The future of retail - an entire shopping and restaurant experience without any human interaction, so you can spend more time on your phone.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Coober-Pedy the underground town in the Australian Outback
https://youtu.be/uFA-OB-nJ_I
https://youtu.be/-1XSKu3pK8A
https://youtu.be/PJvrTYmp1C0
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Why incompetent people think they're amazing - Dunning-Kruger effect
The least competent people are most likely to overrate their skill, yet after a little training they're willing to label their initial skill as awful.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Friday, August 24, 2018
How does a camera gimbal stabilizer know when you're panning versus drifting/shaking to the side?
A handheld 3-axis gimbal stabilizer can eliminate vibrations enabling smooth smartphone shooting through the three-gyroscope chip with self-adaptive 3-Axis mixing which applies a correction based on proportional, integral, and derivative terms (PID)* an algorithm that controls the three motors to achieve automatic stability and balance in the shooting process.
In practical terms, [such a controller] automatically applies accurate and responsive correction to a control function. An everyday example is the cruise control on a vehicle; where external influences such as gradients (hills) would cause speed changes, and the driver has the ability to alter the desired set speed. The PID algorithm restores the actual speed to the desired speed in the optimal way, without delay or overshoot, by controlling the power output of the vehicle's engine.
Novel caulking process for building an efficient home
Making a house extremely airtight by spraying a mist of caulk into a pressurized house seals all the tiny cracks and leaks, as they demonstrate here. That reduces the chance of mold, water vapor, and insects entering the walls.
Studies: Crows count, chimps know when they're right - CNN
I'd heard about crows counting how many hunters were behind a hunting blind, (mentioned in this article) but I wondered how they had measured the change in behavior when the crows knew the hunters had gone. These experiments seem more sophisticated than that at proving how crows and chimpanzees think. Metacognition..is knowing that you know something...They gave three chimps computerized memory tests and rewarded them with food for correct answers, but they built in some hitches to tease out signs of metacognition..The reward appeared at a place away from the test area, and when the chimps got an answer right, a sound alerted them that the food was going to appear -- with a slight delay -- at the distant spot. They had to hustle to get to the other station before the food popped out, or it would disappear, or go down the drain, so to speak.
But that alerting sound was delayed, too. The apes barely had enough of a heads up to make it to the reward station in time to catch the food before it vanished.
After a while, the chimps appeared to get a sense for when they got an answer right and when they didn't. And when they did, they often darted for the food station ahead of that tardy sound signal.
If the monkeys got an answer wrong, more often than not, they sat things out. After all, when you've bombed, why go to the trouble?.
But that alerting sound was delayed, too. The apes barely had enough of a heads up to make it to the reward station in time to catch the food before it vanished.
After a while, the chimps appeared to get a sense for when they got an answer right and when they didn't. And when they did, they often darted for the food station ahead of that tardy sound signal.
If the monkeys got an answer wrong, more often than not, they sat things out. After all, when you've bombed, why go to the trouble?.
DJI Mavic 2 Vision Point of Interest - The BEST, yet least talked about feature
Amazing capabilities of these little flying machines. This model was just released today, with some improvements over preceding models.
Capturing Mountains in a Different Light
Entrancing use of a drone with lights on its underbelly to infuse a landscape with light and gradually reveal the jagged contour.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Most Orange Juice Comes From Brazil, Not Florida | CNBC
Who knew? 70% of orange juice comes from Brazil, buoyed by cheap labor, lack of hurricanes, no constraints on pesticides, and abundant land.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Mercedes-Benz active pre-scan suspension on the F 700 research car
I wondered if anyone had invented this yet, and they have. The lidar looks ahead and determines when to adjust the suspension to minimize each bump in the road.
What is Steam Hammer?
Explanation of the steam hammer effect in pipes carrying water and steam simultaneously.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Monday, August 20, 2018
Chop sticks or plastic cutlery? Which is more enviro friendly?
"Wood a million times over. Wood can and should be significantly more green than plastic at every point in its lifecycle.
