Brian C Neumann

Tinkerer that enjoys playing games.

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

Allan Savory spent decades studying desertification.

His conclusion, after running trials across Africa: the deserts were not spreading because of overgrazing. They were spreading because of undergrazed, poorly managed land : land from which animals had been removed.

Grasslands evolved with large herds of grazing animals. They need herd impact: hooves breaking soil crusts, dung fertilising, grazing stimulating plant regrowth.

Remove the animals and the grass doesn't recover. The soil crusts. The microbiome dies. The land turns to dust.

His TED talk on holistic planned grazing has been viewed over eight million times.

The mainstream food debate has largely ignored it.

Because it implies the cow is part of the solution.

And that doesn't fit the narrative.

[Ryan Hall, Y’all @ryanhallyall]

We don't have the Waffle House Index up here, so we built the Dunkin Closed Counter. Nearly 2,000 locations are closed as this massive blizzard slams the Northeast. Some areas could see 30 inches of snow. I am LIVE right now tracking the storm. Tune in to the stream! https://t.co/8nEFS7S5l6

[Alexander Gerst @Astro_Alex]

When I was in Florida for the Crew-12 launch, Melanie Cowan asked me how it’s like for an astronaut to live with delays and uncertainties around a space launch - like the ones my friends of the Artemis II crew are experiencing right now.🚀🌕

[Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex @ExploreSpaceKSC]

The Artemis II crew members were released from quarantine on Feb. 21 and remain in Houston as NASA prepares to roll back Artemis II to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Returning to the VAB is required to determine the cause of an issue with the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage that was observed overnight on Feb. 21.
Get to know the crew through personal artifacts on display for a limited time at #KennedySpaceCenter Visitor Complex. https://t.co/Cb8Rfk8fdr

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

Goats are arguably the most resourceful food animal on earth, and they are almost completely absent from any serious conversation about sustainable food production.

The goat is a browser, not a grazer. Where a cow and sheep prefer grass, a goat prefers scrub, brush, bramble, and the lower branches of trees. It eats the plants that cattle won't touch, on land that sheep won't use, on terrain that's too difficult for either.

This makes the goat the ideal animal for reclaiming marginal land. Overgrown hillsides, scrubby valleys, former industrial land reverting to bramble and thistle: the goat will clear it. Not by destroying it, but by browsing it back to a state where grass can establish, which is then grazed by sheep or cattle.

The goat is the pioneer species of ruminant agriculture.

Goat milk has a smaller fat globule size than cow's milk, making it naturally easier to digest. Its casein protein structure is closer to human milk. It contains higher levels of short and medium-chain fatty acids. People who cannot tolerate cow dairy frequently tolerate goat dairy without issue.

Goat meat, chevon, is the most widely consumed meat protein in the world. More humans eat goat than eat pork or beef. It is virtually unknown in Western supermarkets.

The animals that feed the majority of the world's population are essentially invisible in Western food discourse.

Because Western food discourse is conducted by people who shop in supermarkets where goat meat isn't stocked.

The goat needs a marketing budget and slightly better PR.
The goat does not need defending nutritionally.
The nutritional case is solid.
The animal has been keeping humans alive for ten thousand years.
Mostly just nobody in a position to write about food has noticed.

[Willow Creative @WillowCreativ]

Printing shyvana tail segments in @ColorFabb Varioshore TPU

These are really thin shells, super lightweight and soft! Takes about 4h for each piece
#cosplay #leagueoflegends

[i2cjak @i2cjak]

I CHALLENGE BLINDVIA TO A PCB DESIGN COMPETITION. BRING YOUR OWN SOFTWARE. STREAMED RIGHT HERE ON X!

please reply with your recommendations for what we should do

one rule: both competitors must listen to scary monsters and nice sprites by skrillex the whole time on loop

[John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad]

Here it is folks. The moment my 100k followers have been waiting for….

“We can not rebuild our industrial base without the US Merchant Marine. They are critically important,” @PeteHegseth, Secretary of War

🫡

[John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad]

According to a senior Department of War official, OpenClaw has been on their radar for a while. They are closely monitoring the rapid spread of its installations.

The official mentioned that these systems are monitored in DoW facilities, and only approved AI models can be deployed.

We discussed the potential threat posed by employees of defense manufacturers, defense logistics warehouses, and even ships carrying DoW personnel who may bring laptops with OpenClaw installed to work. The official emphasized that the DoW is "very cognizant" of these potential threat vectors.

