#280 May 1: A Sumatran orangutan was observed using medicinal herbs to tend to a wound he received in the wild (probably from another male). This is the first documented incident of a primate administering medical “care”. The vine is known to have anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal effects to aid healing. Rakus, the orangutan, chewed the leaves and then spread his saliva over the wound and made a poultice of the leaves. I think what I learned here is how unobservant humans are. It shouldn’t be surprising to see other animals taking care of themselves.
#281 May 2: My vocabulary grew today, thanks to climate
change and bees. Higher temperatures are
hindering bees' ability to (here it comes….!!) thermoregulate. Breaking it down it's easy to figure out the
meaning but I had never heard of the word.
Bees can thermoregulate but can’t sustain it for “so long”. With temperatures regularly sustaining 90
degrees, this is affecting the temperature inside hives. Animals have a harder
time regulating their bodies in hot temperatures as opposed to cooler
ones. Metabolically, they can slow down
in cool temperatures, but heat increases their metabolic rates and that makes
them even hotter. This was published in
the scientific journal Frontiers and was done by researchers at the University
of Guelph.
OK, I’ve never heard of it… another new word I must look up!!
#282 May 3: If you google the University of
Guelph this is one of the pictures that comes up!
#283 May 4: I just read
(reread? I think I used the Cliff Notes in HS!) Huckleberry Finn. I wanted
to read it first before reading James,
a novel by Percival Everett, who wrote the book American Fiction is based on.
James is a re-write of Huckleberry Finn’s story from Jim’s point of view
(that’s pretty audacious to re-write Twain!).
So the premise intrigued me. Now
to something I’ve learned. Here’s a
Twain quote (not in Huckleberry Finn) that jumped out at me: “History doesn’t
repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
Unfortunately, this describes the “state of our union” these days concerning race relations, authoritarianism, and protests. I read an editorial this morning about how the
Gaza protests on campuses echo those of the Vietnamese war in 1968.
#284 May 5: Our neighbor
Jackie at Park's Peak, often gives us eggs from her chickens. With all the news about bird flu, I decided to research it. According to the
American Journal of Infection Control (and my best source google!! Lol) bird
flu will not be transmitted to humans through eggs or eating chickens, assuming
they are properly cooked. So no "over-easys" for a while! And I’ll wash my
hands after handling the eggs.
Two things I learned about EV’s in today’s
paper:
#285 May 6: The technology in EV’s makes it easy to monitor your car
remotely. As a Tesla owner, nothing is
better on a cold day than to turn the heater on remotely about 15 minutes
before you get in, or change the percentage of the charge from your phone when
you realize you might need an extra 10% tomorrow for a trip. I never thought about how these features
could be used for ill. In domestic
violence cases partners have been known to use EV features to track and harass,
even setting off the horn at inopportune times.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovations, a trade group with everyone
except Tesla has called on Congress to adopt new legislation to supplement the
Safe Connections Act. It would require
service providers to terminate or diable connected vehicle accounts associated
with domestic abusers within 5 days of receiving a valid request.
#286 May 7: China is trying to keep up with and surpass Tesla in EV
innovation. Their new smaller batteries
can either lengthen range or give up more room in the car. They are focusing on making the back seat
more comfortable because they see robo cars as the wave of the future. Their new batteries can charge for 370 miles
in 10 minutes or 620 miles in 30 minutes.
#287 May 8: Along those same
lines, I saw an ad yesterday for a Kia where it showed the seats on the 3rd
row “recline” by having a footrest flip up like at the movie house!
#288 May 9: My morning routine has me reading the paper including
(especially) the editorial page and then doing four brainteaser puzzles: boggle, jumble, connections (NYT), and
wordle. Who knew I’d really learn
something in connections? The connection
was bill, fur, venom, and egg. The
connection was a platypus. I knew that a
platypus was an uncommon mammal that hatched from an egg, but I did NOT know
that it was venomous – not that I would get close enough to touch one!
