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Sunday, May 3, 2020

One of Amazon’s Most Powerful Critics Lives in Its Backyard

By BY DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2YvrTWy

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 3, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 3, 2020 is Catopsbaatar.
Catopsbaatar was a rodent-like mammal in the order Multituberculata that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 72 million years ago. The first fossils were collected in the early 1970s, and the species received its own genus (Catopsbaatar, Greek and Mongolian for 'visible hero') in 1994. Five skulls, one molar, and one skeleton with a skull are known. The skull of Catopsbaatar was up to 70 mm (2.8 in) long, heavy-set and wide, with the zygomatic arches strongly expanded to the sides. The ankles had spurs like those of the male platypus and echidna, but apparently without the platypus's venom canal. The spurs of Catopsbaatar and other Mesozoic mammals may have been used for protection against theropod dinosaurs and other predators. Like other members of its order, this species probably gave live birth, and the presence of hair indicates it was warmblooded. Its fossils were found in the Red Beds of Hermiin Tsav and the Barun Goyot Formation in Mongolia.

‘I Could Solve Most of Your Problems’: Eric Schmidt’s Pentagon Offensive

By BY KATE CONGER AND CADE METZ from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Sn78Zp

Friday, May 1, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 2, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 2, 2020 is Waterloo Bay massacre.
The Waterloo Bay massacre was a clash between European settlers and Aboriginal Australians that took place on the cliffs of Waterloo Bay near Elliston, South Australia, in late May 1849. Part of the Australian frontier wars, it is likely that it resulted in the deaths of tens or scores of Aboriginal people. In the lead-up, three European settlers were killed by Aboriginal people, and one Aboriginal person was killed and five others were poisoned by European settlers. Local Aboriginal people have oral history traditions that a large-scale massacre occurred. While older European accounts suggest that the event was exaggerated into a myth over time, it has now been concluded that the stories are founded in fact, and that some form of punitive action did take place. In 2017, the District Council of Elliston erected a memorial (pictured) to acknowledge what occurred, and received a national award for their work in memorialising the massacre.