| January 8, 2025 | Dick Wagner on Sociobiology
Talk based on //Sociobiology (The New Synthesis)// by Edward O. Wilson © 1975 [[https://youtu.be/_NXJbLXzaQ0|watch the presentation]] . [[:2025lctgmeetingchats#section20250108|chat messages]] . [[:lctgmeetingsummary20250108|Meeting Summary]] . {{:lctg:20250108_sociobiology.pdf|slides}} | | |
| January 15, 2025 | Potpourri
Continuation of Sociobiology {{:lctg:20250115_sociobiology_ii.pdf|slides}} . [[https://youtu.be/VWj-rVPhgqw|watch the presentation]] \\ [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofEOSUkMpA|Elon Musk's optimistic views of the future]] . [[:lctgmeetingsummary20250115|Meeting Summary]] | | |
| January 22, 2025 | Practical Fusion Power Update and Challenges: breeding and handling Tritium (TedK)
Meeting Summary . watch the presentation | | |
| January 29, 2025 | Potpourri. Egg Drop from Space (Mark Rober) . How does a computer mouse work? (12m) . Astrophysicist Explains Gravity in 5 Levels of Difficulty | | | | | | |
| February 5, 2025 | Sabine Hossenfelder day
Videos we watched: [[https://youtu.be/iNIp6AzUV8U|Did DeepSeek burst the AI bubble or will the Stargate Project make it worse?]] \\ [[https://youtu.be/PjXNzEshZUc|AI Super Agents are coming. Allegedly. What does this mean?]] . [[https://youtu.be/2gd-x-Yl5ac|The Case for String Theory Just Got Stronger]] \\ [[https://youtu.be/tWrUklXprIc|How close is the bird flu to human transmission? Status update.]] . [[https://youtu.be/SEvs4zgVr0E|Is the Universe Infinite or Finite?]] \\ [[https://youtu.be/93EnBN0-X6s|What is “gravitic propulsion” and could the US government hide it?]]| | |
| February 12, 2025 | Modular Nuclear Reactors (MNRs). These are being developed to supplement the production of electricity for the coming energy-hungry data centers. (George W Griffith PhD from Idaho National Laboratory, part of Department of Energy)slides . Paper on status of SMR . Meeting Summarywatch the presentation | | | | |
| February 19, 2025 | Potpourri, showing: Time travel in fiction (8m)How time travel is possible (9m)
The time travel paradox you never heard of (10m)New office math (1m)
Why can't anything go faster than the speed of light? History of speed of light part II (12m)
The best and worst ways to board a plane (9m)Solving the three-body problem (16m)Large and small views (3m) . chat messages | | | | | | |
| February 26, 2025 | Curated interesting video shorts, including Hossenfelder & Veritasium. Videos presented and discussed:
(25m) What if all the world's biggest problems have the same solution? (Vertasium)
(7m) What Everyone Gets Wrong about AI (Hossenfelder)
(35m) The problem with Sabine Hossenfelder
Meeting Summary . chat messages | | | | | | |
| March 5, 2025 | GASP planning session | | | | | | |
| March 12, 2025 | Brian Greene day. We saw:
Intro slides
Code to Cure: AI and the Future of Health
I Am Not a Robot:2025 Academy Award Winner | | | | | | |
| March 19, 2025 | Videos we viewed: 3D Houses 60 Minutes (22m))11 Lies about printing houses (15m)
Printing Cheap Clay Houses(4m)Why 3D Printing Buildings Leads to Problems (16m)
How Cement is Made (7.5m)CBS News on printing homes after a disaster (2m)
Other videos on the topic we did not view: Larry Sass TED (19m)How Concrete Homes Are Built with a 3D Printer (6m)
3D Printed Concrete House, Printed in 48 hours (3m)Move In Ready 3D Printed House in Germany (11m)
Inside a 3D Printed House That's Actually (kind of) Affordable (9m) | | | | | | |
| March 26, 2025 | Potpourri
Asteroid Risks (John Rudy) {{:lctg:20250326_asteroid_risk.pdf|slides}} \\ Gamota's suggested astronomy videos [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZBNJkx3Tjs|What's beyond the observable universe?]][[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO8RXsIHBS0|Breakthrough cosmic filament connecting galaxies finally detected]] plus \\ [[https://youtu.be/IQJL3htsDyQ?si=1hEHNNrQD_RzUaNQ|Can you fool a self-driving car? (Yes you can fool some.)]] \\ [[https://wiki.toku.us/doku.php?id=2025lctgmeetingchats#section20250326|chat messages]][[:lctgmeetingsummary20250326|Meeting Summary]]| | |
| April 2, 2025 | Listen up: Hearing Aids - The Newest Technology Available Now (Gamota).
slides chat messagesMeeting Summarywatch the presentation
Videos we viewed in the presentation:
Hearing Aid Types and How to choose
Dr. Cliff: How to Decide Which Hearing Aid Technology Level is Right for You
Costco's Best Hearing Aids 2025
After 2 Years of Reviews: My Top 3 OTC Hearing Aids 2024
didn't have time to show:
Use of Gimbels - gyros in Hearing Aids
Hearing Aid Bluetooth LE Audio Explained
Auracast Bluetooth for Hearing aids, everything you need to know explanation | | | | |
| April 9, 2025 | Electrified mobility and its effect on the town. Popular models, price trends, accessibility benefits, and safety risks. Discuss the adoption of e-bikes and scooters in town over the past couple years and its impact (e.g. proposals for a formal speed limit on the commuter bikeway, debates over the creation of dedicated / mixed use paths when redesigning local roads). (Rich Moffitt suggests)
slides chat messagesMeeting Summary
* Why are people talking about "micromobility" now?
* What are e-bike classes (1, 2, 3) and what are the tradeoffs / restrictions?
* What's the risk of battery fires on these things and how can I manage the risks?
* Why are they popular now? (mainly because motor costs have come way down and reliability has gone up, see video of hub motor production: E-Bike Hub Motor Factory Tour in China ELECTRICBIKE.COM )
* Is it feasible to DIY build (sometimes, with considerations) | | Rich Moffitt | | | | |
| April 16, 2025 | The Entire Universe - BBC, History of Universe
Philomena Cunk vs Prof Brian Cox | | Ted | | | | |
| April 23, 2025 | Potpourri, including
Portable Software (Drew) \\
Protopage, 1TB 1GB/s Thumb drive, BackMarket, CamelCamelCamel.com, UptimeRobot, and Free Movies online no login no fees (SteveI) \\ [[https://wiki.toku.us/doku.php?id=2025lctgmeetingchats#section20250423|chat messages]][[:lctgmeetingsummary20250423|Meeting Summary, with links to mentioned apps]]| | |
| April 30, 2025 | Lexington's 250 Drone Show: How They Pulled It Off (What goes into producing a fantastic drone show) Meeting SummarySlides: click on slideshow buttonThe paperWatch the presentation | | | | |
| May 7, 2025 | Heat pumps in Lexington – trends and options, pitfalls to watch out for. (Moffitt) Meeting Summarychat messageswatch the presentation | | | | | | |
| May 14, 2025 | Space Junk and How To Manage It - EU's Space Claw (Bob) Meeting Notes with video links chat messagesMeeting Summary | | | | | | |
| May 21, 2025 | (1h18m) Richard Feynman Lecture -- "Los Alamos From Below" | | | | | | |
| May 28, 2025 | Potpourri, including:
Space Junk part 2 (~30m) \\
Extend your display (Drew) \\
What did China see on the other side of the moon? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY9dnrbQano|link]][[https://wiki.toku.us/doku.php?id=2025lctgmeetingchats#section20250528|chat messages]][[:lctgmeetingsummary20250528|Meeting Summary]]| | |
| June 4, 2025 | Selected Nobel Prizes in Medicine chat messages . Meeting Summarywatch the presentation; captions available | | | | |
| June 11, 2025 | Comparison of the most popular AI engines. Which is best for this or that. chat messages . Meeting Summarywatch the Beyond Generative presentationBeyond Generative slides | | | | | | |
| June 18, 2025 | GASP Planning session Meeting summary | | | | | | |
| June 25, 2025 | Fusion Update Meeting Summarywatch the presentation | | | | | | |
| July 2, 2025 | Oliver Marsh: Crack growth and iceberg formation on a dynamic ice shelf. (Oliver is a glaciologist with the British Antarctic Survey) Abstract: Ice shelves around Antarctica are critical to slowing the rate of sea level rise. This talk addresses new technology used to monitor cracks in ice shelves during polar winter, including GNSS precise point positioning, and ground-based and satellite radar systems. Three major iceberg calving events have occurred on the Brunt Ice Shelf since 2021, with new high-precision data used to inform models of fracture propagation and ice shelf stability. Meeting Summary . watch the presentation | | | | | | |
| July 9, 2025 | History of Space Travel: Venus and MarsComplete History of Space Exploration Beyond Our Earth5 Fascinating Missions in Space | | | | | | |
| July 16, 2025 | Drones. The background of drones and the technology behind them; Using drones in photography and examples of image chat messages . Meeting Summary . watch the presentation | | | | | | |
| July 23, 2025 | Basics of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Radio Telescopes used in imaging black holes Meeting Summary . watch the presentation - not ready yet | | | | | | |
| July 30, 2025 | (59m) A Hackers Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules and How to Bend Them Back (Bruce Schneier) a Harvard Science Book Talk Series Lecture chat messages | | | | | | |
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