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driving-the-biggest,-least-efficient-electric-car:-the-hummer-ev-suv

Driving the biggest, least-efficient electric car: The Hummer EV SUV

car review, Cars, Hummer EV SUV / /

GMC’s Hummers have always been divisive. After getting hold of the rights to a civilian version of the US military vehicle in 1999, the company set about designing new, smaller vehicles to create an entire range. The ungainly H2 and H3 followed, both SUVs playing to the sensibilities of a country grappling with its warlike nature. By 2010, the Hummer brand was dead and laid dormant until someone had the bright idea to revive it for the electric vehicle generation. We drove the pickup version of that new Hummer in 2022, now it’s time for the $104,650 Hummer EV SUV.

I’ll admit I was worried that the Hummer EV wasn’t going to fit in my parking space. This is an extremely large vehicle, one that’s classified as a class 3 medium-duty truck—hence the yellow lights atop the roof. In fact, at 196.8 inches (5,000 mm) long, it’s actually slightly shorter than the pickup version, although that length doesn’t count the big spare tire hanging off the back.

Its 86.5-inch (2,196 mm) width just about fit between the lines, although it was a tight squeeze to try to open a door and climb up into the Hummer if my neighbor was parked as well. And climb up you do—there’s 10.2 inches (259 mm) of ground clearance even in the suspension’s normal setting, and the overall height is a towering 77.8 inches (1,976 mm). There is an entry mode that drops the car on its air springs by a couple of inches, but only if you remember to engage the feature when you park.

The curb weight is equally excessive at 9,063 lbs (4,119 kg)—at more than four metric tons, you’d need a commercial driver’s license to get behind the wheel of a Hummer EV in many other countries. Almost a third of that mass is the ginormous 217.7 kWh battery pack. Such over-provisioning means that despite the high drag coefficient of 0.5 and a frontal area that makes barn doors look skinny, the Hummer EV SUV has an EPA range estimate of 314 miles (503 km) on a single charge. In fact, the actual range indicated by our test car was 358 miles on a full charge, based on GM’s own testing. (As a class 3 truck, the Hummer doesn’t actually fit into the EPA’s tests properly.)

Driving the biggest, least-efficient electric car: The Hummer EV SUV Read More »

elon-musk-turns-x’s-block-button-into-a-“glorified-mute-button”

Elon Musk turns X’s block button into a “glorified mute button”

elon musk x, Policy, x blocking / /

X, formerly Twitter, is now letting blocked users see posts made by the people who blocked them.

“We’re starting to launch the block function update,” X’s engineering team wrote yesterday. X previously said that after the change, “If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage (like, reply, repost, etc.).”

To justify the change, X said the block functionality could previously be “used by users to share and hide harmful or private information about those they’ve blocked.” The change will allow people who are blocked “to see if such behavior occurs… allowing for greater transparency,” X said.

X owner Elon Musk argued last year that “blocking public posts makes no sense. It needs to be deprecated in favor of a stronger form of mute.”

There were many angry responses to the change, both yesterday and previously, when X said it would be coming soon. While some users may only use blocking to avoid seeing accounts that are annoying, some X users said the policy could be harmful for people who use blocking as a safety measure.

The new policy could help stalkers and other bad actors, some said. Blocked accounts could view, screenshot, and share content posted by the person who blocked them, some people pointed out. The block button is now “a glorified mute button,” one user said.

Blocked users can view and search for posts

Before the change, X’s support page on blocking accounts said blocked accounts cannot “view your posts when logged in on X (unless they report you, and your posts mention them,” “find your posts in search when logged in on X,” or “view a Moment you’ve created when logged in on X.”

Elon Musk turns X’s block button into a “glorified mute button” Read More »

here-are-3-science-backed-strategies-to-rein-in-election-anxiety

Here are 3 science-backed strategies to rein in election anxiety

2024 election, anxieities, anxiety, health, Mental Health, Security, syndication / /

In this scenario, I encourage my patients to move past that initial thought of how awful it will be and instead consider exactly how they will respond to the inauguration, the next day, week, month, and so on.

Cognitive flexibility allows you to explore how you will cope, even in the face of a negative outcome, helping you feel a bit less out of control. If you’re experiencing a lot of anxiety about the election, try thinking through what you’d do if the undesirable candidate takes office—thoughts like “I’ll donate to causes that are important to me” and “I’ll attend protests.”

Choose your actions with intention

Another tool for managing your anxiety is to consider whether your behaviors are affecting how you feel.

Remember, for instance, the goal of 24-hour news networks is to increase ratings. It’s in their interest to keep you riveted to your screens by making it seem like important announcements are imminent. As a result, it may feel difficult to disconnect and take part in your usual self-care behavior.

Try telling yourself, “If something happens, someone will text me,” and go for a walk or, better yet, to bed. Keeping up with healthy habits can help reduce your vulnerability to uncontrolled anxiety.

Post-Election Day, you may continue to feel drawn to the news and motivated to show up—whether that means donating, volunteering, or protesting—for a variety of causes you think will be affected by the election results. Many people describe feeling guilty if they say no or disengage, leading them to overcommit and wind up overwhelmed.

