The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Science, Progress: Bill Gates kicks off

    By PeraclesPlease on Tue, 02/16/2021 - 1:00am |

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/15/bill-gates-climate-change-468928

    Comments

    Did life come from Mars?
    (scientific theory of rock transfer gaining credence)
    https://www.salon.com/2021/02/07/why-some-scientists-believe-life-may-ha...


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 02/16/2021 - 6:55am

    Mars... Live NOW!

     

    https://twitter.com/NASAJPL/status/1361765559453372416

    The #CountdownToMars is nearing its end & once
    @NASAPersevere lands, the journey begins to find signs of past microbial life. Learn more about this ambitious science mission from our experts today at 12:30p PT (3:30p ET/2030 UTC). http://youtu.be/uN_WvzhM1oY Submit your questions.
     

     

    ~OGD~


    by oldenGoldenDecoy on Tue, 02/16/2021 - 3:28pm

    First pictures from NASA's Perseverance confirm its Mars landing

    https://mashable.com/article/perseverance-first-mars-pictures/

    by rmrd0000 on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 4:36pm

     

    Ah yes... First picture ...

    First pictures from NASA's Perseverance

    ~OGD~


    by oldenGoldenDecoy on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 5:58pm


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/17/2021 - 3:21am

    The Auto Industry Bets Its Future on Batteries

    Carmakers, government agencies and investors are pouring money into battery research in a global race to profit from emission-free electric cars.

    By Jack Ewing and Ivan Penn @ NYTimes/BUSINESS SECTION Feb. 16, 2021

    PART OF A SERIES ABOUT THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC CARS; previously:

    G.M. Will Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035

    The move, one of the most ambitious in the auto industry, is a piece of a broader plan by the company to become carbon neutral by 2040.

    By Neal E. Boudette and Coral Davenport, Jan. 28, 2021

    Electric Cars Are Coming, and Fast. Is the Nation’s Grid Up to It?

    GM’s decision this week to phase out gasoline vehicles is the latest in a major shift that will mean drastic new demands on electric utilities. Here are four things that will need to happen.

    By Brad Plumer Jan. 29, 2021

    Electric Cars Are Better for the Planet – and Often Your Budget, Too

    By Veronica Penney Jan. 15, 2021


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/17/2021 - 3:40am

    1) batteries are tuff to improve (we'll see with solid state, and it may be improving charge times is easier than capacity/charge density

    2) as Gates notes, this is still the easy side of things - lowering the carbon footprint of cement/concrete and airplane fuel is a much huger deal than even autos. Though I don't know how fast these are growing, and what electrifying autos does to *balance* emissions, vs grossly decreasing. I.e. despite absolutism, there is something to be gained in greatly improving the situation without the much harder task if making all fossil fuel use go away.

    Also, the electric car conversion, esp Tesla, has gotten caught up in the Full Self-Driving craze, with claims and promises of Self-Driving fleets, etc. This of course is at least a decade away to do safely - improved hardware (more powerful GPU chips, better cameras & LiDAR sensors,  much better AI/learning, 6G for massive data sets and terrain maps to train on...)


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 02/17/2021 - 3:47am

    Meanwhile...

    Industry trudges on while other fret...

    Giant Long Beach AES Battery Storage Facility In Full Operation

    For the last six weeks, a nondescript building on Studebaker Road
    has quietly been sucking up electricity, then doling it back out when
    needed. Wednesday, AES Alamitos will celebrate the successful
    completion of its Battery Energy Storage Project, or BESS, with a
    virtual ceremony. It marks the end of the construction phase of a
    $1.3 billion rebuild of the AES Alamitos Energy Center.


      by oldenGoldenDecoy on Wed, 02/17/2021 - 4:35pm

      And more battery energy storage...

       

      Two Years On, Elon Musk’s Big Battery Bet Is Paying Off in Australia

      bloomberg.com//2020-02-28/big-battery-bet-is-paying-off-in-australia

       

      Tesla Powerpacks used to form the world's largest lithium-ion battery at the Hornsdale wind farm, near Jamestown, South Australia.

