Incredible.Natty IceAn international team of scientists have drilled nearly two miles down into the Antarctic bedrock, extracting an ice core sample that's estimated to be at least 1.2 million years old, they announced this week.By analyzing the sample, the researchers, working as part of the Beyond EPICA project, expect to glean critical insights about the Earth's climate and atmosphereand why it shifted away from having more frequent ice ages."Thanks to the ice core we will understand what has changed in terms of greenhouse gases, chemicals and dusts in the atmosphere," Carlo Barbante, an Italian glaciologist and coordinator of the European Union-funded effort, told The Associated Press.Core CleanserThe ice sample is a staggering 2,800 meters, or about 1.7 miles, in length. It's in the uppermost 2,480 meters where over a million years of climate history are contained, and in which "up to 13,000 years are compressed into one meter of ice," explained the project's chief field scientist Julien Westhoff in a statement.This isn't the oldest sample ever found, but Barbante said that crucially, it does provide the longest continuous record of the Earth's past climate. A record-breaking 2.7 million year old sample extracted seven years ago was obtained from ice that was gradually driven to the surface by natural processes, and as such provided an incomplete picture (though a staggering find in its own right).By extracting the ice, the scientists have surmounted the formidable 800,000 year barrier in the field. Obtaining continuous samples older than this has, until now, proved impossible, because ice that deep is typically melted by bedrock.Cold CasePrevious samples extracted by Epica have already shown that the concentrations of greenhouse gases during the past 800,000 years has never exceeded the levels seen since the Industrial Revolution, according to Barbante."Today we are seeing carbon dioxide levels that are 50 percent above the highest levels we've had over the last 800,000 years," he told the AP.The hope is that the new sample will provide a window into a period 900,000 to 1.2 million years ago called the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, when the Earth shifted to lengthier climate cycles. For reasons that continue to stump scientists, the planet's ice ages stopped occurring every 40,000 years, lengthening to every 100,000.The groundbreaking ice core, along with others, will be shipped back to Europe for further analysis.More on Antarctica: Scientists Consider Drastic Action as Doomsday Glacier Threatens to Flood Entire Islands and CoastsShare This Article

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As fans of the Apple TV sci-fi thriller Severance, we have held our collective breath for almost three years since the exhilarating season 1 finale. Our patience will soon be rewarded on Friday, Jan. 17, when the second season returns with the first of 10 new weekly episodes culminating in a season finale on March 21.On Lumon Industries' severed floor, the employees of the Macrodata Refinery team cope with brain chips that have permanently separated their work personalities from the rest of their lives. Severance's first season featured thrilling twists and turns, juicy melon bars, one bonkers musical dance experience, an extremely revealing waffle party and a cavalcade of questions.CNET spoke with series star Adam Scott, director and executive producer Ben Stiller and series creator and showrunner Dan Erickson over Zoom during the show's official press day. Our chat gave us further insight into what might come next for the MDR crew. Below, we've compiled five of our most burning questions for season 2.It might go without saying, but stop reading now if you haven't caught up on Severance season 1. Major spoilers are below.Read more: Apple TV Plus Review: Small Library but the Quality Is Top Notch Getty Images/Zooey LiaoWhy did the Macrodata Refinery team decide to get severed? Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, John Turturro and Adam Scott return to Lumon Industries in season 2 of Severance, coming to Apple TV Plus on Jan. 17. Apple TV PlusWe know that Mark (Scott) chose severance because he was grieving the loss of his wife, and Helly (Britt Lower) joined because of her family connection with Lumon, but what about Irving (John Turturro) and Dylan (Zach Cherry)?We've seen very little of Dylan's life, but we know he lives with his three kids, and they seem to have a decent relationship. Irving is obsessed with the elevator to the testing floor and lives a cloistered life with a dog named Radar.When Severance first premiered, audiences were left wondering what it would take to sever their own minds if such a technology really existed. What sort of trauma or toxic living situation would motivate such a choice?Each character surely has their own heartbreaking story behind their decision to be severed, and it's almost certain that we'll get answers to this question in season 2.Is Gemma really alive? Dichen Lachman stars as Ms. Casey in season 1 of Severance on Apple TV Plus. Apple TV PlusOne of the biggest reveals of season 1 came at the end of episode 7, Defiant Jazz, when we learn that Ms. Casey -- Lumon's wellness director -- looks exactly like Outie Mark's wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman), whom everyone in the outside world believes died in a car crash.How the heck did Lumon pull that one off? Was dead Gemma a fake or a lookalike? Is Lumon in the practice of cloning humans?Cast members debunked that last theory in the aforementioned YouTube video, but it's clear that Ms. Casey (whose innie has only been alive for 108 hours) is much different from the other severed workers.One fan theory suggests that Gemma is in a coma from the car accident and