Just woken up after the match last night? You’ll not get anything useful done today, so you may as well read this lot instead 
Happy invoicing!
- The Extremist in the Family - A tragic story of religious extremism: ”The Kerrs were devoted to one another and to their faith. But when one of their own rejected modern medicine in the name of God, they faced a dire question: What if her children ever needed a doctor to save their lives?”
- Astrophysicists Puzzle Over Webb’s New Universe - Cool, if confusing, stuff is coming from the new space telescope: ”Faced with observations of early black holes and galaxies that weren’t expected to exist, scientists have come up with a wealth of new theories to explain them. Now they just need to figure out which ones are true.”
- How to not overestimate the number of stars in the Universe - ”With ~400 billion stars in the Milky Way and 6-20 trillion galaxies overall, that makes for a lot of stars. But not as many as you'd think.” Ethan Siegel explains the counterintuitive calculations involved.
- The Return of the Kite - ”In the 1990s, red kites were reintroduced to England from Spain. Now, the English are returning the favor.” I remember when red kites were only found in one place in the UK, in Wales - Colin Dexter even used it as a plot point in one of his Inspector Morse novels
- Australian officials ask fans to respect the privacy of Neil, a 1-ton seal who respects nothing - ”Like plenty of local boys before him, Neil has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where he was born. Unlike most of them, he trails fame, fans and property damage in his wake. He is also a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal.” As is traditional, he's even stealing traffic cones
- Ropewalks: Long and Low - ”An Architectural History of Forgotten Industrial Giants.” Cool interactive thing about the places where they used to make rope
- The Brits panning for gold - Scottish gold hunters: ”The thing about gold is that it’s trying to return to the centre of the earth. At least, that’s what 51-year-old fish and chip shop owner David Armstrong tells me as he stands knee-deep in the Mennock River, peering intently into a plastic pan of dirt he swills gently clockwise.”
- My Midlife Crisis Corolla Is Fast, Furious, and Fully Modded - A real life Fast & Furious car owner: ”This is not your aunt’s Corolla… Its 1.6 liter, 3-cylinder turbocharged 300-horse power engine is liter-for-liter one of the most powerful in the world. When I hit the gas, the car pulls hard and the engine buzzes as if it’s powered by a hive of killer bees.”
- Dithering - Part 1, Part 2 - More interactive stuff, explaining the maths behind dithering: ”I’ve always been fascinated by the dithering effect. It has a unique charm that I find so appealing. I was even more amazed when I learned how dithering works.”
- Historic Photos of NASA's Cavernous Wind Tunnels - ”Throughout the 20th century, NASA (and its predecessor, NACA) made extensive use of wind tunnels to test and refine designs for airplanes, spacecraft, and many other vehicles and structures… Gathered here, a collection of images of NASA’s amazing wind tunnels from the past century.” If you've already used up your two free Atlantic articles this month: sorry! But there's some great photos in here and it's early in the month, so I included it anyway. This is a Mercury capsule about to be tested at Langley
Happy invoicing!
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