Month: January 2022

Categories
What's In A Number

How Big is the Thwaites Glacier and How Much of it Melts Each Year?

Things aren’t looking too good for low lying areas on the ocean’s coasts.

For decades, scientists have carefully tracked changes in the Thwaites Glacier, which already loses around 50 billion tonnes of ice each year and causes 4% of global sea-level rise.

Thwaites flows off the Antarctic continent into the Southern Ocean. At 120 kilometres across, it is the world’s widest glacier. Across about two-thirds of that expanse, ice flows relatively quickly into the ocean. The remaining one-third is the eastern ice shelf, where ice had been flowing more slowly1. In part, that’s because the ice grinds to a halt when it reaches an underwater mountain about 40 kilometres offshore. The submerged mountain holds back the ice flow like a cork in a bottle.

–Nature, by Alexandra Witze, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03758-y

Categories
What To Watch Who To Follow

6 Niche Podcasts You Should Listen To Even If You Aren’t Into Those Niches

There are too many podcasts, but here are six you should try.

TRANSPORTATION: The War On Cars

About: There should be fewer cars, and you should drive less. Listen to The War On Cars for the why and how.

Hosted by: Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon and Aaron Naparstek

Links: Twitter | Apple Podcasts | Patreon

CHAIN RESTAURANTS: The Doughboys

About: Ya gotta eat. Ya gotta laugh. Ya gotta cum.

Hosted by: Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell

Links: Website | Twitter | Patreon

HORROR MOVIES: Gourley and Rust

About: Who doesn’t like a three hour podcast about a single movie that isn’t talked about until an hour in? Razzing aside, two smart and funny dudes talking film. You’ll learn, you’ll laugh, and you’ll watch the first Jack Frost and be mad about it.

Hosted by: Matt Gourley and Paul Rust

Links: Apple Podcasts | Patreon

TECH IS BAD (but doesn’t have to be): Tech Won’t Save Us

About: A weekly podcast from Paris Marx with guests from the Tech World, talking why it’s bad and how it can be better.

Hosted by: Paris Marx

Links: Website | Twitter | Apple Podcasts | Patreon

INTERNET CROWDFUNDING: Your Kickstarter Sucks

About: Leveling the barrier to entry to making things leads to some of the dumbest people, with the worst ideas, giving it ago, as you may have suspected. Laugh (sigh, shake ur damn head, etc.) along with Jesse and Mike as they chronicle people’s often shattered dreams.

Hosted by: Jesse Farrar and Mike Hale

Links: Acast | Twitter | Patreon

INTERNET BEEFS: Blocked Party

About: If you on average spend more than 3 hours a day on Twitter dot com you may be entitled to financial compensation. You also may like this podcast, about being Blocked on Twitter (and other social sites).

Hosted by: Stefan Heck and John Cullen

Links: Twitter | Apple Podcasts | Patreon

Categories
What's In A Number

How much do Apple retail employees make per hour in the United States?

While you read the below quote and then the article it’s linked to on The Verge, remember these facts:

  • Apple’s current worth, as of writing this, is $2.825 TRILLION
  • Apple profited $94.7 BILLION in 2021
  • Entry level engineering jobs at Apple pay over $150,000/year

Part of the issue is pay. Apple’s retail employees make on average between $19 and $25 an hour in the United States, according to Glassdoor. That’s good for the retail industry, but can be grating for employees who want to build a career at the tech giant. Some say that after staying at the company for six years, they’re making less than $21 an hour. 

–The Verge, by Zoe Schiffer, https://www.theverge.com/c/22807871/apple-frontline-employees-retail-customer-service-pandemic

Categories
What's In A Number

How much cash does the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have on hand?

It sure would be nice if we lived in a society where the health of children was an inherent given, rather than dependent on the philanthropy of the rich and the masses. It would also be nice if these “non-profits” that filled in for our societies failings didn’t make themselves rich in the process.

Last year, St. Jude raised a record $2 billion. U.S. News & World Report ranked it the country’s 10th-best children’s cancer hospital, and St. Jude raised roughly as much as the nine hospitals ahead of it put together. It currently has $5.2 billion in reserves, a sum large enough to run the institution at current levels for the next four and a half years without a single additional donation.

–ProPublica, by David Armstrong and Ryan Gabrielson, https://www.propublica.org/article/st-jude-hoards-billions-while-many-of-its-families-drain-their-savings

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