Magnitude and Direction — Issue #155
Build a house from scratch, imaginary vacation, and Spotify Wrapped for the world
Welcome to the latest installment of my bi-weekly newsletter, covering some of my favorite new developments in the fields of biotech, data science, engineering, and more. If this is your first issue, it's great to have you! For everyone else, thanks for coming back!
If you like this email, forward it to a friend (I can't encourage this enough) and if you're seeing it for the first time, subscribe here to get it regularly. As always, if you come across something cool you'd like to share, send me a note.
Notes
In the time since the last edition of this newsletter went out, New York City broke its 701-day-long snowless streak, a duration so long that I don’t think any of us are even annoyed about it yet.
This edition’s font is called Monofett.
Jobs
No new job opportunities in this edition, check earlier editions for previous posts.
Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication
🏪 I know many of you probably don't have a need to display products in a store, but even if that is the case, I'd wager you can probably appreciate the creative design and engineering that's gone into the Faster Displays product display and shelving system.
🏠 A medium-sized CNC router and plywood is essentially all you need to build an entire house, thanks to WikiHouse.
s👟🪢 Turns out, you've been tying your shoes wrong the whole time.
📺 Continuing a tradition of unveiling impressively futuristic TVs at CES, this year LG showcased a completely transparent television (which can enable some pretty mind-bending display options).
Software and Programming
🖼️ We can basically make portraits and pictures like in Harry Potter now.
✈️ If you don't have the budget for a big international trip this year, you can just use AI to imagine what a big international trip would be like.
📜 These web design projects answer the question "can the Terms & Conditions be even more annoying to complete?"
🐱💻 One unintended consequence of the AI revolution? It's really easy to hack restaurant chains now.
Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine
🔢 A lot of numbers have something special about them.
😵💫 Some of the finalists for 2023's Illusion of the Year are pretty mind-bending.
☄️ This website shows all the asteroids NASA is tracking, in real time.
Mapping, History, and Data Science
🌾🍞 Whether you have 5 minutes or 30 years, this website has recipes you can complete with whatever free time you have.
🎶 We may be a few months out from Spotify Wrapped season, but it's not too late to see what the world's Spotify Wrapped was.
🚄 This is like a flight tracker, but for trains.
⌨️🐒 We probably don't have the time to wait for an infinite number of monkeys to type out the complete works of Shakespeare, but how long would it take a smaller batch of monkeys to type out something simpler?
Events and Opportunities
DUE! TODAY, 1/19 IndieBio Open Call. For the first time since setting up shop in New York, IndieBio is holding an open call for startups to come and pitch the IndieBio New York Team. If you’re working on an early-stage biotech innovation and think it might be ready to take to the next level, definitely consider applying to this unique opportunity.er applying to this unique opportunity.
⭐TOMORROW, 1/20 Mouthy Baby Returns to Arlene's Grocery! Coming off a jam-packed double-set at the Brooklyn Music Kitchen, we're once again returning to another familiar venue with a headlining show at Arlene's Grocery. With our friends in Off Wing joining us on the lineup, you can be sure this show is gonna be packed to the gills and full of energy, so get your tickets before they run out!
Wednesday, 1/24 BVS and CURE New Year Biotech Innovation Supplier Expo. In partnership with CURE, BVS is excited to host a Biotech Innovation Supplier Expo in New York, the third in a series of events focusing on new and emerging technologies that are being used to advance science in the life science arena. Some of the top life sciences companies will be exhibiting their latest technologies and services, providing a platform for scientists from both academia and biotech/Pharma to engage in meaningful strategic discussions to help advance scientific objectives. There will be a combination of vendor exhibits, great food & drinks, and lots of networking!
Wednesday, 1/24 ECHO NYC Bio-Entrepreneurship Happy Hour @ BioLabs. Derek Brand’s long-running bio-entrepreneurship happy is hour is back again and hosted by BioLabs this month, bringing together the entrepreneurs, clinicians, and operators that help build the vibrant New York City biotech ecosystem. All are welcome to attend and, as always, "bring an entrepreneur".
Thursday, 1/25 Nanonite Social Happy Hour. Join the Nanotech NYC meetup and friends for an evening of connection, collaboration, and camaraderie at their Nanonite Social, a recurring event hosted by Nanotech NYC. This monthly meetup offers a unique opportunity to mingle with fellow enthusiasts of nanotechnology in a relaxed and informal setting.
Monday, 1/29 Transit Techies Meetup. Join the Transit Techies Meetup for an engaging talk on how the MTA, America's largest bus service, tackles a major 'Big Data' challenge. Discover how the MTA team uses GPS data from over 5,000 buses across 300+ routes to improve performance metrics. Talks will dive into the complexities of matching buses to routes and stops using a cutting-edge parallelized geospatial algorithm. Learn about public data feeds, signal processing, MLOps, and more in this session that illustrates successful intra-agency collaboration.
Thursday, 2/8 Hudson Research Center Industry Mixer. Get ready for a dynamic collaboration between CUPS (Columbia University Postdoctoral Society) and Elevate Research Properties, kicking off a series of events with rotating content curation with an Industry Mixer located in the Hudson Research Center. Don't miss out on this opportunity to network and connect with like-minded professionals!
Tuesday, 2/20 (+ 2nd Tuesday of the month) Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels 1st Pitch Office Hours. Continuing the tradition that began with their 1st Pitch Life Science™ series of live events, MABA Office Hours are meant to provide constructive feedback to companies that may be too early for funding, and those who wish to pitch for feedback. This monthly office hours session gives companies 10 minutes to pitch a panel of MABA investors, followed by 10 minutes of feedback from the panel. You need not be part of a startup to attend, either — these pitch events are open to all to attend.
Tuesday, 2/27 JLABS JMIX Networking Event w/ BiotechXYZ. Get ready to start the New Year at the JMIX Kick-Off, co-hosted by Biotech XYZ! Join the JLABS team for an electrifying evening of innovation, networking, and fun. Don't miss out on the perfect blend of technology and biotech excitement, so be sure to register for this unforgettable kickoff event!
Friday 4/12 TEDxCUNY 2024: Unravel. CUNY’s annual TEDx conference returns this spring, featuring talks from students, faculty, and other luminaries as they quest to unravel the complexities of life and weave the fabric of our future.
Other events coming up you think I should know about? Let me know here!
Map of the Month
🧠 This edition's Map of the Month isn't a map of a geographical location, but it'll still take at least the next four weeks to peruse in its entirety.
Odds & Ends
🥔 This might be the most thorough catalogue of anthropomorphized objects ever assembled (the URL is a little NSFW, though).