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Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1935: The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.My two rat terriers get free food and free health care, though I am not only their provider, but I am also their “master” too.One of the more famous ethologists in recent decades was John B. Calhoun, best known for his mouse experiments in the 1960s when he worked for the National Institute for Mental Health.The turning point in this mouse utopia, Calhoun observed, occurred on Day 315 when the first signs appeared of a breakdown in social norms and structure. Aberrations included the following: females abandoning their young; males no longer defending their territory; and both sexes becoming more violent and aggressive. Deviant behavior, sexual and social, mounted with each passing day. The last thousand mice to be born tended to avoid stressful activity and focused their attention increasingly on themselvesThey never involved themselves with others, engaged in sex, nor would they fight. All appeared [outwardly] as a beautiful exhibit of the species with keen, alert eyes and a healthy, well-kept body. These mice, however, could not cope with unusual stimuli. Though they looked inquisitive, they were in fact, very stupid.By relieving individuals of challenges, which then deprives them of purpose, the welfare state is an utterly unnatural and anti-social contrivance. In the mouse experiment, the individuals ultimately lost interest in the things that perpetuate the species.
MIT Researchers Make Hydrogen Fuel From Aluminum and Water interestingengineering.comHighlights
Hydrogen has the potential to replace fossil fuels in jet engines, for the generation of electricity, and even for long-term storage of energy.There are two major reasons why this reaction is not commonly used today; one is that aluminum reacts more readily with the oxygen in the air and forms aluminum oxide. The compound prevents aluminum from reacting with water. Therefore, for the reaction to occur, one simply needs to remove the top layer of aluminum oxide and drop the aluminum in water, while ensuring that the aluminum oxide is not formed again.To address the challenge of preventing the formation of aluminum oxide, the team used information from some previous experiments and painted the scrap aluminum with a eutectic mixture of gallium and indium which remains in liquid state at room temperature while being able to penetrate through the aluminum oxide"Using aluminum as our source, we can ‘store’ hydrogen at a density that’s 10 times greater than if we just store it as a compressed gas," said Professor Douglas Hart.
What’s it like living with a phenomenal memory and can it be learned? | Hacker News news.ycombinator.comHighlights
It's been empowering to revisit those moments from a different angle as I've worked through those challenges.I have a solid and clear recollection of the good, which is useful from a business management and engineering career perspective. Literature retains on the first pass, which is very useful in operations for manual/business requirements/security framework ingestion, and I don't need to keep a TODO list or agenda (but still do for transparency's sake to my reports and superiors). -
Podcasting essentials
Netflix is foraying in to the gaming arena
#gaming
Highlights
“We are in the business of making these amazing worlds and great storylines and incredible characters” in its original movies and TV series, Greg Peters,Despite a carefully choreographed series of announcements about its expansions into retail, podcasts and gaming in the weeks leading up to its earnings report, investors have remained focused on the challenges facing its core business, as economies reopen and streaming competition intensifies.He also sees scope for Netflix to offer games developers and players a better deal through subscriptions. “We don’t have to think about ads. We don’t have to think about in-game purchases or other monetisation,” Peters said.Hastings, who famously says he likes to make “as few decisions as possible”, has finally decided to push the start button on Netflix’s gaming business.Analysts estimate tens of millions of people subscribe to console-based services such as Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.“Entertainment is converging,” Severin said. “Whether you are a video, games, music, sports or a social media proposition, you ultimately compete for the same entertainment time and money.”As Netflix looks for new ways to retain its 209m paying subscribers, games could be one way to reduce churn, as Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia, Comcast, Discovery and ViacomCBS all look to lure away its subscribers.Sign-ups in North America have ground to a halt in the past six months. From April through June, 430,000 people cancelled their Netflix subscriptions in the US and Canada.
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