The fan tipping point that could save you this summer

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Oldest known asteroid impact on Earth dated to 3 billion years

“Curtin University researchers have determined the most precise age yet for the oldest known impact crater on Earth, providing new insight into how meteorite strikes shaped the planet during its earliest history. The team from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) investigated rock formations at the North Pole Dome in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, a site long debated as an ancient asteroid impact structure. Using advanced mineral dating techniques, the researchers have now identified the clearest evidence yet that the impact occurred around 3 billion years ago.”

Your diagrams are lying to you

Most diagrams are snapshots — accurate for about 45 minutes before someone updates the spreadsheet, and your beautiful flowchart becomes organizational fiction. Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional connects directly to live data from Excel, SharePoint, and SQL Server, so your visuals update when your numbers do. Add 250,000+ shapes, BPMN/UML/IEEE-compliant templates, and a one-time lifetime license with no subscription tax, and it’s a surprisingly easy sell. [Ad]

You should turn off fans when it’s too hot — but how hot is too hot?

“With Europe in the grip of a mega heatwave and deaths already being reported, staying cool isn’t just about comfort — for many, it is a matter of life and death. Many people will be relying on fans rather than air conditioning, so it is important to be aware that, as it gets hotter, fans can flip from cooling you to warming you. But how hot is too hot? The U.K. government warns fans may not prevent heat-related illnesses above 35°C (95°F), whereas the World Health Organization says the tipping point from cooling to heating occurs at 40°C (104°F). Some studies suggest even lower or higher values. The reality is that there is no simple answer, as several factors are involved.”

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Study: It’s not being alone that hurts the brain. It’s feeling alone.

“Loneliness may be doing far more damage than most people realize. According to a new study of more than 175,000 mostly middle-aged and older adults across 18 countries, feeling lonely was more consistently linked to later cognitive problems and death than being socially isolated. The result was notable because the researchers had actually expected social isolation to play a stronger role in some analyses.”

Chrome quietly broke your ad blocker — here’s what actually works now

Earlier this year, Google finished rolling out changes that effectively neutered browser-based ad blockers — including, yes, the one you’ve been using for years. AdGuard sidesteps all of that by operating at the system level, blocking ads and trackers before they ever reach your browser. One license covers 9 devices for life, includes parental controls, and runs on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. It costs $15. Your cable bill costs more than that per week. [Ad]

Hollywood and Big Tech are preparing for war

“A barrage of seemingly unrelated headlines suggests that Hollywood and Big Tech are on a collision course and that the next few years will reshape how the world spends its free time and which platforms will dominate. As tech and AI companies push further into entertainment and media, their stewardship of that content (or lack thereof) is becoming a story unto itself. At the same time, strategic maneuvers by Amazon, YouTube, and Meta appear designed to take over the biggest screen in the home: the TV set, ultimately stealing time from legacy studios in what is effectively a zero-sum game.”

@indg0

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