#289 May 10: from the paper today (direct quote!) "Unusually strong
solar storms headed toward Earth could disrupt communication systems and other
infrastructure this weekend, while also creating a heavenly show that may be
visible all the way to North Carolina. In other words, your GPS might not work, so find a place where you can
see the open sky and look up!” We might
be able to see the Northern Lights!! (sadly “clouds got in our way!”)
#290 May 11: A judge in
Indiana declared tacos and burritos sandwiches.
I really didn’t know this was a big debate, but apparently it is. The ruling was needed so that the plaintiffs
could open a 2nd restaurant where fast food was prohibited, but
sandwiches were not.
#291 May 12: Today I learned
that headline writers have a great sense of humor… sometimes. A headline in the paper read, “Those loud
cicadas pee like pressure washers” I
literally lol’d! Then in a companion
article, “Cicadas not toxic to pets, but may cause digestive issues” you are
told to watch your pet for signs of dehydration and depression. THEN the article gives a recipe for sautéing
cicadas for HUMAN consumption saying they are a good source of protein and
crunchy on a salad!
#292 May 13: I learned a new
word today: “smellmaxxing”. There is a trend among (rich, or rich
wannabe) teenage boys to collect designer colognes to increase their
“musk”. It’s the newest TikTok rage and
boys are asking for $300 bottles for their birthdays and bar mitzvahs. I learned both a new word and a real reason
why I’m glad Clay is no longer a teenage boy!
#293 May 14: I learned today
that WaWa is coming to the Outer Banks and they have plans to expand to 10
more stores in NC this year and 100 in the next decade. The stores were all
in small towns. When I was traveling, I
was in a small town I think in Pennsylvania, or maybe Massachusettes,
and asked my students where to go for lunch and they all immediately said
WaWa. I had seen it coming in and I
said, “A filling station?” “Trust us,” they said, “they have the best
salads and sandwiches around.” They were
right. I guess WaWa is the poor man’s
Wegman’s… lol… We often lament the lack of a convenience store near Park’s
Peak, maybe…..
#294 May 15: Scientists are trying to unravel the causes of
autism. They feel they have made a
breakthrough by studying the metabolism of children with and without autistic
behaviors. Those with autism showed
biochemical markers that indicated that their metabolism had changed since
birth to give them a heightened sensitivity to environmental stimuli. A better understanding of this link could lead to
new options for treatment, especially drug therapies.
#295 May 16: There is such a
thing as a glass lizard. It is a legless
lizard that looks much like a small snake and is “common” in NC. It does not shed its skin like a snake, has
ears, and can blink its eyes. Otherwise, it looks like a very small but common green grass garden snake.
#296 May 17: The long-lasting effects of Covid are still being
tallied. One theory is that the rise of the union movement has a link to how
service industry workers were treated during COVID-19 and their realization of
their importance to society.
#297 May 18: The Covid-19 article also had 2 glaring statistics: 1.2
million people have died in the US due to Covid-19 and 1589 people died THIS
YEAR in April.
#298 May 19: Researchers from
the University of Washington are experimenting in Alameda CA with spraying
clouds with a saltwater mist that resembles sea spray. The idea is to make the water droplets
smaller to reflect sunlight and heat back into space, cooling the area. This sounds intriguing
but I always worry when you “mess with Mother Nature”. BUT we have messed with her so much, now we
must attempt to mitigate our harm.
#299 May 20: Could AI replace upper management, specifically the
CEO. According to an article in the NYT
News Service, 80% of the tasks that a CEO does could be done by AI. This includes writing, synthesizing, and
exhorting employees. A rum company in Poland
that uses an AI humanoid as a CEO claims it is “devoid of personal bias,
ensuring unbiased and strategic choices that prioritize the organization’s best
interests.” Shouldn’t a CEO have a bias
and a passion? Humans can provide accountability. How do you sue a robot?
#300 May 21: A new vocabulary
word: openwashing. Openwashing is disingenuously claiming to use
open-source AI to make your company look good.
