Cool Stuff Daily

Latest Episodes:

Thu. 07/15 - NASA, Don’t Flub on Hubble Trouble Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

It’s not mind reading, but a man’s ability to convey words is partially restored through electrodes and machine learning; NASA carefully prepares to press Control-Alt-Delete on the Hubble Space Telescope; look to the skies, the Perseids are coming; inexplicable black ice worms emerge by the billions from glaciers; and happy 22nd birthday, MetaFilter.

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Links:

Tapping into the Brain to Help a Paralyzed Man Speak (New York Times)
‘Neuroprosthesis’ restores words to man with paralysis (Science Daily)
Neuroprosthesis for Decoding Speech in a Paralyzed Person with Anarthria (New England Journal of Medicine)
BCI milestone: New research from UCSF with support from Facebook shows the potential of brain-computer interfaces for restoring speech communication (Facebook Reality Labs)
Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (NASA)
In praise of celestial mechanics (The Economist)
James Webb Space Telescope (Wikipedia)
Webb Space Telescope Launch Delayed (EarthSky)
The ‘Best Meteor Shower Of The Year’ Is Happening. Here’s How You Can See It (NPR)
Perseid Meteors 2021: All You Need To Know (EarthSky)
It’s Summer, And That Means The Mysterious Return Of Glacier Ice Worms (NPR)
Happy birthday, Metafilter! (MetaFilter)
Glenn on Twitter (Twitter)

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Wed. 07/14 - Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ETAOIN SHRDLU TK TK TK Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

It’s all greeked to me, some new history about the old text “lorem ipsum”; Europa may hide its secrets more deeply than previously thought; and a man happily discovers 160 bowling bowls under his house.

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Links:

Lorem Ipsum: Filler Fail, Killer Tale (Antigone)
De finibus bonorum et malorum (Internet Archive)
Description of the “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet” text that appears in Word Help (Microsoft Support)
What does the filler text “lorem ipsum” mean? (The Straight Dope)
The History of Lorem Ipsum (Priceonomics)
Lorem ipsum : nouvel état de la question (Hypotheses)
Letraset Lorem Ipsum.jpg (Wikimedia Commons)
Europa: Ocean Moon (NASA)
Impact gardening on Europa and repercussions for possible biosignatures
Muskegon County man unearths more than 150 bowling balls during renovations (Detroit Free Press)
David Olson’s Facebook account of finding the bowling bowls (Facebook)
Help the Bowling Ball man fund (GoFundMe)
Flong Time No See (YouTube)
Glenn on Twitter (Twitter)

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Tue. 07/13 - A Cache of Metal Type Found in Korea Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

Archeologists dig up a massive cache of 15th century metal printing type in South Korea, a baby beaver is born in Exmoor, what if ice cream but also macaroni and cheese, a video-game breaks records and may indicate a sales bubble, and Nic Cage’s Pig: probably good?

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Links:

Earliest Hangeul metal movable type blocks excavated in Seoul (Korea Times)
Goryeo Metal Type (918–1392 era) (National Museum of Korea)
Seoul lifts development ban on Insa-dong (Korea Herald)
Want to know about Hangeul? (National Institute of Korean Language)
Baby beaver born on Exmoor for first time in 400 years (The Guardian)
First baby beaver born on Exmoor in 400 years (BBC News)
‘Drivers of change’: beavers released on National Trust land to ease flooding risk (The Guardian)
Van Leeuwen and Kraft debut mac and cheese-flavored ice cream (New York Post)
Sealed Mario 64’s Record-Breaking $1.5M Sale Has Retro Experts Skeptical
Ultra-Rare Zelda Cart Fetching 6 Digits Before Auction Even Begins (Update: Sold For $870,000) (Kotaku)
Kelsey Lewin on Super Mario 64 sale (Twitter)
Pat Contri on Super Mario 64 sale (Twitter)
Nicolas Cage on his legacy, his philosophy of acting and his metaphorical — and literal — search for the Holy Grail. (Hollywood Reporter)
Pig is so much richer and stranger than the Nicolas Cage revenge thriller it appears to be (AV Club)
Strandbeest
Glenn on Twitter
The Tiny Type Museum & Time Capsule
Glenn’s type artifact photos (Flickr)

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Mon. 07/12 - The Heliopause That Refreshes Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

Houseplants became Instagram models in 2020 driving sales up by billions and overwhelming mail-order and garden-supply stores; we know a lot more about the bulbous shape of the sun’s shield against the ravages of the interstellar medium due to data gathered over a decade; and creators learn more about reclaiming their copyright after decades have passed.

