Flashpoint wasn’t originally going to be a reboot

It’s been stated that Flashpoint wasn’t originally going to be a reboot, and it’s been stated that Dan Didio has wanted to do a reboot as far back as Infinite Crisis. (I think that plan ended up morphing into “One Year Later” and 52.)

I have no idea whether Final Crisis was at some point planned to be a reboot or not, though.

Facebook opposes the practice of prospective employers asking for your password. “As a user,…

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/03/23/1623255/facebook-legal-action-against-employers-asking-for-your-password

Facebook opposes the practice of prospective employers asking for your password.

“As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job. And as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job.”

On Facebook

Constantly astonished at how slow Facebook’s Android app is. If I can’t load the news feed while waiting for an elevator, something’s wrong.

I’m constantly astonished at how slow Facebook’s Android app is. If it can’t load my news feed while *waiting for an elevator*, something’s wrong with it. (And that’s when GPS is off. If GPS is on, it sits even longer trying to figure out where I am, even though it doesn’t actually need the location info.)

Google+ and UberSocial (a third-party Twitter app) are both a lot faster to load content, AND they can both sync in the background, so there’s at least something for me to read more or less instantly. Facebook does have a “refresh interval,” but as near as I can tell it doesn’t do anything, or maybe it’s the interval for checking notifications.

/rant

Mitochondrial Eve

Comment in response to The 10 Most Successful Failures in Geekdom

Apologies in advance for the nitpicking, but this is one of those things that Just Bugs Me(tm), and it seems to come up every time the BSG finale is mentioned.

The “Mitochondrial Eve” concept doesn’t mean everyone else died out. It’s finding a common ancestor based on the fact that we only inherit mitochondria from our mothers.

Start with two families. One has all girls, or a mix of girls and boys. The other has all boys. The mother who has girls? Her grandchildren will inherit her mitochondria. The mother who has all boys? Her mitochondrial line will disappear, even if she has more grandchildren than the first.

One character being Mitochondrial Eve doesn’t mean every other family died out. It just means that over time, each other line had at least one generation of all boys.

I had an enjoyable day at WonderCon today, though my shoulders felt like they were going to fall off…

I had an enjoyable day at WonderCon today, though my shoulders felt like they were going to fall off since I was carrying around some rather large books. It was a good balance of autograph hunt, bargain hunt, sightseeing, costume spotting and events, with a lot going on but not too many people to move.

First batch of photos is up on Flickr.

Captain America and Bucky

Why Venus looks so much brighter than Jupiter.

Why Venus looks so much brighter than Jupiter. (This is something I don’t usually think about, but over the past month, with the two planets in the same area of the sky, I’ve really noticed it.)

Originally shared by Philip Plait (The Bad Astronomer):

Venus still blazes Jupiter, but 10 times as bright

Venus and Jupiter are still near each other in the sky, and will be for the next few days. Just go outside after sunset and face west; you can hardly miss them!

Venus is the brighter of the two by a long shot. That might seem weird; after all, Venus is about the same size as Earth, but Jupiter is over 11 times wider (and 140 times the area)! So why is Venus brighter?

Math! At least, math + geometry + science. Let me show you…

Jupiter and Venus still blaze in the west

[Image credit: Robert Blasius at fotografie.robert-blasius.de as part of Astronomers Without Borders]

Photo of last night’s closest approach between Jupiter and Venus.

Photo of last night’s closest approach between Jupiter and Venus. Jupiter is bright, but as you can see here, Venus is a lot brighter.

Edit: Apparently tonight is the closet approach. I could swear I’d read that it was Monday. Looks like I’ll be taking another photo tonight.

If you have a clear view of the western sky after sunset, go out and look sometime this weekend. Venus and Jupiter are getting really close (visually), and will reach their closest alignment on Monday.

If you have a clear view of the western sky after sunset, go out and look sometime this weekend. Venus and Jupiter are getting really close (visually), and will reach their closest alignment on Monday.

I remember when Geoff Johns wrote “Blitz” and “Ignition”

I remember when Geoff Johns wrote “Blitz” and “Ignition” in order to make the points that (a) heroes don’t need tragedy to make them great and (b) grim & gritty and decompression have their place, but aren’t the best fit for a character like the Flash.

Then a few years later he gave us Flash: Rebirth, Flashpoint, and the New 52.