A quote from a Nobel-prize winning economist

 

In this column, Daron Acemoglu, 2024 Nobel Prize winner in economics, is quoted.

I think it's a good idea to listen to what he says.

Yes, American can fail

"Economic prosperity requires institutions that foster risk-taking and innovation: secure property rights that ensure people can enjoy benefits from their investment; predictable enforcement of contracts; free and fair elections that allow citizens to keep a tab on their leaders and replace them when needed. These things, in turn, require the rule of law, independent judiciaries and freedom of the press.

Unfortunately, Trump is itching to undermine all these institutions. As Acemoglu put it to me, “There are many different ways in which the United States can be hurt really badly.”

Better buckle up, it's going to get bumpy.

Just don't get cursed

 

The Field Museum of Chicago has been looking inside their mummies, to learn more about their lives.

Just as long as they don't invoke an ancient curse, I'm OK with that.

New research on mummified remains offer scientists rare glimpse behind ancient wrappings

This is the face on Harwa's coffin. You can actually see pictures of who resides inside, but I'm going to leave that to your discretion.

More about Harwa:

"The mummified individual known as Harwa has long been a favorite at the Field. Also from the Third Intermediate Period, he lived about 3,000 years ago. The scans taken have revealed that Harwa lived a relatively cushy life as the Doorkeeper of the 22nd Kingdom’s granary. Images of his spine reveal that even at his increased age (early to mid-40s) he shows no immediate signs of ailments that would come from performing repeated physical labor. Furthermore, his extremely well-kept teeth reinforce his high social status as he had access to high-quality foods.

Harwa has an extensive legacy of having a very full afterlife. Archival Field Museum publications share Harwa’s tale as the first mummified person to fly on an airplane in 1939. Upon arrival in New York City, he was welcomed with a variety of activities beyond the wildest dreams of an ancient person, including visiting a Broadway show. When his two-year stint on display at the New York World’s Fair ended, he became the first mummy to get lost in luggage, as he was accidentally sent to San Francisco rather than back home to the Field Museum."

So, as they saying goes, if you don't know, ask your mummy. And they did.

I saw this coming

 

Even though former Stanford basketball star Cameron Brink got hurt (torn ACL) in her first WNBA season, I expect she's got a good career ahead of her.

And there's another career she could have: swimsuit model.

I didn't think that the swimsuit industry, or Sport Illustrated, could pass up a gorgeous 6-foot-4 blonde. Clearly, they couldn't.

WNBA star Cameron Brink lands Sports Illustrated swimsuit deal

I see no problem with her pursuing this line of alternative employment. Her lines look just fine. But I hope her knee is fully healed and that she has a great WNBA career, too.

Lighthouse of the Week, December 8-14, 2024: Motta Misaki (Cape Motta) Lighthouse, Hokkaido, Japan

 

I promised another lighthouse from Japan's island of Hokkaido this week, and this is what I promised. Given the current hype around the movie version of the musical Wicked, I thought this one was quite timely. The Lighthouse Directory calls what it is wearing a dunce cap, but I think of it as a witch's hat.

This is called, apparently, several different names:  Motta Misaki, Motsuta Misaki, or just Cape Motta, which is what Google Maps has it listed as.  Here's where it is located on Hokkaido, and note Sapporo again.

Now the Lighthouse Directory tells us more:

"1937. Active; focal plane 282 m (925 ft); two white flashes every 24 s. 14 m (46 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern, gallery, and a traditional "dunce-cap" roof, attached to a 1-story concrete equipment room. Lighthouse painted white with a broad black horizontal band. 3rd order (?) clamshell Fresnel lens in use." ... "The unusual height of this powerful lighthouse gives a range of more than 65 km (40 mi). The lighthouse was restored in 2001 and the tall dunce-cap roof was apparently added at the time. At the same time the forest road to the light station was opened to the public." ... "The station commands a spectacular view of the Sea of Japan; the island of Okushiri can be seen in fair weather. Located on a high, mountainous promontory about 16 km (10 mi) north of Setana."

Enjoy the pictures below.

Get your Leinies while you can

 

Sad news out of Wisconsin;  the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin will be closing. While craft breweries proliferate around the country, the mid-size breweries are being swallowed up (ha) by the big corporate interests, in this case Molson Coors.  And sadly, this means a loss of quality and taste and variety.

Molson Coors to close Leinenkugel’s Brewery in Chippewa Falls

Still, Leinenkugels will still be available, but just not brewed with genuine Big Eddy Springs water.

