The Monday Kickoff

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

**The crazy plan to explode a nuclear bomb on the Moon, wherein we visit one of the stranger episodes in the Space Race, sparked by a serious research paper, involving a proposal to put some fear into the Soviets by dropping a hydrogen bomb on the lunar surface.

How Google Docs Proved the Power of Less, wherein we learn how the search engine company's online word processor survived and thrived not by trying to mimic its desktop counterparts, but by being lean and subtracting rather than adding features.

Why willpower is overrated, wherein we discover why some psychologists believe that self control isn't the key to leading a good life, and why it seems like it is.

Bucky Fuller’s Most Complex Invention May Have Been Himself, wherein we learn a bit about the famed inventor, and about the public image he crafted for himself which was, in many was, at odds with his true self.

Why the Floppy Disk Just Won’t Die, wherein we learn why the obsolete storage medium is still in use today, as well as the problem facing those users as supplies of those disks are becoming more and more scarce.

The Merchant, the Marriage, and the Treaty Port: Reassessing Ōura Kei, wherein we learn about the important but little-know titular merchant from Nagasaki, and some of the challenges that she faced as a successful female business person in a very patriarchal society.

The Invention of the Polygraph, and Law Enforcement’s Long Search for a ‘Lie Detector’, wherein we learn about the origins of the polygraph, and how law enforcement first tried to prove that this unlikely contraption worked.

Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again?, wherein Kris De Decker looks at how environmentally unfriendly the manufacturing of bikes is, and at some ways in which to make that manufacture more sustainable.

The Sanctions Age, wherein we learn about the effects of unilateral American sanctions on other nations, and about the knock-on effect of some of those sanctions on both countries allied with the US and firms from those countries.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

New month, but not much else new. That's not necessarily a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with a bit of continuity.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

Your to-do list is sabotaging your true productivity. Here’s what to do instead, wherein Ayetekin Tank argues that instead of tackling a bunch of small tasks (many of which are not all that important) you should focus on one, big meaningful task.

REGAN Vest: Inside Denmark's secret nuclear bunker, wherein we get a tour of a formerly secret Cold War facility that the Danish government intended to use to ensure continuity of government in the event of a nuclear war.

The Gruesome Ways Volcanoes Kill Fish, wherein we learn what a volcanic eruption does to undersea life, and about what scientists still need to learn about this.

The Modern World Is Aging Your Brain, wherein we learn about studies that compare brain ageing of people in industrial and non-industrial societies and the (maybe not) surprising results so far.

Domicide, wherein Regan Good takes us on a tour of several neolithic Turkish sites, which were large complexes of buildings that someones deliberately buried.

Channel None, wherein we learn about a news channel that was created for, and piped directly, to schools in the US but which also was concerted foray by corporations into classrooms.

Remembering America's first social network: the landline telephone, wherein we dip into the what's new is old again files and discover how the analog telephone not only helped masses of people connect but also informed how we communicate without seeing the person at the other end of the line.

The Filmmakers Who Voyaged Inside the Body, wherein we learn about Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, former anthropologists turned documentary makers, and what drives them to create the films that they do.

Bad Manors, wherein Kate Wagner looks at so-called McMansions, why they came about and flourished, and what their future might be.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

4 reasons why you should read old, classic books, wherein we learn that reading so-called classics is something everyone should try, if only to learn about the present by holding it up to the mirror of the past.

A fiery end? How the ISS will end its life in orbit, wherein we learn the eventual fate of the orbiting habitat/lab, and the challenges of sending the station to its final end.

Living Beyond A Life Well-Lived, wherein we learn about how millions of used vehicles from Japan gain a (long) second life in Africa.

The hunt for life in Alpha Centauri, wherein we learn why more than a few astronomers are focusing on the star system nearest to our own to find evidence of extraterrestrial life.

How Two Jewish Kids in 1930s Cleveland Altered the Course of American Pop Culture, wherein we learn how Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created, despite various obstacles in their way, one of the most iconic fictional characters of the 20^th century (and beyond).