her innie version is only able to awaken occasionally. But she shows no physical indications of a serious accident.The real truth of Gemma/Ms. Casey seems like one of the biggest writing challenges for the show. This mystery will most certainly be addressed in season 2. According to Scott, it's a plot point that fuels his character's storyline this season and provokes a struggle between Mark's two selves."He feels like he has to help his outie and get Gemma somehow out the door," the actor said. "But is that where his emotional ties and his emotional interests are? The really interesting thing about the Innie and the Outie Mark this season is how aligned their interests are. At what point are they either going to come together or move further apart?"Why is Harmony Cobel so obsessed with Lumon Industries? Patricia Arquette plays Harmony Cobel in season 1 of Severance. Apple TV PlusAs the manager of Lumon's severed floor, Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) takes her job extremely seriously. She is cult-like in her devotion to Lumon's founder, Kier Eagan, and the nine core principles. Her home basement includes a shrine to Kier and personal artifacts from her mother, Charlotte.Harmony is unsevered, like Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) and Doug Graner. Still, unlike the two of them, she maintains a separate persona in the outside world -- Mark's neighbor, "Mrs. Selvig," who makes atrocious lavender cookies and constantly screws up Mark's recycling and trash bins.One of the running themes of the show's first season is Harmony's conflict with the Lumon board about "reintegration," the controversial practice of fusing workers' personalities back together after removing the brain chip. The board insists reintegration is impossible, while Harmony has firsthand evidence that Petey Kilmer accomplished it (before it killed him).After keeping Helly's suicide attempt a secret, the board fires Harmony, who responds by trashing her basement and collapsing in dejection at her shrine, which we now see holds a ventilator tube and a medical bracelet that reads, "Charlotte Cobel" with a birth date of March 17, 1944.Harmony and Mrs. Selvig dress in a way that covers their necks, which are never seen. Could Harmony be Charlotte, who has scars from a tracheotomy or other neck surgery? Does she have a personal investment in reintegration?Cobel is genuinely an interesting character. There has to be a lot more to her story. We have a few more out-of-the-box questions that we've been pondering: Is Harmony holding a historical grudge and playing the long game to avenge a mother or sister? Could Lumon be experimenting with life-extending technologies? And does Harmony talk so strangely because she's actually the reincarnation of Kier Eagan's wife, Imogene?!We could go on, but you get the point. The questions surrounding Harmony Cobel abound, and it's almost certain that we'll learn much more of her backstory in season 2.Why is Irving painting that hallway and elevator? John Turturro as Irving in season 1 of Severance. Apple TV PlusWhen we see Outie Irving, we learn he loves to listen to Motorhead and repeatedly paints the elevator down to Lumon's testing floor. Dominated by thick black, these paintings fill Outie Irving's home and explain why Innie Irving's nails are full of dark gunk.But what's Innie Irving's connection to that desolate hallway and elevator? Has he been to the testing floor or lost someone to it? We never see him in that elevator area at Lumon. In fact, the only person we do see using that elevator is Ms. Casey.One fan theory claims Innie Irving has visited the testing floor and been "reset" by Lumon several times, which could explain why he says he's been there three years, but his badge indicates nine.Irving's John Turturro has personally "debunked" that theory in a Severance cast promo video. Perhaps Innie Irving's trauma from the testing floor has leaked into his outside persona. Or is Outie Irving trying to send a message through his unconscious to Innie Irving?How much of a sociopath is Helena Eagan, anyway? Britt Lower portrays both Helly R. and Helena Eagan in the Apple TV Plus show Severance. Apple TV PlusAs her story arc in season 1 made clear, Helly wanted nothing to do with Lumon. In fact, she threatened self-harm to escape. Things didn't go her way. In one of the more brutal scenes of season 1, Outie Helly sends a video message to Innie Helly, saying, "I am a person. You are not. I make the decisions."During the season finale, we discover that Outie Helly is Helena Eagan, the daughter of current Lumon Industries CEO Jame Eagan, and has undergone severance as a PR campaign to ensure the severing practice remains legal. During our Zoom chat with Erickson, it was teased that maybe Outie Helly has drunk too much of the Lumon Kool-Aid."The Innies feel closer to the true, authentic version of the self for each of the characters, in part, because they wake up as a little bit of a blank slate," Erickson said. "In a way, she [Helly] represents a truer version of that person than her outie probably would." Tramell Tillman plays Mr. Milchick in season 2 of Severance. Apple TV PlusInstead of solely focusing on the stuff inside Lumon, which is how season 1 mostly played out, it sounds like Severance season 2 will expand its scope and explore the homes and personal lives of the MDR outies. According to Erickson, things will get darker and scarier.This begs the question: Now that the innies have seen a piece of the outside world, what sort of repercussions are on the horizon? "There is no victory without pushback and without pain," Erickson teased."We wanted to see what would happen to the characters once they had sort of poked the bear," he added. "What happens when the bear pokes back?"

