rvaughnmd

rvaughnmd, 6 months ago to gardening

"It feels like I'm not crazy." Gardeners aren't surprised as USDA updates key map.

"The 2023 map is about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 2012 map across the contiguous U.S.,"

"about half the country has shifted into a new half zone and half hasn't. "

#gardening

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213600629/-it-feels-like-im-not-crazy-gardeners-arent-surprised-as-usda-updates-key-map

rvaughnmd, 8 months ago to random

If Cities Are Going To Be Packed With Parking Lots, They Should All Have Solar Canopies

Target recently ran a pilot project in California using roof and parking lot solar to power its entire store, including HVAC systems. The system actually produces about 10% more energy than the store can consume, meaning Target can then send the energy back to the grid and receive payment for its power from the local energy company.

https://jalopnik.com/if-cities-are-going-to-be-packed-with-parking-lots-the-1850880420

TheWarOnCars, 5 months ago to random

"This year, the average weight of a new car in the US was more than 4,300lb (2,000kg) – a full 1,000lb (450kg) more than in 1980."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/16/paris-us-size-cars-europe-emissions-suvs-france

inquiline, 5 months ago to random

The obligatory person-versus-huge-truck photo. This person (me) is just shy of 5'8", definitely 5'8" in those shoes. Disaster.

*1.72 meters I guess

rvaughnmd, 6 months ago to random

So we're going back to using stone tablets now ...

Cerabyte has released a video showcasing the potential of its long-anticipated ceramics-based data storage system that promises to revolutionize how organizations store data on data centers in the future

https://www.techradar.com/pro/video-of-ceramic-storage-system-prototype-surfaces-online-10000tb-cartridges-bombarded-with-laser-rays-could-become-mainstream-by-2030-making-slow-hard-drives-and-tapes-obsolete

rvaughnmd, 4 months ago to cycling

I wasn't shocked at all - were you?

Nine out of ten women face abuse while cycling, shocking new survey finds

According to the report, “get off the road” was by far the most common form of verbal abuse aimed at women cycling, while taunts of “bitch” and “slut”, unsolicited photos and sexual comments, groping or slapping when stopped at traffic lights, and accusations of poor parenting when cycling with children were also appallingly prevalent.

#cycling

https://road.cc/content/news/nine-out-ten-women-face-abuse-while-cycling-report-finds-306235

“Museum of Austerity” tells story of those killed due to punitive UK benefits system (www.wsws.org)

Museum of Austerity, recently displayed at the HOME arts centre in Manchester, UK, brings to life the terrible plight of 10 of the disabled victims of a brutal and inhumane benefits system who were failed and left to die....

rvaughnmd, 1 month ago to cycling

Damn, they're on to us now ...

Cyclists dumbfounded by bizarre online conspiracy theory claiming bike inner tube valve is a "5G antenna tracking device" inserted under skin after Covid jab

"appears she's gone tubeless'

#cycling @Biff_Bruise

https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-dumbfounded-bizarre-covid-conspiracy-theory-308119

rvaughnmd, 6 months ago to random

Shocking, totally unpredictable!

Vehicles with hood heights that are 40 inches or higher are 45 percent more likely to kill a pedestrian than a shorter vehicle, the report concludes.

The data comes amid an ongoing pedestrian safety crisis in the US in which fatalities are at a 40-year high and the number of pedestrians killed has increased by 80 percent since hitting a low in 2009.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/14/23960624/truck-suv-hood-height-pedestrian-death-report-iihs

rvaughnmd, 8 months ago to random

Senate Dems Want to Cancel All Student Lunch Debt—A 'Term So Absurd That It Shouldn't Even Exist'

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said the aim of the bill is to "stop humiliating kids and penalizing hunger."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/cancel-student-lunch-debt

rvaughnmd, 3 months ago to random

A small drone flies into a damaged Fukushima reactor for the first time to study its melted fuel

The drones, each weighing only 185 grams are highly maneuverable and the blades hardly stir up dust. It carries a front-loaded high definition camera to send live video and a higher-quality images to an operating room.

880 tons of highly radioactive nuclear fuel remain inside the three damaged reactors. Critics say the 30- to 40-year cleanup target is overly optimistic.

https://apnews.com/article/japan-fukushima-nuclear-reactor-drone-radiation-water-af1640b8ae800066d5bfc728a211d34b

rvaughnmd, 10 months ago to cycling

Use extreme caution in extreme heat. Your outdoor activities have become exponentially more hazardous. Know your limits and plan accordingly, don't put rescuers at risk for your recovery!

Mountain biker dies after helping save dehydrated hikers, California officials say

The hikers, who did not have food or water, were found by four bicyclists, firefighters told KGTV. Two rode out to meet rescuers and guide them to the hikers, while two remained.

