Wednesday What We’re Reading (May 20, 2020)

15% of Wuhan’s cats were infected, against a reported 0.1% of the population, and other spooky signals in the post-corona age – I’m not saying a big war is coming, but…
SlateStarCodex’s May Coronalinks has a bunch of good stuff
These guys are estimating R for COVID-19 in real time – I’m a little foggy on the exact math they’re using, but it seems plausible enough. Also, most of the US is currently at R < 1, which is good news. Also also, they’re correctly using R vice R0.

Submarine countermeasures: a roundup – One of the best parts of the experience in arcade-ish submarine game Cold Waters is learning how to make knuckles, drop noisemakers, and launch decoys in such a way as to trick a torpedo into going the wrong way.
North Korean small arms: a roundup – Aren’t all their arms pretty small, on account of the malnutrition?
F-117s find a second life as low-observable aggressors

Commercial space has saved money? Quelle surprise! – Also within: the best yet of the ‘Sci-Fi or SpaceX?’ bar bet photos.

The Yasser missile, as carried by Iran’s Tomcats – It’s a Hawk SAM with a 750lb cluster bomb attached to the front.
Five prohibited maneuvers in the Tomcat – If I had the DCS Tomcat, I would be trying all five of these right now.

Yet another 3D-printed AR lower – Deterrence Dispensed is doing great work. I also saw a guy working on a 3D-printed receiver that uses a U-bolt to reinforce the buffer tube attachment point.
Gun Twitter pic: the strangest rifle/carbine/pistol-with-stock I’ve ever seen – It’s a side-folding rimfire? revolver, which I have not yet been able to ID.
Want a Han Solo blaster, but don’t want to ruin a C96? – Here’s a .22 version based on an AR which you can build for under a grand.

Want a 2019 Z06 Corvette at a steep discount? – Hertz is selling off their stock of special-edition 100th-Anniversary-of-Hertz in anticipation of a possible bankruptcy.
The Cannonball Run record has been broken seven times in five weeks – Turns out, ‘nobody on the road’ is a great precondition for ‘drive across the country as fast as possible’.
Justice Department likely to bring antitrust suits against Google – In what would be nearly as big a case as Ma Bell’s breakup.
Electronic Arts hires former Stasi agent to police speech in online games – I can certainly argue with the goal, but if you take the goal as a given, it’s hard to think of a better candidate for the job.

The Soapbox