My Father-in-Law the Japanese Radical, wherein David McNeill recounts the activist life of his wife's father, who vigorously (and often violently) opposed the construction of Tokyo's Narita airport.

Fountain Society, wherein Shannon Mattern looks at the wondrous history and variety of the public drinking fountain, and explains why they're unsung public amenities ... (providing) free access to a vital resource.

Department Store as Dreamscape, wherein Adrienne Raphel looks at the department store, in literature and in life, and how it has a long history as the locus of fantasy and lust.

The New Workplace Surveillance, wherein Karen Levy examines digital enforcement technologies which, for the most part, are intended ot be a method for compelling compliance with the aims of management and which do employees harm in a variety of ways.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

The problem with Japanese homes, wherein we learn why many modern Japanese homes have a lifespan of around 30 years, and how that's slowly starting to change.

Lies We Tell Ourselves About Economics, wherein Charles Blahous examines how we deceive ourselves about what we pay versus what we want to pay — for consumer goods and for government services.

Borges and $: The Parable of the Literary Master and the Coin, wherein Elizabeth Hyde Stevens looks at how financial patronage — from family and other sources — helped the great Argentine writer focus on his craft and hone and develop it into art.

Where Did Mars' Moons Come From?, wherein we learn about two missions to study the Red Planet's twin satellites, and that discovering how the moons formed is really fundamental to us understanding the dynamics of our solar system.

The Untold Story of the Boldest Supply-Chain Hack Ever, wherein we learn how a massive hack of corporate and government computer systems occurred, why it took so long for the hack to be discovered, and the problems that hack caused (some of which continue to this day).

A New Idea for How to Assemble Life, wherein we learn about assembly theory, which attempts to explain why and how life, in any form and from any basis, comes to be.

On Butterflies, wherein Herman Hesse muses about those beautiful, diaphanous insects, and about humanity's wider relationship with nature.

I Tried to Cure My Burnout. Here's What Happened, wherein Jamie Ducharme looks at the difficulties in trying to alleviate burnout in employees, and how it's really a matter of changing the conditions that cause burnout.

The World’s Oldest Ultramarathon Runner Is Racing against Death, wherein we learn about Dag Aabye, an 81 year old who pushes his body to limits that would destroy someone a fraction of his age, but who continues pushing despite his declining physical prowess.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

In Praise of the Long Movie, wherein Richard Brody examines the tensions between filmmakers trying to push boundaries and create art on their terms and the demands of studio executives.

Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives, wherein we're introduced to folks who bring the productivity tools that they use in the workplace to bear on their personal lives, but who can also fall into the trap of spending more time organizing than actually doing.

All of our “theories of everything” are probably wrong. Here’s why, wherein Ethan Siegel argues that scientists may never devise a single all-encompassing theory to explain everything that goes on in the universe.

The Time Thief Who Stole 106 Rare Clocks in a Daring Heist, wherein we learn about the 1983 robbery of a Jerusalem museum that netted tens of millions of dollars worth of rare timepieces, some of which are still unaccounted for.

Is Time Travel Possible?, wherein Sarah Scoles explores the problems confronting anyone who wants to visit other points in time.

The Hotel-Spirit, wherein Henry Grabar looks back in time for a solution to the housing shortage and finds one in the form of once-common residential hotels.

Why we can dream in more than one language, wherein Sophie Hardach looks at the role that sleep and dreaming play in learning, maintaining, and using languages (including our native ones).

Is that a bowling lane, or a piano?, wherein we learn about some of the novel ways in which entrepreneurs are trying to revive casual bowling.

How might telepathy actually work outside the realm of sci-fi?, wherein Gary Lupyan and Andy Clark look at the barriers to actual brain-to-brain communication, and how it's not as clear cut as some tech lords make it out to be.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

When a marathon isn’t extreme enough, run backward, wherein we're introduced to some of the offbeat ways in which a small number of runners make competing in marathons more challenging (and more fun).

