TIL: when Bob Dylan was touring Scotland in 1966. A waiter arrived at the hotel room they were staying at. Then shouted F**k him" and “you’re a f**king traitor to folk music” and pulled out a knife. But he was disarmed by Dylan’s bodyguard. [source, comments]

Super-KI als Gefahr für die Menschheit? Was wir aus dem OpenAI-Schlamassel lernen https://www.watson.ch/!447204082

Song of the day ⚔🔫:
https://open.spotify.com/track/1Fp2GPYYVnKIavZ3SdWt97?si=rEfRFdEJTK6pu5Phhk6RwQ

Good idea: build climate resilience:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67469222

A decade and a half ago there used to be a regular rhythm to the Ladakhi land, which provided villagers with a steady water supply. Winter snow melted to feed streams, just as meltwater from the glaciers trickled down and provided water for farming and agriculture in springtime.

Spring and summer is traditionally a time of plenty in Ladakh
However, climate change has seen average winter temperatures in Ladakh rise by about 1C over the last 40 years.

Snowfall has become increasingly unpredictable and glaciers have retreated farther up towards the peaks, or disappeared altogether.

I first visited Ladakh in 2018. I returned in 2019, and again in spring this year - kept away in the interim by the coronavirus pandemic. The difference was startling.

The snow now melts faster, leaving villagers with little to no water by spring. Glaciers are now so high up in the mountains that they melt later in the year. Ladakhi springtime - once lush and fertile - was dry and silent this year.

A lack of water has led to a decrease in meadows - keeping large flocks of pashmina goats is becoming unviable. The Changpa herders are giving up their traditional livelihoods and migrating to other parts of India or to Leh looking for non-pastoral work.

Farmers, unable to find water for their barley and apricots, are leaving in droves.

Many Ladahki people have relied on apricot farming for decades
Despite the destruction caused by climate change, there is hope for this isolated region.

On my second visit to Ladakh in March 2019, I met engineer Sonam Wangchuk. He told me that on a drive through the valleys in 2013 he noticed a large mound of unmelted ice under a bridge, sheltered from the sun. The sight of that small tower of ice triggered an idea.

"High school maths tells us that a cone is the simple answer," he grinned at me.

TIL the actors on breaking bad were actually taught how to cook ice [source, comments]