A Year in Space, 'the Keurig of Weed,' and Other Natural Disasters

If you're in denial about the fact that a presidential candidate's anatomy has dominated the news this week, welcome. It's the weekend, which means you have the right to take time off from caring about this dumpster fire of an election year and catch up on all the fascinating stories you missed this week instead that aren't about Donald Trump's penis.

The guys making money off marijuana these days are stuffy old white dudes. I had the strangest conversation the last time I went out for drinks with friends—a guy told me that he had never purchased weed outside a dispensary. Although decriminalization is sweeping across the country, most people can still remember a time where their marijuana transactions were handled by a scruffy college kid, a neighbor down the block, or, in the case of New Yorkers, a shady delivery service. But as cannabis corporations like "the Keurig of weed" become the new normal, talking about your dealer is going to be the stoner equivalent of saying, "Back in my day, we had to walk uphill both ways to school." Tonight, poll your friends—how many of them still remember the Wild West days of marijuana?

Seeing earth from space makes you care about it more. Scott Kelly came back from a year in space this week and is readjusting to life on earth. He grew almost two inches, but gravity will squish him back to his old height soon enough. The lasting change Kelly's experiencing? Becoming an environmentalist. "You just notice how thin the atmosphere is, how fragile it looks, and that combined with large swaths of pollution is somewhat alarming," Kelly said about his time in space. To see the world as he saw it, check out Kelly's Instagram.

Never move to Portland. This thoroughly-researched science fiction series about surviving a huge earthquake in Portland is disturbing, to say the least. If you don't die in a mudslide or building collapse immediately after The Big One, here's everything you need (and the stuff you can leave out) for your survival kit.

People are sick of apps, and the fatigue is killing small tech businesses. Especially in San Francisco, where the tech industry is blamed for so much gentrification and upheaval, it seems like many people want to see it fail. But when smaller companies fail, it's a slow and bitter process. The Verge has this fascinating story about how small tech companies are at the mercy of the App Store, and what happens when the bubble bursts.