      Tesla Powerpacks used to form the world's largest lithium-ion battery at the Hornsdale wind farm, near Jamestown, South Australia.Two years after Tesla Inc. installed it, the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery is helping to avert blackouts and lower costs as Australian grids struggle to handle surging renewable power generation.

      The Neoen SA-owned Hornsdale Power Reserve has responded to three major system outages, helping to restore stability to the network and lower the costs of running the grid, engineering consultant Aurecon Group said Friday. The battery started in 2017 after Elon Musk famously won a bet that he could get a 100-megawatt system up and running in 100 days to help solve a power crisis in South Australia.

      ~OGD~

       

       

       

      by oldenGoldenDecoy on Wed, 02/17/2021 - 7:17pm

      new, clean mass transit is one thing; old mass transit quite another, maybe obsolete!


      by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 4:35pm


      by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 6:12pm


      by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 8:32pm

      the Mars Rover has its own Twitter account apart from NASA general (note included in the description is a list of its hobbieswink) it is tweeting this evening:

      NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @NASAPersevere

      NASA Mars rover. Launch: July 30, 2020. Landing: Feb. 18, 2021. Hobbies: Photography, collecting rocks, off-roading.

      Team HQ @NASAJPL

      Space mars.nasa.gov/mars2020 Joined February 2020

      these are its latest two tweets:

      Thank you, @VP Harris! I’ve got ambitious goals, and a long to-do list. Looking forward to many more accomplishments to come. https://t.co/4uafckTeqm

      — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021

      Where am I now? Check out this interactive map to zoom in and explore my landing site:https://t.co/uPsKFhW17J

      And for the ground level view, my first images are here, with many more to come in the days ahead:https://t.co/Ex1QDo3eC2 pic.twitter.com/B6TJTikAyX

      — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021

      by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 8:45pm

      Here's proof that NASA's Mars Rover signifying progress has passionate defenders on all sides of the aisle:

      just one of her comments for an example


      by artappraiser on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 8:17pm

      kinda related:


      by artappraiser on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 8:19pm

      I thought it was more about whose military might command the highest 'ground' if the cold war heated up. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

       


      by EmmaZahn on Mon, 04/05/2021 - 5:41am

      Cloning charm offensive


      by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 02/21/2021 - 2:48pm

      Not *just* conjecture (AI in mathematics proofs) 

      https://www.livescience.com/ramanujan-machine-created.html


      by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 02/22/2021 - 1:05am


      by artappraiser on Mon, 02/22/2021 - 5:00pm

      Where are all these batteries going to come from? Morgan Stanley is not sure--


      by artappraiser on Fri, 02/26/2021 - 1:19pm


      by artappraiser on Sun, 02/28/2021 - 1:02am


      by artappraiser on Sun, 02/28/2021 - 1:13am

      "On Anti-Nuclear Bullshit"


      by artappraiser on Sun, 02/28/2021 - 5:21pm

      Another decent essay - boring strategic persuasive grunt work goes better than activism and agitprop? Who knew? Actually i did from back when Bono started getting invited (inviting himself) to boardrooms rather than leading street protests.

      https://thebreakthrough.org/articles/the-folly-of-mann


      by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 04/05/2021 - 8:30am

      Wow. Masks & social distancing?


      by artappraiser on Sun, 02/28/2021 - 9:28pm

      The HIV is not one type of virus but a group of rapidly evolving strains that are difficult to rein in.

      Scientists constantly scan blood samples across the world to detect new strains. And a remarkable development in the Congo could have worldwide implications.

      — The Ken (@TheKenWeb) March 3, 2021

      Global surveillance of 46 countries over 25+ years has not shown up results that DRC has revealed.

      “This is the part of the world where HIV has its origin, and it is truly remarkable to think that the cure could also be unlocked here,” said US-based Mary Rodgers to The Ken.

      — The Ken (@TheKenWeb) March 3, 2021


      Of 10K+ participants screened, 4.3% were categorised as ‘elite controllers’ of HIV. They naturally suppress the virus, without medication.

