Monday Links from the Still Point of the Turning World vol. DCLXXXX

[NickFitz]

Happy vernal equinox!

• India’s Urban Leopards - ”One day last May, Prakash Bhoir was preparing for his son’s wedding when an unexpected guest appeared before him and his neighbors. But instead of running for their lives, they bowed to him in reverence. The leopard gave them a direct glance

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[NickFitz]

Windy out, though the dangers this presents can easily be avoided by not going out and just staying online instead

• ‘It changed the world’: 50 years on, the story of Pong's Bay Area origins - ”Computer Space never quite took off into the stratosphere, but the two aspiring entrepreneurs knew

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[NickFitz]

Bit late today, but it could have been later had a meeting not been cut short

• Sanctuary - ”Buckley had built a refuge for elephants. It was the culmination of a nearly lifelong devotion to the world’s largest land animals. But at the moment, Buckley’s refuge lacked any elephants—and

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[NickFitz]

• The Extremely F*#!ing Chaotic Saga of the World’s Most Notorious Police Impersonator - ”A Florida funeral escort who took his road-safety duties a little too seriously became a widely ridiculed Internet sensation—and landed in hot water with actual law enforcement. But that’s only the start

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[NickFitz]

Far too busy today; you'll have to read this lot for me

• Children of the Ice Age - ”With the help of new archaeological approaches, our picture of young lives in the Palaeolithic is now marvellously vivid.” Interesting look at what we know about child rearing in Palaeolithic times
• The

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[NickFitz]

Back to the fray with ClientGov now, but there's still time for the important things (importance not guaranteed)

• Crushed. - The perils of social media fame: ”When Johna Ramirez’s son joined a wildly popular circle of tween YouTube influencers, it seemed like he was fulfilling his Hollywood

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[NickFitz]

It's a nice day out. Anyway, that's quite enough of that; let's get back to the Internet

• The Himalayan Tragedy That Forever Changed Mountaineering - ”In 1976, Nanda Devi Unsoeld, the daughter of legendary alpinist Willi Unsoeld, died while climbing the massive Indian peak for which she was named.

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[NickFitz]

We've probably got an hour or two before the next scandal engulfs the government, so here's some stuff to help pass the time more fruitfully

• The Violin Doctor - ”He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to

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[NickFitz]

Despite the sun it's cold out, but it's always nice and warm in the Internet

• The First Family of Human Cannonballing - ”David and Jeannie Smith gave up their day jobs for a life of daredevil stunts —with six children in tow. Five decades, thousands of cannon shots and multiple Guinness World

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[NickFitz]

• Ticketmaster’s Dark History - ”A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam.” The story of everybody's least-favourite ticketing business.
• These ‘green pea’ galaxies might have helped to end the Universe’s dark age - The James Webb Space Telescope

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[NickFitz]

The holiday season may be over, but that doesn't mean you have to do anything useful - you could just ditz around reading this lot instead

• Get Your Kicks: Owens Salvage in the Panhandle Pays Homage to the Heyday of the Hot Rod - ”Bob Owens putters through his salvage yard in a beat-up truck on

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[NickFitz]

Another year, another bunch of stuff that's probably more interesting than work

• The Curious Case of Nebraska Man - ”A fossil tooth, a splashy debate, and a strange chapter in America’s long history of science denialism.” Warning: contains William Jennings Bryan
• Spotlight on the Decomposers:

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[NickFitz]

Do they still do sales on Boxing Day? If so, they're probably best avoided; settle down to read this lot instead

• The Deep South’s Dames of Dildos - A business idea: ”In a Bible-belt state where sex toys stores are illegal, a church-going grandma, enterprising mom and sassy granddaughter build

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[NickFitz]

Extremely late today because the man+van who was supposed to move me on Sunday had to postpone to Tuesday due to starter motor problems, but then phoned late this morning asking if he could make a start today… and as a result, I've had to do a whole bunch of packing and stuff that I was going to do...

[NickFitz]

It's been snowing here this morning which makes shifting heavy stuff over to my new flat a rather dubious proposition, as I doubt anybody's gritted the private road that runs round the square. Oh well, at least the Internet has plenty of stuff to read instead

• A Matter of Honor - ”Why

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[NickFitz]

I'm supposed to be moving hundreds of books over to my new flat, but I suppose I'd better get this lot posted first

• 172 Runners Started This Ultramarathon. 21 of Them Never Came Back. - ”As temperatures dropped toward freezing and rain pelted the trail, runners in China's Yellow River

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[NickFitz]

I'm sitting here on tenterhooks, waiting for the solicitor to call and tell me I've bought a flat. So I might as well get these posted for you all, to help pass the time

• ‘The more we pulled back the carpet, the more we saw’: what I learned when I bought a house with a dark past - ”I knew the

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[NickFitz]

I believe they're doing one of those football things at the moment, so you'll need plenty to read

• ‘That Girl is Going to Get Herself Killed’ - ”In 2012, I was working at a hotel in Glacier National Park when a man I’d just met invited me for a day of tubing and drinking beer on the river. Little

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[NickFitz]

I've got an appointment at the dentist this afternoon - at 2:30!

