Thursday, November 21, 2024
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Monday, November 18, 2024
Sunday, November 17, 2024
My 6-year-old’s thoughts on cancer
Hank Green is a science YouTuber who recovered from cancer.
His brother, John Green, is a famous writer who lives in Indianapolis. His book, "The Fault in Our Stars", was about cancer and was made into a terrific movie.
Friday, November 15, 2024
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Monday, November 11, 2024
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Saturday, November 9, 2024
Friday, November 8, 2024
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
The Man Who Invented A Single Weapon To Destroy The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55uSCO5D2w
I question how accurate this is. The U.S. could have investigated hypothetical scenarios that it never intended to implement.
The video portrays Edward Teller in a bad light.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Friday, November 1, 2024
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Stealing Energy From Radio towers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NowhPAMDOTo
I didn't know that you could be electrocuted from an AM Radio tower.
Friday, October 25, 2024
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Friday, October 18, 2024
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Neanderthals Were Absolute Freaks Of Nature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxgQcYGvWG0
Neanderthals had a broad nose, sloping forehead, and bony eye bridges. I've seen humans with mild similar features as humans are quite diverse. People of European ancestry often have a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA.
Around 50,000 years ago, Homosapiens had mostly died off due to a drought in Africa caused by an ice age in Europe. Around 7,000 individuals lived on the southern coast of Africa and had adapted to this life. They fished for first the first time, built the first permanent structures, and invented new tools. As the drought went away, these humans expanded their territory at a rate of about a mile per year. Within 2,000 years they were reaching other continents.
A skull was found in the vicinity of Isreal that was 50% Homosapien and 50% Neanderthal. It is believed that as Homosapiens moved into Europe they sometimes bred with Neanderthals.
Brian Cox Found New Solution To The Fermi Paradox And It Isn't Good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSE_mnW-MWU
It seems extremely likely that the first interstellar explorers from Earth will be intelligent robots, possibly with human personalities. The journey is too difficult for biological organisms.
Reportedly, within 500 million years, the Earth will be a cold, dry, dead planet because the tectonic plates will stop moving. However, it isn't necessarily true that we would have to go to another star system. We might find technological solutions to save the planet or create sustainable habitats.
I don't think that it is realistic to settle another star system when it will be much cheaper to settle our solar system.
If we wanted to play the long game, we could spend tens of millions of years building another planet from asteroids.
NASA has suggested that we could move the Earth to a higher orbit over millions of years by flying asteroids by the Earth to nudge it gravitationally. We could prevent the planet from being consumed by the sun in 4 billion years. Talk about playing the long game.
It seems extremely likely that the first interstellar explorers from Earth will be intelligent robots, possibly with human personalities. The journey is too difficult for biological organisms.
However, because of evolution humans will be very different within a few hundred thousand years, or we might use technology to change ourselves in a few hundred years. We might incorporate technology into our bodies until eventually, the human race will be a race of machines.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Ex-Professor Reveals Way to REALLY Learn Languages (according to science)
I found this video very interesting.
I'm not sure if this applies to chess, but I feel that there may be some similarities.
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Monday, October 7, 2024
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
How NOT to Land a Parachute
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-qj4h2Gl7YU
In the past, I wanted to try skydiving, but not anymore. I'm getting older and it is too risky.
I have heard that in parachute training they make you fall from increasing heights until you can fall and land from a height of 16 feet. That's a pretty big drop. According to the laws of physics, you would be traveling at 32 feet per second.
Monday, September 30, 2024
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Shortest ever IQ test: The Donut Question 🍩
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Rf3tFS1vNTg
I suspect that an AI would get this wrong because it would process the question verbally instead of logically.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Friday, September 20, 2024
Evidence points to Wuhan market as source of covid-19 outbreak | New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2448671-evidence-points-to-wuhan-market-as-source-of-covid-19-outbreak/
We may never know, because the Chinese government is not trustworthy.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Re: Watch "Space Shuttle Combustion Chamber" on YouTube
I've seen something similar to this if not this same video.
I've had a theory that maybe it would be possible to increase the thrust by increasing the exhaust speed. This would require tougher materials to allow for more pressure in the combustion chamber.
An ion thruster can achieve speeds of 50 km/s. That's great, but imagine if the technology could achieve relativistic speeds.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2024 at 11:35 AM Albert
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Why Japanese People Are Not Obese Like People In The US?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FKPSra_NciI
I assume that it is not just "healthy" food but the quantity of food that people like to eat. Americans love to overeat. I think that eating out is the cause of obesity because it is not only junk food but the large portion sizes.
I wonder if buffets are an American-only phenomenon?
Watch "Lithium is dangerous"
On Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 12:10 AM Albert wrote:
When these batteries die, get rid of them immediately, Here's why.
I knew pure sodium is super reactive with just about everything, especially water, and can explode. I didn't know that about Lithium. They both produce hydrogen gas when they react with water. Lithium, Sodium, and Potassium are all on the first column of the period table, meaning they have similar chemical properties.
Sodium Chloride and Potassium Chloride are very safe. I buy "Lite Salt" which has 50% of each.
Most batteries you would buy in the store are alkaline, containing potassium hydroxide, which is not so reactive but corrosive.
Rechargeable batteries use Lithium-ion.
Lithium carbonate in small quantities can be used as an anti-depressant.
