Archive of entries posted on 20th August 2024

I Thought This Was a Joke Until the Company Weighed In

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Self-driving cars are gathering at night to honk at each other
TweakTown | August 15, 2024 | Jak Connor

One parking lot in San Francisco is becoming the breeding ground for seemingly confused self-driving cars gathering at night and honking at each other.

Nearby resident Randol White captured footage of the Waymo self-driving vehicles taking over the parking lot and seemingly becoming stuck, and resulting in consistent honking at each other. The noise has kept residents in the area up at night, with reports stating several people in the nearby buildings have also complained about the noise. “Over the past two weeks, I’ve been woken up more times overnight than I have combined over 20 years,” said Russell Pofsky, who lives in a building adjacent to White.

Notably, Pofsky said the honking incidents have happened during the day and night, and have started to affect his mood throughout the day. ABC7 News reached out to Waymo for comment on the strange scenario, and the company replied by acknowledging its vehicles “may briefly honk while navigating our parking lots” and that it “identified the cause and is in the process of implementing a fix.” Despite the self-driving vehicles interrupting his sleep White says he still is a fan of Waymo cars and uses them quite regularly.

I’m not saying this represents a threat to humans, . . .

Opaque Journalism

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Banker’s wife who was hit with UK’s first ‘McMafia’ order after a £16m Harrods shopping spree loses her £14m Knightsbridge mansion
UK DAILY MAIL | 5 August 2024 | George Odling

Banker’s wife Zamira Hajiyeva spent £16m shopping at Harrods over a decade

Husband Jahangir was chair of the International Bank of Azerbaijan’s board

He is serving 16 years in Baku for fraud, abuse of office and embezzlement

The wife of a jailed ‘McMafia’ banker has agreed to give up a golf club in Ascot and a £14million Knightsbridge mansion following an investigation into fraud and embezzlement.

That golf club . . . did she own the business, or was it a membership, or was it a pitching wedge?

Help Save Our Democracy! Give Protestors Equal Access To the Floor of the DNC!

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And, for that matter, give voters a chance to vote for the candidate!

Straight Line of the Day: Other Things the Government Will Eventually Get Around To Making a Decision About…

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NASA pushes decision on bringing crew back in Starliner to the end of August
The Register (UK) | 15 Aug 2024 | Richard Speed

When is a mishap not really a mishap?

NASA has continued to twist itself into a pretzel over whether Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner – now two months past its original return date – can be used to bring back its crew to Earth and whether a failure to do so would be classed as a mishap.

The briefing, which did not feature any Boeing personnel, [cowards] hinted at the turmoil behind the scenes at the US space agency as staffers grapple with the problem of Starliner’s problematic thrusters amid the knowledge that a proven and operational spacecraft, in the form of the Crew Dragon, could be pressed into service.

The question for engineers and managers is which option would pose less risk for the crew.

The wrangling means a decision on the transport method that the Starliner crew, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will take for their trip back to Earth has been delayed once again, likely to the week after next.

Just don’t call it a “Rapid Response Team,” OK?

Welcome to IMAO! Someone Suggested Cutting Off Our Supply of Broads and Booze

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Caption This!

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