Say Goodbye to the Panama Canal: A New Ocean-to-Ocean Route Just Shipped 900 Vehicles in Just 72 Hours

I have noted in the past that shipping is one of the biggest industries we have these days. Getting goods around the globe is something everyone wants a piece of. Who controls ports, shipping lanes, and the transit corridors will shape - or reahape - the world economy. 

And the Panama Canal is a choke point from which many counties and shipping companies want to move away. 

Entree Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which is an overland route to get goods from the pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Essentially, the ship is unloaded at a port there, and put onto rail cars and then moved across the expanse in a few hours, and reloaded onto another ship. 

So far, it’s seen some successes. But there are still a lot of concerns and things to consider. 

But Mexico is making a power play.  

https://indiandefencereview.com/mexico-rail-corridor-panama-canal-drought-alternative/

Data centers are breaking the electric grid. Meet the $6 billion startup and its visionary CEO solving the problem - Fast Company

I’m not convinced this solves anything in its current state. However, the concept that the startup is using recycled car batteries (and other larger scale batteries) to supply power in an ever-power-thirsty world is a good step in the right direction. 

And, I couldn’t help but think of Edison’s notion of having smaller power plants to produce DC power (as opposed to what we do today with large plants, power distribution, and AC power that was fleshed out from a Nikola Tesla idea) is sort of the answer as our power needs change. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91534619/data-centers-are-breaking-the-electric-grid-meet-the-6-billion-startup-and-its-genius-ceo-solving-the-problem

NASA is making a powerful new ion engine to send astronauts to Mars — and it just passed its 1st test | Space

Flight readiness is still a ways off. But the theoretical ion engine that could propel humans into deep space just took a nice leap forward. 

NASA successfully tested an ion engine (one that feeds off an electromagnetic reaction rather than a chemical one) that can produce 120 kw. This should be sufficient to propel a craft to mars. 

I look forward to seeing how this goes. 

https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/nasa-is-making-a-powerful-new-ion-engine-to-send-astronauts-to-mars-and-it-just-passed-its-1st-test

I’ll take any good news I can get…

Hello MoveOn friend,

Thank you for signing the petition to stop Trump and RFK Jr. 's chosen U.S. Surgeon General nominee, Casey Means. She was a completely unqualified wellness influencer, did not complete her medical residency, and doesn't hold an active medical license. Like RFK Jr., Means pushed an anti-science agenda that threats America's public health.

There isn't a lot of good health care news to share these days, but I did want to make sure you knew that our messages to our Senators actually worked. 

The Senate did not have enough support to confirm her nomination. So Trump announced on Truth Social today¹ that her replacement would be Fox News contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier. Saphier will be his third nominee for the job. 

Affordable telescopes.

Technology has come quite a long way. There’s a low-cost telescope available that has some pretty cool optics, and appears to be much easier to control that the telescopes of the past. 

I was kind of intrigued:

https://www.seestar.com/products/seestar-s30-pro

And then I saw this:

https://youtu.be/-v8mIvP_zUA?si=ZN7zMy98haGD2FJ1

Putting them in series to do some mapping?! It sounds totally crazy but is so cool! And completely possible because of these technological advancements. 

Disney’s $60 billion bet on the one thing AI can’t replace

This is a long form article about, essentially, Disney betting big on physical experiences such as theme parks and cruise lines. 

It’s an interesting perspective to be sure. And they do point out that the other CEO that took over for Iger - chapek - was also investing in theme parks, but he was very big on the revenue and thus raised prices and cut amenities. 

Something D’Amaro appears less likely to do. But we'll see…

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/disney-60-billion-bet-one-131500076.html

An interplanetary shortcut can speed up trips to Mars

In a way, this harkens back to the original moon missions.  Computers (ie, the people - mostly women - who did the computing by hand) figured out the most efficient way to get to the moon, orbit it, and come back to earth… and have a fairly precise landing spot (yes it was many 10s of miles, but it was a reasonable calculation in the 1960s). 

Here, a scientist looked at the path that a meteor took in its path between mars and earth, and figured out that we could theoretically have a “fairly short” trip to mars because of the orbital mechanics and whatnot. 

It’s a cool way to look at the way in which we can get to the red planet. 