#cycling

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article277386293.html

rvaughnmd, 6 months ago to cycling

New Study Says Narrower Streets Save Lives – Urbanist Update

#Cycling

https://velo.outsideonline.com/urban/urban-culture/new-study-says-narrower-streets-save-lives-urbanist-update

rvaughnmd, 3 months ago to random

Best healthcare system in the world:

A new mom died after giving birth at a Boston hospital. Was corporate greed to blame?

"a device that could have stopped the bleeding in Rashid's liver was repossessed by the manufacturer weeks earlier.

"the manufacturer had come to "retrieve any embolization coils at the hospital" because Steward hadn't paid its bills. According to a lawsuit filed by the manufacturer, Steward owed about $2.5 million in unpaid bills.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-new-mom-died-after-giving-birth-at-a-boston-hospital-was-corporate-greed-to-blame/

rvaughnmd, 9 months ago to random

Best healthcare system in the world (for stockholders):

Doctors, patients try to shame insurers online to reverse previous authorization denials

“They take in premiums and don’t pay claims. That’s how they make money. They just delay and delay and delay until you die. And you’re absolutely helpless as a patient.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/doctors-patients-try-shame-insurers-online-reverse-previous-authorizat-rcna101073

rvaughnmd, 10 months ago to gardening

Tigerlilly started blooming yesterday.

#gardening #flowers #bloomscrolling

rvaughnmd, 8 months ago to cycling

An E-bike Without A Battery?

Interesting bike - you charge up the supercapacitor when the going is easy and during braking, then use it when you need it

#cycling #ebike

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/09/20/this-french-company-has-designed-the-first-e-bike-that-doesnt-need-a-battery

rvaughnmd, 8 days ago to cycling

What does a city that has spurned cars look like?

Olympics visitors to Paris will get a look

Changes designed to encourage people to take other forms of transportation have contributed to a 40% decline in air pollution, according to city officials.

Paris has closed more than 100 streets to motor vehicles, tripled parking fees for SUVs, removed roughly 50,000 parking spots, and constructed more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of bike lanes

#cycling #Climate

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/paris-olympics-city-reduce-air-pollution-rcna153470

rvaughnmd, 9 months ago to id

Participants in California Tough Mudder event report rashes and fevers from bacterial infections

The Sonoma County health department issued an advisory for all competitors, citing multiple reports of rashes, fever, muscle pains and vomiting.

On Wednesday, 112 participants contacted Tough Mudder to report “bumpy, pus-filled, rash-like infection

A participant has tested positive for aeromonas

#ID

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tough-mudder-participants-bacterial-infections-rcna101870

rvaughnmd, 6 months ago to random

Is this the 'good guy with a gun' of which I have heard so much? Glad he caught his murdering on film for all to see.

A Southern California man accused of fatally shooting a homeless man and filming it has been charged with felony voluntary manslaughter, prosecutors said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-jogger-charged-killing-homeless-man-was-blocking-path-rcna126537

rvaughnmd, 1 year ago to random

Not a single republican vote - I'm shocked, just shocked I tell you

California Senate passes $25 minimum wage for health care workers

meanwhile no one says much about CEO/administrator pay and stockholder dividends

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/california-senate-passes-25-minimum-wage-health-care-workers

rvaughnmd, 6 months ago to Energy

Former top Ohio utility regulator surrenders in $60 million bribery scheme linked to energy bill

$60 million bribery scheme related to a legislative bailout for two Ohio nuclear power plants that has already resulted in a 20-year prison sentence for a former state House speaker.

#Energy #infrastructure #nuclear #climate

https://apnews.com/article/ohio-bribery-investigation-householder-randazzo-puco-113274f88e7a53843e98a86f07d0844f

rvaughnmd, 4 months ago to climate

Sceptics, look away: a mostly renewable electricity grid is highly feasible

After more than 2 years of weekly simulations, my model has achieved a 98.8% renewable electricity supply at an estimated average wholesale cost of $95/MWh, a similar cost to what it has averaged over the last 8 years.

There are a couple of caveats, but they don’t change the outcome of the modelling.

#climate #infrastructure #energy #renewables

https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/energy/grid-renewable-electricity-simulation/

rvaughnmd, 3 months ago to random

I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou:

Bizarre Footage Shows Cop Open Fire on his own Cruiser After Mistaking Acorn for Gunshot - Partner Joins in Thinking He's Been Hit.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bizarre-footage-shows-florida-cop-jesse-hernandez-unload-clip-after-mistaking-acorn-for-gunshot

rvaughnmd, 8 months ago to random

After first refusing, OneWheel recalls all of its self-balancing electric skateboards

"the CPSC claims in the recall announcement that there have been four deaths of OneWheel riders in the last few years from head trauma"

https://electrek.co/2023/09/30/onewheel-recalls-all-of-its-self-balancing-electric-skateboards