From Yakutsk to Khabarovsk: Moving ahead

Lyosha receives an unsettling text. “Call urgently, need to talk about Vlad.”

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Tatiana: His landlord is selling the apartment so he has to move.

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Lyosha: It seems a door closes. But he was thinking of looking for a job out of Yakutsk anyway. I heard he got a couple of interviews. This is a good push for him.

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Don't wear spectacles outdoors!

Tatiana: Maybe. He did say he got offered another job.

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Lyosha: So a window opened. This is good news, isn’t it?

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Tatiana: But the city is Khabarovsk.

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Lyosha: Well Khabarovsk is warmer than Yakutsk. A little. And there are more jobs.

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Voice-over

Aren’t urgent messages unsettling? “Call now! We have to talk about Vladimir.” No subject to help prepare. The challenge for the receiver is to frame the news positively. Vladimir being told to move melts his inertia of staying put. Average low in Yakutsk is -40 degrees C in January, in Khabarovsk in January is only -20 degrees C. There’s good news in this. When a door closes, a window opens.

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Nobel Prize in Physics 2014

Akasaki, Amano and Nakamura

Bad news, good news…

Joaquin: Ebola doesn’t look good.

Scarlett: Isn’t there any good news this morning?

Joaquin: Good news? Oh, there’s the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Scarlett: Another Higgs particle?

Joaquin: Something easier to comprehend. Three Japanese are awarded the Nobel for developing blue LEDs. There was red, there was yellow, they needed blue to mix them to make white light.

Scarlett: LEDs are better than ordinary lights?

Joaquin: Good Lord yes. Most of the energy they use goes into light, not heat, so they use far less energy, shine brighter. Good for the environment and poor people can run them from solar power and batteries.

Scarlett: Proper marvels.

Joaquin: And to cap the good news. Other scientists were full of praise for these three clever and persistent scientists. Companies gave up, they pressed on. “Fantastic,” says an Oxford researcher. “Thrilling,” says a Cambridge professor.

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Voice-over

A splendid example of upbeat reporting. The story of a reward for the inventors, the widespread benefits, and the supportive comments from peers. As good as it gets.

From the BBC.

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