Saturday Stew: Lots of Meaty Stuff of Interest

[cahwyguy]

It’s Saturday, and that means it is time to clean out the accumulated links. I tried to theme these, but I kept coming back to things I always theme about: history, changes, interesting stories, and such. So I thought I would just share them all in one post, with commentary. Here goes…

• This American Life: Behind the Scenes. I’ve written before about how podcasts save my sanity when commuting. One of the many I enjoy is “This American Life”. Here’s an interesting “How I Work” segment on Ira Glass, the man behind TAL and how he builds the show.
• Denim: Behind the Scenes. Here’s another “behind the scenes” — this time, we’re looking at those jeans you are wearing… and wearing out. You probably haven’t thought about what goes into denim repair: where jeans fail, how they are fixed, and the impact of our throwaway culture on the simple notion of repairing worn out things. Nowadays, it is cheaper to throw something out and replace it, adding to the landfill and wasting manufacturing energy, as opposed to fixing it. But is money the whole side of the equation?
• Costa Concordia: End of the Line. The Costa Concordia — that cruise ship that grounded off an Italian city when the captain said “look at me!” — has finally been towed to the scrapper. So what is going to happen to the ship now? That’s the interesting part. The first items to be removed will be passengers’ luggage and personal effects that are still stuck on board. Just imagine — this stuff has been sitting for almost 2 years. Of what is left, more than 80% of the Concordia will be recycled or reused, including copper wiring, plumbing pipes, kitchens and some of the plastic room fittings that can be repaired. The remaining 50,000 tons of steel will be melted down and sold at the market price to be used to make construction girders, cars and even other ships.
• Imperial Terminal: End of the Line. When I was growing up, there was a charter air line terminal on the southern side of LAX called the Imperial Terminal. This is where charters on no-name airlines would start. The Imperial Terminal eventually closed and became the Flight Path Museum, which I’ve been intending to see for years. Now the Flight Path Museum’s days may be numbered — a proposal to relocate it has been included in the operation bids for The Proud Bird.
• Vinyl Records: A Comeback. As you know I love music — in any form, cassette, CD, LP, digital. I regularly record from vinyl and have a large vinyl collection. Here’s an interesting article on the realities behind vinyl’s comback:  how artists are asking for different forms of records, and why the infrastructure can’t keep up. It also demonstrates how today’s generation does not understand how vinyl is produced.
• Becoming Someone Else. Have you ever wanted to create a different persona online? It is harder than you think. Here’s an article that goes into the trials and tribulations of inventing a new person online.
• Water Water Everywhere. Those of us in Los Angeles have been engrossed this week in the saga of the broken pipe in LA. It too a long time to shut down, and this article explains why. But water flows where it wants to, and at one point, it flowed through UCLA. Here’s an article on the rivers of UCLA — I remember in steam tunnel days exploring the gigantic space under the Dickson Bridge. Lastly, I’ll note that state water restrictions have gone into effect.
• The Doctor is In. Here’s an interesting article on a new service called HealthTap, which provides an online service to give direct access to a doctor at a low cost. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of a service like this; our health plan at work is offering something called LiveHealthOnline, which is a similar service. I think this is great — not just for me, but for my daughter at UC Berkeley. She always seems to need a doctor when the urgent cares are closed, and this is a cost effective approach that allows her to see  one.
• Try to Remember. Here are some last things, posted mostly so I remember them. First, “Batboy: The Musical” is coming to CSUN. I must get tickets. Secondly, here’s a list of all the “OK, Google, Now” commands. Try “Who’s on first?” Thirdly, here are some supposedly good cheap fountain pens.
• Don’t Be a Dummy. And lastly, don’t be a dummy. If you are, you might end up at North Hollywood Toyota.

 

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