The Monday Mix (02/05/2022)
Hey friends,
I forgot to send the reading list for April last week. It completely slipped my mind, so that will be sent for sure this Wednesday. There are a fair few books on there, so it should give you plenty of inspiration on what to read next.
I’m still working on articles and planning a few trips for the summer, so I should be out of the UK for a while this year, which will be nice, as I’ve only been out of the country twice since the start of the pandemic!
Anyway, here’s what I want to share this week.
Fastest Snooker 147
Today was the final of the World Snooker Championship, which was won by Ronnie O’Sullivan for the seventh time. He’s generally regarded to be the most talented player to ever play the sport, and the above video will demonstrate why. I used to play a lot of snooker when I was younger, I’d head down to a local snooker club a few days a week after school with friends. I was, and still am, a decent player but never good enough to make a career out of it, and nowhere near the level needed to accomplish what’s one in the video.
In the video above, Ronnie completes a 147 break, which is the maximum score you can make in snooker, potting 15 reds, 15 blacks and then all the remaining colours without missing a single shot. Just putting together a break of 30 is difficult for mere mortals such as myself, so completing a 147 is rightly considered the toughest feat in snooker. Yet, you’ll see why Ronnie is so highly regarded. He completes a maximum break in a matter of minutes and makes it look so easy, that you think you can pick up a cue and go and do it yourself.
Simply, a genius at work!
Supernova
A really cool article on the quest of astronomers to capture a supernova in action. As a rare celestial event, it’s not surprising we’ve not seen one in recent times, even with our superior technology. This article states that a few stargazers in the past witnessed these incredible events, which was new info for me.
The article also looks at how supernova eruptions in our own galaxy in the past, may have played in mass extinctions on our own planet. I never fail to marvel at how science can provide answers to events that happened millions and millions of years ago. The universe truly is a wondrous place.
How Tall Will Everest Get?
This article takes a somewhat silly question, how tall will Everest get before it stops growing, and spins out a really interesting piece on plate tectonics and various mountain ranges on the planet and even in the solar system.
As tall as Everest is, its dwarfed in comparison by Olympus Mons on Mars, which has a height of over 21.9 km (13.6 mi or 72,000 ft)! I can’t even begin to imagine what climbing it would be like. Maybe one day, future residents of Mars will find out and be able to say they’ve climbed to the highest point in the Solar System.
Book I’m reading - Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano
I’m still reading this book, and still shocked by the revelations of the author. I knew how ruthless the mafia in Italy was before I read the book, but the level to which they go was beyond even my comprehension. The risks the author took documenting and publishing are incredible.
Quote I’m pondering: “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom