Two thoughts on the flood in Texas

1. Cutting weather-related services and research into weather patterns in a changing climate is a fools errand and will lead us to nowhere good. 

And 2. This is the kind of thing you might have heard about in time past happening in an underdeveloped country. Having something like this happen here in our "great nation" is inexcusable.  

That's on brand...

France unveiled a mural called "The Statue of Liberty's Silent Protest," designed to illustrate the "shame" surrounding the recent immigration policies of the Trump administration. 

Images went viral (including here) and have been viewed (according to some estimates) by at least 20 million people.  

But the MAGA crowd thinks its insulting and there were more than a few comments about how France should be "thanking us for bailing them out in the second world war" ... which is somewhat disingenuous and omits the fact that our independence would not have been won if the French hadn't intervened and provided support for the revolution.

And for reference, the statue was gifted to the United Stated by France on July 4, 1884 to celebrate our independence, democracy, and our willing acceptance of others on our shores.

Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw took six days to complete the mural, which was painted on a building in Roubaix, France. This location was intentional due to Roubaix's large migrant population who live in extremely difficult circumstances. "The values that the statue once stood for — freedom, hope, the right to be yourself — have been lost for many," she said.

Soccer fans stuck between a (hard) rock and a hard (trip home) place.

Early this year, you had people storming the gates. And now you have people unable to get out of the stadium and easily get home. 

But, I'm guessing Stephen Ross (who owns the stadium) made me money in both cases. So who cares? 

Soccer fans stuck between Hard Rock Stadium and a ride home: 'I'll never go to another game, especially not here' - The Athletic


https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6460496/2025/06/30/club-world-cup-hard-rock-stadium-fans-experience/

Man rebuilds a B-17 bomber

This is kind of a fun story about a guy that bought a B-17 fuselage, that had been sitting in a field in Maine, way back in 1984. 

He has since spent the last 4 decades restoring it. 

There's a charm and a warmth to the story, and the embedded tv coverage is kind of a nice summary of it all. 

"Illinois man has spent 40 years rebuilding a WWII-era B-17 bomber" | Popular Science


https://www.popsci.com/technology/b-17-bomber-restoration/

Mark Cuban said he was 'embarrassed' to find out some Dallas Mavericks staff needed government benefits

Interesting perspective on how companies can do more - on their own - to solve the problem of people having to go on Medicaid. 

Pay a fair wage out of the ginormous profits. I mean duh. 

Mark Cuban Was 'Embarrassed' to Find Staff Needed Government Benefits - Business Insider


https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-embarassed-staff-assistance-cut-medicaid-employees-taxpayers-companies-2025-6

3D printing in space

The European Space Agency sent along a 3D printer to the International Space Station, and recently, it was used to create a 3D metal object. As you might expect, in micro gravity, it took a while to calibrate the machines.

But the result is that they now can now print a part that they need for a repair on the station - and it naturally has implications beyond the ISS.  As we move further from Earth, we have to be prepared for many eventualities.  And a 3D printer allows for a wide range of possibilities.

Remember that in Apollo 13, they had to repurpose whatever things they could find on board to ensure that the astronauts could return home.  Imagine how that could have gone if they could have made literally anything out of an idea.

https://www.sustainability-times.com/research/theyre-sure-its-not-from-earth-scientists-analyze-mysterious-metal-object-with-properties-unknown-to-human-technology/

Another whitewashing of history?

This is an interesting long-form piece about how Harvard wanted to know about how the slave trade was handled at the university.  Its worth a read... 

...but for anyone who wants the cliffs notes version, essentially someone was hired to do the research and what he found was that there was a lot of overlooked elements of slavery that helped build the university, and even several prominent people involved with the founding were slave owners.  The researcher was asked to limit his findings because this was a source of shame.  And when he didn't, he was let go, and the university turned the research over to a company doing more genealogy and less shining a light on slavery.

Which is shameful in its own right.  The past happened.  Why can't we just own up to it and move on?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jun/21/harvard-slavery-decendants-of-the-enslaved