Yes, it really is me.
News of my disappearance was exaggerated. I always planned to return.
Thank you for visiting. Welcome.
I have quite the smogarsbord for you today.
Let’s begin.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnOoDE9rj6w
Flamethrower vs Aerogel.
Aerogels are interesting little things. I first saw them on this channel, and I am impressed by how light they are, and how completely insulating they can get.
This is a sheet of aerogel 1cm thick.
On one side, there’s flame of up to 2000 degC.
On the other side, there’s a human being.
The other side did not even get warm to the touch.
1cm thick, and it withstands a temperature differential of 2000degC (by Newton’s law of cooling, the rate of heat transfer through the aerogel should have been instantaneous. It wasn’t.)
This is science on steroids.
Check it out
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https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/07/27/health/doug-lindsay-invented-surgery-trnd/index.html
This college dropout was bedridden for 11 years. Then he invented a surgery and cured himself.
That’s one way of doing it. If you can’t depend on your doctors, do it yourself.
(For legal reasons, I am obligated to point out that this newsletter does not recommend DIY surgeries)
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https://getpocket.com/explore/item/known-alias-how-stephen-king-was-outed-as-richard-bachman
How (famous author) Stephen King Was Outed as (famous author) Richard Bachman
Oops. Spoiler alert
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Ever wonder how the lunar photos were taken?
This is an excellent article on the cameras used and the techniques behind how the the photographs were taken.
So much went into the moon expeditions. It is interesting how they thought about everything
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/how-mosquitoes-changed-everything
How Mosquitoes Changed Everything
Even more than humans, mosquitoes have altered the course of world history. They’ve stopped wars, caused wars, assisted and prevented colonizations, and even assisted in the slave trade.
And those little critters are not done with us yet.
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/the-work-you-do-the-person-you-are
The work you do, the person you are
Toni Morrison on self-worth and its relation to your work.
Frequently we conflate the work we do with the person we are. Here, Toni Morrison puts us straight.
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https://getpocket.com/explore/item/15-obscure-words-for-everyday-feelings-and-emotions
15 Obscure Words for Everyday Feelings and Emotions
The English language is a weird one, but one thing it does well is descriptive words
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https://www.vulture.com/amp/2019/08/osita-iheme-chinedu-ikedieze-twitter-memes.html
The Nigerian Film Stars Behind Some of Twitter’s Greatest Memes
As familiar as I am with Aki and Pawpaw, there’s much I learnt from here, not least of which is the importance of taking control of your culture and its narrative before other people do it for you.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/style/modern-love-lets-meet-again-in-five-years.html
They thought college was too soon for lifelong love, so they scheduled their next date for a little later — 60 months.
This story sounds like a cross between Serendipity and When Harry Met Sally, and as sweet as it is, it’s not annoyingly cloying.
I read this story in the Spanish, but this link is in English. Enjoy it like I did
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Let’s Stop Pretending Christianity Is Even “Christian” Anymore. The vast majority of Christians can’t even explain the main tenet of their faith and look very little like their founder. Why?
I have a very strong personal policy on talking about religion on the internet. I generally don’t do it, mostly because religion is personal, and also because I don’t like the ruckus those discussions create.
I make an exemption here, because this article is a very important one.
This article talks about many things that I think about as a Christian. I have gone through (one) major and (several) minor crises of faith, and am in a delicate detente with many aspects of this Christian walk.
I find it absolutely interesting that a complete stranger can give expression to many of the things I currently struggle with.
It encouraged and helped me. It might help you too.
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Is One of the World’s Biggest Lawsuits Built on a Sham?
You might have heard that the Nigerian government was recently ordered to pay damages of more than $9 billion to a shadowy company.
What you don’t know is that the entire company was a fraud, and because of the anyhowness and lack of accountability in Nigeria, they were able to get contract after contract.
This is fraud on a gigantic scale. Bonkers
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https://www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/its-later-than-you-think-j-r-storment
It’s Later Than You Think
First read this…
Then read this
https://www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/its-later-than-you-think-j-r-storment
All That Remains
Recently, I’ve been confronted with the fact that the most important things are not what we think they are.
These articles are a wake-up call.
Family. Love. Time spent together. Memories. These are more important than any career or personal goals, and I’m devastated it took this family losing their son for millions to learn that lesson
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https://thevunderkind.com/roots-7d485644338b
Justin on permanence, restlessness, and impermanence.
Justin is a deep thinker. Time and again I find that he says something I’ve been thinking, that his life experiences so tally with mine.
“…If I wanted to wax deep, I’d say that we’ve become so afraid of being stuck in a bad arrangement, getting so deep in things we cannot escape, that we actively…”
“…You need the roots, even if you’re conditioned to run from them…”
Every ship needs one anchor, at the least.
Here’s to making an effort to be more committed to things and to people.
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https://narratively.com/the-women-in-my-family-had-to-be-good-with-money/
The women in my family had to be good with money.
Men, we have to do better. We’ve done too many women a disservice. We need the cycle of bullying and oppression to end with our generation
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That’s it.
15 articles to make up for all the time I was away. I hope you enjoy reading them.
Until next time,
Adiós.
Ranchosblog 