• Bad Faith at Second Mesa - ”After swiping sacred American Indian artifacts three archeology thieves believe they are being hunted down by spirits of vengeance.” A cautionary tale for those who mess with the Hopi
• Inside

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[NickFitz]

Having returned to the bench, I spent much of last week feeling like rubbish; not sure if it was a mild cold or a mild dose of Covid. Anyway, while I recuperate, you can be reading this lot for me

• True Grit - ”When a storm surge swept dozens of wild horses and cattle from the coast of North

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[NickFitz]

All good things must come to an end, and I'm finally back on the bench after my stint with what was Her Majesty's Government when I started but His Majesty's by the time I finished

• Murder to Middle School - ”I was 13 when my father was killed right before my eyes. Two weeks later, while everyone

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[NickFitz]

Just got to make it through to COB Thursday and I'll be back on the bench! In the meantime, here's some light reading to be getting on with

• The $30 Million Lottery Scam - ”Twice a day since 1981, the Michigan Lottery has drawn four numbered Ping-Pong balls from a plastic tank and paid up to $5,000

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[NickFitz]

Extension for a couple of weeks was confirmed at lunchtime on Friday but they haven't been able to get the paperwork sorted out yet, so I'm off today, giving me more time for important things like this

• Our Haunted Apartment in Montreal - Nathan Munn recalls a strange place to live: ” I hauled

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[NickFitz]

Yes, I know, late again. In my defence, I had to go to the dentist at teatime

• Two minutes of The Simpsons - Comedy writer Joel Morris presents an exhaustive analysis of how and why the first two minutes of Simpsons episode Homer Badman are funny: ”I’m going to shred any joy out of the

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[NickFitz]

Can it really be Monday Links 666? Why yes, it can

• Alone at the Edge of the World - The story of Susie Goodall's voyage in the Golden Globe round-the-world yacht race: ”The 29-year-old British woman had spent three years readying for this voyage. It demanded more from her than she could have

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[NickFitz]

Take a break from watching the markets plummet with this selection of things wholly unrelated to the state of the nation

• We Spoke With the Last Person Standing in the Floppy Disk Business - ”Turns out the obsolete floppy is way more in demand than you’d think.” Interview with Tom Persky, floppy

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[NickFitz]

Aaaarrr! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day, mateys! Let's hope they continue to make it a Bank Holiday in future years

• My Strange, Seductive Stint as the Hugh Hefner of Moscow - ”As a disillusioned cub reporter, I jumped at the bizarro job of a lifetime: editor-in-chief of Playboy Russia when

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[NickFitz]

Yes, I know it's late again. I am quite busy at the moment

• How Do You Make the Perfect Toy? - ”Fads come and go, but how to create a toy that stands the test of time is the billion-dollar question” A look at the serious business of fun.
• What reionized the Universe, and when? - ”When

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[NickFitz]

Yes, I know it's late again. This gig is up at the end of the month, so I'll have more time for important stuff then

• The Humiliating History of the TSA - The saga of the USA's post-9-11 security theatre agency: ”The family might not have known it, but they had run into one of air travel’s many

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[NickFitz]

You can either read these now, or wait until tomorrow so you're still billing for the time

• I Smuggled My Laptop Past the Taliban So I Could Write This Story - Bushra Seddique on her escape from Afghanistan: ”I had heard about the Taliban all my life. But I had never actually seen a Talib before.

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[NickFitz]

Had one of those days when you think everything's about wrapped up for the sprint, then it turns out something is unexpectedly broken and you have to try and fix it between all the meetings

• After the Zodiac Killer's '340' Cipher Stumped the FBI, Three Amateurs Made a Breakthrough - ”For more

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[NickFitz]

Sorry, yes, late again. Far too busy at the moment

• In search of the lost “Greek” tribe of Alexander the Great - ”One hundred and twenty-seven years ago, a mysterious Afghan pagan tribe, the Kalash, fled Islamic religious persecution to three secretive valleys in a remote corner of what is

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[NickFitz]

Far too much time on Teams today. Still, there'll be even more meetings tomorrow as it's Sprint Planning Day

• The Maintenance Race - Stewart Brand on the 1968 Golden Globe singlehanded circumnavigation of the globe yacht race and the lengths the competitors had to go to to keep their vessels

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[NickFitz]

Late again

• King of the Hill - ”Andres Beckett dreamed of competing in a punishing rodeo event known as the Suicide Race. But more difficult than charging down its dangerously steep track was earning a spot at the starting line.” Good story, though I'm glad I don't come from a place where you're

