July 14, 2016
It's a bird. It's Superman! No, it's a plane.
The Machynlleth Loop (or Mach Loop or CAD West) is a training area in Wales for low flying fighter jets. The terrain isn't closed to the public so it presents an opportunity to see jets (and the occasional cargo craft) flying by at eye level or below. Youtube compliations one, two, three, four, five. A view of the flight from the cockpit. [more inside]
"Yelling at clouds" is my new euphemism for sex
Too Old for Sex? Not at This Nursing Home: When Audrey Davison met someone special at her nursing home, she wanted to love her man. Her nurses and aides at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale did not try to stop her. On the contrary, she was allowed to stay over in her boyfriend’s room with the door shut under the Bronx home’s stated “sexual expression policy [PDF].” One aide even made the couple a “Do Not Disturb” sign to hang outside. [NYT]
The seven biggest problems facing science, according to scientists
In the past several years, many scientists have become afflicted with a serious case of doubt — doubt in the very institution of science... So we sent scientists a survey asking this simple question: If you could change one thing about how science works today, what would it be and why? We heard back from 270 scientists all over the world, including graduate students, senior professors, laboratory heads, and Fields Medalists. They told us that, in a variety of ways, their careers are being hijacked by perverse incentives. The result is bad science.
Impressive singing contest breaks out on late-night CTA bus
Bastille Day tragedy in Nice
During Bastille Day celebrations on the Promenade des Anglais, which runs along the Mediterranean, a truck driver plowed through crowds (FR) over a long distance, then exited and began shooting. At time of posting, 60 are feared dead, and many more injured. That it was a planned attack is being evoked by witnesses and police: “People were shouting ‘It’s a terrorist attack, it’s a terrorist attack’, it was clear that the driver was doing it deliberately,” said Maryam Violet, an Iranian journalist visiting Nice. [more inside]
D.E.D.
In the first quarter of 2016 according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, L.E.D.-lamp shipments in the U.S. were up three hundred and seventy-five per cent over last year, taking more than a quarter of the market for the first time in history.
This would seem to be a good thing, but building bulbs to last turns out to pose a vexing problem: no one seems to have a sound business model for such a product.
Spizzenergi and Creed: Not That Far Apart
Six Degrees of Music Separation is a variation on the ever-popular "Six Degrees" game/meme that works out connections between bands via cover versions of songs, mostly. Includes obscure recording artists such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
like Tastespotting, if it were run by dietitians
Healthy Aperture, a site run by two registered dietitians, allows users to browse healthy recipe links by image (similar to Tastespotting and Tasteologie). You can filter by categories like "gluten-free," "vegan," "sugar-free," "paleo," and "nut-free." From the FAQ: The term “healthy” can be interpreted a number of different ways. We believe that while there are no “off limits” foods in an otherwise balanced diet, this site aims to showcase dishes that are primarily based in minimally processed, whole foods and provide at least one nutritional benefit.
Its Name Bastide Was Corrupted to Bastille
Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops storm and dismantle the Bastille, a royal fortress that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs. [more inside]
Happy birthday, Metafilter!
Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.
"Because we too are people, with opinions and stuff."
The Disabled Life is a Tumblr by two Canadian sisters with comics that illustrate how everyday experiences impact people with a disability compared to their non-disabled counterparts. For example: they've heard them all before.
Wipeout
No One Even Vaguely Wanted To Sign Hootie & the Blowfish
Tim Sommer (MTV, VH1 News, Hugo Largo) writes in The Observer about signing what would become the biggest selling band of 1995 to Atlantic Records.
Roman Inscriptions of Britain
Roman Inscriptions of Britain is a searchable online database that "hosts Volume One of The Roman Inscriptions of Britain, R.G. Collingwood's and R.P. Wright's magisterial edition of 2,401 monumental inscriptions from Britain found prior to 1955. It also incorporates all Addenda and Corrigenda published in the 1995 reprint of RIB (edited by R.S.O. Tomlin) and the annual survey of inscriptions published in Britannia since."
I have also been corresponding with what I think is a robot at Hotmail.
The Emails of Natalie Portman and Jonathan Safran Foer by Jonathan Safran Foer [The New York Times] For over a decade, the Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman and the author Jonathan Safran Foer have amassed countless email exchanges about family, creativity and angry koalas — until earlier this year, when their epistolary archive mysteriously disappeared. On the eve of her ambitious directorial debut, the old friends start anew, reconnecting online to reflect on how the times have changed, and how they have changed over time.
Mount the air
I'll mount the air on swallow's wings, to find my dearest dear. And if I lose my labour and cannot find him there, I quickly will become a fish to search the roaring sea; I love my love because I know my lover he loves me.
The Nintendo Entertainment System is coming back to stores
Nintendo has shocked the gaming community by announcing the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition, a "new" version of its legendary NES hardware which will cost $59.99 in the US. It connects to your TV via HDMI and comes with that classic NES pad, which can also be used with your Wii or Wii U. [more inside]
Get Slimer'd Tonight
Make These Fancy Craft Cocktails Using Ecto Cooler! Anyone have any tips on how to refill and reseal a juice box? Uh, asking for a friend.
78rpm records from Africa
Meanwhile, in Japan
The Liberal Democrat Party* won big in the July elections in Japan, giving the coalition of parties led by the LDP a two-thirds majority in both the Upper and Lower Houses of the Japanese government, which could allow the party to ram through amendments to the constitution. While Article 9, the antiwar amendment, has long been targeted, it's starting to look much, much worse. [more inside]
All Art Is Unstable
David Bowie's art collection to be sold by Sotheby's. More than 400 items from Bowie's personal collection, including 200 works by many important British artists of the 20th Century such as Frank Auerbach, Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Graham Sutherland, will be sold in a three part auction in November.
The Mile High City: lower-income neighbourhoods a victim of success
100 African Writers of SFF - Part One Nairobi
An African writer who makes mix tapes of game soundtracks. A Nairobi filmmaker with Nietzsche on his smart phone. A chess champion who loves Philip K Dick. An African SF poet who quotes the Beatniks… meet the new New Wave in Nairobi, Kenya. Part one of our series 100 African Writers of SFF.
Sheepview360
Tired of the fact that the Faroe Islands don't exist on Google Street View, Durita Dahl Andreassen took matters into her own hands, and strapped a 360˚ camera on the back of a sheep (SLYT). [more inside]
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