Weekend Reading

  • Can our phones solve our love lives?
    It would be most of our first choices to have relationships in the real world; but for many of us, it is a great deal more plausible to pursue them with, and via, our phones. Phones provide exemplary compensation for the frustrations of living with actual people.
    Solve? My phone IS my love life!

  • This Dr is demanding to be addressed by her title, and the men aren’t happy
    A woman on Twitter had the audacity to ask to be referred to by her earned title of Dr and, unsurprisingly, drew ire from a gaggle of angry men online.
    The end of angry men cannot happen quickly enough

  • Open Ocean: 10 Hours of Relaxing Oceanscapes
    Be wowed by the brilliant hues of our blue planet and the incredible animals that live therewith this 10 hour loop.
    So sooooothing. Bliss.

  • My Boyfriend, My Husband, and Me
    Married Women is a column that explores how women are redefining the rules of matrimony. Rob and I were together for 12 years before we decided to open our marriage. It happened not that long after we had our last child.
    Relationship structures are changing, slowly, surely. Evolving.

  • Europe’s GDPR Is Killing Email Marketing, to the Disappointment of No One
    For the past month or so, inboxes the world over have been awash with emails about updated privacy policies and new permissions required by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You probably haven’t been reading those emails, and that’s bad news for email marketers.
    It’s been great, really has helped tidy up my email inbox

  • I Tried to Fast it Away
    Friday, June 15 marks the last day of Ramadan this year, a sacred month for Muslims to fast from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan occurs on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, once a crescent moon has been detected.
    Interesting article on faith and modern day Muslims.

  • The Science Behind Incredible Bubbles Explained by Pro Bubbler Melody Yang
    With a lifetime of bubble experience under her belt, Melody Yang of the Gazillion Bubbles Show shows the method behind the madness. Much of the formula and nuances of technique are, unsurprisingly, proprietary.
    WOW. Amazing bubbles!

  • ‘Shocking’ level of sexual harassment at music festivals
    Nearly half of female festival goers (43%) under 40 say they have faced unwanted sexual behaviour at a music festival, new research suggests. Overall, 22% of all festival goers have faced assault or harassment.
    Sadly not surprising.

  • Russia Wants to Vaporize Space Junk With a Laser. There Is No Way This Will Go Wrong.
    Russian scientists are developing a gigantic space laser. Sounds like the villainous plot of a James Bond film – but it’s not.
    I thought we had all agreed not to weaponise space?

  • The US May Soon Have The World’s First Space Force
    President Trump announced today that he is ordering the creation of a sixth branch of the military: the Space Force. “That’s a big statement,” he added. How do you know something is a big deal? When the speaker tells you it is.
    I thought we had all agreed not to weaponise space? (Revisited)

  • Shortcuts: A New Vision for Siri and iOS Automation
    In my Future of Workflow article from last year (published soon after the news of Apple’s acquisition), I outlined some of the probable outcomes for the app.
    Could be a BIG step forward (this post is powered by Workflow)

  • The Most Important Skill Nobody Taught You
    Before dying at the age of 39, Blaise Pascal made huge contributions to both physics and mathematics, notably in fluids, geometry, and probability. This work, however, would influence more than just the realm of the natural sciences.
    I’ll use my favourite word for this kind of thing, balance. It’s all about balance.

  • When did all my friends get too busy to see me?

    Truth.

  • Scientists believe we could cure the common cold in the next 10 years
    Some people get barely any symptoms and recover rapidly. Others end up confined to bed, surrounded by used tissues. For those with compromised immune systems or respiratory conditions, it can even be life-threatening.
    Moonshot! This would be a great step forward.

  • Man 1, machine 1: landmark debate between AI and humans ends in draw
    It was man 1, machine 1 in the first live, public debate between an artificial intelligence system developed by IBM and two human debaters.
    Hmmmm not convinced.

  • Stop talking about Godwin’s Law: real Nazis are back
    Comparison of modern times with the 1930s used to be a joke. It’s not funny any more. We have to call them out; we must not look away.
    As another comment says, Trump is already a few steps down the same road the Nazis took. He is Hitler.

  • Elon Musk emails employees about ‘extensive and damaging sabotage’ by employee
    Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email to all employees on Monday morning about a factory fire, and seemed to reference possible sabotage. Now, CNBC has learned that Musk also sent an e-mail to all employees at Tesla late on Sunday night alleging that he has discovered a saboteur in the company’s ranks.
    Rocky times for Tesla.

  • Biohacker Who Implanted Transit Chip in Hand Evades Fine
    Australian biohacker Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow has made himself into a real-life cyborg. In April 2017, Meow-Meow implanted a chip in his hand.
    My name is so so boring now.

  • Marcus Aurelius on Mortality and the Key to Living Fully
    “Death is our friend,” Rilke wrote in an exquisite 1923 letter, “precisely because it brings us into absolute and passionate presence with all that is here, that is natural, that is love.
    You only have one life, live it.

  • The Future of TV
    When I was nine, I loved watching Thundarr the Barbarian. To see the cartoon, though, I had to wait until Saturday mornings, then endure several more hours until the appointed broadcast time.
    I do wonder what the world will look like to my 2yr old niece. TV is not just on the TV.

  • Feminize Your Canon: Olivia Manning
    Our new monthly column, Feminize Your Canon, explores the lives of underrated and underread female authors. The British novelist Olivia Manning spent her dogged, embittered career longing, largely in vain, for literary glory and a secure place in the English canon.
    One to follow, and learn from.

  • Want to Change Society’s Views? Here’s How Many People You’ll Need on Your Side
    How many social activists does it take to change the world? No, this isn’t the setup for some lame joke. It’s a question no one really knew the answer to. Until now.
    This is why the small noisy minority make such an impact.

  • On Being an Arsehole: A defense
    The trouble for philosophers is that they find disagreement to be one of life’s higher pleasures.
    FUCK YEAH

  • What Ever Happened to All the Moon Trees
    Only nine months after the near-disaster of Apollo 13, NASA decided to try again with Apollo 14. For the mission, three astronauts were chosen – Edgar Mitchell, Alan Shepard, and Stuart A. Roosa.
    I did not know about Moon Trees. How did NO-ONE keep track of them?

  • World Airports Voronoi
    Each region is closer to a particular airport than any other. This partitioning of the sphere is called a spherical Voronoi diagram. The point at … is furthest away from any airport in the above dataset; … from the nearest three airports.
    Because I’m a geek and diagrams are cool. Shut up.

  • The best employees are not the agreeable ones, according to Adam Grant
    Cheerful and helpful workers are beloved by their bosses, and just about everyone else, really. Enthusiastic optimists make for great colleagues, rarely cause problems, and can always be counted on.
    It me.

  • Learning to be happy with the imperfect
    A couple of years ago I received some counselling and I got insight into some of my behaviours that were leaving me feeling ‘not happy’ with myself. Essentially, I am a classic ‘perfectionist’ who is always looking ahead, who never focuses on the present, and who never acknowledges any achievements.
    It (literally) me.