The underwater turbine

Here's some new tech being deployed to try and create green energy from the oceans. 

Conceptually, I like it. I do wonder what impacts it will have on the local ecology and what maintenance will be like (salt water is notoriously corrosive). 

https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/03/18/inside-the-underwater-turbine-farm-set-to-generate-clean-energy-from-frances-tides

Another company doing the wrong thing

Ben and Jerry's was founded by a couple of former hippies. And their world views were decidedly liberal. 

They ran a good company and espoused their views through their marketing. It was at the core of their business 

In 2000, they sold out to Unilever, but they had an agreement that they could continue to run as they always had.

In the acquisition agreement, Unilever agreed to carry on the company's tradition of engaging "in these critical, global economic and social missions"

Ben and Jerry are no longer involved in day-to-operations, but the (until recently) current CEO followed the same rules of the road. 

And then Unilever decided that he wasn't doing what they wanted and fired him. (And the mouth breathers celebrated of course). 

If you read through the article it seems quite clear it was because he was being a social activist, contrary to company views. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91301964/ben-jerrys-ceo-fired-unilever-social-policy-liberal-views

So. If you want to do something about this the answer is to avoid unilever products. What they are can be found here:

https://www.unilever.com/brands/all-brands/

NASA astronauts get a $5 per diem each day

This is a fun, quirky story about how the two astronauts who were unable to get home for a year were given their government allotted per diem. 

"While in space, NASA astronauts are on official travel orders as federal employees."

This means that in addition to their annual salary — about $152,258, according to NASA — Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams received around $1,430 for their 286 days in space.

Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore did not exactly see their extended stay as a hardship. "This is my happy place," Ms. Williams told reporters in September. "I love being up here in space. It's just fun, you know?"

Astronaut Clayton Anderson who also had an extended stay in the early 2000s added "it IS a government job with government pay. I would have done WAY better with mileage!"

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/nasa-astronauts-overtime.html

A look inside imagineering

Crunchlabs was able to go inside Disney imagineering's labs and shows us around!

You can see many of the things they are working on. It's wicked cool. 

https://youtu.be/16LuvR2CARA?si=qFLC0dJvc7vgapBk

From a personal standpoint, this was always my dream job …. So it's really fun to take a peek at what they're doing. And I do appreciate that several imagineers remind kids that they can create the future through imagineering, engineering, or simply being creative. 

Disneys Cotino community

You may recall that back in 2022, Disney announced plans to create a master planned community near Palm Springs. 

Well, the first part is set to open soon. Disney has fulfilled on its desire to create some kind of storybook living. 

And in a way, you could argue that this is at least a little like the original plans for Epcot. Its a place built (and managed, I think?) by Disney. 

https://people.com/disney-cotino-planned-community-reportedly-set-to-welcome-first-residents-this-spring-11699853

Hope for paralysis

Here's a piece on a Chinese research team and their attempts to help people who have been paralyzed. In summary:

The Chinese team's advance was made possible by implanting electrode chips in the brain and spinal cord to create a bridge or "neural bypass" – thus reconnecting the body's own pathways.

Which is a hopeful finding. 

But also not to be missed is the fact that they take some not-so-subtle jabs at Elon in the article. Which goes to show how much of a Dr Evil he's become. 

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3301416/chinas-neurotechnology-breakthrough-challenges-elon-musks-verdict-paralysed-patients

Intriguing idea for the future of power sources

The idea of a Natrium power source isn't new, but it's always been somewhat theoretical until recently. 

The concept is to create a nuclear reactor and use liquid sodium to cool the materials, rather than water. 

This would have two benefits: it would increase energy production and decrease the risk of an accident. 

They're building a power plant in Wyoming, to test this out. I look forward to seeing how this works out. 

And by the way, the article notes that Bill Gates thinks this is a good direction for the future of energy. I just wanted to point out that Gates is smarter than Elon is; so I can at least accept that through independent thought he might have some idea what he's talking about.  But maybe that's just me. 

https://jasondeegan.com/bill-gates-argues-that-the-future-of-energy-isnt-in-renewables-or-fusion-but-in-natrium/