Monday, August 24, 2020

TikTok Sues Trump Administration


By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ANA SWANSON from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/32oZiTn

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 24, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 24, 2020 is California Pacific International Exposition half dollar.
The California Pacific International Exposition half dollar is a fifty-cent piece that was struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935 and 1936 as a commemorative coin. Its obverse depicts Minerva and other elements of the Seal of California; the reverse shows buildings from the California Pacific International Exposition (held 1935–1936), which the coin was issued to honor. Legislation for the half dollar moved through Congress without opposition in early 1935, and Robert I. Aitken was hired to design it. The San Francisco Mint produced 250,000 coins, but expected sales did not materialize. The Exposition Commission, left with over 180,000 pieces they could not sell, sought and obtained legislation authorizing new coins. Although there was a spike in prices for many commemorative coins in 1936, the Exposition Commission's new coins also sold poorly, and 150,000 pieces were returned to the Mint.

Twitter Flags Trump Tweet for Dissuading Voting


By BY KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3aP6njL

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 23, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 23, 2020 is Parachute Jump.
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and protected as a New York City designated landmark, it consists of a 250-foot-tall (76-meter), 170-short-ton (150-metric-ton) open-frame, steel parachute tower. The ride has twelve cantilever steel arms radiating from the top of the tower. When it was in operation, riders were belted into a suspended two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped; a parachute and shock absorbers slowed their descent. The jump was the tallest structure built for the 1939 New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows. The ride was moved to its current location in 1941, where it operated until the 1960s, when the Steeplechase amusement park shut down. After a period of neglect, the frame was restored and fitted with a light-show system in 2006.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 22, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 22, 2020 is John W. Beschter.
John W. Beschter (1763–1842) was a Catholic priest from the Duchy of Luxembourg who emigrated to the United States in 1807 to become a missionary of the Society of Jesus. He took up ministry in rural Pennsylvania, and was soon made the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Lancaster. As pastor, Beschter was praised by Archbishop John Carroll for ministering to Catholic congregations of three distinct ethnic and linguistic groups, and quieting a parochial dispute over the nationality and language of their pastor. In 1812, Beschter went to Maryland to become the master of novices at the new Jesuit novitiate in White Marsh. After two years, he returned to ministering in rural Pennsylvania and Maryland. He became the pastor of the German congregation of St. John the Evangelist in Baltimore, a position he held until 1828. The following year, he became the president of Georgetown College. After several months, he left the office, and returned to ministering in Paradise, Pennsylvania, where he lived out his final years.

Palantir, Tech’s Next Big I.P.O., Lost $580 Million in 2019


By BY ERIN GRIFFITH AND KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3gmfVno

Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s Chief of Consumer, to Retire Next Year


By BY KAREN WEISE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3l83xLm