If this sounds like you, try reminding yourself that taking a break from politics to cook, engage with your family or friends, get some work done, or go to the gym does not mean you don’t care. In fact, keeping up with the activities that fuel you will give you the energy to contribute to important causes more meaningfully.The Conversation

Shannon Sauer-Zavala, Associate Professor of Psychology & Licensed Clinical Psychologist, University of Kentucky. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Here are 3 science-backed strategies to rein in election anxiety Read More »

dystopika-is-a-beautiful-cyberpunk-city-builder-without-the-ugly-details

Dystopika is a beautiful cyberpunk city builder without the ugly details

city builders, cyberpunk, dystopia, dystopian, dystopika, gaming / /

Some of my favorite games deny me the thing I think I want most. Elden Ring refuses to provide manageable save files (and I paid for it). Balatro withholds the final math on each hand played (and its developer suggests avoiding calculators). And the modern X-COM games force me to realize just how much a 98 percent chance to hit is not the same as 100 percent.

Dystopika (Steam, Windows) is a city builder in maybe the strictest definition of that two-word descriptor, because it steadfastly refuses to distract you with non-building details. The game is described by its single developer, Matt Marshall, as having “No goals, no management, just creativity and dark cozy vibes.” Dystopika does very little to explain how you should play it, because there’s no optimal path for doing so. Your only job is to enjoy yourself, poking and prodding at a dark cyberpunk cityscape, making things that look interesting, pretty, grim, or however you like. It might seem restrictive, but it feels very freeing.

Dystopika launch video.

The game’s interface is a small rail on the left side of the screen. Select “Building” and a random shape attaches to your cursor. You can right-click to change it, but you can’t pick one. Place it, and then optionally place the cursor near its top to change its height. Making one building taller will raise smaller buildings nearby. Reaching certain heights, or densities, or something (it’s not explained) will “unlock” certain new buildings, landmarks, and decorations.

Screen showing a tall, T-shaped building,, with

Hooray! I’ve unlocked the headquarters for a megacorp with a very ominous name! (Please appreciate my efforts at public transit.) Credit: Kevin Purdy

You do get to pick out “Props,” like roads and trams and giant billboards and hologram objects and flying carports, but the game is similarly non-committal on what you should do with them, or most anything. You put things down, or delete them, expand them, connect them, and try things out until you like how it looks.

Dystopika is a beautiful cyberpunk city builder without the ugly details Read More »

us-space-force-warns-of-“mind-boggling”-build-up-of-chinese-capabilities

US Space Force warns of “mind-boggling” build-up of Chinese capabilities

china, Space, syndication, US Space Force / /

Both Russia and China have tested satellites with capabilities that include grappling hooks to pull other satellites out of orbit and “kinetic kill vehicles” that can target satellites and long-range ballistic missiles in space.

In May, a senior US defense department official told a House Armed Services Committee hearing that Russia was developing an “indiscriminate” nuclear weapon designed to be sent into space, while in September, China made a third secretive test of an unmanned space plane that could be used to disrupt satellites.

The US is far ahead of its European allies in developing military space capabilities, but it wanted to “lay the foundations” for the continent’s space forces, Saltzman said. Last year UK Air Marshal Paul Godfrey was appointed to oversee allied partnerships with NATO with the US Space Force—one of the first times that a high-ranking allied pilot had joined the US military.

But Saltzman warned against a rush to build up space forces across the continent.

“It is resource-intensive to separate out and stand up a new service. Even … in America where we think we have more resources, we underestimated what it was going to take,” he said.

The US Space Force, which monitors more than 46,000 objects in orbit, has about 10,000 personnel but is the smallest department of the US military. Its officers are known as “guardians.”

The costs of building up space defense capabilities mean the US is heavily reliant on private companies, raising concerns about the power of billionaires in a sector where regulation remains minimal.

SpaceX, led by prominent Trump backer Elon Musk, is increasingly working with US military and intelligence through its Starshield arm, which is developing low Earth orbit satellites that track missiles and support intelligence gathering.

This month, SpaceX was awarded a $734 million contract to provide space launch services for US defense and intelligence agencies.

Despite concerns about Musk’s erratic behavior and reports that the billionaire has had regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saltzman said he had no concerns about US government collaboration with SpaceX.

“I’m very comfortable that they’ll execute those [contracts] exactly the way they’re designed. All of the dealings I’ve had with SpaceX have been very professional,” he said.

Additional reporting by Kathrin Hille in Taipei.

© 2024 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

US Space Force warns of “mind-boggling” build-up of Chinese capabilities Read More »

thousands-of-hacked-tp-link-routers-used-in-years-long-account-takeover-attacks

Thousands of hacked TP-Link routers used in years-long account takeover attacks

Biz & IT, botnets, microsoft, password spraying, Security, tp-link / /

Hackers working on behalf of the Chinese government are using a botnet of thousands of routers, cameras, and other Internet-connected devices to perform highly evasive password spray attacks against users of Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, the company warned Thursday.

The malicious network, made up almost entirely of TP-Link routers, was first documented in October 2023 by a researcher who named it Botnet-7777. The geographically dispersed collection of more than 16,000 compromised devices at its peak got its name because it exposes its malicious malware on port 7777.