Saturday, September 14, 2024
Friday, September 13, 2024
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Sunday, September 8, 2024
There's something about time that physicists can't explain | Avshalom El...
https://youtube.com/shorts/hktmnRxTfcM?si=ZMApbwXFk2rQGUY1
The fundamental substances and forces of nature appear to be fields. If a field has enough energy/vibration at a location then we get a particle. If the vibration is less then we don't. There is good evidence for this, although there is at least one alternate theory.
We may never know what the fields are made of or why they exist. A computer would not know that it is made of logic gates if it can't see the logic gates, although a sufficiently smart computer might figure it out.
The fundamental substances and forces of nature appear to be fields. If a field has enough energy/vibration at a location then we get a particle. If the vibration is less then we don't. There is good evidence for this, although there is at least one alternate theory.
We may never know what the fields are made of or why they exist. A computer would not know that it is made of logic gates if it can't see the logic gates, although a sufficiently smart computer might figure it out.
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Does the Erucic Acid Level Make Canola Oil Unsafe?
I have looked at many articles. The vast majority say that Canola Oil is safe in moderation.
Most of the oils in Canola Oil are healthy, but Canola Oil also contains Erucic Acid. Erucic Acid is toxic (to heart health) so it seems to me that it would be better not to consume any. However, the exact amount of Erucic Acid in Canola Oil is unclear. Almost all sources claim that the Euric Acid level is 2% or less by law, although the article below says that it is barely detectable, only around 0.01% in Canadian-made Canola Oil.
Although the government classifies Canola Oil as safe, the recommended safe level of Erucic Acid is about 7 mg per kilogram of body weight. For me, that would be about 3/4 of a gram.
"For reference, 1 tablespoon of canola oil can contain a maximum of 280 mg of erucic acid. This means a person who weighs 80 kg can have around 2 tbsp of canola oil per day. "
https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/is-rapeseed-oil-healthy
The problem is that we don't know if it actually has that much Erucic Acid.
The same article mentions that Canola Oil has a tiny amount of trans fat.
Two tablespoons isn't that much. I used to cook popcorn with 2 ounces of Canola Oil. That is about 4 tablespoons, so I could have exceeded the recommended level of Erucic Acid.
According to this page, the Erucic Acid level in Canola Oil is not 2% but 0.2%. So that should make Canola Oil safe in moderation.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/canola-oil-properties.html
For several months, I have been using Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead. It is at least five times more expensive than Canola Oil, but I only use it 2 or 3 times per week. The cost is not a big issue.
Olive Oil is a key component of the Mediterranean Diet. Many sources claim that Olive Oil does not have any trans fat.
According to at least a couple of sources, you can use Olive Oil for frying if you don't get it too hot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIEamGRnVQ
The smoke point of Canola Oil is 399 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this, it is considered heat resistant and good for frying. The smoke point of Olive Oil varies from 350 to 430 degrees.
If I am being honest, other things in my diet are riskier than Canola Oil. I need to work on those as well.
Most of the oils in Canola Oil are healthy, but Canola Oil also contains Erucic Acid. Erucic Acid is toxic (to heart health) so it seems to me that it would be better not to consume any. However, the exact amount of Erucic Acid in Canola Oil is unclear. Almost all sources claim that the Euric Acid level is 2% or less by law, although the article below says that it is barely detectable, only around 0.01% in Canadian-made Canola Oil.
Although the government classifies Canola Oil as safe, the recommended safe level of Erucic Acid is about 7 mg per kilogram of body weight. For me, that would be about 3/4 of a gram.
"For reference, 1 tablespoon of canola oil can contain a maximum of 280 mg of erucic acid. This means a person who weighs 80 kg can have around 2 tbsp of canola oil per day. "
https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/is-rapeseed-oil-healthy
The problem is that we don't know if it actually has that much Erucic Acid.
The same article mentions that Canola Oil has a tiny amount of trans fat.
Two tablespoons isn't that much. I used to cook popcorn with 2 ounces of Canola Oil. That is about 4 tablespoons, so I could have exceeded the recommended level of Erucic Acid.
According to this page, the Erucic Acid level in Canola Oil is not 2% but 0.2%. So that should make Canola Oil safe in moderation.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/canola-oil-properties.html
For several months, I have been using Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead. It is at least five times more expensive than Canola Oil, but I only use it 2 or 3 times per week. The cost is not a big issue.
Olive Oil is a key component of the Mediterranean Diet. Many sources claim that Olive Oil does not have any trans fat.
According to at least a couple of sources, you can use Olive Oil for frying if you don't get it too hot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIEamGRnVQ
The smoke point of Canola Oil is 399 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this, it is considered heat resistant and good for frying. The smoke point of Olive Oil varies from 350 to 430 degrees.
If I am being honest, other things in my diet are riskier than Canola Oil. I need to work on those as well.
Is salt actually bad for you? Why do some people like salt way more than others do?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy2ncip_ILA&t=4599s
The first hour of this video gets deep into the science and is also interesting.
Friday, September 6, 2024
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Friday, August 30, 2024
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Climate Tipping Points are Real, Stop Denying It
This seems like old news. Climate Alarmism is based on worst-case scenarios, which is what the IPCC likes to assume. I have seen multiple sources claim that it will take 5,000 years for the Arctic ice to melt. Meanwhile, we will run out of most fossil fuels by the year 2100. We only have about 46 years of oil reserves remaining. If by some miracle I live to 110, I will see us run out of oil.
