5 Intriguing Things, 10/13
"I’ve used other futuristic rideables, like the Zboard and E-Go Cruiser, but this was my first interaction with a unicycle — motorized or not. Riding the SBU comes with a steep learning curve. It takes a lot of trial and error, concentration, and endless 'should I put my hands here? Like this?' etc. It took me about 30 straight minutes to learn to maintain balance consistently. Riding the SBU is easy once you've mastered staying up right. It's similar to a Segway in that you lean forward to go, and lean back to stop." (theverge.com)
"The X-37B is set to return to Earth after at least 671 days in space, the U.S. Air Force said Oct. 10. The 'mini-shuttle' will land autonomously at Vandenberg, but the Air Force has not said when... What the X-37B is designed for and what it may or may not carry into space are top secret. The cost of the plane and the budget of the program are also secret. Some people have questioned the secret program as a waste of tax payer money since no reason for the program has been made public." (cir.ca)
"Commotion is a free, open-source communication tool that uses wireless devices to create decentralized mesh networks. Commotion provides a way for you to share digital resources with the people around you. Commotion currently supports Ubiquiti routers." (commotionwireless.net)
"While I agree that we have the knowledge, experience, and resources to be able to control Ebola, most of the experts are academicians or practice in relatively well-heeled ivory towers. I have practiced Infectious Diseases and Infection Control for 30+ years, primarily in a number of community hospitals, and offer a different perspective here, based on these experiences." (scientificamerican.com)
5. The foot soldiers of the bacon boom.
"Quickly, the fortunes of the lowly pork belly improved. 'I can tell you that it does not take much of a change to materially affect the cost of the product,' says Steve Nichol, a meat trader with Midwest Premier Foods in Iowa. He notes that the impact of a single fast-food chain adding a slice of bacon to one sandwich on the menu was enough to kick pork belly demand into high gear. 'When chains like Burger King and McDonald’s started really adding [bacon] to sandwiches on a regular basis, that’s when the market changed for the product. It went from being a very, very cyclical item to something that was consistent and growing. … If you increase demand of the product by just one-tenth of 1 percent, you push the price up much higher.' Pork bellies, long dormant, began moving up in price, from under 30¢ per pound in 1989, to almost a dollar in 2006. Sensing this momentum, the National Pork Board began using the catchphrase, 'Bacon Makes It Better.'" (businessweek.com)
Today's 1957 American English Language Tip
comprehend. 'To comprehend is to know a thing as well as that thing can be known' (Donne). See APPREHEND.
Pork Bellies, Long Dormant, Began Moving