He also highlighted the fact that numerous bots operating globally will likely discover vulnerabilities and weaknesses in secure systems that were previously unknown.

Finally, I inquired about OpenClaw installations running on powerful Apple Studio hardware running local models of open-source AI models developed in China.

The official acknowledged that the United States’ models are superior, but the cost is a significant concern. If a developer can achieve 90% of the performance of models developed in China at a fraction of the cost, he believes many will do so.

The official stated that most of these models are currently free and open-source, but there is evidence suggesting that China heavily subsidizes their development. While these models are currently open-source and low-cost, the official warned that China has a history of flooding a market and then imposing restrictions and malicious features on the models.

The most significant threat to America, in his opinion, is if China gains dominant market share, which could lead to the implementation of restrictions and potentially harmful features in the models in the future.

The second most significant threat, according to the official, is the data that these systems are sending back to China. He refrained from providing specific details on how the data is being collected.

From my own research (not his), the threat is not only direct pipelines of information. Many individuals operating these systems are scraping information about themselves and others from behind password protected sites.... then storing it (and passwords) via unencrypted drives locally on computers with questionable security practices. In my opinion (not the official’s), this data could then potentially be exposed to malicious foreign actors.

Finally, he was asked if the Secretary of War has plans to meet with Anthropic.

The official responded with a simple “No comment.”

[Jack 🤖 @JacklouisP]

> be Sammy Azdoufal, software engineer
> spend $2000 on DJI Romo vacuum
> decide to control it with xbox controller like a chad
> use Claude to reverse engineer the API
> It works because Claude is the GOAT
> just need to grab auth token from their cloud servers
> token works... Claude is unbeaten
> wait why is he authenticated as 7000 devices
> ohno.jpg
> backend trusted any valid token for any device, no ownership verification
> mfw Sammy has live camera feeds from vacuums in 24 countries
> watching some german dude eat cereal at 3am
> can pull SLAM data and get floor plans of everyone's house
> could be the world's most efficient burglar
> could be the world's most at scale pervert
> Sammy just wanted to drive his vacuum bro
> reports it like a responsible adult
> DJI patches in 2 days
> back to being a normal guy with overpriced roomba
> mfw the entire IoT industry treats auth like it's 2005

[Brian C Neumann @Brian_C_Neumann]

@DJSnM @ToughSf

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

I saw Airplane when I was a senior in high school and thought it was the funniest movie I’d ever seen. My date, however, did not agree. In fact, she didn't laugh at all. Not even once. Not even when the Japanese soldier stabbed himself to death in the window seat, rather than listen to Ted Striker drone on and on about his broken heart. When the credits rolled, she looked at me like I was an alien.

“What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “How was any of that funny?”

In her defense, there were others in the theater who didn’t get it, several of whom left early. But there were many others like me who not only laughed themselves sick but stayed to watch it again. So, my date left me in the theater and spent the next two hours shopping in the mall, while I laughed even harder the second time around.

“Tell me Johnny, have you ever seen a grown man naked?”
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!”
"Pardon me Stewardess, I speak Jive."
And this gem, perhaps the greatest exchange in the history of cinema, between two very sophisticated ten-year old Caucasians dressed like adults.
Boy: Coffee?
Girl: Yes, please.
Boy: Cream?
Girl: No, I take it black....Like my men.

Later, in the food court, I bought my date a Coke and a slice of pizza, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

“I can’t believe you’d rather sit there alone and watch that stupid movie again instead of spending time with me. "Surely," she said, “you not that much of an idiot.”

“Don’t be too sure,” I said. “And don't call me Shirley.”

That was our last date, obviously, thanks to @TheDavidZucker, the man who wrote and directed this ridiculously silly film along with Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker. Since its release, Airplane! is now considered one of the greatest comedy films ever made, inspiring numerous references, homages, and further parodies in popular culture. In fact, in 2010, Airplane! was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," proving once and for all that my date had no sense of humor.

What an honor to meet interview David Zucker, 46 years later. And what a relief to learn that he can still make me laugh...

