BEGONE, YE AULD SOD
ELIMINATING PEAT from the Irish energy picture sounds more than a little heretical. But even Ireland’s Bord na Móna, its state-owned peat harvesting and energy company, is in favor of … Continue reading
IS THAT WHAT’S TROUBLING YOU, BUNKIE? PART 2
AS RECENTLY AS yesterday here at SimanaitisSays, I cited Ann Gibbons’ Science magazine article “Why 536 was ‘the worst year to be alive.’ ” What with one thing and another, … Continue reading
IS THAT WHAT’S TROUBLING YOU, BUNKIE? PART 1
SOME MIGHT SAY that 2018 has to be the worst year ever. No, bunkie, I’m here to tell you there was a year that topped 2018 by a long shot. … Continue reading
A 21ST-CENTURY WRIGHT FLYER
A PROTOTYPE AIRPLANE with ion drive has made its first successful flights. Its EAD (electroaerodynamic) propulsion has no moving parts; rather, it depends on high voltage generating thrust via an … Continue reading
IS THE INTERNET BROKEN?
“FIXING THE INTERNET” is the title of a thoughtful Editorial in the November 23, 2018, issue of Science, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. … Continue reading
ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE OF SAUDI OIL
TRUMP’S RECENT exclamation-point-endowed pandering to Saudi Arabia suggests the need for an update on countries supplying oil to the U.S. To avoid yet further trumpery (Merriam-Webster: “crapola, hogwash, rubbish”), I … Continue reading
ON NORWEGIANS, A MAZE, AND A PARTY FOR “MATH’S NOBEL”
NORWEGIAN MATHEMATICIAN Hans Munthe-Kaas helped to design a new botanical garden at his institution, the University of Bergen. As reported in Science magazine, October 12, 2018, “The result debuted on … Continue reading
HACK MY TESLA? EASY-PEASY FOR A WHILE THERE
ALL IT TOOK for Belgian researchers to unlock and drive a Tesla Model S was the car’s weak encryption code, $600 of minicomputer hardware, and two seconds of effort. Rest … Continue reading
TALKING ABOUT PAINT THAT’S COOL!
“PASSIVE RADIATIVE COOLING” can lower a surface’s temperature by around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Think of images of Greek isles, with sun-baked buildings painted white to keep cool. Or recall “Cool … Continue reading
TAMING THE MACHINE
IT CLUNKED. IT clicked. It rattled. It whooshed. Once it left the Gods stranded from ascending their rainbow bridge to Valhalla. Rest easy, though: An improved Machine is coming to … Continue reading
