Hey friends!

This last week was a really sad and troubling one - from the absolutely tragic and devastating earthquakes in Turkey - to the train derailment of all those toxic chemicals in Ohio - not to mention the various ballon incidents.

It can be hard to stay positive in times like these - so if you’re feeling low - some of the best advice I can offer is just to call a friend or family member a few times every week. It helps a lot!

Hope you’re doing well this Post SuperBowl Monday - I wrote this before the SuperBowl - so I’m gonna say “I hope there’s at least one good ad.”

We had a few friends over - I tried to use Partiful to plan it, but as with any other new app these days, even a web app, it’s hard to get people to use it. Most people just texted back.

Oh well. . .

That’s one reason why I’m skeptical about any of the Twitter clones actually making it. The last social media app to make it was TikTok - and that’s cuz they poured SO MUCH MONEY into ads - and many of those ads were aimed towards the “when TikTok was good” era.

Yeah - click that link if you miss 2018 TikTok. . .

If you’ve been on TikTok since 2018 - you’ll notice just how many earworms there are . . . and how content isn’t as silly as it used to be.

Now that I’m TikTok nostalgic - I may end up making use of this extension at some point to back up any content i’ve liked.

Anyway - I got my used Pixel 6 Pro from Back Market - and it’s been awesome! There’s a few little scratches here and there - but nothing noticeable.

The battery is in great condition - and I haven’t had a single issue yet! LONG LIVE BACK MARKET!

I also switched over to Verizon (Spectrum has a 29.99 a month plan - 20 gigs of data) - Mint Mobile just has too many issues for me to keep on using it. IDK if it’s the area i’m in - but the call quality has been pretty bad the past year or so.

Anyway, let’s hop on into the topics of today - shall we?

🦁Lion Burgers

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

Lions and . . . You know the song.

There’s a startup called Primeval Foods that is working on creating “lab meats” of animals like lions and tigers.

The company's founder, Yilmaz Bora, argues that the reason beef and chicken are so popular is because the animals the meats come from are the 'easiest to domesticate', rather than being chosen for the taste and nutrients they provide. He said that by extracting the cells of exotic animals such as giraffes, elephants and big cats, meats that most people have previously never tried could soon be on supermarket shelves, pending regulatory approval. (source)

What’s the most exotic meat you’ve ever eaten?

I had an ostrich burger at Fuddruckers back in the day - and it was pretty delicious - and I’ve had buffalo a couple of times.

Buffalo has this spicy flavor that’s quite interesting.

I’d be pretty interested in trying Tiger Meat.

Guess how they grow the meat?

Our meats are grown in stainless steel tanks, also known as cultivators, which are similar to the vessels used to make yogurt or beer. Inside the cultivators, the cells follow their natural process of forming meat, just as they would inside an animal's body . . . Our secret sauce is simple. We feed the cells with essential macronutrients– amino acids, carbohydrates, and fats, and micronutrients– vitamins and minerals. This will simply make them; grow. Our method does not involve the use of growth hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified organisms. We simply give the cells what they need to thrive. (source)

I’m glad they gave the yogurt example - because I won’t lie - it’s a bit weird to think about meat growing in a vat . . .

HOWEVER - I’d definitely give it at least one try. It can’t be any weirder than drinking an energy drink with all those mystery ingredients . . .

Check out Primeval Foods at the link!

Primeval Foods

🗞️Artifact News

Some of the founders of Instagram are BACK - with a TikTok style news app.

I signed up for beta access the moment I could - COULD THIS BE THE NEWS APP I’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF???

A news app that would actually “feed” me content from websites I didn’t know about?

After a week or so - I finally got my invite, and dove on in.

The UI/UX is quite simple - focused on headlines, rather than images. Here’s a screenshot. I really appreciate that there are only 3 icons at the bottom of the app - which really reduces “tab exhaustion.”

TikTok and Instagram both have 5. That’s . . . a lot.

The “For You” page is customized to your interests - and you can swipe on different interests to dive deeper.

