Weekly News Recap: October 28, 2022

Weekly News Recap: October 28, 2022

Avenue Magazine announces Calgary's Top 40 Under 40. Image: Avenue Calgary

Every man over forty is a scoundrel. -- George Bernard Shaw

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Tired of laundry folding? AI breaks the robot folding speed record (Ars Technica) I actually love folding laundry but I am clearly in the minority. "While it's possible that someone out there enjoys folding clothes, it's probably not a beloved pastime. Accordingly, researchers at UC Berkeley's AUTOLAB have developed a new robotic method of folding garments at record speed (for a robot) called SpeedFolding."

  • Archery World Record: Most arrows through a keyhole (digg) #Impressive "Archer Lars Andersen set a new Guiness World Record for the most consecutive arrows shot through a keyhole (less than 10 mm wide.)"

  • ‘Momentous’: Actor Anna May Wong to be first Asian American on U.S. currency (PBS) #LoveThis "More than 60 years after Anna May Wong became the first Asian American woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the pioneering actor has coined another first, quite literally. With quarters bearing her face and manicured hand set to start shipping Monday, per the U.S. Mint, Wong will be the first Asian American to grace U.S. currency."

  • The world’s energy situation is not as terrible as you might expect (Ars Technica) "The past several years have seen a lot of unexpected turbulence in the global energy market. Lockdowns during the early pandemic response caused energy use to plunge in 2020, but carbon emissions soared as the economy rebounded in 2021. Early 2022, however, saw Russia invade Ukraine and attempt to use its energy exports as leverage over European countries, leading to worries about a resurgence in coal use and a corresponding surge in emissions. As 2022 draws to a close, however, there are many indications that things aren't going to be all that bad. Coal use has risen, but not as much as feared, and the booming renew."

  • 'A joy for him': Boy with cerebral palsy can now walk and play using this exoskeleton (Euronews) #Joy "Eight-year-old David, who suffers from cerebral palsy, has difficulty moving his body and has relied on a wheelchair for years. The neurological condition also caused him to become deaf. He communicates with his parents in sign language. Now he enjoys playing with a ball and drawing as much as other kids his age - thanks to a new robotic exoskeleton."

  • U.S. military suicides drop as leaders push mental health programs (PBS) "Suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year, according to a new Pentagon report and preliminary data for 2022."

  • How does a wildlife photographer strike comedy gold? Know-how, patience — and lots of luck (CBC) CANADIAN STORY I love goofy animal shots. "Wildlife photographer Jennifer Hadley's goal is to show wild animals 'living their lives and being who they are.' Sometimes, that means capturing a creature's inherent grace, majesty and ferocity. Other times, it means showing them being downright goofy."

  • Beachcombers television series to return to screens as animated show (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY Everyone in Canada of a certain age is smiling right now. #RelicLives "An animated version of B.C.-based show The Beachcombers is in the works. Nick Orchard, who worked on the original show as the production manager, made the announcement during the show's 50th anniversary celebration on Oct. 1 at Molly's Reach, a cafe in Gibsons that was regularly featured in the show and still operates today."

  • Designing high performance running shoes great fit for U of Sask. engineering grad (CBC) SASKATOON STORY #Congrats "Pinder was a lead engineer on one of Adidas latest shoes, the Adizero Prime X Strung. She has also started her own company, BareWear, that has developed indoor footwear made for people who use orthotics."

  • 'I had my mushroom eyes on': Cyclist finds elusive giant puffball near Haines, Alaska (CBC) Mushroom lovers rejoice! "If Liz Landes hadn't spent so much time foraging for mushrooms this year near Haines, Alaska, she might have missed the mycological discovery of the season. [...] It was a rare giant puffball — a round mushroom so big and meaty that those lucky enough to find them often cut them into steaks."

  • Rescue team and whale's acrobatics help save it from entanglement in B.C. (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY #MyHeart "A 10-metre-long humpback whale entangled in fishing gear in British Columbia's Strait of Georgia has been rescued with the help of a team of experts, a drone, a satellite tag, concerned citizens and an acrobatic twist from the captive itself. The impressive manoeuvring was accomplished with an even more impressive audience looking on. The trapped animal had a group of companion whales swimming by its side the entire time."

  • Arizona farm gives refuge from pain, for man and beast alike (AP News) This is a beautiful story but a quick word of warning. This story deals with the death of children and may be triggering. "The world turns away from stories like theirs because it’s too hard to imagine burying a child. So mourning people from around the globe journey to this patch of farmland just outside the red rocks of Sedona. There is no talk at Selah Carefarm of ending the pain of loss, just of building the emotional muscle to handle it. Here, the names of the dead can be spoken and the agony of loss can be shown. No one turns away."

  • He's 'nerdy,' 'passionate,' and 'uniquely Warren': Meet the Calgary Flames' new organist (CBC) CALGARY STORY I love that we keep this tradition of having a human involved in this role. "From his seat in the Calgary Flames organ loft, Warren Tse has a panoramic view of the Scotiabank Saddledome, and of the fans below. He monitors the vibe of the crowd as the players skate, and when the whistle blares, he gets to work. Fingers smacking the keyboard in front of him, an organ version of Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi rings out over the arena's speakers. Seamlessly, Tse transitions to a chorus of Let's Go Flames before the play begins again."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Top 40 Under 40 2022 (Avenue Calgary) CALGARY STORY Congratulations to all with a special mention to those we have had the chance to work with and alongside including disability advocate and new dad Sean Crump, YMCA Calgary CEO Shannon Doram, and arts leader and all-round cool guy David Leinster.

