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Warning: SPOILER for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 9 - "weJ Duj (Three Ships)".

Captain Kirk's infamous opening scene in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is parodied by Star Trek: Lower Decks with Ensign D'Vana Tendi and Dr. T'Ana potentially finishing the one mission Kirk never did. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 9, "weJ Duj (Three Ships)," the Lower Deckers aboard the USS Cerritos pair up with a "bridge buddy" for some rest and recreation during a long-haul warp flight. Tendi and T'Ana decide to recreate Kirk's Yosemite vacation gone wrong in Star Trek 5.

The William Shatner-directed Star Trek V ranks as least-loved of the movies starring the cast of Star Trek: The Orignal Series and scenes like Kirk at Yosemite National Park are partly why. After a prologue introduces Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), the half-brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the action turns to Kirk climbing El Capitan at Yosemite. The Captain's ascent is interrupted by Spock, who is wearing a pair of hover boots that allow him to fly. Kirk is so distracted by Spock that he loses his footing and ends up plummeting off the mountain. Of course, Spock saves his best friend. Kirk and Spock later join Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) around the campfire later that night to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat" before they are summoned back aboard the Starship Enterprise.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks, Ensign Tendi (Noël Wells) and Dr. T'Ana (Gillian Vigman) climb El Capitan together in a holodeck simulation of Yosemite National Park and they are interrupted by Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), who wears hover boots like Spock and the same "Go climb a rock" sweatshirt that Kirk is wearing aboard the bridge of the Enterprise in Star Trek V. In Lower Decks, Boimler's flying footwear malfunctions and he plummets hundreds of feet, although Bradward's life is saved by tree branches. Meanwhile, it's implied that the Orion Ensign and the Caitian Starfleet doctor finished their climb because they weren't far from El Capitan's summit and they weren't particularly concerned about Boimer since they assumed the holodeck's safety protocols were on. If Tendi and T'Ana did make it to the top of El Capitan, then they finished the climb Kirk never did.

Star Trek V never made it clear whether Kirk ever actually made it to the top of El Capitan. At the end of Star Trek V, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy returned to Yosemite to resume their shore leave, but the film ends with the Enterprise trio once again singing "Row Row Row Your Boat" around the campfire. It's possible that Kirk didn't go back to climb that giant rock, especially since Bones was furious that Kirk nearly died the first time he tried it. Not that Kirk always heeds his doctor's advice, but the captain of the Enterprise could have just settled for enjoying camping on terra firma with his best friends instead of risking his life ascending El Capitan once again.

Despite Star Trek V's less than stellar reputation among Trekkers, William Shatner's The Final Frontier continues to have an indelible influence on Star Trek and there's a reason why Lower Decks loves to reference it. Star Trek V has its flaws but at the core of the film is the reaffirmation of the friendship between Kirk, Spock, and Bones. Sybok tests the bond of the Enterprise trio but they emerged from their encounter with "God" as steadfast as ever.

Similarly, Star Trek: Lower Decks is a testament to the friendship of the Cerritos' junior officers, Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawney Newsome), Boimler, Tendi, and Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). The weird aspects of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier are natural fodder for Star Trek: Lower Decks' comedy, which celebrates everything strange but wonderful about being in Starfleet. Star Trek: Lower Decks also reveres Kirk and Spock, and the Captain of the Enterprise might be amused that his climbing El Capitan is now mimicked by others in Starfleet, even if they get to finish the ascent Kirk didn't.

Star Trek: Lower Decks streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Let’s be really generous to Facebook and assume that 50% of what Frances Haugen just testified to before Congress was misconstrued in some way.

Regardless, Facebook will argue their case (as they always do), deny everything (as they always do) and claim that no one really understands them (as they always do). Everyone will view whatever they say with extreme skepticism, and nothing will change.

Maybe Facebook doesn’t care. Maybe the possibility of a repeal of their liability protection from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the threat of antitrust prosecutions, the implementation of a U.S. privacy framework akin to what exists in Europe and the inability to get Washington to authorize Libra (Facebook’s digital payment system) all don’t matter.