It’s a cool app for browsing content casually - like when you’re in line at the grocery store - but I haven’t yet gotten the algorithm to the point where it’s an “I can’t miss it” app.

At the moment - my Google Discovery is far more optimized - but Google has ALL THE DATA.

Long term - I wonder if I could get it optimized enough to find me new content from websites I don’t already follow?

I have four invites to give away - and I’m giving them away to the first 4 people who respond to the newsletter!

Check it out on Artifact News on their website and get on the waitlist!

Artifact News

👟Knitted Shoes

How do some recyclable knitted shoes sound?

Designer Noa Zaidman has a really neat idea for a modular shoe concept.

Zaidman’s alternative, however, is made simply from two flexible parts — a mono-material 3D printed flexible sole, and a knitted upper crafted entirely out of elastic yarn. The design’s modularity allows wearers the options of washing the upper if needed, replacing a worn out sole, recycling a component, or playing around with different pairings for different looks. (source)

Here - check out these awesome shoes. They look so fun and comfy!

What I’m really intrigued by is how easy it is to change out the upper from the lower - undo the strings and you can change out to a different color or style.

In a way - it’s like Project Ara, but for shoes!

Perhaps you could change out for a hiking boot lower, or a running shoe lower.

Now, what I’m interested in is how comfortable these shoes are - based on the placement of the strings.

I did a bit of research to see what sort of work is being done with modular shoes beyond the design world.

This Ispa design style by Nike is pretty interesting - It’s a shoe that is designed TO be disassembled.

Here’s a deep dive into the philosophical approach that Nike is taking. It’s really interesting when we consider the vast amount of shoes that go live in landfills forever.

The first pair of Ispa shoes is for sale - but the next version - the “Ispa Link Axis” takes the idea and makes it even more modular.

Stylistically, this feels a lot like Noa’s shoes above.

They haven’t come out yet - but Nike mentions they’ll be coming out this year.

I’m looking forward to seeing who “ships” the first pair of modular shoes!

Go check out more of Noa’s design images at the link!

Noa Zaidman

🐙The Land of Random

Time to get random?!

TimeMachiner Newsletter

I’ve been friends with Aaron for some time now, and I enjoy the little internet rabbit holes that he dives into each week. There’s always something new to discover - and Aaron writes in a very warm style like like he’s penning a letter to an old friend. Go Subscribe!

TimeMachiner

The Text Editor has Gone Mad

Unhinged I tell you. Word will never be the same . . .

Start Typing

Runescape Classic Server

The true Runescape classic, in your browser - and people are playing!

Runescape?

This House needs a Farmers Market

Seriously, if I lived in this house - I’d host an open farmers market every week. How else would I make use of a literal Italian-style street within my house?

Lemee See This

Computers and the Movies

A retro site with an exhaustive list of references / images to and of computers in TV and movies. The site may “vibe” straight from the 90’s - but is regularly updated!

Check it Out

You’re Making Me Buy a New Phone

An excellent blog post about the sadness of having to give up an old phone that just won’t run anymore - and the existential sustainability issues that it causes.

y phone y

LocalBitcoins is Shutting Down

Sad to say it - but one of the OG apps for buying and selling BTC is shutting down. Farewell oh ancient one!

Rip to our guy

Airbuds Audio

A new Widget social media app has entered the chat! This one shows what music your friends are currently listening to.

Thomas @vimarethomas

📱🤝🎧 Airbuds - friends' music on your homescreen bit.ly/airbuds-thms

🎵Vybes

I can’t remember when I discovered Neoni, but they have a really cool alt/electronic vibe. This is currently my favorite album! Great for listening to while you’re working.

🎵TikToks You Can’t Miss

Ah yes - I wants some Borderlands paint too

Yeahhhhhh that’s a no for me toooo

*Sighs* Click on funnel, looks at lead magnet.

Ok - now that’s pretty clever ngl

AH YES SOME LOW BUDGET SHAKY CAM HORROR LOVE IT

hahahahahahaha, that’s old TikTok energy

That’s all for this week! See y’all next time. :)

The Land of Random

🦁Lion Burgers, Artifact News, and Knitted…