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Roy Brander's avatar

The concern with that graph is that what people purchase, with more money, is often, more energy - more air flights is a popular excess-money spend.

I can't think of a way to tease out energy needed to create wealth, from energy you're just tossing away with your wealth. After all, the extra vacations create wealth from the airline's point of view.

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Brandy's avatar

Because I keep getting older and weird stuff keeps happening to my body as I do, I am always fascinated by the medical discoveries. Now, they have to hurry and offer everything to the public before it's too late for me. 😄

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Owen Lewis's avatar

I feel the same way a lot of the time. Get it out of the lab already!

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Brandy's avatar

I'll be a test subject for many of the worst problems even. Just let me try it! 😄 🤣

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Owen Lewis's avatar

Same sometimes!

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Steven Work's avatar

I hope to be completely dead before the medical system gets near me again.

But your concern that you are running fast towards death, and that reminded me of my life goals and lack of advance to finish with some.

Like ..when I grow-up I hoped to be a grumpy old man, but I am hitting a wall. I think part of the stall is because no kids are playing on our grass - so I can't yell at them to " .. get off my lawn!" and shake my fist. I can yell at clouds and shake fist at it, but it is not the same. I started yelling at squirrels and that seems better. I still feel Blessed and thank God often, and this seems like it will cause me to fail in my goal and will die smiling and praising God.

Suggestions?

God Bless., Steve

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Brandy's avatar

I have started talking to my cat (one cat) in a grumpy voice about everything and everyone. And, he mostly agrees with me. No grands for me yet, and I'm not sure I'll get them. I, too, dream of kids playing outside again.

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Paul Drake's avatar

Oxygen on Venus, or not:

There was apparently a detection last year of oxygen in a layer within the Venusian atmosphere. The first reported detection of oxygen in the Venus atmosphere was in the mid 1970s by the group of my doctoral advisor. Even thought the signal was weak, it was 5 sigma above the background (not sure about the 5 but something bigger than 3). The research team did not really believe the result and spent many months trying to understand what else might have caused it. Finding nothing, they announced the first detection of oxygen emission from another planet. That was a big deal.

Alas, a few months later the key research scientist woke up in the middle of the night with the realization that the detected OVI emission line was in the monochrometer slit (and thus detectable) just as one electronic stepper motor handed off to another. They got time on the satellite, closed off the instrument, and did tests. Once in awhile, the instrument produced a bogus blip at that handoff point. A retraction followed.

My advisor frequently said that anybody who tells you to believe a result because it is 3-sigma or 5 sigma does not understand systematic error.

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Owen Lewis's avatar

All the more reason to send spacecraft, multiple spacecraft, to Venus. We've really neglected it the last few decades, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming missions. But more would be better.

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Laggy's avatar

Great read. Thank you!

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Owen Lewis's avatar

Glad you enjoyed it!

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patrick gallagher's avatar

another great piece! plenty of new rabbit holes for me to head down. thank you.

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Owen Lewis's avatar

You are most welcome, glad you enjoyed it. The more rabbit holes the better!

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