Vadim Drobinin's essaysAll things iOS but also cooking, surfing, mixology, and the weekly Tuesday Triage newsletter.2024-01-13T00:00:00Zhttps://drobinin.com/Vadim Drobininvadim@drobinin.comThings I Learnt in 2023For almost four years I have been sending out a weekly newsletter with things I learnt and read during the week. Some of those trivia are not trivial at all, so I decided to share the condensed crème de la crème of the Internet in this New Year special edition.2024-01-13T00:00:00Zhttps://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/<p>See also:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2020/">things I learnt in 2020</a> (and its <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25582269">HN discussion</a>)</li>
<li><a href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2021/">things I learnt in 2021</a> (and its <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29750385">HN discussion</a>)</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>I'm a bit of an infoholic. I get my fix from all over - Twitter, RSS feeds, Telegram channels, random blogs - if it's putting out knowledge, I'm taking it in. I skim through a metric ton of articles every week, but only the real mind-blowing ones make it into my "must-read" pile.</p>
<p>The best of these knowledge goldmines end up in my weekly (and occasionally free) newsletter, <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/">Tuesday Triage</a>. Mixed in with some personal stories and ramblings about my latest read book or food craze, I highlight the most fascinating tidbits and compelling facts I absorbed over the past seven days.</p>
<p>In this article, I filtered out my top favorite nuggets of pure "whoa" from the past year of curating content. Here's a countdown of the most surprising, hilarious, and just plain weird things I learned, straight from the annals of <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/">Tuesday Triage</a>:</p>
<hr />
<h4 id="1.-multiocular-o">1. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-138">Multiocular O</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#1.-multiocular-o">¶</a></h4>
<p>Right, so this wild story is an example of why I love linguistics so much.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Multiocular O is a rare glyph variant of the Cyrillic letter O.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the XV century some Russian monastery was asked to rewrite the Book of Psalms, but one of the writers decided that just copying it letter by letter is too boring.</p>
<p>He found the phrase "many-eyed seraphim" (серафими многоочитї), felt like it's missing something, and figured that it's missing eyes. So he added eyes to the phrase:</p>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Cyrillic_multiocular_o_in_Psalter%2C_1429.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>And this is the <em>only</em> known usage of this character in the human history.</p>
<p>Years later, Yefim Karsky, a famous linguist-Slavist, found this book, spent hours studying it, and documented the character as "multiocular O".</p>
<p>Even more years later, this glyph somehow ended up in Unicode: a collection of most important characters used to render texts on our phones and computers.</p>
<p>So now we can read the words серафими многоꙮчитїй precisely as it was imagined by some XV century clerk.</p>
<p>He'd have been very proud.</p>
<h4 id="2.-falooda">2. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-131">Falooda</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#2.-falooda">¶</a></h4>
<p>How about some pasta in your milkshake?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A falooda is a Mughlai cuisine version of a cold dessert made with noodles.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Faluda_Special_.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Might be quite good actually, I will give it a try.</p>
<h4 id="3.-waverley-station%E2%80%99s-name-is-not-that-unique">3. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-171">Waverley Station’s name is not that unique</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#3.-waverley-station%E2%80%99s-name-is-not-that-unique">¶</a></h4>
<p>There is a large sign at Waverley Station in Edinburgh claiming it to be the only station in the world named after a novel. Seems like this is not true:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Melbourne in Australia has an “Ivanhoe” railway station named after another of Scott’s novels. Berlin in Germany has a station named “Onkel Tom’s Hütte” (Uncle Tom's Cabin) a novel by author HB Stowe. "Westward Ho!" Station in England, now closed, was named from a Charles Kingsley novel.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And while we're at it, the Scott's monument is not the world's highest monument of a writer. The José Martí Memorial in Cuba is more almost twice higher.</p>
<h4 id="4.-wine-in-french-school-canteens">4. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-172">Wine in French school canteens</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#4.-wine-in-french-school-canteens">¶</a></h4>
<p>Seems like France was a cool place to study at less than a century ago:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 1956, France also banned the serving of alcohol to children under the age of 14 in the school canteens. Prior to that, school children had the right to drink half a litre of wine, cider or beer with their meals. It was only in 1981 that France implemented a total alcohol ban in the country’s schools.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I wonder what happened though, and how kids managed to study constantly drunk.</p>
<h4 id="5.-the-yellow-first-down-line">5. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-133">The yellow first-down line</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#5.-the-yellow-first-down-line">¶</a></h4>
<p>I am not a rugby expert but seen a few games before and always thought that this yellow line is drawn on the field. It's actually not, and rendering it live is a big challenge:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It takes lots of computers, sensors, and smart technicians to make this little yellow line happen. Long before the game begins, technicians make a digital 3D model of the field, including all of the yard lines. While a football field may look flat to the naked eye, it’s actually subtly curved with a crown in the middle to help rainwater flow away. Each field has its own unique contours, so before the season begins, broadcasters need to get a 3D model of each stadium’s field.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/First-down-line.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Now you can walk into a rugby bar and become the star of the evening.</p>
<h4 id="6.-second-skins">6. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-150">Second Skins</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#6.-second-skins">¶</a></h4>
<p>My previous tattoo was done nearly a decade ago, and seems like technologies advanced in the meantime.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s what the name suggests! It’s a bandage that acts as another layer of skin to protect the wound that’s underneath it. This wound is a new tattoo. The idea was initially used to heal severe burns but later became famous for its use in protecting healing tattoos.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For those who never had a tattoo, the way it's done traditionally is your wound is wrapped in cling film, and then a few hours later you remove the wrapping, wash it and re-wraps with a piece of cloth, and then changes it once a day while covering the tattoo with some cream for a few weeks.<br />
With the second skin, you don't do anything for almost a week, and then remove the clear film and only apply cream a few times a day.</p>
<h4 id="7.-glasgow-ice-cream-wars">7. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-163">Glasgow ice cream wars</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#7.-glasgow-ice-cream-wars">¶</a></h4>
<p>I am still not used to ice cream vans here in the UK, and especially the speed with which people show up to queue for a cone with a flake no matter the weather outside. Apparently they might be also queuing for something else:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The ice cream wars were turf wars in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1980s between rival criminal organisations selling drugs and stolen goods from ice cream vans. Van operators were involved in frequent violence and intimidation tactics, the most notable example of which involved a driver and his family who were killed in an arson attack that resulted in a twenty-year court battle.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I was reading through Reddit comments on odd ice cream vans people encountered, and seems like a few decades ago it was like the Wild West: people used to sell everything there, from groceries and cigarettes to drugs and booze.</p>
<h4 id="8.-spam-musubi">8. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-176">Spam musubi</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#8.-spam-musubi">¶</a></h4>
<p>And as we look into food, this one I didn't expect:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Spam musubi is a snack and lunch food composed of a slice of grilled Spam sandwiched either in between or on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori in the tradition of Japanese onigiri.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Homemade_Spam_Musubi.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I mean, how come it's so popular in Hawaii? It's on the seaside, surely there are better ingredients to make sushi with?</p>
<h4 id="9.-champ">9. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-141">Champ</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#9.-champ">¶</a></h4>
<p>I've just learnt about this Irish riff on mashed potatoes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Champ (brúitín in Irish) is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes with scallions, butter, and milk.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Champ_%28food%29.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>The fun part is that the word was adopted into Irish slang, so "as thick as champ" means ill-tempered, or stupid.</p>
<h4 id="10.-toby-jug">10. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-137">Toby Jug</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#10.-toby-jug">¶</a></h4>
<p>One of the restaurants I follow on Instagram shared a story about a customer who enjoyed the dinner so much that decided to send back a hand-written letter and attached a Toby Jug as a token of gratitude. I had no idea about the latter so had to look it up:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A Toby Jug, also sometimes known as a Fillpot (or Philpot), is a pottery jug in the form of a seated person, or the head of a recognizable person. Typically the seated figure is a heavy-set, jovial man holding a mug of beer in one hand and a pipe of tobacco in the other and wearing 18th-century attire: a long coat and a tricorn hat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Pearlware_Toby_jug_VA_C42-1955.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>So these are just jugs, albeir almost no one drinks from them these days as it's too expensive.</p>
<h4 id="11.-luxury-train-cars-used-to-ride-on-paper-wheels">11. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-154">Luxury train cars used to ride on paper wheels</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#11.-luxury-train-cars-used-to-ride-on-paper-wheels">¶</a></h4>
<p>I definitely didn't expect that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It may surprise you to learn, however, that some railways once used wheels made out of paper. The wheels were constructed by layering up hundreds of sheets of paper with glue, compacting them with a press, and allowing them to cure for a few weeks. The benefit of the wheels was that their composite paper construction helped damp vibrations and noise from the wheels and rails.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Given that, it makes sense those wheels for used mainly for sleeper and dining carriages as they provided a more luxurious ride.</p>
<h4 id="12.-end-of-history-illusion">12. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-180">End-of-history illusion</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#12.-end-of-history-illusion">¶</a></h4>
<p>If you ask someone how much do they think they'd do or learn next year, they will always think of their future selfs less than they should be, despite looking at that things they did during a year or any other time period before.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The end-of-history illusion is a psychological illusion in which individuals of all ages believe that they have experienced significant personal growth and changes in tastes up to the present moment, but will not substantially grow or mature in the future. Despite recognizing that their perceptions have evolved, individuals predict that their perceptions will remain roughly the same in the future.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So I guess for some people writing down annual summaries (or even more often, monthly or weekly ones) is a good idea indeed.</p>
<h4 id="13.-conkers">13. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-167">Conkers</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#13.-conkers">¶</a></h4>
<p>Kids two centuries ago were playing games using pretty much anything they could find, from snail shells to hazelnuts, but also chestnuts:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Conkers is a traditional children's game in Great Britain and Ireland played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees—the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself. The game is played by two players, each with a conker threaded onto a piece of string: they take turns striking each other's conker until one breaks.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Stringing_conkers.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I wonder if there is a winning strategy: seems like most advice is about finding the hardest chestnuts and pray.</p>
<h4 id="14.-why-do-studios-use-roman-numerals-in-the-copyright-notice-in-the-end-credits%3F">14. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-145">Why do studios use Roman numerals in the copyright notice in the end credits?</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#14.-why-do-studios-use-roman-numerals-in-the-copyright-notice-in-the-end-credits%3F">¶</a></h4>
<p>If you watch post-credit scenes in movies, you might have seen the copyright notices using Roman numerals pretty much everywhere, from movies to TV shows.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The practice is believed to have started in an attempt to disguise the age of films or television programmes. In other words, the opposite of claiming an undeserved antiquity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So seems like it comes from the time when it was important to make people think that the movie is as new as it gets, and people tend to be afraid of Roman numerals.</p>
<h4 id="15.-tocharian-languages">15. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-132">Tocharian languages</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#15.-tocharian-languages">¶</a></h4>
