Status:

Slept for a very long time last night, maybe 13 hours. Didn’t even need my pillow-friendly headphones to send me off. I was feeling pretty antsy last night and on reflection I did do something every day for four days, so even though those were limited, well managed and not harmful in themselves they did add up. Today I’m feeling much clearer but the lesson has been learned, keeping it on the down-low.

Reading:

• Energy and the Matter Problem — This has been sitting in my tabs for a while as I thought it would require a clear head to process, but it turns out to be a very accessible read which I commend to you all. Not a surprise as Deb Chachra is a great writer. Here she looks at how abundant energy, correctly applied, could solve “the matter problem”, as in how we deal with the atoms we extract, use and dispose of as an earth-bound society. The opening example of how aluminium went from a near-impossible to produce luxury metal to literally disposable is particularly enlightening. Bascially, if you throw enough energy at it, properly recycling plastic waste at an atomic level becomes viable. Via Sentiers who provides a good summary of the idea and some context.
• I’m queer, not gay. It matters. — I remain interested in this distinction between what we might call weird gays and normie gays.
• Find the Fox – new Cartography — It’s often said that an artist shouldn’t explain their work and leave it to the viewer/reader to interpret, but I have to say I love it when an artist spends time writing about how something came about. Especially when they’re as good as Ed Pinsent.
• Astronauts returning from six-month missions describe a persistent ‘observer’ sensation — the feeling of watching their own lives from a half-step outside the frame, weeks after they’re back on the ground — Many physiological and psychological reasons are given related to them having been in space but I think the dramatic context shift plays a big part. The way we’ve decided to run our modern lives is really odd and in many ways quite inhuman when you come to it objectively. I wonder if people doing similar ground-based things like long-distance walking or solo yachting around the world show the same effects.

Watching:

• Timber framed barn part 39: Horizontal bifold door ‌(56:46) — When Kris' videos come out I always look forward to seeing how he dealt with recent weather conditions.
• The “bluetooth connected!” voice actors ‌(5:16) — Quite surreal as they slip in and out of their device voices.
• so Pixar made a movie about climate change ‌(1:05:29) — I have a soft spot for young nerds talking passionately and intelligently about ephemeral pop culture and was pleased to stumble upon Angela Collier who mixes up theoretical physics and science communication with her love of the movies. Here she does a deep dive into the recent Pixar movie Hoppers, which it turns out is bad for reasons that are quite interesting actually. Yes, there are strong echos of Lindsay Ellis and more directly Jenny Nicholson, and yes this probably didn’t need to be an hour long, but this is Not A Problem.

Calculating:

• Rooftop and Plug-in Solar Calculator — Been poking at this for our east-west facing terrace. The interesting discovery is regardless of whether you go for a simple no-battery 2-panel plug—in system or full roof with battery storage the payback timescale (after which the energy is basically free) is about the same, ±8 years. Really shows how interest-free loans are the answer here for people who don’t have £5-10k to hand.