"The post use waste side of the issue has been covered* but another favorable aspect of wood products is the eco-friendliness of wood product manufacture. Plastics release many toxins in to the air during manufacture, including acetone, styrene, and toluene. Wood on the other hand can be processed significantly more cleanly. Trees can be cut using greener logging technologies, mills can be run using solar^ or other green energy sources, and shaping machinery can also be run with green energy sources. Saw dust left behind from the processing of wood can simply be burnt or put to use as an absorbant. There's no drilling, no hydraulic fracking, and no environmentally catastrophic spills like there are with oil [which is used to make] plastics."
https://www.quora.com/Which-is-more-ecological-wood-or-plastic&ved=2ahUKEwi6jt7Thf3cAhWNIjQIHUnAAWMQrAIoADAAegQIBRAH&usg=AOvVaw3HfnZ0NY1sa2Y1BucOZM8w
*waste side:
"Assuming you're talking about the typical disposable chopsticks made of bamboo, they can be composted without special equipment (although it may take a couple years in slow conditions). Plastic forks, on the other hand, will take a very long time to degrade and likely won't be recycled. Even "compostable" plastic is nowhere near as degradable as bamboo"
Also, wood products are typically shipped hundreds of miles to North American consumers, while petroleum products have been shipped thousands of miles.
^ pretty hard to find any links to actual solar powered sawmills, because they are pretty power-hungry...
As you can see, its a lot of solar panels...they say at 0;57 they installed a four-fold excess of capacity just in case.
"Molecular Cuisine "The Fat Duck" Restaurant
Molecular cooking at a restaurant in the UK. They say it's one of the first restaurants to use liquid nitrogen for food preparation.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Tour of the SR-71 Blackbird high-altitude reconnaissance plane
2:05 "We had a couple of hundred missiles fired at us, and the closest one came within a mile." What? That's a lot of missiles fired at a US planes! And a pretty lost success rate. He explains that the planes speed, and it's radar-jamming capability foiled these attempts.
At 11:30 he describes "unstarts" where the supersonic shock wavefront was disturbed and moved outside the engine intake, dramatically dropping the thrust from that engine and making the plane lurch to one side violently. He says it did this over a hundred times in five years while he was flying it!
Saturday, August 18, 2018
The history behind cruise ships' design
Interesting documentary that includes historical discoveries about steel-making, diesel engine, hull drag and so on.
At 13:46 they talk about improved hull efficiency by "lubricating" the bow with microbubbles.
The azimuth pods that allow the propellers to swivel 360 degrees look like they face the wrong way, propellers first. But allowing the propellers to cut through undisturbed water makes them more efficient. "The pod's propeller usually faces forward because in this pulling (or tractor) configuration the propeller is more efficient due to operation in undisturbed flow."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AzipodWhat Can $10 Get You in IRAN?
Interesting travelogue and surprising what $10 can get you in Iran.
Taxi ride,
SIM card with 6GB data
Candy (gift-packed)
hairbrush gift
hot tea
pistachios
2 fresh-squeezed juices
Cows with names produce more milk, scientists say - Telegraph
The average amount of milk produced by a cow over its annual 10-month lactation period is 7,500 liters. Those cows whose farmer's had names for them had an average higher milk yield of 258 liters.
Make the Best Steaks By Cooking Frozen Meat (No Thawing!)
I found the science of this interesting. Freeze steaks on an open tray for a day before wrapping them and putting them in a Ziploc. Don't that them, just sear them in hot oil before baking them.
"I was humbled..."
A surgeon this week told me he's finally chosen a new city to move to, amongst several offers, because he was "humbled" by the huge salary they were offering. It seemed like an odd use of the word "humble."
I looked it up and discovered the term "humblebragging," coined by a comedian. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/humblebrag
And a funny article from the LA times poking fun at all this false modesty.
"These days it's code for 'something great has happened to me and I want you to feel jealous while also believing I'm totally deserving.' In other words, humble is the new smug."
And I realized that this was one instance where Wikipedia is much better than traditional dictionaries, because it can pick up on recent trends, and provide plenty of examples and references.
-Tom
Wiktionary
(usually qualifying a first-person pronoun) Grateful for the support of others, touched; honored, flattered.
