Happy New Year, science fans. Thank you for joining me today.
As technology promises better and longer lives, the ‘situation on the ground’ is dismal for much of the world’s 8 billion people - but over the long arc of history, “it’s getting better.” As we and our neighbors and our children tune into how alike we all are - emotionally and physiologically - caring for ‘strangers’ becomes easier. I’m expecting 2023 to show progress in this regard. Consider this for a New Year’s Resolution: I will increase the range of people that I consider to be coequal with myself, deserving of the same rights, dignities, and protections. (Tim Minchin gives an excellent, humorous, obscenity-laced version of this message.)
The ‘Jetsonesque’ 3-wheel Aptera EV pictured above is one example of game-changing transportation options coming in 2023. Solar panels on the ‘car’ trickle-charge the battery (with fusion energy!) during sunny days to give cost-free miles. (Disclosure: i paid a reservation fee and made a small investment in the company.) The sleek Lightyear Zero from The Netherlands also has solar panels. The chunky little Sion EV from Germany is totally covered with solar panels and also might be available this year. (Or all three of these companies could quickly go bankrupt.)
Nick W’s guess of 444 was closer to the random generator’s 458 than guesses of the other 26 contestants. Nick won a model of the JWST. This time we’re offering a coffee mug. It’s a 450ml glass beaker with a handle and the chemical formula for caffeine. Just send an email to david.almandsmith [at] gmail.com (only one) before noon Friday with an integer between zero and 1,000. We will then use a random number generator to select the target number and mail the mug to the person who chose the closest number.
My Picks of the Week:
- The Physics Show Saturday & Sunday, multiple times, Foothill College, $
- Fort Point Candlelight Tour Saturday 6:30 - 8pm, San Francisco, $
- Point Reyes Fungus Fair Sunday 10am - 4pm, Point Reyes Station (Beautiful countryside no matter which route you take. Enjoyed my last Fungus Fair except for booths promoting “So Called Alternative Medicine”, SCAM.)
¿Did the Earth move for you? Well, actually the Earth spins and wobbles around its tilted axis and orbits around the Sun which is moving through our Milky Way Galaxy. But you knew that. You probably also knew that December 21 was the December Solstice, the time of year when the tilt of that axis maximally favors sunlight reaching the southern hemisphere. But now, in a sinusoidal manner, the sunlight bias will move back toward the northern hemisphere, something my son - living in Anchorage - will appreciate.
IF the sky is clear (hah!), and IF you can drag yourself outside at 6:13 AM Thursday, then you could see the ISS pass directly over the Bay Area. It will appear in the northwest sky and wink out in the southeast. Three of the seven astronauts aboard the ISS lost their ride home when their Soyuz capsule sprung a leak of coolant. (¿space debris? ¿micrometeorite? ¿human error?) A 4-place Dragon capsule is tethered to the station at present, so it could be used as an ‘escape pod’ if an emergency arose.
¿Want to obliterate Los Angeles with an asteroid? Go ahead with Asteroid Launcher. Fortunately for Chelyabinsk, the 20 meter asteroid that caused an airburst over the city in 2013 approached at 18° degrees. Over 1,000 people sustained injuries but there were no fatalities. Instead, had it approached from 80°, it would likely have caused over 10,000 fatalities and over 100,000 injured (as per “Asteroid Launcher” above). That asteroid was not detected in advance since its trajectory kept it hidden in the Sun’s glare. Before the end of this decade, however, NASA’s NEO Surveyor will be able to spot asteroids currently hidden in the Sun’s glare - if funding is approved.
Maybe our childhood cat was to blame for my motorcycle racing, rock climbing, mountaineering, piloting, etc. Cats carry the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, a normally asymptomatic disease called toxoplasmosis. Cat owners frequently become infected but rarely are there symptoms. OK. Stay with me. This gets very interesting. Mice that contract the disease from cat feces show changes in behavior. Infected mice are more prone to take risks and often cease to show fear of cats. By pooping around in your neighborhood, your cat is making it far easier to catch mice. Recent research in Yellowstone Park shows that wolves with toxoplasmosis indulge in more risky behavior than uninfected wolves. They are more likely to get expelled from the pack and perish, or ascend to become pack leader. Well, i never made it to become pack leader but i’ve survived some horrendous incidents brought on by my risk-taking. ¿Was our cat to blame?
