The latest news, analysis, and opinions from Dan Benjamin.

Links:

• Google develops an AI that can learn both chess and Pac-Man | Ars Technica
• Trump admin. agrees to pay Pfizer $1.95B for 100M more vaccine doses | Ars Technica
• Coronavirus can affect the brain because its 'spike' protein is capable of crossing blood barrier | Daily Mail Online
• Universal Japan Shares an Official Map of Super Nintendo World
• Five Reasons Why You Might Want to Consider AirPods Max - MacRumors
• Square Is Said to Have Discussed Acquiring Jay-Z’s Tidal - Bloomberg

Mink.

Links:

• Nasa's Mars rover and the 'seven minutes of terror' - BBC News
• Elon Musk says Apple's boss snubbed takeover deal - BBC News
• Covid: Denmark to dig up millions of mink culled over virus - BBC News
• Twitter @POTUS Account Will Reset Followers to Zero for Joe Biden - Bloomberg
• US Congress passes COVID-19 stimulus bill that would make illegal streaming a felony | NME
• Zoom may launch an email service and calendar app to compete with Google and Microsoft - The Verge

News and opinion.

Links:

• Database containing personal information of over 270,000 Ledger customers released on RaidForums - The Block
• Ursid meteor shower to peak this week: What to know | Fox News
• Covid: Flights shut down as EU discusses UK virus threat - BBC News
• New coronavirus variant: What do we know? - BBC News

The news, and I explain how I recovered from debilitating back issues.

Links:

• Willem Dafoe Green Goblin 'Spider-Man 3' Casting Rumor | HYPEBEAST
• Electoral College makes it official: Biden won, Trump lost
• Attorney General William Barr resigns - CNNPolitics
• Moderna vaccine safe and effective, say US experts - BBC News
• Apple movie sale brings Star Wars and Disney films to new lows at $10, more from $1 - 9to5Toys
• SolarWinds Orion: More US government agencies hacked - BBC News
• Amazon generates millions of pounds of plastic waste - The Verge
• Wisconsin Department of Health warns against eating the 'cannibal sandwich,' a traditional holiday dish in the state - CNN
• Man climbs onto commercial jet wing at Las Vegas airport, falls and gets arrested, videos show | Fox News
• Pornhub: Now Accepting Crypto Only - Decrypt
• Twitter Will Use Amazon Web Services to Power User Feeds - Bloomberg

News and opinions from Dan Benjamin.

Links:

• Oracle is moving its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas
• Microsoft Misfit Helped Lead Company Into Game Market - WSJ
• Zodiac Killer: Code-breakers solve San Francisco killer's cipher - BBC News
• Astrophysicist Ron Mallett Believes He has Found A Way To Build A Time Machine - Infinity Explorers
• Apple’s iPhone has an aggravating text notifications bug - The Verge
• George Clooney was hospitalized after losing weight for his role in 'The Midnight Sky' | Fox News
• Geminid Meteor Shower: Best Time to See and How to Watch - The New York Times
• Covid: First round of US vaccinations to begin on Monday - BBC News
• JAY-Z Is Selling $50 Hand-Rolled Joints for All You "Stoners"
• Robot - The Old Robot's Web Site
• Scripting News: The moment podcasting came into being
• Dropbox CEO Drew Houston is reportedly moving to Austin - Business Insider
• Oracle moving HQ from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas - Business Insider
• Company has a Slack for YC founders that moved to Austin - Business Insider
• Elon Musk confirms move to Texas after California spat - Business Insider
• Google Tests Dark Mode for Its Desktop Web Search Page - MacRumors
• Reddit buys TikTok rival Dubsmash - The Verge
• Sinister sounds: podcasts are becoming the new medium of misinformation | Podcasting | The Guardian

News and opinions from Dan Benjamin.

Links:

• Noah Hawley is making an Alien TV series for FX and Hulu - The Verge
• Disney Plus price rise; added 5 years' subscribers in 1 year - 9to5Mac
• Disney's Marvel & 'Star Wars' Announcements Info | HYPEBEAST
• Netflix Developing 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Series | HYPEBEAST
• Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones for fifth and final episode - BBC News
• Climate change: Covid drives record emissions drop in 2020 - BBC News
• Frito-Lay lets you make dream snack pack with only your favorite potato chip flavors | Fox News
• 'Texit' test: Texas lawmaker floats referendum to secede from U.S. | Fox News
• The Fantastic Four will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an upcoming movie directed by Jon Watts - The Verge
• Black Widow will remain a theatrical exclusive, despite industry shifts - The Verge
• Apple Not Expecting Most Corporate Staff to Return to Offices Until June 2021 - MacRumors
• ISU study indicates diet may help reduce cognitive decline
• Plop Plop Stamper: interestingasfuck

News and opinions from Dan Benjamin to you!