2014 September 24, "Web Access... Simon Pegg / Edgar Wright" BBC Online:JJ: Are you humbled by such positive reactions from such a wide spectrum of people, from George A Romero to Harry Knowles?SP: Absolutely. Yeah, it's wonderful. ... We're very humbled and very pleased.
2014 November 4, John Boehner Statement by Speaker Boehner On Outlook For The 114th Congress: We are humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us, but this is not a time for celebration.
2015 May, C. Joyce Hall "Humbled and Honored" ABA Health eSource Vol. 11 No. 9: I cannot adequately express my sincere thanks to the Section leaders who saw fit to take a chance on me and ask me to get involved in leadership in the Section. Thank you for being excellent role models. I am honored and humbled to serve.
2015 September 12, 'HONORED AND HUMBLED' ESPINOZA TO RECEIVE LAFFIT PINCAY, JR. AWARD Paulick Report: "Anytime I win an award of any kind I am honored and humbled," Espinoza said.
2010 February 1, Tom Hagan 'I am humbled by these people' National Catholic Reporter: They would continue to suffer greatly but they have a strength that is remarkable. I am humbled by them and privileged to be with them.
Usage notes
The use of such forms as "I am humbled" in victory speeches and the like has been criticised as an oxymoron given the meaning of the verb humble. It indicates modesty via a sense of unworthiness of the honor, or surprise at one's success; humility rather than humiliation. See also humblebrag.[1][2]
References
^ The Grammarphobia Blog "A humbling victory?"January 4th, 2013
^ Meghan Daum "Humbletalk: It's just another way to say 'smug'" LA Times December 26, 2013
Friday, August 17, 2018
How to Cook Bacon So It's Crispy, Tender, and the Most Perfect Ever
Underwater bacon! I'll have to try that.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Aboard One of the Biggest Container Ships in the World | The New York Times
4:13 She burns 100 tons of fuel a day. (!)
That's about 30,000 gallons.
https://onlineconversion.vbulletin.net/forum/main-forums/convert-and-calculate/8194-partner-horizon-fuels
At $300 per tonne, that's $30,000 a day for fuel.
"bunker prices for fuel oil are between $309 and $340 per tonne, depending on where you are in the world."
https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-cost-to-fuel-a-cargo-ship(On that quora page, he calculates a cost of $130,000 a day for the thirtiest ships, and $0.7M to cross the Pacific in such a ship.)
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Mimolette and other cheeses that don't require refrigeration
"I am actually a cheese monger by profession. There are several specific cheeses you can buy that do not require any refrigeration but even with this they will not last as long. Most cheese can be stored at cooler temps and most in Europe are actually stored in caves and cellars that keep a naturally cooler temperature. You should be able to find most of these at a Whole foods or Trader Joes if you don't have a specialty cheese shop.
"Parmigiana reggiano Beemster extra aged (26 month) Beemster Paradiso Dry jacks And most other Aged Goudas that have been aged more than 2 years hardly require refrigeration. Though you may see some weeping from the cheese which is the whey of the cheese pushing its way to the surface. It may look like oil. But! As mentioned by someone else unless you are going to store whole wheels, cheese does need a bit of refrigeration unless it has a certification to not grow certain bacteria outside of refrigeration."
You may consider a zeer pot.
"...porous outer earthenware pot (lined with wet sand) containing an inner pot (which can be glazed to prevent penetration by the liquid) within which the food is placed. The evaporation of the outer liquid draws heat from the inner pot." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator
Facts from the stock market: Subway, Bitcoin
"In 2017, Subway had 43,912 stores around the world, beating second-place McDonald's at 37,241 and third-place Starbucks at 27,339 locations."
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/subway-franchises-mcdonalds-starbucks-fast-food.html?recirc=taboolainternal
One Bitcoin Transaction Consumes As Much Energy As Your House Uses in a Week.
"Since the average American household consumes 901 KWh per month, each Bitcoin transfer represents enough energy to run a comfortable house, and everything in it, for nearly a week."
MJ stocks
Cronos Group Inc. (CRON): Market Cap $1.15B
Nasdaq's first pot stock Cronos Group is a Toronto-based cultivator of medical marijuana... ships its products to Germany, is building a facility in Israel and has a license through a joint venture in Australia. While it does not have a presence in the United States due to the uncertainty in regulations...