It is going to take a lot of heat to melt the permafrost. I have seen claims of a 5-degree increase but other claims of 3-degrees and another claim that it will start melting at 1.5 degrees, which is about when we run out of most fossil fuels.
Geologists look at Climate Change differently. In at most 10,000 years, we are going to be in another period of mass glaciation where New York is covered by glaciers. Massive cold is the long-term climate threat. We would already be in the cool-down cycle except for those pesky humans who put some CO2 into the air.
CO2 is a valuable resource. It is plant food. The world is CO2-starved. The CO2 level has been in a nose dive for the last 40 million years because calcifying marine organisms sequester CO2. This is why we have been in the Pleistocene ice age for the last 2.5 million years. During the last period of glaciation, the CO2 level got to 180 parts per million, just barely above the level where all terrestrial plans die. Long term, this downward trend will continue unless humans intervene. We are not the enemy of nature but its salvation.
Climate Alarmists are data deniers. The data shows that it took 140 years for the temperature to rise 1 degree Celsius, and that started from an exceptionally cold period in the 1880s. Climate change happens very slowly and we have plenty of time to adapt, and humans are by their nature very adaptable.
If Climate Change were to accelerate, then I would agree that some action is needed. Iron Fertilization of iron-poor oceans would allow plankton, which are the basis for the marine food chain, to flourish and sequester CO2. I don't know why this wouldn't work.
The solutions to the so-called climate crisis are draconian in that they require complete government control over energy. This crisis is pushed by people who want government control.
It is going to take a lot of heat to melt the permafrost. I have seen claims of a 5-degree increase but other claims of 3-degrees and another claim that it will start melting at 1.5 degrees, which is about when we run out of most fossil fuels.
Geologists look at Climate Change differently. In at most 10,000 years, we are going to be in another period of mass glaciation where New York is covered by glaciers. Massive cold is the long-term climate threat. We would already be in the cool-down cycle except for those pesky humans who put some CO2 into the air.
CO2 is a valuable resource. It is plant food. The world is CO2-starved. The CO2 level has been in a nose dive for the last 40 million years because calcifying marine organisms sequester CO2. This is why we have been in the Pleistocene ice age for the last 2.5 million years. During the last period of glaciation, the CO2 level got to 180 parts per million, just barely above the level where all terrestrial plans die. Long term, this downward trend will continue unless humans intervene. We are not the enemy of nature but its salvation.
Climate Alarmists are data deniers. The data shows that it took 140 years for the temperature to rise 1 degree Celsius, and that started from an exceptionally cold period in the 1880s. Climate change happens very slowly and we have plenty of time to adapt, and humans are by their nature very adaptable.
If Climate Change were to accelerate, then I would agree that some action is needed. Iron Fertilization of iron-poor oceans would allow plankton, which are the basis for the marine food chain, to flourish and sequester CO2. I don't know why this wouldn't work.
The solutions to the so-called climate crisis are draconian in that they require complete government control over energy. This crisis is pushed by people who want government control.
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Thursday, August 15, 2024
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Alpha waves
Mistake prediction
Following this lapse-of-attention line of thought, a recent study indicates that alpha waves may be used to predict mistakes. In it, MEGs measured increases of up to 25% in alpha brain wave activity before mistakes occurred. This study used common sense: alpha waves indicate idleness, and mistakes are often made when a person is doing something automatically, or "on auto-pilot", and not paying attention to the task they are performing. After the mistake was noticed by the subject, there was a decrease in alpha waves as the subject began paying more attention.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_wave
Following this lapse-of-attention line of thought, a recent study indicates that alpha waves may be used to predict mistakes. In it, MEGs measured increases of up to 25% in alpha brain wave activity before mistakes occurred. This study used common sense: alpha waves indicate idleness, and mistakes are often made when a person is doing something automatically, or "on auto-pilot", and not paying attention to the task they are performing. After the mistake was noticed by the subject, there was a decrease in alpha waves as the subject began paying more attention.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_wave
Monday, August 12, 2024
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Friday, July 26, 2024
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Friday, July 19, 2024
"I Don't Believe In Psychopaths" - Jordan Peterson - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WH-cKiUGwk
We know that sociopaths exist. Whether or not that is innate might be what he is questioning. I thought that this was an established fact.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
The DARK Truth about BEARS
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u-RiM8f6az0
The problem with bears is that everything looks like food to them.
I suspect that they struggle to find enough to eat.
There was a bear spotted crossing from Kentucky to Indiana. It swam across the Ohio River. It may have been in or near the Hoosier National Forest. It was thought to be near Salem, Indiana, where I was born. It was later spotted in the Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, which is some distance northeast and next to a farm that my stepdad used to share ownership of. I've been to this farm and to the edge of the refuge which is sealed off from the public.
Bears are rare in Indiana, but this one traveled maybe a hundred miles across many roads and a couple of Interstates. Why would it do this unless it needed to find food? It may have been to these places before and knew where to forage for food.
