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Weekly News Recap: April 14, 2023

Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: April 14, 2023

THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING’S DISCOVERE PROGRAM THIS YEAR CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF INSPIRING 500,000 KIDS OF ALL AGES AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS WITH FUN, INTERACTIVE ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES. (PHOTO: DISCOVERE)

Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world. -- Isaac Asimov, American writer, professor of biochemistry

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | Official Trailer (YouTube) Looks fun! "Harrison Ford returns as the legendary hero archaeologist in the highly anticipated fifth installment of the iconic “Indiana Jones” franchise [...] Directed by James Mangold, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel, with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers. John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in 1981, is once again composing the score."

  • VIDEO: This Chicago doctor donated her kidney to a woman in Virginia she’d never met (CNN) This is an unbelievable gesture of humanity and kindness. #NoWords "More than 90,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney donation, but Dr. Aleksandra Gmurczyk helped take two people off the waitlist when she donated her own kidney to Ginger, a woman she had never met, and launching a kidney-paired donation." RELATED: Chicago Doctor's Kidney Donation Sparks Chain Reaction of Kindness.

  • Cut Knife, Sask., lost its local newspaper. This sassy cat helps keeps its stories alive (CBC) CUT KNIFE STORY This just makes me smile. "Andrea Stewart can't get her cat to shut up. Tuc, her sassy orange and white manx, has one of the loudest voices in all of Cut Knife, Sask., and is well known for blabbing his opinions. 'He can say things as a cat that people could not say and get away with,' said Stewart. 'People have a hard time disagreeing with a cat.' Tuc writes op-eds — from complaining about trucks speeding too fast to feeling hopeless about the war in Ukraine — with some 'help' from Stewart. His bi-weekly column became such a staple in the Cut Knife Highway 40 Courier newspaper, Tuc gets sent his own fan mail, addressed to Mr. Tucker Stewart."

  • Victoria's teacup tree brimming with beauty — and inspiration — in spring (CBC) VICTORIA STORY Beautiful in every way. "In the spring, Victoria is famous for the blossoms that burst into colour along city streets. However, one tree that attracts the attention of both visitors and residents has more than just the bloom of pink petals on display. In the historic James Bay neighbourhood, teacups, even a teapot, hang from the branches of a plum tree on Clarence Street. Rory Palmer started hanging cups on branches of the tree outside his home a dozen years ago when his wife Nairn Wilson was coping with a breast cancer diagnosis and they needed a positive, creative outlet. But the tree was also a way for Palmer to honour his late grandmother, Eleanor Palmer, a local teacher and passionate traveller."

  • Writers are finding ways to revive the endangered art of handwriting (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Long live cursive writing! "The society holds monthly meet-ups for people to hand write cards and letters to loved ones and friends from across Canada and around the world. But more importantly, she says these social gatherings are helping people practice and reconnect with their handwriting, especially in an era of texting, voice memos and emails."

  • VIDEO: From bland to beautiful: The joy of Pysanky egg decorating (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Our family has a tradition of annually decorating Pysanky eggs. No matter your skill, they always seem to turn out to be stunningly beautiful. "Dee Murray is an accomplished artist and teacher with a passion for Pysanky eggs decorating, a process that's both meditative and challenging, requiring intricate attention to detail and a steady hand."

  • VIDEO: Puppy love: Alberta pooches' long-distance relationship garners millions of views online (CBC) ALBERTA STORY This is adorable. "Two furry influencers from Edmonton, Rollo and Sadie, have captured the hearts of millions around the world through their long-distance relationship. Rollo, a Rottweiler-shepherd mix, and Sadie, a husky and German shepherd mix, met during the pandemic when their owners moved into the same house in Edmonton. Despite Sadie's initial apprehension around other dogs, she quickly fell head over paws for Rollo, who happily reciprocated her affections, said Sadie's owner, Kayla McTeer. 'Their first meeting was pretty adorable. She rolled over and got really excited and you could tell that they just loved each other,' McTeer said. However, their two-year friendship was cut short when Rollo's owner, Caitlin Banks, moved to Calgary."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Drone technology taking off at SAIT with new training centre (Global News) CALGARY STORY Brilliant and needed. Well done SAIT. "SAIT has unveiled Canada’s only remote piloted training centre. As Craig Momney reports, SAIT is looking to fill the demand in an emerging sector."