The Dreamcast burned brightly from 1998 to 2001 but Sega's financial situation famously ended its life early. As a result, many games - both announced and unannounced - were abruptly cancelled and as new games arrived on other platforms, many often wondered, would these titles have been possible on Dreamcast? Well, with an unofficial homebrew release of Grand Theft Auto 3 on the classic Sega machine, we finally have an answer for at least one of those questions.GTA 3 itself really needs no introduction - it was a cultural event, after all, but before GTA 3 took the world by storm, the development team at DMA Design, creator of Lemmings, had released multiple Grand Theft Auto games across PlayStation, PC and, yes, the Dreamcast. That's right - GTA2 received a port to Dreamcast during its short life. The result is certainly interesting but as a game designed for PlayStation first and foremost, it's limited. It runs very poorly on Dreamcast, which feels unacceptable to me given its origins. Yet, if you can ignore that, many of the ideas that would come to define the series started here. GTA was popular but not popular in the way that the series would become after GTA 3. The Dreamcast version is also, unfortunately, of rather low quality given the platform it's running on, which only serves to make GTA3's port that much more impressive.The new Dreamcast version is derived from the RE3 reverse engineering project - a from-the-ground-up, non-emulated version of the Rockstar Engine. When creating a playable image, you'll need to use the PC version from which data is extracted and converted to the proper file formats. It is currently optimised for use with Optical Disc Emulators, which replace the Dreamcast's optical drive, but it is possible to play from a burnt CD-R though there are caveats. Fundamentally, this is the complete version of GTA3. All missions, maps, cutscenes and audio made the cut albeit with some reduction in quality in spots, which we'll get to.In a new DF Retro video, John Linneman looks at the new Grand Theft Auto 3 port for Sega Dreamcast, stacked up against the PS2 original.Watch on YouTubeKicking off with the comparisons, GTA 3 has seen many releases over the years, but I wanted to stay contemporary and compare it with the original PlayStation 2 release. In capturing the game, I used original consoles but with the PixelFX Gem installed in each of them for pristine HDMI digital output.So, the first thing I want to address is actually a visual effect that I didn't use in most of the comparisons - the so-called 'trails' feature. This is an accumulation style blur which uses previous frames to create a sort of post-process motion blur effect. It also blends colours together to create that unique looking presentation which is central to the GTA3 visual design language. The Dreamcast is not well suited to this sort of effect, due to its unique memory arrangement in how it deals with textures and framebuffers - basically, if you try to use the framebuffer as a texture - a copy of the full frame - you get two pixels correct followed by two incorrect pixels. Two selectable alternatives are in the Dreamcast version, but the performance hit is palpable and it's clear that further work is required.Right away, I noticed some minor texture blending issues here but also differences in the character model. The Dreamcast version extracts data from the PC version of the game which features changes to character models, so there are fundamental changes - and even some additional objects that are absent on PS2. I also noticed that texture resolution has taken a hit, in order to fit into the Dreamcast's memory. During the conversion process from the PC data, textures are reduced across the board compared to other versions of GTA 3. Now, this may seem odd, but according to SKMP (lead on the project) it all comes down to memory limitations, but not necessarily due to the textures themselves.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Basically, the game sends a huge amount of vertex data to the GPU and the GPU needs to store all these vertexes in memory before rendering them. While models appear simple on the surface, the large size and number of objects on-screen means that GTA 3 pushes a fair amount of geometry around. So while Dreamcast has 8MB of VRAM versus 4MB on PS2, due to how it works on Dreamcast, vertex data eats up more than half of the system's VRAM pool. Subtract framebuffer data and other VRAM resident objects and they're left with only 2.3MB of VRAM for textures.Additionally, in addition to reducing size, all textures are compressed down using Dreamcast's VQ texture compression - but it turns out that VQ compression isn't well-suited to compressing the palettised textures used by GTA3 so additional artefacts rear their head as well. There is still hope, however. The team is working on ideas to overcome this, and, in time, we should see stable builds capable of loading full resolution textures. I also noticed issues with light flares from headlights clipping through the world. This is something that the team