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Friday, July 12, 2024
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Monday, July 8, 2024
Sunday, July 7, 2024
Friday, July 5, 2024
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Monday, July 1, 2024
Re: Why France is voting against immigration...France fires and vandalism after Sunday vote
I've always have been concerned about population pressure. Of course culture and war matter, but increasing population leads to migration.
The evidence suggests that when the drought ended in Africa 50,000 years ago, humans expanded their range by about a mile per year. Within a couple of thousand years they made it to Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Humans are like gasses. They expand to fill the container they are put in.
On Jul 1, 2024, at 7:57 PM, Larry wrote:
Best wishes,
John Coffey
On Jul 1, 2024, at 7:57 PM, Larry wrote:
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Monday, June 24, 2024
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Friday, June 21, 2024
Why This Tiny Jellyfish Is Much Worse Than You Think
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jw6bS-WL4F4 target="_blank"
If this creature is so bad, the world would be better off if we eliminated it.
There are many dangerous creatures, some of which kill a significant number of people. We can't eliminate all of them, but this particular jellyfish doesn't serve a purpose.
It has been advocated that we get rid of mosquitoes. I agree with this. They kill more people than any other animal. If they are killing people, then they are killing animals too.
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Why This Tiny Jellyfish Is Much Worse Than You Think
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jw6bS-WL4F4 target="_blank"
If this creature is so bad, the world would be better off if we eliminated it.
There are many dangerous creatures, some of which kill a significant number of people. We can't eliminate all of them, but this particular jellyfish doesn't serve a purpose.
It has been advocated that we get rid of mosquitoes. I agree with this. They kill more people than any other animal. If they are killing people, then they are killing animals too.
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Some Reasons why People Suck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P29gknBaUqc
@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
Hank,
@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
Hank,
The data shows the temperature has taken 140 years to go up 1 degree Celsius. This is relative to a dangerous and deadly cold period in the 1880's. This slow rate of change shows that there is no climate emergency. The current rate of change is at most 0.2 degrees per decade.
We will be running out of most fossil fuels by the year 2100. Coal will be the last fossil fuel to go. At the current level of usage, we only have 40 years of oil reserves remaining.
CO2 is a valuable resource. It keeps the earth from freezing and it is plant food. There is a greening of the earth because of it.
The CO2 level over the last 40 million years has been in a nose dive. This is because calcifying marine organisms sequester CO2 (indirectly). The CO2 level got so low during the last period of mass glaciation that it reached 180 parts per million. This is just barely above the 150 parts per million where all the terrestrial plants die.
A funny thing happens to the climate roughly every 100,000 years. The data shows that the temperature will quickly shoot up 8 to 15 degrees, level off for 10,000 years, and then go back down almost as quickly. Then we get 85 to 90 thousand years of mass glaciation where New York is covered by ice.
We should already be in the cool-down cycle of the interglacial. The only thing that has prevented the planet from cooling is those pesky humans who added 150 parts per million CO2 into the atmosphere. The infrared absorption range of CO2 is much narrower than other gasses like water vapor, and it has already reached 90% of its absorption capacity.
Climate alarmism is dependent on as-of-yet unproven positive feedback models. There are many feedbacks, some of which are negative. There is much controversy over clouds, where common sense would indicate negative feedback to temperature, but the IPCC says the opposite.
True science looks at data and then comes to a conclusion. The IPCC does the opposite. They start with a conclusion and then support that with evidence. The IPCC refused to hire anyone who did not already believe in catastrophic man-made warming. This shows their bias. The IPCC actively suppressed skeptical papers and tried to get skeptical scientists fired. The head of U.N., António Guterres, was a Socialist Party politician in Portugal, and he routinely makes outrageous statements about the climate that are completely inaccurate.
Socialism is not palatable to the American people, so the socialists have been pushing false crises to divide and conquer and to give us more government control in incremental steps. I'm sorry that you have been duped by this mass hysteria.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Sunday, June 9, 2024
The Crazy Mass-Giving Mechanism of the Higgs Field Simplified
This is the kind of thing that interests me. It might not interest anyone else.
There is a fundamental mechanism of nature that we don't understand. We can only describe the results mathematically.
A field just means that there is a value at every position in space. All the fundamental particles have fields. We know that there are fields because subatomic particles behave like waves. These waves only become particles if they have a sufficient energy. If the energy is not sufficient, then a "virtual particle" can pop in and out of existence for a microsecond. This is because empty space is buzzing with vibrating fields.
These fields interact with each other as if the fields are "God's Computer Program" for the laws of physics.
Friday, June 7, 2024
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Sunday, June 2, 2024
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Why Habitable Planets are NOT Habitable | AstroTalk
https://youtu.be/NmPGO1Iyk4Q?si=tZVL9fMPDoM6vQmG
In the long run, we should send probes looking for habitable planets. This would take tens of thousands of years. It would be a long term project.
Advanced aliens, if they exist, probably have already done this.
In the long run, we should send probes looking for habitable planets. This would take tens of thousands of years. It would be a long term project.
Advanced aliens, if they exist, probably have already done this.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Monday, May 20, 2024
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Unscientific American | City Journal
Shermer submitted a column discussing ways that discrimination against racial minorities, gays, and other groups has diminished (while acknowledging the need for continued progress). Here, Shermer ran into the same wall that Better Angels of Our Nature author Steven Pinker and other scientific optimists have faced. For progressives, admitting that any problem—racism, pollution, poverty—has improved means surrendering the rhetorical high ground. "They are committed to the idea that there is no cumulative progress," Shermer says, and they angrily resist efforts to track the true prevalence, or the "base rate," of a problem. Saying that "everything is wonderful and everyone should stop whining doesn't really work," his editor objected.
