Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - Apr 23 ~ Bitchin' Dave’s Blog

Dave’s Musings

In the "we can be better" category, there was a story about a fast food worker who didn't miss a day of work in 27 years (and by the way, that's one of those things that bugs me; sometimes you're sick and you really should stay home rather than infecting those around you and handling food). To say thank you, the owners of the franchise gave him some stupid things (like a pen and a roll of lifesavers?).

While he was humble about it all, he posted a video about his gifts, and it went viral. And then someone setup a group collection, and they raised rather a lot of money - enough for him to buy a house.

Its great that people stepped up to help, and that there is a kind of happy ending. But it bothers me that the guy worked - loyally - for nearly 3 decades and got no reward for doing so, and could not afford a house on his salary in all that time.

More here

The chief of SETI was asked about any evidence of aliens, and he emphatically said there isn't any. The attached article is interesting and details out his comments. Its worth a read.

One of the more interesting things he suggests is a thought experiment about the vastness of the universe and our ability to traverse it.

He notes one other thing: its still statistically possible that there is life out there, we just haven't found evidence of it - yet.

https://www.space.com/seti-chief-bill-diamond-ufos-alien-visitation

While its simply theoretical research for now, there's a study which suggests placing reflective materials on various surfaces can cool the ambient temperatures in cities.

But what's unique about this is the general simplicity of the design. The reflective surfaces could include the reflectors used in roadway design (those little yellow reflectors you see); simply positioning a mirror inside these devices could reduce the temps by around 5F.

I can't wait to see this being applied.

https://metro.princeton.edu/news/retro-reflectors-could-help-future-cities-keep-their-cool/

There was an item that made the news cycle a few weeks back about how Disney was revising the "Disability Assistance Pass" at the theme parks.

For context, the DAP is a means for people with certain types of disabilities (say autistic individuals who can't stay in line) to essentially hold a spot in a virtual queue to make waiting an easier process.

I should note that until about 2016, there was another process that essentially gave guests with disabilities zero wait time. But it was changed because too many guests were abusing the system - especially 3rd party guides who were getting paid to bend the rules for entitled people.

As it turns out, there are still too many people taking advantage of the system in order to get to the front of the line. So Disney has altered the policy again, and have threatened lifetime bans for those that abuse it. Make no mistake, Disney knows exactly who these changes target, and its a warning to them.