Account compromise at scale

In July and again in August of this year, security researchers from Serbia and Team Cymru reported the botnet was still operational. All three reports said that Botnet-7777 was being used to skillfully perform password spraying, a form of attack that sends large numbers of login attempts from many different IP addresses. Because each individual device limits the login attempts, the carefully coordinated account-takeover campaign is hard to detect by the targeted service.

On Thursday, Microsoft reported that CovertNetwork-1658—the name Microsoft uses to track the botnet—is being used by multiple Chinese threat actors in an attempt to compromise targeted Azure accounts. The company said the attacks are “highly evasive” because the botnet—now estimated at about 8,000 strong on average—takes pains to conceal the malicious activity.

“Any threat actor using the CovertNetwork-1658 infrastructure could conduct password spraying campaigns at a larger scale and greatly increase the likelihood of successful credential compromise and initial access to multiple organizations in a short amount of time,” Microsoft officials wrote. “This scale, combined with quick operational turnover of compromised credentials between CovertNetwork-1658 and Chinese threat actors, allows for the potential of account compromises across multiple sectors and geographic regions.

Some of the characteristics that make detection difficult are:

  • The use of compromised SOHO IP addresses
  • The use of a rotating set of IP addresses at any given time. The threat actors had thousands of available IP addresses at their disposal. The average uptime for a CovertNetwork-1658 node is approximately 90 days.
  • The low-volume password spray process; for example, monitoring for multiple failed sign-in attempts from one IP address or to one account will not detect this activity.

Thousands of hacked TP-Link routers used in years-long account takeover attacks Read More »

starlink-enters-national-radio-quiet-zone—but-reportedly-cut-off-access-for-some

Starlink enters National Radio Quiet Zone—but reportedly cut off access for some

national radio quiet zone, Policy, starlink / /

Starlink offered to 99.5% of zone, but locals say Roam product was disabled.

Starlink satellite dish. Credit: Starlink

Starlink’s home Internet service has come to the National Radio Quiet Zone after a multi-year engineering project that had the goal of minimizing interference with radio telescopes. Starlink operator SpaceX began “a one-year assessment period to offer residential satellite Internet service to 99.5% of residents within the NRQZ starting October 25,” the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory announced last week.

“The vast majority of people within the areas of Virginia and West Virginia collectively known as the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) can now receive high speed satellite Internet service,” the announcement said. “The newly available service is the result of a nearly three-year collaborative engineering effort between the US National Science Foundation (NSF), SpaceX, and the NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), which operates the NSF Green Bank Observatory (NSF GBO) in West Virginia within the NRQZ.”

There’s a controversy over the 0.5 percent of residents who aren’t included and are said to be newly blocked from using the Starlink Roam service. Starlink markets Roam as a service for people to use while traveling, not as a fixed home Internet service.

The Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management last week issued a press release saying that “customers with the RV/Roam packages had been using Starlink for approximately two years throughout 100% of the NRQZ. Now, the 0.5% have lost coverage after having it for two years. This means that a large section of southeastern Pendleton County and an even larger section of northern Pocahontas will NOT be able to utilize Starlink.”

PCMag wrote that “Starlink is now live in 42 of the 46 cell areas around the Green Bank Observatory’s telescopes.” Pendleton County Emergency Services Coordinator Rick Gillespie told Ars today that Roam coverage was cut off in the remaining four cell areas.

“After the agreement, we all lost effective use within the four cells,” Gillespie told Ars in an email. Gillespie’s press release said that, “in many cases, Starlink was the only Internet provider option residents and emergency responders had. This is unacceptable.”

“The dark ages of communications systems”

Gillespie was quoted as saying in a WBOY article that the restrictions are “keeping a portion of Pendleton and Pocahontas counties in the dark ages of communications systems.”

We contacted SpaceX and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory about any limits imposed on Roam today and will update this article if we get any response.

Residents of the 13,000-square-mile National Radio Quiet Zone have limited Internet access due to restrictions on radio transmissions first put in place in 1958. In addition to scientific research at Green Bank in Pocahontas County, the National Radio Quiet Zone includes a National Security Agency facility at Sugar Grove Station in Pendleton County.

SpaceX and the NRAO collaborated on testing over the past few years and presumably concluded that the service could only be provided without interference in 99.5 percent of the zone. Chris De Pree, the NRAO deputy spectrum manager, said in the organization’s announcement that “working closely with SpaceX over the past three years has enabled NRAO and SpaceX to better understand each other’s systems and how to actively coexist in this part of the spectrum.”

In that time, “scientists and engineers performed multiple tests and analyses to determine the best way to maximize satellite internet service without hindering the missions within the NRQZ,” the announcement said. During the one-year assessment period for Starlink’s home Internet service, “scientists and engineers will monitor for interference issues and work to resolve them without interrupting Internet service.”

Starlink steers beams away from telescopes

Starlink said in August that it worked with the NRAO “to enable Starlink satellites to avoid transmissions into the line-of-sight of radio telescopes, leveraging our advanced phased array antenna technology to dynamically steer beams away from telescopes.”

