2016-07-20 (Wednesday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

Looking at today’s full moon, I cannot forget that it is exactly 47 years since man first set foot on non-terrestrial ground, on 1969-07-20. Of course everyone remembers Neil Armstrong’s “small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind”. Reference #1 has more about that historical feat.

Apollo_11
The historic crew of Apollo 11, from left to right: Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. Photo by NASA, taken in May, 1969.

But did you know that the source code of the program used in the computer of the Eagle, Apollo 11’s moonlander, is now available to the public?

If you are curious about what it looks like, see references # 2 and 3 below.

But of course there are interesting views on Mother Earth, as well. The photo above was taken by my wife, Maria José, in Kokkari, island of Samos, Greece, on 2008-07-11. Enjoy!

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Apollo 11

2: Apollo 11 sourcecode

3: Original Apollo 11 Guidance Computer (AGC) source code for the command and lunar modules.

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2016-07-04 (Monday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

If you are in the US, then you can enjoy an extra day off work and celebrate the nation’s independence day, congratulations!

And thanks to the internet you can also listen to a Swedish radio programme, where Gloria Ray Karlmark counts her life story, including fighting for racial emancipation in Little Rock, Arkansas, and being the first coloured female student at MIT. But you need to know Swedish, and if you do, the link can be found in reference #1 below.

And when it is time for the fireworks tonight, think about what is happening at that very moment even further out in the sky, on a distance 48 light-minutes away. A Nasa probe named Juno penetrates the Jupiter atmosphere, searching for clues to the composition of this gigantic planet, the biggest one in our solar system. For more information, see reference #2 below.

But do you know why the probe is called Juno? It all started back in ancient Rome. Their god of gods was Jupiter, married to Juno. But Jupiter also had women on the side, the four most prominent being Io, Europa, Ganimedes and Calisto. In order to hide his extra-marital affairs from his wife, Jupiter surrounded himself by a cloud. But the jealous Juno had a sight which could penetrate that cloud. So now, Juno will once again penetrate the clouds of Jupiter and report her findings to Mother Earth.

In the meantime, I suggest you appreciate the following image. Further information can be found in reference #3 below.

jupiter-aurora

An image showing what the Hubble telescope found when directing UV rays towards Jupiter. It shows a permanent aurora, a result of the combination of solar winds and charged particles from the planet’s biggest moon, Io. Image by NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Gloria Ray Karlmark

2: Juno by NASA

3: Hubble photographs Jupiter’s dramatic auroras

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2016-07-03 (Sunday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

Although we are in the winter season on the southern hemisphere, there are so many beautiful things to enjoy. A good example of that is shown in the photo below. It is the glorious tree named Ipê roxo in Portuguese or Pink trumpet tree in English, with its intense lilac colour. I took the photo in the geographical center of Paranavaí, PR, Brazil, this morning. More information can be found in reference #1 below.

Ipe

A photo from Marco Zero, the city’s geographical center, in Paranavái, PR, Brazil, showing the magnificient Pink trumpet tree (Handroanthus impetiginosus) in bloom, taken on 2016-07-03.

But not all Brazilian cities are that pleasant. Folha de S. Paulo today reports that neither of the four environmental problems, which the organizers of the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro had promised to solve, will be concluded for the games. They are: treating the waste before dumping it into the sea, where the olympic sailing events will take place, cruising in the middle of the garbage; clean the lake of Jacarepaguá, bordering the olympic village; clean the lake Rodrigo de Freitas and open it for bathing; and plant trees in the native forest known Mata Atlântica. Read also reference #2 below.

So, where would you like to be in August, Paranavaí or Rio de Janeiro? Although I am a sports fan, I have already made my choice, and maybe I will see some highlights from the games on TV.

Finally, here are two interesting topics from today’s program “Godmorgon, världen” on Radio Swedens channel 1, in Swedish:

  • What is wrong with referendums? A very interesting column by Göran Rosenberg (Reference #3 below)
  • Which is the secret of Iceland’s success in football? Fagnaðarlæti Island! (Reference #4 below)

isfotboll

Training for 8- and 9-year old kids on the Icelandic island of Vestmannaeyjar, population 4 000. Photo taken by Jonna Burén / Sveriges Radio.

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Handroanthus impetiginosus

2: Rio descumpre todas as metas ambientais para a Olimpíada

3: Göran Rosenberg om felet med folkomröstningar

4: Det isländska fotbollsundret

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2016-06-27 (Mánudagur)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

According to hot news from Nice, the European Union has decided to accept Iceland as a new member state, replacing Great Britain, as a consequence of the result of today’s play-off game. Full coverage can be found in reference #1 below.

Stokkur

The geysir Stokkur, which erupts every 9 minutes, photographed on 2009-08-05.

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: England vs. Iceland 1-2

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2016-06-25 (Lördag)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Idag lärde jag mig, att:

Det finns ett bevingat uttryck om att alla har rätt till sina 15 minuter av berömdhet. Exakt varifrån det kommer är inte helt klart, men bl.a. sägs den amerikanske konstnären Andy Warhol ha varit inblandad.

I alla fall, just idag för exakt två år hade min tur kommit, och jag måste ha gjort något extra fint, för jag förärades med övertid, 16 minuter! Mitt under brinnande fotbolls-VM så blev jag intervjuad om mitt liv och situationen i Brasilien av Sveriges Radio Jämtland. Om du blev nyfiken nu, så kan du se mer och höra intervjun i referens nummer 1 nedan.

Här följer två foton från just fotbolls-VM 2014:

Copa 2014

En stor livmedels- och grönsaksmarknad i São Paulo hyllar de japanska och portugisiska landslagen under mästerskapet. Fotot togs 2014-06-09.

Costa Rica

Costas Ricas delegation tränade i Santos under VM. Denna bild, från 2014-06-20, togs på entrén till deras hotell.

Apropå mat, förmodligen blev det hel del igår, inte sant? I vilket fall som helst, här blir det ännu mer av den varan:

Tycker du om choklad, men är rädd för att få i dig för mycket fett om du äter den? Forskare vid Temple University i Philadelphia, PA, USA, har kommit på ett sätt att minska fettet i choklad med 10 … 20 % genom att under tillverkningsprocessen lägga på ett starkt elektriskt fält. Smaken sägs dessutom vara underbar och framhäva kakaons kvaliteter. Om allt går väl så kan sådan choklad dyka upp i affärerna redan om ett år. Mer om detta i referens nummer 2 nedan.

Men mat kan också inspirera snabbmatsleverantörer till unika reklamkampanjer. KFC (ex-Kentucky Fried Chicken) och Pizza Hut har under den senaste tiden haft dessa intressanta idéer, se också referenser 3-6 nedan, med videoklipp från kampanjerna:

KFC-PH

Fyra intressanta matrelaterade kampanjer. I övre raden, från vänster till höger: Ett Bluetooth tangentbord som kommunicerar med en smartphone, från KFC i Tyskland; och Nagellack med kycklingsmak, från KFC i Hong Kong. I nedre raden, från vänster till höger: En kycklinglåda med inbyggd batteriladdare, från KFC i Indien; och slutligen En filmprojektor, från Pizza Hut i Hong Kong.

Slutligen, den kärva ekonomin, kombinerad med torrt väder, har lett till att en fundamental ingrediens i de brasilianska maträtterna, bönor, har försvunnit från mataffärernas hyllor. Detta föranledde följande teckning i Folha de S. Paulo:

Beans

“Men mamma, vart har bönorna tagit vägen ?” “Jag sålde dem för att kunna köpa middagsmat.” Teckning av Benett i Folha de S. Paulo, 2016-06-23

… Tack för idag, slut för idag!

(This all-Swedish post deals with an interview by Radio Sweden with yours truly during FIFA World Cup in 2014, and various items of food.)

Refs.:

1: Stefan Johansson berättar om livet som svensk brasilianare under VM

2: Chocolate makers cut fat with electricity

3: KFC’s Tray Typer keeps you clicking even with greasy fingers

4: KFC-flavored nail polish gives new meaning to ‘chicken fingers’

5: Charge your phone with KFC’s new take-out box

6: This pizza box doubles as a movie projector

+: What did you learn in school today ?

2016-06-21 (Tuesday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

The world is changing and besides the traditional places where advanced technology is being used we now also see countries like Rwanda in Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Middle East.

Dubai

Photo of the city of Dubai, with the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, 828 meters, in the center. Courtesy of Chiara Anzalone.

One of the seven emirates in UAE is Dubai, and Dubai is also the name of its capital. My deepest gratitude to my friend Chiara, who took this impressing photo of Dubai. It shows the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, 828 meters, in the center. See more about Dubai in reference #1 below. Today, I want to talk about recent technologies that are being employed in Dubai.

