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2024 in snacks
Cabel Sasser does his annual year in review of snacks. Did you know there are:
- Churro flavored Oreos
- Smore flavored Ramen
- Spiced Coca Cola
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10 technologies for 2025
MIT Technology Review posted their prognostications for what 10 technologies will make an impact in 2025. Maybe this will be the year of the robotaxi. Interestingly, cow burps, a significant source of methane, might receive relief.
Cow burps are one of the largest sources of agricultural emissions—and one of the trickiest ones to solve. A food supplement that significantly reduces the amount of methane that cattle belch is now available in dozens of countries. Other products, which might prove even more effective, are likely on the way.
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Dyatlov Pass incident
In 1959, nine experienced Russian skiers died under mysterious circumstances, referred to as the Dyatlov Pass incident. Bodies found in different locations with varying amounts of clothing and an array of injuries. The facts made for ripe speculation: stumbling on a secret government project, a sadistic murderer, American spies, and the supernatural.
In 2021, Douglas Preston covered the history of the investigations, and modern science may have solved it. The likeliest culprit? An Avalanche.
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Accessible seating should not be available to the general public
A hill that I will die on: accessible seating tickets for events should not be available to the general public. These areas or sections are already scarce and by making them generally available increases the likelihood of scalpers buying them.
Recently, I attempted to purchase Nine Inch Nails tickets for a show. And due to the hellish experience that is modern ticket purchasing made possible by Ticketmaster, the show sold out immediately, yet plenty of tickets showed up immediately on Stub Hub.
I’ve been to concerts in the last couple years, mouse clicks lucking into tickets, where no accessible seating after the on sale. But when I got to the venue, these sections were nearly empty, with nobody sitting in them.
I’m not entitled to tickets, but I should have the honest ability can purchase tickets intended for those with limited options.
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The best DeepSeek explainer
Stratechery with the best DeepSeek AI explainer. It’s broad in describing the general applications and industry impacts, as well as parsing the technical bits of what they did.
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Texas blade shop owner refuses to add Nazi symbol to knife
Texas blade shop owner refuses to add Nazi symbol to knife.
What stands out about this incident:
- how emphatic on what he would not do “I won’t re-Nazify shit.”
- offered the woman an out to “add a modern German forestry seal… de-Nazify shit.”
- how nonchalant the woman was with her request
The shop, https://www.thebladebartx.com/, is located in Edom, TX, and one of the owners, Jonathan Sibley, competed on Forged in Fire.
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The Wiki Game
A fun way to explore Wikipedia: The Wiki Game. Click article links to navigate from one article to another. It’s timed and scored like golf.
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A network of AI-generated newsletters targeting “small town America”
Nieman Labs reports that “a network of AI-generated newsletters targeting “small town America.” All run by one person.
It turns out Good Day Fort Collins is just one in a network of AI-generated newsletters operating in 355 cities and towns across the U.S. Not only do these hundreds of newsletters share the same exact seven testimonials, they also share the same branding, the same copy on their about pages, and the same stated mission: “to make local news more accessible and highlight extraordinary people in our community.”
We need to add AI generated awareness to the media literacy skill set.
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Red envelopes for Lunar New Year
Here’s some good background on those red envelopes, Hongbao, shared on Lunar New Year
The modern concept of hongbao emerged in early 20th-century China. Elders would give money wrapped in red paper to children during the Lunar New Year as a talisman against evil spirits, known as sui (祟).
But the gift giving traditions go back to about 200 BCE, way before Santa flew across the world.
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Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music
If this isn’t infectious, I don’t know what is. Questlove drops a trailer for a documentary about 50 years of SNL musical guests.
