Here comes your Twitter fee 💸

Plus: MIT Scientists capture the sound of a black hole ‘echo’ May 04, 2022 [View in browser]( Would you pay to use Twitter? If Elon Musk gets his way, some users of the social media site may have to. In the wake of his $44-billion Twitter buyout, Musk said the site would remain free for “casual” users, but added that companies and governments would soon have to pay it forward. How high the cost will be isn’t clear, but, since Twitter costs billions of dollars annually to run, the money has to come from somewhere. But before we get into all that, let’s take a look at how scientists captured the first-ever image of a black hole's event horizon. Good Morning, this is John, a writer at IE. This is The Blueprint. Let’s invest in knowledge. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [The Story of How the First Image of a Black Hole Was Captured]( Long thought impossible to capture, a team of scientists finally produced an image of a black hole on April 10, 2019. [The Story of How the First Image of a Black Hole Was Captured]( CULTURE [Elon Musk wants commercial users to pay a fee for being on Twitter]( [Elon Musk, and his finger, too.]( Since [Elon Musk bought Twitter]( attention has shifted from the buy itself to what he plans to do with it. Now, the world’s richest man is starting to discuss his plans more openly. - In a new series of tweets this week, Musk said some users — specifically company- and government-owned accounts — [may have to pay]( to use the site. “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,” he tweeted. Return on investment. Musk got a lot of the money he needed for the big buy from banks like Morgan Stanley and others. But they certainly aren’t looking to give away the digital public square for free — which is something Musk hinted at in his tweets. “Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing,” Musk continued, in tweet jests. We’ll have to look into the veracity of that, but if the Freemasons want to push back at all, they’ll likely have to pay up if it's going on Twitter. [Read More]( SCIENCE [Listen to eerie black hole X-ray ‘echoes’ turned into sound waves]( [An illustration of a singulariy.]( Not long ago, we didn’t even know whether black holes existed, since we'd never really seen one. We still haven't, not theoretically, thanks to the nature of an event horizon. But now it seems [we can definitely “hear” them](. - A new study from MIT details how researchers used a “Reverberation Machine” to convert the X-ray echoes of black hole binaries in the Milky Way, and subsequently sonified them. This created an eerie soundscape you don't want to miss. Safe to say that while we don't know when the album will drop, it’s sure to be heavy. “These black hole binaries appear to be 'mini' supermassive black holes," said MIT astrophysicist Erin Kara, in [a press release](. And “so by understanding the outbursts in these small, nearby systems, we can understand how similar outbursts in supermassive black holes affect the galaxies in which they reside.” - Since they were first hinted at by Einstein in 1915, black holes have remained one of the most enigmatic structures in science, but sometimes our knowledge of them grows by leaps and bounds, rather than the conventional trickle. Giving up their secrets. This month, the Event Horizon Telescope project is going to make a major announcement about something in the Milky Way *cough* Sagittarius A* *cough*, and since this was the same project that gave us [the first image of a black hole]( it's doubtless that the May 12 announcement will be huge. [Read More]( CULTURE [California is on the threshold of using 100 percent renewable power]( [A solar panel array.]( Getting to 100 percent renewable energy use is a critical step in mitigating the worst effects of the climate crisis, and [California has come incredibly close]( to that all-important goal. - The state of California came within just 0.13% of meeting all of its energy needs from renewables. At “2:50 [PM], we reached 99.87% of load served by all renewables, which broke the previous record ... of 97.58%,” said Anna Gonzales, a spokesperson for California Independent System Operator, which is a nonprofit organization that monitors the state's bulk electric power system and transmission lines, according to the [Desert Sun](. A taste of progress? While the record-breaking renewable energy generation lasted for just 15 minutes — after which renewables' contribution dropped to 97 percent — let's hope it represents an important milestone on the road to a sustainable future, instead of another fleeting aberration. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Twitter has been free since its inception, so some may recoil at the notion of a fee. Even if it’s just businesses and governments paying, once that door is open, who knows whether the average Joe or Jane will have to cough up the bill. Be honest, would you pay to use Twitter? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [No way, no how.]( [Maybe, depends on how much it costs.]( [If it helps clean out the bots and trolls, sure.]( [Absolutely! Twitter is life!]( Yesterday’s Results We asked whether Warren Buffett was onto something when he dismissed Bitcoin, and while one-third of you think it's too soon to tell, more than half think cryptocurrencies are a big waste of time and money. Think of all the sad crypto miners. It’s not worth the bits it’s printed on. 53% Too soon to tell how it’ll pan out. 33% He’s out of touch! More BTC for me! 8% Buffett’s too set in his old ways. 6% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product. ” Entrepreneur Paul Hawken, University of Portland commencement address, May 3, 2009 AND ANOTHER THING... - Radioactive alien worlds might be the [most likely to support life]( as we know it. - A total [lunar eclipse will turn the moon red]( on the night of May 15. (Space.com) - Silent, ion-propulsion drones [might be just over the horizon](. - It turns out, tangled chromosomes could be key to [stopping cancer at the source](. (New Atlas) - NASA’s all-electric airplane [gets closer to crewed test flights](. - The [universe could stop expanding]( "remarkably soon". (Live Science) - NASA just caught a glimpse of [a strong solar flare]( as it erupted from the Sun. Prepared by John Loeffler and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [here.]( © Copyright 2022 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]