Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Climate Change, Democracy, Existentialism Ref: https://litkicks.com/ingatsbystracks/, In Gatsby’s Tracks: Locating the Valley of Ashes in a 1924 Photo. The ash heap was a metaphor for the rot and decay of modern life as the author depicted it in the novel: The spot where Fitzgerald had a vision would soon becomeContinue reading “Gatsby and Ash Heaps…”
Author Archives: reginaldgoodwin
Santa Ana Winds…
The Palisades Fire on January 7, 2025. ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo Topics: Civilization, Climate Change, Existentialism “People have changed the climate of the world. Now they’re waiting for the old days to come back.”—Lauren Olamina, “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler I called my cousin, our family historian last night, to checkContinue reading “Santa Ana Winds…”
Urban Climate Science…
CROCUS researchers crossed Chicago’s Michigan Avenue as they collected data on how buildings, streets, and greenspaces impact temperature and air quality. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.) Topics: Civilization, Climate Change, Environment, Global Warming, Thermodynamics CROCUS’s Urban Canyon campaign captured data on heat islands and air quality while also helping scientists understand how to conduct aContinue reading “Urban Climate Science…”
The Matter of Methane…
Image source: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/methane-molecule Topics: Chemistry, Civilization, Climate Change, Entropy, Environment, Global Warming The “good news”: you can download the PDF for free by registering an email, or read the report from the National Academies of Science and Medicine here. Citizenship takes work and effort to be informed. It would be nice to carry on aContinue reading “The Matter of Methane…”
Dark or Lumpy…
An artist’s impression of the cosmic web (Volker Springel/Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics/et al) Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Dark Matter, Einstein, Research Q: Why does science seem to always change its mind? A: Because, the enterprise of science is about discovery, and a lot of discoveries happen when you have better instrumentation, apply The ScientificContinue reading “Dark or Lumpy…”
Post-Trauma Citizens…
Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Democracy, Existentialism September 11, 2001, was on a Tuesday. We were a year from a contested election decided by the Supreme Court. We were scrambling to make sense of the senseless, and trying mightily, not to individually, or collectively go insane. I remember President George W. Bush being told thatContinue reading “Post-Trauma Citizens…”
Authenticity…
James Carter, the 39th President of the United States, https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/james-carter/ Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Climate Change, Democracy, Education, Existentialism, Nobel Peace Prize, Nuclear Power James Earl Carter Jr. was the 39th President of the United States. In 1980, I voted for the first time as an eighteen-year-old for his re-election. He lost to Reagan,Continue reading “Authenticity…”
Retreat and Aftermath…
Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Climate Change, Democracy, Existentialism Like many people after the election, I retreated from corporate media, which is anything on television and in print now. GE/Comcast, News Corps/Fox, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS: six corporations control 90% of what we passively consume after long hard days of work on whatContinue reading “Retreat and Aftermath…”
Mars’ Summer Solstice…
The hills in Mars’ Australe Scopuli region, located near the planet’s south pole, are covered in carbon dioxide ice. The darker areas are layers of dust. (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin) Topics: Astrophysics, Environment, ESA, Mars, NASA, Planetary Science, Space Exploration Snow dots the Martian landscape in these images from ESA’s Mars Express orbiter and NASA’s MarsContinue reading “Mars’ Summer Solstice…”
Agibot vs Optimus…
The firm is reported to have produced at least 962 humanoid robots so far. Global Times/Agibot Topics: Applied Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics The company has established a “data collection factory” to gather real-world data through activities like folding clothes and doing laundry. A Chinese robotics firm has started mass-producing humanoid robotsContinue reading “Agibot vs Optimus…”
Physics and Nano 