Day 5058: Rip and Tear? & Sodium-ion Batteries.

"Win": tape junk paper collage.

  

Want music?

    Click: FJK & Masego, Tadow

2GN2S

 I'm not sure if it's the ripping or the speed, but to collage with shipping tape is really fun! A step-by-step? Okay.

All you need is any clear shipping tape, mine is Scotch brand.

Magazines, newspaper, junk mail ... paper. High gloss, processed, varnished papers may resist the tape. In my opinion,  cheaper, thinner papers work best.

Then a substrate, or whatever you want to do your collage on.

I am going to use the above yellow 4.5 x 6" postcard ...

Lay the strapping tape on top of the area you want to pick up 

(heavier paper may need to be burnished) ... then rip it up!

step 1

Apply the tape to the substrate. You can't completely control what adheres to the tape, but I think that's part of the fun? 

step 2

The tape that doesn't adhere paper, adheres to the substrate, I use glue stick on the back of the adhered area of tape.

step 3

No limit on how many layers. There seems to be a learning curve ... or ripping curve? I am not an expert, but it is fun ripping & layering. My first attempts were too busy, too many layers, so this one I stopped before. You can be crop to catch a good area.

BTW: There is a popular technique also using shipping tape,

adhering the tape onto the area to be transferred, 

then wetting the tape and rubbing off the adhered paper. 

The remaining image on the tape is a transparent transfer. 

A more accurate copy & with more time involved. 

This is not that, but a different effect.

Sodium-ion batteries just became one of the most significant clean energy breakthroughs of the decade — and the world's largest battery manufacturer is already making them at scale. MIT Technology Review named sodium-ion batteries one of its top 10 breakthrough technologies of 2026, and Chinese battery giant CATL confirmed it began manufacturing sodium-ion batteries at industrial scale in 2025. The technology matters because it replaces lithium, a geographically concentrated and increasingly expensive mineral, with sodium — an element so abundant it is literally extracted from ordinary seawater and table salt, making it one of the most universally accessible materials on Earth.

Sodium-ion batteries carry real limitations compared to their lithium-ion counterparts: they cannot pack as much energy into the same cell volume, limiting their appeal for applications where weight and size are critical constraints. But for the two applications where energy density matters less than cost and longevity — grid-scale electricity storage and smaller urban electric vehicles — sodium-ion cells are proving genuinely competitive. Grid storage does not need to be lightweight. It needs to be cheap, durable, and deployable at massive scale, precisely the profile that sodium-ion chemistry delivers when manufactured at the volumes CATL is now achieving in China.

Clean energy investors are increasingly bullish on sodium-ion batteries as one of the most economical near-term solutions for grid-scale storage, particularly when paired with solar generation in hybrid solar-plus-battery facilities. As alternative battery chemistries like sodium-ion and zinc reach commercial maturity, analysts project further cost reductions that could accelerate grid storage deployment beyond even the record-setting pace already set in 2025.

Source: MIT Technology Review, 2026

#SodiumIonBattery #CleanEnergy #China #BatteryStorage #EnergyBreakthrough

 

 

  

 

A 2+ minute video, Drawing the eye , here.

 

 

Just because ...

Maroon Oriole

Tuesday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.

  

 

 

Day 5057: FIFA: Recognizing Ochoa! & Baby's First Flight.

"Rishi": tissue, junk papers collage.

                                                                       

  

Want music?

    Click: Stevie Wonder, You are the Sunshine

2GN2S

I have always thought soccer was a great sport, but rarely watched it on tv until the current FIFA World Cup matches. I watch USA of course, but also Mexico, Canada, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Japan and more. The speed, stamina and agility are truly amazing.

I have been watching so many matches. A lot of soccer. Maybe too much soccer? I usually mute commercials, but I was busy and didn't and looked up in time to see Ochoa from Mexico's soccer team in a commercial, I immediately said, Oh, Ochoa! Then I thought, Wow, you are watching too much soccer! I don't remember the commercial, but he was in a suit and tie, and I knew him? Before FIFA and the World Cup competition I wouldn't have. Wow!

