Recent Reading: Tokarczuk's Flights

 I have recently been reading Olga Tokarczuk's Flights with a good deal of pleasure. Much of what I love about the work of

Reconstructing the Antikythera Mechanism

 

"Clickspring" makes gorgeous videos about an inspiring project: building a replica of the Antikythera mechanism using only period-appropriate tools and methods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBRCL090PxA

 

I particularly like this project because it's an excellent way to debunk the "ancient astronaut" kookery surrounding this piece of ancient technology (and other "too advanced" ancient human achievements).

Cory Doctorow on John Deere's Tractor Killswitch

https://doctorow.medium.com/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors-bc93f471b9c8

 

Most of us have heard about the Russian looters who stole a bunch of John Deere equipment from a Ukrainian dealer and hauled it to Chechnya, only to be foiled when the dealer remotely disabled all those implements. Heartwarming! But . . . This essay ties together several issues in a very neat, very disturbing bundle. The big surprise for me was

Recent Reading: Solnit, Pogue Harrison, Adams

 Rebecca Solnit: Orwell's Roses

Not really a biography, but an exploration of certain aspects of Orwell's

Friday Links: German Expression, Knife Sharpening, a Recipe, and Atlanta

I know that the principles of this knife sharpener are sound, I don't know if this version works well. At this price I'm tempted to try. A company called "Wasabi" has been selling the same thing at a multiple of this price.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002806278575.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.100009.1.6013e215hW2M1i&gps-id=pcDetailLeftTopSell&scm=1007.13482.271138.0&scm_id=1007.13482.271138.0&scm-url=1007.13482.271138.0&pvid=5946f051-089f-46be-8974-ac65ec5f40bc&_t=gps-id:pcDetailLeftTopSell,scm-url:1007.13482.271138.0,pvid:5946f051-089f-46be-8974-ac65ec5f40bc,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238108%231977&pdp_ext_f=%257B%2522sku_id%2522%253A%252212000025558963981%2522%252C%2522sceneId%2522%253A%25223482%2522%257D&pdp_pi=-1%253B30.8%253B-1%253B-1%2540salePrice%253BUSD%253Brecommend-recommend

A varenyky recipe. I think this is too much sour cream but I haven't tried it yet. Let me know if you do!

https://www.allthingsukrainian.com/Recipe/Varenyky/VarenykyRecipe.html

Did you know? One German near-equivalent to "painting the town red" is [literally] "letting the sow out."

https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/die_Sau_rauslassen

Here are some good local writers and reporters making their suggestions for improving Atlanta. I am in strong agreement with Andisheh's.

https://austinlouisray.com/#/how-id-fix-atlanta/

What I'm Listening To, Early March 2022

 Trippy, gentle, relaxing: Panda Bear's "Boys' Latin."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prBaZzYmQrI

Alan Watts + beats: INZO's "Overthinker."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQSQuCHtcI

Alan Watts + beats: "Alan Watts Chillstep Mix."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbu-OTEHnf8

Enough with the mellow! Hyperstimulation for the ADHD brain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vd2nyk-4Lo

Link: Research on Calorie Restriction in Humans

 We've known for decades that calorie restriction prolongs the life of lab rodents. There's also correlation between a low-calorie (but nutritious) diet and longer life in some human populations, Okinawans being the most frequently mentioned example. This recent summary of NIH-sponsored work starts to hint at what the mechanism might be:

https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2022/03/08/biology-of-aging-study-shows-why-curbing-calories-counts/