JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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On the totally different side of life. . .
I have vastly burnished my geek credentials.
I now have a working IBM mainframe computer in software. COBOL, PL-1, Algol, ect. . .
More effective mainframe power than the Fortune 500 company I worked for in 1990.
(You can stop laughing now!)
90
Back in the 1970s, I worked for International Computers Limited (ICL) in the UK, making mainframe computers. Huge bloody things.
I recall one staff meeting in 1975 where we were addressed by the MD, who explained the company’s business strategy going forwards. Desktop computers were just beginning to appear at that time and he stated quite emphatically that ICL would continue making mainframes because those pesky desktops would never catch on.
The factory was closed down five years later and, I believe, ICL did indeed go on to make some form of desktop units.
90
I started off playing with DEC PDP11-70’s and PDP8’s in school back in the day.
Incredible how much miniaturisation has happened.
A 5MB (yes, megabyte) hard drive by IBM in 1956:
https://imgbox.com/CvrlGTU7
Now we have 1TB micro sd cards (200,000 times the capacity), that are the size of your fingernail and weigh around 10 grams.
80
At school I had a PDP-8.
The model had two 8 inch floppy drives, a video terminal and a dot matrix printer. The computer, terminal and drives were built into a special desk console, a DEC product. I have never seen another like it. It ran OS/8 and the maths teacher Dr Rick Jamieson wrote a COBOL compiler for it which was widely distributed. (Most people today would never have heard of COBOL.)
50
8″ floppy!
Luxury…
We used to program it in Octal with paddle switches.
40
Anyone here use an Elliot 803 with perforated tape, Autocode and Machine code? This was in the early 1960s.
50
COBOL is still out there……
30
And we were tortured with Assembler and Fortran…Am I too old?
Punch cards – some people could read them like Neo. No hacking in those days.
30
I remember learning BASIC at the old CCAE (now Canberra University) at Bruce in Canbrrrrrrr while doing my Accounting degree in the late 1970s. We used ‘mark sense cards’.
Then at work in 1091 I did a 3 week IBM Assembler programming course. For the programming we used punch cards. It did my head in and never much used the knowledge afterwards. The IBM Mainframe took up an entire room.
My laptop is much more powerful than that Mainframe and I let others do the programming. I just play with the device.
00
Whoops. Not 1091 but 1981. Lol.
00
I am cleaning off “cookies” because a Dept. of Transportation page timed me out and suggested I do so.
This makes me want to bake a batch of choc/pecan cookies and eat a dozen.
Just looking at all these little bits of schist makes me realize how much of the web is funded by those pushing ads at me. 🙂
50
Many people were surprised when Democrat Brandon Johnson was elected Mayor of Chicago. He simply didn’t seem to have the support. However, he was elected anyway …
Well, the people who elected him seem to have gone AWOL, because a recent poll – just 28 weeks after his election – put his approval rating at a dismal 28%
It truly seems as though Leftist candidates can get elected with the flimsiest support and despite poor polling, even if they are surrounded by credible accusations of corruption (looking at you, Dan) or they hardly bother to campaign at all (Sniffer Joe).
But going back to Mayor Johnson, where did all those voters go? Were they simply re-buried?
131
What was the voter turnout? If, say 40% or so, then his 28% looks quite good.
10
The Dems don’t do voter ‘turnout’ anymore … so 2016.
They do voter TURNUP.
The needed votes just turnup when needed in a device called a ‘drop box’.
A friendly voteperson comes by your tenement or retirement facility ‘collects’ your ‘vote’ with suggestions and encouragements if your unbable to remember where you are like POTUS.
Then these ‘votes’ turnup in a box.
When needed there are spares in a box under a table.
This is essential since public voting is antiquated and will expose people to viruses.
Once there is only one party, the right one, viruses will be extinct, but don’t be getting ideas about being unvaccinated.
90
China launches the world’s fastest internet: Incredible connection can transfer 150 high-definition movies every SECOND
China has smashed the record for the fastest internet connection, launching a blisteringly fast service that can transfer 150 high-definition movies every second.
The 1,864-mile (3,000km) fiberoptic cable stretches almost the entire length of the country, connecting Beijing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou.
Capable of transferring 1.2 terabytes of data per second, the ultra-highspeed internet backbone is three times faster than the US’s fastest connection and 10 times faster than most major routes.
The launch also beats industry deadlines by two years, with terabyte speed services not expected to launch until at least 2025.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12752335/China-launches-worlds-fastest-internet-Incredible-connection-transfer-150-high-definition-movies-SECOND.html
Or warp speed citizen tracking and censorship.
