Author Archive: Stephen Green

SKYNET SMILES: Introducing Thunder: Autonomous Attack Rotorcraft for the Near-Surface Fight. “The advantages that Thunder brings to the battlefield extend beyond its hardware – they are also defined by the centrality of software and autonomy to its performance. Anduril’s core Lattice for Mission Autonomy software delivers the trusted, flight-proven formation behaviors, separation management, and flight logic necessary for Thunder to remain useful, predictable, and safe around crewed aircraft. By translating operator intent into trusted machine-speed route, timing, tasking, and deconfliction decisions, Lattice eliminates the need for pilots to manage Thunder with a stick and rudder, enabling them to focus instead on the most important decisions at hand.”

Full autonomy is coming to the battlespace whether we like it or not.

HMM: Judge pauses Paramount-Warner merger.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order barring Paramount from closing the transaction, a corporate tie-up that would unite two movie studios, two streaming platforms and two news organizations under the control of David Ellison, the son of billionaire technology tycoon Larry Ellison.

Martínez-Olguín’s order said the restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days. The judge, who is presiding over the case, scheduled an Aug. 3 hearing on the states’ motion for a preliminary injunction, which would freeze the transaction while the legal process plays out.

The plaintiffs, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued to block the merger July 13, arguing in a 38-page complaint that it would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood.

I’m more or less agnostic on the merger, other than it might be the only way for two storied studios to survive outside the Netflix behemoth. But there’s no end of entertainment to be found in California using every means at its disposal to create a more and more hostile business climate.

RACISM, STRAIGHT UP:

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Pass the Prilosec — Kamala Harris Is Getting Mentioned a Lot. “Harris was unable to get any traction whatsoever in the California gubernatorial race, which she took as a sign that she should run for president again. The delusion is strong with this one. Sure, that can be said about any Democrat these days, but ex-Madame Veep really stands out in this regard.”

THEY’RE PANICKING:

Of course, that’s probably what happens every time the Mensheviks realize the Bolsheviks are about to slaughter them.

And the Mensheviks never, ever learn.

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Bristol Myers buys Nvidia’s latest AI computing system for drug research.

The drugmaker said it will be the first life sciences company to buy an Nvidia DGX SuperPOD ​based on its Vera Rubin systems. The chipmaker unveiled its Vera Rubin architecture earlier this year as the successor to its current generation of AI computing systems.

Financial terms of the Bristol Myers investment were not disclosed. It builds on a smaller SuperPOD system the drugmaker ‌bought from Nvidia, which is ⁠around two or three generations behind Vera Rubin, BMS executives said in an interview.

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly investing in AI infrastructure to try ⁠to identify drug targets faster and improve the odds that experimental drugs succeed in clinical trials.

We sure could use some new antibiotics in a hurry.

WHAT DECADE ARE WE IN?

WHEN THEY TELL YOU HOW THEY WIN, BELIEVE THEM:

More:

A federal appeals court just said the administration needs time to implement serialized barcodes and voter-list submissions for mail-in ballots. Not mass purges. Not voter ID theater. Simple chain-of-custody tools so the Postal Service can track what it carries.

And the reaction? Full institutional meltdown.

The NAACP is in open panic. California is fighting tooth and nail against submitting its rolls. The same people who spent years lecturing the country about “sacred democracy” are treating a barcode on an envelope like a constitutional crisis.

This is the tell.

Indeed.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX targets July 23 for crucial Starship Flight 13 test launch after abort.

If all goes to plan, the 408-foot-tall (124.4 meters) Starship will lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas on Thursday during a 90-minute window that opens at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT; 5:45 p.m. local Texas time). You can watch the action live here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX.

It will be the second launch attempt for Starship Flight 13. The first came last Thursday (July 16) and ended in an abort, which occurred just as the giant rocket’s 33 first-stage Raptor engines were firing up.

Better luck with this one, fellas.

EVERYBODY IS SICK OF PUTIN’S STUPID WAR:

GOOD QUESTION:

I LIKE WINNING:

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHE’S MORE FAMOUS AND IMPORTANT THAN YOU ARE:

SHE’S THE WORST:

GO AWAY:

“Cognyte sells the technology directly to U.S. agencies, as shown by the Texas Department of Public Safety purchase of four Tahoes where over three point eight million dollars went to the interception equipment. Adoption spreads through routine vehicle procurement with little external review of how the collected data is stored or shared.”