A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
From blastoff, to the first lunar orbit in 53 years, to splashdown, CBC News breaks down the biggest moments of the historic Artemis II mission in three minutes.
Why are we going back to the moon with the Artemis Missions? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explore the history of our trips to the moon during the Apollo Missions and why the US is finally going back.
Tyson and Nice were as entertaining as they were informative. They explained why we went to the Moon in the first place, why we're returningnow, and how both Apollo and Artemis worked. Good work and funny, too!
Before Canada was even a country, some might say it was a company. That company was the iconic, Hudson's Bay Company, a brand which started as a fur trading post in 1670, then to a big box, department store retailer by the 20th century. But after 3 and a half centuries in business, the cornerstone brand has met it's end. Join me in this special episode of Bankrupt to find out how such a notable and beloved retailer ultimately filed for bankruptcy.
I have fond memories of shopping at The Bay, first when my family went to Canada on vacation during the early 1970s and then with my ex-girlfriend and her kids, who was living in Canada while I was dating her. In fact, my family was in Canada for the Hudson Bay Company's 300th birthday and ten-year-old me was impressed that any institution in North America was that old. News of Hudson's Bay going out of business after 355 years saddened me, almost as much as it did Jake. Of course, private equity played a big part in the demise of the company. If anything could kill something this venerable, private equity could. Combined with aggressive over-expansion, selling off a key asset (Zeller's, which is a story of its own), the COVID-19 pandemic, competition from Walmart and Amazon, and changing consumer habits, and the result was deadly.
After more than 350 years in business, Canada's oldest company is teetering on the brink of collapse — but who’s to blame? CBC’s Eli Glasner puts three key suspects under the department store interrogation light.
CBC didn't actually assign blame, but I'll agree with Jake; the owners, responding to incentives that are indifferent to the success of the business, just like they were indifferent to the cultural and historical significance of the company, were most at fault. I wish I were surprised; I've seen this before, beginning with KB Toys and Toys R Us. Ugh.
President Trump wants to ditch the penny, a move that some experts say is long overdue. Advocates of the least-valuable coin say it should stick around. WSJ examines the question of whether or not it makes sense to get rid of the penny.
The penny has always been assigned a hardness of around 3. But we have conducted tests and found this is not true.
The penny has changed in composition over the years since 1909 when the first Lincoln cent was issued. Its composition was specified as 95 percent copper and 5 percent tin plus zinc, an alloy classified as bronze. Except for the wartime year of 1943, pennies were bronze from 1909 until 1962. Pennies for the following 20 years were copper and zinc, technically brass rather than bronze. And in 1982 the proportions were reversed so that pennies today are 97.5 percent zinc surrounded by a thin, thin copper shell.
...
The Indian head penny had the same nominal composition as the Lincoln penny, with zinc and tin combined making up 5 percent, but we suspect that the older penny had a little more tin. Maybe one penny isn't a fair test.
Each of these changes made pennies cheaper to produce. To make them even cheaper, the U.S. would have to make them out of steel, like we did in 1943. Those became collectors items, but I don't know if most Americans would accept such a different looking coin when we're not in a world war. It might be easier to stop minting them.
President Donald Trump wants the U.S. Mint to stop making new pennies, but is the one-cent coin really more trouble than it's worth? Andrew Chang explains.
Based on the Canadian experience, ceasing to mint pennies might actually be a good idea. Chalk that up to a stuck clock being right twice a day, and Hoover Cleveland is definitely a stuck clock. The other issue he might be right on? Ending Daylight Saving Time, which will be a subject for next month. In the meantime, stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature. Awards season, anyone?
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman received the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work on the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. The two found a way to create a vaccine that would get past the body’s defenses but still prompt the immune system to make antibodies to fight the disease. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell shares more.
The last eight years were also the eight warmest recorded.
Since 2021 was the sixth warmest year on record, that means the planet has continued to warm despite last year's continuing La Niña. Even more alarming was that the past eight years have been the eight warmest years on record. Yikes!
NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad joins ABC News Live to discuss the agency’s new climate report, which concludes 2022 was the third-costliest year for the U.S., among other alarming findings.
The migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus), known for its spectacular annual journey of up to 4,000 kilometres across the Americas, has entered the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM as Endangered, threatened by habitat destruction and climate change...
The Endangered migratory monarch butterfly is a subspecies of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The native population, known for its migrations from Mexico and California in the winter to summer breeding grounds throughout the United States and Canada, has shrunk by between 22% and 72% over the past decade. Legal and illegal logging and deforestation to make space for agriculture and urban development has already destroyed substantial areas of the butterflies’ winter shelter in Mexico and California, while pesticides and herbicides used in intensive agriculture across the range kill butterflies and milkweed, the host plant that the larvae of the monarch butterfly feed on.
