Category Archives: Technology, science, and math

Senior stoners

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Makes a lot of sense, really. Most states now have legal medical marijuana, and 10 of them, including California, allow anyone 21 or older to use pot recreationally. The federal government still outlaws the drug even as acceptance increases. The … Continue reading →

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Instagram in space!

Posted on April 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Far out. Like, literally. Internet service can sometimes be spotty here on Earth. Just imagine checking email from the moon or searching Google from Mars. A Houston satellite and artificial intelligence company wants to make that possible through an “interplanetary … Continue reading →

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The red wolves of Galveston County

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. The coyotes Ron Wooten spotted on Galveston Island’s west end had eye-catching dark, reddish fur and long, slender builds. In the golden dusk of that July evening in 2013, about a dozen of the animals rested in what … Continue reading →

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Measles comes back to Houston

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We all vaccinated our kids, right? Five cases of measles have been confirmed in the greater Houston area, a regional cluster that makes Texas the eleventh state this year to report the highly contagious disease until recently thought virtually eliminated … Continue reading →

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Ebola treatment progress

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. Texas scientists who developed an effective vaccine for the deadly Ebola virus are now reporting promising results with new medication to better treat full-blown cases of the disease. In a laboratory study published this week, researchers at … Continue reading →

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HPD and Ring

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have a Ring doorbell so this doesn’t affect me, but I do find it quite interesting. The Houston Police Department announced Monday that it is joining Ring’s mobile app, Neighbors, in a move officials hope will reduce crime … Continue reading →

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Another look at the state of recycling

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One part supply, one part demand. Reducing contamination is largely considered the starting point for creating a more stable U.S. recycling market. And that means teaching consumers what they can and cannot put in recycling bins. For example, a triangle … Continue reading →

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The recycling recession

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. A joint report by the trade groups American Chemistry Council and Association of Plastic Recyclers estimated that plastic bottle recycling decreased 3.6 percent last year, dipping to 2.8 billion pounds in 2017. The decrease is partially due to … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

El Nino 2018

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here it comes. Houstonians can expect more rain than usual — and possibly street flooding — this winter, thanks to El Niño. The National Weather Service forecasts an 80 percent chance for a weak to moderate El Niño this winter, … Continue reading →

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Is there a better way to predict flooding?

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This startup thinks so. An artificial intelligence startup now says it can provide that warning. The company, One Concern, has announced that it can predict whether your block will flood — and if so, by how much — five days … Continue reading →

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Look out for lionfish

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, it’s another destructive invasive species, aided and abetted by climate change. Scientists battling coral reef deaths caused by warming ocean waters 100 miles off the coast of Galveston might now have another climate change problem to fight in coming … Continue reading →

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Our poor old voting machines

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They really do need to be retired. A national spotlight fell on Texas’ voting equipment last week after some voters complained that their votes on electronic voting machines had changed. State election officials chalked it up to user error. Critics … Continue reading →

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Cyber insurance

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea. Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to spend $471,000 on cyber insurance, becoming the latest Texas municipality trying to bolster its response to growing technological risks. The insurance can cover up to $30 million … Continue reading →

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Typhus in Galveston

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

An infectious disease update for you. Typhus fever, a disease carried by fleas and once thought to be eradicated, is rearing its head in Galveston County, county health officials said on Monday. The Galveston County Health District reported that 18 … Continue reading →

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Houston to get 5G service

Posted on July 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Verizon will soon launch 5G technology in Houston, though its initial focus won’t be on improving the performance of mobile devices. Rather, the wireless provider is positioning itself to compete with Comcast and AT&T for streaming television, playing video … Continue reading →

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Where the anti-vaxxers are

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of them are right here. Four Texas cities, including Houston, rank among the 15 metropolitan “hotspots” of vaccine exemptions, more than any other state, according to a new study. The study found Austin, Fort Worth and Plano also … Continue reading →

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MS Houston

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Meet our new technical overlords. Microsoft will provide STEM education at schools, teach computer literacy skills to adults and transform Houston into a “Smart City” as part of a new partnership announced Friday. “These sort of efforts become infectious and … Continue reading →