There Is No AI, wherein Jaron Lanier argues that the technology that we call artificial intelligence isn't, and instead is an innovative form of social collaboration.

Drivers vs. Everybody, wherein Michelle Cyca looks at the difficulties — both political and cultural — involved in making city roads friendly to cars, bicycles, and pedestrians alike.

How physicist Sameera Moussa went from a role model to a target, wherein we learn about the crusading Egyptian scientist who tried to use atomic energy for good and made efforts to involve the public in that choice, and about her mysterious death.

‘My remaining 13 million minutes’: productivity, ambition and being realistic in older age, wherein Jane Hutcheon ponders what it means to be productive as we get older, and whether or not exiting work (rather than continuing to work) in our later years is actually giving up.

Also Italian, wherein Dylan Byron describes the political friction in the city of Trieste in the last century, and how Italian was one of the most important, and perhaps the most important, of the three main languages spoken there.

Conspiracies are the price of freedom, wherein Terry Eagleton argues that the growth and spread of outlandish conspiracy theories is a by-product of liberalism, and because of that the truth (and not those theories) eventually wins out.

We’re All Living Under Gravity’s Rainbow, wherein John Semley argues that Thomas Pynchon's best-known novel, despite being 50 years old, is a field guide to modern times and a must-read to understand our era.

Pick a Practical Major, Like French, wherein Freddie deBoer looks at what people perceive as a practical major at university, and how that definition is constantly morphing.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

The Golden Age of Aerospace, wherein Brian Balkus looks at how, by combining American ingenuity and manufacturing prowess with captured Germany technology and specialists, the United States was able to make incredible progress in the field of flight in the decades after World War Two.

Hustle culture: Is this the end of rise-and-grind? , wherein Megan Carnegie explores whether the always be grinding mindset that's taken root among far too many workers and entrepreneurs is is no longer working as the key to becoming successful.

Why You Need to Think for Yourself, wherein Michael Ignatieff examines what thinking is, how thinking deeply affects us, and where thinking (not just for ourselves) can lead us.

When the Culture Wars Come for the Public Library, wherein E. Tammy Kim looks at how divisive politics and parochial attitudes are threatening the freedoms of a library in Montana, and how that could threaten other libraries throughout the United States.

Does Our Sustainable Future Start in the Mine?, wherein Julie Michelle Klinger explains how using rare earth elements isn't only a problem facing so-called green energy, and looks at how that problem remains even if we don't switch to renewables.

How Japanese educators used religion to ‘make’ ideal humans, wherein we learn how an epiphany by the head of Panasonic, around a holy mission to forge better people, moved from the business world in the the public realm in Japan.

ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare. If you’ve ever posted online, you ought to be concerned, wherein Uri Gal looks at the privacy and legal issues around how the generative AI tool collects and uses data.

How living on Mars would warp the human body, wherein we're introduced to the potential effects a journey to, and a stay on, the Red Planet will have on the bodies and minds of the astronauts making the trip.

If Technology Only Had a Heart, wherein Sian E. Harding looks at the challenges facing the development of a viable, long-term artificial human heart.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

The Spaceport at the Edge of the World, wherein we learn about the intention to create a centre for launching satellites in a desolate area of Scotland, and the hopes around that to revive a town's declining fortunes.

How Americans edit sex out of my writing, wherein Walter Grünzweig looks at the differences in attitudes towards sex in literature in Europe and the US, which also contributes to how people in both places view life, work, and living.

Into the Field, wherein Amanda Giracca argues that to become better people and more well-rounded professionals, university science students need to do some of their work outside the walls of the classroom.

Without Warrant, wherein Emily Berman looks at how police in the US collect and use data, what role private companies play in the collection and analysis of that data, as well as how we should be able to refuse or constrain the collection of all that information.

How worker surveillance is backfiring on employers, wherein we learn how by keeping very close tabs on employees who work from home, companies are adding to the stress and feelings of burnout that those employees are experiencing.

The Modern Memex, wherein Bradford Morgan White takes us on a tour of the origins and evolution of the World Wide Web in its earliest days.