<p>There is an extinct branch of languages that wasn't discovered until last century and changed the way we think about Indo-European languages.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The languages are known from manuscripts dating from the 5th to the 8th century AD, which were found in oasis cities on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (now part of Xinjiang in Northwest China) and the Lop Desert. The discovery of these languages in the early 20th century contradicted the formerly prevalent idea of an east–west division of the Indo-European language family as centum and satem languages, and prompted reinvigorated study of the Indo-European family.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Indo-European_migrations.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Read the details if you want to understand how English <code>mead</code> is related to Chinease <code>mì</code> (honey), Dutch <code>mede</code> (honey), or Proto-Slavic <code>medъ</code> (honey).</p>
<h4 id="16.-pub-names">16. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-149">Pub names</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#16.-pub-names">¶</a></h4>
<p>I wrote about pub names before, but didn't think about illiteracy being one of the main reasons for their colourful names:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Many pubs are centuries old, and were named at a time when most of their customers were illiterate, but could recognise pub signs.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Sign_for_the_Bat_and_Ball%2C_Breamore_-_geograph.org.uk_-_688578.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Probably was also handy for navigating around.</p>
<h4 id="17.-rolled-up-holiday-pay">17. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-162">Rolled Up Holiday Pay</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#17.-rolled-up-holiday-pay">¶</a></h4>
<p>I came across a job advertisement in the hospitality industry promising the rolled up holiday pay, and went down the rabbit hole:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Rolled-up holiday pay” refers to a practice whereby the employer pays you an additional amount on top of your normal hourly rate of pay, with the additional amount intended to represent your holiday pay, instead of you taking the time off at the time you receive the payment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The fun thing is, it's illegal to offer in the UK, and employers could get both a fine and also have to give the employee a real paid holiday as well, but seems like people are generally unaware about this possibility and just roll with it.</p>
<h4 id="18.-kunga-cake">18. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-175">Kunga cake</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#18.-kunga-cake">¶</a></h4>
<p>While fancy Michelin restaurants are carefully adding a few sugar-coated ants to a dessert, some folks catch their flies with oiled pans and make burgers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Kunga cake or kungu is a food dish made of densely compressed midges or flies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I will leave it up to you to look up videos.</p>
<h4 id="19.-when-to-serve-dim-sums%3F">19. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-140">When to serve dim sums?</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#19.-when-to-serve-dim-sums%3F">¶</a></h4>
<p>I was always confused by restaurants offering dim sums as a separate menu during lunch time but never for dinner, and I was even more confused when my friends took me to a dim sum place for breakfast in the States, but now it makes a bit more sense:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In China, dim sum is served as early as 5 a.m., whereas here in the States, it tends to be more of a brunch-type affair, although some restaurants offer dim sum through the dinner hours.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The article mentions that some server them at dinner hours but I am yet to find at least one place doing that in a non-ironic way.</p>
<h4 id="20.-cows-can-run-at-speeds-of-up-to-25-miles-per-hour">20. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-136">Cows can run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#20.-cows-can-run-at-speeds-of-up-to-25-miles-per-hour">¶</a></h4>
<p>While hiking in Dartmoor, we came across a farm full of cows which we needed to cross to get to the end of the trail. Cows didn't look friendly so while we were slowly backing up throw the mud and puddles I looked up whether cows are dangerous or not.</p>
<p>And they are indeed.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don’t run – cows can run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour, so getting yourself to safety before being trampled is unlikely unless you are very close to your escape route.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not a new fact for me (but I thought it's a joke) is that the chance to die because of a cow is significantly higher than because of a shark. I see why now.</p>
<h4 id="21.-should-adults-be-consuming-breast-milk%3F">21. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-153">Should adults be consuming breast milk?</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#21.-should-adults-be-consuming-breast-milk%3F">¶</a></h4>
<p>Following the suit of important questions, here is another one: I was actually prompted to look it up following a disturbing advertisment of a coffee chain in Russia selling lattes with breast milk.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is some evidence that drinking your own breast milk could fend off infections or mild illnesses and that when used topically, it can offer wound-healing properties. But peer-reviewed research on the fluid's effects on adults is lacking.</p>
<p>That said, a 2019 scientific review looked at some of the unexpected uses for breast milk in adults, such as its topical use for eczema and dermatitis. Turns out, the liquid may very well have the power to ease the two dermatological conditions, according to the researchers. The review also found that when human breast milk was applied topically to the eyes of infants with conjunctivitis (aka pink eye), breast milk was comparable in effectiveness to a common antimicrobial.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At least the research backs up the higher price, but there is also a chance all those effects disappear once the milk is heated (and latte means the milk is at least at 60ºC).</p>
<h4 id="22.-welded-bee">22. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-179">Welded bee</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#22.-welded-bee">¶</a></h4>
<p>A few times I've held steak knives with welded bees or forged flies between the handle and the blade.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yes, there is a legend linking the bee on Laguiole knives to Napoleon Bonaparte. According to this legend, after the Battle of Mount Tabor in 1799, Napoleon granted the inhabitants of the Laguiole region the right to use the imperial bee as a symbol on their knives in recognition of their bravery in battle. However, this story has not been conclusively proven and remains a legend. Nonetheless, it adds an interesting dimension to the history and symbolism of the bee on Laguiole knives.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Laguiole_bee.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Now I know.</p>
<h4 id="23.-tamagotchi-connection">23. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-166">Tamagotchi Connection</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#23.-tamagotchi-connection">¶</a></h4>
<p>For some reason I was never allowed a Tamagotchi. My parents seemed convinced that kids loose their minds over those toys (or probably they were just saving money, who knows). This version, however, is a completely different level to the ones I've seen at school:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Tamagotchi Connection is unique from prior models in that it uses infrared technology to connect and interact with other devices and was first released in 2004, 8 years after the first Tamagotchi toy. Using the device's infrared port, the virtual pet (referred to as a Tamagotchi) can make friends with other Tamagotchis, in addition to playing games, giving and receiving presents and having a baby.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Clich%C3%A9_2007-07-17_15-08-25.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>That sounds like a way better multiplayer than that of many modern games.</p>
<h4 id="24.-'peter-pan'-gravemarkers">24. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-157">'Peter Pan' Gravemarkers</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#24.-'peter-pan'-gravemarkers">¶</a></h4>
<p>I've seen a Peter Pan monument in Kensington Gardens numerous times, but never thought that, first, originally it was a story for adults (could have guessed that one), but also that there are some more grim objects from the story located nearby:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just as the story relates, these tombstones are indeed boundary markers. Surveying stones that indicate the parishes of Westminster, (<a href="http://w.st/">W.St</a>. M. 13a.) and Paddington,(P.P. 1841). Barrie, who was a resident of the area, incorporated his knowledge of the landscape into weaving a fictional tale around the purpose of these demarcations, by attributing the carved initials as the names of two tragic souls. Thus giving us modern visitors a chilling thought as we wander around this luscious green space, keeping an ever-watchful eye on our wards and the time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Seems like next time I will have to try and find them.</p>
<h4 id="25.-killing-sparrows-led-to-great-famines-in-china">25. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-144">Killing sparrows led to Great Famines in China</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#25.-killing-sparrows-led-to-great-famines-in-china">¶</a></h4>
<p>Sparrows were eating grain so some Chinese genious in 1950s decided to kill them to prevent the economic collapse and it didn't go as planned:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sparrows worldwide are natural predators of many insects, including crop-damaging locusts. Locusts didn’t make Mao Zedong’s pest list since the sparrows consumed them along with the grain, controlling the insect population. Removing sparrows as the predator in its ecosystem would soon prove devastating for China.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Partly due to that, China lost over 15 million people during the Great Chinese Famine in the late 1950s.</p>
<h4 id="26.-millennium-bridge-workers-hang-straw-bales-after-ancient-bylaw-triggered">26. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-170">Millennium Bridge workers hang straw bales after ancient bylaw triggered</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#26.-millennium-bridge-workers-hang-straw-bales-after-ancient-bylaw-triggered">¶</a></h4>
<p>Most of ancient laws in the UK are myths or urban legends, but it's nice to see people respecting them when they're real:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The large bale, which these days is lowered on climbing rope by workers in hi-vis jackets, is intended to alert river traffic of the reduced headroom.</p>
<p>Urgent repair and cleaning work means the bridge was closed on Saturday for three weeks, until 5 November.</p>
<p>According to the Port of London Thames Byelaws, clause 36.2: “When the headroom of an arch or span of a bridge is reduced from its usual limits, but that arch or span is not closed to navigation, the person in control of the bridge must suspend from the centre of that arch or span by day a bundle of straw large enough to be conspicuous and by night a white light.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/696462cc984912c02fecfb131c1fe773c36fd53e/0_90_2048_1229/master/2048.jpg?width=620&dpr=2&s=none" alt="" /></p>
<p>Imagine being sued for breaking a 900 years old law though.</p>
<h4 id="27.-wisconsin-old-fashioned">27. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-148">Wisconsin Old Fashioned</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#27.-wisconsin-old-fashioned">¶</a></h4>
<p>A fresh entry to my future <em>100 ways to ruin Old Fashioned</em> book:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Wisconsin Old Fashioned is the state’s variation on the classic Old Fashioned cocktail, with brandy and lemon lime soda.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At least that's soda, not Coke.</p>
<h4 id="28.-costs-of-printing-in-braille">28. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-161">Costs of printing in braille</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#28.-costs-of-printing-in-braille">¶</a></h4>
<p>I never thought about the difference in density of information printed in Latin alphabet vs braille, probably because I thought one could just print things smaller instead.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We sell our books at the same price as a print book,” MacDonald said of the online store, “because we don’t think it’s fair for a blind person to pay more, even though braille costs three to four times more to produce.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For reference, the braille edition of <em>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</em> consists of 12 volumes (1100 pages) and weights 5.5 kgs.</p>
<h4 id="29.-how-deadly-is-quicksand%3F">29. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-174">How Deadly Is Quicksand?</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#29.-how-deadly-is-quicksand%3F">¶</a></h4>
<p>I was pretty sure quicksands are dangerous, thanks to all Indiana Jones I've seen, but they're actually not that bad:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nope. Quicksand—that is, sand that behaves as a liquid because it is saturated with water—can be a mucky nuisance, but it’s basically impossible to die in the way that is depicted in movies. That’s because quicksand is denser than the human body. People and animals can get stuck in it, but they don’t get sucked down to the bottom—they float on the surface. Our legs are pretty dense, so they may sink, but the torso contains the lungs, and thus is buoyant enough to stay out of trouble.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now I am curious why filmmakers keep portraying them as such: is it because they don't know too, or is it because the audience doesn't know and it's too late to teach everyone?</p>
<h4 id="30.-whiskey-fungus">30. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-139">Whiskey fungus</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#30.-whiskey-fungus">¶</a></h4>
<p>Places nearby distilleries apparently suffer from mold caused by airborne alcohol:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Baudoinia compniacensis is a sac fungus which has been observed on a variety of substrates in the vicinity of distilleries, spirits maturation facilities, bonded warehouses, and bakeries. The fungus is a habitat colonist with a preference for airborne alcohol, earning it the nickname whiskey fungus.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Scotland_Baudoinia.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I am somewhat surprised there are no people complaining about it in Scotland.</p>
<h4 id="31.-madrid-is-not-a-city">31. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-152">Madrid is not a city</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#31.-madrid-is-not-a-city">¶</a></h4>