"According to Molson Coors, the company has gradually shifted production of the Leinenkugel’s brand from Chippewa Falls to Milwaukee over the years. Molson Coors says more than 75 percent of the total Leinenkugel volume is already produced in Milwaukee."

Trump in space (I wish)

 

Not really about potentially jettisoning the President-elect (as I write this) out of the airlock sans spacesuit, this is about what space policy might be like during the absolute terror of the second Trump administration.

What a 2nd Trump administration could mean for NASA and space exploration

"And with SpaceX on track to lower the cost of a single Starship flight to less than $10 million, SLS and the broader architecture of the Artemis program is deemed to get a hard look even as NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free urged the incoming administration to maintain the current plans. Historically, SLS and Orion development has received substantial funding from a broad coalition; the program supports more than 69,000 jobs nationwide as of 2019."

That job thing might make it hard to cut Artemis. 

"One concern I have is that U.S. space policy will continue to evolve to enable, even more so, the rapid occupation of Earth orbits without adequately accounting for the risks — operational, environmental, and security — associated with that growth," Aaron C. Boley, who studies orbital debris as co-director of the Outer Space Institute, told Space.com via email.

There is also a looming uncertainty about how NASA will position itself in the coming years. The space agency has notably been a non-partisan entity over the years of changing administrations and conflicting priorities.

With Musk's growing influences over the federal government, however, "the idea of sending humans to Mars could start to be itself seen as a conservative or right wing value," said Dreier, "which, even though there's no inherent reason why it should be, would induce a knee jerk rejection by the opposite party because it will be seen as a defining aspect of the right wing."

That would be strange. Spending an exorbitant amount of money to get to Mars in a budget-cutting, inflation-conscious, deficit-wary MAGA-pandering administration.

Why do I see a problem here?

This is why. 

 

Syracuse ISN'T the snowiest city in the world

 

I've been to Syracuse just a couple of times, and only in the summer. So I can't vouch for the winters, but others I met there could.  Syracuse gets snow from systems crossing both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, so this isn't a big surprise, but given the massive volumes of snow that places like Buffalo can get, I'm surprised that Syracuse is Number One.

Read for more.

The Top 10 Snowiest Cities in the World

Recently, though, Buffalo's huge snow-effect drops have given it a short-term edge.

"With an average annual snowfall of 124 inches, Syracuse is no stranger to snow. Records show that the city occasionally experiences heavy snowfall, with an all-time high of 192 inches in a single season. Statistics like these cement Syracuse’s status as the snowiest metropolitan area in the United States, a claim made possible by a combination of different geological factors: the city’s proximity to Lake Ontario and the regular dumping of snow by nor’easter cyclones.

Known as the economic and educational hub of Central New York, Syracuse is as famous for its weather as for its university’s Division I sports teams. The city consistently wins the Golden Snowball Award, a humorous accolade given to the city in Upstate New York with the most snowfall each season. Syracuse has won the award 14 times but has been beaten out by Buffalo since 2021. Fellow competitors Rochester and Buffalo qualify as the world’s eighth and ninth snowiest cities respectively."

Here's the problem, though.  After reading this article, that quote above in particular, and getting pointed to it by the Daily Mail article (quote: "Travel experts from TripSavvy named Syracuse, New York, the snowiest city in the world this year."

But let's read from the article now.

Sapporo, Japan: average annual snowfall 191 inches.
Chamonix, France: not clear, because the article makes it sound like it's the snowfall in the mountains, not in Chamonix itself.
Quebec City: average annual snowfall 124 inches, same as Syracuse.
St. Johns, Canada: average annual snowfall 131 inches.
Toyama, Japan: average annual snowfall 143 inches.
Erie, Pennsylvania: average annual snowfall 104 inches.
Aomori City, Japan: average annual snowfall 312 inches.
Muskegon, Michigan: average annual snowfall 76 inches (I don't know why they didn't include Houghton, MI).
Valdez, Alaska: average annual snowfall 326 inches.

So Syracuse isn't anywhere close to the snowiest city in the world. Somebody is confused out there, and that's confusing the rest of us.

I tried to find a picture that showed what it's like; there are quite a few (and videos too), many showing the almost-tunnel of the main road created by the snow-throwing trucks.  But I went with this one.

By the way, remember that in many cases, global warming is making heavy winter snowfalls heavier, due to more moisture in the atmosphere (mainly) and various other regional factors, like higher lake and ocean temperatures adjacent to these snow-prone locations.