https://www.google.com/amp/s/gimletmedia.com/amp/shows/science-vs/gmhnoo
Friday, February 28, 2020
"Science versus" podcast series
Have you heard of the "Science vs" podcasts? I am really enjoying the Science versus podcasts. I love her sense of humor, and I really love hearing old husband's tales getting debunked. You could start with the one on fracking, or the one on attachment parenting.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/gimletmedia.com/amp/shows/science-vs/v4hew5
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Paul Simon's Greatest Song
Paul Simon talks about the moment he created a really great song, tweaked it, and gave it to Art Garfunkel to sing.
Sentences that computers have trouble understanding
For instance, "the trophy would not fit in the suitcase, because it was too big." The computer has trouble understanding what needed to be bigger, because it doesn't "know" that suitcases hold things and that a trophy might go inside a suitcase but not vice versa.
https://youtu.be/m3vIEKWrP9Q
Speech recognition by computers.
Speech recognition by computers.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Tesla tips and advice and tricks after a few months of ownership
Driving a Tesla turns an annoying drive in a traffic jam into a pleasant relaxing drive. You'll find yourself listening to more podcasts. And if you have a long drive, you'll find yourself much more relaxed at the end of a long drive than you're used to.
https://youtu.be/OXl6Pd7Bwuc
About once every ten hours of driving on autopilot, it will make some sudden mistake like turning into a line of stopped cars, or aiming right at a construction median. So, never let your guard down.
In the rainy northwest, the side cameras often get blocked by rain, which prevents the autopilot form making lane changes. I solved this by coating the cameras with "Aquapel" for $3 and it decreased the frequency of those warnings. Using "Rain-X" (not as good) or Aquapel seems to create very heated discussion on the internet, but has worked well for me. Just don't put it on the front windshield - the owner's manual specifically says not to do this.
It's about $3 a treatment that is said to last a year or so.
The Tesla is a heavy car, and you get fooled by the amazing acceleration into thinking it can stop quickly. I had an accident the 3rd day I owned the car because someone cut in front of me on a wet morning and I couldn't stop in time. So beware and leave more stopping distance than you're used to.
As you're driving, the autopilot needs frequent reminders that you're still awake and paying attention. The prompt on the screen says to "turn the wheel slightly," but it will also respond to adjusting the volume of the radio, or changing the cruise control by 1 mph, which is sometimes easier to do every 30 seconds than forcing the steering wheel.
If you swipe down on the "Navigate" box on the top left of the screen, it automatically selects "navigate to home," which saves you a few steps. It took me a while to learn this. A few other little tips - to unlock all the doors instead of just the driver door, press the "Park" button twice.
If you select "Range Mode" to maximize distance per charge, the cabin air temperature heating and AC and the defroster don't work at maximum capacity (because that saps a lot of power,) so if you need those in a hurry, take it out of "range mode."
The rate at which a supercharger charges your car is higher at the low end of battery capacity, and much slower at the top 30% of capacity (to help preserve battery life). Also, the battery doesn't last as long when you charge it all the way to the top, so run it most days between, say 10% and 70% charged. Also, in planning long trips, it's better to plan to arrive at supercharging stations with the battery almost empty, to capitalize on those fast charge rates. There's an app called ABRP ("a better route planner") that maps this all out better than the car itself does.
When driving to a Supercharger, the graphic on your Tesla screen that indicates how full the charging station in disappears once you start on the route. You can update this, however, and see how full it is by tapping on the destination on the screen.
The Tesla has very little maintenance, but a few things you have to remember. I found this video about checking the brake fluid useful, as it can save you an entire service trip and costs if you just check the brake fluid yourself. (If you drive carefully with regenerative braking, you hardly ever touch the brakes, so brake fluid may stay healthy longer than manufacturer's recommendations.)
Tesla maintenance was recently revised to be even simpler and cheaper. At 7:16 he describes how to check your own brake fluid to see if it needs replacing.