<p>I am still not used to the fact that Barcelona is not the capital of Spain, but now I have to also keep in mind that Madrid is not really a city.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>King Alfonso VIII founded Madrid in 1202 and registered it as a villa on its municipal charter, and it has never been changed since.</p>
<p>Madrid has been the capital of Spain for 460 years, since King Felipe II named it as such after consulting 'wise men' to calculate the exact centre of mainland Spain to build his Imperial Court on (they were about 20 kilometres too far to the north, as it happens), but all attempts to change the charter – whenever anyone remembers, that is – have failed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Seems like most sources translate its status as "town", but by Spanish terms it's actually a village instead.</p>
<h4 id="32.-krajebieter">32. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-178">Krajebieter</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#32.-krajebieter">¶</a></h4>
<p>A somewhat grim story about one of the more obscure occupations of the previous century:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They had a tradition of catching migrating crows for the pot. It was a job for the youngsters, and they used a humane and fast method of dispatching the snared birds - by crushing the rear part of the bird skulls with their teeth. They called these guys "Krajebieter" - crow biters.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I have no idea why not to treat it like a chicken and just break the neck instead. I do know though (just learnt) that most of these crows were sold to Kaliningrad (or Königsberg as it was called back then) where they were a delicacy.</p>
<p><img src="http://nitroexpress.info/ubbthreads/photos_info/2023/07/crowbiters1024.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h4 id="33.-tartanry">33. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-165">Tartanry</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#33.-tartanry">¶</a></h4>
<p>After moving to Scotland, whenever I talk to people not from the country they seem obsessed with things I don't really encounter here: tartan, kilts, bagpipes. Apparently that false obsession even has a name:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In its simplest definition, tartanry is 'sentimental Scottishness'. More broadly, tartanry is the perceived reduction of Scottish culture to kitsch, twee, distorted imagery based on ethnic stereotypes – such as tartan, kilts, bagpipes, caber tossing, and haggis. Often the image presented is that of the Highlander as noble savage. While there are strong, legitimate cultural traditions behind Scottish clan societies and the older textile designs that preceded the modern tartans and kilts, and instruments like bagpipes are a part of the living musical traditions, tartanry is when these things are tokenised, caricatured, or attached to fabricated histories.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One exception to me is haggis though: everyone eats it here, I do eat it often, and every shop for locals stocks loads of it.</p>
<h4 id="34.-q-texture">34. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-156">Q texture</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#34.-q-texture">¶</a></h4>
<p>Now I know what to say to describe the right noodle texture:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In Taiwan, Q is a culinary term for the ideal texture of many foods, such as noodles, boba, fish balls and fishcakes. Sometimes translated as 'chewy', the texture has been described as 'The Asian version of al-dente ... soft but not mushy.' Another translation is 'springy and bouncy.'</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Looks like it also could be used in a doubled form, "QQ", which means the same but more intense.</p>
<h4 id="35.-harold-cohen">35. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-143">Harold Cohen</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#35.-harold-cohen">¶</a></h4>
<p>I didn't know that AI was capable of producing drawings autonomously decades ago:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 1971 Cohen took up a post as visiting scholar in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University. While at the Artificial Intelligence Lab, he began developing the computer program called Aaron, in which he sought to codify the act of drawing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/Harold_Cohen_%28artist%29.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Surely the example don't look as good as the ones done by Midjourney in 2023 but seems like we had it coming for a while.</p>
<h4 id="36.-bere-(grain)">36. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-169">Bere (grain)</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#36.-bere-(grain)">¶</a></h4>
<p>I learnt a lot here, but not sure what's my favourite: the correct pronounciation, the fact that it's the oldest cerial in the UK or the way to distinguish barley by the number of rows.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bere, pronounced "bear," is a six-row barley currently cultivated mainly on 5-15 hectares of land in Orkney, Scotland. It is also grown in Shetland, Caithness and on a very small scale by a few crofters on some of the Western Isles, i.e. North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Islay and Barra. It is probably Britain's oldest cereal in continuous commercial cultivation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am yet to find a place where it's served though.</p>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/BarleyEars.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<h4 id="37.-stone-of-scone">37. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-130">Stone of Scone</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#37.-stone-of-scone">¶</a></h4>
<p>So there is this stone used to crown British monarch for centuries (and before that, to crown Scottish kings as well), and at some point it was stolen from England by a few Scottish lads.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ever since the reign of King Edward I, all succeeding British monarchs have been crowned sovereign over a slab of rock known as the Stone of Destiny. It goes by other titles such as the Coronation Stone in England and Stane o Scuin (Stone of Scone) in Scotland.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Coronation_Chair_with_Stone_of_Scone%2C_Westminster_Abbey_%283611549960%29.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The rumour is, even though eventually the thieves were found and they gave the stone back, some people are sure that the original is still in Glasgow's pub called The Arlington Bar, where it is proudly displayed in a glass window.</p>
<h4 id="38.-swimming-in-seine">38. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-160">Swimming in Seine</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#38.-swimming-in-seine">¶</a></h4>
<p>I didn't know it was unlawful to swim in Seine, just thought it's kind of common sense:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Banned for a century because of the filthy water, city swimming is set to be one of the major legacies of the Games thanks to a €1.4bn (£1.2bn; $1.6bn) regeneration project universally hailed as a success.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Would be pretty cool to see the Olympics happening in the river next summer though.</p>
<h4 id="39.-pitina">39. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-173">Pitina</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#39.-pitina">¶</a></h4>
<p>Despite straightaway attempting dry-curing salami, I've also read a lot about different cured meats, and this one is something I've never heard of before:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is not a true sausage, but a meatball made of smoked meats. The recipe was probably based on the impromptu need to preserve game. The preparation method did not require specialized equipment making it available to all homes, even the most isolated mountain huts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Pitina_IGP_01.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I am not sure how people could reliably make these as the lack of protection and lots of exposed surface just sound dangerous, but I guess everyone else just has perfect conditions for meat aging. Maybe I will get there one day too.</p>
<h4 id="40.-texans-eat-pickles-at-movie-theatres">40. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-134">Texans eat pickles at movie theatres</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#40.-texans-eat-pickles-at-movie-theatres">¶</a></h4>
<p>I think I am mostly surprised that a single individually wrapped pickle costs a few dollars but seems like many people are confused by the very idea of snacking on a dill cucumber in a cinema.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And while you might be familiar with the usual suspects like boxes of candy, big cups of Coke, and a tub full of buttery popcorn, there's one unconventional concession stand snack that only Texans have been ordering for decades—pickles. Texans lovingly refer to them as "movie theater pickles" and are surprised to find out that no one else in the country really knows about this popular movie theater menu item. In fact, those who move away from the Lone Star State might not realize until they ask for one at their new local movie theater (and will be greeted with confused looks.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/dill-pickle-snack-movie-theatre-5bed80a2d0c38__700.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>What's cool is that you can choose whether you'd like it drained or not when buying.</p>
<h4 id="41.-carajillo">41. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-151">Carajillo</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#41.-carajillo">¶</a></h4>
<p>While Canary Islands are famous for Barraquito, a sweet and boozy coffee-based drink with Liquor 43, the rest of the Spanish-speaking world drinks something similar but a bit less sweet:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A carajillo is a hot coffee drink to which a hard liquor is added. Similar to Irish coffee, it is typical of Spain and several Latin American countries, such as Colombia, where it is usually made with brandy; Cuba, where it is usually made with rum; and in Mexico where mezcal or a coffee liqueur such as Kahlúa or Tía María may be used.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carajillo#/media/File:Caf%C3%A9_Carajillo2.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I guess removing condensed milk from the Canary Islands' recipe makes total sense.</p>
<h4 id="42.-irvine-welsh-was-once-almost-killed-when-in-a-double-decker">42. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-164">Irvine Welsh was once almost killed when in a double decker</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#42.-irvine-welsh-was-once-almost-killed-when-in-a-double-decker">¶</a></h4>
<p>Not sure what surprised me more: the fact that Irvine Welsh is still very much alive (and I grew up reading his books), or the fact that he grew up in Leith, Edinburgh (which is now pretty much my neighbourhood).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Irvine Welsh has told how he was once almost killed when a double decker bus he was travelling on to watch his beloved Hibs crashed and he was hurled through the front windscreen onto the motorway.<br />
The Trainspotting author said the fact he was drunk saved him as it made him “rubbery” as he “bounced along the road”.</p>
<p>The incident, in which another football fan died, was a turning point for Welsh as he received £2000 in compensation. The money helped him buy his first flat in London, where he wrote diaries that would eventually become his classic first novel, Trainspotting, published in 1993.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Also I can't really believe that 30 years ago £2000 could help someone buy a flat in London.</p>
<h4 id="43.-rashomon-effect">43. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-155">Rashomon effect</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#43.-rashomon-effect">¶</a></h4>
<p>Do you know all these movies where the same events are shown again and again from different people's perspectives? Apparently it has a name:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Rashomon effect is a storytelling and writing method in cinema in which an event is given contradictory interpretations or descriptions by the individuals involved, thereby providing different perspectives and points of view of the same incident.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sometimes it's usage is very confusing though (and that's probably my only complaint about the latest season of the Witcher).</p>
<h4 id="44.-a-system-for-transcribing-bird-sound-as-human-speech">44. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-142">A system for transcribing bird sound as human speech</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#44.-a-system-for-transcribing-bird-sound-as-human-speech">¶</a></h4>
<p>We have transcription rules for languages and it makes it way easier to understand a pronounciation of pretty much any language without hearing it. Someone tried to come up with a similar system for bird sounds:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But these informal descriptions only occasionally appear in the scientific literature. For example, the “fee bee” of the black-capped chickadee might pop up in a paper to distinguish a sound from other chickadee calls, or to discuss variation in the “bee” syllable in a population. “This definitely doesn’t work for all birds, and its use is limited in terms of the scientific conclusions you can apply it to, but it can still be useful,” said Potvin.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Seems like in the end it didn't work out well, partly because the sounds birds make are not limited to their songs but also include tapping on trees and so on.</p>
<h4 id="45.-why-don%E2%80%99t-americans-eat-mutton%3F">45. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-168">Why Don’t Americans Eat Mutton?</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#45.-why-don%E2%80%99t-americans-eat-mutton%3F">¶</a></h4>
<p>Last time I learnt Americans spent decades without black currants, and now I learn they also don't have mutton:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>By the end of World War II, mutton had come to symbolize everything that Americans wanted to leave behind. Men returned from the war swearing they’d never eat another bite of mutton after stomaching tinned army rations that included the notoriously unappetizing “Mutton Stew with Vegetables.” Women were enjoying new appliances that allowed them a modicum of freedom from household chores. Modernity and convenience were all the rage, and mutton, which requires dry aging and long, slow cooking times to become tender, was neither modern nor convenient. If mutton ever really had a heyday, by midcentury, it was over.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Probably that also explains why some people come to the UK and complain about food. Imagine eating something that looks familiar but tastes very wrong.</p>
<h4 id="46.-aleatoric-music">46. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-129">Aleatoric music</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#46.-aleatoric-music">¶</a></h4>
<p>There is a music style that leaves space for structured improvisation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Aleatoric music (also aleatory music or chance music; from the Latin word alea, meaning "dice") is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer(s). The term is most often associated with procedures in which the chance element involves a relatively limited number of possibilities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F004566-0002%2C_Darmstadt%2C_Internationaler_Kurs_f%C3%BCr_neue_Musik.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>So as a performer you get to choose how to proceed at a certain point. Sounds pretty cool, albeit not that common anymore.</p>
<h4 id="47.-kaffeost">47. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-146">Kaffeost</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#47.-kaffeost">¶</a></h4>
<p>And here is something for my regular section of weird Nordic food:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Like Swedish lovers canoodling in a hot tub overlooking the frozen lakes of northern Scandinavia, kaffeost, or “coffee cheese,” bobs luxuriously in its hot coffee bath.</p>
<p>The dried cheese, called juustoleipä (sometimes leipäjuusto or just juusto), absorbs the steaming brew, softening without melting, like a rich, moist cheese sponge.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/6099/6315905422_fab628db4f_b.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I am not sure if the words "moist cheese sponge" are meant to sound tasty or not, but I won't be the rushing to try it.</p>
<h4 id="48.-the-bilbao-effect">48. <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/posts/tuesday-triage-159">The Bilbao Effect</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/posts/things-i-learnt-in-2023/#48.-the-bilbao-effect">¶</a></h4>
<p>I've been to Bilbao and had no idea about the museum before actually passing by it and deciding to pay a visit.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Bilbao Effect is a term used by economists to describe the economic and social impact of the Guggenheim Museum. The museum was built in 1997 and is one of the world's most visited museums.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Museo_Guggenheim%2C_Bilbao_%2831273245344%29.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>It's pretty cool to learn how much it has changed the city landscape.</p>
<hr />
<p>And that wraps up this “greatest hits” collection of all things weird, witty, and wondrous from a year 2023 of Tuesday Triage issues! I hope you enjoyed this small taste. If you want to explore the full annals and archives, feel free to subscribe or peruse previous letters on <a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/">TuesdayTriage.com</a>.</p>
<p>Thank you for joining me on this endlessly fascinating journey of discovery this past year. I look forward to continuing to uncover marvelous morsels of knowledge to share in 2024!</p>
Tuesday Triage Newsletter #100The 100th edition featuring plans for the next 100 editions, and the usual things I enjoyed reading or didn't know last Tuesday.2022-06-14T00:00:00Zhttps://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/<center>
<h1 id="tuesday-triage-%23100-by-vadim-drobinin">TUESDAY TRIAGE #100 <br /><small>by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter">Vadim Drobinin</a></small> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#tuesday-triage-%23100-by-vadim-drobinin">¶</a></h1>
<p>Your weekly crème de la crème of the Internet is here!</p>
<p>14.06.2022 (<a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100">read in browser</a>)</p>
</center>
<hr />
<ol>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#on-a-hundred-newsletters">Intro</a><br /><br />
Whatever is on my mind this week.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#things-i-enjoyed-reading">Things I enjoyed reading</a><br /><br />
Ten-ish articles I found worth reading.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">Things I didn't know last Tuesday</a><br /><br />
Ten-ish facts I didn't know when I wrote the previous edition.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#book-of-the-week">Book of the week</a><br /><br />
Some thoughts on the latest book I've read.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<h2 id="on-a-hundred-newsletters">On a hundred newsletters <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#on-a-hundred-newsletters">¶</a></h2>
<p>There is something particular about hundreds.</p>
<p>They feel more profound than dozens or multiples of five, but probably less so compared to thousands.</p>
<p>That being said, a hundred is a lot.</p>
<p>Here is to a hundred weeks of newsletters, probably a thousand hours of reading, filtering and writing, and then at least a thousand of articles from creators all over the world, and more than a thousand of things I (and probably you) didn't know nearly two years ago.</p>
<p>This is also hundreds of subscribers, surprisingly high open and click rates (50%+ and 20%+ respectively), and lots of appreciating from me given that the first editions were (and still are) merely a way to lure my wife into reading the articles I enjoyed.</p>
<hr />
<p>I do tend to use anniversaries as an excuse for looking forward though, rather than counting characters in the past, and this one seems like a good opportunity to outline the plan for the next hundred of newsletters.</p>
<p>Here it is:</p>
<p><a href="https://tuesdaytriage.com/"><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/tuesday_triage_com.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>The amount of subscribers and the volume of emails I send weekly exceeded all my humble expectations, and to make it at least somehow sustainable <strong>I am introducing a few paid options</strong>, with a monthly edition staying free for everyone.</p>
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<p>And now, without further ado, the 100th edition.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="things-i-enjoyed-reading">Things I enjoyed reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#things-i-enjoyed-reading">¶</a></h2>
<h4 id="1.-the-six-forces-that-fuel-friendship-by-%40julieebeck">1. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/06/six-ways-make-maintain-friends/661232/">The six forces that fuel friendship</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/julieebeck">@julieebeck</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#1.-the-six-forces-that-fuel-friendship-by-%40julieebeck">¶</a></h4>
<p>Even though I might come across as a rather asocial person to many, that's mostly a way to save time for both parties involved and avoid the chitchat. The same often applies to my attitude towards friends: we might hardly interact for years, but then eventually meet and spend hours or days talking, just because our paths intersected again.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Most friendships require a bit of courtship to get going. And even when they do seemingly fall in our lap—say, you get stuck on a sailboat in the Atlantic with nothing to do but socialize with your fellow sailors—they won’t grow without intention. This is the hardest part of friendship. It takes energy and thought, and our mental and physical resources are often spread thin. In other words, friendships take work. But I have never liked framing our friendships as labor. Showing up for our friends takes effort, yes, but it shouldn’t be drudgery. It should be a joy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a very good take on the same topic: friendship shouldn't be a labour, and as it requires effort to create and maintain, we should choose very wisely.</p>
<h4 id="2.-cooling-the-tube-by-ianvisits">2. <a href="https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/cooling-the-tube-engineering-heat-out-of-the-underground-20873/">Cooling the Tube</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/">IanVisits</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#2.-cooling-the-tube-by-ianvisits">¶</a></h4>
<p>Being blessed with work from home, I thought I forgot how bad is the Tube in summer. But then we hit the Central line in the middle of a weekend and I instantly remembered.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Over the years, the heat from the trains soaked into the clay to the point where it can no longer absorb any more heat. Tunnels that were a mere 14 degrees Celsius in the 1900s can now have air temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius on parts of the tube network.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What's odd is that a hundred years ago people used to go to the Tube to avoid the heat and that's reflected in the ads of that time. Nowadays buses are so much better.</p>
<h4 id="3.-generating-true-random-numbers-from-bananas-by-%40valerio_new">3. <a href="https://www.valerionappi.it/brng-en/">Generating true random numbers from bananas</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/valerio_new">@valerio_new</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#3.-generating-true-random-numbers-from-bananas-by-%40valerio_new">¶</a></h4>
<p>If I were to choose one exciting topic to explain to someone far from engineering, I would probably go for the game theory or rant about pseudo random numbers.</p>
<p>This is about the latter but from the more positive perspective of how could we fix it ourselves:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The possible way using bananas is that of radioactive decay. Bananas in fact are known to contain a lot of potassium, and a small but significant percentage of the potassium present in nature is radioactive. Specifically we are talking about the 40K isotope, which makes up 0.01% of potassium in nature. Plus they’re delicious with lemon and sugar, which alone would be a great reason to always have one on hand.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now I know that next time I need a true random number I need to ditch the Yarrow algorithm and grab a banana.</p>
<h4 id="4.-not-just-a-fence%3A-the-story-of-a-stainless-steel-status-symbol-by-%40anna_p_k">4. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/realestate/nyc-asian-fence-status.html">Not Just a Fence: The Story of a Stainless Steel Status Symbol</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/anna_p_k">@anna_p_k</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#4.-not-just-a-fence%3A-the-story-of-a-stainless-steel-status-symbol-by-%40anna_p_k">¶</a></h4>
<p>I never thought of it but it's hard to find a stainless steel fence here in the UK. Apparently across the pond this is way more common:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But the steel fence is not muted or uniform; it twists and turns to the taste of the maker, personalized with various ornaments, including lotus flowers, “om” symbols and geometric patterns. At night, street lamps and car headlights exaggerate the glimmer of stainless steel that does not, cannot disappear into the darkness like wrought iron. Whereas some people might be turned off by the flashiness, standing out is exactly its point — the stainless steel fence is an undeniable signal that the homeowner has arrived.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I wonder what are the status symbols here then, besides the honorific titles?</p>
<h4 id="5.-the-business-of-kidnapping%3A-inside-the-secret-world-of-hostage-negotiation-by-joel-simon">5. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/25/business-of-kidnapping-inside-the-secret-world-of-hostage-negotiation-ransom-insurance">The business of kidnapping: inside the secret world of hostage negotiation</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/">Joel Simon</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#5.-the-business-of-kidnapping%3A-inside-the-secret-world-of-hostage-negotiation-by-joel-simon">¶</a></h4>
<p>A story about the complexity of insurance business in the world where people could be kidnapped: if the insurance exists, that might prompt the kidnappers to act, but if it doesn't then there would definitely be a huge demand for it.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 1986, the issue of K&R insurance was debated in parliament, which passed a motion expressing concern. There was even talk of working through European institutions to impose a ban on K&R insurance throughout the European Union. Recognising that its existence was under threat, the security industry rallied, arguing that since the policies were kept secret, it was clear that people were not being kidnapped because they had insurance. Rather, they were being taken hostage because they had resources – and banning insurance would not change this.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That probably means there are similar insurance policies for viruses and malware – I wonder how they find their audience.</p>
<h4 id="6.-why-software-engineers-like-woodworking-by-%40zainrzv">6. <a href="https://www.zainrizvi.io/blog/why-software-engineers-like-woodworking/">Why Software Engineers like Woodworking</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/zainrzv">@zainrzv</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#6.-why-software-engineers-like-woodworking-by-%40zainrzv">¶</a></h4>
<p>The last time I did some proper woodworking was probably fifteen or so years ago at school, but the more I visit modern restaurants the more I learn to appreciate hand-made and rustic butter knives and what not.</p>
<p>Now I know that if I were decided to make my own, the software engineering experience will help me out.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Any limited resource needs to carefully doled out. With software, the budgets might cover hardware constraints (CPU/memory), networking bandwidth, latency targets, engineering man-hours, etc.</p>
<p>Turns out, there's one inflexible budget with woodworking: Physical space!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In that sense cooking is similar to software engineering as well. Once you get a vacuum chamber, you start looking for a space for a PacoJet and it keeps going down the rabbit hole.</p>
<h4 id="7.-the-history-of-vintage-steel-kitchen-cabinets-by-pam-kueber">7. <a href="https://retrorenovation.com/metal-kitchen-cabinets-history-design-faq/">The History of Vintage Steel Kitchen Cabinets</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/">Pam Kueber</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#7.-the-history-of-vintage-steel-kitchen-cabinets-by-pam-kueber">¶</a></h4>
<p>And on the topic of kitchen space, I am quite used to taking kitchen cabinets for granted (maybe because that's one of the deal breakers when we are looking for a flat to rent). As it seems, they went through a plenty of changes over the years:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The history of postwar steel kitchen cabinets in fact starts decades before. I’ve spotted “hoosier cabinets” from as early as the 1920s that were made of steel. These were promoted as “vermin proof.” Cleanliness was a big concern for homemakers in earlier parts of American history. For example, the whole notion of “Sanitary Kitchens” was very important. Remember, we had no vaccine for polio, for example, until the mid-50s, and the flu epidemic in 1914-1918 killed 450,000 people in the U.S. and up to 70 million worldwide. Rats and mice could not eat through steel [...]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I wouldn't mind a steel cabinet though (and a walk-in freezer too) but that's a story for a separate rant.</p>
<h4 id="8.-how-margaret-thatcher's-secret-brahms-phone-was-invented-by-gordon-corera">8. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-61712621">How Margaret Thatcher's secret Brahms phone was invented</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/">Gordon Corera</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#8.-how-margaret-thatcher's-secret-brahms-phone-was-invented-by-gordon-corera">¶</a></h4>
<p>I think I've seen one of these devices at a science museum in Manchester, but didn't really pay much attention to its history: this is a nice write up.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mike was made a temporary Queen's messenger with two seats on a flight to Geneva - one for him and one for the machine. He was told he would be met with a man carrying a brown envelope on arrival.</p>
<p>As he arrived at the castle, he was offered a gun. He declined.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Reads like a chapter from a James Bond memoirs too (if there were any).</p>
<h4 id="9.-the-medical-power-of-hypnosis-by-%40martha_rosamund">9. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220519-does-hypnosis-work">The medical power of hypnosis</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/Martha_Rosamund">@Martha_Rosamund</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#9.-the-medical-power-of-hypnosis-by-%40martha_rosamund">¶</a></h4>
<p>This is probably the first time I encounter a long read about hypnosis from the relatively academic point of view (altough "academic" is a word probably too powerful for a sequence of experiments).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The tests I responded to strongly (the heavy weight in my outstretched hand and the force pushing my hands apart) are the ones that will work for most people. In the heavy weight test, around 90% of the population will feel something, says Terhune – even he does, and he's a "low".</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I wonder if these days there is a simple way to try those tests out remotely, maybe with a set of pre-recorded videos or using a VR headset (because if the latter works, it might a well open up a bunch of possibilities for a new generation of games).</p>
<h4 id="10.-what-trait-affects-income-the-most%3F-by-blair-fix">10. <a href="https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2020/06/02/what-trait-affects-income-the-most/">What Trait Affects Income the Most?</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/">Blair Fix</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#10.-what-trait-affects-income-the-most%3F-by-blair-fix">¶</a></h4>
<p>This is an interesting research into traits and their correlation with income (mostly in the States). Obviously as with any attempt to correlate tomatoes and apples, take it with a pinch of salt:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The US evidence confirms this expectation. The 6 traits with the largest effect on income are all social. And social traits are the only ones to cross the one-to-one threshold in our signal-to-noise indicator. In other words, they’re the only traits that have a ‘large’ effect on income.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The social part of most traits (not age or gender, although they play a role too) circles us back to the very first article of the week: indeed, the majority of my most successful contracts were referrals from friends.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">Things I didn't know last Tuesday <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">¶</a></h2>
<h4 id="1.-cacao-mental">1. <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english/cacao-mental">Cacao mental</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#1.-cacao-mental">¶</a></h4>
<p>There is a beautiful way to define a state of mental confusion in Spanish:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>cacao mental (informal)<br />
mental confusion</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Russian it'd be "каша в голове" (porridge inside one's head) – I'd probably prefer the cacao any time of the day.</p>
<h4 id="2.-black-velvet">2. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Velvet_(beer_cocktail)">Black Velvet</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#2.-black-velvet">¶</a></h4>
<p>Someone mentioned that the queen's mother used to enjoy beer but to make it more appropriate for a monarch had to mix it with Champagne in some ridiculous ratio (like 1:9 or something).</p>
<p>I couldn't find a proof for it though, but came across another somehow related beer cocktail:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The drink was first made by a bartender of Brooks's Club in London in 1861 to mourn the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort. It is supposed to symbolize the black armbands worn by mourners. It was said that “even the champagne should be in mourning.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Black_Velvet_Cocktail_Layered.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>It looks quite good, although probably not as tasty as the Death in the Afternoon (essentially absinthe and Champagne)</p>
<h4 id="3.-any-tree-could-be-a-bonsai-tree">3. <a href="https://www.allthingsbonsai.co.uk/bonsai-tree-care/can-any-tree-be-a-bonsai-tree/">Any tree could be a bonsai tree</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#3.-any-tree-could-be-a-bonsai-tree">¶</a></h4>
<p>That's not the first time I write about a bonsai tree, but it never occurred to me that these are not a species of small trees, these are just trees.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is often though that Bonsai is a species of tree. This is not true. In fact bonsai is a method of growing trees which aims to create an image of a large mature tree but in miniature. So, you can create a bonsai Oak tree for example, by taking an existing Oak tree and styling it as a bonsai.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now I just want a fir bonsai on my desk.</p>
<h4 id="4.-el-ajedrecista">4. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ajedrecista">El Ajedrecista</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#4.-el-ajedrecista">¶</a></h4>
<p>Most attempts at creating a chess playing machine in the late 19th or early 20th centuries were in fact humans playing from boxes – smoke and mirrors in its original form – but apparently there was at least one device capable of a somewhat conscious decisions.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>El Ajedrecista (English: The Chess Player) is an automaton built in 1912 by Leonardo Torres y Quevedo in Madrid, one of the first autonomous machines capable of playing chess. As opposed to the human-operated The Turk and Ajeeb, El Ajedrecista was a true automaton built to play chess without human guidance. It played an endgame with three chess pieces, automatically moving a white king and a rook to checkmate the black king moved by a human opponent.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Gonzalo_showing_El_Ajedrecista_to_Norbert_Wiener.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>It even could signal illegal moves by an opponent – how cool is that?</p>
<h4 id="5.-bedale-fc">5. <a href="https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19464250.heck-kits-worn-north-yorkshire-football-club-bedale-fc-years/">Bedale FC</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#5.-bedale-fc">¶</a></h4>
<p>There is this football club in North Yorkshire that signed a deal with Heck (they mostly make sausages in the UK) and as the result their uniform is hilariously good.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Another sausage-based uniform, the kit sported a hotdog pattern with Ketchup and Mustard running down the length of the sausage in the centre.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/resources/images/12826914.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>My favourite one is in the top left corner, as that year Heck went all vegan.</p>
<h4 id="6.-moon-illusion">6. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion">Moon illusion</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#6.-moon-illusion">¶</a></h4>
<p>Tonight is the Full Super Moon, so it should appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usually at around 1 am UK time. This, however, is because of its location. The moon illusion is a purely driven by an optical perception:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Moon illusion is an optical illusion which causes the Moon to appear larger near the horizon than it does higher up in the sky.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Harvest_moon.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>What's interesting is that there seem to be only possible explanations to the reasons behind it.</p>
<h4 id="7.-the-flowing-myth">7. <a href="https://physicsworld.com/a/five-glassy-mysteries-we-still-cant-explain-from-the-ideal-solution-to-metallic-glasses-and-more/">The flowing myth</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#7.-the-flowing-myth">¶</a></h4>
<p>And speaking about possible explanations, apparently despite using glass for thousands of years we are not yet sure about a plenty of its properties:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In truth, no-one can say precisely when a liquid stops being a liquid and starts being a glass. Conventionally, physicists say a liquid has become a glass when the atomic relaxation – the time for an atom or molecule to move a significant portion of its diameter – is longer than 100 seconds.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One one hand, that means warped glasses in churches are likely mistakes of their creators. On the other hand, no one did a thousand-year expriment to check.</p>
<h4 id="8.-infantile-amnesia">8. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cant-you-remember-being-born-learning-to-walk-or-saying-your-first-words-what-scientists-know-about-infantile-amnesia-182736">Infantile amnesia</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#8.-infantile-amnesia">¶</a></h4>
<p>I hardly recall my earliest memories: the ones that I do most likely are creations of my imagination based on stories of my relatives (I don't have another explanation for why do I remember drinking some purple coloured lemonade when I was 11 months old).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Despite the fact that people can’t remember much before the age of 2 or 3, research suggests that infants can form memories – just not the kinds of memories you tell about yourself. Within the first few days of life, infants can recall their own mother’s face and distinguish it from the face of a stranger. A few months later, infants can demonstrate that they remember lots of familiar faces by smiling most at the ones they see most often.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Probably one day we will learn how to access whatever the leftovers of those memories are.</p>
<h4 id="9.-encrypting-secrets-in-music">9. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/merryl-goldberg-music-encryption-ussr-phantom-orchestra/">Encrypting secrets in music</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#9.-encrypting-secrets-in-music">¶</a></h4>
<p>A great idea and the story behind it: encrypting names and dates on music sheets and then bypassing Soviet security with flying colours.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Musical note names span the letters A to G, so they don’t provide a full alphabet of options on their own. To create the code, Goldberg assigned letters of the alphabet to notes in the chromatic scale, a 12-tone scale that includes semi-tones (sharps and flats) to expand the possibilities. In some examples, Goldberg wrote only in one musical range, known as treble clef. In others, she expanded the register to be able to encode more letters and added a bass clef to extend the range of the musical scale. These details and variations also added verisimilitude to her encoded music.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am also surprised that some pieces actually could have been played and would sound OK-ish for a random sequence of notes.</p>
<h4 id="10.-yesil-erik">10. <a href="https://turkishkitchensecrets.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/green-plum-yesil-erik/">Yesil Erik</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#10.-yesil-erik">¶</a></h4>
<p>These days I am trying to make <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/96/#book-of-the-week">umeshu</a>, a Japanese plum liquor, but as the right plums are hard to come by I learnt about their Turkish alternative which happened to have lots of history:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Fresh Plum or Green Plum is a spring fruit and comes usually in May and sold in push stalls in Aegean Turkey.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Owoce_Renkloda.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>An unconventional advice but if you ever try them raw, sprinkled the plums with a bit of salt: that's really good.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="book-of-the-week">Book of the week <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#book-of-the-week">¶</a></h2>
<p>Do you know Julie Powell? If not, you might at least know Julia Child?</p>
<p>Anyway, the former is the author behind the book "Julie and Julia" (that also inspired a movie of the same name), where she is cooking recipes of the latter, all in one a year.</p>
<p>The movie turned out to be quite inspiring, even though Julia mentioned that Julie has done everything for the sake of publicity and never commented on the actual flavours she explored or skills she learnt.</p>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#on-heading-back-to-the-south">While in the North</a>, I found out that Julie Powell actually published another book, which looked interesting enough to read, but not enough to bring across the country, so I picked myself a digital copy of <em>Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession</em> on the way back:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So, as I've mentioned, the hard part, or rather the frustrating part, with skirt steak is the trimming. The thick filament that makes the muscle easy to remove is also so thick as to be inedible, or at least not very fun to eat. It must be removed, but it doesn't want to go, and clings determinedly. Some of it you can peel off with your fingers in strips, which is satisfying, rather like peeling nail polish, if your fingernail was four inches wide and two feet long. But like nail polish, bits of it stick stubbornly. Peeling also gets dangerous because sometimes you pull up a lot of meat with it, and if this happens at a thin space in the muscle, the steak can tear right in two. This is where your knife comes in.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Right, so as I learnt rather soon, this book is more of a story of marriage and obsession, and not at all a story about butchery.</p>
<p>It starts with Julie finding a job as a butcher apprentice, and despite occasional recipes and lifehacks quickly spirals into a long blog post about her marriage, mutual affairs, and bad decisions.</p>
<p>Before reading, I've seen plenty reviewers complaining about too many gruesome details and thought that they just never butchered a cow.</p>
<p>Well, they didn't mean cows, they meant her personal life.</p>
<p>I can't really recommend the book, but at least you can join me in the knowing that it's not all kittens and rainbows after the success of "Julie and Julia".</p>
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<h2 id="thank-you-and-see-you-in-a-week">Thank you and see you in a week <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/100/#thank-you-and-see-you-in-a-week">¶</a></h2>
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Tuesday Triage Newsletter #99The 99th edition of Tuesday Triage, featuring Asemic writing, Mustazzoli, and Gold diggers.2022-06-07T00:00:00Zhttps://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/<center>
<h1 id="tuesday-triage-%2399-by-vadim-drobinin">TUESDAY TRIAGE #99 <br /><small>by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter">Vadim Drobinin</a></small> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#tuesday-triage-%2399-by-vadim-drobinin">¶</a></h1>
<p>Your weekly crème de la crème of the Internet is here!</p>
<p>07.06.2022 (<a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99">read in browser</a>)</p>
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<ol>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#on-heading-back-to-the-south">Intro</a><br /><br />
Whatever is on my mind this week.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#things-i-enjoyed-reading">Things I enjoyed reading</a><br /><br />
Ten-ish articles I found worth reading.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">Things I didn't know last Tuesday</a><br /><br />
Ten-ish facts I didn't know when I wrote the previous edition.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#book-of-the-week">Book of the week</a><br /><br />
Some thoughts on the latest book I've read.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<h2 id="on-heading-back-to-the-south">On heading back to the South <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#on-heading-back-to-the-south">¶</a></h2>
<p>As you probably noticed from <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#on-summer-in-the-north">the previous newsletter</a>, I've spent these weeks exploring more northern parts of the UK, and then taking my time to get back to the capital.</p>
<p>Most of my travels revolve around food in some form, whether it's talking to people who make it, or visiting restaurants famous for serving it, and this trip wasn't an exception.</p>
<p>The results are hundreds of memories and photos but that would be a story for a different post in a different blog, so for now, in no particular order, a few highlights.</p>
<p>This is a sweetbread with some black garlic sauce from an Edinburgh restaurant Aizle:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/north_2022_1.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>And that's a flatbread with Jersey Royals, lardo, green garlic and yogurt at Timberyard in Edinburgh as well:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/north_2022_2.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>A mind-blowing blood pudding with Charcuterie sauce at Trakol in Newcastle:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/north_2022_3.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>We also came back to <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/78/#book-of-the-week">the Newcastle-based Cook House</a> and tried among many other dishes this salt beef sourdough with English mustard aioli and swet cucumber pickle:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/north_2022_4.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Last but not least, upon our return back home we hosted a small sharing plates dinner for friends from one of our favourite London bars, and I must say, stirring drinks for bartenders is both harder and more rewarding than for the others.</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/stirred_art_x_amaro.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>What a week!</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="things-i-enjoyed-reading">Things I enjoyed reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#things-i-enjoyed-reading">¶</a></h2>
<h4 id="1.-fine-dining-faces-its-dark-truths-in-copenhagen-by-imogen-west-knights">1. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a62a96b8-2db2-44ec-ac80-67fcf83d86ef">Fine dining faces its dark truths in Copenhagen</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/">Imogen West-Knights</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#1.-fine-dining-faces-its-dark-truths-in-copenhagen-by-imogen-west-knights">¶</a></h4>
<p>As guests of fancy restaurants we never see the majority of hard work that goes into making the dining experience so special. We probably are aware of certain difficulties, from suppliers to prep to cleaning, but these are just words until you start dealing with them yourself.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In fine-dining restaurants, two stories are being told. The first is in the dining room, a perfectly choreographed show of luxury and excellence, a performance so fine-tuned, down to the decor, the staff uniforms, the music, the crockery, that in some ways the food itself is the least important element. And then there is the story that you, as a diner, are never supposed to hear. The story of what happens on the other side of the kitchen wall. In Copenhagen, at last, someone is trying to make us listen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As someone who never worked at a commercial kitchen, I spent the last few years trying to understand the hospitality industry better, but given that for me that's a hobby, not the way to earn for a living, I probably will never fully comprehend how hard it is.</p>
<h4 id="2.-continuous-glucose-monitoring-on-the-apple-watch-by-%40hturan">2. <a href="https://hturan.com/writing/apple-watch-continuous-glucose-monitoring">Continuous Glucose Monitoring on the Apple Watch</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/hturan">@hturan</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#2.-continuous-glucose-monitoring-on-the-apple-watch-by-%40hturan">¶</a></h4>
<p>This week is the WWDC week, which is for us mobile developers like a proper Christmas but mid-way through the year. I was lucky enough to receive an Apple WWDC scholarship in 2015, and that was a great way to meet the community, but these days I was mostly staying up-to-date by reading rumours and news, some of which reported possible glucose monitoring included in watchOS 9.</p>
<p>So far there are no confirmations of that, but someone decided to skip the wait and did it themselves:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To get current blood glucose readings showing up on an Apple Watch face, most apps today make use of the calendar, placing blood glucose readings as calendar events and then encouraging the use of one of the calendar complications to provide glanceable data. Obviously this is not ideal, as we’re limited to complications designed for calendar events, and the syncing mechanisms are unreliable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To me, the most impressive part in the whole process is how smooth the interaction between the device and the watch screen complication is, given how unreliable Watch Connectivity might be.</p>
<h4 id="3.-installing-a-payphone-in-my-house-by-%40bertrandom">3. <a href="https://bert.org/2022/06/02/payphone/">Installing a payphone in my house</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/bertrandom">@bertrandom</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#3.-installing-a-payphone-in-my-house-by-%40bertrandom">¶</a></h4>
<p>I barely rememeber paying for the Internet via a phone, and even then, in my hometown you probably couldn't easily call a payphone on a street, so while this part of the story doesn't really bring any nostalgic memories I definitely appreciate the rest of it.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For the next few months, this became a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with me and the ISP. I printed out a list of credit card numbers that I had generated and would carry them around with me. Whenever I saw a payphone, I would either call them to set up a new account or write down its location for future use. Sometimes I would get a representative that I had talked to before that would recognize my voice, other times they would insist on calling back the next day, which meant camping out at a payphone hoping it would ring. If I was with a friend, I’d have them do it for me, writing down what I wanted them to say.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This also reminds me a lot about Kevin Mitnick, who's history of hacking was more or less based on using phones and social engineering.</p>
<h4 id="4.-the-man-who-built-his-own-cathedral-by-matthew-bremner">4. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/31/the-man-who-built-his-own-cathedral-justo-gallego-mejorada-del-campo-spain">The man who built his own cathedral</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/">Matthew Bremner</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#4.-the-man-who-built-his-own-cathedral-by-matthew-bremner">¶</a></h4>
<p>Your views of religion might be different, but this article is worth it if just for the photos of the most contemporary cathedral I've ever seen:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The rest of the cathedral was an architectural Frankenstein’s monster propped up on mismatched bricks, tires, wheels, food cans, plastic and excessive quantities of concrete. Large chunks of the building were already in decay, invaded by moss and rising damp. In the aisles dusty cement bags were piled as high as the first-floor gallery. Other rooms erupted with broken tiles, dismantled cement mixers, motorbikes, rotten wood, oxidised saws, festering ropes, chicken carcasses and plastic bags fossilised in pigeon shit. It sprawled over an area the size of a football pitch.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If I ever make it to the Camino de Santiago, I'll have to make it through Spain to visit it.</p>
<h4 id="5.-on-stretch-wrap-by-anna-%26-kelly-pendergrast">5. <a href="https://theprepared.org/features-feed/stretch-wrap">On stretch wrap</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/">Anna & Kelly Pendergrast</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#5.-on-stretch-wrap-by-anna-%26-kelly-pendergrast">¶</a></h4>
<p>The dark side of a mere cling film, the stretch wrap: this post explains in great details how important it is to the logistics of pretty much any company that ships something, from luggage to cargo.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some elements of the shipping process have been almost fully automated or mechanized, for example the loading of containers on and off ships. But the act of consolidating products into cargo for transit, and deconsolidating that cargo back into goods, is often too eclectic to be fully automated. During these critical points of transition, stretch wrap plays a vital role in helping workers turn products into cargo. With stretch wrap, like things can be combined into a single concise unit, and unlike things can be forced together into a palletized bundle.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The same could be said about the film used in the kitchen, and even though the plastic it is made of is not always recycable, it helps to save way more food than any glass container.</p>
<h4 id="6.-how-to-pick-the-least-wrong-colors-by-%40ilikescience">6. <a href="https://matthewstrom.com/writing/how-to-pick-the-least-wrong-colors/">How to pick the least wrong colors</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/ilikescience">@ilikescience</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#6.-how-to-pick-the-least-wrong-colors-by-%40ilikescience">¶</a></h4>
<p>I never thought I would enjoy a post on colours and algorithms so much, but it ended up not being strictly about algorithms, and only partly about colours:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The first criteria was one of the most challenging to translate into an algorithmic score. What does it mean for a color to be “nice-looking?” I knew that I wanted the colors to look similar to Stripe’s brand colors because I thought Stripe’s brand colors look nice; but what makes Stripe’s brand colors look nice? I quickly realized that, in the face of hundreds of years of color theory and art history, I was way out of my depth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Would it help me the next time I pick up a colour palette? Probably not, but it was really interesting to read nonetheless.</p>
<h4 id="7.-3%2C134-miles%2C-18-pairs-of-sneakers%2C-multiple-cartel-checkpoints%3A-a-run-across-mexico-by-%40ksieff">7. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2022/mexico-runner-german-silva/">3,134 miles, 18 pairs of sneakers, multiple cartel checkpoints: A run across Mexico</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/ksieff">@ksieff</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#7.-3%2C134-miles%2C-18-pairs-of-sneakers%2C-multiple-cartel-checkpoints%3A-a-run-across-mexico-by-%40ksieff">¶</a></h4>
<p>An inspiring and to some extent visually interactive story about running through Mexico:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In an era of energy gels and endurance drinks, he’s consuming mostly mineral water, cacao and a traditional ground maize called pinole. He accepts dinner invitations from strangers, even when it means eating questionable seafood. He gets sick — a lot.</p>
<p>Instead of following a direct route through the country, Silva is running deep into rural Mexico, along dirt paths that disappear into the mountains. He logs his runs on Strava, but the global mapping software doesn’t recognize many of the unmarked trails. The mileage registers as an orange line slicing randomly through the wilderness, like the flight path of a hijacked airplane.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As it happens with interactive stories, reading from a phone might be less exciting.</p>
<h4 id="8.-shakespeare's-latin-and-greek-by-tom-moran">8. <a href="https://antigonejournal.com/2022/05/shakespeare-greek-latin/">Shakespeare's Latin and Greek</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/">Tom Moran</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#8.-shakespeare's-latin-and-greek-by-tom-moran">¶</a></h4>
<p>A really interesting essay on attempts to learn more about Shakespeare.</p>
<p>While there are many things we either don't know for sure, or can't learn from diaries of the author or his relatives and friends, apparently we can at least agree on the languages he spoke:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The two speeches are radically different, yet their respective rhetorical structures can be argued to be remarkably similar. I believe it demonstrates how Shakespeare was able to take a Classical model and make use of it in his own way. By closely studying Sophocles, very possibly in Greek, Shakespeare was able to elaborate on his model and embroider on the same general structure while crafting something significantly different yet equally effective.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It's also quite cool to read about the logic behind those claims: from comparing his writing with Greek authors to quoting certain lines.</p>
<h4 id="9.-my-students-cheated...-a-lot-by-%40mattcrumplab">9. <a href="https://crumplab.com/articles/blog/post_994_5_26_22_cheating/index.html">My students cheated... A lot</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/MattCrumpLab">@MattCrumpLab</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#9.-my-students-cheated...-a-lot-by-%40mattcrumplab">¶</a></h4>
