Bitchin Dave's Newsletter

Texas had a story that actually cut me deeply.

The basic story is that a literature professor at Texas A&M was conducting a lecture about children's authors and in the context of the discussions used pronouns other than the two that the GOP seems to dwell on.

A student was incensed and a discussion ensued; essentially the student was saying the law was broken in even discussing such matters. The instructor politely offered for the student to leave if they (see what I did there?) were uncomfortable.

And how do we know this? Because "someone" in the class recorded it and posted it online (I don't know if that's actually legal in and of itself). To me, it feels an awful lot like a setup, but no matter. There was additional fallout.

The student wound up calling the chair of the department and recording that conversation and posting it (not sure if that's a crime in Texas, either, but whatever). The chair said nothing would happen as a result of this, and wanted to move on.

She (the student) posted more to social media about how she was expelled from the classroom and how this was a violation of her rights (there was also some "I'm personally offended by the subject matter" thrown in there too - snowflake much?)

But then various ideological and political idiots in Texas inserted themselves and asked the president of the university to act. The teacher in question and a few others were fired. The chair was fired. The curriculum came under scrutiny.

And the president of the university was again called upon to do more... and since the attached was written, he, too, has been fired.

What have we become?

Like I said, this all felt like a setup. And Texas can get bent. But literally Houston, we have a problem.

Gender-identity content in Texas A&M class leads to removals | The Texas Tribune https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/08/texas-am-video-professor-student-gender-identity-content/

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AI paves the way toward green cement

First off, I had no idea that cement production accounted for 8% of all CO2 emissions.

Second, this is an appropriate and good use of technology to improve life. Using modeling, and machine learning to try and find new ways to reduce emissions without having to spend a lot of time and money on trial and error is pretty cool.

And they think they've found a way to reduce their carbon footprint. Very nice.

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-ai-paves-green-cement.html

After 'humiliating' raid, Burkina Faso halts 'gene drive' project to fight malaria

This is one of those unbelievable stories that show the problem with fake news extends well beyond our borders.

The summary is that the government of Burkina Faso was funding research into how to reduce the spread of malaria.

Since mosquitos are the way the disease is spread, the research team focused on eradicating the mosquito population. They did some genetic manipulation and made it so that the offspring would all be male, and therefore they couldn't reproduce.

And then came the fake news. The research team was accused of creating a synthetic virus, and they were using the mosquitos to spread that virus, in order to... (something something).

The government stopped the research. Hassled the scientists. And accused them of various nefarious deeds. The mosquitos they created were killed off.

And we're right back to where we were. With no means to stop the spread of malaria.

https://www.science.org/content/article/after-humiliating-raid-burkina-faso-halts-gene-drive-project-fight-malaria

Disneyland Handcrafted.

Before I get to this story, I know that Disney has been in the news over the last week. I am not ignoring that, and you can read more on that topic at the end of the newsletter. This article is a fun look at the history of Disneyland.

Disney has announced a potentially interesting documentary series called "Disneyland Handcrafted," about the design and construction of the original Disneyland, which is in the midst of its 70th anniversary.

The documentary is by Leslie Iwerks, who descends from Disney "royalty" - her father was Don Iwerks, inventor of the CircleVision 360 camera, and her grandfather was Ub Iwerks who was one of the original animators who worked for Walt, and he helped create Mickey Mouse.

But Leslie is no slouch. She is an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated documentarian who created the "The Imagineering Story" series for Disney+.

The new documentary will run on Disney+ and YouTube this fall.

Trailer here: https://youtu.be/7rP3FVnGtfg

Did the Perseverance Rover find life on Mars?

The headlines would certainly suggest that it did.

But the truth (as always) is a little more complicated. What they found were possible bio signatures.

"The combination of these minerals [iron-containing minerals vivianite and greigite], which appear to have formed by electron-transfer reactions between the sediment and organic matter, is a potential fingerprint for microbial life, which would use these reactions to produce energy for growth."

These samples were collected after initial analysis, and will be part of the payload that NASA intends to return to Earth at some point in the not-too-distant future. These samples will then be analyzed here on Earth, and we can decide if they do, in fact, indicate there is life.

So for now, set aside the hyperbole. It may be that these are building blocks. But we won't know for at least a few years.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/did-nasas-perseverance-rover-actually-find-evidence-of-life-on-mars-we-need-to-haul-its-samples-home-to-find-out-scientists-say

From flatscreens to bioimaging: Putting sargassum seaweed to good use

Here's a story about a couple of scientists who are working on a method to heat sargassum and shape it to use as light points, like on a flatscreen tv, in place of other materials, like plastics.

Gotta love the innovative thinking!

https://news.miami.edu/stories/2025/09/from-flatscreens-to-bioimaging-putting-sargassum-seaweed-to-good-use.html

I'll take victories, large and small

Two groups - PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper - filed a lawsuit against a company called Styropek, for the dumping of plastic particles in the waterways around their factory near Pittsburgh.

The National Environmental Law Center handled the suit, and said this:

Concerned citizens first found plastic pellets floating in the Ohio River and nearby Raccoon Creek. They eventually traced the plastic upstream to a Styropek facility that manufactures plastic pellets. Outside the facility, they documented the pellets floating in the water and covering aquatic vegetation and the banks of the creek.

Now, with this settlement, Styropek is agreeing to completely redesign its stormwater collection to capture all of its pellet waste. This will have a direct impact on the Ohio River Basin and help protect clean water in western Pennsylvania.

After the redesign, Styropek must install new, cutting-edge monitoring technology to track and capture any plastic pellets that otherwise would have escaped the property and entered local waterways like Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River. The settlement imposes an automatic fine if that tech should detect even a single pellet.

In addition, Styropek will pay a $2.6 million penalty for violating the Clean Water Act. That penalty is one of the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania history, and will support efforts to clean up the plastic pellets that are already polluting the Raccoon Creek and Ohio River watershed.

Plastic pellets, frequently referred to as "nurdles," are typically about the size of a lentil. Once released into the environment they act as "toxic sponges," absorbing toxic substances from the surrounding water, including pesticides, heavy metals, and even bacteria and viruses. Fish, birds and other wildlife can then accidentally swallow these toxic plastic bits.

My bonus items for this edition is about Disney being in the news: I am still a fan of the Disney theme parks, though I have to admit that the way they've changed to become a playground for the wealthy bothers me.

The company on the whole is a different story, and they often rub me the wrong way. They are all about the bottom line, staying on top in entertainment (including sports), and currying favor politically.

And the two collided last week when they made a decision to suspend (or is it fire?) Jimmy Kimmell from the show he hosts. There's a report that they "tried to find common ground" with him, which suggests that maybe they wanted him to tone down what he was saying, and when that didn't work out, he was let go.

And on cue, a certain orange menace cheered about his removal. Kimmell offended him with some poking fun. Isn't that what satire is all about?

This should not be the accepted behavior of an entertainment company that has its hands in so many pots. They are a behemoth that can't possibly continue to play all sides. Maybe they need to take their hands out of some pots?

Kimmell's show was profitable, and he was doing the same thing he always does. But for some reason, people at the top of the food chain have decided to essentially be thin-skinned snowflakes , and can't accept any criticism.

And once again, here we are...

For what it's worth, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner called the suspension "yet another example of out of control intimidation."

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