I am extremely amused by the slightly clever Lego pasta scammer, who thought exactly one step ahead. That is not enough steps ahead.
A Very Fusilli Plan ∞
Did some poor kid receive one of these boxes for their birthday? Maybe!
Friday, April 24th, 2026
Dropping in Unannounced ∞
A good time was had by all.
Thursday, April 23rd, 2026
It’s a good week for things falling out of the sky here at OFT, as we’ve now got a new vehicle where it ain’t supposed to be. Last weekend, a becalmed hot air balloon had to make an emergency landing, and it wound up in Hunter and Jenna Perrin’s tiny backyard. You may have already seen footage of the landing, with everyone looking delighted:
[Image via: Hunter Perrin]
I particularly appreciate the sheepish grin and shrug, but my favorite shot comes from later, when the balloon was being hopped out of the backyard:
[Image via: Hunter Perrin]
You certainly don’t see that every day. And speaking of unusual events, the company in charge of this particular flight was Magical Adventure Balloon Rides, who have previously made headlines for a rather different reason. They offer “mile high flights”, and according to their site, “[i]t is exactly what you are thinking”. You and your partner can take an exclusive flight to 5,280 feet in “a basket equipped with a privacy curtain”, while the “discreet pilot will wear protective hearing gear and focus solely on flying the balloon”. A 2024 piece I found was quite a read, and included this:
“I don’t want to be indelicate, but OK, I’ll just be direct: They were [doing it] doggy-style, with the woman over the side of the basket…so she could look out.”
“Wouldja look at that view?!”
Sectional 42
This appears to be a one-off item. They ought to consider selling more of them.
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026
The bleachers at Fenway Park are a near-uniform sea of green. However, in section 42, row 37, seat 21, there is a lone red seat.
[Photo credit: Ewen Roberts]
That special seat marks where Ted Williams hit what is recorded as the longest home run in Fenway Park history, at 502 feet. As the folks over at Uni Watch note:
The seat was turned red in 1984 to commemorate the massive blow and has since become part of the team’s lore and culture. The seat’s mystique grew following Williams’s death in 2002, as the Red Sox kept the seat vacant for the remainder of that season. (Fans who’d already purchased tickets for that seat were upgraded to better locations in the ballpark.)
Now, a second lone red seat is headed for the living room of some lucky Red Sox fan. Jordan’s Furniture has created a special green and red couch as a promotion, and I’m grateful that friend-of-the-site Jason S. gave me a heads-up. Now, you can feast your eyes on the delightfully-named “Sectional 42”:
[Image: Jordan’s Furniture]
That is just some outstanding marketing. There are a lot of bad ads out there, so it’s nice to spot a good one once in awhile. And if you’d like to win this sweet sofa, enter over on Instagram. You’ll also be helping raise money to fight cancer.
We’ve Got to Hang Our Hats on Something ∞
If I die after being chased down by a super-fast, super-ridiculous robot, at least I’ll have had a good laugh at its expense.
Tuesday, April 21st, 2026
Last April, shared news from Beijing’s robot half-marathon, which I charitably called “not a resounding success” for the machines. Out of 21 entrants, only 6 managed to finish, and that was with a lot of assistance. It also took 2 hours and 40 minutes, quite a slow pace.
Just one year later, the results are markedly different. More than 100 robots entered, and several of them from Chinese smartphone maker Honor ran the race at a faster-than-human pace. The men’s world record is currently 57:20, and it’s not likely to drop by much more. For the robots, the autonomous winner finished in 50:26, while a remote-controlled robot managed 48:19.
All is not lost, however. Here’s a look at just two of the robots during the race:
We may be slower, but humans clearly still hold an edge in the all important category of “not looking ridiculous while running”.
Snagged on a Giant C ∞
Why is there a college football game in April?
Monday, April 20th, 2026
This is a rough day at the office.
Vehicles Crushed by Snow ∞
“Entombed in dirty snow” is a bad way to go
Friday, April 17th, 2026
As the weather warms up in New England, the massive snow piles found around Boston are finally melting. One particular pile has garnered quite a bit of attention due to what was revealed underneath it. Namely, cars. A half-dozen cars were covered by snow piles, and now they’re reemerging.
[Photo credit: u/jj3904]
I’m a bit skeptical of the claim that all of these cars were “waiting to be junked” prior to being buried under tons of snow. Regardless, however, but they’re definitely junkers now.
The Magawa Monument Is Made of Stone
I also learned that the base is made from steel and designed to look like a landmine.
Thursday, April 16th, 2026
When writing about the massive monument to the hero rat Magawa, I noted that it looked like wood, despite all reporting stating it was stone. I went so far as to feed a picture to A.I. to try to learn more, and the robots suspected it as wood too. When pressed, they suggested it could be something like sandstone, however.
Not content with this uncertainty, I contacted Apopo’s press office. A day later, I received this ever so helpful reply:
Hi Paul,
Thank you so much for your support over the years, we really appreciate it.