  2. Canadian team wins prestigious award for work unravelling some of the mysteries of our universe (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #SpaceNerds #LoveThem "At first glance, it looks like anything but a telescope. Maybe a half-pipe for incredibly ambitious skateboarders, but a telescope? Definitely not. This unique eye into the cosmos — which had its first light on Sept. 7, 2017 — is called the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), and is located near Penticton, B.C. It has already shed light on some of the most mysterious objects in the universe, called fast radio bursts, to name but one accomplishment. Now, the CHIME team of roughly 100 has been awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada's (NSERC) Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering, which includes a $250,000 grant."

  3. Bryan Trottier reflects on his journey from small-town Saskatchewan boy to 7-time NHL champion (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY Bryan Trottier broke my heart more than a few times in the 1980s when the New York Islanders beat out the Edmonton Oilers for a Stanley Cup or two. "When a young Bryan Trottier watched the legendary Jean Béliveau lift the Stanley Cup following one of his 10 championship wins with the Montreal Canadiens, he knew what he wanted to do in life."

  4. World 'nowhere near' hitting emissions targets, UN says (CBC) #Ugh "The United Nations says current pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on course to blow past the limit for global warming countries agreed to in the 2015 Paris climate accord. The United Nations climate office said Wednesday that its latest estimate based on 193 national emissions targets would see temperatures rise to 2.5 C above pre-industrial averages by the end of the century. That's a full degree higher than the ambitious goal set in the Paris pact to limit warming by 1.5 C ."

  5. Climate change has broad effects on health-care systems, medical journal says (CBC) #DoubleUgh "The Lancet concludes that, worldwide, extreme heat is already emphasizing the effects of heart and lung diseases, worsening pregnancy outcomes, disrupting sleep, increasing injury-related death and limiting people's capacity to work and exercise. Infectious diseases such as malaria have a longer season to spread. Heat-related deaths increased by 68 per cent between 2017-2021, compared to 2000-2004. Almost two-thirds of countries globally saw more days of very high or extremely high fire danger from 2001-2004 to 2018-2021."

  6. Canada 'likely' headed into recession but will fare better than many other economies, says Carney (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney says Canada likely will head into a recession next year but will fare better than many other countries and bounce back faster because of its strong economic fundamentals. Carney made the comments before the Senate committee on banking, commerce and the [economy.]" RELATED: The state of Canada's economy and whether a recession is a 'necessary evil'.

  7. LinkedIn experiment changed job prospects for millions — and it raises red flags: privacy experts (CBC) This is not cool LinkedIn. "The study had relied on data collected through routine experiments for the sake of user experience, called A/B testing, where random subsets of users were suggested stronger or weaker ties without LinkedIn's knowledge of the effects on job opportunities. But that also means the LinkedIn users whose algorithms were inundated with 'close contacts' — those with 20 or more mutual friends — connected with fewer opportunities through the networking site."

  8. David Suzuki is retiring from The Nature of Things to focus on activism and calling out 'BS' (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "After 44 years of hosting CBC's The Nature of Things, David Suzuki's tenure will be coming to an end. While the upcoming season will be his last, that doesn't necessarily mean the public will see or hear less from the iconic — and sometimes controversial — Canadian environmentalist."

  9. Kanye West dropped by talent agency following antisemitic comments (CBC) "The rapper formerly known as Kanye West has been dropped by his talent agency, and a completed documentary about him has been shelved, in the wake of his recent slew of antisemitic remarks. The rapper, now known as Ye, has been dropped by Creative Artists Agency. News of the move, on Monday, came one day after the head of his old agency, UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer, condemned Ye in a companywide memo denouncing antisemitism, and in lockstep with word of the scrapped documentary."

  10. Why the price of vegetable oil has spiked more than other food items (CBC) "A stroll through a grocery store can be a stressful experience these days, given the hike in the price of many foods. And among the many items that have gotten more expensive in the past year, vegetable oil tops the list. Between August 2021 and August 2022, a three-litre container of vegetable oil increased from $8.45 to $12.01."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Public Policy, Credit Cards, and Unintended Consequences (AFP Global) Little changes often have big impacts. The credit card change by Mastercard is one.

  2. Types of Shoes: 19 Different Types of Footwear. (Viper Kesare) This is for the shoe nerds (includes me) out there. You're welcome.

  3. Have a better day and find time for everything (B C) There is actually enough time.

  4. How To Consume Courses Effectively (New Writers Welcome) Some heretical advice in here like "don't take notes during a lecture". I suspect this advice might actually be onto something.

  5. Design is not a formula, it’s an odyssey: replacing the Double Diamond (UX Design) Design is NOT a linear process.

  6. Nancy Pelosi’s Morning “Vice” — Why It Makes Sense (Illumination) I love this woman even more.

  7. The Most Useful Word Tool You’ve Probably Never Used (The Writing Cooperative) I used it all the time. It can often help me break through writers block.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. By-donation admission at Remai Modern thanks to $10 million pledge (Global News) SASKATOON STORY Thanks again to the Remai family. "In time for the museum’s fifth anniversary, the foundation has committed $10 million to support by-donation admission for the next 20 years. Remai Modern has been working on a five-year strategic plan, speaking with over 700 individuals about improvements for the museum."

  2. Wildlife Crossing Project on 101 Freeway Gets $5M Donation from OC Couple (mynewsLA.com) #MorePlease "Philanthropists Joann and Frank Randall of Newport Beach have made a $5 million donation to the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing project near Agoura Hills [...] The crossing will span over 10 lanes of the Ventura (101) Freeway in Liberty Canyon when completed in 2025, and aims to provide a connection between the small population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and the larger and genetically diverse populations to the north."

  3. Hansjörg Wyss commits $350 million for Harvard Wyss Institute (Philanthropy News Digest) #Wow "Harvard University has announced a $350 million gift from Giving Pledger Hansjörg Wyss, (MBA’65) to support the mission of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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