Drone wingspan

April 15, 2024

What’s the wingspan of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, our military’s biggest unmanned drone? Is it A.) 50 feet, B.) 89 feet, C.) 117 feet or D.) 131 feet? (Hint: The wingspan of an F-16 is about 31 feet.)

The answer: D.) 131 feet. The RQ-4 Global Hawk began operational missions for the United States Air Force in 2001. It can go for over 34 hours at altitudes up to 60,000 feet. Managed from ground stations at Beale Air Force Base in California and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, it’s scheduled to be retired in 2027. Here’s a vid about it.

Tags: California, United States

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😨 School alarms: A 13-year-old girl accepted a friend request on TikTok from a classmate … who then grabbed a pic of her face, put it on a nude body using AI software and shared the images with groups of guys. If I had a young child, they wouldn’t be on social media until college. The NY Times (paywall link) has a great read about this epidemic.

$850 for a “Star Wars” Millennium Falcon Lego brick set

Guess it wasn’t a pandemic fad after all … Since launching adult sets in 2020, Lego has doubled its over-18 offerings to include fan favorites like an $899 Titanic set and a $469 Hogwarts set. There’s even a name for the diehards: AFOL, or Adult Fans of Legos. I’m more of an AFON myself — Adult Fan of Napping.

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🤠 Did you hear about the guy on the Oregon Trail who was shot for insulting the leader of his wagon train? He died from dissin’ Terry. (Oh, that was a good one!)

750,000 robots replacing 100,000 humans in Amazon warehouses

Amazon says robots like Digit, a 5-foot-9-inch humanoid bot that walks and lifts boxes, will work alongside employees, not replace them. But Amazon continues to cut down its human headcount.

$1 for a house

If you’re willing to buy on a boarded-up block. Baltimore is selling close to 1,000 abandoned homes for pennies. They’ll even throw in $50,000 for repairs. One caveat: Most homes are far from liveable, so you’ll need at least $90,000 in assets for renovations to qualify. Oh, and the block you buy a house on might look like this.

Take a hard pass: The FBI is seeing a surge in folks falling for texts claiming they owe road tolls with a link to pay up to fake state toll sites. It’s a new scam — don’t fall for it.

Once upon a crime: Netflix’s new true-crime miniseries, “Baby Reindeer,” is getting rave reviews. Scottish comedian Richard Gadd wrote and stars in the retelling of his own real-life stalker story. After giving her a free cup of tea, Gadd’s stalker barraged him with 40,000 emails and countless X posts and voicemails over five years. Could you imagine?

🥽 VR therapy: New research indicates VR can mimic the mood-boosting effects of outdoor activities, exercise and socializing for people with major depressive disorders. This could be a huge win, especially for those who struggle to leave the house.

Practice safe sexts: Instagram says they’re going to start blurring naked pics in direct messages for anyone under age 18. Those who attempt to send a nude via DM will be advised to be “cautious.” Once again, social media tries to come off as a good citizen when it’s the problem.

Check, please: OpenTable’s getting rid of anonymous reviews. Starting May 22, they’ll show your first name and profile pic next to your spicy comments. Want to scrub your history before they yank the tablecloth out from under you? Here’s how to remove reviews and delete your profile pic.