  2. What if we refrigerated the Rideau Canal? (CBC) OTTAWA STORY You know climate change is real when we are considering artificially cooling our waterways. "Wayne Borrowman has never skated on the Rideau Canal, but he just might have a cool idea to save Ottawa's famous attraction from climate change. Borrowman is an engineer and director of research and development for CIMCO Refrigeration, a company headquartered in Burlington, Ont., that claims to have built more than half of the world's artificially cooled ice rinks."

  3. Royal Bank the No. 1 financier of fossil fuel development in the world, new report finds (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "A report from a coalition of environmental groups shows that Royal Bank of Canada was the biggest fossil fuel financier in the world last year after providing over $42 billion US in funding. The annual Banking on Climate Chaos report shows the bank's funding between 2016 and 2021 put it as the fifth-largest fossil fuel funder, but 2022 was the first year it provided the most money. In 2021, RBC was the fifth-largest financier to fossil fuel projects in the world. American bank JP Morgan was the largest financier to the industry in 2021 with just over $67 billion US, before being passed by RBC in 2022. JP Morgan financed the industry to the tune of $39.2 billion US last year."

  4. TikTok video of rat-filled alley in Vancouver spurs debate about pest control (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY Ugh, this makes my skin crawl. "Mason Burns was walking through Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Wednesday night when he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye. What he saw made him do a double-take before pulling out his phone to record it.] Dozens of rats scurried across the alley and through puddles, sniffing around several dumpsters and rooting through torn plastic bags. "I have never seen that many rats in one place," said Burns. The video was taken near Columbia and Hastings Streets on Wednesday night, and while Burns wasn't too concerned about the congregation of rodents, he thought others might be. He posted the video on TikTok, where it has since amassed over 100,000 views."

  5. Celine Dion makes musical comeback with new song Love Again (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT Welcome back Celine. "Celine Dion is making her musical comeback timed with her acting debut in a new romantic comedy. The Quebec chanteuse released Love Again on Thursday, the title track from an upcoming film where she plays a supporting role. The gentle ballad is one of five new Dion songs that appear on the film's soundtrack, which arrives on May 12. Some of the other new songs include I'll Be, Waiting On You and Love of My Life. The album also features six of her past hits, among them That's The Way It Is and It's All Coming Back to Me Now."

  6. CanadaHelps' Annual Giving Report Sounds the Alarm as 57% of Canadian Charities Are Unable to Meet the Growing Demand for Services (Global Newswire) CANADIAN STORY "The report identifies a wide range of issues and challenges relating to the state of giving in Canada and the health of the charitable sector. The unprecedented growth in demand for charitable services, compounded with inflation and revenue shortfalls, signals the emergence of severe challenges in the sector."

  7. Computing Creativity: Can A.I. Produce Art? (New York Times) "In 1992, Edward de Bono argued that 'creativity is the most important human resource of all.' But might computers have the capacity to be creative? Could artificial intelligence surpass us in even the most human of phenomena? These questions have moved to the forefront of society with the launch of ChatGPT and DALL-E, two powerful deep learning models capable of creating art, albeit heavily based on existing ideas."

  8. DiscoverE celebrates 30 years of getting kids excited about engineering (Folio) EDMONTON STORY This program started when I was in engineering school. It is an amazing program. Congrats to all. "As a child, Callie Lissinna was crazy about outer space — captivated by astronauts, space exploration, planets and galaxies. During the summer she would look for camps to help her reach for the stars. It didn’t take her long to find the University of Alberta’s DiscoverE program, which this year celebrates 30 years of inspiring 500,000 kids of all ages and cultural backgrounds with fun, interactive engineering activities. 'One thing that was really attractive was they had camps just for girls,' says Lissinna. 'I had previously participated in camps where I was the only girl, so that was definitely something that set it apart.'"

  9. Mad Magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee dead at 102 (CBC) For lovers of this magazine everywhere. RIP Mr. Jaffee. Your wit and humour inspired generations. "Al Jaffee, Mad magazine's award-winning cartoonist and ageless wise guy who delighted millions of kids with the sneaky fun of the Fold-In and the snark of 'Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,' has died. He was 102. Jaffee died Monday in Manhattan from multiple organ failure, according to his granddaughter, Fani Thomson. He had retired at the age of 99. Mad magazine, with its wry, sometimes pointed send-ups of politics and culture, was essential reading for teens and preteens during the baby-boom era and inspiration for countless future comedians. Few of the magazine's self-billed 'Usual Gang of Idiots' contributed as much — and as dependably — as the impish, bearded cartoonist Jaffee."

  10. The BBC sent 10 people to B.C. to travel around the province on public transit. It didn't go well (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY "A BBC reality TV show aired last month that showcased the beauty of British Columbia — while also constantly pointing out how frustrating the province's transportation system can be. Race Across the World began its third season in B.C., with five teams competing in an Amazing Race-style journey to get to St. John's, N.L. The first episode saw competitors dropped in Vancouver's Stanley Park and told to head to Tlell — a community on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off B.C.'s North Coast, around 800 kilometres to the northwest — without any access to phones, airplanes, or car rentals. The result? Chaos."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Action First, Doom Later: What Octopuses Can Teach Us About Climate Resilience (Gizmodo) I love the tagline. It is time for action, we can talk doom later.

  2. 5 ways to be a manager that people don’t want to quit (Fast Company) These are not rocket science but the are so deceptively simple that they are often overlooked.

  3. How big is the Internet, and how are we using it now? (icef Monitor) Some very interesting (distressing?) stats. Turns out, globally, we spend just over 1/3 of our day on our smartphone. And...almost 70% of that time is on social media or watching videos.

  4. 4 TRENDS TRANSFORMING ADVERTISING, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT (AdAge) Finally, data privacy is a top trend.

  5. Yeah, Is it just me or is Bing pretty freaking cool. (Jillanne) I never thought I would see the words Bing and cool in the same sentence.

  6. A Practical Guide to Virtuous Living: Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues (Better Humans) He was an amazing man. I have regularly checked in on and learned something new and important from his life and beliefs.

  7. 25 of the strangest ancient sea monsters (Live Science) Creepy and cool.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Harvard to rename school after top Republican donor following $300m gift (The Guardian) "Harvard University will rename its graduate school of arts and sciences after the billionaire hedge fund executive and Republican mega-donor Kenneth Griffin [...] after a new $300m contribution brought Griffin’s total support of his alma mater to more than half a billion dollars."

  2. Late Alumna Leaves $30M Gift to U of Mary Washington (NBC) #PlannedGiving "The University of Mary Washington is getting an enormous boost to its undergraduate science and technology programs with a donation from an alum who credited the school with fostering her love of science at a time few women were in the field. Irene Piscopo Rodgers, class of 1959, sent in her first $50 donation decades ago. Her giving grew over the years, as did her prominence in science and technology. When she died last summer, the university learned her estate was donating $30 million."

  3. BMO’s $2 million donation to University of Saskatchewan to accelerate research critical to the future of food in Canada (USask) SASKATOON STORY "Critical research into regenerative and digital agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan will be accelerated thanks to a $2 million donation from BMO. The donation will support two initiatives within the College of Agriculture and Bioresources: the BMO Soil Analytical Laboratory and the Jarislowsky and BMO Research Chair in Regenerative Agriculture."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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