Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - December 16th
Housekeeping: This will be my last newsletter of 2025. Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season, and I'll be back around mid-January!
It's the holiday season, so we're seeing more about organizations that are setup to help others, asking for your help. It's the season of giving!
The likes of the Ronald McDonald House spring to mind.
And to be clear, I don't have anything against this program, rather I think it's great. I'm just using it as my example.
My question is: why? Why does it exist? Why do we have a system that treats seriously ill children with such disregard that they have to go to what amounts to a crowdsourced program to help?
Why isn't there a better way? We are a first world nation, and can and should be helping those in need. It should not come down to McDonalds founding an organization that takes in contributions for its existence - with a purpose of helping those who simply can't help themselves, and who through no fault of their own, were born with some nebulous "pre-existing condition"
Why aren't we better?
On a related note, I did see something from the GAO that suggests the government pays about $4.9 trillion in medical-related costs annually, under the current system. But "medicare for all" would cost around $3 trillion annually. Sure, it's not quite a 1:1 trade, and there are always other factors.
But, it certainly seems that in the long run it would be less costly on the whole, and could fix many of the bigger problems in the system. Still, it's unlikely to happen for the simple reason that private companies and the CEOs of these companies couldn't get rich. Thank you, hyper capitalism.
===
The short summary is that the evolution in the technology used in solar means that it costs less than 3 cents (US) to produce a KWh. Though of course installation is still a large cost, and storing the energy for use at night and when the sun isn't visible, has pitfalls. But the larger point stands: it is much cheaper to harness the sun than to mine for coal or capture natural gas. And less hazardous too. |
"I really can't wait for the next election because what's happening in America right now is insane. The fearmongering, the xenophobia, the blaming of immigrants by politicians with no ideas on how to truly make a country great." |
This is amazing…. The James Webb space telescope has been hunting for hints to the origin of the universe. And scientists think they have found a cluster of stars that might be among the first created after the Big Bang. It took a fair amount of study, but based on certain markers (like elements detected and red shift placement), it seems they are on to something. And now, we may be one step closer to understanding the universe and its origins. Cool! |
The "great pacific garbage patch" has become part of the ecosystem, with its own unique attributes and its now home to several species of marine life. That's just wild… https://www.earth.com/news/great-pacific-garbage-patch-so-large-that-dozens-of-species-call-it-home/  |
Quite the perspective. Very many skilled manual labor jobs remain unfilled. As Farley notes "we are in trouble in our country." The idea of bringing manufacturing back requires that people step in to various jobs in the industry. |
This story mildly amused me. Disney wants people's heads out of their phones so they can interact with loved ones who are with them, and enjoy the moment. And of course the plan is to change nothing about how technology must be used. But rather to try and employ *more technology* Their aim is to make use of whichever brand of connected glasses so you can look up; while watching something else and not paying any attention to those around you. But you can look like you are! Such weird times we live in. |
Bonus: a team of researchers identified a problem at football matches. Its a place where many people converge, and as a result, there is a strain on the cellular network and most fans experience latency.
So they employed an AI solution - and for the record, this seems like an appropriate use of the technology - to best manage the network.
In their testing, fans were able to get real time match data and stream video without buffering. And media outlets were able to communicate out, sharing information in real time.
It's actually pretty cool.
Bitchin' Dave's newsletter is published weekly. Please feel free to forward it around. If you want to subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to geezergamer92@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment