> that recycling facilities throw out black plastic utensils just because the infrared light in sorting machines can't sort it
That is very true. The sorting used near-infrared which struggle to detect these black plastics because the carbon black pigments absorb the light. I've quoted information from one our our suppliers which explains it and what they are doing about it.
What is carbon black and why should it be eliminated?
Carbon black is a pigment widely used in
many materials to achieve dark and opaque
colours. However, it poses a problem in sorting
centers. Indeed, for packaging to be sorted
correctly, it must be detected by a sensor
known as "near-infrared," abbreviated as NIR.
This sensor detects the type of polymer by
identifying bright spots on the surface of the
packaging and identifies the range of light
reflected from the majority of the polymer.
However, the presence of carbon black
prevents the packaging from being detected
because it absorbs the infrared rays emitted
by the device. Undetected packaging is
therefore not sorted and subsequently not
recycled. It will be rejected and sent for
incineration or landfill.
What are the alternative solutions for dark packaging?
As part of the AGEC (The Anti-Waste Law
for a Circular Economy) law, voluntary
commitments have been made by various
stakeholders, including the GUILLIN Group.
We have developed solutions for PP and PET
with detectable packaging without carbon
black. This solution involves eliminating black
dyes in favour of dark dyes validated by
COTREP (Center of Resources and Expertise
on Household Plastic Packaging Recyclability
in France). With this material, our packaging
is detectable by optical sorting and can
therefore be recycled. Some of our ranges are
also available in transparent or translucent
versions, giving you additional options.
I've a FitBit Sense 2 and as I understand it that measures variations in SpO2. I'm not convinced how accurate nor how quickly it responds, it derives an estimate rather than directly measuring. I think it's also sensitive to any movements of the watch on your wrist.
I also have had a finger pulse oximeter which logs and exports to an app via USB. If I sleep with that on it seems to be very reliable at recording the levels, the data certainly looks good and feels much more reliable than the Sense.
The National Memorial Arboretum in the UK has a memorial dedicated to the Merchant Navy. When visiting the scale of it is thought provoking, each tree represents a lost UK ship.
> A wood of oak trees representing the 'convoy' of merchant and fishing vessels lost in conflicts of the 20th Century, resulting in the deaths of 46,000 crew. The 2,535 trees each represent a ship lost during WW2.
There is also a memorial at Tower Hill to those with no known grave.
My dad served in the Merchant Navy in WWII and narrowly escaped death more than once. I don't recall the details because I was too self absorbed as a young man to pay sufficient attention to his stories. Which astonishes and shames me now, nearly 40 years after his death.
I started wearing a monocle about 5 years ago and it's and absolutely fantastic addition to my glasses.
For about 20 years I've needed glasses for reading and close work, anything more that about five ft. away is clear and in focus.
At my desk or reading I've no problems with glasses, but when I go out to museums or restaurants for example I like to travel light and glasses are a faff having to carry them and continually taking them on and off. I've tried bifocals and didn't like them.
I now take my prescription monocle with me every time I go out. It's so easy, pop it in, read the menu, drop it out.
What I hadn't appreciated was how clever the brain was at processing the images. With it in place my left eye sees distance clearly and my right eye can read close up, my brain merges the two images so I still get depth but also everything is in focus. It's strange, but works.
I've had a few comments about it, generally surprised to see one in use or curiosity, and they have always been positive.
I got mine from https://www.monoclemadness.co.uk/ where they start from £35. If they'd work for you I really suggest giving it a go.
I had to look him up on DDG Images, and it's disconcerting having a guy in a top hat and monocle juxtaposed with someone else with that name who looks like a live-action He-Man action figure. Pretty much aesthetic and cultural opposites...
I've got to figure out how to pull off wearing a top hat!
That looks exactly like what's happening, even down to "In fact, with both eyes open, they may not be able to tell which eye is set for distance and which is set for near."
Quick edit to add I didn't expect that to happen as was pleasantly surprised when I noticed it. For me it happens immediately and automatically, it just works.
> I have extracted this (and other) nerves from cadavers
One of the most incredible exhibits I've seen are the anatomical tables on display in the Royal College of Physicians museum in London. When I walked into the room there were these 3-4 "doors" with what looked like shadows of people on them. The more I looked, and the more I understood what I was looking at, the more amazed I became.
The museum, and building I think, was closed for a few years but understand it's back open again.
The tables are visually spectacular. They show the recognisable form of the human body laid out flat, as if illustrating a book. The nerves, veins and arteries on display were dissected at the University of Padua’s famous anatomy theatre in the 17th century, and skilfully arranged on varnished wooden panels.
I've posted a fuller reply, but they year on the M stamp is about certification of the tooling used to make the glass. This can be updated annually and so does give a decent indication of year of manufacture, but it is there as part of the Weights & Measures legislation and not about obsolescence / "use by" etc
> In the UK, and I suspect elsewhere, pub glasses are manufactured to indicate their age
I think that is a TikTok 'story' which sounds reasonable and is spreading despite it being not true. Yes perhaps the year can be an indication of older glass and perhaps they have more wear, but that is down to use and care rather than just age and not what the year means.
The M mark indicates the year the tooling for that specific glass was certified and marked. Years ago the glasses were manufactured, then tested for capacity, and finally stamped to show they passed.
More recently the manufacturer, this is a major factor for plastic glasses which are moulded, has their process and tooling regularly certified and random samples regularly tested. This means they can be marked during manufacturing rather than an additional process.
I was going to add that when my father, from Fife on the east coast to Scotland, went to Iceland he was very interested to find out that he could understand many of the place names.
He didn't speak a different language, but had quite a strong accent and also quite a lot of different words. [edit to clarify compared to me born & bred in England]
The main example he used was Kirkjubæjarklaustur which translates as "church farm cloister".
However looking it up this morning adds more depth to the history of the language.
> Even before the time of the first Norse settlement in Iceland, Irish monks are thought to have lived here. Since 1186, a well known convent of Benedictine nuns, Kirkjubæjar Abbey, was located in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, until the Reformation in 1550.
Most of the common links between Nordic languages and English is because English is a Germanic language, but subsequent transfer also certainly happened.
Slightly off topic and not sure if this is allowed but I've a copy of MVS JCL by Doug Lowe and rather than dump it I'd be more than happy to send it free of charge to anyone in the UK.
It's in excellent condition other than a bit of staining on the outer rear cover
I worked with them for a year or so at an insurance company and particularly liked some of the feature of the ISPF editor. You could hide rows then perform actions on the remaining columns, quirky but very handy when you needed it!
That is very true. The sorting used near-infrared which struggle to detect these black plastics because the carbon black pigments absorb the light. I've quoted information from one our our suppliers which explains it and what they are doing about it.
What is carbon black and why should it be eliminated?
What are the alternative solutions for dark packaging?