<p>A proper detective story about a teacher who was added to their students' group chat and eventually exposed dozens of cheaters by applying data science and R.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some of the students in the chat could be identified from the names they use on WhatsApp, and other students could be identified from their phone numbers. I wrote a program to cross-reference phone numbers, and voila, I had identified 97% of the users on the WhatsApp chat. Then, I wrote a script to split the chat by user and time. I could see what each student wrote/posted and when they sent it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Looking back at my university years, when presented with an opportunity to cheat I probably wouldn't hesitate much given that the subject wasn't interesting to me, but discussing quiz answers in a chat with a teacher just doesn't sound right.</p>
<h4 id="10.-a-crime-beyond-belief-by-katia-savchuk">10. <a href="https://magazine.atavist.com/a-crime-beyond-belief-vallejo-kidnapping-gone-girl-hoax/">A Crime Beyond Belief</a> by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/">Katia Savchuk</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#10.-a-crime-beyond-belief-by-katia-savchuk">¶</a></h4>
<p>Another almost detective but also quite sad story about a man who was an aspiring lawyer but due to a bipolar disorder started to do weird things:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He especially didn’t want anyone finding out about the time a delusion took hold of him. It happened while he was working at Harvard, in an office on the fourth floor of Pound Hall, a concrete building at the edge of campus. He began to suspect that the government was tapping his phone and hacking his computer. Officials were after him, he decided, because some of his clients had been accused of having links to terrorists. Nothing specific triggered his paranoia—it began as a feeling and his mind filled in the gaps.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The main takeaway from the article for me is that talking with a specialist is always the key, as well as the family support. Once any of that is missing, the things rarely go well.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">Things I didn't know last Tuesday <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">¶</a></h2>
<h4 id="1.-bees-are-legally-fish-in-california">1. <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article262045952.html">Bees are legally fish in California</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#1.-bees-are-legally-fish-in-california">¶</a></h4>
<p>Right, here me out:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The 1970 act explicitly protected “fish,” which were initially defined as invertebrates. And because the act has protected snails and other invertebrates that live on land since, Tuesday’s ruling said it interpreted the legislation to also include bees.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That doesn't make any sense and shouldn't be.</p>
<h4 id="2.-grimace-from-mcdonald's">2. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-mcdonalds-manager-grimace-1.6156688">Grimace from McDonald's</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#2.-grimace-from-mcdonald's">¶</a></h4>
<p>I hardly remember this character from Happy Meals, mainly because growing up I haven't been to a McDonald's that often, but now it makes sense:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bates also unofficially revealed that Grimace, one of the McDonald's happy meal characters, is in fact, a taste-bud.</p>
<p>"He is an enormous taste bud, but a taste bud nonetheless," Bates said.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That's an odd name for something meant to help to enjoy the food though:</p>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Shaky.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h4 id="3.-asemic-writing">3. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asemic_writing">Asemic writing</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#3.-asemic-writing">¶</a></h4>
<p>Just learnt about the name for what I used to draw on the sides of my notebook papers back at school:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Asemic writing is a wordless open semantic form of writing. The word asemic /eɪˈsiːmɪk/ means "having no specific semantic content", or "without the smallest unit of meaning".</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Asemic3.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The early records belong to Chinese calligraphers, who were dubbed "drunk" for their unreadable styles. These days it is mostly used as an art form.</p>
<h4 id="4.-gold-diggers-origins">4. <a href="https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2022/06/05/digging-for-dinner/">Gold Diggers origins</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#4.-gold-diggers-origins">¶</a></h4>
<p>Apparently "gold diggers" were first named in a play, and a century ago that was a big problem for the society:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gold diggers also appeared in cartoons and on postcards, usually shown in a restaurant, eating and drinking freely and running up the check. So they not only took advantage of men, but their other sin included eating too much, in violation of the idea that true ladies had naturally small appetites.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Check out the pictures from the source as well, that's the century-old social advertisement at its best.</p>
<h4 id="5.-a-slightly-head-down-posture-might-help-you-look-more-friendly">5. <a href="https://oa.mg/blog/slightly-head-down-posture-might-help-you-look-more-friendly-research-says/">A slightly head-down posture might help you look more friendly</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#5.-a-slightly-head-down-posture-might-help-you-look-more-friendly">¶</a></h4>
<p>I didn't know that the position of head (not the smile or eyes position) determines the way the person is perceived.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In rating and ranking tasks the authors found that a neutral posture was perceived as most cooperative compared with head-up and head-down postures. Both rotating the head up and rotating it down produced similar decreases in the perception of cooperativeness. As a result, individuals having negative-related traits with upward and downward head postures might be perceived as less cooperative compared to individuals with a neutral head position.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I does seem to be based on the height of a person too, although maybe less so.</p>
<h4 id="6.-mustazzoli">6. <a href="https://www.dolcisiciliani.net/ricette/mustazzoli/">Mustazzoli</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#6.-mustazzoli">¶</a></h4>
<p>I tried this dessert only yesterday, but now am just binging on it. There is not much information about it in the English speaking part of the Web, so here is my approximate translation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mustazzoli are dry cooked wine biscuits decorated with sesame and flavored with cinnamon, orange and cloves.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/e/ed/Mustaccioli_al_cacao.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>The ones I have look very similar (albeit a bit thinner) and taste like something between figues, orange peel, and vanilla dough.</p>
<h4 id="7.-grand-empress-b%C3%B6rte">7. <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mongol-empire-women">Grand Empress Börte</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#7.-grand-empress-b%C3%B6rte">¶</a></h4>
<p>While Genghis Khan was conquering the rest of Europe, his wife was ruling the country:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 1178, a 17-year-old Mongol woman married a man she hardly knew. And while her husband traveled and fought and conquered, she ruled those who remained in Mongolia, managing every aspect of daily life in a massive nomadic camp. Commanders and shepherds alike reported to her, and she coordinated complex seasonal migrations of thousands of people and their livestock. At 28, she became the Grand Empress of the Mongol Empire; her name was Börte.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Which actually seems like a common thing in among these folks, but she also managed to do a lot.</p>
<h4 id="8.-enzyme-is-what-makes-stevia-sweet">8. <a href="https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/natural-products/enzyme-makes-stevia-sweet/97/i24">Enzyme is what makes stevia sweet</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#8.-enzyme-is-what-makes-stevia-sweet">¶</a></h4>
<p>There are lots of sugar-replacements, and while personally I don't notice much of a difference, some people do, and researchers think it might have something to do with the way enzymes work:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Without the branched glucosides, says lead researcher Joseph Jez of Washington University in St. Louis, stevia loses its sweetness.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I also always thought of enzymes as something capable of breaking proteins (i.e while making garum), so a side effect of making sugar-replacements if spretty cool.</p>
<h4 id="9.-wiretapping-prevention">9. <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/the-listeners-wiretap-history-review/">Wiretapping prevention</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#9.-wiretapping-prevention">¶</a></h4>
<p>I've heard about wiretapping but haven't seen it in much details, given that these days there are simpler ways to access one's personal data. However it was different in the past:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 1934, Congress passed the Federal Communications Act. Section 605 of the law, which addressed wiretapping, contained the line: “No person not being authorized by the sender shall intercept any communication and divulge or publish.” Yet that “and” could be read two ways. In the first interpretation, the line was tantamount to a blanket ban on wiretapping; in the second, it meant that it was only illegal to wiretap if you also shared the recording.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The law and its dual meaning is a fun historical peculiarity.</p>
<h4 id="10.-cato-street-conspiracy">10. <a href="https://www.historytoday.com/archive/review/losing-plot">Cato Street Conspiracy</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#10.-cato-street-conspiracy">¶</a></h4>
<p>Not all attempts to get rid of the prime minister were successful as the history tells us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On the evening of 23 February 1820 around 25 men gathered in the hayloft of a stable on Cato Street, off Edgware Road in London. Led by Arthur Thistlewood, they had met to formulate a plan to murder the prime minister, Lord Liverpool, and his cabinet, some of whom were dining in Grosvenor Square. Former soldiers John Harrison and Robert Adams were to kill the ministers before the butcher James Ings would ‘cut off every head that was in the room, and the heads of Lords Castlereagh and Sidmouth he would bring away in a bag’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At least these days we have social networks to went off the heat.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="book-of-the-week">Book of the week <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#book-of-the-week">¶</a></h2>
<p>If you follow my journey for at least half a year, you've probably read my notes <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/65/#on-making-wine">on making wine in London</a>, <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/73/#on-wine-stages">on wine stages</a>, and <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/89/#on-bottling">on bottling wine</a>.</p>
<p>However I don't read much about wine and prefer to learn through trial and error (mostly trial), and that's why I would probably ignore Oz Clarke's <em>English Wine</em> if it weren't for the title.</p>
<p>The thing is, while Scotland is not famous for its wines, both England and Wales at least try to grow and ferment grapes. Calling these wines "English" would be a terrible mistakes, unless it was on purpose, and if you ever explored the beautiful world of wines from the UK you do know that this is the correct name indeed.</p>
<p>"British wine" stands for wines made in the country by using imported juice concentrate. There is nothing wrong with that, but it's obviously less interesting than the wines made out of grapes grown right here, and for the lack of a better unused word they all are called "English wine".</p>
<p>So I thought, if the author payed enough attention to the title, the rest of the book will follow, and it didn't disappoint.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But in Britain, Bacchus ripens much more slowly and holds on to its acidity and consequently its bright elderflower and hedgerow scent that would be lost in sunnier climes. The flavour can be a little sappy, the acid reminiscent of mild lemon zest, and the fruit might even be peachy or at very least as ripe as a good English eating apple or a crisp greengage plum. The wine can be dry, or not quite dry. One or two producers like Chapel Down have even tried aging it in oak barrels and to my surprise it works quite well. There is even some sparkling Bacchus. It took a while for Bacchus to get going here – I did two tastings of over 100 English white wines in 1991 and there were only three Bacchus wines included, and only the wine from Three Choirs was much fun.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That being said, Bacchus is one of my favourite grapes, and the very first English wine that I've tried nearly half a decade ago was indeed from the Three Choirs. I was reminded of that a few months ago during a visit to Lake District, so can at least guarantee that their 2019 vintage is still as good as before.</p>
<center>
<h2 id="thank-you-and-see-you-in-a-week!">Thank you and see you in a week! <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/99/#thank-you-and-see-you-in-a-week!">¶</a></h2>
<p>If you have any questions, or want to suggest a link for the next newsletter, please drop me <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=Valzevul">a message on Twitter</a> or reply to this email.</p>
<p><em>Cheers!</em> 🍸</p>
</center>Tuesday Triage Newsletter #98The 98th edition of Tuesday Triage, featuring Dundee cake, jam pennies, and Permian period monument.2022-05-31T00:00:00Zhttps://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/<center>
<h1 id="tuesday-triage-%2398-by-vadim-drobinin">TUESDAY TRIAGE #98 <br /><small>by <a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter">Vadim Drobinin</a></small> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#tuesday-triage-%2398-by-vadim-drobinin">¶</a></h1>
<p>Your weekly crème de la crème of the Internet is here!</p>
<p>31.05.2022 (<a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/97">read in browser</a>)</p>
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<ol>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#on-imitation">Intro</a><br /><br />
Whatever is on my mind this week.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#things-i-enjoyed-reading">Things I enjoyed reading</a><br /><br />