The Origins of Creativity, wherein Louis Menand looks at the concept of creativity, how an obsession with it became entrenched in our culture, and how it's become an economic, not aesthetic, notion.

Why Tokyo Works, wherein we get some insight into why one of the world's largest cities, which is more like a collection of small villages, rather than one big city, is as livable as it and why it operates so smoothly.

The Road to Auto Debt, wherein Julie Livingston and Andrew Ross examine the financial burdens that many American take on when they purchase a car, and the potential consequences of failing to meet that debt's obligations.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

The Designer Economy, wherein Yakov Feygin and Nils Gilman argue that what we need to slow the tide of economic inequality is a fiscal policy that focuses on constructing and reaching a specifically envisioned future.

The epic quest to build a permanent Moon base, wherein Richard Hollingham looks at what it will take to do just that, and some proposals for constructing a lunar settlement.

The man who repossesses multimillion-dollar airplanes, wherein we learn about Ken Hill, one of the few people in the United States who takes planes back from owners who don't or can't or won't repay their loans on those craft.

Norton Space Props Was El Dorado for a Burgeoning Launch Industry, wherein Peter Timko explores a different kind of scrapyard in an industrial area near Los Angeles, a business which was gathered the remnants of the technology of the first Space Age and sold it to more than a few so-called New Space companies to help them get up and running.

How Tokyo Became an Anti-Car Paradise, wherein Daniel Knowles examines how one of the busiest, most populous cities in the world developed into a pedestrian-friendly metropolis — by design, not accident.

Beyond rich guys in rockets: Here’s what will democratize space tourism, wherein Glenn McDonald looks at the nascent space tourism industry, and whether or not it might one day be affordable to all.

We’ve always been distracted, or at least worried that we are, wherein Joe Stadolnik dips into the what's new is old again file and looks at how anxieties around the loss of attention aren't a 21^st century phenomenon — they've been a problem through the ages.

Tripping for the Planet: Psychedelics and Climate Activism, wherein Amber X. Chen walks us through the history of using mind-altering substances, and examines the connection between the plants the bring us those substances and the climate crisis.

Yamagami Tetsuya’s Revenge, wherein we learn about how the conditions that drove the man who murdered a former Japanese prime minister came about, a tale of strange bedfellows, the creation of a regimented society, and the rise of fringe religious movements.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I've found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

Let's get this Monday started with these links:

Japan's Shrinking Population Faces Point of No Return, wherein we get some insight into why the country's population has been in steady decline, and the ways in which Japan's government has been (vainly) attempting to reverse that decline.

40 Years of KOYAANISQATSI, wherein Christopher John examines the titular film, a groundbreaking piece of creative work that combined visuals and music to create a stunning assault on the senses and on the mind.

The Strange Life of Glass, wherein we learn what glass is, how it became an essential material in our lives, and how we can use glass to tell our individual truths, but we can also use it to create false narratives.

What Emojis Can’t Express: How Handwriting Reveals Our True Selves, wherein Neil Servin explores how writing with a pen or pencil can expose aspects of ourselves even we're not aware of, and how handwriting develops and devolves as our priorities change.

30 years ago, one decision altered the course of our connected world, wherein we get a brief history of how the World Web Web entered our collective lives, and how the web became just a reflection of us — and that's by design.

Inside the Secretive Life-Extension Clinic, wherein we're introduced to a little-known centre in Tijuana, Mexico that uses unlicensed therapies to try to help patients stave off old age.

Why Mathematicians Re-Prove What They Already Know, wherein we learn about a curious pastime among those who work with numbers: continuously testing their proofs for fun and to come up with new ideas.

The Reaction Economy, wherein William Davies looks at how much of what's labelled engagement online if actually reaction (often knee jerk), which does little to enhance online life or general discourse.

Why Does the Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death Still Haunt Us?, wherein Mark Dawidziak examines the enduring mystery of, and fascination with, the death of the American author (and with the man himself).

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt