Random Posts

[LFC]

Interesting solution to a growing problem.

A team of researchers at the University of Kitakyushu in Japan have developed a new type of construction material with used, disposable diapers—and even used it to build a house. The team published a study on Thursday in Scientific Reports about their findings and say that it could be used to create low-cost housing for low-income countries.

Not only could this help alleviate the landfill waste from the diapers, but it could also help save up to 8 percent of the sand in the concrete used to make buildings. All told, it’s a cheap and environmentally friendly way of creating new housing.

This was interesting.

Using the diapers to replace sand also does the double duty of addressing the worldwide sand shortage (yes, that’s a thing). The stuff you find on beaches is actually the second-most used resource in the world behind water. Without it, floods and storms can surge out of control, destroying habitats and communities with it.

[andydp]

Tomorrow will mark the 79th anniversary of D Day.  Please take time to remember those heroes that came ashore and went into "harm's way".

Every once in a while, I get serious. This is one of those occasions.


A few hours from now, starts the 79th Anniversary of D-Day. The heroes that were there and who are still with us, should always know the tremendous gratitude we have for their valor and courage.

In serious times like this, we turn to Shakespeare's Henry V:


This day is called the feast of Crispian:

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,

Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,

And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

He that shall live this day, and see old age,

Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,

And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian:’

Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.

And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,

But he’ll remember with advantages

What feats he did that day:

.....

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

[goldenvalley]

Do you watch tv with subtitles turned on?  My husband has them on because he doesn't hear every word well and I object to him turning the tv up so loud that I need to sit in another room to stand it.  My daughter in law likes them because English is not her first language, though her English is superior to most native English speakers.  

I personally hate them because I end up reading instead of watching the actors' faces, the cinematography, the action.  But this article in Atlantic explains a bit about why it is difficult to hear some streaming services and it certainly explains why I have to turn the volume up on HBO's Succession but not on other shows on other streaming services.

The good news, according to Onnalee Blank, the four-time Emmy Award–winning sound mixer on Game of Thrones, is that it’s not your fault that you can’t hear well enough to follow this stuff. It’s not your TV’s fault either, or your speakers—your sound system might be lousy, but that’s not why you can’t hear the dialogue. “It has everything to do with the streaming services and how they’re choosing to air these shows,” Blank told me.

Specifically, it has everything to do with LKFS, which stands for “Loudness, K-weighted, relative to full scale” and which, for the sake of simplicity, is a unit for measuring loudness. Traditionally it’s been anchored to the dialogue. For years, going back to the golden age of broadcast television and into the pay-cable era, audio engineers had to deliver sound levels within an industry-standard LKFS, or their work would get kicked back to them. That all changed when streaming companies seized control of the industry, a period of time that rather neatly matches Game of Thrones’ run on HBO. According to Blank, Game of Thrones sounded fantastic for years, and she’s got the Emmys to prove it. Then, in 2018, just prior to the show’s final season, AT&T bought HBO’s parent company and overlaid its own uniform loudness spec, which was flatter and simpler to scale across a large library of content. But it was also, crucially, un-anchored to the dialogue.

“So instead of this algorithm analyzing the loudness of the dialogue coming out of people’s mouths,” Blank explained to me, “it analyzes the whole show as loudness. So if you have a loud music cue, that’s gonna be your loud point. And then, when the dialogue comes, you can’t hear it.” Blank remembers noticing the difference from the moment AT&T took the reins at Time Warner; overnight, she said, HBO’s sound went from best-in-class to worst. During the last season of Game of Thrones, she said, “we had to beg [AT&T] to keep our old spec every single time we delivered an episode.” (Because AT&T spun off HBO’s parent company in 2022, a spokesperson for AT&T said they weren’t able to comment on the matter.)

Netflix still uses a dialogue-anchor spec, she said, which is why shows on Netflix sound (to her) noticeably crisper and clearer: “If you watch a Netflix show now and then immediately you turn on an HBO show, you’re gonna have to raise your volume.” Amazon Prime Video’s spec, meanwhile, “is pretty gnarly.” But what really galls her about Amazon is its new “dialogue boost” function, which viewers can select to “increase the volume of dialogue relative to background music and effects.” In other words, she said, it purports to fix a problem of Amazon’s own creation. Instead, she suggested, “why don’t you just air it the way we mixed it?” 

[andydp]

Happy Birthday to the US Army !! 248 years of kickin`patoot !

[goldenvalley]

I hate tourists!

[andydp]

More Canadian smoke is headed our way.  You can get real time air quality status here:

www.Airnow.gov

[goldenvalley]

Mick Jagger turns 80 today.  I don't know why that is astounding to me...he's been around forever in terms of my awareness of pop music.  Maybe the realization that he is 80 makes me notice that I'm over 60.

[LFC]

[Bact PhD]

In case I needed any further confirmation that I live in a zoo…

www.vox.com/science/23818926/florida-invasive-species-iguanas-tegus-monkeys

To see exotic animals in Florida, one could visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Busch Gardens, or Zoo Miami. Or they could just step outside.