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How do they continue to get Third World status with no restrictions on CO2 emissions (not that CO2 is harmful)?
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Because Obama and Xi Jinping signed a deal agreeing that China can increase its emissions until 2030.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/china-u-s-join-climate-deal
Anyway, as far as I’m concerned, they shouldnt have any restrictions at all. Nobody should.
130
The internet and digital technology generally, use vast amounts of energy, which explains the need for all the coal fired power plants they are building.
50
It’s beginning to look a lot like (woke) Xmas
It’s beginning to look a lot like woke Christmas at Target as the mega-retailer had launched some new Christmas trinkets featuring a Santa Claus in a wheelchair.
While there’s no indication how a wheelchair-bound Santa would make his way down a chimney, nor a clear understanding of what Santa should do if chimneys aren’t ADA compliant, the Santa figures do come in a variety of flesh tones for max diversity representation. Skin tones come in “light” or “deep.”
https://thepostmillennial.com/woke-christmas-target-sells-black-disabled-santa-in-wheelchair-ornament
A black Santa in a wheelchair needing a ramp rather than a chimney. 😆😆
Can’t wait for next Xmas. Maybe an LGBTQZzzzPB muslim Santa with blue hair, in a dress holding a Bud light. 😆
61
Silicon Valley’s latest gadget is an AI computer you wear on your clothes
The sum total of human knowledge may be moving from pocket to lapel, with the release of Humane’s Ai Pin, a connected wearable looking to replace the smartphone as humanity’s go-to communication device and/or technological crutch. Reports in Wired, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters say the smart-badge is intended to be worn like a brooch, corsage, or Starfleet insignia, and comes equipped with a camera, text messaging, an AI-powered virtual assistant and – its most sci-fi-adjacent feature – a 720p-resolution interface that projects onto a user’s palm, called a Laser Ink Display. All this for a retail price of US$699 (plus monthly data fee).
With light and depth sensors that monitor facial expressions, voice tone, gestures and other biometric data in the interest of creating user-friendly UX and more authentic emotional responses, it also seems primed to play a role in biometric verification systems. Indeed, previous reports indicate it will use heartbeat detection to authenticate wearers via a unique biometric signature in their pulse. The microphone, camera and gesture recognition capabilities could also all be used for authentication, at least in theory.
https://www.wired.com/story/humane-ai-pin-700-dollar-smartphone-alternative-wearable/
Inevitable.
30
For your daily astound!
Via https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2023/11/15/stockholm-syndrome-2/
“In a move that should surprise no one, Australian actress Melle Stewart is suing AstraZeneca for severe injuries caused by their Covid vaccine.”
BUT!
“The actual surprise, however, is this jaw-dropping admission:”
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-melle-stewart-after-lifethreatening-stroke
“Despite the issues I’ve had due to the Astra Zeneca vaccine, I am proud to say that I have gone on to receive multiples doses of the Pfizer vaccine and I remain a staunch advocate for vaccination.”
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She’s confusing vaccination with a properly tested, usually effective and safe product and forced infusion of a poorly tested or untested substance claimed to be a covid vaccine.
120
World’s Leading Theory on Alzheimer’s in Crisis After Major Drug Trials Fail
At the start of the 20th century, psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer became the first person to notice the strange clumps and tangles in the brain of a person who had died with dementia.
These bundles of amyloid beta proteins have since become the dominant hypothesis for what causes Alzheimer’s disease. And, despite decades of failed studies, finding ways to clear them away has remained an obsession.
Now, in two trials, a drug designed to eradicate these sticky plaques has failed to preserve the cognitive abilities of people with early Alzheimer’s disease compared to people given a placebo.
The monoclonal antibody gantenerumab did significantly reduce the amount of amyloid beta in the brain as intended, but this did not translate into improvements in cognitive function.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2304430
No kidding! Like I said ages ago, amyloid plaques aren’t the problem, they’re produced by the immune system.
Helps if you look in the right place.😁
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So tell us where is the right place then?
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Inflammation and gut health.😎
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So right JC!!. Inflammation is really the root cause of so many “modern” diseases. That also includes heart health – nothing to do with cholesterol, everything to do with the body’s reaction to inflammation. Which is the production of cholesterol as a building block for the body to treat inflammation. Auto – immune diseases – same. Plus probably many others. Possibly all related to diet ( too much sugar ??) and other environmental effects.
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You are correct. We now have a testing model.
https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awad303/7308687?login=false
Koch’s Law for Alzheimer’s?
You can’t solve a problem until you learn the right questions to ask. . .
