February 8, 2023
Twitter is (or was) down
Twitter experiencing international outages; most users can’t tweet or DM. Seems like its the 2nd or 3rd time in the last couple of months.
It will never be this good again
The cold impedes rescue work
Survivor in rubble sparks hope for more 'miracles.' Death toll passes 11,000 in Turkey and Syria. Syria's White Helmets are urgently asking for international help.
"I can’t explain myself to myself, I just work here."
There’s this thing called “match the hatch.” It’s when there’s a natural bug in the air the fish are eating and you use an artificial fly that’s the same color. I have a protective coloration. I try to blend in. That’s what I do. When I’m getting dressed, if people are going to be wearing a suit, I wear a suit. If people are wearing blue jeans, I’m wearing blue jeans. I’m comfortable in all kinds of company. If they’re serious, I’m serious. They’re not serious, I’m not serious. And if they’re too fucking serious, I’m not serious. (Laughs.) I don’t know why people have an expectation of me. I come in all colors. I don’t know who’s going to show up. But it’s usually me and it looks familiar. from Harrison Ford: “I Know Who the F*** I Am” [The Hollywood Reporter; ungated]
How To Determine What Your Sword Speaks (And Other Useful Tables)
Modern D&D leaves much of the world building to the DM these days. But back in the era of First Edition AD&D, the DM had a chart for everything, as this collection of charts from the 1e Dungeon Master's Guide illustrates. (SLGizmodo)
“Floating in the summer sky, 99 red balloons go by...”
99 Luftballons (1983) and 99 Red Balloons (1984) was a song by the German band and singer Nena. The lyrics of the 1983 version were written by band member Carlo Karges, while the 1984 version were written by Kevin McAlea, one of Kate Bush's backing musicians. Both versions depict a release of balloons leading to unfortunate situations. Ahead of Nena's 2023 tour, the song is currently floating up various online charts. Covers by The Renegades and Flat Out, and a laid-back jazz lounge version featuring Aly Ryan and a xylophone. [Previously]
“One day, Také stopped, too tired to go any further.”
Three short essays by Japanese poet Hiromi Itō about her aging, beloved German Shepherd named Také. Each essay, translated by Jeffrey Angles and his students, portrays Také at different stages of life, from puppyhood to her final days.
Eppur si LEGO muove
Making an Infinite LEGO Domino Ring (SLYT) More LEGO automata from JKBrickworks: Orrery, Sisyphus, Archer, Combination safe, Popup Book
The worst offense is "wealth defense"
"The Getty Family’s Trust Issues" (NYer paywall, archive) provides a rare look inside the "wealth-defense industry." (from Season 274 Episode 3 of The Daily Zeitgeist) [more inside]
A strong instinct: Fitting acorns into holes
An exterminator in Santa Rosa, California recently discovered 700 pounds of acorns stashed in the wall of a local home. According to The Guardian: acorn woodpeckers – peculiar little birds with a shock of red feathers on their head – ... are prodigious acorn collectors. Normally, the birds store thousands of acorns in small holes they drill into dying tree stumps, which they protect with outsize pluck. “But that instinct to fit an acorn in a hole and store it is pretty strong with these guys,” explained Angela Brierly, a PhD researcher at Old Dominion University who studies the species at the Hastings Natural History Reservation. [more inside]
How this billionaire lost half his net worth in a matter of weeks
"The father of the Big Bang."
"The only known video interview with Belgian physicist Georges Lemaître, widely considered the "father of the Big Bang," talking about the birth of the universe has been rediscovered almost 60 years after it was lost." [more inside]
"People don’t interfere in your life": Taliban on new lives in Kabul
The traffic is terrible, the rents are high and what do you mean I have to sit at a desk from 8am to 4pm? Former Taliban fighters working for the government in Kabul have complaints that seem like those any rural soldier going to work in the big city after a war might have. They also cite similar benefits: everything from hospitals to shops to parks is accessible and people don't meddle in your life. But other joys and complaints are unique - and some reveal how the West lost the war for Afghanistan.
"Fun and Facts about America"
How Clean is Hydrogen, Actually?
How clean is hydrogen really - worse than methane? Robert Llewelyn from Fully Charged on a podcast with David Cebon from the Hydrogen Science Coalition about the "colours of hydrogen", the lobbying process in play at the moment and the relationship with the underlying science. Its an in-depth, but informative discussion, I found.
Marlon Williams
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