Journalists have to refrain from protesting

This podcast begins with an interview with the journalist, who mentions that journalists are forbidden from participating in protests. This was new to me, but the ethics of journalism are pretty clear on this issue.

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLndueWMub3JnL3JhZGlvbGFi&ep=14&episode=NDAyNTY1NjAtNDU2Ny00OWM4LWFmYzktZWUwMjIwZDA4MmUw

"NPR's code, for instance, says quite bluntly that "NPR journalists may not participate in marches and rallies" concerning issues that NPR covers — which is pretty much everything."

"Reporters covering politics are at the other end of this spectrum of what may be tolerated. For them, almost no political activity is OK...If a reporter's spouse, family member or other relative — or even a close friend — runs for office, the reporter should not be covering the campaign."

Ultimately, "Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Remain free of associations that may compromise integrity or damage credibility."

https://www.spj.org/ethics-papers-politics.asp

An incredibly clear and logical explanation of why sugar molecules twist polarized light. 

Fatherhood Facts

https://youtu.be/RlSwsE22nX0

A compelling presentation about the importance of fathers.  Fatherlessness increases the chance of homelessness, the school dropout rate, and suicide - in fact, 90% of teen runaways are from fatherless homes. 

8:47 "Children with involved fathers have stronger cognitive and motor skills, elevated physical and mental health, become better problem solvers, and are more confident, curious, and empathetic."

Tech That Could Fix One of Wind Power's Biggest Problems

https://youtu.be/Wlxz-KzebbQ

Simple turbine design that prevents it from over-spinning in high winds, making it withstand harsh weather and outlast other turbines. 

Render Millions of Objects in Blender

https://youtu.be/CQ9VmCN2EsE

I would not normally have the patience for a video like this, but it's well described and illustrated every step of the way, which helps me understand what computer graphics experts do. Very enjoyable to watch through each iterative improvement. 

The carbon footprint of the internet rivals that of all the world's airlines combined

The power to run the internet emits the same amount of CO2 as the entire airline industry, through fossil fuels burned to generate the 2% of total world electricity it demands. 

Streaming one hour of TV uses the same amount of electricity as running one LED light bulb for 5 days. 

From the episode "Clouds" of the show "Connected" with Latif Nasser. 

How Accurate are Long Range Weather Forecasts?

I've often wondered about this. How accurate are weather forecasts, and are we getting better over time? 

"The average five-day forecast is as reliable as a two-day forecast 20 years ago."

https://www.longrangeweatherforecast.co.uk/how-accurate-a-long-range-weather-forecasts/

Smoke swirling from California fires

Very cool graphic of the smoke patterns over the last month, shows why California fires caused smoke over Vancouver. https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-WILDFIRE/POLLUTION/xlbpgjgervq/

Balancing Motorcycle

https://youtu.be/SUVtObDFFWY

Nice illustration of how a momentum wheel maintains balance in a self-balancing motorcycle that even drives backwards. 

Ice Cream Around the World

https://youtu.be/bwQ-YgaI-B0

Weird and wonderful ice cream related treats

Halo-halo from Philippines

Spaghetti ice from Mannheim Germany

Prickly pear ice from Oaxaca

Granita from Italy

Num-num berry ice cream with amasi from Zimbabwe

Dondurma with salep (orchid root) from Turkey

Faludeh from Tehran, Iran

A.I. Becomes Creative

https://youtu.be/KZ7BnJb30Cc

2:37 best explanation I've seen yet of how artificial intelligence trains itself to be better. 

Insect Takeoff & Flying at 3,200 FPS

https://youtu.be/Cnn9CfsYJqc

Very informative video about insect flight. 

At 2:08, the wings touch each other at the top of the stroke, to increase lift and defeat the Wagner effect. More detail at http://blogs.bu.edu/bioaerial2012/2012/12/05/clap-flinging-to-a-faster-lift-off/

(with the Wagner effect explained at https://lorenabarba.com/blog/student-guest-blog-post-the-wagner-effect/ )

Also, some insects have hooks or "hamuli" that lock the forewing and hindwing together for more efficeint flight.

"Honey bees have a comparatively higher flying speed, thanks to a wing coupling mechanism along with angle changing mechanisms in wing flapping. These mechanisms serve to carry heavy loads of pollen...

Their wing coupling mechanism is commonly known as hamulate coupling. The upper margin of hindwing possesses a row of small hooks (hamuli) and folded lower margin in forewing. In flight the hamuli lock onto a fold at the lower margin of forewing so that both function as a single unit."

https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2014/08/19/wing-coupling-to-move-fast-2/

Here are a few more fascinating facts about insect wings, like how some fold to 1/18 of their area. 

Prolongation of survival in metastatic melanoma after active specific immunotherapy with a new polyvalent melanoma vaccine - PubMed

Traditionally, melanoma was a death sentence (let alone metastatic melanoma). Here, having complete regression in some patients is incredible. 

"Induction of cell-mediated and humoral immune responses to common melanoma-associated antigens present on autologous melanoma cells was observed in patients ...Of 40 patients with evaluable disease, nine (23%) had regressions (three complete)."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1417196/

How useful is a bulletproof vest since it leaves the head exposed?

"Your head isn't actually all that big. If a marksman is a good enough shot to be able to pull off a headshot at a sufficient distance that he wouldn't be spotted by police, he's probably good enough to hit you somewhere not protected by armor. As armor slows you down anyways, this just makes things easier for him.

Second, armor doesn't actually absorb any of the kinetic energy of a bullet, it just spreads it out enough to keep the bullet from penetrating. You still have to stop the bullet. On your torso, this is going to knock you over and result in some pretty significant bruising. But a headshot, even if you're wearing something tough enough to keep a bullet out of your skull, is still going to [transmit a lot of energy to your head], possibly even breaking your neck. So what's the point?"

http://ask.metafilter.com/159333/Why-Dont-They-Just-Shoot-Them-in-the-Head

Kode 57 design on Jay Leno's garage

"When you draw with your hands, your hands give you the ideas that you couldn't even imagine, by accident - an accidental inspiration. Not even from your brain, your body gives you by accident done if the great ideas. That's the beautiful aspect of doing [design] drawings."

https://youtu.be/kg8Z_S6iFZY