Facebook is rich and powerful. They may think they can handle anything that comes their way. But the United States government and the media combined are a lot more powerful. And that’s why Facebook needs to change their strategy on just about everything related to politics, regulation and media.

While Facebook’s lawyers and lobbyists dig in for the next phase of an epic, costly confrontation, they should instead be charting an alternative course of humility, introspection and transparency as their best and only strategy for sustaining growth.

What does this look like? Well, it starts with an apology.

It’s incredible that someone as smart as Mark Zuckerberg can have so much difficulty expressing genuine contrition when it’s called for. Not every mistake will obligate the CEO to drag himself over the coals. But right now? He’s got to change his posture and start accepting responsibility and then actually implement real change.

For example, take Haugen’s testimony about an internal study finding that Instagram has a negative impact on teenage girls’ mental health.

That’s a problem Facebook has to own. They should want to own it. Because even if the federal government is unlikely to step in and censor Instagram, parents probably will. As much as my wife and I try to let our teenage daughter make her own decisions, the more we know about Instagram, the more convinced we are that its negative effects vastly outweigh any useful purpose it serves in her life. And we’re not alone. At some point soon, we could be the majority.

Second, it’s time for Facebook to be a lot more straightforward about its underlying business model. Consumers aren’t stupid; we know we don’t get something for nothing. So rather than pretend they don’t monetize people’s data in every way possible, Facebook should just be honest about it.

“If you want to keep using Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp for free, we’re going to sell ads based on your data.” And then give the public an alternative: “If you want your data protected, then you have to pay the platform a monthly fee to make up for the lost revenue.” People may not like that at first, but they’ll understand it and they’ll appreciate being treated like adults.

Third, Facebook needs to admit the truth about content moderation: “We thought we knew better than everyone else about everything; we dug in when we should have been honestly examining and changing our practices and policies. We’re genuinely, truly sorry for it. We’re willing to change.”

Some of that may mean sharing oversight responsibilities with third parties like regulators and academics. It probably means eliminating some content that generates clicks and ad revenue. It may even mean removing some of the top executives responsible for doggedly implementing the deny-reality strategy over the past 10 years. Of course, that will hurt. They still need to do it.

Finally, if Facebook is going to engage in federal legislation around issues like privacy restrictions, new antitrust standards or the repeal of Section 230, they should stop trying to outsmart and outspend everyone.

Instead, Facebook should engage with their critics — in both parties and in both chambers of Congress — to work toward a solution that embraces the ideals of existing privacy frameworks like Europe’s GDPR and California’s CCPA and recognizes that having full immunity from anything said on your platform has to change. Be part of the change, not the roadblock to it.

This isn’t China. Our government won’t just one day outlaw Facebook or Instagram. But that doesn’t mean Facebook won’t be subjected to new laws, regulations, standards and social norms.

Facebook has alienated the media. They’ve lost the progressives. They’ve lost the conservatives. They’ve infuriated the center. And even if revenue keeps growing, they’ve lost the faith and trust of the public, too.

Executives may worry that once the legislative flywheel starts turning, it will never stop. But we’re way beyond that point. If Facebook doesn’t start expressing remorse, accountability and openness to change, they’re at risk of losing everything else they’ve built, too.

 

Reuters – Pfizer Inc said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people, battered the world’s economy and upended daily life.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to release successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek U.S. authorization this month for emergency use of the vaccine.
Health experts said Pfizer‘s results were positive for all COVID-19 vaccines currently in development since they show the shots are going after the right target and are a proof of concept that the disease can be halted with vaccination.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer‘s chairman and chief executive, said.
“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.”

If Pfizer‘s vaccine is authorized, the number of doses will initially be limited and many questions remain, including how long the vaccine will provide protection.
BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Reuters he was optimistic the immunisation effect of the vaccine would last for a year although that was not certain yet.

“This news made me smile from ear to ear. It is a relief to see such positive results on this vaccine and bodes well for COVID-19 vaccines in general,” said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford.
 
