In The News

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by GordMay

What next - Next-Gen Shoelaces? ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sho...ifts-1.4949031

And CBC News (Edmonton) thought it important to inform their viewers “How to Tie Shoelaces” ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2446561929

Have you ever smoked so much pot that the news starts to make sense?

Me neither.

This is going to sound silly and painfully anal but the guy is half right. Essentially you are trying a square not, not a Granny knot, if you know the difference. If you do a lot of walking in brambles and such, as when rabbit hunting in an over grown field, the brambles will untie your lace. However, if you tie it correctly, square knot, and out in a second wrap, the lace will resist becoming untied. I don’t think I’ve ever had a properly tied lace come undone.

Yes, I know, hopelessly pedantic and no one cares. Still, true.

[GordMay]

Tiny Fish Feed Reefs

A new study* finds that nearly 60 percent of the fish flesh that feeds bigger fishes and other predators on a reef comes from tiny “cryptobenthic” fishes that stick close to crevices and other hiding places. Unlike many larger reef fish species, the young of cryptobenthic fishes are more likely to linger close to their parents’ home reef, providing a better chance of making it to adulthood, unlike many of the larger reef fishes, that have young that take longer, dangerous journeys in open water.
In an earlier study, he and colleagues defined the group as 17 families of fish species, including gobies and blennies. In these families, at least 10 percent of known species measure less than 5 centimeters long, roughly as long as a pinkie finger. The majority of these little species are even smaller.

“Demographic dynamics of the smallest marine vertebrates fuel coral-reef ecosystem functioning” ~ Simon J. Brandl et al.
“... the ocean’s smallest vertebrates, cryptobenthic reef fishes, promote internal reef-fish biomass production through exceptional larval supply from the pelagic environment. Specifically, cryptobenthics account for two-thirds of reef-fish larvae in the near-reef pelagic zone, despite limited adult reproductive outputs. This overwhelming abundance of cryptobenthic larvae fuels reef trophodynamics via rapid growth and extreme mortality, producing almost 60% of consumed reef fish biomass...”
* ➥ https://science.sciencemag.org/conte...cience.aav3384

[GordMay]

FDA approves $2M medicine, most expensive ever
Zolgensma, Novartis’ one-time gene therapy will cost $2.125 million US to treat a rare (usually fatal) condition called spinal muscular atrophy.
Novartis said it will let insurers make payments over five years, at $425,000 per year, and will give partial rebates if the drug doesn't work.
The therapy, a one-time infusion that takes about an hour, will be available within two weeks.
The one other treatment for the disease approved in the U.S., called Spinraza, is not a one-time injection. Instead, it must be given every four months after initial treatment. Biogen, Spinraza's maker, charges a list price of $750,000 for the first year and then $350,000 per year after that.
➥ https://www.fda.gov/news-events/pres...y-rare-disease

[weavis]

Originally Posted by hpeer

This is going to sound silly and painfully anal but the guy is half right. Essentially you are trying a square not, not a Granny knot, if you know the difference. If you do a lot of walking in brambles and such, as when rabbit hunting in an over grown field, the brambles will untie your lace. However, if you tie it correctly, square knot, and out in a second wrap, the lace will resist becoming untied. I don’t think I’ve ever had a properly tied lace come undone.

Yes, I know, hopelessly pedantic and no one cares. Still, true.

I CARE!!

(I dont really but wanted to show solidarity)..

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Bill Seal

There are about 6000 languages in the world, everything spoken in one means something else in another language.

For example, GM couldn't figure out why their Chevy Nova didn't sell in Mexico.

They finally found out that "Nova" in Spanish (no va) meant, "It doesn't go".

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

For example, GM couldn't figure out why their Chevy Nova didn't sell in Mexico.
They finally found out that "Nova" in Spanish (no va) meant, "It doesn't go".

Thanks - I didn't know that.


A few other unfortunate translations:

Pee Cola
This extremely popular soda, which is bottled in Ghana, means “very good Cola,” but that’s not most tourists’ first impression.

Lumia
Nokia’s new smartphone translates in Spanish slang to prostitute, which is unfortunate, but at least the cell phone giant is in good company. The name of international car manufacturer Peugeot translates in southern China to Biao zhi, which means the same thing.

Barf
In Iran, where this detergent is manufactured, that word means “snow.” Outside of Iran, where this detergent is sold, it calls forth something rather less pristine and redolent.

Fart Bar
In Polish, where this candy bar is made, the name translates to “lucky bar.”

Aass Fatol
The Norwegians may think they’re just drinking “draught beer,” but the label will almost definitely make English-speaking visitors giggle.

Siri
In the Georgian language, the iPhone’s personal assistant software is a rude word for cock. And no, I'm not talking about a rooster.

Shito
In Ghana, whoever decided to market these popular hot black peppers using their local name was not, presumably, giving those who consume them a warning.

Only Puke(et)
On these Chinese-made honey bean chips, the “et” after “Puke” is unfortunately obscured by the packaging design.