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[NickFitz]

Late again today. I really need to automate the process of putting this lot together each week

• This Old Dog - ”For each year that I move around the sun, my sister ages seven times as much… I watched the movement of his lips as he relayed a message from my family in Singapore: Shandi

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[NickFitz]

Bit warm, isn't it? For reference, it's 35°C here, but by keeping the windows shut and the curtains drawn, I've managed to keep it down to a veritably frigid 27.8° inside

• I Reported on Avalanches for 15 Years. Then I Triggered a Huge One. - ”After kicking off an enormous slide on a familiar

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[NickFitz]

Sorry it's late again, but even reading the Internet is tiring in this heat

• A Plane of Monkeys, a Pandemic, and a Botched Deal: Inside the Science Crisis You’ve Never Heard Of - ”Experts say there’s a dire shortage of primates for biomedical research—and it’s putting human lives at risk.” Jackie

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[NickFitz]

Still tired after that covid nonsense, but I've managed to find some stuff to read anyway

• Follow the Leader - ”In the waning days of the Cold War, Rainer Sonntag helped fuel a neo-Nazi movement that still plagues Germany today. He was also a Communist spy—and worked for Vladimir Putin.” Might have

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[NickFitz]

Gradually recovering from covid - the perfect time to get an infected tooth!

• Hunting For Kobyla - Simon Wiesenthal’s long pursuit of a Nazi guard: ”Wiesenthal considered the three women. Their request was familiar, but the name they’d inquired about⁠⁠—Kobyla⁠⁠—was not. He

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[NickFitz]

I finally got covid. It's horrid

• The Doctor, the Dentist, and the Killer - ”Brenda thought she and Ricky would be together forever, until he left her. Kendra thought she and Ricky would be together forever. Then Brenda took matters into her own hands. Inside the case of jealousy, spying,

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[NickFitz]

A rare three-digit Roman numeral today

• The Stargazers - ”The historic Maya oriented their lives by the heavens. Today, their descendants and Western scholars team up to understand their sophisticated astronomy.” Interesting look at the things being learned about Mayan culture by talking to, umm,

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[NickFitz]

Some stuff to pass the time until the liar calls a general election out of spite, so you'd better read quickly

• “I’m Still Alive but Sh*t Is Getting Wild”: Inside the Siege of the Amarula - ”When vast gas reserves were discovered off the idyllic coast of northern Mozambique, a crew of roughnecks

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[NickFitz]

Busy day of bug hunting today. I ended up creating a Python test case that automagically generates its own test methods by introspecting the test subject, so that was fun

• Letting the Sea Have Its Way - If the sea is encroaching on land, why not just let it? ”Near the community of Selsey,

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[NickFitz]

Not quite as busy today, so I've managed to get this lot sorted out a little earlier than the past couple of weeks

• The Math Prodigy Whose Hack Upended DeFi Won’t Give Back His Millions - ”An 18-year-old graduate student exploited a weakness in Indexed Finance’s code and opened a legal

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[NickFitz]

I've been ill and busy today

• The rise of the Strangler - ”Deep in an archive kept secret for decades, the author found a stunning trove: social workers’ notes gathered over many years on the early life of Albert DeSalvo, the admitted killer of 11 women and one of Boston’s few truly iconic

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[NickFitz]

Been really busy today, so I'm afraid this lot had to wait

• The 19th-Century Hipster Who Pioneered Modern Sportswriting - ”Like many travel writers, Thomas Stevens wrote in the first person. He also wrote in the present tense, so everything he recounts feels immediate, as if his journey is

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[NickFitz]

Enjoy it while you can - it'll be four-and-a-half weeks before the next Bank Holiday!

• A Crime Beyond Belief - ”A Harvard-trained lawyer was convicted of committing bizarre home invasions. Psychosis may have compelled him to do it. But in a case that became a public sensation, he wasn’t the

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[NickFitz]

Thank goodness there's another Bank Holiday next week; I'm really not enthused by this working-on-Monday malarkey

• The nurse imposter - ”Brigitte Cleroux faked her credentials and treated hundreds of patients across Canada. Why did no one stop her?” She wasn't even any good at it, so how on earth

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[NickFitz]

It's a nice day out. Are we sure this is a Bank Holiday?

• A day in the life of (almost) every vending machine in the world - ”I’d had an idea to try to capture 24 hours in the life of vending machines. These weird, conspicuous objects! With their backs against the wall of everyday existence,

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[NickFitz]

Another busy day. Thank goodness there's a Bank Holiday next week

• The Legend of the Music Tree - How a huge tree cut down in Belize in 1965 became the most prized wood in the world: ”The sound was resonant and true. But the most remarkable part was the look of the thing: Its back and sides

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