VINTAGE DIGITAL
WE LOVE VINTAGE CARS, VINTAGE WATCHES, vintage wines. Why not vintage digital? Moore’s Law predicted quite accurately a two-year obsolescence of almost anything digital, but what of the discarded stuff? … Continue reading
PSITTACIDAE ANGELINOS
THERE ARE LIKELY MORE RED-CROWNED PARROTS in Los Angeles than in their native range in Mexico. This tidbit caught my eye when KTLA5’s Travis Schlep asked “Why Are There So … Continue reading
A REALLY SOLID IDEA NEARING FRUITION
BACK IN APRIL 2022, SIMANAITISSAYS wrote “Solid-state Batteries” When? If? Whose?” Today, only 18 months later we can forgo the “if,” give the “when” a 2027-2028, and, as suggested, associate … Continue reading
A POCKETFUL OF COMPUTATIONS
JAMES VINCENT’S “INSTRUMENTAL TRICKS,” London Review of Books, October 5, 2023, isn’t about the musical variety, but rather computational: It’s a review of Keith Houston’s Empire of the Sum: The … Continue reading
CAGING H2
IN AAAS SCIENCE, September 28, 2023, Robert F. Service writes, “Chemical Cages Could Store Hydrogen, Expand Use of Clean-burning Fuel.” Service says, “Hydrogen seems like the perfect fuel. By weight … Continue reading
ON CANINE AUDITORY PROCESSING
“WHO’S A CUTE PUPPY?” ASKS AAAS Science, September 15, 2023, in a Research item titled “Auditory Processing.” The item is based on a paper by Anna Gergely et al. published … Continue reading
OVERDOING IT
IS THERE BETTER LIVING THROUGH OPTIMIZATION? Not necessarily, posits mathematical modeler Coco Krumme in her new book Optimal Illusions. In their review of the book in Science, September 14, 2023, … Continue reading
THE 2023 IG NOBEL PRIZES
IT’S IG NOBEL PRIZE time again! Officially the “33rd First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony” rewards researchers in ten categories for presenting “things that make people laugh, then think.” I … Continue reading
AIRCRAFT CUTAWAYS—A VARIETY OF STYLES
THE PURPOSE OF A CUTAWAY, of course, is to reveal inner aspects of something by selectively omitting outer elements. The intent, though, depends on the audience: Is it a technical … Continue reading
CAR BUYERS AND USERS FOR SALE
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for the Internet to learn monetization. We are the product, not simply the users. And the automakers are now following suit. In *Privacy Not Included, September … Continue reading
