Numlock News: October 29, 2021 • Great Red Spot, Spiders, Supercomputers
By Walt HickeyHave a great weekend! JupiterNew data from the Juno probe gives additional insight into the depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, the colossal spinning storm that’s lasted for hundreds of years and is wider than the Earth itself. Initial reads of microwave transmissions showed scientists that the spot was at least 240 kilometers deep, and a further analysis of distortions of Jupiter’s gravity field suggests that the storm vortex extends around 500 kilometers deep. This is a better-than-typical discovery, because usually when Juno pries into Jupiter she just finds the king of the gods canoodling with some rando while transformed into a swan or something. Katrina Miller, Scientific American StrawberriesIn 2020, growers in the United States produced $2.2 billion worth of strawberries, but an estimated 35 percent of those ended up in the trash because of spoilage. An Idaho company that previously did a genetic punch up on potatoes plans to launch gene-edited strawberries that make them hardier and more durable. Their previous gene-modifying work — on Simplot potatoes — are responsible for 1.1 billion pounds of potatoes annually, served in 4,000 supermarkets and 9,000 restaurants. It costs growers around $35,000 per acre to plant and $35,000 per acre to harvest strawberries now, and more durable berries might reduce the rate of crop failure. Keith Ridler, The Associated Press SpidersSome species of jumping spider show evidence of cognitive behavior, with the ability to make and execute plans, solve problems and experience surprise. Jumping spiders have the best vision of animals their size — between 1 millimeter and 2.3 centimeters — and the spiders in the genus Portia are devious as heck. Portia spiders hunt other spiders, and do so cleverly, by messing with their webs as if they’re a caught fly, or imitating their mates, or shaking webs like it’s windy to mask their movement. There’s even evidence they can count — at least to the extent of “0, 1, 2, many” — as one study found they are able to see a number of prey from a viewing tower, and then if the count is increased en route, they’re less inclined to attack. This puts them, mathematically, on the same level as human 1-year-olds. I would be down to read an alternate-universe Spider-Man comic where he’s a ruthless hunter of other spider-men but also kind of sucks at math. Betsy Mason, Knowable Magazine RiversA new study of 28 rivers that originate from High Mountain Asia found that, over the past 60 years, flows had increased by 5 percent each decade since the 1950s, which is evidence of warming. Further worrying them is that sediment flows — the dirt that gets carried along with the rivers — increased 13 percent every decade as well. They estimated that 2 billion tons of sediment flows out of the mountains every year now, which is the weight of 20,000 U.S. aircraft carriers. Nikk Ogasa, Scientific American SupercomputersThe National Weather Service’s computational capacity jumped substantially recently, from a level of 4.2 petaflops in 2018 to 12.1 petaflops in 2020. The two supercomputers — one in Virginia, one in Arizona — each have a 12.1 petaflop capacity, an upgrade that cost $300 million to $500 million. The thing is, that translates to significant gains in forecasting potential, as it facilitates more simulations and more sophisticated weather models that can better predict complicated storms like hurricanes, and add days of notice to potentially impacted communities. The last time the system was upgraded — from 2.8 petaflops to 4.2 petaflops in 2018 — the resolution increased from 34 kilometers to 25 kilometers, and the number of models jumped from 21 to 31. From 2005 to 2020, errors in intensity forecasts within 48 hours are down 20 percent to 30 percent. Casey Crownhart, MIT Technology Review CondorsAn analysis of tissue from 900 condors — the incredibly endangered species that rebounded from just 22 condors in 1983 as a result of a decades-long breeding program — found that two of them (SB260 and SB517) were virgin births, with 100 percent of their DNA coming from mom. This phenomenon is called parthenogenesis, and it’s not uncommon in birds. The poultry industry has studied the phenomenon a lot, with 3 percent of commercial turkeys coming from the spontaneous self-fertilization. There are now over 500 condors, and the researchers plan to do a deeper dive on the genome of SB260 and SB517 to figure out what precisely their deal was. PeacockingNBCUniversal reported Thursday that they hauled in $1.76 billion in revenue over the course of the 17-day Summer Olympics, which is 9 percent higher than the revenue from the 2016 Games in Rio. In June, revenue estimates were “more than $1.25 billion,” and Comcast paid $1.42 billion for the rights, and obviously there are significant production costs on top of that in broadcasting the games. As a result, there is a slight question of if, indeed, they managed to break a profit on the games; they didn’t confirm that in their filings but earlier had indicated it was looking like the whole venture might have put them in the black. Last Sunday, I spoke to my former colleague and longtime friend Sam Ro, one of the smartest people covering finance and the economy. Sam wrote a really great post recently called 4.3 million quitters and me 👋 to launch his new newsletter, TKer, which you should definitely check out. We talked all about quits, inflation, and why the problems the economy has right now aren’t exactly the worst problems, and the fundamental optimism at the heart of economics coverage, I dropped the paywall so go ahead and check it out if that seems up your alley. 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. The best way to reach new readers is word of mouth. If you click THIS LINK in your inbox, it’ll create an easy-to-send pre-written email you can just fire off to some friends. 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. 2021 Sunday subscriber editions: Giant clams · Instagram · Remote Work · Latinos · Vapes · Smoke · Jeopardy! · Mangoes · BBLs · Summer Box Office · Time Use · Shampoo Bars · Wikipedia · Thriving · Comic Rebound · Return of Travel · Sticky Stuff · For-profit Med School · A Good Day · Press Reset · Perverse Incentives · Demon Slayer · Carbon Credits · Money in Politics · Local News ·Oscar Upsets · Sneakers · Post-pandemic Cities · Facebook AI · Fireflies · Vehicle Safety · Climate Codes · Figure Skating · True Believer · Apprentices · Sports Polls · Pipeline · Wattpad · The Nib · Driven2020 Sunday Edition Archive2019 Sunday Edition Archive2018 Sunday Edition ArchiveYou’re on the free list for Numlock News. For the full experience, become a paying subscriber. |
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Numlock News: October 28, 2021 • Shrimp, Sinhala, Bridge Cheats
Thursday, October 28, 2021
By Walt Hickey Stick Shortage Despite cascading supply chain issues from the absence of semiconductors, still one of the weirdest, flukiest fluctuations right about now is dead trees, which got more
Numlock News: October 27, 2021 • Voyagers, Wrestlers, Burgers
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
By Walt Hickey If you like Numlock, tell some friends. Cards On The Table Panini SpA, an Italian company which makes collectible trading cards, poached the WWE from beleaguered rival Topps, with a
Numlock News: October 26, 2021 • Oahu, Andy Warhol, Lemurs
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
By Walt Hickey Succession Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the death of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, the then-richest man in South Korea whose passing triggered an enormous inheritance tax
Numlock News: October 25, 2021 • Gotham, Arrakis, Canada
Monday, October 25, 2021
By Walt Hickey Welcome back! Spice Denis Villeneuve's Dune made $40.1 million at the North American box office, a solid start towards the higher end of projections despite a simultaneous release on
Numlock News: October 22, 2021 • Pelicans, Triceratops, Trapped In Amber
Friday, October 22, 2021
By Walt Hickey Have a great weekend! Gift Cards This year the amount spent on gift cards is expected to rise 27 percent this holiday season to $270 per person, with gift cards accounting for 40 percent
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