Ten-ish articles I found worth reading.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">Things I didn't know last Tuesday</a><br /><br />
Ten-ish facts I didn't know when I wrote the previous edition.</p>
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<li>
<p><a href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#book-of-the-week">Book of the week</a><br /><br />
Some thoughts on the latest book I've read.</p>
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</ol>
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<h2 id="on-summer-in-the-north">On summer in the North <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#on-summer-in-the-north">¶</a></h2>
<p>This week I am back to Scotland, which means that this newsletter is twice shorter (as it usually is when I am traveling) given that I read half as much, but eat way more which takes up all my time.</p>
<p>Among the highlights so far are these beautiful snacks with smoked and pickled mussels, sardine, and Isle of Mull cheddar:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/IMG_7106.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>Also a rowan-infused cocktail which was probably a bit too sweet for me but great nonetheless:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/IMG_7107.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>And perfectly cooked asparagus with an egg and some delicious sauce:</p>
<p><img src="https://drobinin.com/assets/newsletter/IMG_7108.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>But there is obviously more to come.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="things-i-enjoyed-reading">Things I enjoyed reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#things-i-enjoyed-reading">¶</a></h2>
<h4 id="1.-18-years-a-transient">1. <a href="https://software.rajivprab.com/2022/05/10/18-years-a-transient/?utm_source=pocket_mylist">18 Years A Transient</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#1.-18-years-a-transient">¶</a></h4>
<p>As someone who is in a similar situation but in the UK, I’ve really enjoyed this story from an engineer who spent nearly two decades settling in the States:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I now found myself in a very precarious situation where I was both legally allowed to be in America, but also prohibited from entering the country. I would often joke to my friends that if I ever fell asleep in their car and they drove me across the border to Mexico, my life would be completely ruined – I wouldn’t be allowed to re-enter America and complete the rest of my degree. In a sane world, there would only be a single set of requirements for living here as an immigrant, and anyone who met those requirements would be allowed entry. But that is clearly not how the immigration system works.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The visas and surrounding it bureaucracy is probably the most painful part of the whole experience (that being said, in 2016 I won in the USA Green Card lottery, and then decided not to proceed, so can’t really complain).</p>
<h4 id="2.-the-rich-new-york-women-who-love-their-fake-birkins">2. <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2022/04/repladies-fake-luxury-bags.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist">The Rich New York Women Who Love Their Fake Birkins</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#2.-the-rich-new-york-women-who-love-their-fake-birkins">¶</a></h4>
<p>A great story about the demand for fake bags among relatively rich American folks: many justify the decision because those bags are not chosen for their function, so it doesn’t really matter in the end.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Still, the bags do occasionally get seized, and RepLadies have shared terrifying disciplinary letters sent directly from fashion houses. They typically contain grand threats — prison terms, multimillion-dollar fines — and are “intended to shock and awe the recipients,” says Hand. But these letters are one of the few cards fashion houses can play; the global rep market is made up of countless, many-headed hydras, and with enforcement almost entirely on brands, there is little they can do outside of spending millions on lawyers to litigate trademark cases across jurisdictions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I reckon the same happens with fake watches. I know a few people who occasionally invest into ridiculously expensive watches and just keep them on a shelf, but wear fake replicas day-to-day to avoid potential damage.</p>
<h4 id="3.-the-plastic-paradise-of-tokyo%E2%80%99s-famous-kitchen">3. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/20/magazine/tokyo-replica-food.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist">The Plastic Paradise of Tokyo’s Famous Kitchen</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#3.-the-plastic-paradise-of-tokyo%E2%80%99s-famous-kitchen">¶</a></h4>
<p>And continuing with the topic of fakes, there is a huge market of highly skilled individuals making fake plastic food for windows of shops and restaurants.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The popular life-size food models known as shokuhin sampuru, displayed outside countless casual Japanese restaurants, function as promotional materials first, a way to boost sales. But the craftsmanship of a food model can be extraordinary — a fish so ridiculously crammed full of detail, so obsessively recreated, that you want the replica itself. No two fish look exactly the same at Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya, a top-of-the-line shop in Tokyo operated by Iwasaki-Be-I, which displays the kinds of pieces the company makes for restaurants but also carries trinkets for tourists: cut bananas at varying stages of ripeness, bowls of pork cutlets on rice, sushi pieces and grilled fish.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I do suspect though that here in Europe most companies just buy the cheapest alternatives to those hand-crafted pieces, as there is no way anyone could mistaken them for a real food.</p>
<h4 id="4.-our-braided-bread">4. <a href="https://longreads.com/2022/05/19/our-braided-bread-challah-essay/?utm_source=pocket_mylist">Our Braided Bread</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#4.-our-braided-bread">¶</a></h4>
<p>A beautiful story about challah bread and traditions around it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But our Friday bake is a different sort entirely, closer to a brioche than the traditional country-style. And though challah made with sourdough starter is not very common these days, this bread we make <em>is</em> deeply traditional, with a long history that predates commercial yeast. All challah was once made with the help of a symbiotic culture. This recipe of ours is not a new creation; it is a <em>re</em>-creation. A return-together.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I cooked it only once in my life, and actually was quite proud of the result. Given that it was easily one of the very first loaves I’ve ever baked, I was quite surprised.</p>
<h4 id="5.-the-colorful-history-of-haribo-goldbears%2C-the-world%E2%80%99s-first-gummy-bears">5. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-colorful-history-of-haribo-goldbears-the-worlds-first-gummy-bears-180980094/">The Colorful History of Haribo Goldbears, the World’s First Gummy Bears</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#5.-the-colorful-history-of-haribo-goldbears%2C-the-world%E2%80%99s-first-gummy-bears">¶</a></h4>
<p>Among many sweet snacks out there, the gummy bears are probably one of my very few guilty pleasures. They turn a century this year, and the history of their invention is a good one:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the decades following World War II, Haribo expanded throughout Europe, with Goldbears even making their way across the Berlin Wall to East Germany. Though the gummies were sold at government-owned Intershops , most East Germans couldn’t actually buy them, as these stores catered to outside visitors and only accepted foreign currencies. Instead, says Bahlmann, some residents of West Germany included Goldbears in care packages sent to friends and family members in East Germany.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I was meant to make an “adult” version of them with a few cocktail flavours, but the dilution is hard to account for, and warm cocktails are rarely pleasant so it’s still work in progress,</p>
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<h2 id="things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">Things I didn't know last Tuesday <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#things-i-didn't-know-last-tuesday">¶</a></h2>
<h4 id="1.-jam-pennies">1. <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/cuisine/20201117101017/the-queen-snack-jam-pennies/">Jam pennies</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#1.-jam-pennies">¶</a></h4>
<p>And as I mention guilty pleasures, did you ever wonder what’s the one of Her Majesty?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"One of her favourites are Jam Pennies, they're just bread and jam," he continued, pointing to a picture of small, round disks of white bread with a layer of strawberry jam in the middle.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/14/590x/secondary/darren-mcgrady-youtube-jam-penny-sandwiches-4073467.jpg?r=1653810281328" alt="" /></p>
<p>That actually looks way simpler than any other sandwich recipe I’ve seen. Might as well give it a try.</p>
<h4 id="2.-permian-period-monument">2. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Murchison">Permian period monument</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#2.-permian-period-monument">¶</a></h4>
<p>In Perm, Russia there is a monument to a British scientist, and it looks like a rock (the monument, not the scientist).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A memorial tablet of Murchison was installed on 3 November 2005, in front of School #9 in Perm in Russia. It consists of a stone base, irregular in form, about two metres long, and bearing a dark stone plate with the Russian inscription.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apparently that’s because the aforementioned geologist named a period in Paleozoic Era after Perm where he explored it.</p>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Memorial_tablet_of_Roderick_Murchison_at_the_School_9_in_Perm.jpg/2560px-Memorial_tablet_of_Roderick_Murchison_at_the_School_9_in_Perm.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h4 id="3.-dundee-cake">3. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dundee_cake">Dundee cake</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#3.-dundee-cake">¶</a></h4>
<p>I came across this cake in a museum in Glasgow (or better to say, in a cafe inside the museum) and was convinced that it is cherry-free.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A popular story is that Mary Queen of Scots did not like glacé cherries in her cakes, so the cake was first made for her, as a fruit cake that used blanched almonds and not cherries. The top of the cake is typically decorated with concentric circles of almonds.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/North_British_Dundee_cake.JPG/2560px-North_British_Dundee_cake.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>Well, the one I had still contained large glace cherries, but I didn’t know if it would be appropriate to complain outloud or not,</p>
<p>I mean, it’s Scotland after all.</p>
<h4 id="4.-columnar-cacti-wine">4. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00231940.1974.11757795">Columnar Cacti wine</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#4.-columnar-cacti-wine">¶</a></h4>
<p>Somehow a large part of our journey through Scotland involves visiting various parks and Botanic gardens. I’ve seen those species live today: now I feel like it was a missed opportunity to make some booze.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The fruit of certain species was dried and stored for future use, as were the seeds, which have a high oil and protein content. The seeds were ground and variously prepared. Traditionally the fruit of organ-pipe and sahuaro was used almost exclusively for wine-making.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Probably could also work as a mezcal replacement?</p>
<h4 id="5.-dogba-script">5. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongba_symbols">Dogba script</a> <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#5.-dogba-script">¶</a></h4>
<p>In a different Botanic garden there was a plaque claiming that this script is the last one used by people these days. I couldn’t find any other pictographic languages being in use nowadays, so it might as well be true:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Tourists to southern China are likely to encounter Dongba in the Ancient City of Lijiang where many businesses are adorned with signs in three languages: Dongba, Chinese, and English.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Actually many of those look very easy to understand.</p>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Lijiang_Bus_with_Chinese_and_Dongba_characters.JPG/2560px-Lijiang_Bus_with_Chinese_and_Dongba_characters.JPG" alt="" /></p>
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<h2 id="book-of-the-week">Book of the week <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#book-of-the-week">¶</a></h2>
<p>Summer is probably not there yet (and definitely is not here in the North), but if it will be anywhere close to the summer we’ve experienced last year, I would probably do my best to avoid using the stovetop or the oven during the heat waves.</p>
<p>This essentially limits my menu to cured fish and tomato salads, but is there more to it?</p>
<p>Thom Eagle’s <em>Summer's Lease</em> tries to provide a bit of a better guidance:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I do not wish, however, to give the impression that this heatless cooking is somehow tangential, removed from the serious business of applying fire to meat. The act of breaking in particular is fundamental, but often, as in the case of wheat, it is hidden from the eater and even from the cook. Occasionally, however, it is brought directly into the dining room and given centre stage, applied to more substantial parts of the meal. The culinary practice of physically breaking meat has by and large fallen out of fashion in this country; escalopes of veal go unhammered, the steak mallet is no longer an essential part of the chef’s toolkit and the duck press exists largely as a piece of retro kitsch.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Probably my favourite part about this book is its attempt to avoid using the heat at all: I am used to a plenty of cold summer soups, but the majority of their recipes call for boiling some vegetables before hand, at which point I could as well just cook myself a steak, which would take way less time.</p>
<p>Anyway, at least I can still stick with cured salmon all year round.</p>
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<h2 id="thank-you-and-see-you-in-a-week!">Thank you and see you in a week! <a class="direct-link" href="https://drobinin.com/newsletter/98/#thank-you-and-see-you-in-a-week!">¶</a></h2>
<p>If you have any questions, or want to suggest a link for the next newsletter, please drop me <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=Valzevul">a message on Twitter</a> or reply to this email.</p>
<p><em>Cheers!</em> 🍸</p>
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