PARROTS ZOOM VIRTUALLY
PARROTS LOVE TO FLOCK TOGETHER as part of their social, cognitive, and emotional needs. Yet, as reported by Sarah Kuta in Smithsonian Magazine, April 24, 2023, “… when kept as … Continue reading
HEADS—RED AND GRAY
TALK ABOUT KARMA (with no pun intended): I write about the Ferrari Testa Rossa and then read that “Redheaded People May Require More Anesthesia.” This in turn led to a … Continue reading
LET ME SLEEP ON IT—BIPHASICALLY
“5 Interesting Facts (and Myths) About Sleep,” at the Interesting Facts website described that medieval peasants slept better than we do. (Artificial light makes sleep less natural today.) In giving … Continue reading
IT USTA BE SANTA CLARA VALLEY PART 2
YESTERDAY, COMPUTER VACUUM TUBES FAILED every couple days and the valley had yet to be named Silicon. Today in Part 2, we continued gleaning insights from John Lanchester’s “Putting the … Continue reading
IT USTA BE SANTA CLARA VALLEY PART 1
John Lanchester’s “Putting the Silicon in Silicon Valley,” London Review of Books, March 16, 2023, offers information galore about our silicon chip age. At almost 6000 words, the article is … Continue reading
PRODUCTIVITY—THE DYNAMO, THE COMPUTER, AND A.I.
PAUL KRUGMAN’S “A.I. MAY CHANGE EVERYTHING, But Probably Not Too Quickly,” The New York Times, March 31, 2023, is a fascinating parable on technology and its effects on productivity. It … Continue reading
WEANING OFF COAL
COAL REPLACED WOOD AS THE WORLD’S primary energy source in 1885. It wasn’t until 1950 that petroleum and natural gas took its place. And, these days, much to the benefit … Continue reading
BEETHOVEN’S MOP
I’VE LONG BEEN ENVIOUS of Ludwig van Beethoven’s unruly head of hair. When I visit the nice lady who trims my hair occasionally (no, make that aperiodically), I say, “concert … Continue reading
SIMULATING FUEL CELL STEEL
FOLKS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE’S Advanced Power and Energy Program kindly keep me posted of their work with fuel cells of one type and another. See UCI’s work … Continue reading
ARE THERE ENOUGH OF US OUT THERE ALREADY?
IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT, beginning around 1950, we’re no longer living in the Holocene Epoch but the Anthropocene. It turns out that by many measures, including biomass, human beings have … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 