January 16, 2020
Tacos in space: Mexican food in the U.S., and beyond.
"People are not interested in any scientific result of the experiments I performed (NM Space Museum), what fills them with emotion is that something Mexican came into space." The most popular food in the country left Earth 30 years ago to stay. NASA now uses it as one of the basic meals for its missions. “This is one of Mexico's great contributions to the conquest of space,” [Rodolfo Neri Vela] mentions with laughter. (Google auto-translation of article in El Pais) In 2013, Astronaut Chris Hadfield and Chef Traci Des Jardins made a Space Burrito (YouTube), and four years earlier, José Hernández and Danny Olivas made their own burritos in space. "Their feast made the news; a video soon went viral across the Internet, the astronauts’ beaming, proud smiles as they hoisted their fast food for humanity to see. So high in the heavens, up above the world, the burrito not only had become universal—it was now, finally, truly, cosmic." (Latino Magazine) [more inside]
I feel ... my lasagna shouldn't have onions or garlic in it
When Gonzo meets gonzo
the food is either extremely good, or extremely bad
Run fast don't stand in the sun/ There's too much work to be done
RIP Norma Tanega: In December 2019, we lost folk singer/songwriter and painter Norma Tanega. [more inside]
"If you were hungry, wouldn’t you eat them?"
Left alone, a human corpse will soon be feasted upon by maggots. Also, depending on the circumstances, by a cat.
It is one of those pet-owner musings, a conversation topic so dark that it inspired a book by a mortician: Would Fluffy eat me if I dropped dead? The answer, according to small but growing body of scientific literature, is a fairly clear yes. (Karin Brulliard WaPo | SFGate) [more inside]
It is one of those pet-owner musings, a conversation topic so dark that it inspired a book by a mortician: Would Fluffy eat me if I dropped dead? The answer, according to small but growing body of scientific literature, is a fairly clear yes. (Karin Brulliard WaPo | SFGate) [more inside]
a template for how to feel confident whenever I need to: do the work
The mathematician Arthur Ogus explained Alexandre Grothendieck’s approach to problem solving by saying, "If you don’t see that what you are working on is almost obvious, then you are not ready to work on that yet." I find this quote comforting because it suggests that good ideas—at least for one famous mathematician—do not come into the mind ex niliho. Rather, good ideas come from so deeply understanding a problem that the solution seems obvious. 2700 words from Gregory Gundersen on the benefits of keeping a research blog.
Christopher Tolkien Has Entered the Halls of Mandos
Christopher Tolkien has died at 95. He was famous for the work he did to maintain the legacy of his father's creation, Middle Earth, including collecting, editing and releasing many unpublished works which J.R.R. Tolkien left at his death.
The facts tag along for the ride!
"My goal is to be part of the spark that pushes the sport"
Justin Williams Is the Most Important Bike Racer You Don’t Know.
The 2018 USA Amateur Road and Crit champion says we need to move away from the 'boys club' of cycling to achieve greater inclusion and representation. After his stunning dual championships [What it took to win a Nationals championship ] in 2018, Williams [twitter, instagram] 'has created his own racing program without a professional road team' in CNCPT. Justin Williams Can’t Stop Winning Bike Races [including a repeat as USA Criterium national champ in 2019; What It Took To Win Crit Nationals Back-To-Back]
The 2018 USA Amateur Road and Crit champion says we need to move away from the 'boys club' of cycling to achieve greater inclusion and representation. After his stunning dual championships [What it took to win a Nationals championship ] in 2018, Williams [twitter, instagram] 'has created his own racing program without a professional road team' in CNCPT. Justin Williams Can’t Stop Winning Bike Races [including a repeat as USA Criterium national champ in 2019; What It Took To Win Crit Nationals Back-To-Back]
Now Williams is trying to reinvent a corner of the cycling world with a team of his own: Legion, a small, L.A.-based outfit that focuses on fast U.S. races, like Oklahoma’s Tulsa Tough, where Williams won two events in June. Williams serves as kind of Legion’s player-coach, and its roster is a diverse collection of speedsters, including Williams’s 26-year-old brother, Cory, the current California state criterium champ.[more inside]
chilli and chocolate, cajun squirrel and builder’s breakfast
Bart the Mothman
Bart Van Camp has trapped (and released) 500 species of moths in his tiny garden in Flanders and made a poster out of it. He also wants you to see some of the thousands of tiny creatures he has seen in this small space.
He also does gardens of other people, mainly politicians and naturalists, like Herman van Rompuy or Fredrik Sjoberg or George Monbiot. Some posters like the one for journalist Tine Hens include the number of moths as well.
Monbiot wrote in the Guardian "Two naturalists from Flanders, Bart Van Camp and Rollin Verlinde, asked if they could come to our tiny urban garden and set up a light trap. The results were a revelation... our failure to apprehend the ecology of darkness limits our understanding of the living world."
Monbiot wrote in the Guardian "Two naturalists from Flanders, Bart Van Camp and Rollin Verlinde, asked if they could come to our tiny urban garden and set up a light trap. The results were a revelation... our failure to apprehend the ecology of darkness limits our understanding of the living world."
Hey Siri, what does the "S" stand for in "IoT"?
It turns out that the MEMS microphones used in most always-listening voice-activated home assistants are sensitive not only to sound but to modulated light as well. Smarter Every Day explores some of the consequences.
“May you build a ladder to the stars”
The Starbugs was a musical quintet of five kids from Wellington, NZ, ranging in age from 7 to 15.
In 2011, they released an 11-track CD of Dylan covers, called 'Kids Sing Bob Dylan'.
Here’s their “Forever young”
Here’s “Mr Tambourine Man”
Here’s “Knockin' On Heaven's Door”
Here’s “I shall be released”
Here’s “Girl From the North Country”
Here’s the rest of their channel, including a previous CD of Beatles covers
- Background
- From
- Via
In 2011, they released an 11-track CD of Dylan covers, called 'Kids Sing Bob Dylan'.
Here’s their “Forever young”
Here’s “Mr Tambourine Man”
Here’s “Knockin' On Heaven's Door”
Here’s “I shall be released”
Here’s “Girl From the North Country”
Here’s the rest of their channel, including a previous CD of Beatles covers
- Background
- From
- Via
‘I won't speak to another human until Monday’
'For growing numbers of people the weekend is an emotional wilderness where interaction is minimal and social life non-existent' writes Paula Cocozza at The Guardian on the subject of 'the Agony of Weekend Loneliness'. While at Grazia Daily, Jenny Stallard asks 'Do You Get Weekend Loneliness?', characterizing it as 'the modern malaise of many single women'. [more inside]
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