Affordable Headphones and Keyboards, Wild Kids and the Life of an Ice Cream Truck Driver
Some affordable headphones and gaming keyboards, true stories of wild children found in the wild, a new podcast on climate change and why Sir Patrick Stewart really loves hardware stores (and so do we) – all at Brain Buffet this week!
10 wild kids from real life
This National Geographic video linked to The Jungle Book explains that while the story of Mowgli, the human boy raised by animals in the wild, is definitely fictional, there are many examples of real wild children who were either raised by wolves or other animals thereafter. how they were lost or abandoned in the wild by abusive parents or for some strange reason. The video above explains ten of these children and their candid (and sometimes tragic) stories. [ via Nat Geo (YouTube) ]
Best Regards: New Climate Change Podcast
Have we become immune to headlines that say each passing week or month is the warmest on record? Have even the people who know that climate change is real and that we need to take action on it have not calmed down? Or maybe this is such a big problem, bigger than any of us, and we are all either amazed by it or so busy fighting deniers that it seems like we are running in circles?
Hosted by meteorologist Eric Holthouse, environmental science writer Andy Revkin, and paleoecologist Jacqueline Gill, this new podcast, titled Warm Wishes , is designed to get the gist of the topic. Above is the first episode I listened to thanks to Kottke about climatology and the current US presidential race. It is worth listening to, and if the topic of climate change is also interesting to you, it is worth subscribing to it. They even have a bonus episode this week debunking the “global cooling” myth . [ via Soundcloud , thanks Kottke ! ]
Who is the most mentally strong person in your life and why?
Most of us probably have someone in our life that we can point to and say, “This is one of the most powerful people I know,” for example, someone who demonstrates real psychological toughness – or the ability to steadily come into the norm and adapt to crazy situations. or the circumstances that life throws at them. On this Quora thread, a number of people talk about people who are remarkable in their lives, and some of their stories are highlighted. Of them:
Strength of spirit, strength of will, strength of character. This person has everything.
For the sake of anonymity, let’s call this person “Joe.”
I met Joe a few years ago and immediately liked him. He was brooding, kind, always trying to smooth things over in a fight … he was just a very calm and collected person. Always smiling.
At work, he always tried his best, even if it involved helping other employees to move forward or spending time after work to help trainees get back on their feet. He was the typical guy you turn to when you don’t know what to do or when you need help.
About a year after I became friends with Joe, I learned about his story. He was from Africa and in his youth was a slave in diamond mines. He was a slave to the “blood diamond”. He saw several of his friends killed, maimed, tortured and beaten while working in the mines. He made a decision that he would not allow this existence to happen to his son.
He eventually escaped, went to America without his family, and became a refugee. He worked three jobs over the course of several years, living off an old truck he bought for the construction work he was doing.
He managed to do it alone, saved up all his money and brought the rest of his family (wife, son, daughter and mother) to the United States to live with him in the trailer.
At work, he started taking evening courses online to make more money. At the same time, he applied for US citizenship.
When I met Joe, he had a large house, several cars, and a master’s degree in political science. He looked like an ordinary guy from the upper middle class.
Little did I know that he had lost a lot of blood, sweat and tears in his life and never let that hold him back. He simply continued to overcome obstacles on the way to his life and to the life of his son.
I had the honor to stand by his side when he received his US citizenship.
There are tons of stories like this, people whose determination led them to unusual circumstances that will inspire you to come to terms a little with the frustrations you experience in everyday life, or at least inspire you to have the determination to act through your own frustrations too. … [ via Quora ]
Affordable headphones, gaming keyboards, and more
It’s been too long since we included the TekThing series in Brain Buffet, but this one was a prime candidate. In it, Patrick Norton and Shannon Morse talk about some great budget tech – some of which are definitely worth checking out and some that leave much to be desired and remind you that you get what you pay for. For example, some of the super affordable Monoprice headphones shown here leave a lot to be desired in terms of sound, but they are affordable if you’re looking for something you could lose or break without feeling like you’ve wasted. a ton of money.
The picture is a little brighter when it comes to gaming keyboards, with some great options around the $ 50 mark that are pretty solid, including a mechanical one or two that you’ll enjoy if you’re willing to make some compromises. to save money. [ via TekThing (YouTube) ]
What it’s like to be an ice cream truck driver in New York
Driving an ice cream truck driver is no joke, especially in a place like New York where competition is fierce, companies demand huge franchises from truck drivers, and in the hot months, trucks are almost everywhere, and all neighborhoods are chased in search of business. This video from Gothamist tells the story of an ice cream truck driver, giving you a glimpse of life behind the wheel and inside a truck, and some of the unique challenges of truck driving in a challenging and crowded market like New York. [ via Gothamist (YouTube) thanks SwissMiss ! ]
Sir Patrick Stewart really loves hardware stores (and so do we)
If you can’t tell the difference between all the DIY projects we post here, we love the hardware stores and those old school ones where the people working there are knowledgeable enough to tell you when you’re buying the wrong tool for the project you’re about to make. and the shelves, indeed, crammed with boards of tools and other goodies, are the best kind of hardware store. Who else loves hardware stores like this? Sir Patrick Stewart, in this video above, which he tweeted last week, is an apt and smile-worthy note on which we’ll end Brain Buffet this week.
If Sir Patrick Stewart can’t inspire you to go to a home improvement store and do something awesome, we don’t know who can. [ via Twitter , thanks Consumerist ! ]
Everyone this week! If you have thought-provoking stories, interesting podcasts, eye-opening videos, or anything else that you think is perfect for Brain Buffet, share it with us! Email me , leave it as a comment below or send it in any way convenient for you.