Shermer dug his grave deeper by quoting Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald and The Coddling of the American Mind authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, who argue that the rise of identity-group politics undermines the goal of equal rights for all. Shermer wrote that intersectional theory, which lumps individuals into aggregate identity groups based on race, sex, and other immutable characteristics, "is a perverse inversion" of Martin Luther King's dream of a color-blind society. For Shermer's editors, apparently, this was the last straw. The column was killed and Shermer's contract terminated.
Shermer dug his grave deeper by quoting Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald and The Coddling of the American Mind authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, who argue that the rise of identity-group politics undermines the goal of equal rights for all. Shermer wrote that intersectional theory, which lumps individuals into aggregate identity groups based on race, sex, and other immutable characteristics, "is a perverse inversion" of Martin Luther King's dream of a color-blind society. For Shermer's editors, apparently, this was the last straw. The column was killed and Shermer's contract terminated.
Monday, May 6, 2024
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Friday, May 3, 2024
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Teflon = Cancer
I don't have a strong opinion about this. Have you heard anything?
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Friday, April 12, 2024
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Old Tube TVs
For those who don't remember, powering up really old televisions would start as an expanding dot in the middle of the screen. It would only take a few seconds to reach full size. Old televisions used vacuum tubes instead of transistors, which needed warming up. They glowed orange. You could see them through the heat vents in the back. In a dark room, the TV would light up the wall behind it.
I remember going to a repair shop that had dozens of different types of replacement tubes. A local drug store used to have a tube tester by the door.
Starting in the mid-1970s, manufacturers advertised televisions that were "Instant On". I noticed these TVs kept some vacuum tubes powered up even when the TV was "off".
Old TVs put out a great deal of heat.
I remember going to a repair shop that had dozens of different types of replacement tubes. A local drug store used to have a tube tester by the door.
Starting in the mid-1970s, manufacturers advertised televisions that were "Instant On". I noticed these TVs kept some vacuum tubes powered up even when the TV was "off".
Old TVs put out a great deal of heat.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Monday, April 8, 2024
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Friday, April 5, 2024
Satisfying Greek alphabet fact. How did I not know??
Okay, this is interesting.
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Talking to an anti COVID vaccine person
>I got mine almost right out of the gate, was sick for a little over a week and
>have been fine since, No vaccines just natural immunity. I don't have any
>comorbidities other than being an old fart. The Mrs has been vaccinated and
>boosted a couple of times and has gotten it twice. Once pretty bad. Screw that
>vaccine.
I went for four years without getting COVID until the JN1 variant had a
different enough spike protein to have vaccine escape. I see no reason to say
screw the vaccine. I've seen the data that during the height of COVID, the
unvaccinated had several times the overall death rate.
I have a long history of respiratory illnesses, so the vaccine is likely
something that I needed.
After a doctor said that I was past COVID-19, I developed post-COVID bronchitis
that refuses to go away. This is what I am trying to get over.
>I see every reason to say "screw the vaccine"
>1.They knew out the gate that it would not prevent catching the virus.
>2. They knew out the gate it would not prevent the spread.
>3. They knew out the gate of the potential for respiratory and cardiac issues.
>4. They doctored virtually every statistical/numerical issue related to Covid
>with the end result that we as a people are completely in the dark as to what
>the fuck is going on.
>5. They restricted access to any known effective
>medicines. I could continue the list probably to at least 20-30. I think the
>whole purpose was to get the people to accept being guinea pigs for the MRNA
>experimental gene therapy
I have tried where possible to look at the scientific studies regarding this
disease.
Your "out of the gate" points are incorrect. It is true as the disease mutated
the vaccines were less effective, but they were still better than nothing.
The initial trial showed that the vaccine was over 90% effective at preventing
the disease and hospitalization. However, in getting the Emergency Use
Authorization they did not have time to test if the vaccine stopped the spread
of the disease. An official from Pfizer admitted this to the congress of the
European Union, and the anti-vax conspiracy theorists ran with this and claimed
that this proved that the vaccine didn't stop the spread of the disease.
However, that doesn't mean those studies weren't done later, and I have read at
least a couple of studies that showed that the vaccine helped stop the spread of
the disease.
I would like to send you a link that shows that the overall death rate was
several times higher among the unvaccinated.
Best wishes,
John
>You and I have different news sources,,, I still trust mine and do not trust
>yours'. It might be different if they hadn't lied to us continuously throughout
>the whole damn process. There are admittedly numerous "studies" and "papers",,,
>but how many are 100% independent??? which they would have to be for me to
>consider them to be even worth considering
I don't believe that we have been lied to the whole time. We started with
incomplete information and information evolved as circumstances and our
understanding changed.
I think that scientific papers are trustworthy. If you can't trust scientific
papers then who can you trust?
It has been my observation that the anti-vax people are mostly conspiracy
theorists. I think that they do themselves a disservice because they will be
vulnerable to preventable diseases.
My cousin refused to take the vaccine and died from COVID. She regretted not
taking the vaccine. My sister is a physician who had patients who refused to
take the vaccine and died.
