The case of the disappearing great grandmother

While doing some research for a project, I came across a wonderful series from the University of Auckland called 'Soundtrack to your studies'. It paints a year-by-year picture of campus sounds from 1960 to 2019.

The series seems designed as a set of stand-alone landing pages as I couldn’t find any obvious navigation, and only discovered more by editing the URL directly. Keep that in mind if you explore it yourself.

I especially enjoyed the snapshots of artists and bands performing for new students during O-Week in the 1990s. That rabbit hole even led me to a YouTube bootleg (audio only) of Nirvana’s 1992 show at the Logan Campbell Centre — a pretty amazing find.

Felix Walton, RNZ:

Mila Adam said magma took a significantly long time to cool, but the results of this research were still surprising.

'What was new for us was we really thought 600 years was long enough,' she said. 'We don't see surface manifestations, there is all this beautiful forest on Rangitoto, but in reality, there is still hot water beneath it.'

Adam squashed any fears that the geothermal activity could signal an eruption.

'It's telling us Rangitoto is a bit more active than we thought,' she said. "Nothing to be worried about, definitely nothing that would be a precursor to an eruption, but it's less dormant than we thought.

'It's still quite alive in terms of a hydrothermal system and CO2 emissions.'

I'm certain every Aucklander has at one time or another looked out at Rangitoto and wondered just how dormant the volcano really is. So, to find out the answer to that question is 'not quite as much as we thought' is both thrilling and a little unsettling.

You can read the full scientific article at Volcanica.

Ethan Marcotte, on the development and inspiration for his new links section:

At the end of last week, I launched a very basic “links and sundries” page. Pretty much ever since I joined Twitter (valē), social media has always been where I’ve shared links I find interesting or inspiring. I’ve always wanted a more permanent solution — or more permanent-feeling, anyway; what’s a link’s average lifespan these days? — so I built one for my website.

My journey to a more permanent home for links didn't start with social media, but with the rebuild of this site. As I was putting this new version together, I knew I wanted to write more, but the idea of committing to long-form articles was daunting. I needed an entry point, a way to start small and build momentum. That’s when the concept of a dedicated link section clicked. It was the perfect solution: a place to publish short notes and observations, easing me back into the rhythm of writing.

Inspired by Marcotte's new "links and sundries" page, I decided to build my own. I wasn't trying to replicate his auto-generated setup (via Sophie Koonin); I just wanted a simple, "get it done" solution. Since I already use Contentful for this site, it was the perfect place to start. I built a straightforward data model with just a title, an external link, and a space for my personal notes.

This new section is where I keep track of what I'm reading and thinking about—an evolving collection of links that have inspired me, challenged my workflows, or simply made me think. My hope is that by sharing my discoveries, you might find something that sparks an idea for you, too.

If you’re curious about the technical side, the code for this site, including how I pull in these notes from Contentful, is open-source and available on GitHub.