Author Archives: Andrea

Squirrel cop!

Deutsche Welle: Baby squirrel chases man so relentlessly he calls police. “A man in Germany felt so besieged by a rodent that he called the police emergency number. The baby squirrel has been taken to an animal sanctuary.”

Update: Baby squirrel who captivated Germany is safe — and female. “”Pippilotta” stole the headlines last week after following a man “relentlessly” through the streets of Karlsruhe. According to animal control officers, this is common for squirrels who have lost their mothers.”

This story reminds me of one of my favorite This American Life stories: Squirrel Cop, which is also available on YouTube in two parts – one, two.

I like paper and pencils

Computerphile: Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea. (YouTube, 8:20min) “Voting is centuries old, why can’t we move with the times and use our phones, tablets and computers? Tom Scott lays out why e-voting is such a bad idea.”

“[Electronic voting] is a terrible idea. And if a government ever promises to use it, hope they don’t manage it before you get a chance to vote them out.”

PBS News Hour: An 11-year-old changed election results on a replica Florida state website in under 10 minutes.

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One year after Charlottesville

The Washington Post: ‘It’s still hard to look at’. “The story behind the searing photo of Charlottesville’s worst day”.

“On April 16, [Ryan Kelly] and his wife were flying home from Amsterdam, where he had accepted an award for the photo. “We landed, I turned on my phone, and it was just swamped with texts and tweets and calls,“ Kelly said.

He had won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking-news photography, an accolade that leaves him both proud and pensive.

“I’ve also been very aware that it came at the expense of the death of Heather Heyer, of dozens of other people being injured, of Charlottesville being torn apart,“ Kelly said, […]. “I think about that every day.“ “

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If walls could talk…

Arch Daily: The Oldest Building in Every US State.

“The United States is a comparatively young country, but one with a rich and diverse history. From the ancient villages of New Mexico’s Pueblo people and the early Spanish settlers in Florida, to the Russian traders of Alaska and 19th-century missionaries in Utah, each of the 50 states has its own story to tell.

There’s no better way to trace this history than through buildings, which is why we’ve mapped out the oldest intact building in each US state. Whether they’re cottages, grand mansions, fortresses or churches, these historic sites offer us a glimpse into the early days of the regions. They help us to understand what brought early inhabitants to the state – and what their lives might have been like.”

Of the buildings mentioned, I’ve been to these:

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