Some people will be healthier than others and perhaps will be fine.
Best Wishes,
John Coffey
>medicines. I could continue the list probably to at least 20-30. I think the
>whole purpose was to get the people to accept being guinea pigs for the MRNA
>experimental gene therapy
I have tried where possible to look at the scientific studies regarding this
disease.
Your "out of the gate" points are incorrect. It is true as the disease mutated
the vaccines were less effective, but they were still better than nothing.
The initial trial showed that the vaccine was over 90% effective at preventing
the disease and hospitalization. However, in getting the Emergency Use
Authorization they did not have time to test if the vaccine stopped the spread
of the disease. An official from Pfizer admitted this to the congress of the
European Union, and the anti-vax conspiracy theorists ran with this and claimed
that this proved that the vaccine didn't stop the spread of the disease.
However, that doesn't mean those studies weren't done later, and I have read at
least a couple of studies that showed that the vaccine helped stop the spread of
the disease.
I would like to send you a link that shows that the overall death rate was
several times higher among the unvaccinated.
Best wishes,
John
>You and I have different news sources,,, I still trust mine and do not trust
>yours'. It might be different if they hadn't lied to us continuously throughout
>the whole damn process. There are admittedly numerous "studies" and "papers",,,
>but how many are 100% independent??? which they would have to be for me to
>consider them to be even worth considering
I don't believe that we have been lied to the whole time. We started with
incomplete information and information evolved as circumstances and our
understanding changed.
I think that scientific papers are trustworthy. If you can't trust scientific
papers then who can you trust?
It has been my observation that the anti-vax people are mostly conspiracy
theorists. I think that they do themselves a disservice because they will be
vulnerable to preventable diseases.
My cousin refused to take the vaccine and died from COVID. She regretted not
taking the vaccine. My sister is a physician who had patients who refused to
take the vaccine and died.
Some people will be healthier than others and perhaps will be fine.
Best Wishes,
John Coffey
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Did This Parrot Just Ask a Question?
https://youtu.be/C8uaGJCdIhw?si=lOv0kSnyYIyBopmP
The parrot imitates sounds he had heard in anticipation of a reward. He is not perfect at identifying materials but appears to be learning.
Some parrots can identify materials, colors, and shapes at the same time.
The parrot imitates sounds he had heard in anticipation of a reward. He is not perfect at identifying materials but appears to be learning.
Some parrots can identify materials, colors, and shapes at the same time.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Monday, March 18, 2024
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Interesting graph on Saturated Fat consumption vs. CHD
This video has an interesting graph on the effect of saturated fat on Cardiovascular disease: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBFe1QattAU&t=60s
This is based on this study. About 85% of the way down is "Figure 6" which is similar...
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Don’t eat rat poison - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Av9tEJajsOY
Most rat poison is anticoagulant. Warfarin can be used as a medicine to prevent blood clots. When it comes to poisons, dosage is everything. What would kill a rat might not kill you.
@john2001plus
43 seconds agoMost rat poison is anticoagulant. Warfarin can be used as a medicine to prevent blood clots. When it comes to poisons, dosage is everything. What would kill a rat might not kill you.
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Meteor Strike
I already saw the video. April 13th, 2029 will be pretty interesting. I would like to get some binoculars and watch the asteroid go by.
On Thu, Mar 7, 2024 at 12:46 AM Albert wrote:
While we worry about high prices, illegal immigrants, the high price of KFC, there's one more thing to worry about. See the video below for details. lol
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Friday, March 1, 2024
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Climate deniers don't deny climate change any more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XSG2Dw2mL8
It is absurd. The political left deliberately promotes falsehoods and then cry bloody murder when people object to their nonsense.
This is a straw man argument.
The IPCC has shown its bias by refusing to hire anyone who does not already believe in catastrophic man-made warming. This is not how you do science, by starting with the conclusion. Real science is done by looking at the data and seeing where that takes you.
The IPCC has tried to suppress papers by skeptics and even got a skeptic fired from a university.
One person who resigned from the IPCC said that it wasn't so much about protecting the Climate as it was about doing away with free-market capitalism. Other people have resigned from the IPCC in protest claiming that they were too biased.
Everywhere I look I see articles claiming that the only solution to Climate Change is socialism. At least for some, this is the real agenda.
It is questionable to claim that everything is rigidly peer-reviewed when the universities have been taken over by the extreme left.
Almost everyone believes that the average atmosphere temperature has increased, by a small amount, and that humans are the cause. There are some minor disagreements over the details, but there is widespread agreement on the basics. However, future predictions of gloom and doom are very debatable and scientifically disprovable. The CO2 level is already at 90% of its potential to block infrared radiation. Climate Alarmism depends upon as-of-yet unproven positive feedback mechanisms. If there were some evidence for this I would be on board, but there is a long list of past predictions that have not come true.
The solutions involve making energy expensive for everyone and denying energy to developing countries.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Saturday, February 24, 2024
New Evidence Suggests Long COVID Could Be a Brain Injury
'As part of the preprint study, participants took a cognition test with their scores age-matched to those who had not suffered a serious bout of COVID-19. Then a blood sample was taken to look for specific biomarkers, showing that elevated levels of certain biomarkers were consistent with a brain injury. Using brain scans, researchers also found that certain regions of the brain associated with attention were reduced in volume.