The Sunshine State is utterly brimming with nonnative species. More than 500 of them have been reported here, which is more than in any other state, and many of them are considered “invasive,” meaning they harm humans or ecosystems. For most of their evolutionary history, these species have never set foot in Florida — they’ve never been near a Publix, or Magic Kingdom, for that matter.

In the last few decades, Florida has become an unmanaged zoo, an uncontrolled experiment. And each year, the decision of what to do with it gets harder.

[goldenvalley]

Sept 18, 2023 20:16:49 GMT Bact PhD said:

In case I needed any further confirmation that I live in a zoo…

www.vox.com/science/23818926/florida-invasive-species-iguanas-tegus-monkeys

To see exotic animals in Florida, one could visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Busch Gardens, or Zoo Miami. Or they could just step outside.

The Sunshine State is utterly brimming with nonnative species. More than 500 of them have been reported here, which is more than in any other state, and many of them are considered “invasive,” meaning they harm humans or ecosystems. For most of their evolutionary history, these species have never set foot in Florida — they’ve never been near a Publix, or Magic Kingdom, for that matter.

In the last few decades, Florida has become an unmanaged zoo, an uncontrolled experiment. And each year, the decision of what to do with it gets harder.

There's a Carl Hiasson novel called Squeeze Me set in Florida that involves a location that is suspiciously like Mar A Lago, a president whose code name is Mastadon, and pythons.  Worth a read to make you laugh a bit.

[LFC]

Sept 18, 2023 20:16:49 GMT Bact PhD said:

In case I needed any further confirmation that I live in a zoo…

I met a Florida birder who called the field guide to parrots, parakeets, and cockatoos of the world as “Birds of Dade County.”

[andydp]

Seton Hall University is celebrating 50 years of Women's Sports.  This is a photo of the first ever SHU Womens BB team in 1973. Mrs Andy is in the front row with the number "3".  I was corrected by "someone" who advised me its actually "23".  

[andydp]

Know what's great about the Taylor/Travis hype ?

Highly reduced Kardashian hype !!

[goldenvalley]

Oct 4, 2023 16:39:57 GMT andydp said:

Know what's great about the Taylor/Travis hype ?

Highly reduced Kardashian hype !!

Social media generates this BS but I guess back in the old movie magazine days, similar things happened. You actually had to pick up the magazine to see it back then.

[Bact PhD]

Oct 4, 2023 17:33:58 GMT goldenvalley said:

Oct 4, 2023 16:39:57 GMT andydp said:

Know what's great about the Taylor/Travis hype ?

Highly reduced Kardashian hype !!

Social media generates this BS but I guess back in the old movie magazine days, similar things happened. You actually had to pick up the magazine to see it back then.

Now all you have to do is turn on the TV. I got annoyed this past Sunday when it seemed like the NBC cameras were cutting to Taylor-in-the-Box every couple of minutes. I’m sure somebody has come up with an appropriate drinking game along the lines of the old “Hi, Bob” game.

[goldenvalley]

Oct 5, 2023 15:39:41 GMT Bact PhD said:

Oct 4, 2023 17:33:58 GMT goldenvalley said:

Social media generates this BS but I guess back in the old movie magazine days, similar things happened. You actually had to pick up the magazine to see it back then.

Now all you have to do is turn on the TV. I got annoyed this past Sunday when it seemed like the NBC cameras were cutting to Taylor-in-the-Box every couple of minutes. I’m sure somebody has come up with an appropriate drinking game along the lines of the old “Hi, Bob” game.

Good thing I rarely watch football 'cause I'd get schnockered in the Taylor in the Box game.  I don't pay much attention to her, but my impression is that she is in the public eye a lot and that's the point.  I do like that she motivated a lot of young women to register to vote.

[andydp]

Why people go "over the edge": chapter MCMDXLVIII

As you may know, I picked up the "new to me" 2016 Corvette Thursday at noon.  Friday at Noon we were on the Watkins Glen International Race Track with the Corvette club.  Three laps and lots of fun.  No, I couldn't go fast, they have monitors and can pull you out of the line.

Anyway, the car has a manual that involves plenty of layered menus.  Most car manuals aren't too easy to get through.  I know my wife's Mazda had fob battery instruction on three separate pages.

I posted on a Corvette specific FB Page the question: Where in the settings do I find how to set up automatic door locking ?

I will quote the first answer:

If I remember correctly, you can make the adjustments on the screen when you go into settings.

After stressing I was looking for WHERE to find the info in Settings, the same person redeemed himself and gave me the location info I was looking for.

I have already done the setting.

[goldenvalley]

Oct 8, 2023 19:14:31 GMT andydp said:

Why people go "over the edge": chapter MCMDXLVIII

As you may know, I picked up the "new to me" 2016 Corvette Thursday at noon.  Friday at Noon we were on the Watkins Glen International Race Track with the Corvette club.  Three laps and lots of fun.  No, I couldn't go fast, they have monitors and can pull you out of the line.

Anyway, the car has a manual that involves plenty of layered menus.  Most car manuals aren't too easy to get through.  I know my wife's Mazda had fob battery instruction on three separate pages.