Starlink published a summary noting that “direct transmissions from satellites towards the eye of radio telescopes may pose a significant risk of interference to astronomical research.” The technique for steering beams away from telescopes is “made possible by a real-time data sharing framework between radio astronomy observatories and Starlink that provides the Starlink network with a telescope’s planned observation schedule, including the telescope’s pointing direction (aka ‘boresight’) and its observed frequency band. With this information, the Starlink network can ensure that satellites passing near the boresight of a telescope dynamically redirect their beams away from the telescope.”

The redirection happens “in milliseconds” and “protects the telescope’s observations while ensuring Starlink service remains uninterrupted for customers near the telescope.” Starlink is also using the technology with NRAO’s Very Large Array in New Mexico.

Counties want quiet-zone rules scrapped

The quiet-zone rules should be scrapped, a number of local officials say. The Pendleton County press release said that 10 West Virginia counties and one Virginia county “have formally expressed their need for change regarding the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) through Resolutions and Letters of Support.” These counties have a combined 262,296 residents, the press release said.

“We do not seek the closure of these federal entities but rather their commitment to identifying and funding viable solutions that would enable our communication systems to operate effectively, similar to those in the majority of America,” Gillespie said in the press release.

Gillespie told Ars that local communities are hampered by “archaic 1950’s regulations. We are being left behind when it comes to the modern advancements in public safety and personal communications.” He said that “absent some relief in a timely fashion, we will explore taking our plight to the FCC seeking waivers.”

The Pendleton County Commission resolution approved in September called for dissolution of the quiet zone or “total waivers of any NRQZ restrictions imposed on Public Safety Radio Frequency Bands currently in use, as well as all the commercial cellular/wireless Bands, and commercial satellite Internet providers, such as Starlink.”

The county resolution said the quiet zone is effectively “an ever-growing unfunded federal mandate on our county emergency services/911 operation wherein it causes us to spend large amounts of funding building a larger number of tower sites than would be needed absent the NRQZ restrictions.” The restrictions have greatly diminished access to the AT&T FirstNet public safety network and other networks used by first responders and residents, the resolution said.

The Pocahontas County Commission issued a resolution in September calling for total waivers of restrictions imposed on public safety spectrum, or federal funding to offset costs associated with developing public safety communications systems under “the unique burden of NRQZ regulations.”

Limited fiber and cellular access

Starlink service wouldn’t be as necessary for home Internet access if the area had universal access to fiber broadband. Recent government grants could help, as one funded project is designed to subsidize Spruce Knob Seneca Rocks Telephone’s installation of fiber lines in Pocahontas and Pendleton counties.

Ideally, residents would have access to both fiber home Internet and strong cellular networks. But the NRAO still warns that cellular signals could threaten its scientific research.

“Optical fiber as a broadband solution is far better than service from space or via wireless or cellular links, which are less reliable and have the potential to undo much of the coordination work that has happened in the National Radio Quiet Zone over many decades,” Sheldon Wasik, Zone Regulatory Services Coordinator for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, said in March 2024.

Photo of Jon Brodkin

Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry.

Starlink enters National Radio Quiet Zone—but reportedly cut off access for some Read More »

slivered-onions-are-likely-cause-of-mcdonald’s-e.-coli-outbreak,-cdc-says

Slivered onions are likely cause of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak, CDC says

CDC, E. coli, health, infectious diseases, mcdonalds, outbreak, quarter pounder, Science / /

Slivered onions are the likely source of the multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers that continues to grow, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.

Onions were one of two primary suspects when the CDC announced the outbreak on October 22, with the other being the beef patties used on the burgers. But onions quickly became the leading suspect. The day after the CDC’s announcement, McDonald’s onion supplier, Taylor Farms, recalled peeled and diced yellow onion products and several other fast food chains took onions off the menu as a precaution. (No other restaurants have been linked to the outbreak to date.)

According to the CDC, traceback information and epidemiological data collected since then have all pointed to the onions and, according to McDonald’s, state and federal testing of the beef patties has all come back negative.

In the CDC’s update Wednesday, the agency reported that 15 more people were identified as sickened in the outbreak, including five who were hospitalized. In all, that brings the outbreak to 90 cases, including 27 hospitalizations and one death, which collectively span 13 states.

All the newly reported illnesses had onsets prior to the October 23 onion recall. The most recent illness onset was October 16. Additional illnesses may be reported, as it can take three to four weeks to link illnesses to an outbreak.

“Due to the product actions taken by McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, the CDC believes the continued risk to the public is very low,” the agency said in a media alert.

McDonald’s says that Quarter Pounders—without onions—will return to the menus of affected restaurants this week. Prior to the recall, 900 restaurants had received onions from Taylor Farms, including in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.

Slivered onions are likely cause of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak, CDC says Read More »

apple’s-m4,-m4-pro,-and-m4-max-compared-to-past-generations,-and-to-each-other

Apple’s M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max compared to past generations, and to each other

Apple, Apple M3, apple m4, Apple silicon, iMac, M3, m3 max, m3 pro, m4, m4 max, m4 pro, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, Tech / /

The M4 Max is also the only chip where memory bandwidth and RAM support changes between the low- and high-end versions. The low-end M4 Max offers 410GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the fully enabled M4 Max offers 546GB/s.

