Dramatic rescue

Can you imagine going through this? I can't believe he was still conscious when they picked him up. 

https://youtu.be/GBLQEnYy_68?is=EKbAk0cgTKttUpza

What a cute story! Skagit County teens and seniors swap life, tech skills

...putting teenagers and senior citizens in a room together so they could learn from one another.

The event, called “Ageless Intelligence,” took place in Sedro-Woolley where a banquet hall was set up like a science fair. There were booths with titles like, “How to do a reverse image search,” and, “What’s a large language model?”

Around 30 seniors between the ages of 60 and 85 mingled with more than 100 16- and 17-year-olds. 

...a giant skills swap. The teenagers gave presentations about AI and technology. The seniors gave presentations about animal rescue and how to fix a flat tire.

[A senior] explained the art of writing a letter — by hand.

...they almost had to cancel the event because they couldn’t get enough seniors to enroll. 

“I saw a different side of the teenagers. They were polite, caring, interested in each other and talking to older people."

https://www.kuow.org/education/2026-05-28/teens-seniors-swap-life-and-tech-skills

A comedian transforms and repurposes a magazine stand in the subway.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/nyregion/subway-newstand-west-4th-station-nyc.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Boston's "Museum of Bad Art"

Many paintings submitted are rejected. "Works must demonstrate serious artistic intent, possess an "Oh my God" quality, and above all, not be boring." https://whichmuseum.com/news/museum-of-bad-art-where-artistic-failures-become-celebrated-masterpieces-83

Here's a documentary about it. 

Athletic robot in complex terrain

https://youtu.be/Xha2TJ_1C6Q?is=MmQxzIAUWcBoJShY

Incredible robot agility over challenging terrain. 

Contagious cancer in fish

The cancer cells on the fish were all similar to each other and very different from their hosts. The possibilities of such a tumor happening in humans are particularly ominous. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/science/contagious-cancer-catfish.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Radical Acceptance

1:19:25 in the Hidden Brain episode "Changing our Mental Maps," in the Q&A appended section about the show "Radical Acceptance." 

What's the difference between "It is what it is," and radical acceptance? 

Radical acceptance invites me through acceptance to not become passive. Passivity, as the outcome of acceptance, means you've not changed your mind about everything. What radical acceptance is supposed to do is to free you to change your mind about what can be not get stuck on what can't be and then move into that. The reason acceptance helps is you're no longer wasting your time on something that didn't require your attention, so you can do that which deserves your attention to some distance pointed out day. 

Victor Borge Claire de Lune

https://youtu.be/1mPJ3hm6M5I?is=0X6isbzXsE2D4Sz2

Absolutely beautiful performance. I love how he plays around with the tempo so delicately. 

Here's a rare recording of Debussy himself playing it. 

https://youtu.be/Yri2JNhyG4k?is=vCl4FKnxJ7MsnEuO

And here's Victor Borge at his best doing comedy. 

https://youtu.be/TIf3IfHCoiE?is=LUXqd6PWNRV0Dp_H

Very funny - the "page turner" 

https://youtu.be/LWqFaGwNCMU?is=qpnSDYlegFSd5xKU

Preventing relapse into depression

Comedian Gary Gulman describes having to be "vigilant" so he doesn't relapse into depression. 

What does he mean:

11:09 "Exercising every day, eating right, getting enough sleep, taking on projects that keep me busy, and accepting invitations." 

https://youtu.be/M-hLZWN1Nvg?is=UM5N6d9nNTC26ONG

Training robots pays

https://youtu.be/yfZhpEupz5M?is=9BWaAP3yxoZ7n1zC

This innovative idea pays people to clean houses for free, while wearing cameras to gather data about household chores. 

Smart startup - have your home cleaned for free by people wearing headsets that train robots for everyday tasks. 

You just have to ignore the privacy concerns. 

Crushed basalt helps trees grow.

https://youtu.be/3toYxpP_S2w?is=SFLv3cGYLMCtVCiU

1:49 Crushed basalt encourages 85% more growth and 27% more carbon sequestered in 4 years. 

Why? 

Crushed volcanic basalt slowly dissolves in soil water, releasing vital trace elements like magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron over several years. - ref

This also supports soil bacteria and fungi, which build a healthier living network around tree roots.

Luckily, it's getting a boost from companies needing to pay for carbon offset, like Microsoft. And a large-scale project is underway in Brazil. 

Nuclear common sense, at last

https://youtu.be/YyXCWMwlCPw?is=kSV4mpt3V3z_vfHV

Phonesthemes

sway/sweep/swerve/swing/swirl/swish/swoop

(they all imply a closing motion)

clam/clamp/clap/clasp/clench/cling/clip/clop/close/ clutch (clump together)

lump/rump/hump/bump (heavy protrusion) 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18BKQ2cECu/

Changing our mental maps

25:45 the "default mode network" in our brains is constantly working to pass off mental tasks to an automated pattern. This simplifies "what am I doing in every given moment" but it also features blind spots as to "what other possibilities in this moment" which has big implications in our ability to change. The default mode network is like a "groove" that our mind falls into. 

Thinking about "the self" takes the highest priority because that's important for our survival. 

