Squirrel’s lives matter, too

The internet has gone bonkers after the Trump and Musk duo won the White House. And I'm not (only) talking about the P'Nut the squirrel story, which, at least in Europe, didn't go as viral as it did in the US.

The post-election coverage in Europe seemed a lot like the first stage of depression – denial. Seeing Trump winning the presidency, European media outlets warned about the grave danger to democracy, pictured the Statue of Liberty either crying or trying to kill itself, or ran their publications with only one word for a headline – "fuck."

No matter the spin on the election outcome, we've all been chasing viral moments, trying to come up with quotes or illustrations that netizens couldn't resist sharing. Yes, given limited attention spans, many employ guerrilla marketing types of techniques because they want to be seen. And we need to be seen to stay afloat as publishers.

But aren't we hypocrites, to point fingers at misinformation and deepfakes and how they might (not) sway popular opinion, and yet, ensure the mass production of content that’s not even meant to be read? Listicles, memes, and inspirational quotes by some famous people that, if you'd read more closely, don't even make sense. It's like reading the lyrics of a song instead of listening.

The squirrel story was surely one of those viral moments. So what if Republicans twisted the story to fit their narrative of "government overreach." This is a story that should be brought to light anyway – and it's easy for pet owners to relate to the owner who saw officials come in, raid his house for hours, and kill his squirrel and raccoon.

Netizens even doxxed a woman who allegedly filed the complaint that led to the killing of those animals. Yes, her privacy was violated, but the way I see my life these days is that you kind of have to live it as if everything you say and do could go public any minute and you would be fine with it.

The internet has been extremely charged lately, especially around the elections. But now imagine being a North Korean soldier who was sent to Ukraine to fight for the Russian cause and discovering porn. Apparently, they liked it so much they got hooked.

After the squirrel, there were also bees that, apparently, stung Zuckerberg's plan to build a nuclear power plant, which would have put him ahead of his competitors in the AI race.

But, in the end, it was Elon Musk who stole the internet. D.O.G.E. (Department of Government Efficiency), especially when explained via the popular memecoin, is often laughed at. However, Musk is a pro at efficiency, and that's why his SpaceX is partly so successful.

To better understand how Musk's doing this, I strongly suggest checking out "Reentry," a new book by longtime space journalist Eric Berger. Berger documents SpaceX's successes and failures over the last decade or so.

The company has achieved what was once considered literally sci-fi. And it's not despite Elon Musk. It's because he has pushed the great engineers to their limits.

Over the years, he's struggled with and talked about the regulation and regulatory bodies that are slowing businesses down. Tesla could put a Cybercab with no wheel on the road in a year or so, but how long will it take to get approval?

His ultimate goal is to occupy Mars – as his T-shirt says. And if he's going to build a Musktown there in his lifetime, SpaceX and Co. need to innovate at speed.

But before I say goodbye, I want to bring you back down to Earth.

Did you know that you can get a perfectly functioning 5G smartphone for just $100? As always, there's a catch, but the bottom line is that it's about 10 times cheaper than iPhones, and it might be sufficient to scroll TikTok. Which, by the way, leaves an enormous carbon footprint.

If you want to save even more money on devices, don't be picky about the colors, as something in pink will probably cost you more.