Climate change has significantly impacted the migratory monarch butterfly and is a fast-growing threat; drought limits the growth of milkweed and increases the frequency of catastrophic wildfires, temperature extremes trigger earlier migrations before milkweed is available, while severe weather has killed millions of butterflies.
The western population is at greatest risk of extinction, having declined by an estimated 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to 1,914 butterflies between the 1980s and 2021. The larger eastern population also shrunk by 84% from 1996 to 2014. Concern remains as to whether enough butterflies survive to maintain the populations and prevent extinction.
“It is difficult to watch monarch butterflies and their extraordinary migration teeter on the edge of collapse, but there are signs of hope. So many people and organisations have come together to try and protect this butterfly and its habitats. From planting native milkweed and reducing pesticide use to supporting the protection of overwintering sites and contributing to community science, we all have a role to play in making sure this iconic insect makes a full recovery,” said Anna Walker, member of the IUCN SSC Butterfly and Moth Specialist Group and Species Survival Officer at the New Mexico BioPark Society, who led the monarch butterfly assessment.
Monarch butterflies teetering "on the edge of collapse," added to endangered species list. The migratory monarch is threatened by habitat loss, pesticide and herbicide use, and climate change, but "there are signs of hope!"
"Warranted but precluded" — maybe the IUCN listing will change the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mind. In the meantime, people are taking action independent of government, as shown by two videos. The first comes from CBC News, Monarch butterflies now an endangered species.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has added the migratory monarch butterfly to its list of endangered species.
The Canadian government has not yet listed the Monarch as endangered, either. Maybe the IUCN listing will change its mind, too.
The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
That was a popular title and description, as WXYZ used both for its own video. Sorry, no embed, as WXYZ disabled it.
The International Space Station has been orbiting above us for the last 20 years. It’s been home to astronauts from more than a dozen different countries — but mostly Americans and Russians. The two former “Space Race” countries control the main parts of the station. The science done there has required close collaboration and so it’s been largely insulated from politics on Earth.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may change that. The two countries have agreed to cooperate through 2024… but after that, the future of the space station is uncertain.
So far, Putin's war on Ukraine has not had major effects in space, but that could change if the Russians don't extend their involvement in the ISS beyond 2024. It could speed up the decommissioning of the space station, which is currently expected to happen by 2030. At least there are plans for commercial space stations associated with NASA beyond 2030 along with other projects like Artemis.
NASA has launched a spacecraft that will reach an asteroid in 10 months and smash into it — on purpose — to see if it's possible to change the space rock's orbit.
I'm looking forward to the results of DART's collision with Dimorphos later this year. I expect I'll have an update on the mission for Asteroid Day and again after it happens.
Grammy-award winning artist Eddie Vedder's "Invincible" video collaboration with NASA is inspired by our Artemis I Moon mission.
The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft – the only human-rated spacecraft in the world capable of deep-space travel – are planned to lift off from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the uncrewed Artemis I mission around the Moon. Through the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence, and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. This video includes footage of various prelaunch tests, along with animations of launch, the orbit around the Moon, and the return to Earth.
Last year, I featured Lindsey Stirling. This year, Eddie Vedder. Stirling didn't surprise me; she's something of a geek goddess. I had no idea Vedder was this into space!
I wrote that Forever 21 was facing bankruptcy just three weeks ago. Today, Forever 21 declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. WXYZ reported on this tale of the Retail Apocalypse on location from the Oakland Mall in Troy, Michigan.
The chain said it will file a motion to close up to 178 of its more than 800 stores, though it said in a letter to customers that "the decisions as to which domestic stores will be closing are ongoing, pending the outcome of continued conversations with landlords."
WXYZ excels at person on the street interviews, which in this case show that the regular shoppers had little to no idea that one of their favorite stores was in trouble. At least they seem as concerned about the employees as they do about losing their place to go for "fast fashion."
Fashion retailer Forever 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. to restructure. The company said it plans to discontinue operations at most of its international locations, including Canada.
The customers outside of the Oakland Mall location may worry about their local store closing. Forever 21's customers in Canada know their store will close.
CNBC's Courtney Reagan and Lauren Thomas, CNBC.com retail reporter, join the "Power Lunch" team to discuss brick-and-mortar stores and where millennials and gen-Z are shopping.
