Wednesday, February 1, 2017
This Dude is From Davis
An excerpt from Wired -
The Chemical Engineer Who’ll School You on Coffee
By CAIT OPPERMANN
AS A CHEMICAL engineer who studies the motion of fluids, Bill Ristenpart deals with a lot of spattered blood and aerosolized pathogenic mouse phlegm. But when it comes to teaching wary freshman the basics of mass transfer and thermodynamics, the UC Davis professor relies on a less messy (and more potable) liquid: coffee. Beans go through so many complex chemical changes that they can easily form the basis of a whole curriculum.
Ristenpart’s three year-old course, the Design of Coffee, has become the most popular chemical engineering class in the country, enrolling a quarter of Davis’ freshmen. After spending the semester deconstructing coffeemakers and determining pH levels by taste, the 500-odd students compete to engineer the tastiest brew using the least amount of energy. Which isn’t easy, Ristenpart says, because “we know very little about coffee.” Though Americans down some 400 million cups a day, US researchers don’t typically study it; there’s little incentive for agencies like the USDA to fund research on a crop grown thousands of miles away in the tropics. Nearly everything about java, from the microbial intricacies of fermentation to the molecular basis of flavor, remains a mystery.
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/study-coffee-at-uc-davis/?mbid=nl_2117_p2&CNDID=
The Chemical Engineer Who’ll School You on Coffee
By CAIT OPPERMANN
AS A CHEMICAL engineer who studies the motion of fluids, Bill Ristenpart deals with a lot of spattered blood and aerosolized pathogenic mouse phlegm. But when it comes to teaching wary freshman the basics of mass transfer and thermodynamics, the UC Davis professor relies on a less messy (and more potable) liquid: coffee. Beans go through so many complex chemical changes that they can easily form the basis of a whole curriculum.
Ristenpart’s three year-old course, the Design of Coffee, has become the most popular chemical engineering class in the country, enrolling a quarter of Davis’ freshmen. After spending the semester deconstructing coffeemakers and determining pH levels by taste, the 500-odd students compete to engineer the tastiest brew using the least amount of energy. Which isn’t easy, Ristenpart says, because “we know very little about coffee.” Though Americans down some 400 million cups a day, US researchers don’t typically study it; there’s little incentive for agencies like the USDA to fund research on a crop grown thousands of miles away in the tropics. Nearly everything about java, from the microbial intricacies of fermentation to the molecular basis of flavor, remains a mystery.
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/study-coffee-at-uc-davis/?mbid=nl_2117_p2&CNDID=
Gentrification Warning Signs
From Salon -
5 warning signs that your neighborhood is gentrifying
Know what to look for before your rent goes up
By D. WATKINS
http://www.salon.com/?post_type=post&p=14693925
5 warning signs that your neighborhood is gentrifying
Know what to look for before your rent goes up
By D. WATKINS
http://www.salon.com/?post_type=post&p=14693925
Good vs. Evil
From the Washington Post - (Bold is mine)
20 reasons why Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl is a classic Good vs. Evil matchup
By Bill Plaschke
It’s cheating Brady against wide-eyed Matty.
It’s an owner who stalks against one who dances.
It’s a coach wearing a hoodie against one who dresses in Navy SEAL mottos.
The Super Bowl pitting the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons features competing auras as clear as the rumple in Bill Belichick’s sweatshirt or the curl of Tom Brady’s upper lip.
According to Public Policy Polling, the Patriots are the most disliked team in pro football for a second consecutive season. By comparison, the relatively blah Falcons are beloved.
Even with this week’s revelations about the Falcons’ past concerns over their players’ use of pain medication, this truly feels like a Super Bowl of not just David vs. Goliath, but that old favorite, Good vs. Evil, and here are 20 reasons why:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-patriots-falcons-plaschke-20170131-story.html?utm_source=Today%27s+Headlines&utm_campaign=f598d81244-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b04355194f-f598d81244-80034853
20 reasons why Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl is a classic Good vs. Evil matchup
By Bill Plaschke
It’s cheating Brady against wide-eyed Matty.
It’s an owner who stalks against one who dances.
It’s a coach wearing a hoodie against one who dresses in Navy SEAL mottos.
The Super Bowl pitting the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons features competing auras as clear as the rumple in Bill Belichick’s sweatshirt or the curl of Tom Brady’s upper lip.
According to Public Policy Polling, the Patriots are the most disliked team in pro football for a second consecutive season. By comparison, the relatively blah Falcons are beloved.
Even with this week’s revelations about the Falcons’ past concerns over their players’ use of pain medication, this truly feels like a Super Bowl of not just David vs. Goliath, but that old favorite, Good vs. Evil, and here are 20 reasons why:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-patriots-falcons-plaschke-20170131-story.html?utm_source=Today%27s+Headlines&utm_campaign=f598d81244-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b04355194f-f598d81244-80034853
Orangutans Find Love on Tinder
From the Washington Post -
An orangutan will have a chance to find her mate — through Tinder
By Amy B Wang
The first indication Samboja was being nudged to find a partner came last year, when her home zoo — the Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands — took to Facebook to casually point out that the female orangutan was approaching the age where she could start having kids.
