Numlock News: July 5, 2024 • Floppy Disks, Fireworks, Cave Art
By Walt HickeyHave a great weekend! Two bits of business! First up is that last week’s Sunday edition was released in podcast format as well. You can check out the Numlock Podcast on Apple and Spotify and wherever you get podcasts. I’m recommitting to publishing more audio versions in the coming months, so do be sure to subscribe over there. Second, this marks the sixth (!) anniversary of Numlock launching the paid subscription model. Thanks to everyone who chooses to support this project financially. You’ve changed my life and made this whole endeavor possible. Just a heads up to the earliest supporters who selected an annual subscription, it’s coming around again and you’ll be charged again sometime soon, probably. Blood SubstitutesPeople need blood, and often there’s not enough of it where it needs to be, and so for centuries scientists have sought to spawn a suitable sanguine substitute. Donated blood has a shelf life of 42 days and still hemorrhagic shock caused by blood loss kills 20,000 Americans a year and 2 million globally. A blood substitute with a longer shelf life has great appeal, and the latest new contending compound is ErythroMer, which has a shelf life of two years and is in preclinical testing. The U.S. military, which has some skin in the game owing to the notorious occupational hazards that accompany their craft, has kicked in $46 million toward its development through DARPA grants, and it’s got commercial potential as well. ArtA cave painting in Indonesia depicting a pig hunt has been identified as the oldest known narrative artwork made by humans, being dated to 51,200 years ago. This beats out the previous record holder for oldest art, which is a hunting scene found in a nearby cave that was estimated to be 44,000 years old. The laser dating technique used to date the work of art is exciting in its own right, considerably faster, cheaper, and requiring less sample of rock to be extracted than the traditional dating strategies. Naturally, the intellectual property of this pig hunt and the characters depicted within will now enter the public domain, meaning that next year we can expect a half-hearted slasher-style cash-in movie from a no-name studio to take these beloved characters to the big screen. Daniel Lawler, Agence France-Presse Codependence DayThe latest data shows that the connections between the United Kingdom and the United States are, at least in the air, tighter than ever. This month there are 4,674 one-way flights projected to connect the U.S. and U.K., meaning that on average, every 9.5 minutes a plane departs the United Kingdom for America, an all-time high. Those numbers are not only up 1.5 percent over pre-pandemic highs, but up 21 percent compared to a decade ago. Ideologically, the countries are closer than ever this July 4, given their mutual skepticism of monarchy and deep skepticism of Tory government. Floppy DisksTwo years ago, Japan’s digital minister declared war on floppy disks, pledging to root the archaic tech out of government, where it had been entrenched for decades. On Wednesday, victory was declared, as the Digital Agency has successfully scrapped all 1,034 regulations that required the use of floppy disks, with the exception of a single program related to vehicle recycling. It’s been 53 years since the introduction of floppies, and it was only in January of this year that the Japanese government stopped requiring the submission of physical media like floppy disks and CD-ROMs for 1,900 government forms and filings. If you’d like to congratulate the bureau on their accomplishment, you may feel free to fax them. PolyesterA new study published in Science Advances lays out a process by which polyester garments can be more easily and cheaply recycled, which is crucial news given that less than 1 percent of clothing is. Synthetic fibers have often replaced or abetted natural fibers, and plastic clothing will outlast its wearer without the right bit of chemistry to break it down. A new process described will allow clothes with a mixture of polyester and natural fibers to undergo recycling, with a breakdown time of 15 minutes rather than the current process that takes over an hour. Sarah Ward, MIT Technology Review FireworksFirework sales have fallen sharply after a surge — a boom, dare I say — in the pandemic era. In 2019, 0.78 pounds of fireworks per capita were imported to the United States, which is pretty much enough to keep municipal fireworks shows, rowdy teenagers and Disney World sparkling. By 2021, that jumped to 1.25 pounds per capita, and then 1.35 per capita in 2022, because we simply didn’t have enough going on, I guess. This year, that’s down to 0.65 pounds per capita, and while the year is not out yet, the Fourth is the big day for them, so that’s still down sharply. One reason for the reduced sales is inflation; in 2021, the average import price was $1.13 per pound of fireworks, which is up to $1.61 per pound in the first four months of the year, up 42 percent, and double the overall pace of inflation over that period. Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation Air FreightShipping volumes from Chinese shopping apps like Temu and Shein have begun to change the overall air cargo market, gobbling up space and sending prices up. Air freight prices out of the manufacturing hubs in China are up 40 percent year over year, and exports out of Hong Kong International Airport were up 30 percent year over year in May. Air freight is a business that’s usually for small and expensive electronics and perishables, but the new apps’ popularity sent the spot rate to ship cargo out of South China to the U.S. up to $5.27 per kilogram, double the value in 2019. Paul Berger, The Wall Street Journal This week in the Sunday edition, I spoke to Glenn McDonald, author of the new book You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favorite Song: How Streaming Changes Music. I’ve followed Glenn’s work for years now, and this book is the result of decades of work in the field. It comes from a perspective not only of technology’s bleeding edge but also a sincere, personal love of music. We spoke about the mechanics of tracking genre data, how streaming has impacted listening trends, and how the model’s economics are holding up. The book can be found everywhere books are sold. Thanks to the paid subscribers to Numlock News who make this possible. Subscribers guarantee this stays ad-free, and get a special Sunday edition. Consider becoming a full subscriber today. Send links to me on Twitter at @WaltHickey or email me with numbers, tips or feedback at walt@numlock.news. Send corrections or typos to the copy desk at copy@numlock.news. Check out the Numlock Book Club and Numlock award season supplement. Previous Sunday subscriber editions: The Internationalists · Video Game Funding · BYD · Disney Channel Original Movie · Talon Mine · Our Moon · Rock Salt · Wind Techs · Yeezys · Armed Forces · Christmas Music · The Golden Screen · New York Hotels · A City on Mars · Personality Change · Graphics · You Are What You Watch ·Comics Data · Extremely Online ·Sunday Edition Archives: 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018You're currently a free subscriber to Numlock News. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
Numlock News: July 3, 2024 • Fervo, Upflation, Wizards of the Coast
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
By Walt Hickey We're off tomorrow! Americans, have an excellent Independence Day, and everyone else enjoy your Thursday. Trading Cards The market for trading cards is leveling off, after rising
Numlock News: July 2, 2024 • Mt. Fuji, Paleotempestology, Arctic Ocean
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
By Walt Hickey Mt. Fuji Japan continues to ride out what locals consider to be overtourism, and has been implementing new strategies to limit the numbers who can visit certain attractive areas. The
Numlock News: July 1, 2024 • Kei, Libraries, K'NEX
Monday, July 1, 2024
By Walt Hickey Welcome back! Box Office Inside Out 2 continues its tear at the box office, adding another $57 million to its domestic total and pushing its global gross to $1.01 billion. Behind it was
Numlock News: June 28, 2024 • Scribes, Soccer, Webtoon
Friday, June 28, 2024
By Walt Hickey Have a great weekend! Scribes The Czech Institute of Egyptology has 221 Old Kingdom skeletons from almost 200 tombs in storage, of which 102 are male. The institute has been studying the
Numlock News: June 27, 2024 • GOES, Wool, Mayan
Thursday, June 27, 2024
By Walt Hickey Wool Prices for wool have dropped considerably, and it's causing serious problems in Australia, which is responsible for 80 percent of the superfine wool fiber under 18.5 microns in
You Might Also Like
What A Day: Florida Yes Men
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Donald Trump's cabinet picks are wild, but he's also chosen a few normies to lead his foreign policy. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
This soft-sided luggage is very cute
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
But is it a good suitcase? View in browser The Recommendation We tested Away's new soft-sided carry-on A photo of someone holding the handle of a soft-sided suitcase, next to a photo of someone
Bigotry Is Not the Answer to Donald Trump
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer 2024 election Bigotry Is Not the Answer to Donald Trump Post-election, liberals scramble
Wednesday Briefing: Trump’s team of loyalists
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Plus, the new series “Say Nothing.” View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition November 13, 2024 Author Headshot By Gaya Gupta Good morning. We're covering the latest on
Another cable news star goes the independent route
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
PLUS: Will the media experience another "Trump bump"? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
We Were Built For This Moment
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Here's how The Lever's team will be holding the powerful accountable in this new era of corruption — and what you can do to help. We Were Built For This Moment By The Lever • 12 Nov 2024 View
Let There Be Light
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
The Important Stuff, Western Sieve ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
☕ Gift guides, unwrapped
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
A PR expert's guide to landing brands on a gift guide. November 12, 2024 Marketing Brew presented by Amazon Ads It's Tuesday. After presumably consulting the Grinch, Saks Fifth Avenue is
Trump’s victory is a green light for genocide in Gaza
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
The slaughter we've witnessed over the past 13 months has been shocking to the conscience. But what comes next could be unimaginably worse. The founding charter of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud
Amperity names new CEO | Starform raises $6M | Apple sets smart cam sights on Ring and Wyze
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
We tried the 'Tomb Raider' escape room in Seattle ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Get your ticket for AWS re:Invent, happening Dec. 2–6 in Las Vegas: Register now for AWS re:Invent.