is still working on - there's currently a depth mismatch happening there and these light flares are basically 2D objects projected on top of world geometry. Those, though, are the main limitations I noticed in terms of visual issues because, otherwise, what we have is something very close to the original game.More positively, all the main visual elements have made the cut - the lightmaps, the shadow textures from trees and light posts, the light halos, lighting from streetlamps and traffic lights, fogging and more. It's all here. One of the more impressive things about this port is the streaming system - part of this is down to GTA3 itself being designed around optical disc-based data streaming so there's a lot of leeway but it's still challenging especially given that Dreamcast has half the system memory of PS2. The game tries to keep as much data in memory as possible to avoid hiccups while a separate streaming thread handles data fetches from the source media. In a like-for-like performance comparison, the Dreamcast port runs at a much lower frame-rate - but performance on PS2 isn't great, to be honest, particularly in terms of its highly choppy frame-pacing. | Image credit: Digital FoundryThe initial release was optimized for use with the GDEMU optical disc emulator but I don't own one of those, so I opted for a burnt CD-R. The team sent me an updated build that prioritises CD-ROM performance and... it works. In the initial build, every time the game would load a sound effect, it would pause making certain missions nearly unplayable but now? It works surprisingly well from a CD and that's a real achievement.In terms of performance, let's discuss the permutations of my testing. I used the V1 trail effect on Dreamcast, which is the closest match with PS2. With this feature enabled, however, the frame-rate is limited to just 15 frames per second on Dreamcast as going above this isn't currently feasible, though I'm told there are plans to further optimise. It's unlikely that we'll see more than 20 fps with trails, though. I was simply curious to see how it compared to what is the default state of the game on PS2. This testing also revealed to me why GTA 3 always felt so choppy on PS2 - frame-pacing is poor, with lots of random 16ms spikes. I always noticed this back in the day - GTA3 is not smooth compared to its contemporaries. This was forgiven, though, due to its revolutionary design but still, now we know why it feels this way.With V3 trails enabled (there is no V2, if you're wondering), Dreamcast's frame-rate increases but remains firmly in sub-20 fps territory most of the time. I should note that the V3 trails are enabled by default in the menu, so this is what you're likely to experience on first boot. This time frame-rate moves into a 15-20fps window, which is improved still further by completely turning off trails altogether. The thing is, this is all measured in fairly undemanding areas. Move into the central city island and the increased geometry causes issues - frame-rate is in the 10fps territory in some areas and can go even lower. The V3 trails tech can help improve frame-rates, while disabling trails at all helps still further - but this is the first release and the homebrew team continue to optimise. | Image credit: Digital FoundryLooking at the performance data got me thinking about the PS2's own frame-rate issues and what a new port of GTA 3 could have looked like. After all, years later, the PSP game Liberty City Stories was ported to PS2 and there I made a pleasant discovery: the overall visual quality and performance was boosted significantly on an updated version of the GTA 3 map. Traffic is far more dense, models are improved, while elements like fences and fire escapes are added. The lighting is better and the frame-rate is much smoother too. There's definitely a lot of additional headroom here.I've got to say though: the Dreamcast version is still in development but even this first release is astonishing, with a lot of cool features plus more to come. The game is mostly playable as is, though there's currently a progress stopping bug in the Bomb da Base mission which makes it impossible to completely finish normally right now - but that will also be fixed going forward.The key takeaway for me is that the Dreamcast development community has managed to achieve what feels almost like a miracle port. Elements like the motion blur trails effect, for instance, are something the DC just isn't designed to be able to do - but the development team has pulled it off. To be able to run such a large scale game at this level of performance already is really unbelievable. Personally, I'm sceptical that Rockstar could have pulled this off back in 2001 - the studio was still learning how to make games like this and the initial PS2 release was fairly rough. Looking at this new Dreamcast port though, it's clear that performance is low but remember, this is a first release, and as a proof of concept, this port is incredible. The Dreamcast can, in fact, handle Grand Theft Auto 3 in its entirety. The dream will never die!

