Tag Archives: China

The state of robotaxis in 2024

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good read. In 2023, it almost felt as if the promise of robotaxis was soon to be fulfilled. Hailing a robotaxi had briefly become the new trendy thing to do in San Francisco, as simple and everyday as ordering a … Continue reading →

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Texas TiKTok ban upheld

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, professors. A U.S. judge on Monday upheld Texas’ ban on state employees’, including public university employees, using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in July … Continue reading →

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Montana TikTok ban blocked

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win … Continue reading →

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TikTok ban lawsuit has its day in court

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like it was a pretty good day for the plaintiffs, but as we know that’s the first very small step in a long journey. A federal judge seemed skeptical of the state’s reasoning to ban TikTok on Texas public … Continue reading →

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UT professors sue over TikTok ban

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t wait to see how this one plays out. A group of college professors is suing Texas for banning TikTok on public-university computers and phones, saying it has undermined their ability to teach students and research one of the … Continue reading →

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Project Texas versus Project Texas

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s gotta suck. Kendall Hill was in a meeting at Pegasus Park as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of Congress on March 23. As Chew spoke to U.S. officials, Hill received a vague message from a friend. … Continue reading →

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Texas to invest in microchips

Posted on June 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Leaders in the semiconductor industry and their Texas allies were alarmed by supply chain disruptions to the sector during the pandemic. Now the state is seeking to turn the lessons learned in the past three years into an opportunity. … Continue reading →

Posted in National news, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TikTok sues Montana over its ban

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. TikTok sued the state of Montana Monday in an effort to overturn a first-of-its-kind law banning downloads of the app in the state. The lawsuit, which comes on the heels of other suits filed by Montanan TikTok creators, alleges the … Continue reading →

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So about that DPS delay in notifying the victims of the credential stuffing attack

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their explanation. [DPS Director Steve] McCraw said DPS officials kept the news under wraps to avoid jeopardizing the agency’s investigation, including efforts to arrest the fraudsters who organized the scheme. The explanation came in response to questioning from state … Continue reading →

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DPS victimized by credential stuffing attack

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the technical term for this. The Texas Department of Public Safety was duped into shipping at least 3,000 Texas driver’s licenses to a Chinese organized crime group that targeted Asian Texans, DPS Director Steve McCraw told a Texas House … Continue reading →

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More on the collegiate TikTok bans

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting perspective from a professor in Texas. The bans have come in states where governors, like Texas’s Greg Abbott, have blocked TikTok from state-issued computers and phones. Employers can generally exercise control over how employees use the equipment they … Continue reading →

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UT bans TikTok on campus WiFi

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This feels like a bit of an overreaction to me, but we’ll see if others follow suit. The University of Texas at Austin has blocked access to the video-sharing app TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks in response to … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans TikTok on state-issued devices

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Honestly, I’m fine with this. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday a ban of the popular app TikTok from all government-issued devices. In a news release, the Republican said the Chinese government could use the app to access critical U.S. infrastructure … Continue reading →

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COVID may be down but it’s definitely not out

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, this pandemic hasn’t gone away. It’s less of a threat to us here right now, but it’s still very much a threat. The evolution of the coronavirus is likely to produce dangerous new variants that escape built-up … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The conditions under which baseball can return

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If coronavirus cooperates. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. Major League Baseball owners have approved a plan to address salary and service-time issues amid the indefinite delay to the start of the regular season, according to ESPN and … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus comes to town

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It was just a matter of time. After months of fear, preparations and cancellations, the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has officially come to the Houston area. One day after a Fort Bend man in his 70s was “presumptively … Continue reading →

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In which I agree with Ted Cruz: Shame on the NBA

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

When he’s right, he’s right. Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey has the support of some lawmakers in D.C., even as the Rockets and NBA have apologized for his comments supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Morey over the weekend tweeted … Continue reading →

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Do we still want to go to Mars?

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hot take: I dunno. Before the U.S. put the first man on the moon, before the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, people thought aliens lived on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor. The belief sparked fear in some — and outright … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Another look at the state of recycling

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One part supply, one part demand. Reducing contamination is largely considered the starting point for creating a more stable U.S. recycling market. And that means teaching consumers what they can and cannot put in recycling bins. For example, a triangle … Continue reading →

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The recycling recession

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. A joint report by the trade groups American Chemistry Council and Association of Plastic Recyclers estimated that plastic bottle recycling decreased 3.6 percent last year, dipping to 2.8 billion pounds in 2017. The decrease is partially due to … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

“How Chinese Baseball Came to North Texas”

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating story. The Texas AirHogs are members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, a federation of twelve, mostly Midwestern, teams unaffiliated with Major League Baseball. Inning breaks are punctuated with water-balloon-toss competitions and mascot races. The level of … Continue reading →

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“Nixon in China” returns to HGO

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is very cool. It’s been three decades since the Houston Grand Opera presented John Adams’ “Nixon in China,” the company’s beloved world premiere that changed not only how modern political operas were viewed but signified an audacious move by … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Yao Ming elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations! Ground-breaking former Rockets center Yao Ming has been elected for inductions in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, a person with knowledge of the voting confirmed on Wednesday. Yao, the first player taken in the 2002 draft who became … Continue reading →

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Terra Cotta Warriors

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I got a chance to get a sneak peek of the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at HMNS last week, and it was awesome. I confess, I knew nothing about this beforehand; Tiffany, who has a vivid childhood memory of a … Continue reading →

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The HTA and the Times

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The New York Times wrote an editorial about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Unfortunately, they seem to have misunderstood what all the fuss is about. As many parents, and ultimately manufacturers, learned the hard way, the Bush administration … Continue reading →

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Handmade Toy Alliance wins a stay

Posted on February 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news from last week for the Handmade Toy Alliance – they got a one year reprieve on enforcement of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Federal regulators on Friday postponed some testing requirements that would have forced many … Continue reading →

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