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Larry Magid: Meta, Ray-Ban release second-generation smart glasses

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

I was riding my bicycle the other day taking pictures, talking on the phone and sending and receiving texts without ever taking my hands off the handle bars. All this is possible because I was wearing a pair of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, which is the second generation of glasses from the partnership of the dominant players in both eye-wear and social media. Ray-Ban is owned by EssilorLuxottica, which is, by far, the world’s biggest eye-wear maker.Related ArticlesBusiness | Larry Magid: 2023 has been a tumultuous year for tech Business | Magid: Turning ordinary small appliances into smart ones Business | Magid: Using a personal computer to read and send texts Business | Larry Magid: Using ChatGPT for holiday gift ideas and cards My glasses were provided to me by Meta, which is a supporter of ConnectSafely, the nonprofit internet safety organization where I serve as CEO. I have a prescription pair, whose price depend...

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists successfully replicate historic nuclear fusion breakthrough three times

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

By Laura Paddison | CNNScientists in California shooting nearly 200 lasers at a cylinder holding a fuel capsule the size of a peppercorn have taken another step in the quest for fusion energy, which, if mastered, could provide the world with a near-limitless source of clean power.Last year on a December morning, scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (LLNL) managed, in a world first, to produce a nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than it used, in a process called “ignition.”Now they say they have successfully replicated ignition at least three times this year, according to a December report from the LLNL. This marks another significant step in what could one day be an important solution to the global climate crisis, driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.RELATED: How Livermore scientists produced fusion breakthrough by recreating the power of the sunFor decades, scientists have attempted to ha...

California’s consumer savings cut in half during pandemic

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

Buzz: The typical Californian saved roughly half as much in 2022 than they did in pre-pandemic 2019.Source: My trusty spreadsheet created a measurement of savings by looking at 2022’s gap between per capita data on incomes (after taxes) and consumer spending in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The tally by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis is a broad tracking of consumer cash flows, including many sources of income (wages, investments and government benefits) and various expenses (from housing to groceries to services to big-ticket consumer goods).ToplineWhy do consumers seem grumpy? Look what’s left over after all the bills are paid.In California, per-capita incomes were $2,861 more than spending per person in 2022. That “savings” ranked No. 29 of the states and was 19% below the US rate.The biggest savings were found in South Dakota at $12,644, Wyoming at $10,925 and North Dakota at $10,708. California rival Texas was No. 10 at $6,652. A rebound in energy industries certai...

Winter solstice: The shortest day and longest night of the year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

By Forrest Brown | CNNSince the summer solstice back in June, the days have grown shorter and the nights have grown longer in the Northern Hemisphere. But that’s about to reverse itself.Winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the official first day of winter, is on Thursday, December 21, this year (well, for the vast bulk of the Americas anyway). How the solstices — along with the spring and fall equinoxes — work has fascinated people for thousands of years.It’s a day when science intermixes with ancient traditions around the world.Solstices and Earth’s hemispheresThe winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun appears at its most southerly position, directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn.The situation is the reverse in the Southern Hemisphere, where only about 10% of the world’s population lives.There, the December solstice marks the longest day of the year – and the beginning of summer – in place...

Warriors’ trade of Jordan Poole ‘tore something out of his heart,’ former coach says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

Jordan Poole has hardly spoken of The Punch, but someone who knows him well believes the former Warrior is still struggling with the fallout.Jim Gosz, who coached Poole in high school and remains in regular contact with him, also said being traded by the Warriors rocked the 24-year-old.“When Jordan left San Francisco, I think that really tore something out of his heart,” Gosz said by phone last week.As Poole prepares to lead the Washington Wizards (4-22) into Chase Center for a Friday night clash against his former team, much of the basketball world has wondered what has gone wrong for the youngster in the nation’s capital.Poole remains an enigma, someone the franchise wants to build around but someone who continues to find himself in the news for unflattering incidents. Among them: forgetting that the game clock starts on an inbounds pass; disengaging from a team huddle while Coach Wes Unseld Jr. drew up a play; showboating on a layup that then was blocked; or most recently, commit...