For completeness’ sake, there is a third version of the M4 that Apple ships, with nine CPU cores, 10 GPU cores, and 8GB of RAM. But the company is only shipping that version of the chip in M4 iPad Pros with 256GB or 512GB of storage, so we haven’t included it in the tables here.

Compared to the M2 and M3

CPU P/E-cores GPU cores RAM options Display support (including internal) Memory bandwidth
Apple M4 (low) 4/4 8 16/24GB Up to two 120GB/s
Apple M4 (high) 4/6 10 16/24/32GB Up to three 120GB/s
Apple M3 (high) 4/4 16 8/16/24GB Up to two 102.4GB/s
Apple M2 (high) 4/4 10 8/16/24GB Up to two 102.4GB/s

One interesting thing about the M4: This is the first time that the low-end Apple Silicon CPU has increased its maximum core count. The M1, M2, and M3 all used a 4+4 split that divided evenly between performance and efficiency cores, but the M4 can include six efficiency cores instead.

That’s not a game-changing development performance-wise (the “E” in “E-core” does not stand for “exciting”), but we’ve seen over and over again in chips from Apple, Intel, and others that adding more efficiency cores does meaningfully improve CPU performance in heavily multithreaded tasks.

CPU P/E-cores GPU cores RAM options Display support (including internal) Memory bandwidth
Apple M4 Pro (low) 8/4 16 24/48/64GB Up to three 273GB/s
Apple M4 Pro (high) 10/4 20 24/48/64GB Up to three 273GB/s
Apple M3 Pro (high) 6/6 18 18/36GB Up to three 153.6GB/s
Apple M2 Pro (high) 8/4 19 16/32GB Up to three 204.8GB/s

The M4 Pro is the most interesting year-over-year upgrade, though this says more about the M3 Pro than anything else. As we noted last year, it was a bit of an outlier, the only one of the M3-generation chips with fewer transistors than its predecessor. A small decrease in GPU cores and a large decrease in high-performance CPU cores explains most of the difference. The result was a very power-efficient chip, but also one that was more of a sidestep from the M2 Pro than a real upgrade.

Apple’s M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max compared to past generations, and to each other Read More »

occupational-licensing-roundup-#1

Occupational Licensing Roundup #1

Occupational / /

We’re coming out firmly against it.

Our attitude:

The customer is always right. Yes, you should go ahead and fix your own damn pipes if you know how to do that, and ignore anyone who tries to tell you different. And if you don’t know how to do it, well, it’s at your own risk.

With notably rare exceptions, it should be the same for everything else.

I’ve been collecting these for a while. It’s time.

Harris-Walz platform includes a little occupational licensing reform, as a treat.

Ohio’s ‘universal licensing’ law has a big time innovation, which is that work experience outside the state actually exists and can be used to get a license (WSJ).

Occupational licensing decreases the number of Black men in licensed professions by up to 19%, and the number of Black women up to 22%. There is also the headline finding, which is that overall labor supply is reduced 17%-27%. Hopefully this can defeat some talking points or get through some of the damage being done.

Sununu in New Hampshire proposes universal license recognition for all licensed professions and removal of 34 licenses, elimination of 14 regulatory boards and almost 780 statutory provisions. A fine start.

Erica Jedynak: 26 states have joined the movement of significant occupational licensing reform – removing government barriers so more Americans can land their dream job. To all the allies part of the original OL coalition, thank you!

Knee Regulatory Research Center: Universal licensing recognition is a growing labor market reform for an easier transition of occupation licenses to new states. A new report from the Knee Center shows 26 states have passed universal recognition policies since 2013. Read more here.

This is really great, everyone needs to get on this to the maximum extent possible.

Libby Jamison: Lots of support for license portability! “About 83% of 848 registered voters surveyed nationwide said they support rules that allow the use of the licenses wherever military family members may move in the U.S.”

The obvious follow up is indeed ‘why only military’? License portability should be universal.

25% of Colorado jobs require a government license. They are at least opening up those jobs to some of the people with criminal records after three years via House Bill 1004. Better yet, we could scrap the requirements entirely.

Podcast on Utah’s approach to occupational licensing reform, based on requiring reviews. I am curious how much this ends up improving things.

To avoid a publication bias style problem I will note I am unconvinced by the paper from Blair and Fisher that notes Angi lead acceptance rates are 21% lower in the presence of occupational licensing requirements, which they attribute to lack of available supply. The problem is that this could be a reflection of things such as lower quality, where low quality providers accept leads a lot while high quality ones can afford to pick and choose. Thus, while I am in general highly convinced such requirements are counterproductive, I don’t think this provides strong additional evidence of that.

I like this new framing from The Atlantic, calling occupational licensing ‘permission slip culture.’

Connecticut requires occupational licensing to work ‘in the trades’ such as construction, which is leading to a worker shortage.

Doctors from abroad permitted to practice in Tennessee starting 2025, other states following suit. Yes, this is the right thing to do given a shortage, also without a shortage. Presumably this will form a natural experiment that shows it goes great, and the AMA will fight with all its might to stop it from spreading.

This seems pretty great:

Scott Lincicome: New paper: State laws granting nurse practitioners full practice authority (FPA) “reduces total health care costs for diabetics by approximately 20% in urban areas and reduces rural usage of advanced medical services for diabetics by about 10%.”