Patients who participated in the study were "less accurate and slower" in their cognition, and suffered from at least one mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder, according to researchers.
The brain deficits found in COVID-19 patients were equivalent to 20 years of brain aging and provided proof of what doctors have feared: that this virus can damage the brain and result in ongoing mental health issues.
"We found global deficits across cognition,"'
Patients who participated in the study were "less accurate and slower" in their cognition, and suffered from at least one mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder, according to researchers.
The brain deficits found in COVID-19 patients were equivalent to 20 years of brain aging and provided proof of what doctors have feared: that this virus can damage the brain and result in ongoing mental health issues.
"We found global deficits across cognition,"'
Friday, February 23, 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
The Hockey Stick Trial: Science (and free speech) Dies in a DC Courtroom
In a 39-page report, climate scientist Judith Curry gave her opinion that it is "reasonable" to have referred to the hockey stick in 2012 as "fraudulent" in the sense that "aspects of it are deceptive and misleading."
However, Judge Alfred S. Irving excluded Curry's report, which cataloged the manipulations of data to get a hockey stick shape and quoted severe criticisms of the hockey stick made even by climate scientists supportive of the climate-change consensus (most of these made privately).'
...
However, Judge Alfred S. Irving excluded Curry's report, which cataloged the manipulations of data to get a hockey stick shape and quoted severe criticisms of the hockey stick made even by climate scientists supportive of the climate-change consensus (most of these made privately).'
...
The trial closed with Mann's counsel, John Williams, making a naked appeal to the jurors' political prejudices. Williams urged the jury to award punitive damages so that no one will dare engage in "climate denialism" – just as Donald Trump's "election denialism" needed to be suppressed. "In 41 years of trying cases to juries," John Hinderaker wrote on the Powerline blog, "I have never heard such an outrageously improper appeal."
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2024/02/19/the_hockey_stick_trial_science_dies_in_a_dc_courtroom_1012630.html
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2024/02/19/the_hockey_stick_trial_science_dies_in_a_dc_courtroom_1012630.html
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Friday, February 16, 2024
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
COVID-19
I thought I would be immune because I am fully vaccinated, but the dominant JN-1 variant has a slightly different spike protein, sometimes bypassing vaccine immunity. The latest vaccine was supposed to offer some protection from this variant.
Yesterday, I had trouble getting Paxlovid because my pharmacy was sold out. I had to go to three different pharmacies to get it. I took my first dose last night and my second dose this morning. I have eight more doses to go.
Paxlovid is supposed to stop the virus from replicating, which would be very nice. Any virus will grow exponentially until your immune system kicks in and starts destroying the virus. The Paxlovid might help the immune system to win the war.
Yesterday, on my second day of COVID-19, I felt like I had a bad cold and could not get anything productive done. I went to sleep at 10:30 which is early for me. I woke at 5:00 AM feeling fully rested but wishing I had gotten more sleep. I got up for a couple of hours, but when I started to feel tired I went back to bed. I didn't think that I would be able to go back to sleep, but I got just enough of a nap to make me feel better.
I can tell that there is a battle going on in my body. Either the immune system will win, or the virus will. So far, I feel better today than yesterday, so maybe my immune system is working.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Monday, February 12, 2024
Senator Wants to Prosecute Climate Realists!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs_cAiqeqas
The chance of this happening in the United States is close to zero but not zero. Sometimes, mass hysteria takes over, and I could see this happening in other countries.
Fwd: Methane Causing the End of the Ice Age
---------- Forwarded message ---------
On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 1:04 AM al wrote:
John,I think this video came after the one you sent. It talks extensively about a dramatic peak in methane in the atmosphere, which has much more to do with global warming than CO2. I found it interesting.
Al,
This video is three months old and I already saw it.
I think that his claims are speculative. We have been in the Pleistocene ice age for 2.6 million years. It was caused by the huge decline of CO2 over the last 40 million years. To say that the ice age would suddenly end because there is a spike in methane is speculative.
Although methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, it exists in the atmosphere at a much lower quantity, like 200 times less. We measure it in parts per billion.
There is some concern that natural bodies of water, like large lakes, that contain greenhouse gasses could release those gasses if disturbed.
Water vapor is the most influential greenhouse gas. Minor changes in CO2 level can change how much water vapor is in the atmosphere creating positive feedback.
There is disagreement on whether clouds produce positive or negative feedback, but I think that common sense would say that it is negative. If it is positive as the IPCC claims, then this would imply that there would be a runaway greenhouse effect. However, past spikes in warming did not see this. Actual climate is complicated involving many factors.
By definition, the amount of radiation hitting the earth and radiating from it is balanced. Greenhouse gases cause a change in the equilibrium producing a slightly higher temperature.
--
Sunday, February 11, 2024
How Weather Works: Part 1 and Part 2
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Friday, February 9, 2024
Michael Mann climate scientist wins defamation case
"After a day of deliberations, the jury ruled that Simberg and Steyn defamed Mann through some of their statements. The compensatory damages were just $1 for each writer. But the punitive damages were larger. The jury ordered Simberg to pay Mann $1000 in punitive damages; it ordered Steyn to pay $1 million in punitive damages.
Mann did not respond to requests for comment. But in a statement posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "I hope this verdict sends a message that falsely attacking climate scientists is not protected speech."
