The Good Stuff - September 2026

September 2026

General

The Pirate Surgeon’s Journal Main Page - an in-depth look at being a surgeon on a ship. Glad I was born when I was.
Mechanical Pencil - Another wonderful hand-drawn breakdown of a padlock by Mechanical Pencil. Check it out.
The Soviets Drilled the Deepest Hold Ever - really interesting article.
Winner of the Invertebrate of the Year 2026 crowned - and it is the size of a grain of rice - The leaf sheep and it’s beautiful.
The Winners of the 2026 Pure Street Photography Awards - some really cool shots in here.

Dock by Lento Film Scanning System - Oof, this looks super cool, but it ain’t cheap! Found this link from my weekly Hiro.report, you should check it out.
Scanning photos using your digital camera: The big upgrade for me this time was using a one-time $9.99 app called Orion, along with a $19 HDMI-to-USB capture card dongle; you can use an iPad as an HDMI monitor. This works for many things like game consoles, etc., but you can plug it into your camera via HDMI so you have a big, beautiful iPad screen to align your negative and check focus. Highly recommended. I don’t think I can go back now.

Coyote America by Dan Flores.
Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson.
Death Comes For The Archbishop by Willa Cather.
Crossing The Wine-Dark Sea by Emily Wilson.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang. I had this on my wish list and got it on sale for $2.17.
The Wreck of the Mentor by Eric Jay Dolin.
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff.
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin.
Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams.

29 Nonfiction Books Coming This Fall - NYT Gift Article
35 Novels Coming This Fall - NYT Gift Article.
Bookmarks Magazine - I found this magazine while in a great bookstore in Fairhaven, WA. A great list of all the new books coming out.
Oh Reader Magazine - During the same bookstore visit in the village of Fairhaven, I found myself totally absorbed in this wonderful magazine based on the love of reading. I read just about every story in it. They are nice short stories about reading and readers. It’s a wonderful magazine, and I’m pretty sure I’ll subscribe for a year.
Life Beyond Measure by Ed Yong is coming out April 6, 2027. You can preorder it at the link above. Ed is a fantastic writer. I’ll be preordering.

Are you the person right now, at your current age, that you thought you’d be? How different are you? What are you surprised at?