Yes, I can confirm that the Magawa sculpture is indeed made from stone. It’s carved from the same type of Cambodian stone traditionally used in Angkor Wat, which is part of what makes it so special.
I agree it can be surprising from certain angles, the craftsmanship is extraordinary, and the finish and detailing can sometimes give it a warmer, almost “wood-like” appearance in photos and video.
If you haven’t already seen it, here’s the making-of video which shows the process in more detail: https://youtu.be/sPeRQieGMoE
Thanks again for helping share Magawa’s story.
What a delightfully definitive answer. Though my eyes still struggle to believe it, the Magawa statue is indeed made of stone. And sure enough, Angkor Wat is made of millions of sandstone blocks. The making-of video confirms it’s yellow sandstones, and at about the 6:15 mark, there’s even footage of the carving process showing a nascent Magawa:
I am delighted to have been shown this video evidence, and to share it with you. Now I’ll close with a link to Apopo’s donation page, where you too can sponsor a real-life landmine detection rat for that special someone in your life.
Pivoting From Shoes to Artificial Intelligence ∞
Let’s forget this and just get drunk on roast beef vodka.
Wednesday, April 15th, 2026
For a decade, Allbirds has made quality shoes with a focus on sustainability. In the early 2020s, the company expanded and went public, but they’ve been struggling mightily of late. Never fear, however, as A.I. is here. Or at least, the promise of something realted to artificial intelligence is, anyway.
I’ve worn and loved a couple pairs of Allbirds, but I was blissfully unaware of their recent financial struggles. As a result, I was quite confused when friend-of-the-site Mike A. pointed me to a press release in which Allbirds announced an “expansion into A.I. compute infrastructure”. What?
After digging around a bit, I believe it goes like this:
The Allbirds corporate entity has sold off its shoe business to a portfolio company (“American Exchange Group”) for $39 million. What’s left?
Well, the hollowed-out Allbirds entity itself still exists, and it’s holding that $39 million. As well, it’s publicly listed under the sweet ticker symbol BIRD.
Now, they’ve announced that that hollowed-out entity will soon be renamed “NewBird AI”, and that this shell (ha!) of a company will raise another $50 million in funding to do some vague A.I. shit.
It takes time to get a publicly-listed company, and they want to cash in on this A.I. fad as soon as possible, so they’ve hollowed out their shoe company and turned it into an A.I. company, why not.
The former shoe company no longer owns any shoe company assets, but it does have A.I. aspirations (and fine, maybe another $50 million bucks in funding ). Naturally, the stock is now soaring. At the time of publication, BIRD stock is worth more than eight times what it was literally yesterday. I guess the market likes their plan and/or is now aware that they’ve unburdened themselves of a flagging shoe business.
While I don’t own any BIRD stock, I do hope to continue to be able to purchase Allbird shoes. I guess I’m now pinning my hopes on American Exchange Group being a good steward of the brand. As far as Newbird AI goes, I won’t be surprised if I never hear about it again.
Stay in Your Lane, Paperless Post
We should all be managing our own digital calendars.
Tuesday, April 14th, 2026
When covering the automated rudeness of Resy, I said:
I’m a responsible adult who keeps a digital calendar. When I book a table for dinner, I also create an event, complete with reminders. Thanks to this system, I don’t believe I’ve ever missed a reservation in my life. That’s not boasting, it’s just how one should act in society.
This system continues to prevent me from being a flake, ensuring I remember and attend all manner of events. I need no further assistance, but boy do a lot of barely related services want to offer me some.
The latest was the online invitation company Paperless Post. Recently, I received a friendly birthday invitation sent with their system. I like cake, so I figured I’d go. I put the event in my calendar and then used the RSVP link to respond in the affirmative. That should have been the end of it, but it was not.
Instead, Paperless Post offered me this:
As you will no doubt guess, I clicked that de-emphasized “Skip” button. I do not need more automated texts in my life. Also, could we all just affirm once and for all that we know that message and data rates may apply? I shudder to think of the cumulative amount of time wasted reading the endless stream of notices of that obvious fact.
As I thought about this goofy feature more, it occurred to me that a text an hour before an event is surely rather late. How many people are reminded by such a text, and actually manage to show? Rather than alerting someone they should be attending an event soon, it’s almost certain to be the first indication that they’ll be missing it.
There are two other options offered, one of which is a day before reminder. That could be helpful, and it seems like it ought to be the default.
Either way, though, I’ll be passing. I don’t need to be receiving a text message like this:
A Massive Magawa ∞
Reporting claims this is stone, but it sure looks like wood to me.
Monday, April 13th, 2026
Remember Magawa the HeroRat? He’s back, in giant statue form.
[Photo credit: Apopo]
While Apopo’s actual HeroRats are huge, they’re thankfully not seven feet tall.