Links:

• Spider-Man 3: Daredevil Star Charlie Cox Reportedly Joins Cast
• Hyundai to acquire Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B — Hyundai Motor will acquire Boston Dynamics. The acquisition will be finalized at Hyundai’s December 10 board meeting. News about the deal was first reported by The Korea Economic Daily, which said the deal is for $921 million (1 trillion won). The Robot Report has also confirmed the news with a source familiar with the deal. The source said the acquisition is for about $1 billion.
• Cloudflare’s privacy-first Web Analytics is now available for everyone
• (2) Lorenz Rhode - How to Talkbox - YouTube
• SpaceX Starship Test Flight Blows Up on Landing in Texas
• Supporting the 2020 U.S. election
• China Is Nintendo’s Secret Weapon in War With PlayStation, Xbox - Bloomberg
• adidas Originals Stan Smith “Gremlins”: Official Release Info
• Why 'preppers' are going mainstream - BBC News

News and opinion from Dan Benjamin.

Links:

• 'Spider-Man 3': Alfred Molina Returning as Doctor Octopus | Hollywood Reporter
• The new Ford Bronco is delayed because of Covid - CNN — Fans eager for the return of Ford's full-size Bronco SUV will have to wait a little longer.
• UFO sighting of ‘alien spaceship’ aboard ISS turned out to be Russian urine | The Independent
• Hey pendejo it’s a miracle on 34th street : funny
• Why 5 minute crafts need to be stopped pt.69 : WTF
• MCU's Spider-Man 3 Reportedly Bringing Back Andrew Garfield For Spider-Verse
• Howard Stern, SiriusXM Renew for Five Years - Variety
• King Seiko 1965 Watch 140th Anniversary Edition | HYPEBEAST
• Ford Maverick compact pickup uncovered in new photos | Fox News
• 14 Podcast Predictions for 2021 from Industry Leaders | by Steve Pratt | Dec, 2020 | Pacific Content
• Allergy warning for Covid-19 vaccine after two UK health workers suffer reaction - CNN
• Former Israeli space security chief says extraterrestrials exist, and Trump knows about it — Eshed added that President Donald Trump was aware of the extraterrestrials' existence and had been "on the verge of revealing" information but was asked not to in order to prevent "mass hysteria."

News and opinion from Dan Benjamin.

Links:

• Aliens in hiding until mankind is ready: Ex-Israeli space head
• Celebrities Like Cardi B Could Turn OnlyFans Into a Billion-Dollar Media Company - Bloomberg
• Apple's Matte Black "Light-Absorbing" Laptop Sounds Sexy AF
• Massive goldfish discovered in South Carolina lake: 'This might be... Methuselah' | Fox News
• Georgia Dunkin' employee stabbed by customer upset that chain ran out of doughnut flavor: police | Fox News
• Adobe Lightroom is now optimized for Apple Silicon Macs - 9to5Mac
• Cloudflare and Apple design a new privacy-friendly internet protocol | TechCrunch
• Apple introduces AirPods Max, the magic of AirPods in a stunning over-ear design - Apple
• 'Dune's Legendary Entertainment to Sue Warner Bros. | HYPEBEAST
• Mt Everest grows by nearly a metre to new height - BBC News
• Report: Apple planning ‘half-sized’ Mac Pro with 32 high-performance cores

The news and opinions from Dan Benjamin.

Links:

• Monolith found in Isle Of Wight after mysteriously appearing in Utah, California and Romania | Evening Standard
• 'Sonic attacks' suffered by US diplomats likely caused by microwave energy, government study says - CNN
• Dick King-Smith HQ on Twitter: "Please enjoy these ducks changing their minds. https://t.co/v1jvCTNMmK" / Twitter
• California man punches 350-pound bear in face to save beloved dog 'Buddy' | Fox News
• The Crown: Netflix has 'no plans' for fiction warning - BBC News
• Woman with coronavirus eats super-spicy meal after losing sense of taste, documents body's 'weirdest' reaction | Fox News
• Peter Jackson Remastered Lord of Rings to Fix Visual Inconsistencies | IndieWire
• Hayabusa-2: Japan asteroid sample lands safely on Earth - BBC News
• Police Will Pilot a Program to Live-Stream Amazon Ring Cameras | Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Apple (AAPL) Preps Next Mac Chips With Aim to Outclass Highest-End PCs - Bloomberg
• (1) Brian Roemmele on Twitter: "Instant structure. Done. https://t.co/IqHU75Wp03" / Twitter
• (2) Jack Stargazer - 3/2/1998 - In like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb - YouTube
• SETI Astronomer Bets You a Cup of Coffee that We Find Aliens by 2036 - The Debrief — Thanks Brianne.