Welcome to Corgi-Class Starship, the newsletter that's inordinately pleased with its new phone case and how it just brings the whole thing together, really

You'll Like This

Update(s) on thing(s) I made or somehow helped to bring about.

Instant Band Night 13 Going On 30

You have got to get in on this one, friends. At this point I think it may be safe to say we have a couple of regular attendees who bring their brass (trumpet and sax, to be precise) and their presence truly elevates both the proceedings in general and the variety of acts. Do not miss this if you value joy and creativity in your life!! There's no pressure to perform — you can simply join the almost ferociously friendly crowd in their appreciation for each wild new band that appears! Also, word to the wise: we're going for an 80s theme for this one, so dig out your brightest neon clothes. Trust me on this one!!

✨🪩✨
March 13 2025
6p
$10
East Bay Community Space
507 55th St 94609

(Eventbrite) (Facebook)

+ + T E L L + Y O U R + F R I E N D S + +
+ + S E E + Y O U + T H E R E + +

Surprising and Unique Ceramics For YOU

If you've been looking for a weird little guy to put in your garden, potted plant, or kitchen, then I have the perfect place to start your search. If you know someone else who needs a weird little guy for their garden, potted plant, or kitchen, then you're also in luck!!!!

Idea Factory Giveaway

I think it's probably safe to say the podcast is on hiatus after three+ years of inactivity, but I'm putting a link to its evergreen Apple Podcasts presence here, which includes a back catalog over 150 episodes long chock-full of excellent ridiculousness, including an experimental tabletop RPG and a couple of Star Trek fantasy drafts that could almost be their own show if I had the time to make yet another podcast

Medium Ramble

Skippable if you're in a hurry.

I've got nothing for this week here, folks; hug your loved ones and remind them of your eternal allegiance.

#dadthoughts

Also skippable if you're in a hurry or don't care. No judgment.

When it comes to sleep, Felix seems to simply be built different. We put the kids to bed around 745p and Quentin is out like a light at about 755p; he sleeps like a stone until 630a and that's the whole story, generally speaking. By contrast, Felix's self-determined bedtime routine these days consists of some combination of the following, which may not all appear in one night (but then again they very well might):

• Bedtime

• Use the booklight to peruse a book, reciting the whole thing out loud to himself

• Poop (in the potty!!!! he can tell it's coming and pushes down his overnight pull-up and sits on the potty!!!!) (after which of course I lavish him with praise and then empty the potty and sterilize it)

• Return to bed, flip through another book sans booklight

• Take his shirt off

• Play with stuffies or roll around babbling to himself

• Yell for Daddy to come help him put his shirt back on

• Lie down??????

• Fall asleep

This entire process can run its course in 15-30m, but at least one night not too long ago he was awake until almost 10p. Then he was up again at about 6a (a full 30m before the color-changing light turns green, mind you) ready to babble and sing and play with toys. There are no doubt worse versions of this routine that could exist; I'm just glad it's mostly self-directed.

Fascination Corner

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

• It doesn't mean we get to relax but we should stop despairing: "They Are a Minority: Get your mind right." (How Things Work) This pairs oddly well with this Monday's edition of Garbage Day, actually, so I'm'a link that one too. (Garbage Day)

• The Scientists have invented a new Machine learning algorithm they call "torque clustering" inspired by (of all things) the merging behavior of galaxies that's causing them to make some pretty fuckin' bold claims about the near future of general AI. (U of Tech Sydney)

• All right, sure: "Banana bends and a well-timed coffee: 31 easy ways to jump-start your energy levels in the new year" (Guardian)

• Climate change is about to fuck the global chocolate supply, but The Scientists think they might have a handle on it. Hopefully. (U of Oxford) (Paper)

• What if intelligent life appearing on habitable planets is a mathematical inevitability? (Reuters) (Paper)

• Some Engineers have invented a fully recyclable solar cell; it doesn't quite last as long, but who cares if all its materials can be used to make a new one?? (Linköping U) (Paper)

• "Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed" according to a new college study. (U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) (Paper)