Megapussi
In Finland, these “extra-large bags” of potato chips are available at the country’s large chain of ... wait for it ...
KKK Supermarkets.

[GordMay]

Drug Price Transparency - WHA Resolution
Delegates to the World Health Assembly are expected to consider a transparency resolution demanding the pharmaceutical industry release confidential data about the costs of R&D, the outcomes of clinical trials, and the actual prices that countries pay for drugs after secret negotiations and rebates.
Behind closed doors at the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva this week, health officials from around the world began hammering at the black box of secrecy surrounding the pharmaceutical industry.
Pharmaceutical companies have long insisted that high prices are necessary to cover research and development (R&D) costs and keep them in business.
But with increasing numbers of new drugs priced at hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient per year, some countries are demanding to see the industry's financial data.
The WHA's transparency resolution* would demand unprecedented disclosure by drug companies about how much they spend on R&D, including the cost of clinical trials.
The resolution would also call for a system for countries to compare the true prices they pay for individual drugs. Right now, no country knows what another country is paying for the same drug. That's because companies hold secret negotiations with individual governments, forcing officials to sign non-disclosure agreements preventing them from revealing any price discounts that they were able to negotiate.
Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and several other countries, proposing changes [*2] to the wording that would soften the resolution and protect industry secrecy.
“The costs of R&D and production may bear little or no relationship to how pharmaceutical companies set prices of cancer medicines," a recent WHO report [*3] on cancer drug prices concluded. "Instead, pharmaceutical companies set prices according to demand-side factors, with a focus on extracting the payers' maximum willingness or ability to pay for a medicine."
Meanwhile, back in Geneva, the final draft of the transparency resolution will be discussed before the session ends next Tuesday. If the resolution is adopted, it would reflect a new commitment by the WHO to demand greater transparency around drug prices.

"Improving the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines, and other health-related products and other technologies to be discussed at the Seventy-second session of the World Health Assembly to be held on 20–28 May 2019"
[*1] ➥ http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_fil..._ACONF2-en.pdf

➥ https://www.keionline.org/wp-content...23.05.2019.pdf

[*2] Text of Proposed Changes ➥ https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/277190

[*3] "Fair Pricing for Medicines" ➥ https://www.who.int/medicines/access/fair_pricing/en/


We can only hope.

[GordMay]

What happens to what I put in the blue bin?
For the second time in five weeks, an angry government in Asia is demanding Canada take back unwanted waste.
First it was the Philippines, now Malaysia.
You may be tossing your recyclables into a blue bin supplied by a municipal recycling program, but the municipal government's responsibility ends once the blue bin contents are sold to a recycling company. Waste and recycling is for the most part handled by private industry (in Canada).
Canada recycles only nine per cent of the plastic that we use, here in this country.
More ☞ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/waste...ains-1.5153399

Philippines ☞ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dut...dent-1.5107539
Malaysia ☞ https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/we-are...stic-1.5152274

[GordMay]

'Tornado Alley' breaks record as powerful storms spawn whirlwind clusters
After a slow start, tornado season in the United States has suddenly become supercharged, with 500 twisters touching down over the past month and 12 consecutive days with eight or more of the devastating whirlwinds.
The record-breaking run of multiple-twister days was cemented by a tight cluster of tornadoes that swept through Indiana and Ohio early on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring at least 130. By day's end there had been 27 reported tornadoes, with more wind storms in Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Forecasters are warning of further danger Wednesday, with the U.S. National Weather Service saying that parts of 13 states and 40 million people are at "enhanced risk" of severe storms.
So far in 2019, the United States has recorded 935 tornadoes. That's well above the average of 743 reported, by this point in the year, during the decade between 2005 and 2015.
Studies [*1] show that changing weather patterns are pushing "Tornado Alley"; the traditional Great Plains twister hotspots that include Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska; south and east into Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. The root cause is dry, desert air drifting further eastwards than it used to.
And it means greater danger, since the new tornado states are more densely populated, and have more "weak-framed” homes.

“Spatial trends in United States tornado frequency” ~ by Vittorio A. Gensini & Harold E. Brooks
[*1] ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-018-0048-2

Tornado Clusters on the Rise
➥ Terrifying Tornado Clusters on the Rise - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience | NBC News

[GordMay]

7 dead, 21 missing after tour boat sinks in Hungary
Rescue workers scoured the Danube River in downtown Budapest on Thursday for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists sank in a collision with a larger cruise ship during an evening downpour.
Seven people have been confirmed dead and seven have been rescued, Hungarian officials said. Police have launched a criminal investigation.
More ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/tour-b...gary-1.5155324

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by GordMay

'Tornado Alley' breaks record as powerful storms spawn whirlwind clusters
After a slow start, tornado season in the United States has suddenly become supercharged, with 500 twisters touching down over the past month and 12 consecutive days with eight or more of the devastating whirlwinds.
The record-breaking run of multiple-twister days was cemented by a tight cluster of tornadoes that swept through Indiana and Ohio early on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring at least 130. By day's end there had been 27 reported tornadoes, with more wind storms in Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Forecasters are warning of further danger Wednesday, with the U.S. National Weather Service saying that parts of 13 states and 40 million people are at "enhanced risk" of severe storms.
So far in 2019, the United States has recorded 935 tornadoes. That's well above the average of 743 reported, by this point in the year, during the decade between 2005 and 2015.
Studies [*1] show that changing weather patterns are pushing "Tornado Alley"; the traditional Great Plains twister hotspots that include Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska; south and east into Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. The root cause is dry, desert air drifting further eastwards than it used to.
And it means greater danger, since the new tornado states are more densely populated, and have more "weak-framed” homes.

