Welcome to this week’s edition of our Friday Quality Linkage column.
Normally, this column would be laid out in a magazine-esque format, with lots of big, lovely photos, embedded videos, and some hopefully helpful/entertaining commentary by yours truly — not to mention a more fancy-pants title. However, today is my son’s 7th birthday and things are a little crazy around here, so this time I’ll be experimenting with a shorter, punchier format, à la the “Fresh Links” page kept up by our sister site’s editor-in-chief (and resident Canadian 🇨🇦) Josh Ginter.
Whether you like this format or prefer the old one, feel free to ping @Gromble (me) or @toolstoys on Twitter and let me know.
Federico Viticci’s Must-Have iOS Apps of 2018 — 60 awesome third-party apps for iPhone and iPad, organized into nine categories and an “App of the Year” pick.
Video: Greta Thunberg, 15, Condemns the World’s Inaction on Climate Change — A 15-year-old Swedish climate activist speaks on behalf of climate justice, taking world leaders to task for their negligence in this battle thus far. “You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” Powerful words.
Video: How is Black Fire Made? — Apparently, putting sodium flames next a sodium lamp will create interesting effects — namely, dark flames.
Gluten-Free Antarctica — Maciej Cegłowski (the Pinboard guy) continues to share his Antarctic exploits (previously). This time it’s mostly about food: “Every night the staff watches rapt as a more and more comical portion is set at the head of the table, and every night they watch it disappear into Rodney’s beard. So far they have found no limit.”
A Visual History of Computing (1945–1979) — Gorgeously photographed collection of old computers, arranged gradient-style.
Album: Young Oceans — “Songs of Christmas” — Sick of the same old standards and pop anthems? This atmospheric Christmas album is for you. Put it on in the background and you’ll almost forget you’re listening to holiday songs.
F*** Work NSFW for language — Professor and author asks the somewhat radical question: What if jobs aren’t the solution, but the problem? His points will seem crazy to some, but with job automation continually on the rise, we will all eventually have to re-examine the role work plays in our lives.
Video: How to Make Sourdough Bread — Patrick Ryan, owner of the Firehouse Bakery & Bread School in Ireland, offers a clear, supremely helpful guide to baking sourdough, from getting your starter up and running to kneading technique to shaping to scoring the bread and so forth. Want even more bread porn? Check out the bread-making book featured in our recent cookbook gift guide.
Neat Stuff We Published This Week
- This tiny computer is a tinker’s delight: Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
- Puts other ice trays to shame: Peak Ice Works “Everyday” Silicone Ice Tray
- Physics and Engineering 101 for kids: “Marbleocity” Marble Run Kits
- Solid, dependable and economical shaver: Remington F5-5800 Foil Electric Razor
Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.