Items of Interest

No Hard Border?

#142
It would appear that some people, particularly in the vicinity of Westminster and Dundela Avenue in Belfast, have forgotten about the 30 years of violence perpetrated at the hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland during the troubles.
Data Vis

Immediate Fossil Fuel Phaseout Needed

#142
A study from the University of Leeds says that there is a 66% chance of keeping temperature increase below a 1.5 degree increase if a fossil fuel phaseout begins immediately. The research assumes a lifespan for powerplants of 40 years, cars 15 years and planes 26 years. It also assumes a rapid end to beef and dairy consumption. If the phaseout doesn't being until 2030, the chances reduce to 33%.
Life
Motivation
Science

Oumuamua

#142
The first object in history to pass through the solar system and to be identified as originating outside the solar system was discovered in October 2017 by Canadian astronomer Robert Weryk in Hawaii. The object was named Oumuamua, which in Hawaiian means first distant messenger.
Space

Kirkos Speaking of Music

#141
Last week I had the pleasure of photographing another amazing Kirkos event, Speaking of Music. The night of contemporary music and art involved a paint filled piano, newspaper stories played through instruments, whistling, space, a fish tank and a microphone massaged with Nivea, to mention but a few of the fantastic pieces performed in Riam Dublin on the night. You can check out the photos I took of the event here.
Music
Photo

Book Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century - Yuval Noah Harari

#141
Yuval Noah Harari's third book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is an interesting look at 21 topics where we humans can improve. The lessons are grouped into 5 categories; The Technology Challenge, The Political Challenge, Despair and Hope, Truth, and Resilience. The subject matter for the first part of the book is tough reading. Harari takes a cold and calculating look at the societal organisations and structures that humans have created, from religion all the way up to modern day terrorism, before looking at how the species can be resilient in the face of these challenges.
Life
Review

On-Call War Games

#141
The New York Times has an interesting piece on how they developed war game scenarios to train on-call engineers on their web platforms. The procedures have the dual result of preparing documentation and toolkits for recovery scenarios while also making engineers more confident about being on-call.
Web Dev

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