Don’t poke that avocado

Published May 12, 2020

Here’s something that just sounds … well, dopey. Testing avocados for ripeness involves physically pressing them, which destroys up to 30 percent of the crop. Enter engineers at Cranfield University, who — like all good engineers — know that lasers make everything better. So they developed a way of using lasers to test avocados for ripeness without damaging them. (Then, just to sound extra-science-y, they “test the individual fruits’ resonant frequency” and called the process “laser Doppler vibrometry”.)

• I make the toolbox, then … bupkis

  I'm very good, I've found, at creating systems and workflows. Not so much actually using them. Read more… →

• What’re you lookin’ at?

  I think one of the big downsides to virtual meetings, big or small, is the inability to make eye contact.… Read more… →

• No, there’s no evidence supporting ivermectin

  Virtually the entire evidence in favor of ivermectin came from a single debunked study — so saying "Well, the jury is out" is a crock. Read more… →

• No, it’s not an error

  Here is the current CDC map showing "Level of Community Transmission of COVID-19, by State/Territory" — I think it speaks for itself. Read more… →

• Maybe the next mission

  If the Marines really are out there "protecting democracy" like the NFL says, you would think they'd be deployed to Texas. Read more… →

• DEA threats, insurer shenanigans, feds signal march-in, and more December 8, 2023
• Foolish optimists, Lilly’s GLP-1 entry, the better way to treat Lyme, and more December 7, 2023
• Muppets talk addiction, the right B12 timing, longevity drug for Rover, and more December 6, 2023