Cyberpunk must evolve. Actually the article, after dissing cyberpunk dystopias, then disses it for not providing a way for the populous to overcome, only the individual. Well, one, that's story. They're asking for history. Two, maybe it's not there because nobody can figure a way for society to get out of such dystopias (because even if they did, the environmental degradation would still be there). This also misses how cyberpunk dystopias provide bread and circuses to keep the population in check, or at least distracted. It's only those misfits for whom those hooks don't work. The dispossessed who either must overcome, be crushed, or disappear into the proletariate masses by living a fake life. But I understand the want for new stories, because while cyberpunk was telling us, "this is not the future you want," we now see that future may be inevitable. Will there be a "let them eat cake" moment, and if so, will the cogs of the machine even have the ability to realize they could change their world? Signs at this point are not hopeful. Wouldn't it be nice to have a convenient road map out of this hell? But it's up to us to find the way, and it won't be an easy path. (Grokked from Leah Bobet)
"The world's oceans have absorbed about 60% more heat during the past 25 years than previously estimated, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. The study takes advantage of a new method that can serve as a whole ocean thermometer… If the ocean is absorbing even more heat than observed, it would suggest future global warming will track on the upper end of projections — possibly as high as 5°C, or 9°F, by 2100 if emissions are not significantly curtailed." We're boned.
"This week… the EPA finally announced its decision. Calling dicamba 'a valuable pest control tool,' it gave farmers a green light to keep spraying the chemical on new varieties of soybeans and cotton that have been genetically modified to tolerate dicamba." Monsanto's profits thank the EPA, our biodiversity was on a ventilator and was unavailable for comment. And in twenty years they'll have to come up with something else as weeds become resistant, as they did to glyphosate.
"NASA's Mars rover known as Opportunity has been on Mars nearly 15 years, a wee bit longer than the 90 days it was originally designed for… But NASA hasn't heard from the plucky rover since June." Come on, Oppy, phone home.
"The problem, the officials said, boiled down to a 'bent' sensor on one of the rocket's four boosters that failed to properly signal stage separation. This caused one of the booster stages to improperly separate from the rocket, which can be seen in the video released by the space agency. This booster then struck the core of the rocket, causing a significant jolt and triggering one of the Soyuz spacecraft's automatic escape systems." But, "(t)he problem… appears to lie in the relatively low wages Russia pays in its aerospace industry and resulting quality control issues." (Grokked from John)
On Naloxone, how it works, and why some might not want it. That's a simplification, and is mostly a story about a reporter being confused as to how to respond to an emergency. The person's companion was the one to refuse. If the patient is conscious enough to refuse, they don't need Naloxone. I've seen people who have been revived, it is not a good time for them. (Grokked from Chip Dawes)
"We really shouldn't put price controls of pharmaceuticals," some people say, "look at all the good things they do and the discounts they offer." Oh really? "The pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. is ending a long-term agreement to supply a lifesaving vaccine for children in West Africa… At the same time, the company has started sending the vaccine to China, where it will likely be sold for a much higher price."
"The couple, busy with their newborn third child, Cameron, decided to get Leon a flu shot when they were going to the pediatrician anyway: when 2-year-old Tristan had his annual visit, scheduled for January 3… Leon died 10 days before that appointment." Get the goddamn flu shot.
"Employers added 250,000 jobs in October, more than analysts expected, as the jobless rate remained at 3.7 percent, a nearly 50-year low, the Labor Department said Friday." And generally, that's good news, although some of it is a rebound from last month's lower numbers. Also, wages are up… slightly. Like a little better than inflation. And that's the first time in many years. So a good report for the GOP heading into the election, but the question comes to "are the people feeling it?"
"Stocks around the world were rallying sharply Friday after news of a potential trade breakthrough between the United States and China seemed to counter the brutal sell-off that characterized markets in October." Note this is just talk of Trump being willing to negotiate, not any actual deal.
"Police are investigating the mysterious deaths of two sisters from Saudi Arabia whose bodies, bound together with tape, washed up on New York City’s waterfront last week… Their mother told detectives the day before the bodies were discovered, she received a call from an official at the Saudi Arabian Embassy, ordering the family to leave the U.S. because her daughters had applied for political asylum, New York police said Tuesday." (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Controversial Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach was called out for his racism and voter suppression during a Wednesday appearance with Anderson Cooper on CNN… Kobach was attempting to defend the administration’s attempt to revoke the birthright citizenship protections in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution via presidential proclamation by Donald Trump."
"In 2015, as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump called for 'a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.' Despite the tough talk throughout the campaign, roughly 17 percent of American Muslims favored a Trump victory… So how do Muslim-Americans who voted for Trump then feel about him now, nearly two years since his administration introduced the controversial travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries?" Sorry, it's only a a video. People are complex. Also, while you watch (or listen) keep this word in mind, Stockholm Syndrome. Also this quote I've seen many times on twitter, "'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party." (I think that quote is attributed to Adrian Bott)
"Roughly 80 percent of voters say they are concerned that the negative tone and lack of civility in Washington will lead to violence or acts of terror, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted after the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue… But they are divided on who is the most to blame." Do I need to state how it's divided along party lines? There's been a lot of talk about how divided we are and the polls that show it. Mostly they're reported in a "both sides have extreme positions" because there's very little "middle ground." But I'd like you to look at some of these with the concept of "a majority of Americans are dealing with reality, and there are some differences there, but a distinct minority of Americans see the world through a media bubble created to insulate them from criticism and to affirm their deepest fears." I leave it as a exercise for the reader as to which poll responses fall into which category.
"Democrats in tough Senate races around the country are throwing their party under the bus as the seek to pull out victories in red states won just two years ago by President Trump." Ah, the old "Democrats are abandoning their party" story. Evergreen.
"The last few weeks of any election are all about leaving one last impression with voters — a reminder of where a candidate stands and what he or she believes. This year in particular, the only closing argument that matters for Republicans is where they stand on President Trump."
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