A year later, the Dutch zoo has announced how exactly they’re hoping the primate will meet someone: through “Tinder for orangutans.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/01/31/an-orangutan-will-have-a-chance-to-find-her-mate-through-tinder/?utm_term=.9b99b471da45
An orangutan will have a chance to find her mate — through Tinder
By Amy B Wang
 |
| Female orangutans Conny and Sinta watch videos of potential mates at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2016. (Courtesy Wilhelma Zoo) |
The first indication Samboja was being nudged to find a partner came last year, when her home zoo — the Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands — took to Facebook to casually point out that the female orangutan was approaching the age where she could start having kids.
A year later, the Dutch zoo has announced how exactly they’re hoping the primate will meet someone: through “Tinder for orangutans.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/01/31/an-orangutan-will-have-a-chance-to-find-her-mate-through-tinder/?utm_term=.9b99b471da45
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
A Place to Stay
From Atlas Obscura -
United Record Pressing
When Motown musicians came to Nashville in the 1960s they stayed at this historic record press, because hotels wouldn't host them.
In 1959, a 30-year-old songwriter from Detroit had a few hit tunes from recordings he had written with his sister, so with $800 borrowed from his parents, Berry Gordy began what was to become one of the most successful African-American owned businesses in history. But in the 1960s, even as Motown dominated the charts, in southern cities like Nashville, racial segregation kept Gordy and his artists out of most hotels.
Left with few options in one of the most important music towns in the country, the manufacturer of Motown’s records, United Record Pressing (which was known as Southern Plastics in the early years), built a suite of rooms for Gordy and his recording artists who needed a place to stay when they came through Nashville.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/united-record-pressing
United Record Pressing
When Motown musicians came to Nashville in the 1960s they stayed at this historic record press, because hotels wouldn't host them.
In 1959, a 30-year-old songwriter from Detroit had a few hit tunes from recordings he had written with his sister, so with $800 borrowed from his parents, Berry Gordy began what was to become one of the most successful African-American owned businesses in history. But in the 1960s, even as Motown dominated the charts, in southern cities like Nashville, racial segregation kept Gordy and his artists out of most hotels.
Left with few options in one of the most important music towns in the country, the manufacturer of Motown’s records, United Record Pressing (which was known as Southern Plastics in the early years), built a suite of rooms for Gordy and his recording artists who needed a place to stay when they came through Nashville.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/united-record-pressing
Forced Out
From Atlas Obscura -
District Six Museum
An excellent and sobering account of the vibrant multicultural neighborhood destroyed under apartheid.
District Six, or “Distrik Ses” in Afrikaans, was a bohemian, mixed neighborhood in every sense of the word. It was crowded with a multiracial blend of working class people, Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, many of whom were descended from freed slaves and immigrants. In the mid–20th century, a population of roughly 60,000 lived there. Unfortunately, District Six was also at the epicenter of apartheid in Cape Town, and still bears its scars.
During the apartheid regime of the 1960s and ’70s, the segregating Group Areas Act saw all the non-white residents of District Six evicted and relocated further outside the city. It was called “slum clearing,” but the true intention was to fill the desirably located neighborhood with white residents and high rises.
Side note - I saw this are when I visited Cape Town five years ago. The history is a sad one.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/district-six-museum
District Six Museum
An excellent and sobering account of the vibrant multicultural neighborhood destroyed under apartheid.
District Six, or “Distrik Ses” in Afrikaans, was a bohemian, mixed neighborhood in every sense of the word. It was crowded with a multiracial blend of working class people, Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, many of whom were descended from freed slaves and immigrants. In the mid–20th century, a population of roughly 60,000 lived there. Unfortunately, District Six was also at the epicenter of apartheid in Cape Town, and still bears its scars.
During the apartheid regime of the 1960s and ’70s, the segregating Group Areas Act saw all the non-white residents of District Six evicted and relocated further outside the city. It was called “slum clearing,” but the true intention was to fill the desirably located neighborhood with white residents and high rises.
