WashPo: Fusion energy, the ‘holy grail’ of clean power, a step closer to reality
The Department of Energy plans to announce Tuesday that scientists have been able for the first time to produce a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain …
WashPo: Fusion energy, the ‘holy grail’ of clean power, a step closer to reality
The Department of Energy plans to announce Tuesday that scientists have been able for the first time to produce a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain …
It’s up!
CBC: Iconic Maple Leafs defenceman Börje Salming dies at 71
Legendary NHL defenceman Börje Salming, who was a fixture on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line for 16 years, has died. He was 71 years old.
The Maple Leafs announced Salming’s death Thursday afternoon.
RIP
CBC: Iconic Maple Leafs defenceman Börje Salming dies at 71
Legendary NHL defenceman Börje Salming, who was a fixture on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line for 16 years, has died. He was 71 years old.
The Maple Leafs announced Salming’s death Thursday afternoon.
RIP.
pv magazine: All-perovskite two-terminal tandem solar cell tech with 32.3% efficiency
Indian scientists have designed a new all-perovskite tandem solar cell configuration that can reportedly achieve higher efficiencies than similar devices built with the same materials. The top perovskite cell has a wide bandgap of 1.75 eV and the bottom perovskite cell has a bandgap of 1.25 eV.
Scientists from the Central University of Jharkhand in India have simulated a new all-perovskite two-terminal tandem solar cell. It reportedly has a 13% higher efficiency than similar devices with the same materials at the research level.
Perovskite has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of panels but to date they have suffered from lower efficiency and poor durability. Tandem cells (perovskite over silicon), though, have achieved better efficiencies than silicon alone.
CBC: Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds confirms interest in buying Ottawa Senators
“I am trying to do that. It’s very expensive.”
Added Reynolds with a laugh: “I need a partner with really deep pockets.”
Forbes magazine valued the Senators at $525 million US in December 2021, about four months before former owner Eugene Melnyk died.
Reynolds would have a very different style as franchise owner I’d guess!
#mbnov
Grey Matter: Bill McKibben - Renown Environmentalist - Reclaiming the Climate
October 4, 2022
Bill McKibben is a life-long environmentalist, activist, journalist, and author who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. In our conversation we review the significance of recent climate legislation, the technological alternatives to fossil fuels, and the ways and means currently at work to reclaim the climate – with special focus given to what the Baby Boomers can do.
WashPo: Why Everyone’s Tweeting About the Mastodon in the Room
It needs to be said: Mastodon is not the next Twitter. And that’s OK. It’s not supposed to be.
#links #Twitter
PetaPixel: The Personal Photo Curator: A New Profession is Born
The average family may shoot four thousand photos in a year. If you have been taking pictures since the iPhone 3G came out in 2008, it means that now, after 14 years of a trigger-happy existence, you are inundated with over 50,000 photos. And you probably cannot find a perfect shot from a vacation you took just three years ago.
Enter personal photo curator Isabelle Dervaux, who can make sense of your photo mess and get your collection organized and, more importantly, functional.
When we were in Halifax we were able to restock on Laughing Whale coffee. ☕️ Now enjoying a freshly made Rock Your Boat single espresso. 👍🏻
#coffee
The new, 10th-gen iPad only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, meaning that it requires an adapter to charge separately via a wired connection since the device has moved to USB-C.
Really?! What a hack! I can’t believe that Steve Jobs would ever have approved this!
NYT: …drones that Russia is using to attack Ukraine.
The latest Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Monday was preceded by a sound that has become increasingly familiar in the war: the buzz of a small engine, like a lawn-mower or moped, that signals the arrival of an exploding Iranian-made drone.
Russia is now playing the role of Nazi Germany in the Blitz.
Got the bivalent covid + flu shots today 💉
Whoo hoo! Nothing requiring good judgement planned for tomorrow!
Guardian: Copenhagenize your city: the case for urban cycling in 12 graphs
Danish-Canadian urban designer Mikael Colville-Andersen busts some common myths and shows how the bicycle has the potential to transform cities around the world.
#links #sustainability
The Tyee: The Petro Elite Were Warned of Climate Calamity in 1959
Among them was Sun Oil head Robert Dunlop, who proceeded to exploit the tarsands of Alberta. Excerpted from ‘The Petroleum Papers.’
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However, Dunlop hinted cryptically at challenges to come: “There are aspects of the future which are clouded by the penetration of non-economic forces into the functioning of an industry which has always performed best in an atmosphere of economic freedom.”
Dunlop didn’t say what storm clouds specifically threatened the expansion of oil and gas. But the next “Energy and Man” speaker did. That speaker vividly described a new and unexpected threat to the industry: its vast and growing emissions of a greenhouse gas called carbon dioxide.
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Depictions of global warming’s impact on human society were also starting to enter popular culture. Several years before Teller attempted to alert his New York audience, an article in Time magazine warned that CO2 building up in the atmosphere could by the early 2000s “have a violent effect on the Earth’s climate.”
One wonders: how much warning do the Liberals think the oil & gas industry needs?
Verge: The best mechanical keyboards of 2022
It’s hard to beat the tactility, durability, or good looks of a mechanical keyboard, but if you’re looking for one, it can be hard to know where to start.
I love my mechanical keyboards!
WashPo: Sergio Aragones, MAD magazine’s oldest active artist, is still spoofing our humanity
Sergio Aragonés has drawn for [Mad] since he arrived in New York … 60 years ago‚ and at age 85 he’s contributed to its 70th anniversary issue: ‘Drawing has become like walking.’
NYT: The Great Guinea Pig Giveaway Has Begun
From geckos to chinchillas, small pets were a pandemic balm. Now shelters across the country say they are being surrendered.
NewsNation: 68% of Disney World fans say the park’s ‘lost its magic’: poll
Some of the most loyal of Disney enthusiasts say one specific thing is keeping them from visiting Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando more often — they even say it’s causing “the Happiest Place on Earth” to completely lose its magic.
It’s the cost.
A family vacation to Walt Disney World Resort is more expensive than ever and fans are noticing, according to a new poll. The gambling website time2play recently released a study based on data from 1,927 “self-described Disney World enthusiasts” about the rising costs to visit the park.
According to the study, 92.6% of those surveyed believed the cost of a Disney World vacation is out of reach for an average family. Additionally, 68.3% of people said increases made it feel like the theme park has lost all its magic.
As of Tuesday, the cost for a standard one-park day ticket on Friday, Sept. 16 is $134, though prices of tickets vary by date. Standard Walt Disney World tickets range between $139 and $154 through October, according to Disney World’s website.
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When Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971, a ticket cost only $3.50. Adjusting for inflation, that would be $22.61 today. According to Koala calculations, there has been an average price increase of 7.4% each year since the park opened.
I bought a hat with a logo today, the first one… ever? However, Yvon Chouinard & Patagonia earned it!
Halifax Again! Finally!
The Yukon River near Whitehorse, YT
A wonderful day on Baffin Island
Sounds like some people in Japan’s tax agency have been drinking too much!
BBC: Japan urges its young people to drink more to boost economy
The younger generation drinks less alcohol than their parents - a move that has hit taxes from beverages like sake (rice wine).