Monday, May 11, 2026

link dump #12

I follow a lot of RSS feeds which makes it easier for me to discover interesting web pages without having to visit my list of interesting blogs which aren't updated often.  I hate to send these interesting links via email since it feels too much like a teacher giving homework... here, go read all of these web pages and report back to me.  Instead I think collecting them in a blog post is a friendlier way to pass links along.

I started in the computer industry as a field engineer.  When I got stuck on night shift, there was often little to keep me occupied between trouble calls.  I used to play early computer games like Star Trek and Adventure (aka Colossal Cave Adventure on a TI Silent 700 terminal with an acoustic modem.  Here's a history of the game which brought back memories for me.
https://dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/1/2/000009/000009.html

I assumed that Lithium Ion batteries caused a fair number of fires but I had no idea it was this bad.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/11/uk-firefighters-lithium-ion-battery-fires-ebikes

I worked for an optical networking startup company called Ocular Networks for a while.  The news that fiber optic cables can be used to eavesdrop on people came as a surprise to me.
https://www.science.org/content/article/fiber-optic-cables-can-eavesdrop-nearby-conversations

Apparently cats react differently to falling in space.  The video is fascinating.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MBzDfmynaAQ 

Apparently volcanoes can create lightning while erupting.  As if lava wasn't scary enough on its own...
https://nautil.us/why-volcanoes-sometimes-shoot-out-lightning-1280235

The classic story of Mel, a programmer who hand optimized accesses on a magnetic drum storage device entertains me each time it surfaces.  I've known programmers who had this level of hardware knowledge.
http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/story-of-mel.html

Creating a permanent settlement on the Moon presents lots of challenges to overcome.
https://theconversation.com/the-unseen-challenges-of-life-on-the-moon-273370 

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