That is one of those effect sizes so big it is suspicious. Hot damn.

We won a local victory on this one.

Shoshana Weissman: HOLY SHIT IT FINALLY HAPPENED TELL THE OTHERS

No more florist licensing in Louisiana!

I’m gonna have to make an example out of some other state!

The origins of reform have a really horrible story.

Elderly widow Sandy Meadows died in poverty because the government wouldn’t let her be a florist.

After Meadows’ husband passed away, she had little money or education. She found a way to support herself by managing the floral department of a local grocery — until Louisiana Horticulture Commission threatened to shut down it down unless it hired a licensed florist.

The exam required they arrange 4 bouquets in 4 hours. The results were judged by a panel of licensed Louisiana florists, who obv viewed applicants as competitors. The passage rates for the exam were below 50%; even longtime florists often failed it.

“One licensed florist in the state described the test as nothing more than a “hazing process.” Ultimately, because she could not pass the exam, the grocery store had to let Meadows go.”

You have to admire the chutzpah of such groups. Well, no you don’t, but you should.

Chris Retford: Someone should send them flowers.

Clark Neily: If you follow me or have read my book, Terms of Engagement, you may think I heap excessive scorn on the rational basis test. But I assure you that’s metaphysically impossible—as this excerpt from the DCT opinion *upholdingthe florist-licensing law shows.

Seriously, burn it all to the ground. No occupational licenses for anything. Nuke from orbit. Only way to be sure. Replace with insurance requirements where it feels necessary. If we make a handful of mistakes that way? Well, that is a price I am willing to pay.

Pennsylvania (unexpectedly?) outlaws fortune telling.

The incident also drew attention to the fact that despite its widespread popularity, fortune-telling and related arts are indeed illegal in Pennsylvania, punishable by 6-12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Pennsylvania statute forbids residents from “pretend[ing] for gain or lucre, to tell fortunes or predict future events, by cards, tokens, the inspection of the head or hands of any person,” and from promising “to stop bad luck, or to give good luck … or to win the affection of a person, or to make one person marry another.”

Selling astrology readings and tarot readings are illegal, too.

The standard defense is to say the readings are ‘for entertainment purposes only.’

Except, no. They’re not.

There is a strong argument for the level of enforcement we see described here. The whole thing is centrally a fraud. Most of the time it is a harmless and fun one that many people get something out of. There are also ways to use the tools responsibly. You can get real utility, as I have, out of a tarot reading by using it to figure out what you really think and explore possibilities. Cold reading can allow the providing of useful advice, and is a fun game. Magick is not what its proponents claim to outsiders, but it is less fake than most people reading this think.

However, this goes hand in hand with actually malicious fraud, as the way (at least) many fortune-tellers and other such folks make most of their money is to sell high priced services to vulnerable victims who they very much defraud and prey upon.

So the idea is that when that happens, and it comes to the authorities’ attention, they can reliably crack down without having a high burden of proof. If no one complains, everything is fine, police have better things to do.

Therefore customers hold the balance of power, and have to be treated well. Not the first best solution to the problem, but it mostly works.

By default you get things like this, and they say it like they are proud of it.

Governor Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut): By requiring inclusive hair education for cosmetology licenses, we can ensure that all hair types and textures are properly cared for. This law supports our diverse communities and sets a new standard for excellence in beauty services. I’m proud Connecticut is leading the way.

St. Louis has signed a bill legalizing cutting hair after 6: 30pm. Good for St. Louis, but that just raises further questions.

Olivia French in DC, who was appointed by Mayor Bowser, has been ‘selling cosmetology and barber licenses to unqualified students for thousands of dollars.’

Four notes.

  1. ‘Unqualified’ students? That’s not a thing, this is hair.

  2. Good.

  3. This is an estimate of how much value is lost when we require these courses.

  4. If you elect a Mayor Bowser, I don’t really know what you were expecting.

Do people believe in the need for all this nonsense?

Yes. They really, really do. Not all of them, but a remarkable fraction of them.

It was up at 40% earlier, before it was circulating in different circles.

Emmett Shear: The replies to this thread blow my mind. People legit believe the state needs to protect them from bad haircuts by ensuring hair stylists meet training standards. I’ve never seen the nanny-state mind virus (timorus overprotectionis) on clearer display.

Here are the top 4 comments in order:

Capybara Enjoyer: I don’t understand why barbers are always the first criticism of occupational licensing, there’s a lot of potential chemical and hygiene issues in the job. Some states might overdo it, but i don’t get why this is a job used to highlight why licensing is bad. Infections are risky.

Jon Swifty: My girlfriend tried cutting my hair once and I called the cops on her. Gotta stay safe, I almost experienced something without the explicit consent of the government.

Andrew Works: Seeing as it could impact one’s life (such as looking unprofessional during a job interview, I say yes.

Jake Thompson: Yes, but only if you are giving shaves. I am of the opinion that barbering needs a license because like you could literally kill someone. We need to prevent more Sweeney Todd situations.

The reason to require a license is if reputational effects don’t work…

Among the Wildflowers: There is NO reason we should require cosmetologists to have a license.

