Colossal engineering, a bad idea for a game, and a yodel.
5th January 2026
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Heads up! This newsletter is more than three months old. Links may be out of date or lead to unexpected places, or the context may have changed. Please handle with care.
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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