Glass Wings Blog: August 2026
Half of England in drought: The crisis in pictures
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 11:29:39 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://www.itv.com/news/2026-07-29/half-of-england-in-drought-the-crisis-in-pictures>
"Record low rainfall and soaring temperatures have left seven areas of central,
eastern and southern England officially in drought.
(More...)
Featuring Trump on US coins and bills would put America in rare company
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 11:30:18 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://theconversation.com/featuring-trump-on-us-coins-and-bills-would-put-america-in-rare-company-285125>
"A slang term for cash money is “dead presidents.” But now the very much alive
President Donald Trump could appear on U.S. coins and banknotes, too.
(More...)
Solar’s end-of-life problem is not about panel age, it’s about shifting economics and untested plans
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 11:31:10 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
(More...)
Open weights vs. closed: An AI civil war's afoot, and the stakes are existential
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 11:32:42 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://www.zdnet.com/article/open-weight-ai-civil-war/
“The open-weight Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 is faster than Anthropic Fable 5 in some
ways, and is nearly as fast as Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 in others. That's
fast. And that has some American AI companies and the Trump administration
(More...)
As the games begin, what does the Commonwealth mean and what purpose does it serve?
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 11:33:20 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
(More...)
The Tide Turns for Sharks
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 11:34:30 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://theprogressnetwork.substack.com/p/the-tide-turns-for-sharks
"A century ago, fish scientists would have been surprised to hear that millions
of people tune in every year for a week of adrenaline-packed entertainment
about sharks. The prevailing attitude at that time, even among experts, was
(More...)
French firefighters face 'pyrocumulonimbus' for first time
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 18:12:52 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260726-french-firefighters-face-pyrocumulonimbus-for-first-time>
“Paris (France) (
AFP) – The gigantic wildfire ravaging southwest France has
created an extremely dangerous "pyrocumulonimbus" — a phenomenon never before
seen in the country — the spokesman for the country's National Firefighters
(More...)
BBC Sound Effects
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 18:14:02 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/
"The BBC Sound Effects Archive is available for personal, educational or
research purposes. There are over 33,000 clips from across the world from the
past 100 years. These include clips made by the BBC Radiophonic workshop,
(More...)
Corrientes celebrates 19 years of the giant anteater reintroduction project in the Iberá Wetlands
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 18:17:44 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://noticiasambientales.com/animals/corrientes-celebrates-19-years-of-the-giant-anteater-reintroduction-project-in-the-ibera-wetlands/>
"La Fundación Rewilding Argentina commemorated the 19th anniversary of the
giant anteater reintroduction program in the Iberá Wetlands. The species,
locally known as yurumí, had disappeared from Corrientes in the mid-20th
(More...)
What Parents Need to Know About Long COVID in Kids
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 18:18:40 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://www.lung.org/blog/child-long-covid
"Anyone who has dealt with fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath or the array
of other symptoms that persist months after recovering from SARS-CoV-2
infection, understand the frustrations of experiencing Long COVID. Though
(More...)
Desalination & Selective Metal Recovery
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 18:20:26 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/07/eng07302601.html
"
Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Electrochemical Ion
Pumping
(More...)
A Response to “Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die”
Sat, 1 Aug 2026 18:22:09 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://endangeredlanguages.com/story/response-sometimes-its-ok-let-language-die>
"The
New Yorker has chosen to publish a review of
How to Kill a Language,
“Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die,” which shows a profound
misunderstanding of language revitalization, while also perpetuating the very
(More...)
This 4,000-year-old city defied the rules of history
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 03:50:12 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260729010730.htm
“New research suggests that Mohenjo-daro followed a very different path from
many other early cities. As the 4,000-year-old urban center became larger, more
productive, and more successful, its society appears to have grown more equal
(More...)
Europe burns: a visual guide to the wildfires
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 03:51:02 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/30/europe-burns-france-spain-visual-guide-wildfires>
"The hellish infernos that have torn through parts of France and Spain have
caused deaths, the evacuation of 330,000 people from their homes, widespread
destruction and clouds of toxic smoke. Records have already been smashed and
(More...)
That Sign in Front of the Smithsonian is More Dangerous Than You Think
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 03:54:16 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://hartmannreport.com/p/that-sign-in-front-of-the-smithsonian-0ee
"“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls
the past.”
— George Orwell, 1984
(More...)
AI assistant named for long-dead pharmacy founder mutters incomprehensibly and "demands that you talk to him"
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 03:56:31 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://boingboing.net/2026/07/30/ai-assistant-named-for-long-dead-pharmacy-founder-mutters-incomprehensibly-and-demands-that-you-talk-to-him.html>
“A Vermont pharmacy chain's new AI assistant led not to the efficiency
improvements promised but to "delays, incorrect information and privacy
concerns." The AI, named "Burt" after the chain's long-dead founder, is said to
(More...)
Innocent Man Spends Over A Year Behind Bars After Critical Skyrim Mix-Up
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 03:57:51 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://www.thegamer.com/skyrim-typo-innocent-man-18-months-prison/
"An innocent man has served the full 18 months of his prison sentence after
police made a typo during their child-luring investigation. While looking for a
man going by the alias ‘fus__ro_dah’ on the messaging service Kik (a reference
(More...)
80‑million‑year‑old snake fossil sheds light on why lizards lost their limbs and started slithering
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 03:58:43 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://theconversation.com/80-million-year-old-snake-fossil-sheds-light-on-why-lizards-lost-their-limbs-and-started-slithering-287291>
"Snakes are everywhere in our legends and mythology. Yet for most of us, our
blood runs cold whenever we encounter these strangely undulating, scaly tubes
of muscle slithering through the leaf litter.
(More...)
Fix The News 348: Wildfire. AIDS. Recess. Yellowstone to Yukon.
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 11:12:47 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
https://fixthenews.com/p/348-wildfire-aids-recess-yellowstone
"I want to share a talk from the session I helped curate at TED this year. In
my introduction I put a question to the room: what does it actually take to
change the world? One person with an unbendable will, or the slow, grinding
(More...)
As missiles fly, Iranians are turning to art, culture and memes to find community
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 11:13:33 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://theconversation.com/as-missiles-fly-iranians-are-turning-to-art-culture-and-memes-to-find-community-284312>
"Coverage of the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States has
largely focused on battlefield developments, political statements and
international diplomacy.
(More...)
Data centre chaos: We need to learn the lessons from past gold rushes
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 11:14:24 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
(More...)
‘A river is our life force’: why Indigenous cultural values must be visible in conservation
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 11:15:23 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
(More...)
Upgraded EV bus depot is city’s largest, with 56 chargers and 112 plugs
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 11:16:23 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://thedriven.io/2026/07/20/upgraded-ev-bus-depot-is-citys-largest-with-56-chargers-and-112-plugs/>
"Upgrades to the Karrinyup bus depot in Perth’s northern suburbs have recently
been completed, with the addition of 56 dual electric bus chargers making it
the largest EV bus depot in the city.
(More...)
The US is issuing billions in tariff refunds. That won’t unwind the damage to the global trading system
Sun, 2 Aug 2026 11:16:59 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<
https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-issuing-billions-in-tariff-refunds-that-wont-unwind-the-damage-to-the-global-trading-system-287957>
"An Australian clothing company, Nashie, recently received a six-figure refund
from the US government, including 6% interest, for tariffs it had paid on US
imports. It’s just one of thousands of businesses reclaiming tariffs imposed on
(More...)
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