{"id":270863,"date":"2025-01-31T09:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T14:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mathewingram.com\/work\/?p=270863"},"modified":"2025-01-31T10:25:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T15:25:43","slug":"what-myspace-tom-has-been-up-to-since-he-sold-the-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mathewingram.com\/work\/2025\/01\/31\/what-myspace-tom-has-been-up-to-since-he-sold-the-company\/","title":{"rendered":"What MySpace Tom has been up to since he sold the company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Links I Would Gchat You<\/a>: “Tom Anderson, in the cultural imagination, is the tech bro that got away. He\u2019s a foil to the Musks and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world, the exception that proves their rule isn\u2019t that great. Just take a scroll through Myspace Tom\u2019s assorted feeds, all ironically housed on the social platforms that usurped his influence, and observe the rare, precious sight of a very rich man contentedly minding his own damn business<\/em>. Since stepping away from the limelight, Anderson golfs. He takes lavish international vacations. He pals around with former \u201cAmazing Race\u201d contestants. Anderson always made something of an oddball founder \u2014 a product of Los Angeles, he reportedly hacked Chase Bank not to steal money, but to level-up his code. He later studied English at Berkeley and attended film school in LA.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A military base in the Korean DMZ has a par-3 golf hole in the middle of a minefield<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From Wikipedia<\/a>: “Camp Bonifas is home to the United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area, whose primary mission is to monitor and enforce the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953 between North and South Korea. Republic of Korea and United States Forces Korea soldiers conduct the United Nations Command DMZ Orientation Program tours of the JSA and surrounding areas. The camp has a gift shop which sells DMZ- and JSA-related souvenirs. The camp was formerly known as Camp Kitty Hawk. Access to the Neutral Nations Monitors (Sweden and Switzerland), on Camp Swiss-Swede, was through Camp Bonifas. There is a par 3 one-hole “golf course” at the camp which includes an AstroTurf green and is surrounded on three sides by minefields. Sports Illustrated<\/em> called it the most dangerous hole in golf and there are reports that at least one errant shot detonated a land mine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/strong>: This is a version of my When The Going Gets Weird newsletter, which I send out via Ghost, the open-source publishing platform. You can see other issues and sign up here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

If your in-flight WiFi is better than usual you can thank a bag of potatoes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From Phys.org<\/a>: “While major airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on many flights, the signal strength can be spotty. Airlines and aircraft makers have been striving to improve this with the growing use of wireless devices and the number of people who don’t want to be disconnected, even 35,000 feet (10,700 meters) up. Engineers at Chicago-based Boeing Co. used sacks of potatoes as stand-ins for passengers as they worked to eliminate weak spots in in-flight wireless signals. They needed full planes to get accurate results during signal testing, but they couldn’t ask people to sit motionless for days while data was gathered. After some experimentation, they started using bags of ordinary cooking potatoes; it turns out that potatoes\u2014because of their water content and chemistry\u2014absorb and reflect radio wave signals much the same way as the human body does, making them suitable substitutes for airline passengers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. I am able to continue writing this newsletter in part because of your financial help and support, which you can do either <\/em><\/em>through my Patreon<\/em><\/a> or by upgrading your subscription to a monthly contribution. I enjoy gathering all of these links and sharing them with you, but it does take time, and your support makes it possible for me to do that. I also write a weekly newsletter of technology analysis called <\/em><\/em>The Torment Nexus<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Richard Nixon bankrolled his first campaign using money he won playing poker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From History.com<\/a>: “As a U.S. Navy lieutenant overseeing logistical movement of arms at Guadalcanal Air Base in the Solomon Islands and other posts during World War II, Richard Nixon\u2019s unit was subjected to such regular Japanese air bombings, it became known as \u201cMurder, Incorporated.\u201d But once the future president was transferred to the more peaceful Green Island, he found time for more leisurely pursuits\u2014namely poker. In fact, he became such a card shark that, when he returned from his service, he brought home thousands of dollars in winnings\u2014enough cash to help fund his first run for political office, when he won a California congressional seat in 1946. \u201cHe was the finest poker player I have ever played against,\u201d former Navy comrade James Udall recalled in a 1970 Life<\/em> magazine interview. \u201cI once saw him bluff a lieutenant commander out of $1,500 with a pair of deuces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does grapefruit interfere with so many different kinds of medication?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From Scientific American<\/a>: “Unfortunately for lovers of grapefruit, mixing the appealingly bitter citrus with certain medications can lead to dangerous side effects. According to the National Capital Poison Center, at least 85 drugs \u2014 including commonly prescribed antidepressants, statins and antibiotics \u2014 have known or suspected interactions with grapefruit or grapefruit juice. But plant researchers are now working on a possible solution: genetically engineering a variety of the fruit that is medication-safe.Over the past few decades, scientists have zeroed in on the main culprit responsible for grapefruit\u2019s notorious interfering effect: a class of chemicals called furanocoumarins. These molecules can bind to and inactivate an enzyme in the intestines called CYP3A4 that helps metabolize certain drugs. This leads to excessive levels of the drug in the bloodstream and thus to a risk of harmful overdose.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spectacular drone light show in China<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Acknowledgements<\/strong><\/em>: I find a lot of these links myself, but I also get some from other newsletters that I rely on as “serendipity engines,” such as <\/em>The Morning News<\/em><\/a> from Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Jodi Ettenberg’s <\/em>Curious About Everything<\/em><\/a>, Dan Lewis’s <\/em>Now I Know<\/em><\/a>, Robert Cottrell and Caroline Crampton’s <\/em>The Browser<\/em><\/a>, Clive Thompson’s <\/em>Linkfest<\/em><\/a>, Noah Brier and Colin Nagy’s <\/em>Why Is This Interesting<\/em><\/a>, Maria Popova’s <\/em>The Marginalian<\/em><\/a>, Sheehan Quirke AKA <\/em>The Cultural Tutor<\/em><\/a>, the <\/em>Smithsonian<\/em><\/a> magazine, and <\/em>JSTOR Daily<\/em><\/a>. If you come across something interesting that you think should be included here, please feel free to email me at mathew @ mathewingram dot com<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Links I Would Gchat You: “Tom Anderson, in the cultural imagination, is the tech bro that got away. He\u2019s a foil to the Musks and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world, the exception that proves their rule isn\u2019t that great. Just take a scroll through Myspace Tom\u2019s assorted feeds, all ironically housed on the social … <\/p>\n

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