The first one deals with construction of buildings. Besides being the city with the tallest building in the world, now there has been demonstrated a method similar to 3D printing to be used in the construction process. But instead of resulting in traditional small 3D printed objects, this time it is a complete office building. Using a printer with dimensions of 6 m x 36 m x 12 m, in 17 days was built a 250 m2 fully functional office building, at half the cost of traditional methods. Initially it is the temporary headquarters of Dubai Future Foundation, and it was opened one month ago. Reference #2 below gives more details.

3D-office

The world’s first 3D-printed office. Photo by REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Another field where Dubai is showing its advanced state of technology is in a communications technology abbreviated Li-Fi. Most of you know what Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is, a technology which permits that we connect our computers and smartphones to the internet via hotspots. However, one of the drawbacks with Wi-Fi, as compared to wired connections, is the slower speed and susceptibility to interference from other sources.

Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) is similar to Wi-Fi, but instead of radio waves it uses infrared light to convey the information. It can therefore be used in electromagnetic sensitive areas such as in aircraft cabins, hospitals and nuclear power plants without causing electromagnetic interference. Typically one can also expect data transmission speeds 100 times higher than when using Wi-Fi. Reference #3 below offers further information about Li-Fi. The communications provider du has recently performed a trial in Dubai and the result confirmed that Li-Fi can be a major communications technology in the near future, as described in reference #4 below.

Finally, speaking about light, today was inaugurated MAX IV in Lund in the south of Sweden. It permits researchers to make their investigations in the strong synchrotron radiation. Listen to Radio Sweden’s program in reference #5 and read more about synchrotron in reference #6 below.

MAX4

The Max IV installation in Lund. Photo by Perry Nordeng

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Dubai

2: Dubai opens the world’s first functioning 3D-printed office

3: LiFi

4: du trials Li-Fi, 100 X faster internet than WiFi

5: Lysande start för Max IV

6: Synchrotron

+: What did you learn in school today ?

2016-06-19 (Sunday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

In our modern world of communications, exciting things still happen. In my post of 2016-06-07, I showed a product concept for a rumored smartphone from Samsung. It consisted of an external normal 5″ smartphone, with an internal foldable 8″ tablet.

But other companies are also working on similar concepts. Lenovo, that acquired Motorola last year, recently hosted a Tech World event in San Francisco, where they presented two concepts similar to that of Samsung: a huge wrist phone and a foldable tablet, see pictures below. A complete article with more pictures can be found in reference #1 below.

Lenovo

Lenovo concept products: a wrist phone and a foldable tablet. Photos taken during the Tech World on 2016-06-10 by John Velasco.

But if you think that things have gone to far, how about a smartphone with a minimal set of apparent attractions? I am thinking about the Runcible, a totally different form factor for a mobile phone. Its basic features include an analog clock, a compass and what appears to be a photo viewer. But, this so-called anti-smartphone also has a 7-megapixel rear-facing camera and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth out of the box. More details are available in reference #2 below.

Runcible

How about using Runcible as your next generation smartphone? Photo by Myleen Hollero.

Finally, today there are only 47 days left to the scheduled opening ceremony of the Summer Olympíc Games in Rio de Janeiro. Two days ago, the state government in Rio declared a state of calamity, blaming the weak finances on decreasing tax income and royalties due to the lowered market prices for petroleum. To me, the situation seems similar to the one in Venezuela. Maybe the expression below gives an adequate description of the panic:

Fui

IF MONEY COULD TALK, MINE WOULD SAY: GONE…

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Lenovo foldable smartphone and tablet concept hands on

2: Monohm’s circular ‘anti-smartphone’ is up for pre-order

+: What did you learn in school today ?

2016-06-14 (Tuesday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

What would our human world look like if we did not let our favorite pets and all the other animals remind us about the basic stuff, such as love, care, compassion, and other positive things and attitudes?

Prins, photo taken by Karina Johansson on 2015-12-14, when he celebrated 6,5 humans years.

Today, I am honoring our dog, of the lhasa apso race, named Prins, so majestically posing in the header photo. It was taken exactly 6 months ago, on 2015-12-14, when he had just undergone a complete shear. He was born exactly 7 human years ago, on 2009-06-14. His race originated in Tibet, guarding the monks. More about lhasa apso can be found in reference #1 below.

