otter

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/43350212

I came across this article, and I don't think it has been posted yet. It is not a new announcement, and the article is from last month.

The Canadian space program is growing at a hypersonic pace.

NordSpace, the Ontario-based space tech startup, is establishing the Supersonic and Hypersonic Applications Research Platform (SHARP), which aims to grow the country’s hypersonic capabilities with three new products.

• SHARP Arrow: A fixed-wing, rocket-powered, uncrewed aircraft built for research, reconnaissance, and intercept missions, capable of launching from and landing on a standard airport runway.
• SHARP Sabre: A modified version of the company’s suborbital Taiga rocket, which held a successful rocket engine test in January, updated to reach hypersonic speeds with larger payloads on board.
• M2S-HyRock: A 3D-printed, multi-fuel, multi-purpose liquid regeneratively cooled rocket engine, built to provide the industry with a storable rocket engine.

“There’s been a lot more interest in national sovereignty and understanding what our own capabilities are here, so that we’re more resilient at home, but also, in NordSpace’s opinion, more capable allies to partners like the United States,” Rahul Goel, NordSpace’s CEO, told Payload.

In February, Canada announced a new defense policy, which committed the country to invest 2% of its GDP into national security by 2032. Canadian defense spending is expected to grow by C$73B ($51.1B) over 20 years, including a C$8.1B ($5.67B) increase in the next five years alone.

SHARP will help Canada develop and test next-generation hypersonic tech, build out its fleet of monitoring aircraft, improve its responsive launch capabilities, and get better at detecting rocket and missile launches from above.

“[It’s] really important to get eyes in the sky as quickly as possible, especially in our Arctic, which is almost entirely undefended relative to other parts of the nation. So, a key element of all our hardware, especially these two vehicles, is that they’re being optimized for extreme cold weather environments like the Arctic,” Goel said.

What’s next: NordSpace is building Canada’s first commercial spaceport—Spaceport Canada—which is expected to be operational for the company’s first test launch of its Taiga suborbital rocket this year. At the same time, NordSpace is working on a larger orbital vehicle, named Tundra, which it hopes to demonstrate with a flight test in 2027.

Spaceport Canada will have two launch pads, one each for suborbital and orbital launches. While the company plans to use the spaceport for its own rocket tests and flights, it’s also hopeful that it will attract foreign launchers to the great white north.

I remember seeing at least one other community related to this, which had regular math problems.

What I'm thinking is having a general community for any of the following:

• joke style riddles
• more complex riddles (ex. missing dollar riddle)
• math problems (geometry, infinite doors, monty hall)
• optical illusions
• those physics 'what would happen' questions (ex. which bucket would fill first, which way would the balloon move)

Keeping it open would allow for more content, and it will also keep things fresh, since having the same type of question every day might get boring for users.

What should the community be called? Some ideas so far:

• riddler: might be too specific to the character, or the concept or riddles
• ???: I thought this was fun, but it might cause issues with other fediverse platforms
• what: Not as fun, but solves the issue above

What instance should the community be on?

Any best practices? We could have tags for the approximate difficulty of the question. [easy] for mobile game ad type questions, [average] for common riddles, and [advanced] for the complex math questions? + [meme] for joke posts

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/169902

"It's been heartbreaking. It's been devastating for our community," said Manitoba Filipino Business Council President Jackie Wild.

From this RSS feed

The series is a co-production between Netflix and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in partnership with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). It originally premiered in Canada on Jan. 7 and on Netflix on April 10.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62722804

Let me know if any information belongs in this thread and I'll edit it in.

Information

WARNING: There are graphic videos of the event and aftermath. Keep that in mind when going through any social media posts. The news articles are generally 'safe' to read.

Social media threads:

• !canada@lemmy.ca: https://lemmy.ca/post/42965727

• r/Vancouver: https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1k8v49i/

• https://x.com/VancouverPD/status/1916348189449634129

News Articles:

• CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vehicle-hits-crowd-filipino-festival-lapu-lapu-day-block-party-1.7519778
• The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-vancouver-festival-driver-incident-deaths-injuries-updates-lapu-lapu/
• City News: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/04/26/major-police-incident-vancouver-lapu-lapu-festival/
• The Province: https://theprovince.com/news/police-incident-at-lapu-lapu-day-in-vancouver/wcm/8078cf55-f577-49a1-a041-6bdd6d7c2bef
• Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/police-incident-at-lapu-lapu-day-in-vancouver

Support Resources:

Local Resources

Vancouver Police Victim Services: As per their website - Victim Services staff members are not police officers; they are civilian employees of the VPD with specialized training in emotional support, crisis intervention, and communication skills, and with education in areas such as psychology, social work or other related disciplines.

Staff are available to provide free and confidential support to victims, witnesses, and family members affected by crime and trauma.

If you have been affected by crime or trauma, contact the VPD Victim Services Unit at 604-717-2737.

Vancouver Coastal Regional Distress Line: 604-872-3311

BC Mental Health & Crisis Response (no area code needed): 310-6789

Suicide Crisis Helplines: Text or call 9-8-8 from anywhere in Canada or call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) in BC, both available 24/7.

Learn about what resources are available in your community, including mental health supports. Available 24/7 and Canada wide: Call 211 or visit 211.ca

Crisis Centre: https://www.crisiscentre.bc.ca/

Other Resources

A few people have recommended doing a visuospatial activity, such as playing tetris, to help reduce trauma related intrusive memories from the incident

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-03-28-tetris-used-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-symptoms

A single dose psychological intervention, which includes using the computer game Tetris, can prevent the unpleasant, intrusive memories that develop in some people after suffering a traumatic event.

Some tetris links:

• https://tetr.io/
• https://tetris.com/

What can you do

I haven't seen an official call for donations yet, but I've compiled some comments / links.

Blood donation eligibility information: https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood

What types might be in need:

Filipinos blood type distribution is 86% O-positive, and 8% A-positive, so if you are type O and A consider donating. Oak street location is open pretty much every day

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/42936336

Scientists estimate that up to 70% of the sand on white sandy beaches in the Caribbean and Hawai‘i has been excreted by parrotfish. A large adult parrotfish can excrete over a ton of sand per year. Areas that have parrotfish produce more sand than similar areas with few or no parrotfish. This sediment production rate is especially important in areas like Hawai‘i, where there is little terrestrial input, and almost all of the sand is of biogenic origin.

https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/coastal-interactions/beaches-and-sand/weird-science-parrotfish-and-sand

cross-posted from: https://ponder.cat/post/2544674

Carl Sagan was a humanist who strived to teach science as a way of thinking and interpreting the world. His 1995 book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark was a kind of message he left to humanity before he died of cancer.

See also: Carl Sagan's January 1994 notice to the USA Public as a warning.

Community link: !sagan@lemm.ee

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42488315