Watch "Watch a meteor land on Earth - BBC" on YouTube

This is crazy, cool, and a little terrifying. 

https://youtu.be/nKqzB6hlF8c?si=Rs6etMfkcF3HvBUy

The early days of gas cars

We talk about how there's no infrastructure for electric car charging and that's a sort of deal breaker in terms of convenience. 

But (a) for most people, the ability to charge at home and perhaps somewhere like work is enough to meet everyday use. The "mental model" of having to get gas and worry about charging shouldn't be a consideration. The infrastructure as it exists today should be enough for general usage. 

And then (b) is this article about how early cars were either electric(!) or were powered by kerosene that you purchased at a store and taken out in an early version of a jerrican. (Fun side note: the word Jerri is slang for German, as the Germans invented the current design of the can during WWII and it was replicated by the allies)

People were fine with that - because they now had the ability to drive somewhere. We have become so car centric, looking for convenience, that we couldn't imagine such a thing. 

But note that the story below has a little more subtext - kerosene was inefficient as a fuel source, and the gasoline that was a byproduct of kerosene production was simply discarded. But it was much more efficient as a fuel source, and thus was sold to consumers (a win-win for the refiners because they had no byproducts to dispose of and could make lots more money!)

But it still took rather a long time to develop a method for distribution that is still in use today. It just took time to build a network and people only fairly recently in that history started thinking about much longer trips in their cars. 

https://historyfacts.com/science-industry/fact/before-gas-stations-drivers-used-to-buy-gas-in-a-can-from-the-pharmacy/

Part of the roof came off the Polynesian village

Oops. It's intriguing to me that Disney developed the Epcot building code… and then proceeded to not use it for cost reasons. 

https://blogmickey.com/2024/10/photos-high-winds-from-hurricane-milton-peel-off-roof-from-disneys-polynesian-village-resort-buildings/

The benefits of organic farming

A group of researchers studied the benefits of organic farming on the soil itself. 

After comparing their results, the researchers concluded that soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

So there's a benefit to carbon capture and therefore to how to positively impact climate change. 

I realize that with the global population such as it is, organic farming can not feed the world. At least, not yet. But maybe this will prompt companies to look at alternatives to harsh chemicals that can produce similar results. 

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/organic-farming-soil-carbon-storage-study/

Woah. A black hole in a lab! Science rules

The notion of reconciling quantum mechanics and relativity has been a dream for some time. 

But it looks like some researchers who essentially created a simulated black hole by moving electrons between atoms to see what might happen have stumbled onto something interesting.  

That simulation could possibly reconcile the two theorems. They are showing how quantum states react while creating an event horizon that produces light and so it glows. That may be just the right thing to match this all up. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-simulated-a-black-hole-in-the-lab-and-then-it-began-to-glow

Its cool. 

Space junk: COLLISIONS ARE NOT A QUESTION OF IF BUT WHEN.

With all the debris that we continue to send into orbit, it's important to keep in mind that this could become a very big problem, very soon. 

https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-junk-disaster-inevitable

Toyota and hydrogen fuel rods

What a great idea! Let's make little devices that could be turned into bombs!

What could possibly go wrong?!

https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/toyotas-portable-hydrogen-cartridges-look-like-giant-aa-batteries-and-could-spell-the-end-of-lengthy-ev-charging

The big lie started with just one email

The daily show did some actual journalism and found the person who sent the original email about the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. 

It was a crazy person basing it on literally nothing… and then Fox News and certain well known dipshits ran with it without doing a shred of fact checking. 

Resulting in much of the stupidity we saw between the election and the inauguration, and the nearly $800 million dollar settlement Fox News reached for not even attempting to see if there were any nuggets of truth. 

https://youtu.be/NWZjYZ4b6EE

Why monster hurricanes like Milton are happening in the Gulf. It’s not geoengineering

This is a well researched article that sums up two key things: that there is a ton of bullshit (aka "misinformation") out there about basic science. And there is a climate change effect that is causing bigger storms to form in the gulf. 

And both should serve as a warning to us. We need good science. Not to bury our heads in the sand. And we need to stop with the notion that some crazy person knows what they're talking about because they researched it. 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/climate-change/article293741614.html

Nature returns. And so do the salmon

A dam was removed on a river between California and Oregon. And lo and behold, the salmon made their way back to the river, as they had years ago before the dam was installed. 

Nature has an amazing means of "finding a way" doesn't it?

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/salmon-swim-freely-klamath-river-1st-time-century-114571347

Zachary Taylor legacy

I love this little nugget. Zachary Taylor had never voted, was unaware that he was nominated for president (after refusing to pay the postage on the letter that informed him of such), and refused to campaign. 

And he won, then died in office. 

Politics are weird, man. 

https://historyfacts.com/us-history/fact/zachary-taylor-never-voted-until-his-own-presidential-election/

Such odd responses

Back in June, there was a proposal (pitched by Democrats) to expand the selective service, so that women would also have to register.  The concept was to help encourage more people (both men and women) to signup for military service.

Senators and Congresspeople had mixed reactions, but in a general sort of sense, there was some agreement that the military needs to be expanded and automatically registering men (rather than having to send back a form), and perhaps some means of expanding the program to women might make sense.

But not everyone felt that way.  Senator Josh Hawley, for example 'derided the measure to put women on equal footing as another "woke" decision being made on behalf of the nation's military.' 

"We need to get reality back in check here. There shouldn't be women in the draft. They shouldn't be forced to serve if they don't want to."