Trust me – if someone fucks up a woman’s haircut, everyone within a ten-mile radius will know about it. We don’t need a license to prove we can cut hair.

CUT IT OUT.

Alas, instead, Michigan is going to make things even worse.

It seems that there is a federal rule that to get financial aid for your unnecessary occupational licensing training, the hours of training from the program have to match the required hours. That’s an obvious sign that no one cares about actually teaching things – too few hours is illegal, and also too many is almost de facto illegal too. So the schools involved that were training for ‘too many’ hours threw a fit, and lawmakers caved, increasing the requirements to match, a pure case of That Which Is Not Forbidden is Compulsory, and That Which Is Not Compulsory is Forbidden.

Needless to say, none of this makes any sense whatsoever. 600 hours to become a Manicurist? What? New York requires 250, even that seems utterly crazy. I don’t even know what the theory of something going wrong is, beyond ‘our wages might fall.’

It is bold to write the case that The World Needs More Lawyers. Given what I keep paying when I need lawyers in order to safely do regular business, one could make a case. What we need is not more lawyers. We need more ability to do legal work.

One way to do that is more lawyers. The post has better suggestions.

Another strategy is to let lawyers more easily move jurisdictions, or change the requirements to eliminate counterproductive requirements, such as those that discourage seeking professional help with mental health and pointless-in-practice CLE requirements. Another is to open up more of the basic work to other trained professionals (or where feasible AIs and other computer programs).

Another is allowing non-lawyers to own legal service companies, which Arizona has experimented with thanks to a court ruling, with good results. We have a lot of knobs we could turn, if the lawyers who run our government wanted the price of legal services to go down rather than go up.

Four states have stopped requiring the bar exam to practice law. This is being reported as a DEI-run-rampant story, whereas it is actually a DEI-allows-sanity story. Yes, obviously the bar exam like all licensing requirements is an ‘unnecessary block’ to Black individuals becoming attorneys, because it is such a block for all people looking to become attorneys.

Is it ‘disproportionate’? I don’t care. What matters are results, not rhetoric. I am totally fine with using ‘unnecessary regulation X is bad for group Y’ as a reason to get rid of unnecessary regulation X that is bad for everyone. More of this, please.

Let’s see them get out of this one.

Shoshana Weissmann: Someone asked me

I can’t believe this exists

OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING FOR MAGICIANS

Colorado signs bill for licensing recognition for military spouses, making it easy to get their out-of-state credentials respected. The obvious question is why not do this for everyone, but I’ll take it.

It works. Full recognition of military spouse licenses for registered nurses increases the probability of employment mobility by around 12%, while more restrictive reforms have the opposite effect. Obviously if you make licenses more portable employment will be more portable. The effect size being large is worth confirming though. The question is, what about all those dastardly nurses who are truly qualified to work in Ohio but not in Arkansas, or vice versa?

Wait, what? Not yet, but…

Shoshana Weissmann: So this is my new enemy I guess.

AP: The youngest woman to climb all of the world’s 14 tallest peaks calls for novices to be regulated.

A British mountaineer who set the record as the youngest female to climb all the 14 tallest mountains in the world said Thursday that inexperienced climbers should not be allowed to climb the highest peaks because they run the risk of endangering their lives and others.

This isn’t an unusually crazy or stupid proposal. The other occupational licenses that actually exist are often exactly this crazy or stypid.

I… think… this is real? A law introduced in Kentucky to license music therapists? As in, people who play recorded music?

Preston Cooper: All on board with banning legacy admissions but TBH this probably would have been the more consequential California higher ed policy change.

Quick hits: Newsom vetoed two bills that would have allowed some community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing, a contentious idea in the state’s rigid higher-ed system despite nursing shortages.

Preston Cooper: “The California State University opposes both bills, viewing them as undermining a promise lawmakers made two years ago that community colleges wouldn’t issue bachelor’s degrees that duplicate existing Cal State programs.”

Cartels gonna cartel.

Cal Matters: Update: On Sept. 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he had vetoed both bills. In his veto messages, Newsom urged community colleges to work with colleges and universities that already issue bachelor’s degrees in nursing programs. He said he worried that these bills to allow community colleges to award their own bachelor’s degrees in nursing would undermine those existing partnerships.

He also noted that the state has recently given both community colleges and the California State University more freedom to create new degree programs and that “a pause should be taken to understand their full impact before additional authorities are granted.”

Quote that the next time someone says you should take Newsom’s veto explanations as words that have meaning.

New York is going to require physical therapists to hold doctorates (60 more credits than previously required). The reasons given are only slightly paraphrased when I summarize them as ‘rent seeking.’ The insiders told us to restrict market entry.

Shoshana is lying (paper).

Masks off, how do you do, fellow rent seekers:

Shoshana Weissmann: Actual inbox from someone who runs license testing in FL: “There is nothing wrong keeping people from other states from stealing construction business from already established, licensed and insured Florida contractors.”

YIKES.

Well, then.

Adam Morris: After Harvey, there were people whose houses weren’t fixed for 2-3 years in part because there weren’t enough contractors available to handle all the work.

After a hurricane, “not enough work for local contractors to do” is not the problem.

Same as it ever was.