Side note - I saw this are when I visited Cape Town five years ago. The history is a sad one.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/district-six-museum
Trevor's View
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/bxjc4n/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-president-trump-s-muslim-targeted-travel-ban
Lars and the Real Girl, For Real
From the Washington Post -
What life is like living with a ‘love doll’ in Japan
By Kenneth Dickerman
In 2007, Ryan Gosling played a character who has trouble making friends or even socializing with people in a movie called “Lars and the Real Girl.” In the movie, to salve his social anxieties, he turns to the company of a silicone doll he names Bianca. His friends, family and community decide to support him. Eventually, Lars learns to get past his insecurities and begins a relationship with a real woman. Although this was fiction, it is not as far-fetched as it might seem. In fact, at least one man in Japan is playing out a somewhat similar story.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2017/01/30/what-life-is-like-living-with-a-love-doll-in-japan/?utm_term=.6131c7d563cd
What life is like living with a ‘love doll’ in Japan
By Kenneth Dickerman
In 2007, Ryan Gosling played a character who has trouble making friends or even socializing with people in a movie called “Lars and the Real Girl.” In the movie, to salve his social anxieties, he turns to the company of a silicone doll he names Bianca. His friends, family and community decide to support him. Eventually, Lars learns to get past his insecurities and begins a relationship with a real woman. Although this was fiction, it is not as far-fetched as it might seem. In fact, at least one man in Japan is playing out a somewhat similar story.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2017/01/30/what-life-is-like-living-with-a-love-doll-in-japan/?utm_term=.6131c7d563cd
Hmmmmm
From the Washington Post -
A fascinating theory from the world of sports about Donald Trump’s first 7 days
By Chris Cillizza
An old sports strategy: foul so much in the 1st 5 min of the game that the refs can't call them all. From then on, a more physical game. - Sally Jenkins
A fascinating theory from the world of sports about Donald Trump’s first 7 days
By Chris Cillizza
An old sports strategy: foul so much in the 1st 5 min of the game that the refs can't call them all. From then on, a more physical game. - Sally Jenkins
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/30/a-fascinating-theory-from-the-world-of-sports-about-donald-trumps-governing-style/?utm_term=.554595250e46
Protecting His Interest
From Slate - (Bold is mine)
Trump’s Muslim Ban Is Harmful and Haphazard—but Is It Also Kleptocratic?
By Josh Voorhees
Donald Trump’s immigration ban targeting Muslims is many things: alarming, un-American, inhumane, counterproductive, and likely unconstitutional for starters. But a closer look at the specific countries Trump chose to target raises a secondary concern as well: Did the president intentionally tailor the order to protect his and his family’s financial interests abroad?
Trump’s Muslim Ban Is Harmful and Haphazard—but Is It Also Kleptocratic?
By Josh Voorhees
Donald Trump’s immigration ban targeting Muslims is many things: alarming, un-American, inhumane, counterproductive, and likely unconstitutional for starters. But a closer look at the specific countries Trump chose to target raises a secondary concern as well: Did the president intentionally tailor the order to protect his and his family’s financial interests abroad?
Act As If Your Life Depended On It
An excerpt from Deadspin -
Resist.
By Albert Burneko
Yes, wear a shirt with a slogan on it. Yes, put a bumper sticker on your car. Yes, flood your social media feed with your outrage. Fine. All of those are fine, and necessary, and good.
But also: Call your senator. Call your congressperson. Call your governor. Call your alderperson, your city councilperson; your mayor; your sheriff’s office. Really call them. On the phone. Do it right now. Whether they are Democrats or Republicans. Ask them, live or by voicemail, not only to speak out against the Trump administration’s savagery, but to oppose it, officially, to vote against it and act against it and refuse to participate in implementing it. Tell them, explicitly, that you and your friends and loved ones will vote for literally anyone who runs against them in their next campaign if they do anything less than oppose, in word and deed, every single part of the Trump administration’s agenda. All his appointments. All his executive orders. Everything.
http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/resist-1791774913
Resist.
By Albert Burneko
Yes, wear a shirt with a slogan on it. Yes, put a bumper sticker on your car. Yes, flood your social media feed with your outrage. Fine. All of those are fine, and necessary, and good.
But also: Call your senator. Call your congressperson. Call your governor. Call your alderperson, your city councilperson; your mayor; your sheriff’s office. Really call them. On the phone. Do it right now. Whether they are Democrats or Republicans. Ask them, live or by voicemail, not only to speak out against the Trump administration’s savagery, but to oppose it, officially, to vote against it and act against it and refuse to participate in implementing it. Tell them, explicitly, that you and your friends and loved ones will vote for literally anyone who runs against them in their next campaign if they do anything less than oppose, in word and deed, every single part of the Trump administration’s agenda. All his appointments. All his executive orders. Everything.
http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/resist-1791774913
Mr. Clean is Back and He's Black
From the Root -
The New Mr. Clean Is a Black Man
By Yesha Callahan
Bald head? Check. Single gold hoop? Check. A smile that would put the most expensive veneers to shame? Check. A white dude? No check. Proctor & Gamble decided to give Mr. Clean a makeover, and his name is Mike Jackson. Jackson beat out thousands of would-be hopefuls who were vying to be the new face of P&G’s cartoon character that debuted almost 60 years ago.
http://thegrapevine.theroot.com/the-new-mr-clean-is-a-black-man-1791816272
The New Mr. Clean Is a Black Man
By Yesha Callahan
Bald head? Check. Single gold hoop? Check. A smile that would put the most expensive veneers to shame? Check. A white dude? No check. Proctor & Gamble decided to give Mr. Clean a makeover, and his name is Mike Jackson. Jackson beat out thousands of would-be hopefuls who were vying to be the new face of P&G’s cartoon character that debuted almost 60 years ago.
http://thegrapevine.theroot.com/the-new-mr-clean-is-a-black-man-1791816272
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