Twitter is abuzz with how much the new United States Space Force logo looks like the Starfleet Command logo from Star Trek. Of course, it absolutely does, but I also saw traces of the logo from Blake's 7, which has its own Federation---in this case a tyrannical entity that is the antagonist of the show.
(Of course, Blake's 7 was accused at the time of ripping off Star Trek, so maybe it's all come full circle....)
This looks like a good guide to setting up local backups of your iPhone.
Keep your iPhone data absolutely private.
Oof, I'm glad I haven't upgraded to Catalina yet. I use this display, and this behavior would drive me batty.
Link to: https://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2020/20200107_1436-2019MacPro-LG5K-maximum-brightness-after-reboot.html
Check out this discussion in the comments section regarding 18% gray cards and 50% gray (or "middle gray") in an otherwise straightforward advice post. The confusion is around using what appear to be the same units of measurement ("% gray") interchangeably, when they are measuring different things.
In this context, "50% gray" is referring to a perceptual measurement. That is, it appears to the eye to be halfway between white and black, colloquially referred to "middle gray". An "18% gray" card, used to set this "middle gray" perceived value in Lightroom, is 18% reflective; it reflects 18% of light that hits it, producing what appears to the eye to be middle gray.
How to set your white balance right on the money by using a gray card and sync, and AutoSync.
This prime-time version of Jeopardy! was very satisfying. These three are entertaining to watch---even if Brad Rutter, unfortunately, didn't play to his usual standard. Ken Jennings adapted well to James Holzhauer's game-changing style, even if it clearly is outside of his comfort zone. Holzhauer's needling of Rutter was playfully harsh, and unusual for Jeopardy! in general; contestants usually seem to have a very respectful vibe, so smack talking is different and surprising.
On one hand, I wish it had gone on longer, but I'm also happy with how it went. It's a great cap on what seems likely to be Alex Trebek's last season. It would have been corny, but I'm sure something to recognize Alex as part of this event would have been well-received by fans.
A game show you feel like you can play and win
An awful story, well reported.
The Kyoto Animation fire arson attack was the deadliest act of mass murder since World War II. The arsonist, Shinji Aoba, has been sentenced to death for the attack that left 36 dead.
After updating the software for X-Rite's iPhoto Pro recently, I started seeing a generic app icon popping up in the Dock and staying there. It was called "XRD Software Update", but didn't seem to actually be updating anything. The linked document provides a fix if you find yourself in this situation, but wasn't the first hit on Google. Hopefully this post gets indexed and points someone else in the right direction.
This "XRD Software Update" message has appeared in the dock on Mac computers after X-Rite Device Services (XRD) 3.0.101 installs with i1Profiler 3.1.1 or i1Studio 1.5.1. We plan to have an X-Rite Device Services (XRD) software update soon to resolve this known issue. In the meantime, you can do the following:
Delete "XRD Software Update" at: Mac HD/Library/Application Support/X-Rite/Frameworks/XRiteDevice.framework/Versions/B/Resources/
Delete "com.xrite.device.softwareupdate.plist" at: Mac HD/Library/LaunchAgents
Reboot the computer
+XRD Software Update Message on Mac
Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman at The New York Times:
Interviews with current and former Republican lawmakers as well as party strategists, many of whom requested anonymity so as not to publicly cross the president, suggest that many elected officials are effectively faced with two choices. They can vote with their feet by retiring — and a remarkable 40 percent of Republican members of Congress have done so or have been defeated at the ballot box since Mr. Trump took office.
Wow, calling 40% "remarkable" is an understatement.
The president demands complete fealty, and as the impeachment hearings showed, he has largely attained it. To cross him is to risk losing a future in the Republican Party.
I don't really care about the Black Eyed Peas, so I'm not even sure how I ended up watching this video. But I did, and the woman who is the subject of the piece is so magnetic and interesting, that I ended up watching the whole thing. I think it's great.
What a great feature. Make sure to click the arrow on the right and watch it.
The city has changed drastically over the past 40 years, yet the M.T.A. map designed in 1979 has largely endured.
Christine Fisher at Engadget:
If you attempt to watch The Mandalorian in HDR, don't be surprised if the colors are dim. In fact, HDTVTest suggests you may be better off watching it in SDR. In HDR, you'll be asking your TV to run, unnecessarily, at its highest power consumption, and you won't get the full benefit.
The Mandalorian has given us Baby Yoda and, by some accounts, made Disney+ worth it. The first live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian packs the kind of action and visual splendor that will remind you why you love Star Wars in the first place, and it stands out as truly original content on Disney's new streaming platform. But it may not be living up to its HDR promises.
Ian Millhiser, writing at Vox:
The Supreme Court did not explain why it denied Syed’s petition asking it to review the case, and the Court’s denial of that petition does not mean that the justices believe that Syed’s lawyer behaved adequately — the Court takes only several dozen cases every year, and it rarely takes a case solely because it believes that a lower court erred.
As a practical matter, however, the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear this case means that Syed is likely to serve his life sentence — though he could still seek relief from a lower federal court in a federal habeas proceeding.
A sobering end to a fascinating story.
Syed claimed his lawyer blew the case.
Totally. She was awesome today.
It's even worse than it appears.
Tim Bray:
The single true answer to all questions about data encoding formats · “It depends.”
Truer words were never spoken. Good article.
