Monthly Archives: May 2018

“They asked me to be a guinea pig, and I’ve been donating ever since“

The Washington Post: For six decades, ‘the man with the golden arm’ donated blood — and saved 2.4 million babies.

““He said that I had 13 units of blood and my life had been saved by unknown people,“ Harrison told CNN’s Sanjay Gupta decades later.

At the time, Australia’s laws required blood donors to be at least 18 years old. It would be four years before Harrison was eligible, but he vowed then that he too would become a blood donor when he was old enough.

After turning 18, Harrison made good on his word, donating whole blood regularly with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.
[…]
Harrison continued donating for more than 60 years, and his plasma has been used to make millions of Anti-D injections, according to the Red Cross. Because about 17 percent of pregnant women in Australia require the Anti-D injections, the blood service estimates Harrison has helped 2.4 million babies in the country.

“Every ampul of Anti-D ever made in Australia has James in it,“ Barlow told the Sydney Morning Herald. “He has saved millions of babies. I cry just thinking about it.“ “

Link via MetaFilter.

Friday Fun

OK Go: The One Moment – Official Video. (YouTube, 4:12min)

A music video that was shot in just four seconds and then slowed down to fit over four minutes of music. Here’s how they did it:

OK Go Sandbox: OK Go Sandbox – One Moment of Math. (YouTube, 4:33min) “Damian Kulash, lead singer of OK Go, discusses the immense amount of math behind their video,“ The One Moment“ .”

The rest of the OK Go Sandbox is worth checking out as well.

“That language is not going to further your cause. If anything, it will do the opposite. Good luck with the new job“

The Washington Post: Hours into his new job, Trump’s ambassador to Germany offends his hosts.

“In a tweet after President Trump’s announcement to leave the Iran nuclear deal, Grenell wrote that “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.“
[…]
“It’s not my task to teach people about the fine art of diplomacy, especially not the U.S. ambassador. But he does appear to need some tutoring,“ said Andrea Nahles, the leader of Germany’s mainstream Social Democratic party, striking a sarcastic tone. The Social Democrats are part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and are in charge of key responsibilities, including the Foreign Ministry.
[…]
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Germany’s Der Spiegel newsmagazine that the tweet was an “impertinence.“

“This man was accredited as ambassador only yesterday. To give German businesses such orders … that’s just not how you can treat your allies,“ Asselborn said.”

Link via MetaFilter.

Wolves in Scotland?

NPR parallels: Landowner Aims To Bring Wolves Back To Scotland, Centuries After They Were Wiped Out.

“When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, they had dramatic impacts on parts of Northwestern United States. Decades later, a wealthy landowner wants to try a limited version of that experiment — in the Scottish Highlands.

Englishman Paul Lister is hoping to see the ancient Caledonian Forest of Scotch pine, alder and mountain ash regenerated, and wildlife long absent from the Highlands return. But as happened with the Yellowstone project, he’s running into strong opposition.”

Umweltschutz?

Heute gleich zwei Meldungen in der Deutschen Welle:

Neuer Verdacht auf Diesel-Betrug bei Audi. “Dieselkrise und kein Ende: Audi drohen verpflichtende Rückrufe von Tausenden von Fahrzeugen. Und VW-Konzernchef Diess soll laut Berichten in den USA ausgesagt haben.”

Tourismus schadet dem Klima mehr als bisher angenommen. “Acht Prozent der globalen Treibhausgas-Emissionen gehen auf das Konto des weltweiten Tourismus. Das hat ein Forscherteam der Universität Sydney in einer neuen Studie berechnet.”