This year's AGDQ included someone speedrunning Elden Ring bosses with a saxophone2025 fundraiser ends raising a wonderful 2.1m for Prevent Cancer Foundation.Image credit: AGDQ News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 12, 2025 Awesome Games Done Quickly has "come to a thrilling close", securing an incredible $2,556,305 - that's 2.1m - for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.The week-long fundraiser wrapped up last night with a speedrun of Super Metroid after attracting over 2000 in-person attendees and "tens of thousands" of viewers on Twitch.Elden Ring on Saxophone by Dr. Doot in 29:22 - Awesome Games Done Quick 2025.Watch on YouTubeSpeedrunners came from all over the world to "race through a bevy of games new and old", often with "zany incentives and challenges to drive donations", including a full-blown live concert during Crazy Taxi, Dr. Doot playing Elden Ring with a saxophone as a controller - which is embedded above - and an opera performance by trained singer Xem after completing his Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando run. You can also see FunkopotamusWess playthrough of New Super Mario Bros. Wii using his head and feet via motion controls while playing piano.Since 2010, Games Done Quick has raised more than $54 million (44.2m) for charities worldwide, including Doctors Without Borders, Malala Fund, Organization for Autism Research, and more.Next up is Back to Black, the first all-Black speedrunning charity event, which will run 6th-9th February and benefit racial justice nonprofit Race Forward. Summer Games Done Quick returns to Minneapolis, Minnesota to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders in July.This time last year, Shiba Inu Peanut Butter became the first dog to speedrun a game during Awesome Games Done Quick.Peanut Butter speedran Gyromite, a puzzle platformer released on the NES, in 26 minutes and 24 seconds, which is around a minute slower than his own world record, but well within the 30-minute slot he'd been allocated.

Lane Wallace writes: The flower was sculpted in Blender, and the benday dots were created using a simple NPR shader node setup that utilizes a voronoi texture with zero randomness.Source

Retail assistants have accused a gig economy firm of holding them to ransom by making them pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within 30 days.A new payment system brought in by YoungOnes, which supplies freelance retail assistants to many well-known high street stores, charges gig workers 4.8% of their earnings to be paid in one minute or 2.9% to be paid in three days. If they decline, they typically have to wait 30 days. Previously the workers were paid in three days, without a charge.Tom Gillam, who has worked at least six shifts at the Emma Sleeps store in Manchester, said gig workers on low and irregular wages needed money quickly to buy essentials and pay bills. People do gig work for short-term cash ... it feels like were being held to ransom, he said. It is so immoral its unreal.Gillam, 37, claimed some of the workers at the store were last week still waiting to be paid for shifts in late November and early December. They cant really badger their managers because working as a freelancer you have no voice, you might not get any more shifts if you are seen as outspoken.Another worker at the Manchester store said he was forced to borrow money from his family to buy gifts and travel home for Christmas. It is unfair for people working on a low wage with reduced rights to be charged to get their money quickly, he said.Last month, the Observer revealed the growing use of gig economy workers without basic employment rights in the retail sector, a move the TUC had called worrying.The minister for employment rights, Justin Madders, told the Observer he would be asking the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to investigate the allegations against YoungOnes. He added he would also be writing to the firm to demand answers. We find it entirely unacceptable for employers to avoid their legal obligations by claiming someone is self-employed when they are not. Action that reeks of this exploitation is intolerable, and we will not hesitate to ask all relevant authorities to scrutinise such employers, he said.Concern is mounting that companies could seek to evade protections laid out in the governments flagship employment rights legislation by recruiting gig economy workers. Liam Byrne, chair of the business and trade committee, which is examining the governments employment rights bill, said: Were deeply concerned that companies will try to get around the law and continue to exploit vulnerable workers by pretending they are self-employed