Have we got a deal for you

A fatal program update: How CrowdStrike crashed global computer systems

CrowdStrike, the company that just turned hundreds of millions of Windows 10 computers into bricks, is offering a free trial here.

[Disclaimer: You have to be a business to try it. No fun just crashing your personal device.]

It's kind of beautifuly terrible to realize that one little line of errant code can wreak so much havoc, isn't it?

[Update: CrowdStrike says a fix for the abovementioned code booboo has been deployed. However, since all the computers that need fixing are now offline, the repaired code will be delivered by pony express.]

Climate change popping the pop*

Exploding soda cans have injured at least 20 Southwest flight attendants — this is why

“Airports where we have a large presence — such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and many in Texas — continue to receive record temperatures, with severe heat arriving earlier and persisting throughout the summer,” Perry stated.

 *a beverage consisting of soda water, flavoring, 

and a sweet syrup

Maybe it's at least good news…

Widespread IT Outage Due to CrowdStrike Update

… that the giant tech outage affecting airlines and other businesses around the world today only applies to Windows 10. It means, at least, all those big companies were more up-to-date with their software than I would have expected.

Lobster's luck

Meet Crush, the rare orange lobster diverted from dinner plate to aquarium by Denver Broncos fans

A long-term employee who is a dishwasher and head biscuit maker spotted the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last Friday and alerted restaurant managers, aquarium officials said. The staff named it Crush after the Denver Broncos’ legendary Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986.

Twenty-two percent of the world's fresh surface water

The imperiled Great Lakes take the national stage

According to research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Michigan, average temperatures in the region have risen 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1951. Summer lake surface temperatures have been increasing faster than the surrounding air temperatures, with Lake Superior rising by 4.5 degrees.

When I was a kid we used to swim in that superior lake, Superior. The water was never more than a few degrees above ice. The neighborhood moms would supervise. Their unanimous rule: You have to get out when your lips turn blue. We watched each other's lips. They turned blue. We got out.

Now, I'm not getting in. Last time I waded into a Great Lake I turned around when the water got about ankle deep. I'm not sure another 4.5 degrees would change my mind.

But as far as the ecology of the lakes is concerned, the temperature increase is a very big deal.

(Both political conventions this year are in cities on the shore of Lake Michigan.)

Not the politics, the photography

Column: What’s present, and absent, in that hugely influential Trump rally photo

Action, reaction, motion and emotion — those are the four elements you want in a photo.

An editor's view. 

Cleaner enough, mayor says

Paris mayor dips into the Seine River to showcase its improved cleanliness before Olympic event

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.

Pennsylvania is officially out of control

Record-breaking snowfall reported at Philadelphia International Airport during July heatwave

“Since hail is frozen precipitation, this counts as a ‘trace’ of snow in our climate reports,” NWS Mount Holly said in a social media post. “Hence, the record daily snowfall report.”

Not the only guy who knows how to buy a vote

No kidding! King Charles III bestows royal title on rare golden goat breed

As he bestowed the honor, the king petted the small creature and offered a compliment on the shade of its pale blond coat.

And — public service announcement here — this applies to Golden Guernsey goats anywhere in the world. So check your barn, or wherever you keep your goats, and make sure they're being treated right.

Just another thing to worry about

Climate change is messing with time more than previously thought, scientists find

If planet-heating pollution continues to rise, warming the oceans and accelerating ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica, the rate of change is set to soar, the report found. If the world is unable to rein in emissions, climate change could increase the length of a day by 2.62 milliseconds by the end of the century.

On the other hand, if longer days sound good to you… 

New Mexico first nuked…

…this date in 1945,

The First Atomic Explosion, 16 July 1945

Hiroshima, August 6.

 

Just a note about the shooting

I intend to avoid talking about politics as much as possible during this fraught summer, and about the recent assassination attempt entirely, except for this one note.

From the NY Post:

gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to climb onto a roof about 130 yards from Trump’s location at a rally in Butler, Pa., before firing an AR-15-style rifle at the former president

First of all, calling it an "AR-15-style" rifle offers no useful information at all. Who cares what it looked like?

Secondly, the minimum marksmanship requirement for an Army recruit in basic training is to be 50% accurate with that rifle at a range of 300 yards.

Minimum.

From the rooftop in question, that was virtually a point blank shot. The rooftop should have been protected.

No, the news is not all bad

Today is…

NATIONAL CORN FRITTERS DAY

And, even better, the anniversary of the parking meter. On this day in 1935…

Oklahoma City installs the world's first parking meter.

What else could go wrong?

It's been a busy couple of days but we'll get caught up eventually. Luckily not much has been happening.