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-interplanetary-shortcut-mars.html

A New Big Database of DNA From Indigenous Americans Shakes Up Scientists' Theories About Human Settlement of South America

I’m always fascinated by the fact that new discoveries can lead to new scientific concepts and update a long-held theory. 

Here’s another example of how indigenous people migrated between the Americas - and they did it in waves for various reasons is pretty remarkable. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-big-database-of-dna-from-indigenous-americans-shakes-up-scientific-theories-about-human-settlement-of-south-america-180988628/

Namid Desert: Lost since 1533: This Renaissance merchant ship has resurfaced in the Namib Desert after 500 years | World News - The Times of India

So much to unpack in this story. It shows how ships were built. Unlocks some stories about how trad worked. Tells us a little about the human spirit. And of course creates new mysteries around how the ship wound up inland; probably through changing oceans? 

It’s always amazing what we can learn. 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/lost-since-1533-this-renaissance-merchant-ship-has-resurfaced-in-the-namib-desert-after-500-years/articleshow/130574374.cms

Disneyland is now scanning your face at nearly every gate, sparking privacy concerns - Los Angeles Times

Oh dear. Privacy is basically a thing of the past, a quaint notion. 

Yeah, Disneyland is joining the fray of facial recognition. While they give the usual standby lines about need to protect itself and data being deleted in a short amount of time, it can be used in very many bad ways. 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-28/disneyland-rolls-out-facial-recognition-at-park-entrances-heres-how-it-works

Walt Disney was an informant for the FBI. - History Facts

The attached is a very short summary of Walt's involvement with the DOJ, and more specifically the FBI.

Remember that Walt was a patriot (as defined in the 20s-60s) and believed in what this country stood for.  He was also a bit of an opportunist, so when it came time for WWII, he made propaganda cartoons and housed the military in his studios.

Walt was asked to join the House Unamerican Affairs Committee (which wanted to root out the evils of communism), and did so reluctantly and cautiously (by many accounts).  But he did have a few names to share with the committee.  One was a particular animator who "gave him trouble" and wanted to unionize, and apparently had maybe been engaged in some "subversive activity"

And because he was this sort of patriot and was beloved and well known, the house, the DOJ, and the FBI asked for any information he had going forward.

Was he an "informant?" Likely not.  Was he doing his part and staying in the good graces of the feds?  Almost certainly.

It was an interesting time, and Walt was savvy enough to know how to play the game (as it were)  

https://historyfacts.com/famous-figures/fact/walt-disney-was-an-informant-for-the-fbi/

Study links lung cancer to eating fruits and veg: What this means

Here’s a study that’s worth taking a look at.  Of course the headline itself is a little misleading.  The scientists break it down thoroughly in their study findings.  They studied people with healthy, plant-based diets and did discover the incidence of lung cancer was higher.

However, what they also discovered is that the reason wasn't the fruits and vegetables themselves, but rather the pesticides and remaining residue that people consumed on the plant matter.

Does that mean one shouldn't eat plants?  Of course not! It means that we need to find better ways to remove pesticides from them before ingestion (because we all know that the industry will not stop using pesticides; that is a losing battle!)

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/healthy-diet-higher-lung-cancer-risk-deciphering-surprising-link-study-pesticides-contraceptives

Archaeologists Found 115,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Where They Shouldn’t Be

This is  an interesting look at an archaeological find.  It shows a couple of things: (a) these appear to be homosaoiens, which tells us that these early humans wandered farther than we previously thought, (b) the reason for their wandering may have been related to the ice age, and (c) we really need to re-think what we think we know about our early ancestors.

And again, this underscores the beauty of science.  We have a notion of what early ancestors did, and where they traveled.  But, we can continue to learn and update those theories, because we gather more evidence,

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a71129594/archaeologists-discover-ancient-human-footprints-change-migration-history/

The thousands of tons of banana pseudostems left rotting after each harvest are now being transformed into tissue paper and packaging materials, while a simple process using sodium hydroxide at 230°F is achieving pulp yields of up to 44 percent in April 2026 trials

Here’s an interesting concept: use banana stems and pulp, that otherwise goes to waste, to create tissue paper and other materials. 

In early tests, it can be done fairly cheaply, so this definitely has some potential. 

