Colossal engineering, a bad idea for a game, and a yodel.
5th January 2026
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Hello!
Normally I write this newsletter well in advance of
publication. Not this time! It's Monday afternoon! I probably won't have time to proofread this a second time before it goes out! Wish me luck, expect typos.
In this week's Lateral! Hannah Crosbie and Evan & Katelyn Heling face questions about jewellery japes, needle needs and treasured tags, including one question that long-time Technical Difficulties viewers may well get immediately.
In this week's Lateral! Hannah Crosbie and Evan & Katelyn Heling face questions about jewellery japes, needle needs and treasured tags, including one question that long-time Technical Difficulties viewers may well get immediately.
And thank you to everyone who suggested videos this week! It's been really
helpful. This week's recommendations are all long-form, sit-down, videos, one first-person, one research, and one making:
- Sääsch Bääsch gives a full tour inside a colossal wind turbine,
including the shutdown procedures; inside the actual rotor itself; the hydraulic blade-pitch motors in motion; and switching it back on to full power while inside. This footage is incredible, the exact sort of thing that YouTube is meant for, and worth your time.
- I've linked to Dime Store Adventures a few times before, and the channel continues to do great historical research
rabbit-hope deep-dives, like this one about everything except this monument hidden in the bushes. (Thanks Maddy for sending this over!)
- Epic Upcycling makes the whole world out of pallet wood. This is like slow TV but for woodworking: 48 minutes of carefully-montaged craft that results in something beautiful. (Thanks to Alan for the suggestion!)
Away from the world of video:
- If a Tree Falls (strong language) is a wonderful piece of journalism about the trial of the two men who cut down the Sycamore Gap tree. It shows off how ridiculous every aspect of
the events were; it's entertaining and a little unsettling at times; and it even tries to answer the question: why did they do it? This is one of the best articles I've linked to in a long time.
- "I made a flappy
bird clone that uses your folding phone as the controller". There's a link in the first reply.
- For anyone who works in web development, design or similar: RGB and CMYK are old hat. Let me introduce you to the OKLCH colour picker. There are links to
explain it, and you'll probably need them.
And finally: a yodel in Adelboden. (Thanks Matthew for the suggestion!)
All the best,
— Tom
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