P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #416
Space
my story 🚀
📸 It’s SXSW this week. The one event we attended was “NASA House” at the Austin Public Library. Our parenting plan is to take every opportunity to expose the kids to cool technology and get them excited about space. I think this is the first time the kids got to experience an Infrared Camera!
🐔 Congratulations to those of you who (Kim included) beat last week’s chicken game. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I didn’t. Maybe I’ll keep trying.
fun facts 🙌
The longest conveyor belt in the US is 42 miles. “The belt the company named “The Dune Express” runs from tiny Kermit, Texas, and across state borders into Lea County, New Mexico. Tall and lanky with lids that resemble solar modules, the steel structure could almost be mistaken for a roller coaster.” ~ learn more
Lichens: organisms need not be a single species. “Lichens are composite organisms that consist of a symbiotic association of photosynthetic algae or cyanobacteria and one or two fungi. Given that each individual consists of two or three distinct and unrelated species, the taxonomy of the group is contentious.” ~ learn more
Discontinued foods from the ‘90s and 2000s. We played a game at work this week “If you could bring back any discontinued product (food, tech, toy), what would it be?” and foods were a popular choice. My answer was Taco Bell Lava Sauce. ~ learn more
oh, austin 🤠
There was a Texas lottery arbitrage. Here’s a wild story. “The way to buy every ticket is to get the lottery commission to send a bunch of lottery terminals to your office, and then use automated methods to rapidly print every possible ticket from those machines. Will the lottery commission let you do that? Well, probably not, but can’t hurt to ask…” ~ learn more
tech, startups, internet ⚡
Vibe revenue. “Vibe revenue is money coming from customers who are paying out of curiosity, novelty, or FOMO rather than because a product solves a genuine, persistent problem in their workflow.” Side note: I feel like the word ‘vibe’ is about to jump the shark at any moment. Enjoy it in the meantime! ~ learn more
This analysis cost 27 cents. Tomasz Tunguz is impressed by Claude Code. “This little screenshot is of Claude Code, the product I use now to write the analysis of datasets like estimating the value of a venture firm. I didn’t expect to find this feature initially as useful as I do now. But it makes me feel great because of how inexpensive it is to be productive.” ~ learn more
to your health ⚕
No more self-affirmed GRAS? That acronym stands for Generally Regarded as Safe. It is currently the case that manufacturers can self-affirm that their ingredients qualify. RFK Jr: “I am directing the FDA commissioner to start the process of changing the rules to eliminate the self-affirmed GRAS pathway for new ingredients.” ~ learn more
Time to fear the microplastics? “Soooo you’ve likely heard of microplastics by now. (And if you haven't yet, now you won’t be able to unhear it.) The tiny substance has gained notoriety everywhere, from New York Magazine to your local Instagram newsfeed. Why are these tiny particles suddenly gaining so much attention, and should you be paying attention? The short answer is: Yes.” ~ learn more
under the microscope 🔬
Sleep to lose weight? “A randomized trial found that overweight adults sleeping <6.5h/night cut 270 calories/day—just by sleeping 1.2 hours more. No diet or exercise changes.” ~ learn more
big ideas 📚
DARPA wants to ‘grow’ enormous living structures in space. “The concept would skirt delivery headaches. Without a rocket’s size and weight constraints, engineers could also design and construct large structures—over 1,640 feet or 500 meters long—that can't be shipped from Earth.” ~ learn more
Renewable energy in the Antarctic. “On a remote island in the Southern Ocean, China’s Qinling Station has switched on Antarctica’s first large-scale hydrogen energy system — a breakthrough in sustaining research operations in one of the harshest places on Earth.” ~ learn more