Our whole conversation is here. https://t.co/qOkNiwl5s8

[Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hadfield]

The best way to simulate weightlessness is to train underwater, in @nasa's 40-ft deep Houston pool.
The safety divers attach weights/foam to our spacesuits so the buoyancy is perfectly neutral, even when upside down or sideways. It's an art.
When I got to orbit for my spacewalks, the years of preparation made it feel familiar; a good way to be for such a dangerous, amazing, otherworldy experience.

[James W. Draper @James_W_Draper]

The first museum mascot into orbit has returned home to the Cape! @ccspacemuseum #FollowRupert

[Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol]

Just drove 8 hours to DC because I was scared my flight was going to get cancelled!!!

There was absolutely NO CHANCE I was going to risk missing seeing my President in person at the SOTU.

Now the USA Men's Hockey Team is coming too!

Cannot believe this is real... so grateful.

[Astrolab @Astrolab_Space]

We’re reaching for the stars in the Lone Star State! Our expansion in Texas includes opening our space in the cutting-edge @TAMU Space Institute facility currently under construction at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. We were thrilled to become the first company to sign an agreement with the institute.

Opening these offices is about more than just expanding our footprint—it's about strengthening our commitment to the Houston space ecosystem and driving economic growth in the region.

[Michael L-A @CommanderMLA]

Until this point all suits used for spacewalking have been a single operating pressure, generally about 1/3 of an atmosphere, but the AxEMU will operate at more than one pressure. The benefit to a higher pressure suit is the ability to cut down on the “pre-breathe" time – required to purge nitrogen from one’s tissues to reduce the risk of decompression sickness. Starting at a higher pressure also allows you to slowly lower the pressure during the spacewalk with the benefit of a higher mobility. I can tell you first hand- anytime you can increase mobility it's extremely helpful!!

[The Solari Report | Catherine Austin Fitts @solari_the]

Support King Ranch

Stand Against Government Abuse and Overreach

"Wade and Teresa King own and operate a generational family ranch in eastern Washington, with the 4th, 5th, and 6th generations now living and working on the ranch. For more than 70 years, the Kings have actively raised and bred livestock and horses on the ranch. They have also engaged in beef production, which has provided numerous citizens with American-raised, open-range-grazed beef and has enhanced food security throughout Washington State and the United States. The Kings personally operate and steward tens of thousands of acres of arid and rugged grazing lands with the help of their daughter.

The Kings have invested a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money into their ranching operations. It has been their life's work and the work of their family before them.

Unfortunately, the Kings now find themselves fighting for their livelihood, property rights, and legacy as they face an unprecedented battle against the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (“DNR”), the Washington State Department of Ecology (“Ecology”), and the State of Washington.  Without any reliable evidence or information, Ecology fined the Kings more than $250,000 for alleged disturbances to “wetlands” arising from the Kings exercising their vested stockwater rights when they engaged in the industry standard and commonly accepted practice of maintaining stockwater ponds that have been used by ranchers on this same land for hundreds of years. Ecology is also demanding that the Kings remediate the alleged “wetlands,” which is estimated to cost millions (if not tens of millions) of dollars. As a result of Ecology’s unfounded allegations, the State of Washington pursued a parallel criminal investigation against the Kings, and DNR unilaterally terminated all of the grazing leases that it has had with the Kings for many decades. The actions of Ecology, DNR, and Washington State threaten the Kings’ livelihood and the future of ranching and agriculture throughout Washington State.

The Kings are now embroiled in several lawsuits against Ecology, DNR, and the State of Washington, where they are fighting to protect their rights and those of all ranchers, landowners, and farmers. This fight isn’t just the Kings’ fight — it is a stand for every rancher, farmer, and landowner who has suffered at the hands of government overreach and abuse of authority.

Right now, the Kings need your help to continue this fight. Your support can make a difference in protecting a generational family ranch, the ranching and agricultural community, property rights, food security, and ensuring that all citizens are treated fairly under the law."

https://t.co/rQLTjYejsT

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

Aviation history is simply amazing. On May 8, 1937, Italian Lt. Col. Mario Pezzi set a world altitude record in a Caproni Ca.161 biplane, climbing to 51,362 ft in a pioneering pressurized electrically heated suit that resembled early astronaut gear. In 1938 he enclosed the cockpit in an air tight shell, the first in aviation history, and set a new world record for altitude in a propeller-driven, piston-engined aircraft at 56,047 ft, a record still unbeaten today.👀

[Dave W Plummer @davepl1968]

After eight years in restoration, today was delivery day! Here's how it went: