Thursday Things: Now on Cassette Edition
4 March 2021. Vol 3 No 9 By Dan McGirt. #82
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Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
Space Hurricane! Yes, space hurricanes are apparently a thing now. Because of course they are. ‘Space hurricane’ observed above the North Pole
Scientists say they have confirmed the existence of space hurricanes after analysing a 1,000km-wide swirling mass of plasma spotted hundreds of kilometres above the North Pole.
The space hurricane, observed by satellites in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, was raining electrons instead of water. It spun in an anticlockwise direction and lasted nearly eight hours before breaking down.
These events would be expected to lead to important space weather effects and disruption to GPS systems, scientists found.
You might not make it to Europe this year, but you can get a reasonable facsimile here in the USA by visiting one of 8 US Towns That Make You Feel Like You're in Europe. Number six on the list is Georgia’s own mountain village of Helen:
6. Helen, GA
This German-influenced town didn't get its start as the mini alpine village it is today. Helen was relatively nondescript and lacking in German influence until the '60s when business owners and city planners transformed Helen into a Bavarian paradise to attract more tourists. The makeover certainly did the trick. At just an hour and a half outside of Atlanta, Helen is an easy weekend getaway. Its location next to the Blue Ridge Mountains makes it a dreamy spot to take a mini detour to Bavaria on your way to a mountain hike
Read the article for the other seven Europe-like destinations.
New developments in fighting cancer are always good news. Scientists find gene that could ‘stop one-third of all cancers from developing’
Cancer can come in many forms and each one has a different, devastating impact on the body. On a genetic level however, many of these cancers are the same. A new study finds targeting one specific gene may stop one-third of all cancers from developing. Researchers in Chicago say they’re targeting the GLI1 gene, which is instrumental in helping cancer to spread throughout the body.
A team from the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago finds turning off the GLI1 gene can keep cells from multiplying out of control. This is one of the main characteristics in cancer growth.
News you can use! My main method for avoiding robocalls is to never answer the phone unless I know who is calling (and sometimes not then). Here are some possibly more constructive suggestions. How to stop robocalls: Every way we know to block the annoying scam phone calls.
Don't answer calls from blocked or unknown numbers.
Don't answer calls from numbers you don't recognize.
Don't assume an incoming call is really from a local number just because it looks like it is.
Don't respond to any questions that can be answered with a "Yes."
If someone calls you and claims to be with XYZ company, hang up and call the company yourself. Use the company's website to find an official number.
If you do answer a call and hear a recording such as, "Hello, can you hear me?" just hang up.
The same goes for a call where you're asked to press a number before being connected to a representative.
Read the whole article for more helpful information, including tips specific to iPhones, Android phones, and specific carriers (AT&T, Verizon, etc.)
Do you still have a cassette player and/or did you ever have one? Music on cassettes has become strangely trendy again, as we reported in our 24 September 2020 edition. But it turns out the art of making cassette players has almost been forgotten — only one company in China seems to still have the know-how and equipment. The Last Cassette Player Standing
But today, a decade after its Lexus swan song, the “Tanashin mechanism” lives on in the form of Chinese-made clones—unauthorized, but not illegal, given the expiration of patents—which are believed to be the last cassette tape mechanisms produced anywhere on the planet. Virtually any cassette-playing machine being made today (and there are still a fair number of them) uses one of these, from a Walkman clone you can buy in Target to a professional stereo deck that retails for $500. Those who still love the cassette format are not pleased with this state of affairs.
The whole story of the decline and fall of cassette tape and cassette player manufacturing is fascinating. What happens when a technology becomes obsolete, or nearly so? Who bothers to remember how to make a thing when the market for that thing shrinks or disappears? And what happens when someone wants to bring that product back?
I have several shoeboxes full of old cassette tapes in my closet and I still play them sometimes. But I guess when they break or wear out they’ll be gone forever. It makes me a little sad.
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