brainstorming

2018.05.15
At work we have a Slack channel "#stupid-idea-buddies" where people propose ideas and no negativity is allowed. (I know some other workplaces have followed our lead - I'd recommend it for any office using shared chatrooms) Here's my latest:
#2226 Life in a zero-G or microgravity environment (like on an orbiting station or a spaceship that is not maneuvering) offers many challenges. When you're exercising on the treadmill or just sitting at a work console, you need to strap yourself down with elastics and velcro. Exhaled CO2 silently pooling around your head is a constant threat if the air circulation system isn't perfect. And if you lose momentum in a large open area, like thanks to air resistance, it can be nearly impossible to get moving again. The solution to all of these is clear: astronauts should always wear old-school propeller beanies at all times when not in their helmets.


"Boy With a Propeller Beanie" (1948) by Guy Pène du Bois
The problem isn't to learn to love humanity, but to learn to love those members of it who happen to be at hand.
Samuel R. Delany, Dhalgren

Beautiful - Old memories, accidentally trapped in amber by our digital devices. I have a folder that's a snapshot of the files on an old Windows Desktop (back when I used to use that as temporary storage) - it has the most random stuff in it, and is a slice of life I'm loathe to give up.
It's terrifying that these two things are true at the same time in this world: computers drive cars around & the state of the art test to check that you're not a computer is whether you can successfully identify stop signs in pictures.