when they should enjoy the full protection of the law.The bill will bring in a range of new workplace rights, including immediate protection from unfair dismissal and the right to guaranteed hours for anyone on zero-hour contracts. It will also abolish the waiting period for statutory sick pay, set at the first three days of illness, and give workers the right to unpaid paternity and bereavement leave as soon as they start a new job.However, the new protections will not apply to the estimated 4.4 million people working in the gig economy.The government has promised to consult on a simpler two-tier employment framework, which distinguishes between genuine self-employment and all other types of workers, but nothing has been published yet.Last week Margaret Beels, who is the governments independent director of labour market enforcement, told the committee that the UKs complex three-tier employment status system which includes employees with full rights, casual workers with limited rights, and freelancers with no rights was being abused. Having three levels of status allows people to engage in sharp practice, shifting workers around between those [levels], she said.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to ObservedFree weekly newsletterAnalysis and opinion on the week's news and culture brought to you by the best Observer writers Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionBeels called on the government to act more quickly: I really would like to see the government stepping up to doing more you can probably consult till the cows come home on this issue, and its about time to do something about it.James Medd, YoungOnes chief operating officer, said the new payment system allowed freelancers to choose between standard payment terms at no extra cost or pay for faster options. We deeply value the freelancers on our platform and understand the challenges they face, particularly when it comes to payment timelines, he added.Medd said freelancers choose to work through YoungOnes as it offers them independence and a flexible solution tailored to their needs. They have the freedom to decide when, where, and with whom they work, he said.Emma Sleep said it took the allegations very seriously. It said payment issues were reported by some workers but the team had been paid for several weeks now. Emma is committed to continuously improving the working experience for freelance employees in our stores while ensuring full compliance with labour laws, said a spokesperson.

Need A Pick-Me-Up?I need you to stop what you're doing and watch this Games Done Quick Crazy Taxi speedrun that has a live backing bandPure cinema.Image credit: Games Done Quick/ Crazy Taxi News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 12, 2025 If you need a video game pick-me-up that will cure you of any ailment, then you absolutely need to watch this Crazy Taxi speedrun.I would argue that Crazy Taxi is one of the most video games to ever video game - it is ridiculous, loud, it's a game many people have played because they see it in an arcade and go "oh man I haven't played Crazy Taxi forever, let's play a couple rounds!" You just can't go wrong with it, and for the first time in apparently a decade, the game made an appearance at the annual charity fundraising event Awesome Games Done Quick. Except, it isn't any ordinary speedrun. No, this one has a live backing band playing a whole bunch of pop punk tracks, and it's just as wild, fun, and silly as you'd hope from the concept.Watch on YouTubeThe runner in question goes by the name Chuckles825, who is of course trying to play the game as quickly as possible, as is the case for literally every speedrun ever, but generally with Games Done Quick you'll find some commentary to explain what they're doing. That's not the case here, not in the slightest, as it's obviously a bit difficult to do when you have a live band playing. It's a fun one to watch, because the band has to be paying attention to the game too - they're not just playing continuously uninterrupted, they have to immediately stop as soon as a level is finished or restarted, making for a good few laughs.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Awesome Games Done Quick is all wrapped up now, raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation this year, this year amassing a massive $2,556,305, a huge amount that always goes to a worthwhile cause. There's plenty of other fun runs that have been uploaded on the official Games Done Quick YouTube channel too, so if you're in need of some time killers, you're in luck.Don't forget that there's a new, open-world, MMO Crazy Taxi game in the works too, even if that doesn't sound quite right.

