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Can A Robot Nose Smell Lab-Grown Coffee?
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Can A Robot Nose Smell Lab-Grown Coffee?

3D Printed Guns, and The Weird True Story of Couchsurfing.org

Alex Weber
Jan 12
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Can A Robot Nose Smell Lab-Grown Coffee?
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Hello! Thanks for reading, yet again.

Aesthetics

Solarpunk

A Plan to Slow the Creep of the Sahara—by Planting Gardens | WIRED

Interesting note on continued geological maintenance of Earth: it requires buy-in from individuals who have their own needs.

A Massive Crocheted Canopy Provides Shade for a Shopping District in Malaga

Lovely repurposing of existing technology for pedestrian pleasure.

Photography

2021 Photomicrography Competition | Nikon’s Small World

Tiny things make great photos! Above: 7th place, “Head of a tick”

Finalists in the 2021 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

I appreciate this “comedy wildlife photography” concept as it puts a different spin on pictures of animals. I’m linking to Kottke’s summary, including the best photos, IMO.

Gallery | Drone Photo Awards

Enjoy a different perspective with some great drone shots. This photo is “Galaxy Flamingos”

Technology

In Finland, scientists are growing coffee in bioreactors

Coffee, as a crop, is in a tough spot. It’s all the same plant so if a bug were to come along, that could spell the end of readily available fresh beans! The sensible next step is lab-grown coffee, and that’s what these folks are working on.

MIT's robotic nose can detect first sign of disease

Robot noses in the news, yet again!

3D Printing

Ghost Guns: I 3D-Printed a Glock to See How Far Homemade Weapons Have Come

TL;DR: 3D printing weapons is largely feasible now, if not exactly efficient. It will be hard—maybe impossible—to put this cat back in the proverbial bag.

First 3D-Printed Steel Bridge | 3D-Printed Bridge Netherlands

I wanted to contrast the previous story with one of many about the current, benevolent, uses of 3D printing.

Emoji

What Does the Chair Emoji Mean on TikTok? Popular Theories Explained

Just Doing my part to help you keep up with last year’s TikTok Teen Trends!

Why Is There a Pregnant Man Emoji?

Headline aside, this is an interesting peek behind the scenes of how Emoji get approved, created, and wind up on your phone.

Follow Up: Wikipedia

Wikipedia bans 7 mainland Chinese power users over 'infiltration and exploitation' in unprecedented clampdown - Hong Kong Free Press

Expect to see Wikipedia be in the middle of an increasing amount of news in the months and years to come.

Culture

Histories

Why Do We Picture Bombs As Round Black Balls with a Burning Wick?

Making sense out of one small thing, Atlas Obscura continues to amuse.

The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com

A long piece detailing the utopian visions behind the notable traveler community website… and quite a few (alleged) sordid tales as well!

HermanCainAward Subreddit: the unbelievable grimness of celebrating anti-vaxxer COVID deaths.

This is not a forum that attempts to change minds. It’s much darker.

This subreddit certainly is leaning into the #DarkestTimeline vibe.

Productivity

Image: Morgan Housel

The Frustration with Productivity Culture | The New Yorker

As someone who came of age in the era of Getting Things Done and personal productivity systems, this was eye-opening. TL;DR: measuring productivity is, of course, an extension of capitalism.

Consume less, create more - TJCX

My essay was garbage. But it was my garbage.

So I kept at it, day after day. I once again started feeling smugly superior to my fellow bus riders. Look at me creating, I thought. Look at me contributing to the world, while these reptiles just distract themselves with their phones until they die.

Word to the wise: find and use inspiration, including from this post! I appreciate the author’s snarky tone as I hope you will.

Follow Up: Ice Cream

Photo: Fallon Michael

The FTC Is Investigating Why McDonald’s McFlurry Machines Are Always Broken

Finishing off with something sweet, regular readers will recognize this as the continuation of a previously-covered saga.

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