Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - October 31

Dave’s Musings

Happy Halloween! Here's to hoping you get lots of treats, and have relatively few tricks (unless that's your thing of course).

In honor of the holiday, here are 25 fun facts, including the fact that Halloween was brought to us by Irish immigrants in the 1800s, and how trick or treating became a staple as a way to curb some of the pranksterism that grew out of the early traditions.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/a35150/halloween-facts/

Nuclear fusion may still seem like a dream, yet a British team is investigating the feasibility of creating a fusion rocket that would allow us to travel large distances more quickly without the need for large amounts of traditional fuel. Their research could culminate in some tests within a few years. Read more

Among the hurdles to overcome in our ever increasing world of interconnectivity is how to cool data centers, or server farms, that house multiple computers powering the world. While placing these data centers in cooler climates helps, there are some innovative ideas for how to circulate air, improve on the AC systems, how to use the heat differently, and of course redesigning the computers themselves. All of these things can reduce the electric need, and help with emissions too. Its promising that researchers and even some big companies are meeting this need head on. Link to article

Reuters had a fun story about Disney's past, and where that might lead them in the future. The tag line is "Will Disney pull off another magic trick?" To which I say - don't count them out! And there's another article which is tangentially related. It looks at Disney's streaming problems https://www.thestreet.com/travel/forget-ron-desantis-walt-disney-has-a-much-bigger-problem

There was a bit of a mystery on a Google image that appeared online. In short, there was an image of two Boeing 717s with Lufthansa logos on them sitting at the Detroit Airport. The problem starts with Lufthansa not owning or operating any 717 aircraft. And as people looked at it, they discovered other anomalies. A little research reveals that Google's algorithm did some digital manipulation without human intervention. It overlapped several images and duplicated a single aircraft and then added the Lufthansa logo because the aircraft was near their terminal. And by the way, that aircraft apparently belongs to Delta airlines. Even though this is trivial, we should always be onguard for things that feel off in a way. Don't be afraid to question what's shown to you; be a natural skeptic. https://onemileatatime.com/news/lufthansa-boeing-717-detroit-airport/

Latest video

I've got some new learnings on my hydroponic journey. I share them with you. https://youtu.be/luUJ4fjMZZ4?si=y112Mr02eTEdNHfq

One Little Spark …

Here's an article that reminds us that humans existed in the Americas more than 20,000 years ago (!!). We are all temporary visitors to this planet. Understanding the planet, and ensuring our survival for another 20,000 years is a choice. Here's to hoping the "collective we" make the right one. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-evidence-footprints-mexico-oldest-humans.amp