 

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/the-thousands-of-tons-of-banana-pseudostems-left-rotting-after-each-harvest-are-now-being-transformed-into-tissue-paper-and-packaging-materials-while-a-simple-process-using-sodium-hydroxide-at-230/31049/

A bit of a role model, and an inventor!

I read this article about the 15 year old inventor who came up with an invention to (cheaply!) use ocean currents to generate electricity. For it, she took home the top prize at a 3M young inventors challenge. 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/04/teen-built-electric-generator-using-ocean/

But that was - decade ago, and this woman has been extremely busy since!

She has had numerous inventions and ideas. She won a shark tank college inventors forum called “croc tank”

https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/croctank-funding-epipaws-fau-sharks-abc.php

And on and on. She’s quite determined, and prolific!

You can read more about her on her website.

https://www.hannahherbst.com/m_home.html

Now this is someone that should serve as a role model for young people. Be inquisitive and always try to find new ways to do things!

For 74,000 years, one ancient killer quietly dictated where early humans could survive across Africa

This is an interesting look at human migration.  Researchers examined where malaria was present through the history of Africa, and are suggesting that because malaria was deadly, it had a direct impact on human migration. 

That’s some critical thinking, and is pretty interesting to consider. 

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-years-ancient-killer-quietly-dictated.html

Disney's Lakeshore Lodge

Disney is on a never-ending quest to put their hand in your wallet in various ways.  One of those ways is through their "Disney Vacation Club" properties (a/k/a Time Shares) that exits around Walt Disney World.

They just keep popping up, and in my humble opinion ruin the aesthetics of the property on which they are built.  And as we saw during the pandemic, Disney has to make them available, regardless of extenuating circumstances, to comply with the contract language.

Anyway, pre-pandemic, Disney announced that they were removing the long-abandoned River Country water park, and were replacing it with another DVC property (between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness). The project was halted during the pandemic, but about a week ago, Disney made an announcement that it was back under construction and it has a preview and opening date planned.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-finally-reveals-new-lakeshore-lodge-concept-art-opening-timeline-details/

Researchers create fireproof building material from sawdust

Oooh. Ammonium magnesium phosphate, crushed watermelon seeds, and sawdust are combined to created a hard material that is fireproof. 

The secret is in the phosphate acting as an enzyme that binds the sawdust and the seeds provide a coating. 

A simple fireproof material that can be used in place of traditional particle board to protect buildings. Neat-o. 

https://www.dezeen.com/2026/04/14/sawdust-struvite-fireproof-material-eth-zurich-empa/

Meet the inventor dubbed 'Black Edison,' who beat Thomas Edison in court

Granville Woods is no household name. Yet, he was a prolific inventor who caught Edison’s attention … and in short, Edison used all manner of tactics to try and steal Woods’ inventions. 

The thing is that Woods had the misfortune of being black in America at a time when we were still overcoming slavery…. So he was never afforded the same deference as Edison. 

At least today, we can acknowledge the man and his accomplishments. Even if he died a poor man without much (if any!) recognition. 

 

https://www.wsj.com/business/granville-t-woods-patent-battles-edison-6744bfcf?mod=RSSMSN

Disney is Ruining its own theme parks

I made a recent visit to the Disney theme parks, and was struck by how everyone was so focused on their phones, and the next thing they were going to do, that they missed out on living in the moment.  

And with the price increases, and these "extras" you can add on for a fee (I'm looking at you Lighting Lane), you can see why people want to maximize their time in the parks.

Then, just to drive the point home, I got a survey from Disney that asked for my opinion about the technology they use and the relative cost of buying these extras.  Its clear that they are sensitive to what they are doing, but they are letting market forces drive them.

By the way, I did notice on this visit that there were a fair number of guests who hired Disney's own tour guides, which I suppose makes some sense because there's more of a return on that investment; they can navigate you around the park.  I had a chance to chat with one CastMember who was waiting for his guided family and he told me that particular family was pretty happy with how it was going and they got to see everything they wanted to that day. 

But.... its more complicated than that of course.  I happened to catch this video, where the host does a good job of laying it all out there, and wonders why Disney is ruining their theme parks.

https://youtu.be/GM7238HHbsQ?si=QRMXxsP2g1aVGgBa