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Thunderstorms are going to get worse

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Just FYI. Summer thunderstorms in North America will likely be larger, wetter and more frequent in a warmer world, dumping 80 percent more rain in some areas and worsening flooding, a new study says. Future storms will also be wilder, … Continue reading →

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More Harveys

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, climate change. The extreme rains that inundated the Houston area during Hurricane Harvey were made more likely by climate change, a new study suggests, adding that such extreme flooding events will only become more frequent as the globe continues … Continue reading →

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That sinking feeling

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re a little lower to the ground these days. Or maybe it’s just that the ground itself is lower. GPS data show #Harveyflood was so large it flexed Earth’s crust, pushing #Houston down by ~2 cm! #EarthScience #HurricaneHarvey #txflood pic.twitter.com/88lNScJBq9 … Continue reading →

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The Texas Infectious Disease Readiness Task Force

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We have such a thing, and at a time like this that’s good to know. Most Texans don’t regularly concern themselves with infectious diseases such as typhus, Ebola, Zika, or the plague. But in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, public … Continue reading →

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Typhus in Texas

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One more thing to worry about, in case you needed it. Strickland spent four days in a hospital receiving treatment and needed about a year to fully recover from the potentially fatal disease transmitted by fleas believed nowadays to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Hacking voting machines

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to leave this here. Google and Apple invite hackers to find flaws in their code and offer hefty rewards to those who find them. It’s a common practice in the industry. The government’s done it too, with programs like “Hack … Continue reading →

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More birth control by mail options

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. “We want women to see us and say, ‘These are people who believe that if you want birth control you should have it,’” said Hans Ganeskar, co-founder and CEO of Nurx, a California-based site founded in 2015 … Continue reading →

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Let’s use mutant mosquitoes to fight Zika

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong? The Bayou City’s teeming mosquito population spawns in dark, wet nooks and carries a slew of deadly tropical diseases that could ravage the region. So Houston is pondering a sneak attack, something akin to a … Continue reading →

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To the moon!

Posted on March 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

If this is on your bucket list, you may be in luck. SpaceX, the ambitious rocket company headed by Elon Musk, wants to send a couple of tourists around the moon and back to Earth before the end of next … Continue reading →

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Still talking vaccines and measles

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Because it keeps needing to be talked about. Earlier this month, Dr. Peter J. Hotez, a pediatrician at Baylor College of Medicine and director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, detailed a disturbing prediction for 2017 in … Continue reading →

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Trump and the anti-vaxxers

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

In case you needed another reason to dislike Donald Trump. President Trump’s embrace of discredited theories linking vaccines to autism has energized the anti-vaccine movement. Once fringe, the movement is becoming more popular, raising doubts about basic childhood health care among politically … Continue reading →

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Some things never evolve

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The SBOE, for instance. The Texas State Board of Education on Wednesday voted preliminarily for science standards that would keep in language that some say opens the door to creationism. The votes came a day after the board heard from … Continue reading →

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More on the STAR Voting System

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron updates us on the latest in modern voting technology. The drumbeat of election rigging and foreign hacking of voting machines have energized ongoing efforts to develop a new model of digital election equipment designed to produce instantly verifiable … Continue reading →

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Fire ant-killing robots

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s just luxuriate in the glory of that headline for a moment, shall we? Harley Myler is working on a “war of the worlds.” That’s what the Lamar Electrical Engineering Department chair calls his latest project: a walking robot that … Continue reading →

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Plague vaccines

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. More than six centuries after the Black Death wiped out more than a third of the population of Europe, a University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston team has shown that in experiments with rodents, their three vaccines effectively … Continue reading →

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The coming measles outbreak

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I hope we’re wrong about this. Peter Hotez used to worry mostly about vaccines for children in far-away places. An infectious diseases researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Hotez is developing shots against diseases in poorer countries … Continue reading →

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We’re going to be fighting about vaccinations for a while

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I wish it weren’t so, but it is. Texas is one of 18 states that allow non-medical exemptions to the vaccines required for school attendance. California had a similar law allowing non-medical exemptions, until last year when it enacted a law that … Continue reading →

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