“Spatial trends in United States tornado frequency” ~ by Vittorio A. Gensini & Harold E. Brooks
[*1] ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-018-0048-2

Tornado Clusters on the Rise
➥ Terrifying Tornado Clusters on the Rise - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience | NBC News

And last year, 2018, interestingly enough...

The United States saw below-average numbers of tornadoes in 2018, with near record low tornado amounts in the typical peak month of May. Elsewhere in North America, the only officially-rated violent (EF4-EF5) tornado of the year occurred near the town of Alonsa, Manitoba on August 3; therefore, making 2018 the first year that the United States has not had a violent tornado touchdown through the entire year. With only 10 fatalities in the United States, 2018 also had the lowest number of tornado-related fatalities on record in the United States.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornadoes_of_2018

My underline.

[GordMay]

According to your Wikipedia link, and the NOAA/National Weather Service:

Wiki "... There were 1,169 preliminary reports of tornadoes in the United States in 2018,[1] of which at least 1,123 were confirmed ..."
... The United States saw below-average numbers of tornadoes in 2018...”
[1] ➥ https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/onlin...l_summary.html

According to NWS:
How many tornadoes hit the US yearly? Recent trends indicate around 1200, give or take a few hundred per year. The actual average is unknown, because tornado spotting and reporting methods have changed so much in the last several decades that the officially recorded tornado climatologies are believed to be incomplete. Also, in the course of recording thousands of tornadoes, errors are bound to occur. Events can be missed or misclassified; and some non-damaging tornadoes in remote areas could still be unreported.
➥ https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#Climatology


Seems as though 2018 was pretty near average, to me.


According to USTornadoes.com - Mar 01, 2018
Odds of the tornado count ending up below/near/above the normal off 511 tornadoes (1991-2010 average) for meteorological spring:
Below normal: 35% (less than 460 tornadoes)
Near normal: 50% (between 460 and 550 tornadoes)
Above normal: 15% (above 550 tornadoes)
From the Spring 2018 seasonal tornado outlook - Mar 01, 2018
* ➥ https://www.ustornadoes.com/2018/03/...rnado-outlook/

* However, according to the NWS:
Specific severe-weather forecasting more than days in advance is little more than guessing, or using tornado climatology for the forecast area and time of year. For that reason, there is no such thing as a long-range severe-storm or tornado threat outlook (though university research is underway into predicting generalized, increase/decrease threat trends weeks out, based on favorable global wind patterns). There are simply too many small-scale variables involved which we cannot reliably measure or model weeks or months ahead of time. Perhaps, someday, the density of weather observations, available computing capacity, and atmospheric modeling capabilities will advance enough to allow us to do severe storms forecasting months out with some degree of accuracy better than a coin toss. We are a long, long way from that kind of forecasting!
➥ https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#Forecasting


See also ➥ https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us...-change/99934/

[SailOar]

Climate change is destroying a barrier that protects the U.S. East Coast from hurricanes

....There are two main factors that contribute to hurricane development and intensity: sea surface temperature and vertical wind shear. Vertical wind shear is the difference in wind speed or direction between the upper and lower troposphere. Warmer sea surface temperatures and low wind shear (meaning the wind speeds and directions are similar throughout the column of air) both raise the potential intensity of a hurricane. Scientists knew that ocean temperatures are heating up, but until now it has not been clear how climate change would impact wind shear.

A new paper, published ... in Scientific Reports, finds that climate change could alter wind shear in a way that could deliver more powerful hurricanes to the East Coast. The study is authored by scientists from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration....

Ting and Kossin, along with Lamont researchers Suzana Camargo and Cuihua Li, used model simulations to examine the effects of climate change on hurricanes in the United States. The group found that these hurricanes will be affected in two different ways. As earlier studies have shown, rising sea surface temperatures will lead to an increase in hurricane intensity. But this study was the first to find that rising anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will weaken the vertical wind shear along the East Coast which will, in turn, enable further intensification of hurricanes that make landfall in this region......

[senormechanico]

Here we go again...

[StuM]

Originally Posted by SailOar

Climate change is destroying a barrier that protects the U.S. East Coast from hurricanes

"A new paper, published ... in Scientific Reports, finds that climate change could alter wind shear in a way that could deliver more powerful hurricanes to the East Coast. The study is authored by scientists from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration....

Ting and Kossin, along with Lamont researchers Suzana Camargo and Cuihua Li, used model simulations..."


Same old, same old.


Have you been on a boat yet?