The panel did a good job of at least touching on all the issues and major players in less than three minutes, although I noticed that the host quickly diverted the discussion away from sustainability when it was brought up. Instead, she was more interested in the possible winning companies to invest in than a major cause of Forever 21 failing. Things that make me say "hmm."
I promise to keep following this story as it develops. In the meantime, stay tuned for the first entry of October, which begins in a few hours.
I will describe the history of how this post gained its status over the jump, but first I offer a case study of electoral reform involving proportional representation, a referendum in British Columbia, Canada held last November.
CBC News posted a series of videos to YouTube that explain the possible reforms as well as the issues surrounding them and the outcome of the election. I begin with Electoral reform referendum in B.C. | Power & Politics.
British Columbia is holding a referendum to determine whether the province should change voting from the current first-past-the-post system to a form of proportional representation.
That made for a good overview of the issue, including contrasting how Canada handles drawing districts, which are called ridings in Canada, with how the U.S. does, which produces gerrymandering. It also shows which political parties in the province are on which sides of the issues.
The CBC uploaded more detailed explanations of the problems with the current system and how each of the alternatives would work. First past the post vs. proportional representation describes the advantages and disadvantages of first past the post, the current system in the U.S. and Canada, with those of proportional representation.
B.C. is hold[ing] a referendum on electoral reform. CBC's Justin McElroy explains the difference between the current system, first past the post, and proportional representation.
Now answer questions about each of the proportional representation systems on the British Columbia ballot, beginning with What is dual member proportional?
Dual Member Proportional is one of the three proportional representation systems that British Columbians can choose from in the 2018 electoral reform referendum. CBC's Justin McElroy explains how it works.
Mixed member proportional is one of the three proportional representation systems that British Columbians can choose from in the 2018 electoral reform referendum. CBC's Justin McElroy explains how it works.
Rural urban-proportional is one of the three proportional representation systems that British Columbians can choose from in the 2018 electoral reform referendum. CBC's Justin McElroy explains how it works.
British Columbia will...keep its first-past-the-post system for provincial elections, after 61.3 per cent of those who voted in a referendum rejected proportional representation.
So much for this attempt to reform elections in North America by replacing first past the post with proportional representation. Still, the people have spoken, so first past the post remains, at least for now. That written, I expect the idea will be proposed again. Who knows, it might even be adopted.
The Nobel Laureates are announced at the beginning of October each year. A couple of months later, on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, they receive their prizes from the Swedish King – a Nobel diploma, a medal, and 10 million Swedish crowns per prize. All Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. (When Alfred Nobel was alive, Norway and Sweden were united under one monarch, until 1905 when Norway became an independent kingdom with its own king.)
The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Oct. 5 to Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, and Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist. Both have worked to place the spotlight on ending sexual violence in armed conflicts.
Congratulations to both, but especially Murad, who I consider to be a hero in the struggle against the Daesh AKA the Sith Jihad.
Next, the winners of the Economics Prize, which isn't really a Nobel Prize, but is important nonetheless. I have particular reason to celebrate this year, as the Financial Times reported Nobel economics prize winners change how we think about growth.
Technological and environmental change have transformed economies. The FT's Martin Sandbu says next time you marvel at your app or worry about extreme weather give a thought to Paul Romer and William Nordhaus, the winners of this year’s Nobel prize in economics.
Technology and environment in economics — these are definitely on-topic for my blog! I should probably examine Nordhaus and his ideas in depth in a future entry, as I consider myself a supporter of the field he founded, environmental economics.
There will be no Nobel Prize for Literature awarded this year, because the organization that decides the winner is dealing with a scandal over sexual assault allegations. The Swedish Academy says it will announce the 2018 winner along with the 2019 winner next year.
I did not plan on closing the circle by making the first and last videos about sexual violence; it just worked out that way. Still, I find it grimly satisfying that the Literature Prize selection committee has to follow the lead of the Peace Prize in fighting against sexual violence. May they clean up their act enough to be able to award two prizes next year. one for 2018 and another for 2019.
Famed British naturalist Sir David Attenborough told the UN climate conference in Poland that the "collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizons" if no urgent action is taken against global warming. He was joined by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger in calling for change at the COP 24 United Nations climate change conference.
The broadcaster David Attenborough told delegates at a UN climate summit: 'If we don't take action the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.' The naturalist was chosen to represent the world’s people at the summit in Poland.
That's an appropriately scary pronouncement, one that I couldn't have said better myself. I hope the conference attendees take heed.
Arnold Schwarzenegger says he wishes he could travel back in time like the cyborg he played in "The Terminator" so he could stop fossil fuels from being used.
