Boulangerie: May 2023
Unbaked bits from the month!
The Boulangerie is a regular, unscheduled feature of Technocomplex, appearing once or twice a week. It is for half-baked, rising dough, the just-now-in-the-oven entries. After all boulangerie in French is bakery. Entries are always very short. To find out when new loaves have been set out, follow @mrdelong@mastodon.online.
May 31, 2023
Boulangerie: Gigantic blob of fast fashion
Skyfi is a satellite photography service that is trying to simplify access to satellite imagery. In keeping with the hi-res vibe of the last Boulangie entry showing New York City in great detail, I’ve now found a Giant Pile of Used Clothes. Or, I should say, Skyfi has found it. The company said, “The size of the pile and the pollution it's causing are visible from space, making it clear that there is a need for change in the fashion industry.”
More information from Skyfi here: https://www.skyfi.com/blog/skyfis-confirms-massive-clothes-pile-in-chile. More information on Skyfi’s business is available from TechCrunch.
The articles:
“SkyFi’s Satellite Image Confirms Massive Clothes Pile in Chile’s Atacama Desert.” Accessed May 31, 2023. https://www.skyfi.com/blog/skyfis-confirms-massive-clothes-pile-in-chile.
Alamalhodaei, Aria. “SkyFi Lets You Order up Fresh Satellite Imagery in Real Time with a Click.” TechCrunch, May 22, 2023. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/22/skyfi-lets-you-order-up-fresh-satellite-imagery-in-real-time-with-a-click/.
May 15, 2023
Boulangerie: Astounding hi-res photo of NYC
Click the link and browse through the city!
EarthCam. “World’s Largest Photo of New York City.” Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.earthcam.net/projects/empirestatebuilding/gigapixelpanorama/2021/.
May 2, 2023
Boulangerie: Pinkwater. Just Pinkwater.
Daniel Pinkwater's website gives you the restful whimsy and fun you really need sometimes. It reminds you what the web used to be, too, before six boring rich guys took it over.
I liked listening to Daniel Pinkwater review children’s books on NPR a few years back, and I can recall thinking that I really wanted to hear one sometimes but was disappointed when his wonderful voice didn’t come forth to brighten a weekend. But it did on occasion. You can hear some of his book banter with NPR hosts through links on his website. A sampling, though not about a book, but about his favorite Chinese restaurant: “Eating the Unknown: Best Meal Ever” (November 14, 2006).
He’s got a wonderful voice, don’t you think?
His astounding oeuvre includes The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (1977). He latest book came out about a year ago. It’s called Crazy in Poughkeepsie (sorry, an Amazoonian link, but you can do better at a Real Bookstore). You and your kids will like it.
Remember what the web used to be? Kelsey McKinney reminds us that the Internet
wasn’t supposed to be six boring men with too much money creating spaces that no one likes but everyone is forced to use because those men have driven every other form of online existence into the ground. The internet was supposed to have pockets, to have enchanting forests you could stumble into and dark ravines you knew better than to enter. The internet was supposed to be a place of opportunity, not just for profit but for surprise and connection and delight.
(my emphasis)
The whole article: McKinney, Kelsey. “The Internet Isn’t Meant To Be So Small.” Defector, May 1, 2023. https://defector.com/the-internet-isnt-meant-to-be-so-small.