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Physics news on Phys.org
nsaspook said:


Not to be too pedantic, but this was how ancient Romans enjoyed their drugs. With no experience smoking tobacco, a New World plant, but familar with incense varieties burned in charcoal braziers, Romans blazed hash and opium inhaling the fumes.

The HBO series "Rome" depicts teenagers inhaling cannabis extract over a charcoal brazier interrupted when Mother joins the party.
 
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I can attest that the Rome series is true to history (although understandably dramatizied) and very entertaining. Rome really comes to life with colorful statues and sexy grafitti. Like Kipling you can almost smell the spices! :smile:

EDIT:

And of course with it's share of violence, which is not at all pretty. Like, you know, real violence.
 
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https://ecency.com/hive-157940/@kur8/this-man-now-holds-the
 
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-050547906.html

Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters​

While inverters are built to allow remote access for updates and maintenance, the utility companies that use them typically install firewalls to prevent direct communication back to China.

However, rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some Chinese solar power inverters by U.S experts who strip down equipment hooked up to grids to check for security issues, the two people said.

Likely just a few Rogue Engineers that once worked for VW.

And now VW, who find themselves engulfed by emissions test fixing scandals, are suggesting that rogues working as engineers at VW are to blame.

“We just do what they allow us to do,” writes an anonymous rogue in a book that promises to ” lift the lid ” on rogue culture, breaking their strict code of silence.

“Or we just do what everyone else is doing…but with a naughty glint in our eye, and a cheeky smile.”

However rogue community leaders have distanced themselves from the new book, dismissing it as the work of a rogue rogue.
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“Emissions? No, this cigar has a catalytic converter.”
 
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Set goals for your employees then don't ask how they got there. Virtue signal heavily in your employee training. The smart ones will sense you don't really mean it.
 
No need to Virtue signal.

Chinese companies are required by law to cooperate with China's intelligence agencies, giving the government potential control over Chinese-made inverters connected to foreign grids, experts said.

I think the engineers that make the Chinese gear want these 'features' to be found. Most are so obvious it's ridiculous to think it's going to be secret for very long.
 
nsaspook said:
I think the engineers that make the Chinese gear want these 'features' to be found. Most are so obvious it's ridiculous to think it's going to be secret for very long.
Maybe they think you'll stop looking once you find one.
 
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In late May 2025, a rumor spread online that the Chicago Sun-Times used artificial intelligence to publish a "summer reading list" featuring books that don't exist.


The claim spread on X, Reddit and Bluesky; many posts on social media expressed frustration at the Sun-Times, questioning its editorial and fact-checking process in the wake of mass layoffs at the daily newspaper.


In short, it is accurate to say that the Sun-Times published a summer reading list filled with fake, AI-generated books. Thus, we rate this claim true.


However, the content did not originate with the Sun-Times' editorial team, but with King Features, a media distribution company that is part of Hearst, a media conglomerate best known for owning magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Esquire.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/c...hlid=d61afaffb6e4d2a894ebb5b7f67fbccc67254329
 
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North Elba, N.Y. — Mark Twain is widely thought to have said that reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated, though the quote itself may have been greatly exaggerated.

The same can certainly be said about the fate of a hiker in upstate New York.

Two hikers in New York's Adirondack Mountains called 911 to report a third member of their party had died, but it turned out they had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms and were mistaken, officials said Wednesday.

<<snip>>

The supposedly dead person called and was not injured.

The ranger escorted the two hikers down to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital, and brought the third to the group's campsite, where they all later met up, officials said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hikers-report-companions-death-greatly-exaggerated-mushrooms/
 
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Not worse than the The MAHA Report: Making Our Children Healthy Again. It was full of wrong and made up citations.
Smells like a poor AI.
 

‘Dog Walking Is a Clear Crime’: Iran’s Latest Morality Push​

Iran’s government has also long seen pet dogs as a sign of Western cultural influence. And much of the opposition to dogs in Iran stems from religious beliefs, with dogs considered to be “najes,” or impure, in Islam.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, had issued a fatwa, or religious order, explaining the logic: A dog’s saliva or hair would render anything it touched — like a person, clothing or a surface — impure.

“Prayer is invalid with the presence of dog hair,” his fatwa read.
In Isfahan, in the center of the country, the city’s prosecutor, Seyed Mohammad Moussavian, said he had ordered law enforcement officers to “seize violating vehicles” and “seal unauthorized related shops and veterinary offices.”

In Hamedan, in western Iran, the provincial prosecutor’s office said that walking dogs or driving with them was “against religious and social values,” and “considered a threat to public health,” according to IRNA. Abbas Najafi, the prosecutor, said that dog walking was “considered a threat to the health, comfort and tranquillity of citizens,” according to IRNA.

He pledged “serious action” against violators, IRNA reported, and said that the police had been ordered to “systematically and physically seize vehicles” of anyone caught driving with a dog.
 
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Toyota Math: 9 Million EVs Are Just as Polluting as 27 Million Hybrids​

Akio Toyoda is a man who speaks his mind. He’s been saying for years that forcing everyone to buy EVs isn’t the way forward. Toyota’s chairman is adamant that the transition can’t be rushed and that going all-in on electric vehicles would have massive repercussions across the automotive industry. He believes millions of jobs throughout the supply chain could be at risk if the combustion engine is phased out too quickly. On the environmental front, Toyoda maintains that EVs are still much dirtier than hybrids.

The grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda claims the company has sold around 27 million hybrids since launching the first-generation Prius in 1997. According to him, those hybrids have had the same carbon footprint as nine million fully electric vehicles when adding battery and vehicle production into the equation.

Toyoda argues that a single EV is as dirty as three hybrids.
 
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Maybe she is just a good guesser!

Judo Star Thought to Be Blind Found to Have Normal Vision​

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/mm...N&cvid=6fc127164171453aaa57b07a50733529&ei=39

The Biggest Fraud in Sports History?

Shahana Hajiyeva, who won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games and topped the podium at the European Championships in Rotterdam, now faces serious accusations of deception.

Recent medical tests conducted before the World Judo Championships in Astana revealed that the Azerbaijani judoka has no visual impairment at all. In fact, her eyesight is completely normal.

As a result, Hajiyeva has been banned for life and is permanently barred from competing in any para-sport events.
 
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Pricey Dam Project 7 Years In The Making Finished By Beavers For Free​

The project had been in the planning stages for seven years, and was slated to cost the equivalent of $1.2 million, according to National Geographic. But as officials hashed out the details of securing the necessary permits, a local beaver colony took matters into its own paws, building a natural dam in the perfect location to create a thriving wetland for free.
also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver-engineered_dam_in_the_Czech_Republic
 
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This article made me do a double-take...

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Burning pallets of hand sanitizer created challenges for Los Angeles firefighters.

"Water cannot be used safely in these conditions, as alcohol can float on water and spread flames. Crews are instead focused on protecting nearby structures and limiting environmental impact from runoff," an LAFD spokesperson told KCAL.

Sand dams were built to protect storm drains and firefighters considered using dirt to suffocate the flames.

Crews were expected to monitor the flames in the storage lot throughout the night.
 
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