KITTEN NOW!

May 08, 2017

Welcome to Corgi-Class Starship, your weekly window into whatever's on my mind. 

Medium Ramble

Skippable if you're in a hurry.This isn't a paid placement of any kind, but have you seen what Omaze.com is doing? Go take a look, and then hark ye back to episode 3 of the podcast, "Hella Rocks in Space." This is the episode in which (among other things) I posit a world in which celebrities record hi-def sex scenes which are then sold to individuals on the internet, the proceeds from which go to fund social good. The basic formula is[number of people who want to see their favorite celebrity get mad rutty in 4K video] x [price of video] == [a whopping amount, probably?]We go into the many, many implications of this notion in some detail on the podcast, and I thought it made for an interesting contrast to the Omaze model. The downside of their whole deal is that not every user gets to have the experience, but that's a known risk going in, and at least one user is going to have an amazing time. Honestly, there's no reason both models couldn't exist parallel to each other; they use different means to generate money, but it would all go to more or less the same places. Which one would generate more money, though? That's the question. 

#dadthoughts

Also skippable if you're in a hurry or don't care. No judgment.Up until a year or two ago, I had never before heard of the concept of a "babymoon," but I'm here to tell you I think I'm in favor. Our current plan is to visit Hawaii somewhere in the back half of June (July gets kind of crazy) and see what's what. Neither of us have been,* and it'll be nice to just take a few days to pause and relax before we enter the Babydome come November (or more hopefully Halloween). Our priorities include: 

  • Beach lounging

  • Non-strenuous swimming or wading

  • Looking at a volcano?

  • Saying hi to a pineapple

  • Enjoying nature in general

If anyone has suggestions for activities that aren't a lot of stress or physically demanding (learning to scuba dive is probably off the table, for instance), feel free to hit that Reply at your leisure! Restaurant recommendations will also be accepted, but be advised neither of us are into seafood or mayo. I thank you in advance.* I know Virginia is supposed to be for lovers or whatever, but seriously: Hawaii has ALWAYS seemed to me like a place that just doesn't make any sense to visit unless you've got a significant other. 

Fascination Corner

I read a lot of newsletters; here are some links that caught my eye.Like so:

  • There's a company out there called Calysta that makes something they call FeedKind, which is a proteinaceous feed currently meant for aquatic livestock that's bacterially generated. Listen: as a civilization, this is something we're going to need. Do not doubt this. But I have so many questions. So many questions.

  • Aeon makes a case for science by algorithm, which honestly is a super interesting idea.

  • Malls are dying out there by the truckload; what do we do with 'em? There are five ideas here that are intriguing for different reasons. I'm probably not the only person who imagines living in a big collective space with a chosen community of pals; just one group out there in the world needs to give this a real shot, so we can see if it's a viable notion.

  • If you've ever wanted to know what foreigners actually think of America, this article on the USA's Wikitravel entry is highly instructive. For instance, "With the exception of handshakes, Americans do not like to be touched by members outside of their family and will respond aggressively if poked, pushed, or grabbed by a stranger."

  • One last bit of Fyre Festival schadenfreude: this Vice article is prrrrrobably as close as we're going to get to a definitive longread on the entire debacle. Savor it.

Looky Here

Update(s) on thing(s) I made or somehow helped to bring about.Idea Factory Giveaway39 - The Kitten Supply Chain"Jon (@ferociousj), Kelly (@enthusiosity), and special guest Maya (@MayaPhilipson) work out the model for an unusual kitten-based business and get real about the tech dating scene."I seriously think the kitten business we talk about in this episode could be done; I need to talk to someone who's had an Uber kitten delivered about how well kittens seem to put up with car travel, is all.You can subscribe using:iTunesRSSStitcherGoogle Play MusicYou can also just go to the website to play or download episodes:https://ideafactorygiveaway.simplecast.fm/ 

A Fictional Thing

Something made-up that somehow suggested itself to me and which I could not escape.A band and their albumGrosswaffle, Watch Out for Captain Wonderful 

Thanks

If you've read this far, I thank you. Feel free to forward this to someone you like, or inflict upon someone you don't.