Crowdstrike's impact on aviation 2024 Jul 29
When Crowdstrike did a whoopsie a couple weeks back, exactly how many flights were canceled? This guy did the research.

Canopée 2024 Jul 5
The Canopée is the world's first sail-assisted hybrid cargo ship. It moves Ariane 6 rocket parts around the world. It's sails are mounted on four vertical masts, making it 30% less fuel-consuming than were it powered by combustion alone. Perhaps it represents the future of ocean transport.

1939 General Motors Futurliner 2024 Apr 20
In the 1930s GM set out to show Americans what the future looked like, and they did so in a traveling roadshow called Parade of Progress and captained by one of only twelve custom-built art deco megacoaches: The Futurliner. The linked article has a busload of info, and The Drive also has a piece about what they're like behind the wheel.

Santa Justa Lift 2024 Apr 11
There's a beautiful and fantastical industrial age elevator in Lisbon, Portugal that's still operating, partly as a tourist attraction but also as a real part of the city's public transit network. Imagine if we took such care and interest to pedestrian needs in America.

What's the difference between AWD and 4WD? 2024 Feb 27
My sporty little crossover has "All Wheel Drive". I used to drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee with "4-Wheel Drive". What's the difference? Well, the linked Edmunds article which was the first search result is long and rambling and repeats itself repeatedly, likely in some attempt to maximize word length like some uninspired high school essay. So allow me to summarize: the difference is whatever the manufacturers make it. HOWEVER, generally speaking, 4WD is an off-roading system that puts the driver in control to allow them to navigate rough conditions, whereas AWD is a traction-control system that lets the car's computer put power to any tire at it's little heart's discretion. If that sounds like two ways of writing the same thing, that's because it kind of is, since as technology improves and cars become increasingly computerized, the technical difference between AWD and 4WD erodes with each iteration.

Fight the Ship 2024 Feb 1
What exactly happened on the Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Fitzgerald when it collided with a cargo vessel on June 17, 2017? This long and detailed ProPublica article pulls together a compelling narrative from numerous interviews and intensive research.

Minimum speed variable by highway lane? 2024 Jan 26
In the early 1960s, Caltrans tested a few stretches of highway flagged with different minimum speeds per lane, with the thought of encouraging slower drivers to move to the right. But turns out that it didn't work – it was too confusing. Unlike today, where everyone simply ignores the speed limit and drives at whatever pace their heart desires.

Door blows out of 737 Max 9 at 10,000ft, just after take-off 2024 Jan 7
Ten minute after a 5pm departure from PDX heading to ONT, the door plug at seats 26A and 26B (unoccupied) blew out of the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9, rapidly depressurizing the cabin. Masks dropped, and At only 10,000 feet up, the plane was able to quickly return to where it left at 5:26pm, and all 171 passengers and 6 crew escaped without serious injuries. The door plus is still missing, and the FAA has responded by grounding all 737 Max 9s until they've completed inspection. Inspection takes 4-8 hours per plane. Southwest and American do not fly the Max 9, but 9% of United's flights today are canceled, and 20% of Alaska's.

Why are cities so full of potholes? 2023 Nov 6
City roads are often frustratingly rough to drive on. Why? This random comment on reddit actually has a good and thorough answer to this question, listing out the difficulties in getting the right materials in, the heavy amount of patching required, the high workload the streets are placed under, and constraints on the installation timelines that prevent proper settling.

Admiral Cloudberg 2023 Jul 4
I was lucky enough to have somehow stumbled across Admiral Cloudberg's fascinating and detailed write-ups of aviation disasters back in her early days. I drifted away at some point, but recently saw a new post linked on Hacker News, and much to my delight was pleased to see that not only is she still going, but her posts are stronger than ever. Congratulations!