Not All News is Bad!

A Facebook Messenger conversation could help you start a new life.

Source: Parking ticket chat bot now helps refugees claim asylum via engadget

This isn’t as much about the politics of the situation as it is the way the technology is being repurposed. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day ways we use tech and how it makes our lives easier and perhaps entertains. Or, apparently, lets us avoid parking tickets. No, what’s cool here is that technology developed for one purpose is being used for something of a more humanitarian nature. I love the practical application of something that we might otherwise consider frivolous.

Techie nitpick: the article refers to an AI (Artificial Intelligence). My take is it’s more likely a simple expert system – a series of questions and answers that lead to different outcomes, directions, and results based on the answers made along the way. Artificial? Sure. Intelligence? Not so much. Useful? Absolutely.

SEATTLE – Ask first-responders who have been to any major disaster in our area and chances are they know and love The Soup Ladies. The group of volunteers feeds hot meals to rescuers helping others in need. The Soup Ladies are getting a lot of love locally

Source: ‘The Soup Ladies’ serving up hot meals to rescuers, winning hearts and praise (via KOMO News)

I can tell you their food is delicious, and it shows up at exactly the right time and when it’s most appreciated. I was fortunate enough to have one of their meals when I had a one-day stint assisting after the OSO landslide in 2014. The Soup Ladies are a truly local treasure.

NASA space images — of the Earth, of our Pacific Northwest, of the Milky Way — are available online, and you can make prints to hang on your wall. We’ll never be able to see Earth how the astronauts have. But those NASA photos, they sure give you pause.

Source: NASA photos of Seattle, the Northwest: From space, ‘the conflicts that divide us become less important’ | The Seattle Times

I’m in that photo somewhere. Wherever you might live I’m certain that there are some stunning taken-from-space images of your home as well. I’ve always found them both fascinating and stunning. This one (taken Feb. 28, 2015, from the International Space Station) is particularly notable for its clear skies, and how easily you can make out the mountain ranges (Canada’s Pacific Ranges in the upper center, the Rockies to the right, and the Cascade Range up the middle.) See the full resolution (4928×3280) image here.

My favorite quote from the article is something we’ve all heard before, but it bears repeating:

“From space, the astronauts tell us, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide us become less important …”

Hood Canal Bridge | A ped attempted to jump off of the HCB. Passersby stopped her. Troopers responded. Ped has been transported by aid. -mh

— Trooper Russ Winger (@wspd8pio) March 4, 2017

Sometimes no link is needed – this tweet says it all. As the person who shared this added: “Yay, passersby!”. You saved a life today. Well done. Respect.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

…a growing number of animal organizations focusing on adopting out older dogs, or “senior dogs” that are typically 7 years or older. Their age makes them some of the hardest-to-place animals …

It’s hard for me to overstate the respect I have for people that take on older animals. It seems like our pets are never with us long enough, and adopting one with “a few miles” already means that time left it just that much shorter. We’ve been long time supporters of a local organization – Old Dog Haven – that’s been doing this for years. I love that this story has been picked up by a major new outlet or two.

Full story at MSN (who also credits The Washington Post).

A Dutch woman approaching her 100th birthday persuaded local police to fulfill an item on her bucket list.

Source: This 100-Year-Old Woman Got ‘Arrested’ To Fulfill Her Bucket List

This one just cracks me up – in part, of course, because it comes out of Holland. While it’s not something on my bucket list, I love that she’s still going strong and having fun as she nears the century mark; that is something I aspire to. That the local police helped … well, I actually know a Dutch police officer or two (totally legit, honest!) and I can see it happening. 🙂

Margaret Hubl used her quilts to communicate her love for her family, and her family used them at her funeral to honor her memory.

Source: Family honors grandma’s memory by displaying all of her quilts at her funeral

The picture really says it all. it’s hard to believe that all those quilts were made by a single person – they represent an incredible amount of work. Clearly a labor of love. Displaying them this way was a wonderful memorial to Ms. Hubl.

 

“Women of NASA,” a fan-created Lego minifigure set, will be the next set to officially be made as part of the Lego Ideas program.

Source: Lego to Make ‘Women of NASA’ Minifigs, Including Sally Ride, Katherine Johnson

You know you’ve made it when … you get honored with your own Lego minifig! I’ve had Legos since before Legos were cool (seriously, my grandmother would send them over as gifts for me from Holland back in the 1960’s). Their current rise in popularity has me tickled, of course, but that they’re now becoming educational in other ways is simply awesome.

I raise my coffee cup in honor! 🙂 Everything is awesome!

CA Public Utilities Commissioner: “We are far in advance of where we expected to be.”

Source: Largest grid-tied lithium ion battery system deployed today in San Diego | Ars Technica

I love this. I think of it as a 4-hour uninterruptible power supply for 20,000 homes. Not mentioned in the article but it’s also a way to “time shift” power consumption from other sources. Not unlike Tesla’s powerwall, which is primarily intended to make solar more practical, and yet also serves as a kind of UPS as well. Oh, and this came in cheaper, and earlier than expected. 🙂

The Brooklyn Park business is on a mission to hide racist and gang designs.

Source: ‘Sometimes people change’: Maryland shop covers up racist tattoos for free – The Washington Post

I think my favorite quote from this article is this: “Sometimes people make bad choices, and sometimes people change,  . . . We believe that there is enough hate in this world and we want to make a difference.”

Indeed. What’s cool is that he is making a difference – both at the individual level, but also at a larger level, using a GoFundMe to make it possible for tattoo artists elsewhere to also help folks who’ve come to regret (or is that regert? 🙂 ) their decisions.