Meanwhile, in the Future...

Inaugural Memex post

Posted on by brmitf

Inspired by those that have been inspired by Cory Doctorow’s Memex method. Some of these links have been gathering dust in my digital bucket for so long, I forgot what they were about.

Many are video content, very loosely categorized and in no particular order. A few are blog posts. This isn’t meant to have any cohesiveness or structure, it’s merely some souvenirs of my travels through the interwebs for the past month or two.

Art & Creativity

“Don’t follow your dreams, follow your tools” – Hank Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_Rqf-vxBM8

  • takeaway: do the easy thing

One page art business plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1VkrAnkiG8

Improve creativity thru limitation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDERbNHfLaE

  • Key takeaway: “How can I make it work with what I’ve got?”

Intriguing observations

Who owns your electricity? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTxjZK17bs

I’ve been fascinated by small scale bookbinding lately. Diy pocket journal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrL8GesGgoU

This is not a political blog, so I’m not commentating for or against any ideology. This is a “food for thought” post with a different perspective that I found interesting. China’s strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNK3vNg13XA

  • the beginning 15 or so minutes talks about China creating an Engineering State, as opposed to the Lawyerly State (US). Lawyers are good at stopping things, but not great at breaking new ground.
  • Since 70s China has focused on building up its mfg infrastructure, which the US has been selling off during the same time frame. I thought that this plays into current geopolitics: Russia wants mfg infrastructure and expertise of Ukraine, so invasion is a way to get to that.
  • USA was using government funding to incentivize mfg in the US, but that has been scrapped by the current admin in favor of… well, I’m not sure what. I guess driving out foreign sales is a way to get USA-ians to start looking for ways to get cheaper stuff at home?

Rebooting social life (use reader view): https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/this-might-be-oversharing

  • Key takeaway: “If I wanted a community, then I could build it myself.”

Music

Awesome track-mixing with found items (@helenacruzbass on IG): https://youtube.com/shorts/jQCurDh9yrQ

Vocab

Komorebi 木漏れ日 (pronounced kō-mō-leh-bē)
Literally, “sunlight leaking through trees,” this word describes the beauty and wonder of rays of light dappling through overhead leaves, casting dancing shadows on the forest floor.

Current events and tech

Paying more because of Amazon policies: https://youtube.com/v/vrgtV_yxxn4

Dark factories: https://burstcomms.com/welcome-to-the-dark-factory-era-industry-40

If you stay in hotels, you probably don’t want to think about the fact that this tool exists: https://youtube.com/v/n0TT2aTkVhU firefighter lock swipe tool (scary)

Flex circuit repair: https://youtube.com/v/8xnQbmAp468

Short: Resume keyword scanning: https://youtube.com/v/2ax2jMzsIzM

Health/Science

Don’t store cooked rice on the counter. Do this instead: https://youtube.com/shorts/mc0fdrHhRlI

The more we outsource cognition, the more our raw human capability erodes. https://youtu.be/ysVqPCHjEDg

RNA triggers DNA repair, treats autoimmune, heart attack: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adp1338

Huge hydro power dam China: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/17/china/china-largest-hydropower-dam-intl-hnk-dst

Archaeology: The oldest town in Ireland? https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyw59v8978o

Writing/blogging

I don’t know Richard personally, but I find his blog inspiring.