Featured Links - April 15, 2024

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

Living the life on the bay

Trump’s Brain Is Not Okay. "An expert’s view of Trump’s mental slide into dementia." I doesn't look good.

How a science fiction obsession led me to psychological war. Annalee Newitz talks about her forthcoming book about psychological warfare. There is a long discussion about the life of Paul Linebarger, aka the science fiction writer, Cordwainer Smith. 

What Chinese Outrage Over ‘3 Body Problem’ Says About China (gift link). "The Netflix series showcases one of the country’s most successful works of culture. Instead of demonstrating pride, social media is condemning it."

Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever. (archive link) "Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas." 

Drones are crowding Ukraine’s skies, largely paralyzing battlefield (gift link). "So many drones patrol the skies over Ukraine’s front lines — hunting for any signs of movement — that Ukrainian and Russian troops have little ability to move on the battlefield without being spotted, and blown up." The prevalence of drones on the front is changing the way war is waged.

Election Workers Are Drowning in Records Requests. AI Chatbots Could Make It Worse. "Experts worry that election deniers could weaponize chatbots to overwhelm and slow down local officials."

RocketStar Successfully Demonstrates FireStar™ Nuclear Fusion-Enhanced Pulsed Plasma Propulsion Drive. "The potentially groundbreaking device upgrades the company’s base water-fueled pulsed plasma thruster by injecting particles into the drive’s exhaust plume, resulting in a fusion reaction that dramatically increases the base drive’s power output."

There Appears to Be a Huge Problem with SpaceX's Starlink. "Did Elon Musk fib about the service breaking even."