Friday Inspiration 545

Artemis launch in 8K, how race photographers make it work, solar panels in between train tracks

I don’t know how to describe this 8-minute video of the Artemis II launch, but it was unexpectedly moving (I know Katy Perry/lots of ultra-rich people have now gone to space but why is this so much more exciting?)(video)

This is a story about the minor-league Staten Island FerryHawks being the worst team in professional baseball this season, but the best part to me was Lauren Theisen’s description of what it was like to watch a night game in a stadium designed to hold 7,000+ people, but only had about 100 in attendance. Also, I have, probably like many New York City Marathon runners transferring from the early morning Staten Island Ferry to the buses to take us to the start line, glanced over at the stadium and its view of lower Manhattan across the water, and wondered what it was like to watch a game there. [GIFT LINK]

When it comes to surviving hot temperatures, the best strategy is probably to stop exercising outdoors so much. BUT, since I’m not gonna do that, I am interested in how to keep up my running and not have it wreck the rest of my day/week/life. So I was thrilled to find that newsletter sponsor Precision Fuel & Hydration had senior sports scientist Dr. Lindsey Hunt write this piece, “What is the best cooling strategy for athletes?” [<—clicking this link will give you 15% off your first 2026 purchase of PFH products]

For our latest Trailhead podcast interview, we asked ultramarathon race photographer Anastasia Wilde to come on the show, because we wanted to hear what her job is like out there trying to capture moments during long, grueling races that take place on big swaths of land, on sections of trail that are not always easy to get to. (Plus I see Anastasia pretty much every time I’m at a local race—I could have easily walked over to her house to do the interview)

I don’t know how many other people will be excited about this beautifully presented Pudding story “What do America’s earliest restaurant menus teach us about America?” made from the New York Public Library’s Buttolph Collection of menus from 1880 to 1920, but I loved scrolling through it (maybe best on a laptop/desktop computer). Also was pleasantly surprised to see the 1915 menu from the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.

When I started writing for Adventure Journal in 2011, it was just a website (you might have even called it a “blog” in the early years). And then Stephen Casimiro launched the print edition of Adventure Journal ten years ago, and the stories in the print edition only lived in the pages of the print edition. Well, now those stories—all of them, from the print mag’s entire lifespan—are online on the new Adventure Journal website. BUT they’re only available to AJ subscribers, so I guess this is me recommending that you subscribe to Adventure Journal.

Leave it to the Swiss to put solar panels in an otherwise-unused space—between railroad tracks—and make it actually work. (via Kottke)

Reddit just decided that I needed to be aware of the r/DeathStairs subreddit yesterday, and have I ever been enjoying it. As stated, this set of folding stairs sitting above another flight of stairs, leading to a toilet (and I believe a shower!?!?) is a crossover with r/WeirdToilets, which is appropriate. But I have so many questions.

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Also: I just got a shipment of new Practice Maximum Enthusiasm pocket notebooks from Tobie at Mordecai Book Building. (They’re not for sale, but I send them out to Patreon supporters who join at the $5/month level or higher.)