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Links:

How the Pandemic Has Changed the Houseplant Industry—and Why (House Beautiful)
Are all those houseplants people got during COVID still alive? (APM Markpetplace)
Partly Sunny Projects (Sonja Detrinidad)
Demand outpacing supply on house plants during pandemic (KMBC News)
Covid lockdowns turned buying plants into the next big pandemic trend — for good reason (NBC News THINK)
Q&A: What Causes Variegation? (Horticulture Magazine)
New Zealand houseplant sells for $19,200 in online bidding war (CNN)
Rhaphidophora tetrasperma (Exotic Rainforest)
The Effects of The Number of Indoor Foliage Plants on Productivity, Stress and Attention (CLIMA 2013 International Conference)
The solar wind bubble that protects Earth has been mapped for the first time (MIT Technology Review)
A Three-dimensional Map of the Heliosphere from IBEX (The Astrophysical Journal Supplement)
Who’s Gotten Their Copyright Back? (Kottke.org)
George Clinton Denied Rights to His Own Work (MTV)
George Clinton Wins Funkadelic Rights (New York Times)
U.S. Copyright Termination Notices 1977-2020: Introducing New Datasets (Journal of Empirical Legal Studies)
Termination of Transfers and Licenses Under 17 U.S.C. §203 (U.S. Copyright Office)
Quantifying copyright reversion (Cory Doctorow’s Pluralistic)

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Thu. 07/08 - Will We Still Own Things In the Future? Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

New findings in the debate about whether the dinosaurs were actually already in a sharp decline before the asteroid hit the Earth. A rumination on private ownership and how, by 2030, we might not own anything at all, just subscribe to services. And an upcoming Pride and Prejudice-themed reality dating show.

Links:

Scientists propose wild new theory for what originally killed the dinosaurs (Inverse)
Dinosaurs May Have Been Declining Before the Asteroid Struck Earth (Smithsonian Mag)
Dinosaurs were in decline before the end, according to new study (EurekAlert)
Dinosaurs Were Already Going Extinct Before Asteroid Hit Earth: Study (Business Insider)
Dinosaurs were not in decline before the asteroid wiped them out (Natural History Museum)
Hot Dinosaur Summer (NY Times)
In 2030, You Won't Own Any Gadgets (Gizmodo)
Peacock orders Pride And Prejudice-style dating show (A/V Club)
‘Pride and Prejudice’-Inspired Reality Dating Show Ordered at Peacock (Variety)
Glenn Fleishman on Twitter
The Tiny Type Museum and Time Capsule
Take Control Books – Expert Advice from Leading Tech Authors by Glenn Fleishman
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 07/07 - Algae Beer, Lead-Poisoned Emperors, & mRNA Flu Vaccines Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

Could lead poisoning have led to the fall of Rome? The Australian craft brewery using algae to offset their carbon emissions. And Moderna has started human trials of their mRNA flu vaccine.

Sponsor:

Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast

Links:

The White House killed William Henry Harrison (Washington Post)
How Lead (Maybe?) Caused the Downfall of the Roman Empire (Reactions, YouTube)
Did lead poisoning cause downfall of Roman Empire? The jury is still out (Ars Technica)
Why ancient Rome kept choosing bizarre and perverted emperors (Vox)
The first artificial sweetener poisoned lots of Romans (Gizmodo)
Cities With the Most Contaminated Tap Water in the US (Business Insider)
The craft brewery using algae to cut emissions (BBC)
'What the hell is that?': Brewery uses algae to reduce carbon emissions (Sydney Morning Herald)
Each sixpack of beer contributes to climate change. 'Going green' might be the solution (ABC Australia)
The Algae Project (Young Henrys Brewing)
Moderna starts human trials of an mRNA-based flu shot (The Verge)
mRNA vaccine yields full protection against malaria in mice: Recent advancements allow for novel approaches against an old enemy (Science Daily)
Are mRNA flu shots in the works? Yes, but not for the upcoming flu season. (Washington Post)
Moderna to Trial HIV and Flu Vaccines With mRNA Technology (Verywell Health)
America used fewer fossil fuels in 2020 than it has in three decades (The Verge)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 07/06 - Is the 4-Day Workweek Actually Happening This Time? Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