After more than two years and nearly 100 episodes as a host of TechCrunchs recently ended Found podcast, I have learned a lot about how founders approach building their startups.Ive heard stories about how founders know when it is the right time to expand from their core product, to how startups approach hiring, to what got entrepreneurs to take the leap in the first place, and everything in between.While not a founder myself, some of the learnings and advice I heard on the show stood out more than others. Ive compiled a short and sweet list of the five best pieces of advice for founders I heard on the show that are both practical and philosophical.Founders should lean into what they arent good atWhile many of the founders talked about finding co-founders or making early hires who helped fill their experience or knowledge gaps, Rippling co-founder and CEO Parker Conrad thinks founders should do the opposite.Conrad called the practice of hiring people to fill roles a founder isnt good at, or doesnt want to do, bullshit.You should find the things that you hate within the company, and you should run towards them and bear hug them and just really take them on and focus on those things, because those are the things that are probably going to kill you, Conrad said. Those are the things that youre probably avoiding because its uncomfortable to focus on them. Ive definitely seen that in myself, and the things that you really hate, like, thats where you should spend all your time.VCs arent always rightWhile the right venture capitalist can provide invaluable insight and guidance to a startup, good VCs are hard to find, and even the best VCs dont always have the best advice for every startup.When Ashley Tyrner, the founder and CEO of FarmboxRx, a direct-to-consumer produce box company meant to help solve food deserts, pitched VCs, they told her to pivot to being a meal kit company, the hot trend of the time. Shes glad she ignored the advice and bootstrapped instead.Every VC we talked to, any of them that were actually even remotely nice to us at the time wanted us to become a meal kit, Tyrner said. Thats not what our focus was. We did not want to jump on the meal kit bandwagon. Now looking back, Im really glad that I never raised any capital and we still havent raised any capital to this day. Most of the meal kits are, you know, theyve slowly died.Instead, just a few years later, FarmboxRx was able to link up with insurance companies and start sending its produce boxes as part of patients prescriptions, a revenue stream Tyner said has been really lucrative for the company.It pays off not to be firstIf you read a lot of PR pitches, as I do most days, a common thread is that many companies want to tout that they were the first to either a technological innovation or a new market. But is being first always the best thing?Jordan Nathan, the founder and CEO of non-toxic homeware company Caraway, wouldnt necessarily agree. Nathan told TechCrunch that when he was getting ready to launch Caraways first set of non-toxic cookware, he initially wasnt thrilled that it looked like they would be the last to launch in an increasingly crowded category, but it worked out. Nathan said launching last allowed the company to find the gaps in the market left open from what had already been released, and allowed Caraway to cater to those audiences directly.It helped us change our color palette, it helped us change our price point, what pieces that we put in the set, Nathan said. And while a lot of those other brands did a lot of things right, we were able to craft our space within the kitchen [direct-to-consumer] world that others werent playing in.Companies should try to get to market right away, regardless of their longterm goalsWhile some startups build software that can start acquiring customers, and making money, within a week, the same cant be said for startups looking to introduce innovative deep tech or moonshot companies. But that doesnt mean these deep tech companies have to wait years to make any money.Joe Wolfel, the co-founder and CEO of Terradepth, a company looking to build autonomous drones to map the ocean floor, told Found that Terradepth was very intentional about setting up its revenue streams. While it still has a ways to go before its autonomous drones will be roaming the ocean floor, the company is looking to provide the same services to commercial and government customers in the meantime, both manually and through a dashboard, because companies need information on the ocean floor now.One thing you learn pretty quickly in combat is you cant steer something thats not moving, Wolfel said. Theres no substitute for on-the-ground learning right? We are eating our own dog food everyday.We heard a different approach to this same concept from Paul Hedrick, the founder of Western wear company Tecovas. Hedrick told Found that he knew he wanted Tecovas to be a direct-to-consumer brand but he didnt want to just set up a website and wait around for sales to come in. Because of this, he started selling his boots out of the back of his car at farmers markets right away so he could get customer feedback and sales from the beginning.Dont forget to build a company around your productWhen a startup is just getting off the ground, founders are focused on building a product and getting said product to market as they probably should be. But founders should make sure they dont forget to think about building the actual company around the product too.Gavin Uberti, the co-founder and CEO of chipmaker Etched, told Found that one early mishap the company had was that they didnt think about setting up employee benefits until it was too late. Uberti said the company only realized it had waited too long when one of its employees broke their leg before the company had set up health insurance which wasnt a quick process to remedy.Ubertis story was a good reminder that when founders are trying to move fast and break things, its important for them to also take care of all the other elements needed to build a lasting company that takes care of its employees.