Birch Bark Mar 13, 2020
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Thank you, and let's got on to the links for this week!
Dog Dancing...Heelwork...Just Watch this Video
I had no idea this was even a thing before this week, and this performance of a woman and her dog is the most messed up thing you will watch this week, and I can’t recommend it enough. You will not be the same after watching this.\
You really can do anything in Excel.
I Pressed Cmd+B and You Wouldn’t Believe What Happened Next
This is a great talk from a dev who tried to determine the right way to handle the user hitting Cmd+B in Figma. It’s kinda about fonts, but it’s really about software design, user experience, and the hidden complexities of building software.
What Do We Want From a Star Wars Movie?
The last few years have shown pretty clearly that there are two major factions of Star Wars fans, and I definitely fall into one of them more than the other. Patrick Willems breaks this down wonderfully.
How VC Money Ruined a Generation of Direct-to-Consumer Brands
VC funding is a necessary thing in many instances, but the impact it has on how companies have to operate is so often detrimental to building sustainable businesses.
DuckDuckGo is good enough for regular use
DuckDuckGo is my default search engine on all my devices, but I’d be lying if there aren’t still plenty of time where I throw an !g in front of my search to fall back to Google.
Black Mesa: A full remake of Half Life 1
The fact this project exists at all is amazing. I never played the original Half Life, but this makes me want to give it a shot.
The Woman Helping Hollywood Shoot Safer Sex Scenes
This is a fascinating article on what is effectively a "sex coordinator" on set (much like a stunt or special effects coordinator). I love movie-making, and this is a dive into an aspect of filmmaking that I have not seen before.
The Rise of Sustainable Energy
This report is a fantastic look into the energy market over the past 10 years around the world. Try as he might, the current imbecile-in-chief can’t change the transition to better, more sustainable sources of energy.
This collaboration is going to be a hot ticket whenever this launches.
The Brilliance of Mario vs Rabbids
Who ever would have thought that an Ubisoft-made game featuring Mario characters and a boat-load of Rabbids would turn out to be one of the greatest games of the decade? I didn’t see it coming, but I love seeing how much praise this game continues to get years after its release.
The Coronavirus Outbreak Has Caused the Biggest Global Oil Demand Dip in History
More on energy, but hey, did you not subscribe to this newsletter for all that sweet, sweet energy market updates?
The untold origins of Apple’s groundbreaking design
There’s nothing groundbreaking in this article for long-time Apple nuts, but even still, it’s a great look back on some great design, and that’s always fun.
NASA Crash Landed a Plane Full of Fuel
It never occurred to me that jetliners would dump their fuel tanks before making a crash landing, but this video shows why that apparently is a pretty good idea.
Ecstasy EP - Discolusire
This new EP from Disclosure is not their best work ever, but it’s some damn good work music you can throw on a loop for a few hours and get some serious work done.