33:37 we saw that in depressed patients, the brain showed decreased activity in the areas related to sensation in areas of the body

https://www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/changing-our-mental-maps/

Increasing the electricity grid capacity with superconducting cables

https://youtu.be/8KOYyfZbPzo?is=RkawiLkJO7Itljfa

8:40 superconducting power transmission lines

10:35 but they have to be kept cold, very cold

Marks Marine Pharmacy (CanShipMeds)

Marks Marine Pharmacy (CanShipMeds) https://share.google/cHPpwkCXNGQpfKkDr

Ships prescription drugs for less from Canada

Nuclear battery - radioactive nickel encased in diamond

https://youtu.be/Onk0FRuA4XU?is=EJ8oE_3YliwGQ8Pg

Invented a half century ago, but this new design uses a safer nickel isotope, and a diamond-based conductor that doesn't degrade over time. 

Lasts for decades. Weak radiation needs no shielding. Byproduct is copper. 

Weird sandwich

This combination sounds wild, but peanut butter, Miracle Whip, pickles, and bacon makes the ultimate sweet, salty, tangy, and crunchy bite.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fw7H5ArPy/

Automated mosquito-killer drone - no chemicals, no by-catch of helpful insects.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18wfvSKwre/

Tiny 40g drone finds and kills mosquitoes using ultrasound, self-charges, and flies autonomously. 

https://youtu.be/dDa9pFzeJvE?is=ZeIpfSg9WsxXzpGF

A startup developing autonomous micro-drones designed to hunt and eliminate mosquitoes in mid-air using artificial intelligence and ultrasonic sonar...acoustic detection and kinetic interception: Using a spectrogram analysis, the drone's system can listen for the specific acoustic "fingerprint" of mosquito wings flapping, to differentiate between a dangerous mosquito and beneficial insects like flies or wasps. Once ID'd, the drone's intelligent control algorithms guide it to intercept the pest in mid-air and knock it down using its propellers.

Earth erosion

https://youtu.be/BnYjRtos6L8?is=5IzuhXnVhQ07rDat

Very clear animation of the earth erosion formations at Omak near the Grand Coulee dam in WA State. 

Place sliced white mushrooms in the sun.

Exposing white button mushrooms to direct sunlight for 15 to 30 minutes significantly increases their Vitamin D content. This happens because they contain a plant sterol called ergosterol, which naturally converts into Vitamin D2 when hit by ultraviolet (UVB) rays—the exact same process our own skin uses to produce Vitamin D.

Place the mushrooms with the gills (the ribbed underside of the cap) facing upward directly toward the sun. Because Vitamin D is heat-stable, these "sunbathed" mushrooms will retain their enhanced nutritional value even after being cooked or dried for up to a year.

C. S. Lewis on love in marriage

It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both partners ask, and receive from God.

https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/reflections-december-2005/

Voice like chocolate and nicotine

He has a wonderful sonorous speaking voice ("chocolate stained with nicotine" is how Rachelle's sister Naomi described it)

-London Falling, by Patrick Radden Keefe, p.13

How AI "thinks"

https://youtu.be/rKV5JcALQoQ?is=xuurxSp6FK869raH

Peeking under the hood of AI reasoning, words that the model is "thinking about" but not actually saying are important to achieving results; eliminating the ability to use such intermediate words in the process made some prompts impossible for it to answer. 

When AI was fabricating results, these inner words in the "J-space" indicated the model knew it was fabricating. 

Soldiers use silly string to detect fine-wire booby traps.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14kBRNWuZyu/

Unsinkable metal

https://youtu.be/lGpOkQ_6iT8?is=D9t1Z5TMLurTfsrk

Tiny groves on the surface and a hydrophobic coating make these tubes, of 6:33 a very specific diameter, unsinkable. 

Predatory loan takeovers forcing foreclosure

https://youtu.be/2U9kSz1pFhs?is=qPfphBBhi37J-h29

Predatory bankers take over loans that homeowners thought were forgiven, making 30-fold profits and devastating people's personal finances. 

World-record longest drone flight

https://youtu.be/cA1Asda-jTk?is=2RG-aTvjRc5jBMJA

It takes a lot of 3D printing, tinkering, and innovation to get a some to fly for over 4 hours. 

Is court evidence accurate?

https://youtu.be/mvcesPWvUIc?is=2deKEEPcEvXFxSPQ

When you actually subject court-approved evidence to the test, to scientific method, most methods are woefully inaccurate. 

Modular homes - barriers to adoption

https://youtu.be/2pbYafEcsbk?is=GLZ8aOzsr9Hqte_F

The broken system of "stick-built," on-site construction is favored by regulation, permitting, banks and neighbors. Changing that to the modular-friendly process popular in Sweden and China is going to take a long time. 

21:43 "But if we really could build homes and apartment buildings 20 to 30% cheaper, twice as fast, make them more environmentally friendly, and make them with better materials then maybe, just maybe, one day, we could address this housing shortage"

Horses rebuild after desertification

https://youtu.be/Hl8vErrqjKY?is=nO5pfnHNYYIOS4k_

Start at 9:00. Horses selectively trample bare ground, not the grasses they eat. Seeds in their dung germinate better after traveling through their gut, essentially providing a 11:20 "self-watering, pre-fertilized seed packet." Nitrogen levels rose, insects, then birds, and then predators started to return. 

21:25 China had planted 66 billion trees in a failed attempt to thwart desertification, but 21:58 grasslands require 90% less water than trees. 

By 2023, a desert that was 23:27 expanding by thousands of km² per year was now shrinking by 47 km² per year.