MARKETS SURGE
The prospect of a vaccine electrified world markets with S&P 500 futures hitting a record high and tourism and travel shares surging. Pfizer shares were indicated 14.2% higher in pre-market trading in New York, while BioNTech’s stock was up nearly 23% in Frankfurt.
“Light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s just hope the vaccine deniers won’t get in the way, but 2021 just got a lot brighter,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com
Shares of other vaccine developers in the final stage of testing also rose with Johnson & Johnson up 4% in pre-market trading and Moderna 7.4% stronger. Britain’s AstraZeneca was down 0.5%.
“The efficacy data are really impressive. This is better than most of us anticipated,” said William Schaffner, infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. “The study isn’t completed yet, but nonetheless the data look very solid.”
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the test results, and the market boost: “STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!” he said on Twitter.
President-elect Joe Biden said the news was excellent but did not change the fact that face masks, social distancing and other health measures would be needed well into next year.
 
1.3 BILLION DOSES
Pfizer expects to seek broad U.S. authorization for emergency use of the vaccine for people aged 16 to 85. To do so, it will need two months of safety data from about half the study’s 44,000 participants, which is expected late this month.
“I’m near ecstatic,” Bill Gruber, one of Pfizer‘s top vaccine scientists, said in an interview. “This is a great day for public health and for the potential to get us all out of the circumstances we’re now in.”
Pfizer and BioNTech have a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million vaccine doses beginning this year. They have also reached supply agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.
To save time, the companies began manufacturing the vaccine before they knew whether it would be effective. They now expect to produce up to 50 million doses, or enough to protect 25 million people this year.
Pfizer said it expects to produce up to 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021.
The U.S. pharmaceutical giant said the interim analysis was conducted after 94 participants in the trial developed COVID-19, examining how many of them had received the vaccine versus a placebo.
The company did not break down exactly how many of those who fell ill received the vaccine. Still, over 90% effectiveness implies that no more than 8 of the 94 people who caught COVID-19 had been given the vaccine, which was administered in two shots about three weeks apart.
The efficacy rate is well above the 50% effectiveness required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a coronavirus vaccine.
 
MORE DATA NEEDED
To confirm the efficacy rate, Pfizer said it would continue the trial until there are 164 COVID-19 cases among participants. Bourla told CNBC on Monday that based on rising infection rates, the trial could be completed before the end of November.
The data have yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. Pfizer said it would do so once it has results from the entire trial.
“These are interesting first signals, but again they are only communicated in press releases,” said Marylyn Addo, head of tropical medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany.
“Primary data are not yet available and a peer-reviewed publication is still pending. We still have to wait for the exact data before we can make a final assessment.”
The global race for a vaccine has seen wealthier countries forge multibillion-dollar supply deals with drugmakers like Pfizer, AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson, raising questions over when middle income and poorer nations will get access to inoculations.
The U.S. quest for a vaccine has been the Trump administration’s central response to the pandemic. The United States has the world’s highest known number of COVID-19 cases and deaths with more than 10 million infections and over 237,000 fatalities.
Trump repeatedly assured the public that his administration would likely identify a successful vaccine in time for the presidential election, held last Tuesday. On Saturday, Democratic rival Biden was declared the winner.
 
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Vaccines are seen as essential tools to help end the health crisis that has shuttered businesses and left millions out of work. Millions of children whose schools were closed in March remain in remote learning programs.
Dozens of drugmakers and research groups around the globe have been racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19, which on Sunday exceeded 50 million infections since the new coronavirus first emerged late last year in China.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which relies on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks, and produced at scale more rapidly than conventional vaccines.
Moderna Inc, whose vaccine candidate employs similar technology, is expected to report results from its large-scale trial later this month.
The mRNA technology is designed to trigger an immune response without using pathogens, such as actual virus particles.
Pfizer alone will not have the capacity to immediately provide enough vaccines for the United States. The Trump administration has said it will have enough supply for all of the 330 million U.S. residents who wish to be vaccinated by the middle of 2021.
The U.S. government has said the vaccines will be provided free to Americans, including the insured, uninsured and those in government health programs such as Medicare.

Source:Reuters

 

image credit:Netflix

Netflix is today officially launching a new feature for its Android users that will make it easier to find something to watch when you can’t make a decision. The feature, called “Play Something,” is a shuffle mode option that will play another movie or show Netflix believes you may like, based on your interests and your prior viewing behavior.

These selections may include a movie or show you’re already watching but haven’t completed, a movie or show on your watch list or a brand-new series or film that Netflix’s personalization algorithms suggest, among other things.

The feature had been in development for some time before its public release. Last year, for example, Netflix was testing it as “Shuffle Play.” And in its Q4 2020 earnings, Netflix said it would roll out its shuffle mode to users worldwide during the first half of 2021, describing it as a way to “instantly watch a title” that was chosen just for the user.

That rollout schedule was partially realized.

“Play Something,” as the feature was rebranded to, officially launched to worldwide users on Netflix’s TV app back in April. Here, the option can be found in several places, including on the profile selection screen underneath your profile name, on the navigation menu to the left of your screen and on the tenth row on your Netflix homepage — a location that’s meant to appear right at the point where you’re beginning to get frustrated with browsing and may have otherwise exited the app. In addition, Netflix users with screen-readers could also use Text-to-Speech (TTS) to use “Play Something.”

 Apple's newsroom and leadership pages are both currently experiencing some errors, leading to the appearance of some changes to Apple's leadership.

 Robert Pattinson's Batman is a badass, says The Batman star Jeffery Wright. The upcoming DC Extended Universe film from director Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) is the first to feature Pattinson's version of the iconic superhero. After suffering from pandemic-related delays that caused principal photography to take a year, The Batman will release on March 4, 2022.

The coveted role of Bruce Wayne had been solely occupied in the DCEU by Ben Affleck, who was originally set to not only star in The Batman, but write and direct as well. When Reeves took over, he expressed a desire to explore a younger version of the character, and Affleck left the project in early 2019. Pattinson's casting was somewhat of a surprise, since he had largely avoided blockbuster roles after his experience on the Twilight films, becoming known in the meantime as a highly acclaimed, versatile performer in the indie scene.

In an interview with ET, Wright, who plays Gotham PD's James Gordon in The Batman, gives the English actor's version of the Dark Knight his seal of approval. He describes Pattinson's personal performance style as meshing well with Reeves' directorial vision, which should make for a quality final product. Wright also says he thoroughly enjoyed their time on screen together:

"Robert is gonna do his thing, and we were working within a Matt Reeves vision, so you know, Robert is doing what Robert does and it's gonna be pretty badass I think. [...] I loved working with him, I love his take and his energy and the way that he kind of brought different levels to different parts of the story. And we work off of one another".

Rocking chair refinishing is a great way to give new life to an old piece of furniture. The most common type of wood used in American furniture is oak and maple. Rockers are also available in cherry, pine, maple, and cedar. Do your research before leaving the store. You want to find a style that will look good in your home and match your needs.

After choosing the right style, you need to decide if you will refinish it yourself or pay someone else. Either option has its pros and cons.

When you choose to refinish the chair yourself, you have complete control over how it turns out. You can make it exactly as you want and there won’t be any surprises when you get it back. The downside is that the process can be time-consuming and tedious.

If you hire someone to refinish your chair, they will do the work for you. This is one of the most accessible options when choosing how to refinish a rocking chair. The downside is that you don’t know exactly how the finished product will look.

Step 1: Prepare The Rocking Chair

Before refinishing your rocking chair, make sure it’s clean and free of dirt or other damage. Repair any broken pieces if needed. If you break the piece down into different components, remove all parts, including arms, seats, backs, etc.

Step 2: Sanding the Rocking Chair

Depending on how you want your finished rocking chair to look, sand it. If you are painting the rocker, then sand it down to bare wood so the paint will stick. If you are not painting it, use fine-grit sandpaper to smooth out any surface scratches. After sanding it down, use a tack cloth to remove any dust.

Step 3: Waxing the Rocking Chair

After sanding or completely stripping your rocker, you can apply wax. This will help smooth out any rough patches and give the wood a nice shine. Use an electric sander with 120-grit paper to strip the chair if you are not satisfied with the results from sanding. Use a tack cloth to remove any dust particles before beginning this process.

Once you have stripped the chair, use auto wax and a clean cloth to apply the wax in a circular motion. Scuff up surfaces with fine-grit sandpaper if they appear shiny or smooth. This will give the wax something to grip.

Step 4: Apply Stain To Rocking Chair

When you are ready to apply stain, make sure that your work area is well-ventilated and free of anything that could be affected by paint or sealant. Make sure your clothes are clean before applying stains, too. Wipe the stain on and wipe it off immediately. Repeat this process several times to get the desired look.

Step 5: Apply a Clear Coat

When you are satisfied with the appearance of your rocker, apply a clear coat and buff it out to shine and protect the finish. You can also take this time to refinish or repair any nicks, scratches, or other damage.

What are your thoughts about this article? Leave your comments below. Don’t forget to share it with your friends by clicking one of the social media icons below.

The post How To Refinish a Kids’ Rocking Chair appeared first on Comfy Bummy.

 In May, Google announced plans to enable two-factor authentication (or two-step verification as it’s referring to the setup) by default to enable more security for many accounts. Now it’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Google is once again reminding us of that plan, saying in a blog post that it will enable two-factor for 150 million more accounts by the end of this year.

In 2018, Google said that only 10 percent of its active accounts were using two-factor authentication. It has been pushing, prodding, and encouraging people to enable the setting ever since. Another prong of the effort will require more than 2 million YouTube creators to turn on two-factor authentication to protect their channels from takeover. Google says it has partnered with organizations to give away more than 10,000 hardware security keys every year. Its push for two-factor has made the technology readily available on your phone whether you use Android or iPhone.

A tool that also helps users keep their accounts secure is using a password manager, and Google now says that it checks over a billion passwords a day via its built-in manager for Chrome, Android, and the Google app. The password manager is also available on iOS, where Chrome can autofill logins for other apps. Google says that soon it will help you generate passwords for other apps, making things even more straightforward. Also coming soon is the ability to see all of your saved passwords directly from the Google app menu.

Last but not least, Google is highlighting its Inactive Account Manager. This is a set of decisions to make about what happens to your account if you decide to stop using it or are no longer around and able to make those decisions.

Google added the feature in 2013 so that you can set a timeout period for your account between three and 18 months of disuse before the Inactive Account Manager protocols take effect. Just in case you only switched accounts or forgot about your login, Google will send an email a month before the limit is up. At that point, you can choose to have your information deleted or have it forwarded to whatever trusted contacts you want to have handling things on your behalf. Google’s blog post notes that an inactive account led to the massive Colonial Pipeline attack earlier this year, and just for security’s sake, you probably don’t want your digital life simply hanging around unused for whatever hackers are bored in the future

 The pauses come amid reports of possible rare side effects from the Moderna jab, including heart inflammation.

Swedish health agency says it will pause using Moderna for people born in 1991 and after data pointed to an increase of myocarditis and pericarditis among youths and young adults who had been vaccinated [Rogelio V Solis/AP Photo]

Sweden and Denmark have said they will pause the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for younger age groups after reports of possible rare side effects, such as myocarditis.

The Swedish health agency said on Wednesday it would pause using the shot for people born in 1991 and after as data pointed to an increase of myocarditis and pericarditis among youths and young adults that had been vaccinated. Those conditions involve an inflammation of the heart or its lining.

“The connection is especially clear when it comes to Moderna’s vaccine Spikevax, especially after the second dose,” the health agency said in a statement, adding the risk of being affected was very small.

Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, said the health agency would continue to “follow the situation closely and act quickly to ensure that vaccinations against COVID-19 are always as safe as possible and at the same time provide effective protection” against the disease.

In Denmark, people under the age of 18 will not be offered the Moderna vaccine out of precaution, the Danish Health Authority said on Wednesday.