Brake fluid tester device:
Brake fluid test strips:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753MZT7P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Getting an electrician to come install your charger can take several weeks in the busy Seattle market, so as soon as you order your vehicle, get to work on this.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
The Salt Hostel, Bolivia
The Salt Hostel
BoliviaPull up the satellite view at the following link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ifohDyHUtNRtuhaa9
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Graphene Batteries Hit the Market
2:34 charges to 3000 mAh in 20 minutes vs normal 90 minutes
4:12 - Charges to capacity (10,000 mAh) in 50 minutes instead of the usual 16 hours. (It can take the heat)
2:57 lifetime of 1500 cycles vs 600 for usual battery.
3:09 stays cool
3:28 graphene is mixed in with lithium in the battery, and a graphene sheet distributes power within the battery, generating less heat.
4:12 - Charges to capacity (10,000 mAh) in 50 minutes instead of the usual 16 hours. (It can take the heat)
2:57 lifetime of 1500 cycles vs 600 for usual battery.
3:09 stays cool
3:28 graphene is mixed in with lithium in the battery, and a graphene sheet distributes power within the battery, generating less heat.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Bird Migration caught on Radar
"Sometime around the stroke of midnight on February 17, weather radars on the island city of Key West in Florida were swarmed not by a gust of wintry showers, but by a storm of migrating birds.
"At one point blanketing the entire island, this flock's radius stretched at least 145 kilometres (90 miles) wide, according to local meteorologists."
https://www.sciencealert.com/key-west-weather-radar-was-completely-obscured-by-a-flock-of-birds-the-other-nightYou can earn a 3500 signup bonus for signing with a new broker
"Ally Financial offers one of the biggest maximum bonuses for new customers, $3,500, if they're moving more than $2 million. The bonus scale is similar for E-Trade, though it tops out at $2,500 for new accounts of more than $1 million."
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
America's Crumbling Infrastructure
At 3:54, Daniel Slane says that China invested in infrastructure when their economy was slow, and stopped once it recovered. "I saw the power of infrastructure."
Monday, February 17, 2020
Benefits of a Low-Risk Vanguard Portfolio
Sunday, February 16, 2020
TIMELAPSE- House Built By Couple
I think you'll enjoy this video. They did it all themselves, building an off the grid house.
Covers of "Running Up That Hill"
"Running up that hill," by Kate Bush, had two recent covers:
a soft one https://youtu.be/qgdEkgGlWh8
and a brash one (with an intriguing video colored by kids) https://youtu.be/N7iVWK2W48o
However, neither comes close to the uniquely clear throaty vocal of the original.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Drummer and Beatboxer
A Million-Mile Battery invented at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS
A nice surprise in this video that an important innovation came from Dalhousie.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Nissan Skyline GT-R , R32, R33, R34
Important things like changing out the turbos, fuel filter and the plugs as soon as you get it.
"...The issues with having the coils in the valley of the head, and covered, is they cook. I personally think that about 40% of peoples issues with misfires, are the coil harness cooking in the valley. 20% is probably spark leaking from the boot. 10% the plug. 10% the coil. 20% the ignitor, ecu, or CAS. It takes about 5000 less volts to arc a iridium plug vs a copper plug. So generally an iridium plug will help your ignition system last longer, fire easier."
"...Same as a 1996 Infiniti J30. Its a good idea to change it when you get the car. Its almost the same as a 300ZX filter, but the outlet has a 90 degree bend on the actual filter."
"...Fuel Pump
"...Turbos
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
What Tesla autopilot sees
These hackers spent a huge amount of time compiling the data Tesla autopilot deciphers - recognizing objects, the percent probability that an object is what it thinks it is, their distance, what lane they're in, whether they're moving, and where the car is able to drive and what route ahead it should take. This is all neatly displayed in this hacker video, where they comment that Tesla is very secretive about the process it actually uses.
How much data does the entire Youtube library require?
"As per Youtube stats, 1 hour of video is being uploaded every second, so 2.4 GB of video is uploaded every second.
"Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN charges $0.12 per GB for low-end customers. I suspect that Google/Youtube, through their combination of in-POP networks, working with ISPs, etc, is able to keep that cost down. Let’s say $0.01 per GB.
* 86400 seconds/day = 207.36 TB / day
* 365 days/year = 75.686 PB / year
* 365 days/year = 75.686 PB / year
"...Approximately 76 PB of video data is stored in Youtube every year. At the time of writing, 2 TB hard drives cost approximately $100 or less.
