TLDR 2020-11-16

SpaceX launches NASA crew πŸš€, BMW's wingsuit πŸ‘˜, giant alligator in Florida 🐊

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Big Tech & Startups

SpaceX successfully launches second crew to space on first operational mission (4 minute read)

SpaceX has successfully launched a second crew into orbit inside its Crew Dragon spacecraft. Crew-1 was Crew Dragon's first operational mission. The Crew Dragon will automatically dock to the ISS on Monday around 11 PM ET. Despite Crew Dragon's success so far, some NASA officials are still hesitant to call the ship fully operational. According to a government audit, a seat on the Crew Dragon is roughly $55 million. The ISS will soon have seven members living on board for the first time.

China's Xi Jinping personally halted Ant's record-breaking $37 billion IPO after boss Jack Ma snubbed government leaders, report says (2 minute read)

President Xi Jinping halted Ant Group's initial public offering after Jack Ma criticized government leaders. The listing was expected to be the largest in history, but new lending rules led to the offering being suspended. Big private businesses that rack up wealth and power in the country are seen as a challenge to authority. Ma had criticized global banking rules and had wanted to use innovation to help solve China's financial problems. Xi and other government officials were enraged by Ma's comments and suspended the IPO on November 3. Ant Group had already secured over $3 trillion in orders from investors at the time.
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Science & Futuristic Technology

Scientists Grow Bigger Monkey Brains Using Human Genes, Replicating Evolution (3 minute read)

Scientists from Germany and Japan recently published a study detailing an experiment where they inserted a specific human gene into monkey fetuses to make their brains bigger. The insertion of the gene resulted in folding of the brain, an increase in the size of the monkeys' neocortex, an increase in the number of cells that produce neurons, and an increase in the number of upper-layer neurons. Due to ethical reasons, the fetuses were removed through C-section after 100 days of growth.

BMW Made the World’s First Electrified Wingsuit. It Reached 186 MPH on Its First Flight (3 minute read)

BMW has developed an electric wingsuit capable of soaring through the sky at speeds of up to 186 mph. Professional skydiver and BASE jumper Peter Salzmann, who was part of the development process, completed the maiden flight over the mountains of Austria after being dropped at 10,000 feet by a helicopter. The e-wingsuit is powered by a chest-mounted rig that can produce thrust for up to five minutes. A 2-minute video of the maiden flight is available in the article, along with a small selection of photos.
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Programming, Design & Data Science

k0s - Zero Friction Kubernetes (GitHub Repo)

k0s is a single binary Kubernetes distribution that can make building a Kubernetes cluster just a matter of copying an executable to every host and running it. It provides a robust and versatile base for running Kubernetes in various setups, while attempting to minimize the number of add-ons bundled in. k0s is not yet 100% stable, with the team aiming for a 1.0.0 release out in early 2021.

usernames (GitHub Repo)

GitHub prohibits account name squatting. Inactive accounts can be removed or renamed without notice. This script generates a list of inactive accounts on GitHub with rare usernames so people can try to claim what they like. Pre-scraped lists are available. Not all GitHub activity is publicly available, so the usernames generated might still be technically active even if they appear to be inactive.
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Miscellaneous

After losing $38676+ as an Indie Hacker. I can't do it anymore. I quit. (2 minute read)

Not all companies work out. While we hear stories about developers becoming successful after creating a product from home, many more fail. It can sound easy to create something, find 10-20 clients, and then grow a business from there, but the reality can be much harder than that, especially when dealing with anxiety. Many developers will sacrifice a lifestyle or income for their startups, which can add to the losses when they decide to finally give up.

A Giant Gator Invaded a Florida Golf Course During Hurricane Eta (2 minute read)

A video of a massive alligator went viral on Twitter after it went for a walk on a golf course during hurricane Eta. The 12-second video is available in the article. While the exact size of the gator can't be determined from the videos, the largest gator on record in Florida is 14 feet, 3-1/2 inches long. It is unusual to see gators roaming during a storm as they tend to hunker down as storms move in. Golf courses are favorable habitats for gators as they provide ample amounts of water and there is prey such as birds and fish.
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