Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - October 14th

I'm amazed at how a certain segment of the population doesn't believe in science.  In particular, I'm astounded at how vaccines became a bad thing.  From the dunderhead who currently heads up health and human services on down to the trolls who "do their own research," for some reason vaccines are to be avoided and shouldn't even be in the public purview because .... reasons! 

But yet, these same folks clamor for drugs that are presented as some kind of miracle for reasons that make no sense - like ivermectin as a cure all, despite it having never been tested for efficacy for anything, really.

Or these drugs you see advertised on TV that may treat some thing (often rare), but which also list possible death as side effect.  They are widely accepted and people clamor for them.  And things like Ozempic, which causes weight loss *for as long as you take it* as a true side effect of what the drug is intended for, makes people want it as a miracle weight loss drug.

Why is this so hard for people to understand?  Science looks at the small details, the facts, and not hyperbole, wild claims, or other crazy bits of information. And in some cases, protects us from nature itself.  But yet, people seem to think that what matters is that catchy tune that makes everything sound wonderful.  

We are broken as a society.

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EU commits $638 million to scale up renewables in nine African countries | Business Insider Africa


I love that the EU is investing in a future, rather than focusing on colonization-related activities. Grow the infrastructure. Learn more about things we can be doing.  Create some jobs.  And build a better future for mankind. 

Aside on this topic: I have seen a fair number of stories about the EU looking to attract scientists and others who can contribute something meaningful to live and work in the union, and have a path toward citizenship in one of the member nations.  Its clearly targeted at the US population, as we turn ever more anti-science.


It's no wonder people steer clear of financial advisor types


In summary: a professional football player in Miami used the services of Merrill Lynch in South Florida. The person who was serving as his advisor was actively enriching himself from the players money through a series of shady transactions, and laundering money through a third party - that the player had never met or authorized.

The advisor was arrested and faces restitution and significant jail time.  And Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay about 3x what was stolen, and essentially (paraphrasing from their public statements) "hopes to do better in the future."

And surely other people who were managed by the same person had money stolen, too. What of them? 

Merrill Lynch Pays $9.5 Million to Settle FINRA Arbitration Brought by Former NFL Star Reshad Jones https://www.iorio.law/blog/merrill-lynch-reshad-jones-fraud-settlement/


MIT's Window-Sized Device Pulls Drinking Water From Thin Air, Even in the Desert


A while back, I shared an article about a team of researchers that were looking at a lightweight graphene and calcium based concept for pulling water from the air. 

Well, here's another team that has been testing a hydrogel solution that essentially does the same thing. 

It's got a ways to go to scale, but they are already able to demonstrate it working. 


The nonsense about the space shuttle


This has been on my mind for a while now.

NASA had 5 space shuttles in their fleet that had actually been in orbit. 

Two of them had "rapid unexpected disassembly" during their lifetime:
Challenger  was lost in an accident 1986
Columbia was lost in an accident 2003

Leaving 3 to find homes after the shuttle program wound down.  I'll get to those in a moment.

There were also 4 other vehicles that were not used in space, and which require a little explanation because they "look like" a real shuttle.

Ambassador  was a scale model built to get an idea of the size of the vehicle before they built any "real ones."  The exterior looked right, but it had no other features.  This model was dismantled in the early 1990s and its whereabouts are unknown.

Inspiration was the first full scale mockup built.  It was a prototype of sorts, and had all the dimensions - interior and exterior right, and even had some simulated control panels.  It was sold, and is privately owned.  There is a plan for it to go on display in Downey, CA "soon"

Enterprise was an airworthy mockup.  It was used as a prototype in its flight characteristics and ability to land it on a runway.  While it didn't go into space, it was as close to the real thing you could get.  It was sold to the intrepid museum in New York.

Explorer This was a full scale replica, which I believe was built by Ringling Brothers (or perhaps it was only owned by them at some point).  It used all the blueprints  and plans in its design.  It had a flight deck with controls, a fabric covering, and some faux heat tiles.  It was on display at Kennedy space center until 2000, and I got to get the complete tour of it.  It LOOKED like a shuttle.  There was nothing about it that made it feel incomplete.  It just wasn't designed to go into space.  But if you didn't know, you might not know.  In fact, I remember people seeing it and thinking it was real.  

When Kennedy Space Center's visitor center was enhanced, this mockup was moved to Johnson and renamed Independence. I'm not sure of its ownership but NASA has it on display there, even today.  It is not a shuttle that flew in space, but, again, you wouldn't know unless you know. 

And then we have the remaining three that flew in space:
Atlantis - was left at Kennedy space center after its last mission and is housed in an exhibition building.

Endeavor - after a bidding process, this vehicle was sold to the California science center (in Los Angeles), where it is on display.
 
Discovery -  was "donated" to the Smithsonian

In summary, of the 9 total shuttles that were created from mockups to actual flight worthy machines, you have 3 that are no longer around, 3 that were sold to private organizations, 1 that is part of the Smithsonian collection, and the remaining 2 are owned by NASA.

Some politicians would like a "real one" at the Johnson Space Center, which is weird because they have one there that is as close to real as you can get.  The only other one they control is the one at Kennedy Space Center. 

The Smithsonian is not under the purview or control of NASA, and congress has no authority over their collection, so in a way its like its in a private collection. A national private collection.  And yet, a couple of idiots want *that one* for Texas - and at least a few preservationists have said it will get severely damaged in any move.

Under normal circumstances all of this rhetoric and angst would be a big show about literally nothing. Today, who knows? Its stupid and makes no sense at all.  The time to have this discussion was a decade or more ago when they were deciding what to do with the shuttles. 

The cost to move any of these at this point is off the charts and serves no purpose.



The New Meta Ray-Bans Might Be Your Next Disneyland Tour Guide


An intriguing use of technology. But (a) I would assume Disney will try and monetize it, and (b) what of us that wear glasses? I guess I'll miss out on that tech. 

Aside: I am reminded of a scene from the first season of Star Trek: the next generation.  Geordi loses his visor (allowing him to see) and his adversary makes a comment to the effect of "you have no sight and your parents let you live?"… as a glasses-wearer, it feels kind of like that sleight every time I see new tech that excludes me. 



Climate change results in rare hybrid bird between green jay and blue jay - the "gruejay"


How intriguing! Another example of adaptation happening before our eyes, and it is an evolutionary step. 

(Suck it people who don't believe in science) 


And a more detailed story here:


Bonus: Sometimes things just feel "off"… T-rump came into office with the stated goal of reducing the size of the federal government. He leveraged musk to do some fiddling and reduce some of the workers. 

Then it got to the point of being problematic and the courts intervened. 

…and then came the government shutdown.  And let's be honest, this is all on T-rump. It's ostensibly as a means to get some budgetary things he wants through mostly by pouting and manipulation of people around him. 

But here's the oddity: he is saying that almost no one who was furloughed (I believe with the exception of the military) will receive back pay for the time they're away from their job. It's a form of what businesses do when they want people to quit: make their lives miserable. 

Backing that thought up, I also read that federal workers will see their insurance premiums double next year, eating into their take home pay. They'll be essentially taking a pay cut when they do return.  Its another way to drive them out of the workforce. 

And then on queue, we've been seeing reports about people actually being laid off during the shutdown: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mxd1g71vxo 

I guess that's one "campaign promise" he'll manage to keep?



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