      India—home to 2.1mn HIV-infected people—could benefit from the clues these 'controllers' throw up. Read more:https://t.co/xJmOGL8mgY

      — The Ken (@TheKenWeb) March 3, 2021

      by artappraiser on Wed, 03/03/2021 - 1:45am

      Back to that debate about the woman who had a particular medical physiology to mine and use for others, and "should her family be compensated". Who will sell first?


      by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/03/2021 - 1:56am

      Cruise Control, aka deep fake it till you make it


      by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/03/2021 - 3:18pm


      by artappraiser on Thu, 03/04/2021 - 10:41pm

      Space hurricanes

      https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_6042ac37c5b60208555e9727


      by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/06/2021 - 4:44pm


      by artappraiser on Tue, 03/09/2021 - 2:04pm

      Drone spot, aka bowling for dollars


      by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 1:24pm

      first thing I thought when I watched that too: how could the controller navigate it so smoothly, looks almost impossible...


      by artappraiser on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 3:08pm

      He may have slowed down in difficult areas and software evened it out for the final recording. The whole original recording might have been done much slower and during the final editing process he picked a speed that felt right to him.


      by ocean-kat on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 4:32pm

      I figured he hand-carried it, and just used "drone" as a gimmick.


      by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 9:24pm

      Drone could just be his nickname based on his speaking style and tendencies


      by ocean-kat on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 9:36pm

      NYC: megabikes vs cars? Game on


      by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 03/15/2021 - 7:16pm


      by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/16/2021 - 5:44am

      I dunno if this qualifies as "science" but Scientific American put it on their blog, so who am I to say? Plus it's fun:

      The surprising link between narcissism and impostor syndrome https://t.co/Y3l6KBTlYt

      — Brandon Lim (@blim0827) March 17, 2021

      by artappraiser on Wed, 03/17/2021 - 4:45pm

      Not science fiction, is it?


      by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/17/2021 - 6:04pm

      Virtual reality palooza (reprise)

      Science fiction 2 (watch 3 minutes) 

      https://youtu.be/uErR_3kmRUM?t=1140

      Description

      https://www.roadtovr.com/microsoft-ignite-2021-virtual-reality-keynote/


      by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 3:25am

      facial recognition used for all American Airlines domestic flights, VERY SOON; already started and not really optional:


      by artappraiser on Sun, 03/21/2021 - 1:31am


      by artappraiser on Tue, 03/23/2021 - 12:01am

      Live 4evuh by not dying?

      https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jan/03/observer-magazine-do-we-...


      by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/28/2021 - 2:06am

      CBD goes rogue


      by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/28/2021 - 2:43am

      Twilight of 3-Piece Advisors: McKinsey Heal Thyself

      (scroll down for copied article)

      https://amp.reddit.com/r/consulting/comments/ltnkuq/mckinsey_suffers_fro...


      by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 04/01/2021 - 3:56am

      Plastic lowers sperm count?

      https://www.salon.com/2021/04/04/plastic-pollution-infertility-extinction/


      by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 04/05/2021 - 4:08am

      I saw a contrarian take on this topic tweeted earlier today, a retweet from everyone's fav scientist "Hot Masculinity Takes"; stuck in my mind:

      pic.twitter.com/8FejYAoWKz

      — Hot Masculinity Takes (@MasculineTakes) April 6, 2021

      surprise


      by artappraiser on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 2:49am

      Cock ≠ sperm, i think you know. The good news is we can use the lower birthrate for a while (esp if included SubSaharan Africa). But eventually the cockroaches will win. Or we invent a non-plasticky plastic if it ain't too late.


      by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 3:39am

      Designer babies? Nope

      https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-eugenics-will-always-fail-5925024


      by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 1:24am

      Very interesting about the strong difference  in genetics with dogs! Have never seen that explained before, but have certainly heard people incorrectly talk as the same could be done with humans.


      by artappraiser on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 6:47am

      wow, this video is amazing-is it a good argument that kidnapping is natural, or one that raising children the communist way is natural but sucks?


      by artappraiser on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 3:19pm

      just another example of how little medical "science" understands about how the human body works:


      by artappraiser on Sat, 04/24/2021 - 8:43am