2022-11-12
Readings
A practical medical advance that may save a lot of lives and perhaps put an end to the need for blood donation if it’s good enough - lab-grown blood in trial: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63513330
Training astronauts for non-terrestrial missions is a fun thing to think about, with some neat engineering attached: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-moon-astronauts-flock-spanish-isle.html
Dr Phil (like a lot of the people Oprah has promoted over the years) is really bad at his job even if his show is good TV:
New ways to make electronics inside of polymer solids: https://techxplore.com/news/2022-11-acoustic-field-liquid-metal-network.html
Cool scientific visualisations of viruses in action: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-virus-moments.html
Efforts in getting information from smaller gravitational waves: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq1187
Thoughts
One of the big differences in approach to governance between Liberals and Progressives is that Liberals generally have a commitment to universalism - a trust in rules and treating people the same in most circumstances rather than trying to balance positives with negatives and vice-versa. This difference is demonstrated well by looking at marijuana policy, where Progressives are pushing to redress past wrongs in drug policy by giving preferences for sale licensing to those who were convicted; a Liberal approach would be far simpler - to simply legalise sale (maybe not even have limited licenses) and have it be equally open to all. The Liberal approach may also see broader societal consensus. Instead we’re forced to fight even within the Left on how to do this kind of thing. Frustrating. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-halts-pot-dispensary-licenses-parts-york-93132641
Apparently the next generation of espresso machines are mostly way better at not wasting plastic; Nespresso announced a new machine this week and CoffeeB also has a new machine in early release with similar ideas - a lot of the waste of civilisation is caused by bad daily habits and it’s nice to see companies tackling this:
While some of Musk’s experiments have been huge failures in his time of running Twitter so far, I came across a transcript of an all-hands of his that seems more sane; still plenty to disagree with, but there’s a lot of rational, strategic thought there too (I still suspect I could do better, but I realise I might be way off): https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/10/23452196/elon-musk-twitter-employee-meeting-q-and-a
I recently had a long conversation on Twitter with an “abstinence-until-marriage” type; my stance is that sex before marriage is healthy and very desirable in the context of a relationship, and that people actively should do it because it will make them more likely to marry someone they’re sexually compatible with, give them a chance to be a better lover through educational experiences, and because it’s better not to deny oneself something good for no good reason. I’m not pushing people towards truly casual sex (which I think is overrated but okay), but the abstain-until folk are in my view pushing a harmful ideal, one almost as harmful as “never divorce no matter what” idea.
Current Events
The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, although Russia has lost control of Kherson (and set up a new occupation center elsewhere); unfortunately western forces are pushing Ukraine to negotiate; I don’t see any purpose to such negotiations as it would be wrong for Ukraine to give up anything; it must control its land and its foreign policy fully at the end of this
In the US we held Elections, with our legislators pretty evenly split, rather than a large Republican swing as some predicted; as usual a few races haven’t been fully counted yet, with some irresponsible actors seeing this as a deep defect rather than just a quirk to be patient about. Meanwhile, Trump and DeSantis (who has similar politics and stupidity to Trump) have started a public feud, possibly over their respective political ambitions
There was fortunately no mess in Brazil with Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat; he’s transitioning out peacefully without undermining democracy there (contrary to his early messaging); the new leadership is unfortunately little better (despite being on the other side of Brazil’s political spectrum
Reviewlets
Deadly Assessments (Fred the Vampire Novel) - Another short story collection, and the series still hasn’t worn out its stay in my head, although I’m feeling a bit of wear on my appreciation of the main character’s type (which seems to be part of the intended appeal of the series); the “lovable self-denying do-gooder” might be intended to appeal a lot to younger versions of me, but there’s a practical edge that’s missing there.
Bond Vet (Manhattan vet chain) - My old vet merged with another vet and started sending out alternative medicine nonsense in their messaging, so I switched over to this after a very careful look through their website to make sure they’re not woo. So far they’re a bit pricey but I trust them, and they have nice offices (a bit less cozy than my old vet’s, a bit more 2010-future-office-vibe)
Lions, Tigers, and Squares (Manhattan pizza place) - Surprisingly good surprisingly cheap pizza, available for order. Detroit style. Probably my current favourite non-gourmet pizza in NYC, although sadly the pizza loses a lot after refrigeration, so a smaller order is recommended
Amusements
The “Pirate I was Meant to Be” song from Curse of Monkey Island, as a piano instrumental:
Why trucks are so different between Europe and the US:
Demonstrating astigmatism:
Rats can synchronise to music together: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-rats-bopping-video-innate-synchronization.html
Recent Music
Goodnight Moon - Shivaree - The singer sounds a bit like Gwen Stefani; the song leans more jazzy (but this still sounds like it’s within the outer bounds of what No Doubt would do - No Doubt did some great songs)
Achromatic - Solitary Experiments - A bit clubby, but it’s nice to see a recent song that sounds a bit like Darkwave. I’ve been looking for awhile
Spiderwebs - No Doubt - No Doubt has put out some great songs over the years (this one has a fairly weird music video too); musically interesting stuff