Solar panel orientation: How using East-West structures improves the performance of your project

On my journey across the country, I've noticed several solar farms facing (counterintuitively) East, instead of South. Apparently generating less power at more  favorable times if day is worth more than having higher peak, and total, generation. (I'm still not sure why you can squeeze more panels into the same area with this orientation.)

"the reason why solar arrays that are situated east-west are becoming an industry trend rapidly is because these structures can squeeze in more rows and panels, and therefore a greater generation capacity than their south-north facing cousins (in terms of the project surface, not generation capacity per module" 

https://ratedpower.com/blog

Will Smith autobiography

We are enjoying this audio-book a lot more than we thought we would. Full of grit, wisdom, and character. And his own reading of it is surprisingly conversational. Will: The Sunday Times Bestselling Autobiography https://g.co/kgs/StMUE4

How “dementia villages” work

https://youtu.be/LN_--egst3s

Less institution, more like a village - promotes autonomy and independence and reinforces normal behavior. 

How To See Yourself Clearly | Hidden Brain Media

32:02 Other people's reading of our conscientiousness are better predictors of how long will live better than their own self assessment of their personality

 

https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-0-how-to-see-yourself-clearly/

James Fridman Photoshop Humor

https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/funny-photoshop-requests-james-fridman/

How the US Postal Service reads terrible handwriting

https://youtu.be/XxCha4Kez9c

An incredibly antiquated difficult system which workers must become very fast at doing. It has diminished to ne center for the entire US postal system, as the volume of hand-addressed envelopes has diminished. 

How Mirror Scenes Are Shot

https://youtu.be/sSZTAlACAJI

A variety of crafty techniques. 

Ray tracing in real time in interactive video

It amazes me how many computations are being done "under the hood" in real time. At 2:00 he mentions that the new algorithm remembers what it did in previous frames to streamline processing of subsequent ones.

https://youtu.be/W1UDzxtrhes

This is reminiscent of the latest advance in self-driving, where Tesla uses previous frames' analysis to predict which way objects are likely to move, called "4-D" that greatly enhanced the ability of self-driving systems to drive safely with less hesitation.

https://youtu.be/ciWmvTcuxeo?t=488

News Is What Somebody Does Not Want You To Print. All the Rest Is Advertising – Quote Investigator

Quotation about journalism

"News is what people do not want you to print. All the rest is advertising."

The back story on where the quotation came from is quite interesting.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/01/20/news-suppress/

The Genius of 2x4 Framing

https://youtu.be/S6mUFrXexAk

The advent of hamburgers and light wood frame houses parallel each other in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the similarities don't end there. 

How Much Does Your M.R.I. Cost? | NYT Opinion

https://youtu.be/pjn_MJx-mJ8

It's about time! This essay points out how ludicrous it is that a test or consult is recommended yet a patient (and their doctor) has no idea what it will cost eventually until the bills come rolling in. The system needs to change with up-front disclosure of costs as in any other business. 

Laser Cleaning Soot From Fire Damage

https://youtu.be/HTgPqZUPPyI

Cool, and very satisfying to watch. Much easier than with rags, degreaser, water, and scouring. 

Befriending Your Inner Voice | Hidden Brain Media

You know that internal dialog "chatter" that keeps going around in circles about something you regret or are ashamed of? 

Really interesting podcast about calming your inner voice: using "distant self-talk," and "fly on the wall" observation. 

https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-0-befriending-your-inner-voice/

Wooden Wine Barrel Making - Coopering

https://youtu.be/zBABCto6sZM

Bannerman's Etango uranium mine economics

"the uranium ore body at Etango is exposed at the surface...By reducing the scale of the project, they dramatically reduced the [planned capital expenditure] and did so in such a way where it actually reduced the [operating expense] rather than increasing it. For that reason, Bannerman has just published a [pre-feasability study] that has a pre-production capital cost of U$274M, which [is substantially lower than] the U$793M that was released in 2015. And, in the new scenario they have only halved the production to 3.5Mlbs per year.

Also, of importance to potential investors, it will be relatively easy with minimal incremental cost to scale the project back up to the original 7.2Mlbs that they previously earmarked as the production target with the larger project."

https://www.cruxinvestor.com/articles/bannerman-energy-bmn-top-10-uranium-producer-is-realistic-target

How to fall professionally

https://youtu.be/oe_pLp5iihc

It's all about predicting and preventing injury. 

He irons ice. The World's Most Transparent Ice Factory.

https://youtu.be/YTygiQSNtJE

Look at the decorative sculpture he makes at 5:48. 

When The World Gets 1℃ Hotter | Climate Change

https://youtu.be/dIsjcG7hTmo

Washington State - 2/3 if electricity comes from hydroelectric, 12% from natural gas. 

Retired Oil Exec Plugging Forgotten Wells To Reduce Emissions

https://youtu.be/8EjkgPzVWjE

"Well Done" foundation accepts donations to plug "orphan wells" abandoned by rogue oil drillers who went bankrupt before legislation was enacted to force capping of abandoned wells.