Volunteer Tree-Trimmer Fined $275, Told to Leave Minneapolis, After Helping Tornado Victims Outside His Assigned Area

Even if we are not going to fix occupational licensing in general we should do it in emergency situations via permanent known rules that get triggered when there is a hurricane or other similar event.

Legal Style Blog: The list of businesses which require a licence in Los Angeles County is hilariously specific. Bookstores, rifle ranges, ambulettes, hog ranches, taxi dancers (are there any in 2024?), peddlers, bottlewashing, raw horsemeat…

Occupational Licensing Roundup #1 Read More »

apple’s-first-mac-mini-redesign-in-14-years-looks-like-a-big-aluminum-apple-tv

Apple’s first Mac mini redesign in 14 years looks like a big aluminum Apple TV

Apple, apple m4, Apple silicon, m4, m4 pro, Mac mini, Mac Studio, Tech / /

Apple’s week of Mac announcements continues today, and as expected, we’re getting a substantial new update to the Mac mini. Apple’s least-expensive Mac, the mini, is being updated with new M4 processors, plus a smaller design that looks like a cross between an Apple TV box and a Mac Studio—this is the mini’s first major design change since the original aluminum version was released in 2010. The mini is also Apple’s first device to ship with the M4 Pro processor, a beefed-up version of the M4 with more CPU and GPU cores, and it’s also the Mac mini’s first update since the M2 models came out in early 2023.

The cheapest Mac mini will still run you $599, which includes 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage; as with yesterday’s iMac update, this is the first time since 2012 that Apple has boosted the amount of RAM in an entry-level Mac. It’s a welcome upgrade for every new Mac in the lineup that’s getting it, but the $200 that Apple previously charged for the 16GB upgrade makes an even bigger difference to someone shopping for a $599 system than it does for someone who can afford a $999 or $1,299 computer.

The M4 Pro Mac mini starts at $1,399, a $100 increase from the M2 Pro version. Both models go up for preorder today and will begin arriving on November 8.

A brand-new design for a little box

The new Mac mini is larger than the Apple TV by a bit—5×5 inches instead of 3.66×3.66 inches—but its proportions are roughly similar. That makes its footprint significantly smaller than the old mini (and the current Studio), which was 7.75×7.75 inches. But it’s also a fair bit taller: 2 inches, up from 1.4 inches.

Like the Studio, it’s made primarily of aluminum and has a pair of 10 Gbps USB-C ports on the front, plus an indicator light and a headphone jack for connecting headphones or speakers. On the back, it sheds all of its remaining USB-A ports in favor of Thunderbolt/USB-C ports (note that, like some Mac Studio models, the ports on the back have Thunderbolt capabilities and the ones on the front don’t). Compared to the old M2 mini, this is a net gain of one rear Thunderbolt port, but you’re giving one up compared to the M2 Pro Mac mini—the extra ports on the front should make up for this, but it’s worth noting if you have something connected to every single Thunderbolt port on your current box. All Mac mini models still include a gigabit Ethernet port and a full-size HDMI port, so USB-A is the only port you’ll need a dongle for that you didn’t need one for before.

Apple’s first Mac mini redesign in 14 years looks like a big aluminum Apple TV Read More »

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A candy engineer explains the science behind the Snickers bar

Biology, candy, Food science, health, Science, syndication / /

It’s Halloween. You’ve just finished trick-or-treating and it’s time to assess the haul. You likely have a favorite, whether it’s chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, those gummy clusters with Nerds on them, or something else.

For some people, including me, one piece stands out—the Snickers bar, especially if it’s full-size. The combination of nougat, caramel, and peanuts coated in milk chocolate makes Snickers a popular candy treat.

As a food engineer studying candy and ice cream at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I now look at candy in a whole different way than I did as a kid. Back then, it was all about shoveling it in as fast as I could.

Now, as a scientist who has made a career studying and writing books about confections, I have a very different take on candy. I have no trouble sacrificing a piece for the microscope or the texture analyzer to better understand how all the components add up. I don’t work for, own stock in, or receive funding from Mars Wrigley, the company that makes Snickers bars. But in my work, I do study the different components that make up lots of popular candy bars. Snickers has many of the most common elements you’ll find in your Halloween candy.

Let’s look at the elements of a Snickers bar as an example of candy science. As with almost everything, once you get into it, each component is more complex than you might think.

Snickers bars contain a layer of nougat, a layer of caramel mixed with peanuts, and a chocolate coating.

Credit: istarif/iStock via Getty Images

Snickers bars contain a layer of nougat, a layer of caramel mixed with peanuts, and a chocolate coating. Credit: istarif/iStock via Getty Images

Airy nougat

Let’s start with the nougat. The nougat in a Snickers bar is a slightly aerated candy with small sugar crystals distributed throughout.

One of the ingredients in the nougat is egg white, a protein that helps stabilize the air bubbles that provide a light texture. Often, nougats like this are made by whipping sugar and egg whites together. The egg whites coat the air bubbles created during whipping, which gives the nougat its aerated texture.

A boiled sugar syrup is then slowly mixed into the egg white sugar mixture, after which a melted fat is added. Since fat can cause air bubbles to collapse, this step has to be done last and very carefully.

A candy engineer explains the science behind the Snickers bar Read More »