New-to-me and I LOATHE this headline. He’s collecting bricks and not hurting anybody. (This may just be an American thing; “eccentric” here can be very pejorative.) The Scotsman: Retired police sergeant shows off eccentric brick collection. “When looking for a doorstop for his garden shed almost ten years ago, retired police sergeant Mark Cranston found a white painted brick from a former colliery in Ayrshire, which inspired him to explore its historical significance. Since then, Mark has amassed a huge amount of bricks from around Scotland, England, Wales and abroad, which he stores in his garden shed in Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders.” They didn’t link to his Web site! https://www.scottishbrickhistory.co.uk/ .
manufacturing
Woodworking Network: Appalachian Partnership launches new Ohio Wood Products website
Woodworking Network: Appalachian Partnership launches new Ohio Wood Products website. “Transforming standing timber into these products and services requires a diverse group of talent, transportation, and technology. The Supply Chain Database on the site has more than 1,600 companies and 300 sawmills represented, and steadily growing. The directory’s GIS-enabled map pinpoints and connects hardwood suppliers, master loggers, craftsmen, and products.”
Gizmodo: Google Is Reportedly Farewelling China Thanks To Trump’s Trade War
Gizmodo: Google Is Reportedly Farewelling China Thanks To Trump’s Trade War. “Google is reportedly packing up most of its production in China and moving it to Vietnam to escape rising productions costs due to Trump’s escalating trade war, according to a recent report from Nikkei Asian Review.”
Phys .org: Neural networks will help manufacture carbon nanotubes
Phys .org: Neural networks will help manufacture carbon nanotubes. “Thin films made of carbon nanotubes hold a lot of promise for advanced optoelectronics, energy and medicine, however with their manufacturing process subject to close supervision and stringent standardization requirements, they are unlikely to become ubiquitous anytime soon.”
CNET: Google pledges to include recycled materials in all its consumer devices by 2022
CNET: Google pledges to include recycled materials in all its consumer devices by 2022. “Google says it’s trying to reduce its carbon footprint. The search giant on Monday outlined its sustainability efforts for its ‘Made By Google’ line of consumer hardware, which includes Pixel smartphones, Google Home smart speakers and Nest thermostats.”
Green Car Congress: New database to speed creation of innovative steels
Green Car Congress: New database to speed creation of innovative steels . “Researchers from the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) in Russia have developed a database that will help create new grades of steels. This will speed up the process of creating innovative steel grades with specified strength and ductility allow at least 10 times, which will allow manufacturing car bodies of the most complex shapes. A paper describing their work is published in the journal Calphad.”
Ars Technica: A mysterious hacker gang is on a supply-chain hacking spree
Ars Technica: A mysterious hacker gang is on a supply-chain hacking spree. “A software supply-chain attack represents one of the most insidious forms of hacking. By breaking into a developer’s network and hiding malicious code within apps and software updates that users trust, supply-chain hijackers can smuggle their malware onto hundreds of thousands—or millions—of computers in a single operation, without the slightest sign of foul play. Now what appears to be a single group of hackers has managed that trick repeatedly, going on a devastating supply-chain hacking spree—and the hackers have become more advanced and stealthy as they go.”
