Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - February 3rd
Last week's winter storm had quite the impact on a large swath of the nation. Of course, we had the coldest day throughout most of Florida, and saw iguanas falling from trees. Which is amusing.
But there's some seriousness here too. Flights were cancelled, and people got stranded. It was a mess.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom had an investor call where he acknowledged the operational challenges the airline had been through, and went on to say that "I know throughout the rest of our system, some of our crewmembers didn't have a place to stay last night." And called it unacceptable
But then added this when discussing stranded flight attendants - who had to sleep at airports - which caused more operational delays.
"I also know it comes with the kind of business we run. This isn't the only storm that we've ever had. It's not going to be the last storm we've had."
Before proceeding to talk about profits, the government shut down (and its effect on profits), revenue sharing, and how his employees are in better shape than some competitors.
This is how we are as a nation. Lack of empathy and focus on money have effects on people, and are consequential.
We could be so much better.
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Solar device converts salt water into drinking water at record speed - Earth.com |
Hmmm. A convenient and cost effective way to get drinkable water from the seas?
Yeah this device can remove the salt. And it does it with solar power, so there's no net cost to run it.
Here's an interesting bit of research being done in Japan. Researchers are taking cellulose and salt and creating various forms of plastic that are useful in many applications - and the best part is that they are actually biodegradable under very specific conditions (that are easy to replicate). |
Here's a story about V Sagittae, a relatively nearby star that scientists have been studying for some time now. The way it's behaving, they believe it will go supernova soon (in cosmic terms, it could be 100 years, or maybe in our lifetime). But the resulting explosion will be visible from earth, even with the naked eye. I hope it happens in my lifetime. I think that would be cool to witness (even if technically it already happened). |
Here's another scientific bit of research that examines an ancestor who was ape-like that may have been a direct ancestor. It's not quite the proverbial "missing link" but it does provide some clues as to our own evolution. |
The story about the suitcase full of presumed lost Habsburg jewels turning up in Quebec, of all places, is quite the intriguing story. But the story of Zita, who was the last leader of the Austria-Hungary empire, and how she lost it all, but made it to Quebec with the jewels is equally fascinating. A short summary is in the second link. |
The search for a CEO successor at the Walt disney company is ongoing. Bob Igers contract runs through the end of 2026, so the clock is definitely ticking. And the goal, from the company's standpoint, is to get it right this time (and avoid the cluster that was the 2020 appointment of Bob Chapek). So the company now has hired some outside help to run the search, and has a committee to oversee the process. Which all sounds nice, and it reportedly is down to four candidates. But, time is definitely an issue if you want to make it a smooth transition. We'll see how it goes…. |
Bonus: there's some consternation about Bad Bunny being the Super Bowl half time entertainment. Conservatives hate him because he sometimes wears a dress (the horror!), and some of his lyrics are in Spanish (how terrible!). But most of all, they seem to think he's an immigrant, which he is not as he hails from Puerto Rico and is a US citizen by birth.
So a conservative group is offering an "alternative halftime show" and is making quite the stink about it. Because it will be more 'Murican.
I find this kind of amusing. At least in part because about 35 years ago, the big game halftimes kind of stank. I couldn't even tell you who was performing, but it was boring stuff.
So one year, in about 1990, the troupe "in living color" headed by the Wayans brothers, and featuring a young Jim Carrey, staged an alternate halftime show that was funny and edgy. Kind of the antithesis of what the conservative group has in mind for this weeks game.
That alternate show drew good ratings, and the NFL noticed. The halftimes started to change and become more events featuring current talent that had some sort of mass appeal.
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