The scenic wine region where Joe and Jill Biden fled after inauguration and are 'eyeing a retirement home'
Joe Biden wasted no time heading to one of his favorite destinations after Donald Trump 's inauguration.
LORD ASHCROFT: What do we think of Two-Tier Keir and Rachel from Accounts so far? RUBBISH!
LORD ASHCROFT: Finding out what the voters made of their first six months of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves has been a bit like an episode of Morecambe and Wise, minus the laughs
Report of Newly-Discovered Asteroid Turns Out to Be... a Tesla Roadster
Founded in 1947, the Minor Planet Center is the official worldwide authority "for observing and reporting new asteroids, comets and other small bodies in the solar system," reports USA Today.
Unfortunately, "What an amateur astronomer recently took to be a newly discovered asteroid turned out to be a Tesla Roadster,"
The Minor Planet Center didn't initially consider the possibility when the organization announced the discovery on Jan. 2 of the unusual asteroid, complete with an official name: 2018 CN41. But less than 17 hours later, the Minor Planet Center issued an editorial notice that it would be deleting 2018 CN41 from its records... According to the Minor Planet Center's notice regarding the deletion, turns out the object was the Roadster, along with the Falcon Heavy rocket's upper stage.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Eccentric adrenaline junkies plunge down Swiss ski slopes in BATH TUBS for annual fancy-dress race - with Teletubbies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all joining the fun
Running a bath took on a whole new meaning thanks to a bizarre race in which participants use bath tubs to compete against one another on the slopes of Stoos in central Switzerland.
Bill Gates says divorcing wife Melinda is his biggest failure and left him 'miserable for years'
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shockingly opened up in a rare interview, sharing that his 'biggest regret' in life is his divorce with his now ex-wife, Melinda French Gates.
How 'most beautiful woman in porn' who descended from political royalty fell into prostitution and drugs
A porn star who is the great-great granddaughter of Henry Clay went from being lauded as the most stunning performer in adult entertainment to spiralling into drugs and prostitution.
HAMISH MCRAE: Bitcoin bubble can only burst
It could carry on for a while yet, with the trigger for the next downturn being a wider retreat on the markets.
Pixelfed Creator Crowdfunds More Capacity, Plus Open Source Alternatives to TikTok and WhatsApp
An anonymous reader shared this report from TechCrunch:
The developer behind Pixelfed, Loops, and Sup, open source alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp, respectively, is now raising funds on Kickstarter to fuel the apps' further development. The trio is part of the growing open social web, also known as the fediverse, powered by the same ActivityPub protocol used by X alternative Mastodon... [and] challenge Meta's social media empire... "Help us put control back into the hands of the people!" [Daniel Supernault, the Canadian-based developer behind the federated apps] said in a post on Mastodon where he announced the Kickstarter's Thursday launch.
As of the time of writing, the campaign has raised $58,383 so far. While the goal on the Kickstarter site has been surpassed, Supernault said that he hopes to raise $1 million or more so he can hire a small team... A fourth project, PubKit, is also a part of these efforts, offering a toolset to support developers building in the fediverse... The stretch goal of the Kickstarter campaign is to register the Pixelfed Foundation as a not-for-profit and grow its team beyond volunteers. This could help address the issue with Supernault being a single point of failure for the project... Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko made a similar decision earlier this month to transition to a nonprofit structure. If successful, the campaign would also fund a blogging app as an alternative to Tumblr or LiveJournal at some point in the future.
The funds will also help the apps manage the influx of new users. On Pixelfed.social, the main Pixelfed instance, (like Mastodon, anyone can run a Pixelfed server), there are now more than 200,000 users, thanks in part to the mobile app's launch, according to the campaign details shared with TechCrunch. The server is also now the second-largest in the fediverse, behind only Mastodon.social, according to network statistics from FediDB. New funds will help expand the storage, CDNs, and compute power needed for the growing user base and accelerate development. In addition, they'll help Supernault dedicate more of his time to the apps and the fediverse as a whole while also expanding the moderation, security, privacy, and safety programs that social apps need.