The problem is there is no universal definition of open source. Another article said that AI will do for
wordsmithing what calculators did for math.
Until we learn to use this new tool, mis-uses will flourish.
#301 May 22: Researchers at
the University of Pennsylvania are working on an mRNA vaccine for bird
flu. The advantages of this are it will be
easier to manipulate the vaccine as the flu virus changes and should it jump to
humans, the vaccine can be adapted for human use. The Covid 19 pandemic was a horrible event,
but like most crises, it is yielding innovations.
#302 May 23: Another
breakthrough using AI. Researchers at
the University of Pittsburgh have developed a computer system that can function
as a highly trained critical care physician, administering fluids, blood, and
medication without human intervention.
Developed with the Department of Defense, this device can be used on the
battlefield, on a helicopter transporting trauma victims from an auto
accident to the hospital, and increase their chances of surviving the
trauma. So far it has only been tried
with pigs. Human trials may begin soon.
#303 May 24: I’m not a
baseball fan, but I found this interesting.
The MLB has decided to embrace the Negro League of the early 1900s and
incorporate their statistics with the National and American Leagues. This will mean that Ty Cobb will no longer
hold the distinction of having the best batting average (.366) but instead, it
will go to Josh Gibson whose career average was .366. Other records may also change. When asked if Negro statistics were fair
because they did not play against the larger white leagues, it was pointed out
that in the early years of the last century, all-white and all-black teams
would play each other in off-season exhibition games. But the National and American league clubs
lost so often the white owners stopped the experiment. This is part of “Black History” I had no clue
of!
#304:
May 26: Now that the wildfires in California’s
Sequoia National Park are over, they are evaluating their effects on the giant
sequoia trees. The good news is that
“General Sherman” is healthy. To be sure
researchers had to climb over 300 ft. to inspect the top to see if beetles were
gaining a foothold in the tree. While
beetles were present, the tree seemed to be fighting them off. They also used drones and satellite mapping
and hope to develop the drone technology to the point that climbers will not
need to physically inspect the trees which can be dangerous for the climbers.
#305:
May 27: The FAA has green-lighted
Amazon to use drones beyond current sight lines allowing the company to expand
their delivery capability. This will
allow them to go into rural areas. And
this sentence in the article really impressed me. It said that it will help Amazon reach its
goal of delivering packages to customers within 30 minutes!! Right now they have a 5-pound weight limit on
packages that can be delivered by drones.
#306 May 28: Two new vocabulary words: hush trip and workcation. This is when a remote worker goes on a “secret”
vacation away from the office and combines remote work with an enjoyable
getaway. My son is planning a hush trip
(though it's not a secret from his company) this summer/fall to Colorado and my
niece worked remotely during the pandemic from Hawaii.
#307
May 29: It has always amazed me that vanilla is the
top choice for ice cream, are we really that bland? However, an article on Mental Floss said that
chocolate chip is losing steam as a favorite and is no longer in the top
ten. In fact, many companies are
regulating it to specific markets or just bringing it out seasonally (and what
is the season for chocolate chip?) It
just can’t compete with all of the exotic new flavors!
#308 May 30: Ella was our dinosaur
expert when she was in preschool. I’m
sending an article to her from “Interesting Facts”. It proposes that dinosaurs didn’t roar! Studying fossils, scientists suggest that
most dinosaurs used closed-mouth vocalizations which sounded more like the
cooing of a dove, the booming of an ostrich, or the rumbling of a croc. Large dinosaurs’ sounds dipped into the lower
infrasound range and were felt, not heard.
#309:
May 31: I’ve often wondered how a site knows if I’m
checking the “I’m not a robot” box… or if a robot is checking it. It turns out that it is fairly easy to
program a robot to check the box. BUT the
reCAPTCH technology is not only capturing the checkmark, but the WAY you got
there. A robot would just check the box,
but humans use a mouse or finger and take a circuitous route to the box (not a
straight line on a x/y axis). This
reveals that we are really human!
