Nerd
The math, code and curiosities behind USA Times — where we geek out on purpose.
-
How to Build a Commercial-Grade Wood-Fired Pizza Oven in Your Backyard
A step-by-step guide to building a permanent 36-inch wood-fired brick pizza oven, from the reinforced base and firebrick dome to insulation, chimney, curing and clean firing.
-
Every Screen on Earth That Can Show The Odyssey in True IMAX 70mm — All 41 of Them
The Odyssey is the first film shot entirely on IMAX 15/70 film, and demand for the 70mm presentation has stunned IMAX. Only 41 screens worldwide can show it in 1.43:1 — here is the complete, verified list.
-
NPR: A Case Study in Presidential Coverage
Final census: 21,904 NPR URL/headline records explicitly name the sitting U.S. president by surname across Obama’s second term, Trump’s first term, Biden’s term and Trump’s second term through July 17, 2026. The wording is measurably more negative for both Trump periods, but lexical sentiment alone does not establish partisan bias or answer whether public funding…
-
The Secret in Our Stars: The Golden-Ratio Math Hidden in the USA Times Logo
The four stars in our masthead aren’t decoration. Each is 1.618× the last and trimmed by a power of the golden ratio. A fun tour of the number, the pentagram, and why we hid φ in our name.
-
The Star Files: Eighteen Months of Sketches, Specs and φ — the Complete Evolution of the USA Times Logo
From a pencil sketch in September 2024 to a theorem in the masthead: spec sheets, whiteboard pentagrams, 5 a.m. research, a star weighed in grams, and the exact golden-ratio cuts. The full archive, in order.