Bay Area restaurateur opens his latest Italian place, Locanda Capri, in Brentwood

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

Enzo Rosano’s Italian restaurants with the picture-postcard names dot the Bay Area. There’s Locanda Positano in Lafayette, Locanda Ravello in Danville, Locanda Amalfi in Pleasanton and Locanda Sorrento in CampbellAnd now he pays tribute to the home of Grotta Azzurra, the Blue Grotto.His newest, Locanda Capri, opened Wednesday in Brentwood in a space remodeled to highlight the azure of that wondrous cave.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | 7 incredible Bay Area things to do over Christmas weekend Restaurants, Food and Drink | Dungeness crab season for California’s far north counties will open Jan. 5 Restaurants, Food and Drink | In-N-Out adds lite lemonade and Cherry Coke to its menu Restaurants, Food and Drink | Hayward’s first Chipotle opens at new apartment village Restaurants, Food and Drink | South Bay restaurants ring in 2024 with a French twist One of nine siblings...

A serial killer set Detroit on edge. Police missteps over 15 years allowed him to roam free

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The serial killer lured women one by one into vacant homes to be murdered, posing their nude or partially clothed corpses amid cheap booze pints, crumbling sheetrock and hypodermic needles.The slayings set Detroit on edge, prompting authorities to dispatch crews on overtime to scour the city’s decrepit stock of abandoned properties for more bodies. When the killer was charged in 2019, the police chief at the time told reporters that his department had been “very diligent, relentless” in solving the crimes.But now, a year after DeAngelo Martin was sent to prison for committing four murders and two rapes, it’s clear that police were hardly diligent or relentless.Over 15 years, Detroit police failed to follow up on leads or take investigative steps that may have averted the eventual killing spree, despite having received repeated warnings that Martin was a violent predator, an Associated Press investigation has found.“It’s astonishing,” said Jim Trainum, a retired Washin...

Pruebas de ADN permiten identificar restos humanos vinculados al “asesino de Green River”

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

(CNN)– Durante casi 40 años, un conjunto de restos humanos descubiertos cerca de Seattle en 1985 fueron conocidos por los investigadores solo como Huesos 17. Y fue 17 años después que la policía confirmó que los restos pertenecían a una víctima del llamado “asesino de Green River”, pero aún no sabían el nombre de la víctima.Hasta esta semana.Las autoridades del condado de King anunciaron este martes que identificaron los restos como pertenecientes a Lori Anne Razpotnik, una adolescente que se escapó de la casa de su familia en el condado de Lewis, al sur de Seattle, en 1982. Esa fue la última vez que su familia la vio con vida.Los restos de Razpotnik fueron encontrados en diciembre de 1985 cerca de un segundo conjunto de restos – conocido como Huesos 16 – en la ciudad de Auburn después de que la policía fuera llamada para investigar un automóvil que cayó sobre un terraplén, dijo la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de King en un comunicado de prensa.Se llamó al grupo de trabajo ...

A person who shot and killed people in downtown Prague is dead, the Czech interior minister says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — A person who shot and killed people in downtown Prague is dead, the Czech interior minister says.Source

Today in Sports – Messi scores 644th goal for Barcelona, breaks Pele’s record most goals with 1 club

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:45 GMT

Dec. 221894 — The United States Golf Association is founded, becoming the governing body for the game in the country.1915 — The Federal League folds. Owners of the American and National Leagues buy out half of the owners (Pittsburgh, Newark, Buffalo, and Brooklyn) of the Federal League teams. Phil Ball, owner of the St. Louis Terriers, is allowed to buy the St. Louis Browns of the AL, and Charles Weeghman, owner of the Chicago Whales, buys out the Chicago Cubs of the NL.1924 — Babe Dye of the Toronto St. Patricks scores five goals in a 10-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.1946 — The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees 14-9 in the first AAFC championship game.1969 — Pete Maravich sets an NCAA record by hitting 30 of 31 foul shots, and scores 46 points to lead LSU to a 98-89 victory over Georgia.1974 — Boston’s Phil Esposito scores two goals, including his 500th goal, to lead the Bruins to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Boston Garden.1990 — Paul Coffey becomes the secon...