"If we would've never started in that direction and used other technology, we'd be much better off," the actor and former California governor said December 3 at the start of a U.N. climate conference in Poland. "The biggest evil is fossil fuels: it's coal, it's gasoline, it's the natural gas," he told conference delegates.
Schwarzenegger also insisted that the United States was "still in" an international accord to curb global warming despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to walk away from the agreement. Calling Trump "meshugge" - Yiddish for "crazy" - for abandoning the accord, Schwarzenegger said the 2015 agreement has widespread support at the local and state levels even if the federal government isn't on board.
Now, that's both a Hollywood and a Crazy Eddie solution to the problem. I approve the sentiment, even though I know it's scientifically impossible.
Aretha Franklin died in Detroit yesterday morning, something that people here had known was coming for days. Franklin was a Detroit icon whose songs were adopted by both the Civil Rights and women's movements and she was also someone honored by four U.S. Presidents of both parties for her musical achievements. ABC News featured all of those in its video obituary, 'The Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin dies at the age of 76.
She was an 18-time Grammy winner and the first woman to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
That was a beautiful tribute that captured all the public highlights of her life.
Detroit is in mourning following the death of Aretha Franklin, who was to many, a hometown hero and synonymous with the city. CBC News went to Detroit, to find out how her loss is affecting residents.
Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence remembers Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul.
Through Lawrence, I can claim two degrees of separation from Franklin. Not only does Lawrence represent the congressional district across the street from my house, I also sat right behind her at Oakland County Democratic Party meetings when she was still Mayor of Southfield. But enough bragging, as this is about Franklin, not me.
Happy World Water Day! Last year, I wrote the following about my non-observance of the holiday and what I intended to do about it.
World Water Day is exactly the kind of holiday I should be celebrating on this blog, but it falls right when I've been doing statistics for the past six years...Here's to my remembering to observe World Water Day on time beginning next year, delaying the statistics post to March 23rd. Water is more important than meta.
Every drop of water is on an endless journey through the sky, the soil and streams… …through our lives… and back into nature. In many places, our environment is damaged, leaving us with polluted water or no water at all. Nature is green infrastructure A system supplying us with the water we need to survive and thrive. Healthy forests and fields prevent soil and chemicals being washed into rivers. Lakes, wetlands and floodplains store, purify and control water. This World Water Day, explore nature-based solutions to our water challenges. World Water Day 2018 The answer is in nature.
Last year, I focused on the Flint Water Crisis.* This year, it's the water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa. Follow over the jump for three videos from CBC's The National about this water story.
PM Justin Trudeau conceded that Canada is flawed and drew attention to the current plight of Canada's Indigenous people in his second-ever speech before the UN General Assembly today.
While it is not the most positive portrayal of Canada, Trudeau is at least willing to own up to his country's faults, as few as they are, and is interested in rectifying them, not only for the First Nations people directly affected, but to enhance Canada's standing in the world. Canada should be thankful for that, as the U.S. currently doesn't have a leader like that.
From astronaut to Governor General: Julie Payette journeyed to space twice, but her next mission at Rideau Hall is expected to come with its own kind of challenges.
Canadians should be thankful to have someone as accomplished as their head of state. I wish we had a former astronaut as President!
Trudeau's remarks about the plight of the First Nations in Canada, reminds me that it's also Indigenous People's Day or Native American Day here in the U.S. It's also a day to celebrate the real first European to land in North America, Leif Erikson. Follow over the jump for more on both from National Day Calendar.
As President Donald Trump reached the 100th day of his presidency, tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C., for the People’s Climate March, with similar demonstrations around the country. Protesters called for environmental protections even as Trump has proposed cutting funding for science programs and signed an executive order to expand offshore drilling for oil in the Arctic.
PBS mentioned that there were marches in cities across the country. They were too small in their scope. There were marches around the world, including in Canada, where CBC's The National included footage from Canadian demonstrations in Climate change protests against Trump's policies.
Marches held in cities around the world Saturday to urge governments to act on climate change.
Welcome to two of the lessons I teach my students, "everything is connected to everything else" and "there is no away." What the U.S. does affects Canada and vice versa.
Follow over the jump for my story about my joining a sister march in Michigan.
I twicepromised that "I'm planning on posting a first-hand account of tomorrow's March for Science in Ann Arbor sometime next week,", just like I did for the Women'sMarch. That will happen later this week. Today, I bring reports on the big picture of the march from two of the sources I used last Saturday, CBC's The National and Futurism. First, Futurism's The March for Science Spread A Clear Message: Science Is For All.
The March for Science was a huge success. Hundreds of thousands marched in 600+ cities. Here are the highlights!