By the way, did you know that the effective age of a dog is calculated differently than a human being’s? A hint: Prins is considered to be 41 dog years old. Consult reference #2 below to find out how that calculation is done!

But if you really want to discover the details of animal life, would you consider disguising yourself with an animal custome? The American researcher Joel Berger found it to be a good way to get closer to the musk oxen in the Arctic. Listen to the fascinating story in reference #3 below.

Arctic bear
Wildlife researcher Joel Berger dons a polar bear outfit to study the reactions of musk oxen to the threat of bears increasingly driven onto the land for food.

The way we treat our world, resulting in global warming, can also mean that we extinguish certain animals. Today is a sad day in that sense, because there are reports about the first mammal that has been declared extinct due to current climate change. We mourn the Bramble Cay melomys, the only mammal species endemic to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. More information in reference #4 below.

Finally, there is an expression in contemporary Swedish that can be translated as “making a poodle”. The meaning is a public apology, often pronounced by a celebrity. Its origin is the press conference on 2002-11-12, when the minister of migration, Jan O. Karlsson, regretted that he had received two salaries. The way he asked for pardon looked like the one a poodle performs when lying spreadeagled on the floor, as the reporter Pål Jebsen commented in his article. It was commented in today’s edition of the SR language programme Språket, reference #5 below.

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Lhasa Apso

2: How old am I in dog years, how old is my dog in person-years ?

3: Arctic Researcher Bears Up for Science

4: Barrier Reef rodent is first mammal declared extinct due to climate change

5: Hej svejs i lingonskogen tjosan hoppsan hej!

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2016-06-12 (Sunday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

June is the best time of the year in Sweden and thus many people go on vacation now. Yesterday, Radio Sweden’s programme “P4 Världen” told us about the conditions to obtain a paid vacation around the world. It was surprising to hear that USA has no law about a paid vacation, and, as one can easily understand, in Greece now everything is upside-down. Until some years ago, the Greeks had vacation every year and elections every four years, but now it is the opposite, elections every year and vacation, at best, every four years. Listen to reference #1 below.

But why do the Swedes use the word “semester” for vacation? The programme gave no hint, and a search on the internet does not reveal any satisfactory explanation.

Do you remember Imelda Marcos, wife of the former Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos? When they opened the presidential closets, they found 5 000 pairs of shoes in her collection! In Brazil, we are now seeing something similar. Cláudia Cruz, wife of the suspended president of the lower house of the Brazilian Parliament, Eduardo Cunha, denies that the money used for shopping shoes in Florida has anything to do with what was extracted from Petrobras in a deal over petrol exploration outside the African coast. Look at the following drawing from yesterday’s edition of Folha de S. Paulo, reference #2 below, about her reaction to answer the incriminatory questions:

Corra

“Eduardo, which pair of shoes should I wear on such a special occasion? Running shoes!” Drawn by Jean Galvão and published in Folha de S. Paulo 2016-06-11.

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Vem har rätt till semester?

2: Folha de São Paulo, sábado 11 de junho de 2016

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2016-06-10 (Fredag)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Idag lärde jag mig, att:

Det trevliga lekmannaspråkprogrammet Ordalaget har sagt sitt. Idag var det final och gravölet serverades på allra bästa sätt, live i studion på SR Jämtland i Östersund. I referens nummer 1 nedan finns allt om denna slutepisod, med bilder och listor på alla ord som har ordalagts under de drygt fem år som programmet sändes.

ordalagettrio

Ordalaget, dvs. Christina Kjellsson, Stefan Hanberg och Lars T. Johansson, uppträder live inför publik i finalprogrammet. Foto: Leif Landin/SR Jämtland.

Visste du om att Sverige besitter en naturtillgång som endast blev känd för några få år sedan? Jag tänker på fyndigheten i lappländska Vittangi av höggradig grafit, som kan komma att användas som råmaterial i tillverkningen av supermaterialet grafén. Idag kostar grafén omkring US$ 30 per kg, så nog verkar det som en ljus framtid för svensk gruvindustri. Läs mera i referens nummer 2 nedan.

(Today’s post in Swedish deals with the final episode of a layman’s language programme, and the rich supply of high-grade graphite in the extreme north of Sweden.)

… Tack för idag, slut för idag!

Refs.:

1: Ordalagets final live!

2: Miner ends quest for gold to unearth strongest material in world

+: What did you learn in school today ?