Simberg's attorney sent an email that cast the decision as a victory for him. In an email, Steyn's manager Melissa Howes said, "We always said that Mann never suffered any actual injury from the statement at issue. And today, after twelve years, the jury awarded him one dollar in compensatory damages."
Mann's trial comes at a time of increasing attacks on climate scientists, says Lauren Kurtz, executive director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, who notes that her fund helps more scientists each year than the year before."
Mann did not respond to requests for comment. But in a statement posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "I hope this verdict sends a message that falsely attacking climate scientists is not protected speech."
Simberg's attorney sent an email that cast the decision as a victory for him. In an email, Steyn's manager Melissa Howes said, "We always said that Mann never suffered any actual injury from the statement at issue. And today, after twelve years, the jury awarded him one dollar in compensatory damages."
Mann's trial comes at a time of increasing attacks on climate scientists, says Lauren Kurtz, executive director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, who notes that her fund helps more scientists each year than the year before."
Just for the record, Michael Mann's hockey stick graph showing a rise in atmospheric temperature in the last few decades has been widely criticized. The main complaint is that it leaves out the medieval warm period, making the current warming trend look unprecedented. Poeple have also complained about his methodology.
Michael Mann has made failed predictions. It seems somewhat justified to call him a fraud, and expressing this opinion should be protected free speech.
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Denying the Catastrophe: The Science of the Climate Skeptic's Position
"It is important to begin by emphasizing that few skeptics doubt or deny that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas or that it and other greenhouse gasses (water vapor being the most important) help to warm the surface of the Earth. Further, few skeptics deny that man is probably contributing to higher CO2 levels through his burning of fossil fuels, though remember we are talking about a maximum total change in atmospheric CO2 concentration due to man of about 0.01% over the last 100 years.
What skeptics deny is the catastrophe, the notion that man's incremental contributions to CO2 levels will create catastrophic warming and wildly adverse climate changes. To understand the skeptic's position requires understanding something about the alarmists' case that is seldom discussed in the press: the theory of catastrophic man-made global warming is actually comprised of two separate, linked theories, of which only the first is frequently discussed in the media.
The first theory is that a doubling of atmospheric CO2 levels (approximately what we might see under the more extreme emission assumptions for the next century) will lead to about a degree Celsius of warming. Though some quibble over the number – it might be a half degree, it might be a degree and a half – most skeptics, alarmists and even the UN's IPCC are roughly in agreement on this fact.
But one degree due to the all the CO2 emissions we might see over the next century is hardly a catastrophe. The catastrophe, then, comes from the second theory, that the climate is dominated by positive feedbacks (basically acceleration factors) that multiply the warming from CO2 many fold. Thus one degree of warming from the greenhouse gas effect of CO2 might be multiplied to five or eight or even more degrees.
This second theory is the source of most of the predicted warming – not greenhouse gas theory per se but the notion that the Earth's climate (unlike nearly every other natural system) is dominated by positive feedbacks. This is the main proposition that skeptics doubt, and it is by far the weakest part of the alarmist case. One can argue whether the one degree of warming from CO2 is "settled science" (I think that is a crazy term to apply to any science this young), but the three, five, eight degrees from feedback are not at all settled. In fact, they are not even very well supported...
Despite these heroic efforts to try to find observational validation for their catastrophic warming forecasts, the evidence continues to accumulate that these forecasts are wildly overstated."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenmeyer/2010/10/15/denying-the-catstrophe-the-science-of-the-climate-skeptics-position/?sh=639399591c66
What skeptics deny is the catastrophe, the notion that man's incremental contributions to CO2 levels will create catastrophic warming and wildly adverse climate changes. To understand the skeptic's position requires understanding something about the alarmists' case that is seldom discussed in the press: the theory of catastrophic man-made global warming is actually comprised of two separate, linked theories, of which only the first is frequently discussed in the media.
The first theory is that a doubling of atmospheric CO2 levels (approximately what we might see under the more extreme emission assumptions for the next century) will lead to about a degree Celsius of warming. Though some quibble over the number – it might be a half degree, it might be a degree and a half – most skeptics, alarmists and even the UN's IPCC are roughly in agreement on this fact.
But one degree due to the all the CO2 emissions we might see over the next century is hardly a catastrophe. The catastrophe, then, comes from the second theory, that the climate is dominated by positive feedbacks (basically acceleration factors) that multiply the warming from CO2 many fold. Thus one degree of warming from the greenhouse gas effect of CO2 might be multiplied to five or eight or even more degrees.
This second theory is the source of most of the predicted warming – not greenhouse gas theory per se but the notion that the Earth's climate (unlike nearly every other natural system) is dominated by positive feedbacks. This is the main proposition that skeptics doubt, and it is by far the weakest part of the alarmist case. One can argue whether the one degree of warming from CO2 is "settled science" (I think that is a crazy term to apply to any science this young), but the three, five, eight degrees from feedback are not at all settled. In fact, they are not even very well supported...
Despite these heroic efforts to try to find observational validation for their catastrophic warming forecasts, the evidence continues to accumulate that these forecasts are wildly overstated."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenmeyer/2010/10/15/denying-the-catstrophe-the-science-of-the-climate-skeptics-position/?sh=639399591c66
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