10
The advent/invention of the fridge quickly stamped out the natural ‘salt-free’ fermentation of legumes by the Bacillus, Subtilis once a common fermentation in and on cooked plant protein substrates and just like milk is fermented with lacto bacillus, the fermentation of legumes after being cooked went out of vogue as did the fermentation of soy beans to create the super-food, Natto.
My recent work is with this idea of the “fridge” as the culprit responsible for the disappearance.
Especially in the east, South Africa, Nepal, Thailand, India, and on and on all had their own method or preferred method of utilising this, in my opinion ultra indispensable rod shaped micro-organism.
Question: ??
How is it that this most important organism has been forgotten????…. or ignored by allegedly qualified microbiome gut practitioners……….no ….not all of this class. Interestingly, enormous leaps and bounds have been achieved in livestock nutrition and aquaculture, agriculture and are using Subtilis, and the spores it produces, and it is being added to and used to transform, protein substrates for these industries at a accelerated pace in the recent decade especially.
May as well add natokinase to the word salad and in saying that the food product obtained by this fermentation had many, many other names in the said other parts of the world., not just “natto”
20
Ah! But just you wait!
To cover expenses it reappears as “a new cure all for something else”?
Actually I am only being half sarcastic there –
If it is properly tested and it passes as “a new cure all for something else” then well and good.
But no more “bums rush” that goes to the “cash cow” thank you
00
I just received my amateur radio license. I’m glad to have available off grid comms for which the only infrastructure needed not under my control is a functioning ionosphere. And not even that for line of sight, groundwave or comms via atmospheric ducting.
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Congratulations David, I didn’t know you could still obtain a licence these days… great idea & I’ve occasionally thought about doing the same thing…. for similar motivations….
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Thanks Mark.
Assuming you are in Australia, you can do courses and exams through various amateur radio clubs.
See the WIA website.
https://www.wia.org.au/
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Congratulations David. I hope to run across you on the Bands one day !
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Thanks Glenn.
31
Pretty exciting for you David and must say for me too at the moment as after much umming and ahhing purchased the Xiegu X6100 SDR (Software Defined Radio)….next step is to get a licence.
Operating and making crystal set radios, valve radios, shortwave, et al was a bundle of fun in my youth, and so was getting electrocuted on a fairly regular basis, car coils, light sockets, and what not…lol.
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Congrats, David. See you on HF or digital modes.
10
“Gulf Stream Collapse Scare Debunked by Royal Society”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/11/15/gulf-stream-collapse-scare-debunked-by-royal-society/
30
I heard it said that Australian banks are now asking you for the purpose of any cash you withdraw, presumably above a certain limit. Is that true?
I knew banks had to report to Big Brother all cash withdrawals and deposits above $10,000 but I didn’t think the reason had to be given.
40
One could try creative answers (and probably end up being further questioned and not getting any cash)
1. I tried robbing a bank but finding cash was too hard
2. Nobody trusts banks, nobody trusts digital “money”
3. The collapse of civilization is imminent and don’t come to be in a few years when you’re starving
4. The bikies only accept cash for sawn-off shot guns
40
True David. If you go in and try to get what THEY consider a large amount, they ask what it is for. This leaves it completely to you what the reply is ” prostitutes…a sex change….I’m leaving my Wife and getting as much cash as I can….I have a sure winner in the 5th at Randwick etc, etc.
I’ve been asked what I was doing whilst taking $1500 out of my Mothers bank account ( I have her EPOA ).
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I was asked by a bank employee in Toowoomba who said new rules required her to ask for what purpose I was withdrawing $5000 cash. I told her I want to buy some chocolate.
I was asked by a bank employee in Bendigo who said new rules required her to ask if I knew the person I was giving it to when I withdrew $5000 cash. I said I haven’t made up my mind yet who I will give any of it to. I said “you want me to give it to you don’t you?” She said yes and wrote on the withdrawal application form, “Does not know the person.”
(Which assumed I was going to hand the lump sum over to a person I didn’t know). Quite what the value of this junk information was to the bank or anyone else is beyond me.
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They are going after the cash economy … because cash transactions are not getting reported for GST purposes.
Wrong answer is, “I’m getting some renovations done and the chippy said he could do it cheaper for cash.”
I would have thought the effort of chasing this stuff wasn’t worth the cost of imposing compliance on everything … but try explaining tradeoffs to a policy maker.
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Thursday money saving tip
The EcoWatt Pro just plugs into any power point and can save you up to 90% on your power bills.
https://youtu.be/u8_WMQ6k1co?si=iXP6_k2T5iYL0dF_
Those greedy power companies are charging you for electricity you don’t use. This device stores unused power and releases it when needed.
