Numlock News: July 5, 2024 • Floppy Disks, Fireworks, Cave Art

Jul 05, 2024

By Walt Hickey

Have a great weekend!

Two bits of business! First up is that last week’s Sunday edition was released in podcast format as well. You can check out the Numlock Podcast on Apple and Spotify and wherever you get podcasts. I’m recommitting to publishing more audio versions in the coming months, so do be sure to subscribe over there.

Second, this marks the sixth (!) anniversary of Numlock launching the paid subscription model. Thanks to everyone who chooses to support this project financially. You’ve changed my life and made this whole endeavor possible. Just a heads up to the earliest supporters who selected an annual subscription, it’s coming around again and you’ll be charged again sometime soon, probably.

Blood Substitutes

People need blood, and often there’s not enough of it where it needs to be, and so for centuries scientists have sought to spawn a suitable sanguine substitute. Donated blood has a shelf life of 42 days and still hemorrhagic shock caused by blood loss kills 20,000 Americans a year and 2 million globally. A blood substitute with a longer shelf life has great appeal, and the latest new contending compound is ErythroMer, which has a shelf life of two years and is in preclinical testing. The U.S. military, which has some skin in the game owing to the notorious occupational hazards that accompany their craft, has kicked in $46 million toward its development through DARPA grants, and it’s got commercial potential as well.

Andrew Zaleski, Science

Art

A cave painting in Indonesia depicting a pig hunt has been identified as the oldest known narrative artwork made by humans, being dated to 51,200 years ago. This beats out the previous record holder for oldest art, which is a hunting scene found in a nearby cave that was estimated to be 44,000 years old. The laser dating technique used to date the work of art is exciting in its own right, considerably faster, cheaper, and requiring less sample of rock to be extracted than the traditional dating strategies. Naturally, the intellectual property of this pig hunt and the characters depicted within will now enter the public domain, meaning that next year we can expect a half-hearted slasher-style cash-in movie from a no-name studio to take these beloved characters to the big screen.

Daniel Lawler, Agence France-Presse

Codependence Day

The latest data shows that the connections between the United Kingdom and the United States are, at least in the air, tighter than ever. This month there are 4,674 one-way flights projected to connect the U.S. and U.K., meaning that on average, every 9.5 minutes a plane departs the United Kingdom for America, an all-time high. Those numbers are not only up 1.5 percent over pre-pandemic highs, but up 21 percent compared to a decade ago. Ideologically, the countries are closer than ever this July 4, given their mutual skepticism of monarchy and deep skepticism of Tory government.

Gordon Smith, Skift

Floppy Disks

Two years ago, Japan’s digital minister declared war on floppy disks, pledging to root the archaic tech out of government, where it had been entrenched for decades. On Wednesday, victory was declared, as the Digital Agency has successfully scrapped all 1,034 regulations that required the use of floppy disks, with the exception of a single program related to vehicle recycling. It’s been 53 years since the introduction of floppies, and it was only in January of this year that the Japanese government stopped requiring the submission of physical media like floppy disks and CD-ROMs for 1,900 government forms and filings. If you’d like to congratulate the bureau on their accomplishment, you may feel free to fax them.

Scharon Harding, Ars Technica

Polyester

A new study published in Science Advances lays out a process by which polyester garments can be more easily and cheaply recycled, which is crucial news given that less than 1 percent of clothing is. Synthetic fibers have often replaced or abetted natural fibers, and plastic clothing will outlast its wearer without the right bit of chemistry to break it down. A new process described will allow clothes with a mixture of polyester and natural fibers to undergo recycling, with a breakdown time of 15 minutes rather than the current process that takes over an hour.

Sarah Ward, MIT Technology Review

Fireworks

Firework sales have fallen sharply after a surge — a boom, dare I say — in the pandemic era. In 2019, 0.78 pounds of fireworks per capita were imported to the United States, which is pretty much enough to keep municipal fireworks shows, rowdy teenagers and Disney World sparkling. By 2021, that jumped to 1.25 pounds per capita, and then 1.35 per capita in 2022, because we simply didn’t have enough going on, I guess. This year, that’s down to 0.65 pounds per capita, and while the year is not out yet, the Fourth is the big day for them, so that’s still down sharply. One reason for the reduced sales is inflation; in 2021, the average import price was $1.13 per pound of fireworks, which is up to $1.61 per pound in the first four months of the year, up 42 percent, and double the overall pace of inflation over that period.

Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation

Air Freight

Shipping volumes from Chinese shopping apps like Temu and Shein have begun to change the overall air cargo market, gobbling up space and sending prices up. Air freight prices out of the manufacturing hubs in China are up 40 percent year over year, and exports out of Hong Kong International Airport were up 30 percent year over year in May. Air freight is a business that’s usually for small and expensive electronics and perishables, but the new apps’ popularity sent the spot rate to ship cargo out of South China to the U.S. up to $5.27 per kilogram, double the value in 2019.

Paul Berger, The Wall Street Journal

This week in the Sunday edition, I spoke to Glenn McDonald, author of the new book You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favorite Song: How Streaming Changes Music. I’ve followed Glenn’s work for years now, and this book is the result of decades of work in the field. It comes from a perspective not only of technology’s bleeding edge but also a sincere, personal love of music. We spoke about the mechanics of tracking genre data, how streaming has impacted listening trends, and how the model’s economics are holding up. The book can be found everywhere books are sold.

Numlock Sunday: Glenn McDonald on the future of music in the algorithmic era

June 30, 2024

Read full story

Thanks to the paid subscribers to Numlock News who make this possible. Subscribers guarantee this stays ad-free, and get a special Sunday edition. Consider becoming a full subscriber today.

Send links to me on Twitter at @WaltHickey or email me with numbers, tips or feedback at walt@numlock.news. Send corrections or typos to the copy desk at copy@numlock.news.

Check out the Numlock Book Club and Numlock award season supplement.

Previous Sunday subscriber editions: The Internationalists · Video Game Funding · BYD · Disney Channel Original Movie · Talon Mine · Our Moon · Rock Salt · Wind Techs ·