Geek Culture, Writing and Other Junk from Writer C. A. Wilke
 
F#@K It! Friday: Random Stuff for 10-25-2019

F#@K It! Friday: Random Stuff for 10-25-2019

It’s Friday, so I’m kind of saying Fuck It. Here’s some random shit I found on the Interwebs.

 

 

So, this was a cool thing I saw at work today. Coworkers brought their kids around for Halloween stuff. I mean, Enfys Nest and Voltron’s Keith? Get outta here! Pretty amazing.

One thought, I’m disappointed that, when my kids were small enough, I did not work at a place that did this. It’s cool and fun.

Not a whole lot on this, except to say that any time Curiosity takes a pic, it’s awesome.This is a seriously amazing piece of machinery and should be considered the first World Wonder of Mars.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/curiosity-rover-selfie-chemistry/

(And, if you’re wondering how a robot can take a selfie without a selfie drone, check this out: https://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/08191059-curiosity-self-portrait-history-belly-pan.html)

This headline really freaked me out. I mean, why the hell would I want to live in a wasp nest? Wasps are one of only two truly evil creatures on this planet. (The second being scorpions, because fuck scorpions.) Then I read the article and I was like, “Whew, okay then.” Though, it kind of makes me wonder, if we make houses that look like giant wasp nests, are we running the risk of attracting giant wasps? If that’s the case, then SCREW THAT.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/3d-printed-wasp-nest-house/

Okay, this last article is pretty damn insane. So, over the last year or so, we’ve learned how much water the moon may actually have. But what the moon has way more of, is oxygen. Like SO MUCH OXYGEN. The problem is, it’s chemically locked in the moon’s regolith dust itself. And extracting it is pretty tough, usually requiring melting the dust at temps around 1,600 degrees fahrenheit, which takes an inordinate amount of energy. However, European Space Agency scientists believe they’ve found a way to do it at a fraction of the energy cost. The best part is that the end products are oxygen and possibly quite valuable metal dust.

https://www.universetoday.com/143696/this-is-what-moondust-looks-like-when-you-remove-all-the-oxygen-a-pile-of-metal/

So apparently Pirates is still a thing. Not like, in general, but Pirates of the Caribbean. Don’t get me wrong. I love PotC. I’ve enjoyed every movie, though some to lesser degrees. But, apparently Disney is moving forward with a Pirates 6? And it’s somewhat labeled as a reboot? And it may or may not have Depp?

To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this. I loved Depp’s Captain Sparrow. Still do. I’m just not sure he’s right for it anymore. Also, it’s not like they really planned for it to be a huge franchise from the beginning. They just didn’t build it out that way. So if this is a reboot, then maybe they can go that way. But if it’s a continuation, I just feel it’ll need some pretty strong retooling.

https://geektyrant.com/news/disneys-pirate-of-the-caribbean-reboot-ready-to-set-sail-into-development

Oh, also, if you haven’t seen it, you have to watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI6CfKcMhjY
Then there’s this. I shared this on Twitter and Facebook, so if there is a chance you’ve seen it already. But if you haven’t, I encourage you to give this a read. This analysis of how Medicare for all will impact the various tax brackets in the U.S. is very enlightening. Personally, I’ve been a proponent for a Finland/Norway-style healthcare system for a while. Mostly for the fact that I don’t believe health care should really be a for-profit enterprise. However, for those people who want to pay less in taxes, this article makes a fairly strong argument for why Medicare for All is the way to go. Anyway, check it out.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/25/medicare-for-all-taxes-saez-zucman

So there you go. Some random stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

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