Fun nerdy videos:
Veritaseum: Seeing the world in UV
Kurzgesacht: Shrinking down to the Planck scale
The Right Chemistry: Vitamin C
Up and Atom: Why zero was banned for 1500 years
Dr. Becky: JWST just made the “Crisis in Cosmology” worse
If you are not already a subscriber to the weekly SciSchmooze, just enter your email address at bayareascience.org.
Wishing you a week engaging with friends and strangers alike with joy and laughter,
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
“For millions of years, mankind lived just like [other] animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”
- Stephen Hawking, (1942 - 2018) English theoretical physicist
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Wednesday, 01/04/2023
Bird Food - Livestream - 01/04/2023 07:30 PM
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
It's always fun to capture bird behavior while out photographing our favorite subjects. During this evening's presentation, we'll take a photo tour of avian feeding habits - not only their vast menu (from seeds to sparrows to snakes to sirens), but also various feeding behaviors, including courtship feeding, interspecific feeding, and kleptoparasitism (thievery). Come enjoy some pretty pictures of birds going about their daily routines of feeding themselves and others.
Speaker: Steve Zamek
Saturday, 01/07/2023
Morning Hike at La Honda Open Space Preserve - 01/07/2023 10:00 AM
La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve La Honda
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful hike at Lower La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve where you'll experience the area's sweeping views and gorgeous rolling grasslands! The preserve is over 6,100 acres, of which POST has contributed 5,200 acres. You will be guided by a POST Ambassador on the meandering trails of Lower La Honda Creek, featuring a still-active cattle operation and views of the surrounding ridgelines! You will hear all about the human and natural history of this beautiful preserve!
The hike is moderate to strenuous at about 6 miles round trip with about 1100 feet of gradual elevation gain. There are some steep portions of this hike so hiking poles, closed-toed shoes with tread, and plenty of water/snacks for yourself is recommended.
See weblink to register
Biohackers Pandemic Chat - Livestream - 01/07/2023 10:00 AM
Counter Culture Labs
Wondering when this COVID thing is ever going to end? Want to know what is going on in China right now? And what about that Monkey Pox? Join members from local community labs Counter Culture Labs and BioCurious, as we discuss the latest news and science on COVID-19, plus guest stars monkeypox, Ebola, RSV, influenza, and more. We welcome your questions and are happy to discuss any articles or news you may have found.
Please RSVP for this free online event on Meetup
Fort Point Candlelight Tour - 01/07/2023 06:30 PM
Fort Point San Francisco
The Candlelight Tour of Fort Point is a popular guided program that allows visitors to experience the fort in a new light. This evening tour will maze through the shadows of the historic structure by candlelight and visitors will see the glimmering lights of the Golden Gate Bridge towering up above them. Upon arrival, a park ranger will check-in guests and provide visitors with a lantern. A ranger will lead this 90-minute excursion and interpret the history and the life that once existed within the old brick walls of Fort Point.
The Candlelight Tour explores all four level of the fort including the roof (approximately 76 steps). Visitors will be invited to engage in dialogue as they learn about the fascinating and sometimes complex history of the fort, its role in San Francisco history, and its cultural relevance today. Recommended age for this tour is 12 years and up.
Visitors with reservations will begin their tour when the fort is otherwise inaccessible to the public.
Black Hole Monsters at the Centers of Galaxies - Livestream - 01/07/2023 08:00 PM
San Jose Astronomical Society
Ironically, black holes create the most luminous objects in the universe. The speaker studies super-massive black holes at the centers of galaxies, and is a member of a team that has imaged the "black hole shadows" in the center of the galaxy M87 and in our Galaxy. He will discuss how gas falling onto black holes and jets of high-energy particles powered by the black hole's spin cause the centers of galaxies to shine brightly across the entire spectrum from radio to visible to X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths.
