Bitchin' Dave's Newsletter - May 14

 Dave’s Musings

I recently broke my wrist. And can I just say that the quality of care I received was outstanding. But the system associated with healthcare is so broken!

Figuring out the costs, whats in network, which tier the expense is in, and whether you can have a procedure without breaking the bank...these are all things that are so ridiculously absurd. We can do better!

The James Webb Space Telescope caused some amount of controversy in the cosmological space.  The way the universe appeared through its sensors appeared to conflict with what we had previously learned through observation and other studies. But ... after taking some time to really evaluate the results, and how they relate to, say, what we see with the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists are re-thinking what they observe, and maybe there is no cosmological crisis after all. It would appear that the old and new findings likely do agree, but IMHO its about perspective.  You might think about it in the same way that you think about relativity.  The location of the observer is a factor in understanding that theory - much like the positioning of the various spacecraft helps us to understand the universe. https://bigthink.com/hard-science/james-webb-space-telescope-cosmology/

GM is trying to create a totally new battery configuration.  Early development was going well, and they were on to something and got a patent.  But they are struggling to build this at scale for a number of reasons.   Still, I like what they are thinking, and it may just take a while longer to get there. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/gm-ev-battery-patent-general-motors/

Maybe you could join the growing community that is WFD (working from Disney). I know I've seen my share of people apparently talking work on the phone, and people with laptops open (especially in the hotels) diligently plying their trade. And to be honest, this is something I did for more than a decade while working a full time job. I would sneak off to visit the parks for a day or two, and take a call here and there so I was "working"… I rather enjoyed that way of thinking about not being confined to an office. I reflect fondly about those times. And if you're a Disney fan, I recommend it! https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/disney-world-adult-visitors-increasingly-mix-remote-work-play-rcna149882

I read this and thought .... you know its funny.  When a company does something that people get offended by they use silly terms like "go woke, go broke" ... but when its a good old, fashioned southern restaurant chain that has done nothing to offend, there's a list of rational-sounding reasons why they're struggling. And yes, you can apply these same reasons to most of the struggling businesses today, and not their "woke-ness" https://www.mashed.com/1553656/reasons-cracker-barrel-struggling/

Latest video

I'm looking at my Teslas total cost of ownership https://youtu.be/ifoc3BLr8_Q?si=C4cIrh17plq6oXik

One Little Spark …

Two teens came up with a trigonometric proof of the Pyhtagoream Theorem … something mathematicians have been unable to do.  And the truly great part is that they aren't math whizzes. They just put their heads together and figured out a solution to a problem for extra credit and a little cash incentive.  The sad part is that they received some backlash because they are black women, "who couldn't possibly have solved this" because people are just too stupid to accept that we are all just people - born with the same innate curiosity and ability to solve problems.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-come-up-with-trigonometry-proof-for-pythagorean-theorem-60-minutes-transcript/