As a part of its efforts, Supernault also wants to introduce E2E encryption to the fediverse.
The Kickstarter campaign promises "authentic sharing reimagined," calling the apps "Beautiful sharing platforms that puts you first. No ads, no algorithms, no tracking — just pure photography and authentic connections... More Privacy, More Safety. More Variety. "
Pixelfed/Loops/Sup/Pubkit isn't a ambitious dream or vaporware — they're here today — and we need your support to continue our mission and shoot for the moon to be the best social communication platform in the world.... We're following the both the Digital Platform Charter of Rights & Ethical Web Principles of the W3C for all of our projects as guidelines to building platforms that help people and provide a positive social benefit.
The campaign's page says they're building "a future where social networking respects your privacy, values your freedom, and prioritizes your safety."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
CIA now says Covid DID come from Chinese lab in stunning reversal after years of denial under Biden
A spokesperson for the agency said on Saturday that they now favor the lab theory after years of saying they didn't have enough information to conclude on its origins.
Bill Gates' autism bombshell and how breakthrough Christmas dinner with Trump shaped their plans for the world
Speaking with The Wall Street Journal in a wide-ranging interview, the 69-year-old made the bombshell revelation and spoke about his relationship with President Donald Trump.
British social media manager and her fiancé died in Vietnam after drinking 'homemade' limoncello bought from a local restaurant on Christmas Eve
Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and her fiance Arno Els Quinton, 36, were found dead on Boxing day in a Vietnamese hotel after drinking contaminated alcohol.
The Only Way Is Essex star Gemma Collins' stunning new look after finally finding weight loss solution
Gemma Collins hopes that dropping two dress sizes thanks to weight loss jabs will free her from the pressure of trying to shift excess pounds
Six Brit tourists are busted in Thailand for 'cannabis dealing' after cops break up rowdy party in Phuket holiday villa
The Brits reportedly smoked cannabis - now legal in the country - as they held a raucous overnight party at the luxury property on the island Phuket on January 22.
Heat Pumps Are Now Outselling Gas Furnaces In America
CleanTechnicareports that last year Americans "bought 37% more air source heat pumps than the next most popular heating appliance — gas furnaces."
And Americans bought 21% more heat pumps than they did in 2023.
Canary Media is quick to point out that in many homes, more than one heat pump is required, so that data should be interpreted with that in mind. Typically, a home uses only one furnace. Nevertheless, the trend for heat pumps is up. Russell Unger, the head of decarbonizing buildings at RMI, said, "There's just been this long term, consistent trend."
It's easy to understand why heat pumps are gaining in popularity. In addition to providing heated air in the winter and cool air in the summer, they are far more efficient than conventional heat sources — delivering three to four times more heat per dollar spent than oil- or gas-fired heating equipment or old fashioned electric baseboard heat. They also create far less carbon pollution. How much less depends on the source of electricity in the local area,
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo for sharing the news.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Former Buffalo Bills cheerleader lifts a lid on the squad's INSANELY strict rules
Former Buffalo Bills cheerleader Shana Klimeczko said there were severe regulations that controlled everything from how she kept her hair to what color her nails were.
FLOURISHING AFTER 50: Help! My husband's kids think they deserve my daughter's inheritance
This week, leading money educator Vanessa Stoykov helps a concerned mother and wife who has a blended family protect her daughter's inheritance.
Lauren Sanchez shares blunt message to her haters amid backlash over inauguration outfit
Jeff Bezos' fiancée, 55, has seemingly responded to the negativity surrounding her risqué look.
Damning new claim emerges on how Axel Rudakubana was able to kill three young in tragic Southport attack
Despite multiple referrals to the government's counterterrorism programme, Prevent, Rudakubana's growing obsession with mass violence was not appropriately addressed.
The historic Essex bridge that locals had to fight to save
Bridge access was saved by locals twice
Grade I listed 14th-century castle with its own village goes on sale for eyewatering sum for the first time in 700 YEARS… here's why locals are NOT happy
Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire has been owned by the Ingilby baronets for 28 generations and once homed evacuees during World War II.