Guillermo Ochoa

They say that a Korean woman flying from Seoul to California with her 4-month-old baby once decided to hedge against just such wrath by handing out 200 (!) bags before the flight.

Each bag contained earplugs, candy, and a note that read:

"Hello! I'm Joon Woo, and I'm 4 months old. Today I'm flying to the US with my mom and grandma to see my aunt.

I'm a little nervous and scared because this is my first flight, which means I might cry or make too much noise.

I'll try to be calm, but I can't make any promises... Please excuse me.

My mom has prepared a small bag for you! It contains candy and earplugs. Please use them if I make too much noise. Enjoy your trip. Thank you."

Mom needn't have worried; Jun Woo behaved like the most exemplary passenger. The baby slept for the entire 10 hours

  

  

 

A 4+ minute video, Homeless, here.

 

Just because ...

Indian Paradise Flycatcher.

Monday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.

  

 

 

 

Day 5056: Clasping Arms in Minneapolis & Rescued bird needs shoes.

  

"Alter Ego": graphite drawing, acrylics, collage & digital.

                                                                       

  

Want music?

    Click: Lionel Richie, Love Will Find a Way.

2GN2S

23,000-Sq.Ft. Clasping Arms in Minneapolis 

All images courtesy of Saype

Across an expansive lawn at Minneapolis’ Boom Island Park earlier this month, Franco-Swiss artist Saype painted a monumental public artwork directly onto the grass. Part of his Beyond Walls series, which has so far seen 22 iterations around the world, the piece marked the first time the project appeared in the U.S.

Minneapolis found itself in the global spotlight earlier this year when ICE descended on the city and spurred several weeks of turmoil, protests, and violence. Especially tragic were the killings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during interactions with agents. The city is no stranger to the ripple effects of police brutality, especially in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and the subsequent surge in Black Lives Matter protests around the world.

What Minneapolis also has in spades is a deeply felt sense of community. It’s the sort of place where neighbors help to shovel each other’s sidewalks and find innovative ways to support one another. A recent study by State of the Nation ranked Minnesota number one in the U.S. for quality of life.

“I found an incredible humanity in Minneapolis—in the welcome of its people, their stories, their kindness. I’m deeply grateful for that,” Saype says. “And this is the power of art: to bring people together. I hope this work will make people dream—here and far beyond.”

Saype’s 310-by-75-foot ground mural stretches across the entire width of the park. It sits adjacent to the Mississippi River, which the Indigenous Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people treat as sacred and call Misi-ziibi, or “Giant River.” The painting, created with a biodegradable medium the artist has developed over time, is designed to gradually fade as the elements and occasional mowing run their course.

During the first weekend in June, hundreds of residents turned out to see the work in progress and link together in a human chain to demonstrate solidarity, resilience, and togetherness. An official print edition of the completed work is available for purchase on Saype’s site, and proceeds support additional murals. See more on the artist’s Instagram.

Sometimes the smallest patients inspire the biggest admiration.

A young mockingbird rescued by wildlife rehabilitators arrived with severely deformed feet, making it difficult to stand, walk, or move normally. Without treatment, its chances of thriving in the wild would have been greatly reduced.

Determined to help, veterinarians and wildlife specialists created a tiny set of custom-made corrective shoes, designed to gently guide the bird's feet back into proper alignment. The miniature devices looked almost like snowshoes, carefully fitted to support the bird's recovery.

Over the following days, the treatment began to work. As the feet gradually returned to a healthier position, the little bird gained strength and mobility.

Before long, it was able to stand and walk on its own, a remarkable transformation for such a tiny patient.

Stories like this highlight the dedication of wildlife rehabilitators who use creativity, skill, and compassion to give injured animals a second chance.

For one small mockingbird, a pair of tiny shoes helped put it back on the path toward a normal life

 

 

  

 

A 2 minute video,  "Klepta-cat", here.

 

 

Just because ...

Rufous-necked Hornbill

Sunday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.