South China Sea images reveal impact on coral of Beijing’s military bases | World news | The Guardian

TL;DR: China’s island-building in this region is likely causing permanent ecological damage.

“The photo of Mischief Reef is particularly disturbing,” says McManus, an expert in m​​arine b​​iology and f​​isheries at the University of Miami.

“A substantial amount of this damage is irrecoverable and irreplaceable.”

Source: South China Sea images reveal impact on coral of Beijing’s military bases | World news | The Guardian

‘Hackers’ at 20:

Wow! The 20th anniversary of Hackers is upon us. Hack the planet!

‘Hackers’ at 20:How a 20-year-old, mostly inaccurate flop predicted the future, reshaped sci-fi, and won over the real hacker community.

Source: ‘Hackers’ at 20:

Important Win for Fair Use in ‘Dancing Baby’ Lawsuit | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Have I mentioned recently that I love the EFF? Because I do.

Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that copyright holders like Universal must consider fair use before trying to remove content from the Internet.

It also rejected Universal’s claim that a victim of takedown abuse cannot vindicate her rights if she cannot show actual monetary loss.

“Today’s ruling sends a strong message that copyright law does not authorize thoughtless censorship of lawful speech,” said EFF Legal Director Corynne McSherry. “We’re pleased that the court re

Source: Important Win for Fair Use in ‘Dancing Baby’ Lawsuit | Electronic Frontier Foundation

37 rental cars – 2 days – 185,000 miles – FlyerTalk Forums

This clever member of the noteworthy travel-hacking forum FlyerTalk has posted about his recent trip to Funchal (Madeira, Portugal). TL;DR: He successfully exploited this promotion to earn 185,000 “miles”!

Interestingly, I once visited there, albeit under different circumstances.

Two weeks before my trip, Avis Funchal called me. A man explained that there had been an error in the system, and that 18 bookings had been created in my name.

I told him that there must indeed be an error, because it’s supposed to be 37. After typing a bit at his computer, he told me that this was nonsense, and that he would combine all the rentals into one. I explained about the promotion and that I would really appreciate 37 individual rentals.

He seemed to understand, but ended the conversation by saying “you will pay for this”, so it was unclear if he was onboard with it or not.

Source: 37 rental cars – 2 days – 185,000 miles – FlyerTalk Forums

Scientists have discovered why running makes you happy – The Washington Post

TL;DR: Leptin is a hormone that affects satiety and dopamine release. Researchers broke this pathway in mice and they ran a lot more because they didn’t get the dopamine from running.

In an experiment with mice, researchers compared normal mice to those that were genetically engineered to lack a leptin-sensitive protein called STAT3 that relays the leptin signal to release the reward chemical dopamine.

…the genetically engineered mice ran an extraordinary amount, nearly twice as much as the normal mice…

The new study supports previous research in humans that showed that low leptin levels are associated with exercise addiction and fast marathon times.

Source: Scientists have discovered why running makes you happy – The Washington Post