But he also doesn't believe its a womans right to control her own body as it relates to abortion.  

Is it safe to assume he 'respects' womens rights ... as it relates to how they serve men? 

Watch "Titan submersible owner said he'd 'buy a congressman' if Coast Guard became a problem, witness says" on YouTube

Geez. Here's another reason why rich people suck. In this case, he was only hurting himself and others who were dumb enough to go an expedition with him. 

But buy a congressman? Really?

https://youtu.be/gSZJJztP3AI?si=edtVLFJtDiLlORb5

Sheer stupidity is rewarded

We live in such strange times. The news media (that is ALL of them, not a partisan thing) are governed by financials. 

Their goal is to "sell newspapers" or more precisely, to get clicks on sites. Because that generates revenue and pays the reporters.  

They try and fill in sometimes with these artificially generated stories. Which is sheer madness. Stories that don't mean anything but have a headline…really?

That's terrible. But worse is not reporting on actual news, and instead allowing salacious headlines to make the rounds. And to give idiots with an ill informed position a forum to air their nonsense. 

That's why Donald Trump was - and is - in the news without any sort of realistic fact checking. Why he's always on. It generates clicks. 

And why a mouth breather like that congress lady from Georgia can espouse idiotic claims like "THEY control the weather" without a dismissive "this claim is absurd and laughable" 

Like in the attached article. It sure feels like it should be downplayed much more as in "she is a nitwit and has no business being in office" or perhaps just ignoring her dopey comments. 

https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-doubles-down-weather-comments-after-backlash-1964508

Is it a cult?

As you may be aware, I am producing videos about the election for both TikTok and YouTube.  At first, I allowed for comments on said videos, but I had to turn that feature off when I started getting more vitriol (including "schoolyard taunts" that we might have heard back in the 70s by bullies) for saying anything that wasn't aligned with the MAGA point of view. 

Quick note: oddly sometimes the "off" feature resets on YouTube when I upload from my phone and also when it's a scheduled video. So once a while a comment slips through before I can fix it. 

On the YouTube videos, I also turned off the ability for the viewer to see the percent of thumbs up and down (you can only see the thumbs up); but I can see it as the owner.  It's strange to me - though maybe not surprising - how many thumbs down the videos get.  It's a VERY large percentage (in many cases, well over 80% of the responses).

I expect that sometimes someone won't agree with what I'm saying and will give a thumbs down. And sometimes people are just "being funny" (ie, jerks) and give a thumbs down "just because."  But the number of negative responses is far greater on these videos than what I've seen on anything I've produced in the past.  

A bit of an aside: you have to have a thick skin to produce content for anyone to see on the interwebs; you never know how people will react.

Most rational people just move on.  But in the case of anything related to MAGA, people take time out of their day to watch at least part of something that doesn't align with their POV and proceed to comment on it (spilling their hate), and opt to put a thumbs down. 

For what it's worth, that sure sounds like a cult to me.

It’s really sad when corporate malfeasance wins

Tesla was taken to court over misleading statements about its full self driving. 

And in the end Tesla won because the lawyers argued that corporate puffery can not be construed as reality. 

We are truly dystopian. Full stop. 

https://electrek.co/2024/10/02/elon-musk-celebrates-winning-lawsuit-tesla-self-driving-claims-embarrassing-defense/

Tom Sawyers Island

The Orlando Sentinel ran an article about the closure of Tom Sawyers island at Disney World. 

I found the end part interesting. It's exactly what Disney is all about these days…

What's so very Disney about it

The island leans into its cutesy, old-timey theme. It's Disney-level clean in a great outdoors way.

There are a handful of animatronics, including one that's snoring.

On the modern side, there are the standard warnings about alligators and snakes, and there are rules for Tom Sawyer Scavenger's Fort (ages 2-12 only) and the "surfaces may be hot" advisory.

What's not very Disney 2024 about it

On Tom Sawyer Island, there's no MagicBand needed, no PhotoPass stops, no Lightning Lanes, no dessert party offering and no cast members telling us to keep our hands and feet inside the fort at all times.

There are no characters to meet or greet, no touting the latest holiday, no Mickey Bars, no souvenir merchandise or really anything to spend money on with the exception of a couple of vending machines by Aunt Polly's.

Decide for yourself if that's a plus or minus.

Using your friends family in photos is just weird

This candidate for office posted a photo with a woman and kids without any context.  It looks like a normal family photo.  Only, it's not his family, it's a friend's wife and kids.

His opponents came out and cried foul because he's single, and wants to appeal to family oriented voters. 

He says it's perfectly normal, as he was just posing for pictures like people do during campaigns (you know, because you're a celebrity and can do whatever you want…even grab them….but I digress).  And anyway, where is his friend?

To make his point, he posts some other pictures with supporters.  None are staged like that.  They look like candid shots. And he even posts a picture of him and his fiancé.  She is standing a little behind him, and it's a selfie style photo.  I certainly didn't guess that was his fiancé based on how it looks.

Sometimes people do weird things.  And when it comes to politicians, it's often weirder still.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13910009/Virginia-GOP-candidate-Derrick-Anderson-borrows-friends-family-campaign-photo.html

Another example of gaslighting

"Raising the minimum wage will lead to more people getting laid off, and prices will go up"

Except, that hasn't happened. 

Here's an independent study of what is happening in California. 

https://www.kqed.org/news/12007150/californias-20-fast-food-minimum-wage-sees-no-job-loss-slight-price-hikes