Month: May 2019

Neutron gold

Neutron star collision may have seeded the solar system with gold

In a new study, astronomers have found that a small fraction of all the gold on planet Earth was likely formed in a single, catastrophic, and very weird event: The merger of 2 neutron stars. The material blasted out from the ensuing explosion mixed with the stuff that formed the Sun and planets, and, eventually, us. Literally, you and me.

Breadless Sandwich?

But what about sandwiches which contain no bread-like thing at all? I stumbled on one the other day that tests our idea of what constitutes a sandwich. 969 NYC Coffee is a pleasant little Japanese café that specializes in coffee, matcha whipped as you watch, and onigiri (rice balls). Located on a side street, it has a yellow awning, a pleasant outdoor seating area with tables, and tight interior that looks like any other coffee bar, only instead of doughnuts and bagels, it serves rice balls. One particular form of rice balls caught my eye. In the glass case were 3 different ones labeled “sandwich”: pork, beef, and fish. The fish version ($6) had a standard slice of fried fish as its focus, with additional layers of scrambled egg, shredded and pickled carrots, creamy avocado, and mayonnaise. Above and below was a layer of sushi rice, and the whole thing was wrapped in laver, the dried seaweed known in Japanese as nori. The thing tasted agreeably mellow and squishy, and one thing about using rice instead of bread in a prepackaged sandwich: no stale bread!

Amber Millipede

The 3D reconstruction of a 99M-year-old millipede discovered in Burmese amber allowed for the description of an entirely new suborder, and is just one of the many exciting discoveries in Burmese amber. Burmese amber, mostly coming from the Hukawng Valley in Kachin State, northern Myanmar, is valuable not only for understanding of the Myriapoda fossil record and historical biogeography, but also including fantastic fossils of frogs, bone and feathers from theropod wings, a whole bird trapped in amber, and the previously discussed feathered tip of a dinosaur tail.

Beyond Oil Feedstocks

you’d need electrochemical efficiencies of at least 60% and electricity available at 4 cents/kilowatt-hr or better to make these ideas profitable (with the usual 30-year-amortization assumption about the plants themselves). How close are we? Many of the processes are currently in the 40-50% efficiency range, and need further scale-up work: within sight, but not there yet. And renewable electricity costs vary a great deal by region. The best cases are getting down around that figure, though, and continuing to improve. 1 feature of electrochemical synthesis is that it would (as mentioned in the excerpt above) provide a use for the mismatched local excess electrical production that can happen with renewables – it’s storage of energy in chemical bonds as opposed to batteries, flywheels, or what have you. But on the other hand, running a chemical plant 24/7 is by far the most economical way to set things up, so the best solution would be coupling with some steadier source of electricity as well.

Kong Sihk Tong

My greatest connections with memories with cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong is sitting down to plates of condensed milk “French” toast in the morning, preferably those with peanut butter. Those would be filled with a thick layer of the nutty condiment and drowned in condensed milk, a morning heart attack. As if that was not enough, many times a slice of butter would be placed on top and start melting as the toast was served.


The version of condensed milk & peanut butter toast ($1.95, above) here was comparably super healthy, with very small amounts of both between slightly toasted pieces of white bread. Light as a feather, and to be honest not nearly as satisfying.

Tactical Driving

Wyatt Knox is a former rally car driver and driving instructor at Team O’Neil Rally School and in this video, he shows us some of the tactical driving techniques that would be in the repertoire of law enforcement or special operations personnel, including running cars off the road, backing up at high speed, and doing a j-turn. (What’s a j-turn? It’s that cool thing they do in the movies where a car in reverse does a 180 and continues driving forwards in the same direction.