Interesting Links for 28-06-2022

[andrewducker]

1. To see what ridiculous things believe, check out what Full Fact has been debunking recently

(tags:FactCheck )

2. I bet you can't predict where this advert is going before the end

(tags:advertising sex disability video )

3. Flu vaccination linked to 40% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease

(tags:alzheimers flu vaccination )

4. Nicola Sturgeon commits to establishing abortion buffer zones around clinics in Scotland

(tags:abortion Scotland protests )

5. Here's a home robot that actually looks useful: a self-driving shelf

(tags:automation disability )

6. Tesla home batteries let utilities pay you to temporarily go off-grid

(tags:Tesla batteries electricity )

Comments

[naath]

I love that advert :)

[dewline]

1. Wow. Just...wow. Will keep this bookmarked.

3. For various reasons of deeply personal interest, this particular paragraph gets my attention:

“Since there is evidence that several vaccines may protect from Alzheimer's disease, we are thinking that it isn't a specific effect of the flu vaccine,” said Schulz, who is also the Umphrey Family Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases and director of the Neurocognitive Disorders Center at McGovern Medical School. “Instead, we believe that the immune system is complex, and some alterations, such as pneumonia, may activate it in a way that makes Alzheimer's disease worse. But other things that activate the immune system may do so in a different way -- one that protects from Alzheimer's disease. Clearly, we have more to learn about how the immune system worsens or improves outcomes in this disease.”

Among the personal reasons is the fact that I've been getting my annual flu shots for a couple of decades now. I am therefore now somewhat more hopeful of having bought myself additional time where this issue is concerned. Yes, I've had a very mild bout of COVID-19, which complicates things somewhat. But between the flu and COVID vaccinations...?

I still know as a certainty that I don't want to be reinfected, given some of the other things we've learned about that virus.

4. Good!

6. I wonder how Tesla will deal with Hydro Ottawa, Hydro One and Hydro Québec...?

[rhythmaning]

I had NO IDEA where that ad was going, and laughed uncontrollable!

[andrewducker]

So well done

[bens_dad]

6. Not sure whether this would be allowed in the UK.
Our solar panels don't let us go off grid. They export power to the grid, so there is a risk that the panels would make the grid live where an engineer was repairing a fault ...

I've read reports and adverts which suggest this could be done using your e-car as the battery.

I wonder whether Tesla has a state government deal as well as the one with PG&E
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/21/the-tesla-battery-swap-is-the-hoax-of-the-year/ ?

[armiphlage]

Automatic transfer switches can automatically prevent backfeeding when the grid is down.

[naath]

yes, but they cost a lot, I don't know anyone who has paid, but then Cambridge has fairly reliable grid power

[bens_dad]

Automatic transfer switches can automatically prevent backfeeding when the grid is down.

What is technically feasible and what the regulatory authorities allow may not be the same.

If I was liable for the safety of the engineers I would think twice before allowing a member of the public to hire someone to install a device that has to fail safe (where "fail safe" is a technical description).

[calimac]

5) The part about how home robots don't work because they're designed to do too much, but this one does because it's designed to be simple, demonstrates that this is a special case of the general rule with computer design of: stop adding needless bells and whistles!

[naath]

but my creaturen are feeping! (I could use this robot, were it available at a reasonable price in the uk)

I bet you can't predict where this advert is going before the end

[anef]

I smiled at this, and then realised that it made me feel vaguely uncomfortable. A woman is like a parking space? Hmmm.