We got a LOT of fantastic "I've Been Wondering" questions yesterday and much of today's show, including today's guests, will be taken with answering them.
Today's Great Guests
Sarah Heath, PhD is the State Director/Associate Vice Chancellor for Colorado Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). We'll tackle a listener question: How can high school kids and young adults explore the trades (like electrical, plumbing, etc)?
Lindsay Datko is a parent, educator, founder of Jeffco Kids First. Jeffco Kids First (facebook.com). We'll look at data to answer this listener question: What does research say about whether mask mandates impact the ability of young children to learn, especially vocabulary?
CDOT's Tamara Rollison replies to a listener who wants to know "why metering lights on Colorado freeway on ramps are synchronized such that the lights for both lanes turn green at the same time? It feels like a drag race at times. Would it not make more sense to alternate them?" And see the video at the end of this blog!
And show regular CU Physics Professor Paul Beale joins me to talk about the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics recipients and to answer a listener question about the physics/physical limits of Moore's Law. Yes, nerd out with us!
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An Ugly Number
Today's employment report was ugly. Only about 194,000 jobs were created in September, far below the estimate of about 500,000. The unemployment rate dropped more than expected which means that many people simply left the workforce, i.e. folks who retired and others who just gave up. Remember, when you see a surprising drop in the unemployment rate along with weaker than expected actual job gains, that is BAD NEWS. An interesting point from Axios:
Private-sector employment growth was OK, if not great, in September. The big disappointment came in the public sector, especially teachers. Women dominate the teaching profession, and they've been leaving the job market.
Local government school districts lost 144,000 jobs in September, with a further 17,000 job losses at the state level.
Those numbers are seasonally adjusted — schools simply didn't add the number of teachers at the beginning of the academic year that they normally do.
Will Douglas County unmask schools?
DougCo's new Board of Health meets today to discuss a new rule to end mask mandates in the county. But will they go ahead with it? My guess is: not yet, because the Tri-County Health Department still holds leverage over DougCo until such time as DougCo doesn't have to contract with TCHD for certain services including "disease containment."
Agenda - Friday, October 8, 2021 (kdvr.com)
News Flash • Tri-County Health Department, CO • CivicEngage (tchd.org)
To transplant or not to transplant, that is the question
I think that the fact that the donor kidney is only available to this recipient makes this a much harder question; indeed I think it changes what my answer would normally be.
UCHealth Denies Kidney Transplant To Unvaccinated Woman & Donor (msn.com)
More great I've Been Wondering questions
How many baby boomers retired in 2020?
More Baby Boomers have retired since COVID-19 began than before | Pew Research Center
By 2030, All Baby Boomers Will Be Age 65 or Older (census.gov)
Retirement Trends Of Baby Boomers (forbes.com)
When told that a fan should spin clockwise is it from the perspective of the person looking at the fan blade or from the body of the fan looking out over the fan blade? See the video below too!
Which way should fan spin in summer or winter? | Hunter Fan
So much of professional licensing requirements are just to prevent competition
Read the comment(s) of those opposing this baby-step in the right direction in California: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article254122668.html
A shortage of everything
America Is Choking Under an ‘Everything Shortage’ - The Atlantic
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