"Is there anything more fun than sitting back at home and watching the fall of dictators on live television? That's reality TV anyone can enjoy." ~ Yasha Harari
Fresh Baked Goods
Laughzilla the Third (2012)
The Third Volume in the Funny Stuff Cartoon Book Collection Available Now.
Never did I think, 25 years ago, that this little corner of the internet would still be around all these years later, serving up laughs and content to zillions of folks all over the world, every moment of every day.
Just two weeks since raising $125mn in funding, British scaleup Tokamak Energy has secured backing from the US and UK to upgrade its ST40 fusion energy plant. The US Department of Energy (DOE), the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Tokamak Energy will jointly sponsor a $52mn upgrade to the fusion facility in Oxfordshire. “Fusion has the potential to be a clean and sustainable energy source, transforming how we power our country, and countries around the world,” said Kerry McCarthy, Minister for Climate at DESNZ. “This strategic partnership is therefore crucial to develop this new and…
Scientists in the UK have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery, which could power low-energy devices like satellite communication equipment for over 5,000 years. The battery is made of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, encased in a thin layer of synthetic diamond. As the carbon-14 decays it emits electrons. The diamond acts like a semiconductor, converting these electrons into electricity. Since carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,700 years, scientists expect the battery to last for millennia. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol led the development, partly due to the former’s work on fusion energy.…
German startup FibreCoat has bagged €20mn in Series B funding as it looks to bring its super-resistant materials to the burgeoning space industry. FibreCoat spunout from RWTH Aachen University in 2020. The startup has developed a patented process for coating fibres with metals and plastics during the spinning stage. This creates fibres that are lightweight and conductive, yet strong and durable — at a fraction of conventional costs. These can then be spun together to form reinforced composites. So far, FibreCoat has focused on securing clients in the automotive, construction, and defence industries, where the materials are particularly useful for…
UK startup PhysicsX, founded by former Formula 1 engineering whizz Robin “Dr. Rob” Tuluie, has unveiled an AI tool that could fast-track the time it takes to design a new aircraft from months to just a few days. Dubbed LGM-Aero, the software creates new designs for aeroplanes. Using advanced algorithms trained on more than 25 million geometries, the model predicts lift, drag, stability, structural stress and other attributes for each shape. It then tailors the design according to what you want your plane to do. PhysicsX said the AI is the first-ever Large Geometry Model (LGM) for aerospace engineering. A…
A Spanish government-appointed committee of experts has recommended that smartphones sold in the country carry health warning labels. The advice comes amid mounting concern about the effects of smartphone use, particularly among young people. The experts published their findings in a 250-page report, seen by newspaper El País. The document details ways the government could crack down on what the panel calls a “public health epidemic”. Proposals include banning digital devices for kids under three and restricting their use for those between three and six, except in rare cases. The report also advises rolling out so-called “dumbphones” for teens up…