Winding Down
An idiosyncratic look at, and comment on, the week's net, technology, science and other news
by Alan Lenton
29 January 2023
This week’s Winding down includes pointers to Antarctic glaciers, measuring systems, and Artificial Intelligence. We also cover Archaeology in Mexico, and cycling. There are a couple of nice pictures, and a quote about people leaving confidential documents at home. The Scanner section includes material on AI and data, lithium battery life, Google lay-offs, the end of Windows 7 and 8, a Welsh new year, an Italian celebration, and a piece on crops and solar panels.
Enjoy!
Alan Lenton
Publishing schedule: No issue the next two weeks – next issue 19 February 2023
Credits: Thanks to Fi for editing, correcting errors, etc.
Essays:
Our first offering in the essays section is a piece from the Smithsonian Magazine about two large and important glaciers on the Western part of Antarctica. Glaciers breaking off and subsequently melting are one of the significant causes of sea level rise. The essay explains how chunks of the ice break off. It’s known as ‘calving’, and one of the glaciers discussed has particularly serious consequences for sea level rise if it were to completely collapse.
Antarctica is one of the most hostile regions on the planet. Some of the work of watching what is happening can be done by satellite, but to find out what is happening beneath the surface of the glacier, you need to go and look, and the area being discussed in West Antarctica is one of the most hostile. The essay is excellent and easy to understand. Highly recommended!
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-we-came-to-know-and-fear-the-doomsday-glacier-180981392/
The Register has an interesting essay on the metric system v imperial measurements, and it includes some fascinating history about why the US doesn’t use the metric system. (Pirates in case you are wondering!) Take a look – it’s an interesting story, quite a few inches long...
https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/22/retro_metric_imperial/
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is getting a bad rap at the moment. Everything from writing homework essays for school kids to painting pictures in the style of whoever is the current most expensive artist. Actually, reading the press you might think AI was something new, but, it turns out we have all been using it for quite a long time.
Google explain on their site blog that they use AI in the following ways:
1. Searches
2. Maps
3. In pixel phones to translate from different languages
4. Searching for pictures online
5. On YouTube to generate captions for videos
6. For Google Assistant
7. In Gmail to detect spam
8. In ad campaigns
9. In various forms in The Cloud
I suspect that they are using the term ‘AI’ a little more loosely than most of us would in this listing, but it’s probably a valid use! Definitely worth a read, though.
https://blog.google/technology/ai/9-ways-we-use-ai-in-our-products/
Archaeology:
The Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting report on the excavation of a tunnel found in the ruins of the 2,000 year old city of Teotihuacan, which is 30 miles north-east of Mexico City. The tunnel runs under the Temple of the Plumed Serpent. We know very little about the Mesoamerican world, in particular we do not know why it was deserted by its inhabitants about 700 years after it was founded, leaving, it seems, everything behind.
Nobody knows why they abandoned it. The reason is a total mystery.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/discovery-secret-tunnel-mexico-solve-mysteries-teotihuacan-180959070/
Cycling:
Ever wondered where those weird looking cycle helmets came from? Well wonder no more – Slate has a fascinating article about them and about other cycling safety issues. I think car drivers have as much need to read this article as cyclists – it deals with much more than just helmets. It is about the wider issues of cycling safety, which is all too often neglected. An important read, which includes a little cycling history.
https://slate.com/technology/2023/01/bike-helmets-cyclist-deaths-do-you-need-to-wear.html
Pictures:
Two pictures this week.
The first is a rather nice sunset picture taken at Grand Teton, which I deduce from the blurb is at Yellowstone in the USA.
https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/detail/sunset-at-grand-teton-1/
The second picture is rather more unusual. It’s a picture of a harpist playing on the lakeside at Lake Louise. I think that’s in Canada, though the photograph’s blurb doesn’t actually say...
https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/detail/celtic-harpist-at-lake-louise/
Quotes:
“It’s getting to the point where it’s only a big story if someone DOESN’T have classified documents at home.”
Lauren Weinstein lauren@vortex.com (https://www.vortex.com/lauren) commenting on the latest US revelations about politicians taking top secret document home! More details of the latest discovery at:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/24/politics/pence-classified-documents-fbi/index.html
Scanner:
AI may finally cure us of our data fetish
https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/18/chatgpt_vs_paperless_office/
Chance discovery could extend battery life by replacing tape that causes self discharge
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-chance-discovery-battery-life-tape.html
Google’s Fuchsia OS was one of the hardest hit by last week’s layoffs
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/big-layoffs-at-googles-fuchsia-os-call-the-projects-future-into-question/
This is the end, Windows 7 and 8 friends: Microsoft drops support this week
https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/09/microsoft_windows_7_8_support_ends/
Hen Galan: why one Welsh community celebrates the new year on January 14
https://theconversation.com/hen-galan-why-one-welsh-community-celebrates-the-new-year-on-january-14-197157
In this seaside town, the New Year brings a battle with the ‘Witches of the Sea’
(includes a fascinating historical look at where the historical roots of the event. – AL)
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sea-witches-of-grado
Farmers may not have to choose between crops and solar panels.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/farmers-may-not-have-to-choose-between-crops-and-solar-panels-180981495/
Footnote:
Please send suggestions for stories to alan@ibgames.com and include the words Winding Down in the subject line, unless you want your deathless prose gobbled up by my voracious Thunderbird spam filter...
Alan Lenton
alan@ibgames.com
29 January 2023
Alan Lenton is a retired on-line games designer, programmer and sociologist (among other things), the order of which depends on what he is currently working on! His web site is at http://www.ibgames.net/alan/index.html.
Past issues of Winding Down can be found at http://www.ibgames.net/alan/winding/index.html.
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