"So 76 PB x $50 / TB = $3,784,320 on storage costs
= $3.8 million in storage costs
= $3.8 million in storage costs
"So there we go. Approximately $4 million in storage costs per year
"Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN charges $0.12 per GB for low-end customers. I suspect that Google/Youtube, through their combination of in-POP networks, working with ISPs, etc, is able to keep that cost down. Let’s say $0.01 per GB.
So $0.015 per GB = $15 per TB = $15,000 per PB = $15M per EB
Cost = 6 EB * $15M / PB = $90,000,000
= $90 million
Cost = 6 EB * $15M / PB = $90,000,000
= $90 million
"So there we go. Approximately $90 million a year in networking costs. (Again, this number could vary wildly..."
https://sumanrs.wordpress.com/2012/04/14/youtube-yearly-costs-for-storagenetworking-estimate/
https://sumanrs.wordpress.com/2012/04/14/youtube-yearly-costs-for-storagenetworking-estimate/
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Loving your job, and other delights
@13:08"Deesa has the easy going demeanor of someone who legitimately loves their job."
What a great way to describe how loving your job affects deeply how you live and carry yourelf.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Street Drummer & Beatbox
I think that combining beatboxing and drumming, when done right, could be really great. This sound system is terrible and distorted, but gives you the idea. They start together at 1:16
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Honda E first drive: adorable, futuristic and fun
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
What is releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere?
"The amount of carbon defrosting out of the melting permafrost is double what is currently in the atmosphere."
A plastic straw that changed the world.
Life Through the Eyes of a Sea Turtle
@4:45 "What I realized after [I made] this video was that if you create a media that really engages and shares that problem with a global audience, there's a potential to enact real change."
How an unschooled teenager made millions
Legally hacking to disclose vulnerabilities. 93% of Forbes list of companies don't yet have a "vulnerability-disclosure policy," allowing a channel for reporting software loopholes and weaknesses.
Monday, February 3, 2020
Perioperative Hyperglycemia Management: An Update
Preoperative hyperglycemia correlates with bad outcomes, but "no prospective randomized studies have determined the importance of pre-operative control and clinical outcome."
Podcasts
The Obscure Virus Club: If it weren't for these few obstinate, quirky, determined, outcast scientists, the AIDS epidemic would have taken a lot longer to conquer.
This American Life: No coincidence - no story. This podcast recounts various incredible coincidences, with one truly touching story about a dollar bill that returned like a message in a bottle. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/489/no-coincidence-no-story
Why we love surprises. A psychologist researchers surprise plot twists in movies, and magician's deceptions, to uncover what our brains are easily blinded by. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/661878959
Hidden Brain - emotional currency. How money evolved, and represents human relationships.
129 cars - the immense pressure car salesmen are under to sell an arbitrary quota of vehicles set by the manufacturer, and what it drives them to do to meet that target. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/513/129-cars
What's going on in there? An immensely sad tale of a young teenager caught in an abusive relationship, returning to the abuse for years. And, a touching story of a son finally connecting with his father who only spoke a different language.
Switched at birth. A convoluted and bizarre tale of babies switched at birth, knowingly (to two of the 4 parents) and the havoc, jealousy, isolation, and sadness it wreaked when that mother revealed the secret 4 decades later. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/360/switched-at-birth
Boeing's broken dreams - a former safety inspector laments the shortcuts taken to deliver the Dreamliner on time and on budget, saying he would never fly on one. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/podcasts/the-daily/boeing-crash.html
You can't hit unsend - how a young teen's acceptance to Harvard was suddenly rescinded.
\https://www.npr.org/2019/09/06/758281834/you-cant-hit-unsend-how-a-social-media-scandal-unfolded-at-harvard
You can't hit unsend - how a young teen's acceptance to Harvard was suddenly rescinded.
\https://www.npr.org/2019/09/06/758281834/you-cant-hit-unsend-how-a-social-media-scandal-unfolded-at-harvard
Saturday, February 1, 2020
10 Best Ways To Spend British Airways Avios Points In 2019... - God Save The Points
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