A great presentation on the specific storytelling rules that make Pixar films so memorable, poignant, and touching.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Norway: a more humane prison
Benefits of a more humane prison are discussed. Incarceration rates are so much higher in the US that such a design philosophy would never be popularized. US 750 per 100,000 vs 66 per 100,000 in Norway.
Another story on the Halden prison, which notes:
"In Norway, the incarceration rate is about 75/100,000 people, and the recidivism rate is the lowest in the world at around 20 percent. In the US, more than 700/100,000 people are incarcerated, and more than 70 percent of freed inmates are re-arrested within five years."Yondr CEO a pouch that allows phone-free zones at events
This is such a great business idea, because your customers are music stars and concert promoters (read, rich) and they want to buy your product in batches of tens of thousands
Cinematic Footage with a Racing Drone
Cinematic first-person view (FPV) footage from a drone. I'm hooked, that looks like the freedom of flight.
Of course, you fly watching one camera with glitches and spotty transmission, while the better camera records the flight, and then you need to edit the movie to stabilize the shot. Not as good as larger drones that have a 3-axis gimbal to smooth the footage right at the source, but the end product here looks pretty good!
Where did modern art come from?
This is the best explanation of modern art I have ever seen, its genesis and how it has emotional impact.
At 6:04, he concludes "It's inspiring how irrepressible human creativity can be."
Donair vs Shawarma vs Gyro
People with way too much time on their hands can argue endlessly, even throwing in a few capital letter exclamations, about tiny differences that aren't consistent enough to be definitions.
"The donair originated in Halifax (and shortly afterwards in Alberta)"
"Donner, Shwarma, and Gyro all refer to the way the meat is cooked - upright on a spit. This method of cooking orignated in southern Turkey and was refered to as 'chevirme', meaning "rotation," or, "turning". 'Chevirme' was pronounced 'shwarma' by Arabic speakers. Similarly, 'doner' comes from the Turkish verb 'donmek', meaning "to turn". This cooking method is referred to as 'gyro' in Greek, meaning "to turn," also (think 'gyroscope'). Doner/shwarma/gyro probably originated in southern Turkey and was quickly adopted into the cuisine of northern Syria. By and large, upright roasted meat is an Anatolian, Levantine, and Greek tradition. The regional differences in all of these dishes stem from the local fixings that are served with them. In Aleppo (my personal favorite), for instance, it tends to be quite spicy, served with pickles, and after the meat is rolled in the bread with the fixings the whole thing is dipped in the drippings and toasted on a griddle. Turks tend to forgo the dip in fat and use creamier fillings (though this is sometimes seen in Syria as well). Greeks tend to slather theirs in the ubiquitous tadziki."
"Please pay closer attention. I'm not denying that ETYMOLOGICALLY there is a confluence among these terms, but PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, a "shawarma" place will sell a ground product called "donair" and a non-ground product called "shawarma." It will not sell "gyros" unless it's Greek."
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Outsourced fundraising
The charity gets 15% of the donation. This must be worth it for charities, to reach a large market without all the headaches.
"A $10 contribution for the chance to win a prize-based experience (like a car, vacation or tuition) breaks down as follows: $1.50 is donated to charity; $7 typically goes to sourcing and shipping the prize, covering the winner's taxes, marketing the experience, and processing credit card fees; and $1.50 goes to Omaze."
A fracking huge business
First of all, I didn't know how successful "fracking" has been, allowing the US to rise as the world's top oil producer.
I agree with the point made at 5:58 - "flaring" or burning off natural gas at the well-head just because it's not profitable is profligate waste.
Trump rolled back Obama-era restrictions in such "upstream flaring," whereas in Canadian oilfields there are strict guidelines on what can be flared, e.g. toxic gases.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
World's First Solar Powered Train
A 70-ton train with solar panels on its toll and on the train station. It only works, as he explains, because it's a small train in a short flat track. Anything more ambitious would not be well served by solar.
First production car covered with solar panels. No, it's not a solar-powered car, but it can generate a significant amount of charge from its solar panels. At 16:50 -
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
FPV drone flying
This is the perfect setting for filming what this drone can do - so many nooks and crannies to explore.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Antiemetics in kids
"A Cochrane database review in 2011 examining children undergoing tonsillectomy concluded that children given a single dose of IV dexamethasone 0.15 to 1.0 mg.kg-1 (max 8-25mg) were half as likely to vomit in the first 24 hours after tonsillectomy
(Relative Risk = 0.49, 95% CI 0.41-0.58). Routine use of dexamethasone in children was associated with a NNT of 5. The authors do not provide a dose
recommendation due to the pitfalls of subgroups analysis within a meta-analysis.
A dose finding study of dexamethasone (0.25 to 1.0 mg.kg-1) in 168 children undergoing strabismus surgery compared to placebo identified no additional
benefit of using doses greater than 0.25 mg.kg-1. For all groups studied, there was an NNT of 2.2- 2.7. In all groups receiving dexamethasone there was no evidence of side effects relating to increased blood sugars or increased wound infection rates.
In another dose-finding study 215 children undergoing tonsillectomy were given dexamethasone (0.05 to 0.5 mg.kg-1) or placebo. The relative risk of POV (first 24hr) was reduced from 0.54 for 0.15 mg.kg-1 to 0.23 with 0.5 mg.kg-1 dexamethasone. Three studies have shown lower doses of dexamethasone provide similar clinically significant prevention of POV.
One study in 140 children used dexamethasone 150 mcg.kg-1 (max 8mg) and found an overall reduction in POV from 71% to 40%.
Another study compared low dose dexamethasone (50 mcg.kg-1 to 250 mcg.kg-1) finding a significant reduction in POV even with doses as small as 50 mcg.kg-1 The NNT range for all groups was 2-2.9."
Error-free delivery system
Wow, delivering thousands of homemade lunches with a nearly perfect error rate. They explain in the comments that their lunches wouldn't survive their long commute, so workers need them delivered rather than carrying the lunchbox themselves.
Monday, June 24, 2019
Why Rich Rebuilds Is Opening A Tesla Repair Shop
Great entrepreneurial spirit starting their own independent garage working only on Saturdays while they're both working full time jobs, and they have no employees.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)