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Category Archives: Technology
Long COVID in Kids
“An article recently published in JAMA Pediatrics (or, the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics) presents findings from a study suggesting that Long COVID, a condition where symptoms last at least 3 months and up to several years after a SARS-CoV-2 infection, has surpassed asthma as the most common chronic health problem affecting children.”
Summary here… Long COVID in Young Children, School-Aged Children, and Teens
Full article here… Characterizing Long COVID Symptoms During Early Childhood
Don’t bother vaccinating them, they’ll be fine.
Dispelling Myths About Vaccines
“Since late April, an infectious diseases specialist at Stanford University and his colleagues have been volunteering their time on a project they hope will help educate the public, and combat misinformation, about the safety and efficacy vaccines.”
Vaccine RCT spreadsheet aims to show the data, dispel myths about vaccines
I Could Watch This Guy for Hours
I first heard about “Mend It Mark” when there was an outcry from the Youtube community that he had received a take down notice from a “high end” audio manufacturer called Tom Evans. It became a right to repair issue and many Youtubers posted a copy of the video and dared Tom Evans to try and take them down. Anyway, Mend It Mark is a really good channel of a very competent electronics tech doing his job. Like furniture and tool restoration videos, it is soothing. Here Mark does a quick, but thorough repair on a 90’s Technics Amp.
The Tom Evans thing is pretty neat. He basically reverse engineers a piece of audio kit that has every part “potted” (identifying numbers have been erased or covered on every component) and created his own repair manual. Amazing talent this guy has. The video was restored and is here…
The £25,000 Pre-Amp that went Wrong – Tom Evans Mastergroove SR mkIII
Not Sure, But This Doesn’t Seem to be the Place to Make Cuts
Well it’s About Time
I have been complaining about the lack of small affordable trucks in the U.S. for what seems like forever. This is the sort of thing America needs!
Slate: Introducing the Bezos-backed EV pickup for the masses
Meta is Lying to You
Regulate social media! Eliminate section 230!
Update: It gets even worse…
Another Critical Problem that Washington will Ignore
Northern Exposure Predicts the Future
With great accuracy. God, I loved that show.
Killing Solar Power in Ohio
From the Plain Dealer…
Ohioans and their elected representatives have killed enough solar development to roughly power the state’s three largest cities in the three years since state lawmakers passed one of the nation’s most stringent restrictions on new solar development.
Those political efforts to block or preempt 2,000 megawatts of new energy coming online are the product of 2021 legislation that gave new power to project neighbors and local elected officials to stop development.
Many of these projects were killed by local Republican officials doing the bidding of the oil and gas industry. Just last week, developers behind a proposed 500-megawatt solar farm in Logan County withdrew their permit application, ending a $500 million development. Regulatory staff recommended the Ohio Power Siting Board reject the application, given opposition from local activists and Republican political power at the state and local level.
Enough power to power all three of Ohio’s biggest cities, with no carbon emissions. The Republican party is not a forward looking party. It is a party that holds Ohio (and the country) back. As they force America off the world stage they leave greater and greater openings for China to be a world leader.
Plain Dealer Stories (behind a paywall)
Solar development plunged in Ohio after new, restrictive state law
How NIMBYism and Republican politics killed a $500M solar farm in Ohio
Evil, But Honest About It
Clean Drinking Water More Cheaply
More Cheaply? Doesn’t sound right. Anyway, This new technology relies on a 3D printing method to make membranes for reverse osmosis desalinization plants. As long as it doesn’t create another problem with the used membranes (unlikely) any help in lowering desalinization cost would be very helpful.
Experts develop 3D-printed device that could reshape our drinking water: ‘This … is what makes our technology special’
Grow New Teeth?
What a world!
Ionic Thrusters
Back in 2002, our Physics teacher introduced me to a student who wanted to build an ionic thruster. I had never heard of one, but I was able to tell the young man where to obtain a high voltage power supply (and give him a long lecture about safety). A few days later he popped by to show me a device constructed of balsa wood, aluminum foil and stainless steel wire that would levitate (it was anchored by its power supply wires) when connected to about 15,000 volts. I was kind of blown away to say the least. That young man is an engineer now and ionic thrusters have continued to be developed by NASA. Here is a further demonstration…
Great series.
Nothing to See Here, Move Along
Microsoft’s Quantum Breakthrough
New Cars and Privacy
Most new cars have the same technology as what is described in the article. Shouldn’t your car be A LOT cheaper since you are surrendering any pretense at privacy? After all, how much is your personal information worth?
Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking Millions of Cars
Why We Can’t Focus
One of my favorite books is Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death”. Postman eerily predicted the current age of social media as a natural progression of the age of television, and he did it back in the early 80’s. This video does a fantastic job of laying out one of Postman’s best arguments. It is exactly how I feel about the subject.
He mentions a book called “The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr. I’ll be ordering that one as well.
Lidar
LIDAR, LiDAR or LADAR, an acronym of “light detection and ranging” or “laser imaging, detection, and ranging” is a method for determining ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. (Wikipedia)
When I was at Kent as a Geology major this technology was just coming into play. Field work was rapidly going to disappear. Now using these tools available from USGS (thank you USGS) we can see our own neighborhoods in a new way.
Can’t Argue with This
Now This is a Real Problem
We are often told about “problems” identified by politicians so they can promise “solutions”. Rarely are these the most important problems we face. While illegal immigration is a problem, it isn’t nearly as dire as some politicians would have you believe. The numbers just don’t show it. On the other hand THIS is a problem. It is a distinctly American problem and it has possible solutions. Yet you don’t hear much about the problem, let alone the solutions.
How Cool
Using Geothermal Energy to store carbon emissions…
Here We Go
Schools have been taking a beating for a while as parents become less parental with each passing year. This is an example of the enabling that is destroying kids.
Parents sue school in Massachusetts after son punished for using AI on paper
I guess building character is a thing of the past. Well obviously character doesn’t matter to about half the voters in this country who wish to elect a leader without any.
What the Hell is Wrong with Car Companies?
Ford files patent for a car with holographic cops and guard dogs
Okay this is insane. I recently heard of a guy who bought a Kia Stinger (about $30 to $35 thousand dollar car) and then got in a front end fender-bender. The repair bill was $27,000 due to all the sensors in the front end.
Personally, I do not want “automatic braking”, “lane assist”, or “automatic parking” or a tailgate that opens when I wave my foot. And for God’s sake, why would I need Wi-Fi?
I recently saw a video from, I think CBS, where Audi proposed the answer to today’s super-bright headlights was “adaptive headlights” where a mini-computer moves tiny little shades in the headlight to shield oncoming drivers. How the hell much is that going to cost?!?!
Really Ford? Holograms?
NASA finally dishes on Boeing
This is a sad testament to the ineffectiveness of our government. How is it that anyone on Boeing’s management team still has a job? If I was a shareholder I would want the bunch of them out. The CEO and Quality Control Head should both be facing prison time for bilking the American taxpayer. This is what happens when government and industry get too cozy.
NASA inspector general gives damning assessment of Boeing’s quality control
As a result, the two astronauts that flew the Boeing Starliner to the ISS may not get home until February! On a better built Space X Dragon no less!
Cost to develop Starliner – 4.2 billion dollars (not including cost overruns)
Cost to develop Dragon – 2.6 billion dollars