• The Scientists are just starting to establish the concept of "active matter" and it's already kind of fascinating. (U of Bristol) (Paper)

• Does using The Machine make you dumber? 😬😬😬 Maaaaaaaaaaybeeeeeee? (TechCrunch)

• We must go where the evidence leads us, and so we must conclude or at least very strongly theorize that cockatoos like condiments. (Guardian) (Paper)

• A vital addition to your "This Motherfucker" list: Harold Hamm. (HEATED)

• The Scientists have figured out a more environmentally-friendly way to crack open epoxy resins for recycling, which is great because them shits are everywhere. (U of Tokyo) (Paper)

• I knew there had to be a term for these losers, and it's "the Soy Right," which [heavy sigh] is just what Gamergate [spit] aged into. (Max Read on Substack)

• The Scientists are building a Machine-powered system they hope will help monitor the health of the Great Barrier Reef in real time. (U of South Australia) (Paper)

• Ed Zitron's here to remind us all that Sam Altman and his ilk are doing nothing other than trying to pull a massive con job on the entire world. (Where's Your Ed At)

• Have a surprisingly calming read about the mini ecosystem inside a rotting log. (Knowable)

• Everybody say thank you to the puppygirl hacker polycule for leaking the manuals from one particularly influential police training company. (Daily Dot)

• It looks like EV batteries in the real world last almost 40% longer than lab tests said they would, which wow. (IEEE Spectrum) (Paper)

• We know we got doggies from wolves, but like: how? How, though? (PhysOrg) (Paper)

• The Scientists have built an open-source, large-scale, Machine-powered insect identification tool that should really help farmers everywhere. (Iowa State) (Paper)

• Wikipedia is gearing up for defense against right-wing bullshit and we should all be on the lookout. (404 Media)

• Everybody stay calm, but I appear to have been prematurely reincarnated as an opossum. (Forbes)

• Everybody loves pearlescent finishes, but they're hard to make; The Scientists have worked out a much cheaper and easier way to do it, which sounds great. (Tohoku U) (Paper)

• Congestion pricing worrrrrrrrrrrrks!!!!!!!! (Gothamist)

• What in the unbelievably sci-fi-sounding craziness: The Scientists have demonstrated the possibility of genetically engineering animals to remove mercury from the ocean??? (Macquarie U) (Paper)

• The Scientists think your mitochondria might be the key to unlocking a cure for diabetes. (U of Michigan Medicine)

• For literally the first time since the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative started looking in 2007, more than half of the movies released in 2024 had a woman protagonist. (PDF of paper)

• Colin Greenwood published a book of photos! And if you don't know who that is, don't sweat it! (It's Nice That)

• Some Engineers figured out a way to turn the heat of engine exhaust into electricity — not a lot of electricity, but better than nothin' — which you have to admit is pretty cool (ha). (ACS)

• Even people who literally don't like music still feel the urge to move when a funky beat presents itself, according to new research. (Concordia U) (Paper)

• Real wizard shit: The Scientists have hit upon a way to guide electric sparks through the air with ultrasound; yes there are pictures. (U of Helsinki) (Paper)

• Some Biomedical Engineers have invented a next-generation "living" hydrogel with cool-sounding applications in regenerative medicine and soft robotics and who knows what else. (Penn State) (Paper)

• New evidence reveals that the core of the Earth isn't as solid as we thought, and in fact is squishing around down there even as you read this. Thankfully I detect no note of panic in the article, which leads me to believe we're not looking at a THE CORE situation quite yet. (USC)

A Fictional Thing

Something made-up that somehow suggested itself to me and which I could not escape.

A band and their album

(I remembered a formula for making fake album covers that involves searching for a random appropriately licensed photo and then applying your best Graphic Design Skills to the result; let me know what you think this band/album sounds like, because your answers are always incredible)

New Music Roundup

Last week's band/album was:

No reader interpretations came in for this one, which looks to me like an old-fashioned singer-songwriter protest album, but with astonishingly, outrageously bloodthirsty lyrics.

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. If you received this as a forward and would like to subscribe yourself, you can do it at the bottom of this page right here (which also has the archive)!