Terra Tech Corp (OTC: TRTC): Market Cap $157M
Incorporated almost a decade ago, Terra Tech is diversified agricultural company that has operations in production and dispensing medical marijuana as well as hydroponic equipment... also operates retail distribution of medical marijuana under the name Blum...has operations in the U.S. including a State of California Temporary Authorization to cultivate, manufacture, distribute and retail cannabis... dispensaries in Nevada and has two large cultivation facilities in the state where production will commence after necessary State approvals.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
3 year-old genius girl accepted into Mensa
- highest IQ they've tested in two decades
- a 3 yo with a 5th-grade reading level in two languages
- the reporter gets the stats a bit mixed up...
- the reporter gets the stats a bit mixed up...
Friday, August 10, 2018
Alinea Restaurant Chicago - molecular food
Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 867-0110
-molecular food, incredible experience, the one fancy restaurant worth going to in Chicago - Xian
How the chef describes it -
Look how artfully this is served tableside:
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Pilot Parallel Pen: The Budget Calligraphy Pen
-nice calligraphy pens. Look easy to fill, use, and clean.
https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Parallel-Calligraphy-Cartridges-90050/dp/B002RJNT46.
https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Parallel-Calligraphy-Cartridges-90050/dp/B002RJNT46.
Farmers market lies exposed: hidden camera investigation (Marketplace)
Great investigative journalism travels right to the source, exposes fraud at Farmers' markets that undercuts the real farmers by reselling wholesale produce. And shows a great comparison of California market tightly controlled by tighter legislation. Then she talks to the legislator who could fix the situation, who promises to look into it. Canadian reporters really go the distance.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Moms Lip Sync To Their Kids Playing FortNite
This is surprisingly funny seeing moms lip-sync to their teenage son's chatter and rants during video games.
Did you know that parents are actually paying for tutors for their kids to play video games better? Here's that story.
Keeping your RV Cool In Extreme Heat - Ideas From Burning Man
Trust this inventive, cheapskate, artistic community at Burning Man to come up with cheap solar solutions for cooling. The homemade evaporative coolers start at 5:55.
Monday, August 6, 2018
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Seakeeper: Gyroscopic Stabilization for Boats
-a giant gyroscope constantly spinning to keep your boat 90% steadier. Too bad he didn't demonstrate it in real choppy seas.
Mammoth container ships
A few snapshots from the video:
There's shops have surpassed estimates of the maximum size ever possible, and continue to get larger.
They've contributed to the rise in trade.
Here's the largest importers via shopping container in the US:
British Columbia Is Burning
Good investigative reporting about forest fires, their increasing severity, and how we've ironically increased their severity by suppressing them for years.
"Cold trailing is when firefighters form a line and walk the area, feeling with their hands for heat coming up out of the ground and looking for signs of continued burning that could be underground."
http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/146840/Fires-100-contained
http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/146840/Fires-100-contained
"Cold Trailing: A method of controlling a partly dead fire edge by carefully inspecting and feeling with the hand for heat to detect any fire, digging out every live spot, and trenching any live edge."
https://www.fs.fed.us/nwacfire/home/terminology.htmlBoater helps put out wildfire
I always knew these annoying boats were created for a reason.
Here's the long version, with a few choice words from some inebriated boaters.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Fish high/ low in mercury
Larger predator fish are higher in mercury
-tuna, King mackerel, marlin, orange roughy
Low in mercury
-salmon, Atlantic mackerel, sardines, trout
Low in mercury but also low in Omega-3
-catfish, flounder,tilapia, shrimp, sole
-Consumer Reports 9/18 p. 33
Friday, August 3, 2018
Computer simulation of Erosion by water
An incredible number of calculations to make a subtle effect realistic.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Resurrecting an old engine design
Opposing pistons on the same cylinder. He mentions that when invented was not clean-burning or efficient, but now a viable option with computer control.
Problems With The Tesla Model 3
Center console and door handles flimsy, ride height not lowered, no air suspension, all-season tires. Interior push-button door release preferred over the handle.
And don't forget that repairs are expensive over the vehicle is out of warranty, and Tesla doesn't sell parts so no one else can work on them.
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