I posted on a Corvette specific FB Page the question: Where in the settings do I find how to set up automatic door locking ?

I will quote the first answer:

If I remember correctly, you can make the adjustments on the screen when you go into settings.

After stressing I was looking for WHERE to find the info in Settings, the same person redeemed himself and gave me the location info I was looking for.

I have already done the setting.

Congrats on the new one and on figuring out how to set up door locking.  The manuals on cars get longer and longer with less and less indexing to help you find things.  

You might want to check out YouTube...when I got my electric car I found videos devoted to explaining basic things like door locking, setting the schedule for charging under Settings marked EV instead of "charge" (that makes no sense to me), and so much more. It was so much more informative to see someone actually operating the thing than it is to try to parse the very small drawings and obscure language of the manual. Have fun sitting in the car experimenting with everything!

[andydp]

It was nice while it lasted.

Got a letter mailed from France sent by a Belgian Law Firm advising me my "Cousin" Delbert DiPalma has left a legacy of 8.3 Million Euros. They can't find a DiPalma in Europe so they tried here.

I look forward to meeting them and using this legacy to provide a home for retired unicorns. Meanwhile I have lawn mowing to do.

[goldenvalley]

Oct 19, 2023 14:55:52 GMT andydp said:

It was nice while it lasted.

Got a letter mailed from France sent by a Belgian Law Firm advising me my "Cousin" Delbert DiPalma has left a legacy of 8.3 Million Euros. They can't find a DiPalma in Europe so they tried here.

I look forward to meeting them and using this legacy to provide a home for retired unicorns. Meanwhile I have lawn mowing to do.

Me too! Yesterday I got a letter that says "Delbert My Last Name" (clearly added in all caps in a slightly different font) has left a dedicated account of 8.9 million Euros.  In fact I got two letters saying that.  I don't even have to feign kinship with this guy. All I have to do is enter into a partnership with someone from the "Rosemarc Wealth Management" company in Brussels and I get half.  I'm tempted to send a response offering a partnership to this guy so he can use his 50% to go in with me to purchase the Golden Gate Bridge.

[andydp]

AAARGH !! AND AGAIN, AAARGH  !!!

Last night and this morning I literally spent about three hours trying to find the section on You Tube TV to change my payment source.  All sorts of Q&A sections none of which got me anywhere near what I was looking for.  I finally googled payment options You Tube TV and voila' it was available after a little more navigation.  Anyhow, I changed the credit card info.  Now I wanted to take advantage of a special offer.  I guessed I would have to drop You Tube TV and reapply.

A little more searching and I found a human to answer my question and help.  Spoke to a very nice and efficient young lady who dropped me so I could take advantage of the offer.  Re enrolled and here we are.

I won't even get to the 2 hours with Best Buy Geek "help" trying to get our printer to work like it did with the old router.  THAT is still in resolution.

[goldenvalley]

Nov 13, 2023 18:32:57 GMT andydp said:

AAARGH !! AND AGAIN, AAARGH  !!!

Last night and this morning I literally spent about three hours trying to find the section on You Tube TV to change my payment source.  All sorts of Q&A sections none of which got me anywhere near what I was looking for.  I finally googled payment options You Tube TV and voila' it was available after a little more navigation.  Anyhow, I changed the credit card info.  Now I wanted to take advantage of a special offer.  I guessed I would have to drop You Tube TV and reapply.

A little more searching and I found a human to answer my question and help.  Spoke to a very nice and efficient young lady who dropped me so I could take advantage of the offer.  Re enrolled and here we are.

I won't even get to the 2 hours with Best Buy Geek "help" trying to get our printer to work like it did with the old router.  THAT is still in resolution.

Oh ho! Let me tell you the sad story of me getting a Ring doorbell 5 years ago that wouldn't work unless I got a new router which I did. But then the printer wouldn't work with the new router so I got a new printer too.  That was an expensive doorbell!

And now the printer that I bought back then won't print in the correct colors...seems to like pink a lot and prints in that. I've done all the troubleshooting I can stand and just went to Staples and bought a new one.  I think I'll smash the old one with a small sledge hammer that I forgot I had.

[andydp]

Today's news:

Finally took the plunge today:

Dropped Spectrum cable and subscribed to You Tube TV on recommendation of our son.  Wife is enjoying the split screen College Basketball capability.  We also have ROKU and the multitude of channels to choose from.  Unfortunately for me, NCAA Basketball will be on the TV until the end of the Final Four April 8.  

Dropped our land line from the same.  (40 years with the same number)

Weather hit 60 today so...got a last ride with BB2 (except Monday's inspection) until maybe March.  

[andydp]

Nov 13, 2023 18:32:57 GMT andydp said:

I won't even get to the 2 hours with Best Buy Geek "help" trying to get our printer to work like it did with the old router.  THAT is still in resolution.

Geek squad guy paid us a visit yesterday. Half hour later we were back on line and printing. Woking good !! Its how we roll !

[andydp]

A sign the apocalypse is arriving:

Just read the Sunday Comics page.  Beetle bailey is being drawn by some new person.  Sarge is skinnier.