Technologies

‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse Will Be Visible From 8 States in October

Cue up the hit Johnny Cash song, because from Oregon to Texas, you’ll be able to see the rare and fiery sight.

Start humming that Johnny Cash hit Ring of Fire and mark your calendars, sky-gazers. In just over a month, on Oct. 14, an annular solar eclipse dubbed the «ring of fire» eclipse will be visible in eight US states, parts of Mexico, and many parts of South and Central America.

The eclipse will be viewable by millions of people, and those who can’t see it where they live can watch NASA’s online broadcast.

Annular solar eclipse? Don’t be confused: The word «annular» may look like «annual,» but it refers instead to an eclipse where the moon passes between the sun and Earth but is just far away enough in its orbit that the sun is not completely covered. The result is a large, bright ring in the sky, leading to the «ring of fire» nickname.

More eclipse news

The path of the Oct. 14 eclipse cuts a narrow swath through eight states from Oregon — even passing over scenic Crater Lake — to Texas. Oregon watchers can see it beginning at 9:13 a.m. PT and Texas viewers get the last American look, ending at 12:03 p.m. CT. The eclipse then moves on to Mexico and Central and South America.

The eclipse also overlaps with the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, which runs from Oct. 7-15.

Those who wish to see the ring of fire itself will need to be within the 125-mile path of annularity, and those closest to the center of the path will be rewarded with a longer viewing time.

If you’re not in the path of the eclipse, you can watch online with NASA’s live YouTube broadcast, scheduled for Oct. 14 from 10:30 a.m. CT to 12:15 p.m. CT.

Noting that it’s not safe to look directly at an annular eclipse without specialized eye protection, NASA offers safety guidelines to prepare for Oct. 14, 2023.

If you miss the October eclipse, start planning for April 8, 2024, when a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the US and Canada. That event will begin over the South Pacific Ocean, pass over Mexico’s Pacific coast, entering the US in Texas. It will travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before entering Canada.

Before the October event, the last annular solar eclipse was in June 2021, but it wasn’t visible from the US. It was visible in northern Canada.

Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.