Magnitude and Direction — Issue #158
Balancing cubes, emoji translator, and REALLY hard math problems
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
This edition's font is called Raybees, and it comes to us via internet cult-legend Matt Round.
Jobs
No new job opportunities in this edition, check earlier editions for previous posts.
Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication
🟩 This balancing cube is as much a work of art as it is a feat of engineering.
💿 This story about a dixieland jazz band started by Disney employees during the companies heyday (and some of their lost recordings recovered in an auction) in the 1940s could just as easily go down in the history section, but some of the backstory behind the recordings themselves gives us a peek into the very hardware-oriented world of music recording in what was still relatively early days for the art.
📱🍚 Rice is not part of Apple's official troubleshooting guide.
Software and Programming
💬🗨️🤔😅🙁 This website is like Google Translate, but for emojis.
🔎🌐 Thanks to AI, you can now cheat at Geoguessr.
😺🎧🎶 Also thanks to AI, let this cat build your next playlist.
🖱️ This is how to build the "perfect" website.
🧺 This website is for when you really don't care about how you generate your passwords (but do care about maintaining good password security).
Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine
🚀🛰 3D printing may be an easier experience than 2D printing these days, but it's still not a trivial endeavor. Nevertheless, scientists have decided to go ahead and make it even trickier by doing it in zero gravity.
➕➖✖➗ The Putnam Competition may be the hardest math test in the world, with a median score of 1 out of 120. Check out the questions from the 2019 edition to see how you fare.
🚶 If you find yourself getting lost easily, you might want to consider aimlessly roaming around more often (yes, really).
Mapping, History, and Data Science
🍜🍣🥡 What's the scoop on Asian restaurants in the US?
🍔 Where can you get the best bang for your buck when buying a Big Mac?
🏙️🌆 This website let's you get a sense of what neighborhoods in a new city might feel similar to those you already know well on your home turf. (I tried it out on a few of the less-trodden international cities I’ve been to and compared them against New York. I gotta say… I was pretty impressed.)
Events and Opportunities
I’m involved in one of this edition’s upcoming events, but it isn’t a Mouthy Baby show…
Saturday, 3/2 AI & Hardware Virtual Job Fair. In response to an outpouring of interest in new career opportunities, the Hardware Meetup community is coming together to host their first ever Hardware Job Fair. Complementing an in-person event happening the week before in San Francisco (which you can also check out if you happen to be over there), this job fair will aim to bridge the gap between people looking for roles and people hiring for roles. Everything from full-time roles to summer opportunities will be featured, from top companies in the hardware, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence spaces. There'll even be some asynchronous opportunities for anyone who can make it the day of, with opportunities being shared through the first week of March.
Wednesday, 3/6 Textbook Ventures: Accelerator Guide Release and Panel. If you're a founder considering an accelerator program as part of your journey, you won't want to miss this! Textbook Ventures, along with sponsors Banc of California, Withum Smith & Brown, and Rooled, welcomes you to the lovely space of RISE by Barclays for the Textbook Ventures' Greater New York City Accelerator Guide for Founders 2024 release party and Accelerator Panel. Join the Textbook team in celebrating the release of their guide to the venture accelerator programs in the greater New York City area — a resource for founders and the startup community. The celebration will include a panel to discuss the whats, whens and hows of accelerators for founders.
Thursday, 3/7 NYC Open Data Week Happy Hour. Open Data Week 2024 is right around the corner, so join fellow data scientists, civic leaders, and open-source enthusiasts for a pre-festival celebration! Join BetaNYC for a Happy Hour at Randolph Beer, where you'll meet the people behind the scenes at Open Data Week, learn more about the upcoming festival, and celebrate the anniversary of NYC’s Open Data Law. Feel free to bring your friends too!
Friday-Sunday, 3/8-3/10 Cornell Tech Health Hackathon. Cornell Tech’s annual Health Hackathon returns for a weekend of prototyping, workshops, and pitching, all for $10,000 [≈ Average household credit card debt, 2010] in prizes and hosted at the beautiful offices of Next Jump. Participants from any institution are welcome to attend and form multidisciplinary teams comprised of medical, business, engineering, data science, developers, and design students create solutions to improve patient safety.
Wednesday, 3/13 FirxtXFounder Clinical Trials Masterclass. Join FirstXFounder for the latest installment of their masterclass series, focusing on clinical trial considerations for new biotech startups. Presentations will cover an intro to clinical trials for first-time ventures, including how to establish a trial plan, get IRB approval, and build a trial budget, as well as best practices to achieve DEI including technology and community engagement. Interested attendees can use code SVSHOJ for 20% off through March 1st.
Tuesday, 3/19 (+ 3rd 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.
Saturday-Sunday, 3/23-3/24 Ivyhacks.AI Columbia University and Cornell Tech co-host this in-person technology hackathon bringing together students, technologists, and other innovators looking to explore the frontiers of what’s possible today with artificial intelligence.
Thursday, 3/28 Hudson Valley Tech Startup Showcase. Join the Hudson Valley Venture Hub and HV Tech Meetup group for their biannual startup showcase event, hosted by the Senate Garage in Kingston. Hear from some of the region's most promising technology-forward startups as they deliver a 5-minute pitch for capital. A judging panel of local angel investors will select 3 winners to receive $10,000.
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.
Friday-Sunday, 4/19-4/21 MIT Hacking Medicine Grand Hack. One of healthcare’s biggest hackathon is back at MIT for a weekend of fast-paced tech development, pitching, and networking, all with a goal of jump-starting the next generation of healthcare innovations. Applicants from all institutions are welcome to apply and applications are open until March 8th!
Other events coming up you think I should know about? Let me know here!
Map of the Month
⚡ Here’s all the lightning happening right now.
Odds & Ends
⬛⬜⬛⬜ This game is a little bit like if Go, Golf, and Tetris had a baby (and it's very easy to get hooked on, once you get a feel for the gameplay).