Previous “Links” posts

Dropping in Unannounced ∞

A good time was had by all.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2026

It’s a good week for things falling out of the sky here at OFT, as we’ve now got a new vehicle where it ain’t supposed to be. Last weekend, a becalmed hot air balloon had to make an emergency landing, and it wound up in Hunter and Jenna Perrin’s tiny backyard. You may have already seen footage of the landing, with everyone looking delighted:

A group in a hot air balloon basket, in someone’s very small backyard[Image via: Hunter Perrin]

I particularly appreciate the sheepish grin and shrug, but my favorite shot comes from later, when the balloon was being hopped out of the backyard:

A hot air balloon over a suburban house[Image via: Hunter Perrin]

You certainly don’t see that every day. And speaking of unusual events, the company in charge of this particular flight was Magical Adventure Balloon Rides, who have previously made headlines for a rather different reason. They offer “mile high flights”, and according to their site, “[i]t is exactly what you are thinking”. You and your partner can take an exclusive flight to 5,280 feet in “a basket equipped with a privacy curtain”, while the “discreet pilot will wear protective hearing gear and focus solely on flying the balloon”. A 2024 piece I found was quite a read, and included this:

“I don’t want to be indelicate, but OK, I’ll just be direct: They were [doing it] doggy-style, with the woman over the side of the basket…so she could look out.”

“Wouldja look at that view?!”

We’ve Got to Hang Our Hats on Something ∞

If I die after being chased down by a super-fast, super-ridiculous robot, at least I’ll have had a good laugh at its expense.

Tuesday, April 21st, 2026

Last April, shared news from Beijing’s robot half-marathon, which I charitably called “not a resounding success” for the machines. Out of 21 entrants, only 6 managed to finish, and that was with a lot of assistance. It also took 2 hours and 40 minutes, quite a slow pace.

Just one year later, the results are markedly different. More than 100 robots entered, and several of them from Chinese smartphone maker Honor ran the race at a faster-than-human pace. The men’s world record is currently 57:20, and it’s not likely to drop by much more. For the robots, the autonomous winner finished in 50:26, while a remote-controlled robot managed 48:19.

All is not lost, however. Here’s a look at just two of the robots during the race:


[Full video source]

We may be slower, but humans clearly still hold an edge in the all important category of “not looking ridiculous while running”.

Snagged on a Giant C ∞

Why is there a college football game in April?

Monday, April 20th, 2026

This is a rough day at the office.

Vehicles Crushed by Snow ∞

“Entombed in dirty snow” is a bad way to go

Friday, April 17th, 2026

As the weather warms up in New England, the massive snow piles found around Boston are finally melting. One particular pile has garnered quite a bit of attention due to what was revealed underneath it. Namely, cars. A half-dozen cars were covered by snow piles, and now they’re reemerging.

A car, buried under a huge mound of snow
[Photo credit: u/jj3904]

I’m a bit skeptical of the claim that all of these cars were “waiting to be junked” prior to being buried under tons of snow. Regardless, however, but they’re definitely junkers now.

Pivoting From Shoes to Artificial Intelligence ∞

Let’s forget this and just get drunk on roast beef vodka.

Wednesday, April 15th, 2026

For a decade, Allbirds has made quality shoes with a focus on sustainability. In the early 2020s, the company expanded and went public, but they’ve been struggling mightily of late. Never fear, however, as A.I. is here. Or at least, the promise of something realted to artificial intelligence is, anyway.

I’ve worn and loved a couple pairs of Allbirds, but I was blissfully unaware of their recent financial struggles. As a result, I was quite confused when friend-of-the-site Mike A. pointed me to a press release in which Allbirds announced an “expansion into A.I. compute infrastructure”. What?

After digging around a bit, I believe it goes like this:

  • The Allbirds corporate entity has sold off its shoe business to a portfolio company (“American Exchange Group”) for $39 million. What’s left?

  • Well, the hollowed-out Allbirds entity itself still exists, and it’s holding that $39 million. As well, it’s publicly listed under the sweet ticker symbol BIRD.