Speaker: Alan Marscher, Boston University
Register at weblink to receive access information
Sunday, 01/08/2023
Point Reyes Fungus Fair - 01/08/2023 10:00 AM
Bear Valley Visitor Center Point Reyes Station
Join us for the 16th annual Point Reyes National Seashore Fungus Fair! Learn about the fungi of the Point Reyes National Seashore. See a display of remarkable colors and shapes of wild mushrooms that were collected right in the park. The fair will also include a number of displays on post-fire fungi, the relationship between fungi and plants, and edible and poisonous mushrooms in the Bear Valley Visitor Center.
Roving Mushroom Ambassadors will be on hand to talk about mushrooms, and their role in the environment. See our beautiful Death Cap scuplture. Learn more about the Bay Area Mycological Society activities, scientific and educational mission.
See weblink for details
Low Tech Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Workshop - 01/08/2023 05:00 PM
Counter Culture Labs Oakland
Join us to observe an oyster mushroom cultivation workhop and learn how to easily produce fresh oyster mushrooms at home without using sterilization.
Video will be streamed on our YouTube channel. There are limited seats for the physical workshop. Register to attend in person.
Monday, 01/09/2023
The Future of mRNA Technology - 01/09/2023 03:00 PM
Wharton San Francisco San Francisco
Cephalopod Eye Development and the Evolution of Visual System Complexity - 01/09/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
The Saga of Electric Energy Networks: From Ode to Lament and Back - 01/09/2023 04:30 PM
Huang Engineering Center Stanford
Wonderfest: Going to the Stars - The First Mission to Proxima Centauri - 01/09/2023 07:00 PM
Castro Valley Library Castro Valley
Tuesday, 01/10/2023
Stanford Applied Physics/Physics Colloquium - 01/10/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Meteorite hunting in Antarctica to uncover Solar System mysteries - 01/10/2023 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum: Paul Skokowski - 01/10/2023 04:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
Birds Without Borders: How Migratory Birds Connect Counties, Countries, and Continents Across the Pacific - 01/10/2023 07:00 PM
Hopkins Marine Station Pacific Grove
Wonderfest: Never Home Alone: Six-Legged Invaders Under Your Roof - Livestream - 01/10/2023 08:00 PM
Wonderfest
Wednesday, 01/11/2023
Cephalopod Eye Development and the Evolution of Visual System Complexity - 01/11/2023 12:00 PM
Hopkins Marine Station Pacific Grove
Biotech for the Future - Intersection of Food and Health Tech - 01/11/2023 05:00 PM
swissnex San Francisco San Francisco
Nature's Best Hope - 01/11/2023 07:00 PM
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society Cupertino
Thursday, 01/12/2023
A New Measure: The Revolutionary, Quantum Reform of the Modern Metric System - Livestream - 01/12/2023 05:00 PM
Cafe Scientifique Silicon Valley
The Beauty of Science - How Art Can Help Protect & Conserve Bird Populations - Livestream - 01/12/2023 06:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Internet for the People - 01/12/2023 06:00 PM
Internet Archive San Francisco
Longevity Business and Science - 01/12/2023 06:00 PM
The Green Room San Francisco
After Dark: Sharing Places - 01/12/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
NightLive: Move - 01/12/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Racism, Not Race: Answers to Questions Even a Skeptic Might Ask - Livestream - 01/12/2023 07:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics
Friday, 01/13/2023
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Seminar - 01/13/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Saturday, 01/14/2023
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature Preserve - 01/14/2023 11:00 AM
Foothills Nature Preserve Los Altos
Fort Point Candlelight Tour - 01/14/2023 06:30 PM
Fort Point San Francisco
Sunday, 01/15/2023
Sycamore Grove Mushroom Madness - 01/15/2023 10:00 AM
Sycamore Grove Park Livermore