Scientists and their supporters marched in hundreds of cities around the world Saturday, protesting against proposed U.S. government funding cuts to scientific research.
I'm pleasantly surprised to find that the role of science in uncovering the Flint Water Crisis was featured in the main march. I barely recall that being mentioned in Ann Arbor. On the other hand, both videos show all the creative and correctly spelled signs, which Ann Arbor's march had in abundance. I'll be sure to mention those when I write about my experience last Saturday. Stay tuned.
While Tax Day is actually tomorrow, April 15th is still traditionally considered the deadline to file federal income taxes. Since it also fell on a Saturday and the U.S. has a President who refuses to release his tax returns, it was also the perfect opportunity for Americans to march in favor of his doing so. CBC's The National reports Thousands of protesters call on Trump to release taxes showing several of these demonstrations.
Demonstrators held 'tax marches' in cities across the country Saturday, calling for U.S. president to release the last 10 years of his tax returns.
I love the Trump chicken, which first appeared in Happy Year of the Fire Rooster! It's the perfect symbol for him on this issue.
The National didn't mention it, but there were protests in Michigan, too. The Detroit News listed marches in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Farmington, Hamtramck, Grand Rapids, Pentwater and Marquette. The largest was in Ann Arbor, which had nearly 1,000 more attendees than Detroit. Follow over the jump for videos from MLive covering the protest.
AHappyFoodDay to my readers! To celebrate the occasion, which is also my wedding anniversary, I revisit my motivation for writing Cracked on the Food Pyramid--"I'm showing Food, Inc. to my students this week." I continued by writing "I'll have more to say about the movie on Monday," which elicited the following comment from Infidel753.
I'll be looking forward to that. It figures the official recommendations about food would reflect lobbying and food-industry profits more than actual nutrition.
My response was brief.
Thanks for your anticipation. It means I'll be sure to have something interesting to say. And, yes, it figures.
Before I try to fulfill that promise, I'm listing what I've already covered about the movie to produce a guide to entries with answers, much as I've done for "The End of Suburbia" and "An Inconvenient Truth." That may not be an interesting thing to do for Infidel753, but it will certainly be helpful to my students.
CoDominion news from Reuters and Al Jazeera: Questions 21 and 22 about Smithfield, the world's largest producer and processor of pork, which has been sold to a Chinese firm, but no answers.
"We eat a lot of oil": Answer to question 28, along with answers to questions 14-16 from "The End of Suburbia." This is the other blog entry I pass out to my students.
With 36,000 restaurants in 119 countries serving 69 million customers a day, it's an accepted fact that McDonald's holds enormous sway over consumers' eating habits, food production and prices.
McDonald's is now the biggest purchaser in the world of beef, pork, potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes, and the second-biggest buyer of chicken, after KFC.
When it decided to add apple slices to Happy Meals a few years ago, the company quickly became the biggest buyer of the shiny red fruit in the United States.
Analysts expect the chain to soon become a power in kale as well, if its tests with the leafy vegetable – reportedly under way in Canada – are successful.
Indeed, every tweak to its menu has a butterfly effect, sending ripples that reverberate all the way to the dinner table, from the price of your meal to how it gets to your plate.
When my students ask about how McDonalds became a major purchaser of apples, I usually cite their apple pies. Now I'll be sure to add apple slices in Happy Meals to the explanation. Welcome to blogging as professional development!
Our maple leaf was raised over Parliament Hill in 1965, but not without controversy. Reg Sherren tells us the little known story of how the flag came to be.
The Canadian Flag turns 50 on Sunday. Reg Sherren meets one of its biggest fans.
Cool shades, dude.
As I wrote in the very first Canada Day post on this blog, "Welcome to the first of three patriotic holidays I observe as part of my blogging. Hey, I can't be all doom all the time!"
After landing in NYC, this plane is now retired and apparently not a moment too soon. Piccard and company may be done with this particular prototype, but they are not done with solar powered flight. They plan a more ambitious round-the-world flight in 2015
Who says there are no world records left to set? On Monday, two Swiss pilots flew from Abu Dhabi to Oman in a solar-powered airplane — the initial leg of an epic effort to complete the very first solar flight around the world.
The ultralight plane, the Solar Impulse 2, features 17,000 solar cells on top of its 236-foot wings, as well as four lithium-polymer batteries that store up energy during the day to power the craft at night. It builds on a previous solar plane, the Solar Impulse 1, which successfully crossed the United States.
The two pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, will take turns flying this new craft as it goes from city to city across the entire globe over the next five months.