  • Now, they’ve announced that that hollowed-out entity will soon be renamed “NewBird AI”, and that this shell (ha!) of a company will raise another $50 million in funding to do some vague A.I. shit.

It takes time to get a publicly-listed company, and they want to cash in on this A.I. fad as soon as possible, so they’ve hollowed out their shoe company and turned it into an A.I. company, why not.

The former shoe company no longer owns any shoe company assets, but it does have A.I. aspirations (and fine, maybe another $50 million bucks in funding ). Naturally, the stock is now soaring. At the time of publication, BIRD stock is worth more than eight times what it was literally yesterday. I guess the market likes their plan and/or is now aware that they’ve unburdened themselves of a flagging shoe business.

While I don’t own any BIRD stock, I do hope to continue to be able to purchase Allbird shoes. I guess I’m now pinning my hopes on American Exchange Group being a good steward of the brand. As far as Newbird AI goes, I won’t be surprised if I never hear about it again.

A Massive Magawa ∞

Reporting claims this is stone, but it sure looks like wood to me.

Monday, April 13th, 2026

Remember Magawa the HeroRat? He’s back, in giant statue form.

Magawa, in statue form
[Photo credit: Apopo]

While Apopo’s actual HeroRats are huge, they’re thankfully not seven feet tall.

Firefighters on Electric Motorcycles ∞

I’m not sure how a two-person team will operate this though.

Friday, April 10th, 2026

Out in Los Angeles, where horrific traffic ties up even emergency responders, some firefighters will soon be riding electric motorcycles.

The Los Angeles Fire Department is adding a new tool to its emergency response arsenal, and it’s not your typical fire truck. The department is rolling out 30 new ERidePro electric motorcycles designed to serve as fast, highly mobile medical response units.

While these vehicles won’t help much for actual firefighting, it’s hard to think of a more efficient option for getting personal on scene to help with medical issues.

The Half-Mile Escalator ∞

It’s fascinating to see an escalator as public transit.

Thursday, April 9th, 2026

In Wushan County, China, the wild new “Goddess” escalator system runs almost 3,000 feet and takes folks up 800 vertical feet.

[I]t’s made of 21 individual escalators, 8 elevators, 4 moving walkways and several pedestrian bridges. Riding all of them takes roughly 21 minutes.

It’s quite something to see:

A huge hillside escalator

If these escalators ever run into trouble, the fact that they will become stairs will not be so convenient.

Bobbi Gibb Kicks Ass ∞

She’s an elite runner and an accomplished sculptor as well.

Wednesday, April 8th, 2026

Long-time readers may recall that in 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon with an official race bib. A year earlier, though, Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon. Sixty years later, she’s just become the race’s first woman to be honored with a statue.

Bobbi Gibb, with a statue of her younger selfBobbi Gibb, with a statue of her younger self

The sculpture, entitled “The Girl Who Ran”, was recently installed near the race’s starting point in the town of Hopkinton.

The bronze, life-size statue is located on the route, less than 100 yards from the starting line, at the corner of Hayden Rowe Street and Main Street, where Gibb now-famously hid in the bushes before sneaking into the 1966 men-only race.

Even more impressive, the statue of Gibb was made by Gibb herself, who is apparently quite an artist. Curious how that came to be?

Originally, the 26.2 Foundation reached out to Gibb about doing a sculpture of Joan Benoit Samuelson, but Benoit Samuelson “very quickly came back and said, ‘No, please, you shouldn’t do a sculpture about me; a sculpture should be done honoring Bobbi Gibb,”

That’s pretty great. And for the record, Joan Benoit Samuelson also kicks ass, and not just because of her graciousness

Every Day Is an Exhausting New Hell ∞

We could really do with some of that regime change at home.

Tuesday, April 7th, 2026

The headline for Tom Ley’s piece on Donald Trump’s vile threat to Iran really nails it:

  • I Guess We’re Just Waiting Around To See If This Demented Psychopath Kills Everyone

This is an awful way to live.

← Older Posts