numerical order:
$ git config --global tag.sort version:refname
Better diffs:
$ git config --global diff.algorithm histogram
$ git config --global diff.colorMoved plain
$ git config --global diff.mnemonicPrefix true
$ git config --global diff.renames true
@13:06
02/25/2025 Hydrogen nano-clusters at low temperatures show superfluidity:
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-hydrogen-superfluid-nanoscale-year.html
@10:10
02/25/2025 Brewing tea reduces toxic heavy metals in drinking water:
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-brewing-tea-toxic-heavy-metals.html
"In a new study, Northwestern University researchers demonstrated
that brewing tea naturally adsorbs heavy metals like lead and
cadmium, effectively filtering dangerous contaminants out of
drinks. Heavy metal ions stick to, or adsorb to, the surface of
the tea leaves, where they stay trapped until the used tea bag is
disposed of.
...
After testing different types of bags without tea inside, the
researchers found cotton and nylon bags only adsorbed trivial
amounts of the contaminants. The cellulose bags, however, worked
incredibly well.
...
When comparing different varieties of tea, the researchers
discovered tea type and grind played minor roles in adsorbing
contaminants. Finely ground tea leaves, particularly black tea
leaves, adsorbed slightly more metal ions than whole leaves.
Again, the researchers attributed this to surface area.
...
Steeping time played the most significant role in tea leaves'
ability to adsorb metal ions. The longer the steeping time, the
more contaminants were adsorbed. ... [T]he researchers estimate
that tea preparation can remediate about 15% of lead from
drinking water, even up to lead concentrations as high as 10
parts per million. That estimate applies only to a 'typical' cup
of tea, which includes one mug of water and one bag of tea,
brewed for three to five minutes.
Changing the parameters remediates different levels of lead.
Steeping for longer than five minutes, for example, adsorbs more
lead compared to the average steeping time."
@10:06
02/25/2025 Monovalent carbon compound with a single bond to a phosphorus group:
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-exotic-monovalent-carbon-compound-features.html
"Normally, a carbon atom shares all four of its valence electrons
to create four bonds with other atoms (tetravalent carbon). When
fewer bonds are formed, unusual compounds such as carbenes are
obtained[.] ... Rare cases exist of divalent carbon compounds
called carbones, where a central neutral atom in an
electronically excited state is stabilized by two bonds with
neutral electron-pair donating groups.
Now, another milestone was achieved with the synthesis of an
organic compound that contains a singly-bonded (monovalent)
carbon atom in its ground state[:] ... a chemical compound
featuring a single carbon atom bonded to a phosphorus group,
Ph3P->C. The compound was generated from a diazophosphorus ylide
precursor by irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light at very low
temperatures, which led to elimination of N2 and formation of
Ph3P->C."
@09:58
02/25/2025 Beaches on Mars?
https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-beaches-found-on-mars-reveal-the-red-planet-once-had-oceans
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-ancient-beaches-testify-ocean-mars.html
@09:52
02/25/2025 Plastic Ice VII:
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/02/scientists-discovered-new-form-of-ice/
"Scientists created this peculiar ice [plastic Ice VII] by
squeezing water to 6 gigapascals-nearly 60,000 times Earth's
atmospheric pressure-and heating it to 327 [deg] C (620 [deg] F).
Under these extreme conditions, water molecules arrange
themselves into an interwoven cubic structure, with hydrogen
atoms behaving unusually. Instead of staying locked in place as
in regular ice, the hydrogen atoms move freely, almost like in a
liquid."
@09:50
02/25/2025 Xcode phones home:
https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/2025/2/5.html
Sites Xcode connects to are:
developerservices2.apple.com
devimages-cdn.apple.com
appstoreconnect.apple.com
@09:33
02/24/2025 QR codes in all caps seem to be smaller:
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/02/why-are-qr-codes-with-capital-letters-smaller-than-qr-codes-with-lower-case-letters/
@12:29
02/21/2025 What antifungals are really doing:
https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/what-antifungals-are-really-doing
@16:26
02/16/2025 The lost pyramid of Dahshur:
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/02/archaeologists-in-disbelief-after-breaking-into-a-4000-year-old-sealed-egyptian-pyramid/
"Among the remnants of the burial [in the pyramid],
archaeologists discovered a canopic chest inscribed with faded
hieroglyphs. With advanced scanning technology, experts
deciphered the markings, revealing the name of the tomb's
occupant: Princess Hatshepsut.
This was not the famous Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty
but an entirely different royal figure. Until now, no records
mentioned another Hatshepsut, making this discovery even more
extraordinary. The presence of her own pyramid suggests she was a
person of great significance, yet her name had been erased from
history."
@13:58
02/15/2025 Radioactive anomaly in the Pacific ocean:
https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-radioactive-anomaly-discovered-deep-under-the-pacific-ocean
@00:20
02/15/2025 Hidden portrait in a Picasso:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-hidden-portrait-of-a-mysterious-woman-discovered-beneath-a-picasso-painting-180986037/
@00:14
02/12/2025 The most energetic neutrino detected thus far:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/02/most-energetic-neutrino-yet-seen-smashes-through-seafloor-detector/
"The neutrino that was detected had an energy of at least 60
Peta-electronVolts, possibly hitting 230 PeV. ... Attempts to
trace back the neutrino to a source make it clear that it
originated outside our galaxy[.]"
@10:48
02/12/2025 Interesting family of Pythagorean triples:
https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2025/02/11/binary-triples/
a = 2^(4n) + 2^(2n+1)
b = 2^(4n) - 2^(4n-2) - 2^(2n) - 1
c = 2^(4n) + 2^(4n-2) + 2^(2n) + 1
@10:20
02/12/2025 Hidden portrait underneath a Titian painting:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experts-say-theyve-found-a-portrait-of-a-mysterious-businessman-hidden-beneath-a-titian-masterpiece-180986022/
@10:06
02/09/2025 Quipu:
https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/astronomers-discover-quipu-the-single-largest-structure-in-the-known-universe
"Astronomers have discovered what may be the largest-scale
structure in the known universe - a group of galaxy clusters and
clusters of galaxy clusters that spans roughly 1.3 billion
light-years across and contains a mind-boggling 200 quadrillion
solar masses.
The newfound structure is dubbed Quipu after an Incan system of
counting and storing numbers using knots on cords.
... [T]he structure is complex, made up of one long filament and
multiple side filaments[,] ... potentially making it the largest
object in the universe in terms of length, beating out previous
record-holders such as the Laniakea supercluster."
@00:03
02/08/2025 ADB-USB Wombat:
https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/97070-when-old-meets-new-using-a-35-year-old-adb-apple-extended-keyboard-ii-with-an-apple-silicon-m4-mac-mini/
@22:37
02/08/2025 Plesiosaurs had scales similar to sea turtles:
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-soft-tissue-plesiosaur-reveals-scales.html
https://www.sci.news/paleontology/plesiosaur-skin-scales-13648.html
@22:32
Older
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01/##/2025 https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2025/01/motd.txt
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##/##/2024 https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2024/motd.txt
https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2024/index.html
##/##/2023 https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2023/motd.txt
https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2023/index.html
##/##/2022 https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2022/motd.txt
https://srirangav.github.io/motd/2022/index.html
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