It has capacitors in it too!
The “tip” is to not buy one as it’s the same old scam doing the rounds again.
Maybe a $20 dongle that plugs onto your cars’ OBD port and tunes your engine instead. 😆😆😆
40
Real or AI generated face. Can you tell which?
https://whichfaceisreal.com/index.php
Virtually impossible to tell any more.
20
Scientists create first 3D-printed robotic hand with bones, ligaments, tendons
ZURICH, Switzerland — For the first time, scientists have created a robotic hand complete with bones, ligaments, and tendons using advanced 3D printing technology. In a significant leap for soft robotics, scientists harnessed a novel technology that integrates 3D printing with a laser scanner and a feedback loop.
Employing this innovative approach, ETH Zurich scientists were able to successfully print a robotic hand with distinct polymer-based bones, ligaments, and tendons in a single operation.
“We wouldn’t have been able to make this hand with the fast-curing polyacrylates we’ve been using in 3D printing so far,” Thomas Buchner, the study’s lead author and a doctoral candidate in the robotics group at ETH Zurich, in a media release. “We’re now using slow-curing thiolene polymers. These have very good elastic properties and return to their original state much faster after bending than polyacrylates.”
https://youtu.be/54jg4uduIt0?si=aizxunl7azHh_q7E
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06684-3
Ooh yeah, now we’re talking!
30
The claim was this wind farm was replacing the turbines after only 3 years , the fact check Is hillarious.
https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/wind-turbine-lifespan-claim-generates-misinformation/
30
So fact checking by “expert” folks who either depend on the CC industry for their livelihood or have spent their whole career pushing the CC cause.
Yes, it is quite hilarious that one PhD in mathematics does this work now:
“… teaches, researches and consults in the interdisciplinary fields of sustainable energy, energy policy, theory of sustainability, ecological economics, and practical processes by which government, business and other organisations can achieve ecologically sustainable and socially just development”.
And he says without a shred of cited data:
“Typical commercial lifetime for a large wind turbine is 25 years. That figure is based on thousands of wind farms operating around the world for several decades”.
Remember when the CC activists used to say that CC skeptics were being “funded by the FF industry”? How the tables have turned.
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Fact check: The wind turbines are not broken because wind turbines should last for 20 years.
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Mr. Harves: Thanks for that, I was worried they might be broken, but if the manufacturer modeled out 20 years, can’t argue with that.
40
Hilarious.
The generators are the same as used in power stations. (Except power stations don’t run their generators around in circles but fixed to concrete floors.
It’s just the gearboxes that are being replaced. I wonder if they change them on top of the tower or move them (and generators) down to stable ground and relocate both back up again.
And windturbines last 25 years, except that blade replacements are about 1% per annum (except if they are made by Siemens) and there is a loss in performance as the original blades loss efficiency from impacts, salt and weather erosion. The latest 6-8MW units lose capacity within 3-4 years (probably those made by Siemens?)
40
Hmm, ?..how many of those 6MW generators do they use in a 700MW thermal power station ?
And how do they connect them all to the single steam turbine ?
20
Where did they go?
Homeless cleared from San Francisco for Xi and APEC.
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2023/11/11/where-did-they-go-san-francisco-homeless-gone-streets-cleaned-ahead-of-biden-visit-to-apec-summit-n2389666
Odd, no cell phone video seems to exist showing how this was done.*
Buses?
How many cops would it take to herd as many as 8000 plus drug addicted schizophrenic cats?
National guard?
Were they offered money to relocate?
This seems to have been accomplished in total stealth, in the dead of of night and out of sight.
Special forces with night vision?
Secret government alien technology?
*(Maybe they learned a lesson from Maui.)
71
“We Now Know What Caused That Devastating LA Freeway Fire”
“”Bad actors” caused the fire, according to State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant.
Some unknown arsonist is believed to have started Saturday’s blaze, but that’s not the “bad actor” to whom Berlant was referring. You see, the city government leases underpass space to people and companies for storage. In this case, “bad actors” filled the underpass with wooden pallets and containers of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.”
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/11/15/the-very-stupid-reason-for-that-devastating-los-angeles-freeway-fire-n4923926
30
Insurance job?
The sanitizer stock must be getting close to the use by date and not selling as fast as it was a few years ago. I hope the insurance inspector is very suspicious.
50
UK government pays the wind industry ransom money.
https://climatechangedispatch.com/uk-government-caves-to-big-winds-demand-to-double-prices/
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