A weekly collection of links to interesting things curated by Colin Wright.
Crossing the USA by Train
Today, I get to start a train trip I’ve always wanted to do: Going from New York to San Francisco!!
This map shows that first section of the trip. I’m taking the “Lake Shore Limited”, an overnight train. Will arrive in Chicago in around 20 hours, and amazingly, that’s the only time I’ll have to change trains!
Military’s UFO-Hunting Aerial Surveillance System Detailed In Report
In its annual report released on Thursday, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) shared a graphic that gives us our best look yet at what its GREMLIN system is. It was developed by Georgia Tech Research Institute specifically to help gather data about so-called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. That’s the DoD’s new parlance for what used to be called UFOs.
When AARO last discussed GREMLIN back in March, the office said the system was designed to provide “hyperspectral surveillance to try to capture these incidents.” However, no details were given about what kind of sensors were being used to capture data across different areas of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously.
European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 Winners
"Of all the animals that roam the savannah, spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) get the most 'bad press.' They are often derided as one of the 'ugly five' and viewed as scavenging opportunists. For me, however, hyenas are extremely interesting creatures. Over the years, I have taken countless wonderful pictures capturing many different aspects of their behavior. In this photo, we see the gentle side of these often misunderstood, highly social animals: a hyena cub snuggles up lovingly to its disheveled and battered-looking mother."
Grandmas on Demand: NYC’s Mobile Advice Stand Returns
Conceived by Upper West Sider Mike Matthews, the Grandma Stand is a mobile station where passersby can stop to chat with a grandmother for free advice and a sympathetic ear.
The seed was planted in 2012, when a coworker came to Matthews in need of support. Instead of offering up his own advice, he suggested that she call his grandmother, Eileen, for comfort. They spoke over the weekend, and on Monday morning, his coworker came bouncing into the office, explaining that her conversation with Eileen had lifted her spirits—it was just what she needed. Matthews thought, “My grandma has so much love, and her presence is too big for our family; she needs something more.” And, the idea for the Grandma Stand was born.
The Perverse Consequences of Tuition-Free Medical School
In theory, tuition-free medical school is an antidote to these problems. Medical-school debt has ballooned, from an average of about $147,000 (in today’s dollars) in 2000 to $235,000 in 2024. Freed from that burden, graduates could pursue less lucrative specialties and work in underserved areas, where the pay is generally lower, without worrying about how they’ll pay off their debt over time. Talented students from low-income backgrounds who are currently dissuaded from entering the field because of the cost would be more likely to apply and matriculate.
Sarah Mineko Ichioka on Transitioning to a Regenerative Mindset
I would argue that even a sole focus on climate is too narrow, because – as urgent and terrifying as it is – climate change is not the fundamental problem to be solved, but rather a symptom of the dysfunctions of the broader socio-economic systems undergirding our globalised, industrial economy: extractive capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy and so on.
Before some readers who might be allergic to this kind of language get itchy to close their browsers, I’d invite them to consider this: according to an international team of scientists documented by the Stockholm Resilience Centre – we have now overshot six out of nine measurable boundaries of planetary health (which, fundamentally support human health). Some of these exceeded boundaries include environmental pollution, freshwater change, land system change, biodiversity loss and yes, climate change. These factors impact our buildings, infrastructure and cities. If we transform how we design, manage and inhabit them, we can attempt to restore and rebuild health for all.
Dawn in Damascus
How do you capture the tears of a mother or father seeing their son for the first time, exiled for a decade and returning as a liberator, the military prowess shed at the door as he kneels to kiss his parents’ feet and weep with abandon?
The sheer joy and suffering on the faces and in the eyes of the thousands of detainees freed from Assad’s dungeons after 10, 15, 20, 40 years without a breath of fresh air, robbed of dreams, robbed of meaning, in the service of … well, nothing in the end. Assad fled. Not a word to his followers who fulfilled their pledge of burning their country in pursuit of maintaining his criminal narco-state.