Why do we have a five-day work week and could changes from the pandemic be enough to finally implement the long held fantasy of the four-day work week? Are we looking at a passwordless login landscape in our near future? And vinyl is more popular than CDs, but could disruptions to supply and demand change that?

Sponsor:

Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast

Links:

Will the post-Covid world include a 4-day workweek? As Kickstarter tests it out, some predict it will catch on (CNBC)
Iceland ran the world's largest trial of a shorter work week. The results will (not) shock you. (Mashable)
Four-day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland (BBC)
Where the Five-Day Workweek Came From (The Atlantic)
Why the Password Isn't Dead Quite Yet (Wired)
The time is right to embrace passwordless authentication (Tech HQ)
5 Best Password Managers: Features, Pricing, and Tips (Wired)
Vinyl Is More Popular Than Ever. Surprisingly, That's a Problem (Vice)
The Pandemic Caused An Explosion In Vinyl Demand – Here’s Why The Music Industry Can’t Meet It (Billboard)
We Are Living in a Climate Emergency, and We’re Going to Say So (Scientific American)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 07/02 - The Restaurant Taco Bell Lifted Their Taco Recipe From Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

The restaurant that inspired Taco Bell, its larger legacy, and the question of authenticity. Plus, the new species of beetle that was discovered in some fossilized dinosaur dung. And the communities of people who devote their time to uncovering the mystery of dogman.

Sponsor:

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Links:

How Taco Bell 'stole' the taco (BBC)
Newsletter: The best thing our restaurant critic ate this summer (LA Times)
Perspective | I’m from a Mexican family. Stop expecting me to eat ‘authentic’ food. (Washington Post)
Mitla Cafe – San Bernardino, California - Gastro Obscura (Atlas Obscura)
Taco Bell Wouldn't Exist Without San Bernardino's Mitla Cafe (Eater)
A Triassic Insect Was Found Perfectly Preserved in Dinosaur Poop For The First Time (Science Alert)
Over 200 Million Years Ago, Nature Called. It Was Full of Beetles. (NY Times)
The Dinosaur That Books by Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, and Garry Parsons (Simon & Schuster)
North American Dogman Project - Research, Cryptid (NADP)
Dogman Encounters (Report your Dogman Encounters Here!)
All About Dogman (r/dogman)
Virgin Galactic to launch Richard Branson on July 11, aiming to beat Jeff Bezos to space (CNBC)
Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson to Beat Jeff Bezos to Space (Gizmodo)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 07/01 - How to Stop A/C's from Warming the Planet Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

This week has proven we need air conditioners more than ever, but we also need them to be better than ever. Here are some of the innovations being considered. Plus, one of the women from the secret Mercury 13 program at 1960s NASA is finally getting the chance to go to space this month. And the UAE’s Hope orbiter on Mars has picked up something scientists have never before been able to capture on the red planet.

Sponsor:

Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast

Links:

How to Prevent Air Conditioners from Heating the Planet (Scientific American)
Heat Pumps Are Ready to Have a Moment (Gizmodo)
Nowhere Is Ready for This Heat (The Atlantic)
Mercury 13 legend Wally Funk will ride with Jeff Bezos to the edge of space (The Verge)
Grapevine, Texas, woman going to space with Jeff Bezos (Spectrum Local News)
Jeff Bezos picks female aerospace pioneer to launch with him (AP)
UAE's Hope Mars orbiter spots elusive aurora on Red Planet (Space)
Visions of the Future posters (NASA JPL)
Joy Generator (NPR)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/30 - Why 1980s Nostalgia Films Won't Die Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

What’s with the on-going trend of horror films and TV shows being set in the 1980s? Is sunscreen worse in the United States compared to Europe? And one of the sports returning to the Olympics next month has a deadly precedent.

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