When Cornell roboticist and biolocomotion expert Andy Ruina decided to come to New Orleans for a physics conference he didn’t plan on walking into a bar to prepare for his lecture on the physics of the self-propelled bicycle and end up being suckered into a podcast conversation with a bunch of yahoos.

But thanks to the evil of cocktails we now all get to learn about the physical principles behind pushing a riderless bike across a parking lot.

Johnette Downing also gives us an education. You too can learn to build a poboy the way the kids in Kuwait do it. Johnette is the internatonal musical children’s ambassador, or children’s international ambassador of music or something similar that’s harder to remember after a few drinks but whatever her title, Johnette has a charismatic and captivating way of getting your attention, and songwriting skills that create simple melodies that are deceptively catchy. After you’ve heard the poboy song try getting it out of your head.

Chris Klein is trying to get his music out of his head. In his series of videos with his band Chris Klein and the Boulevards, he creates what are essentially movies that are smart and sizzling. You could be the 60th person in the world to see them if you act quickly. Chris also talks tattoos – he’s a professional tattoo artist – and even though you probably think you can imagine the crazy stuff people let a tattoo artist put on their body, you still won’t believe what Chris has got to say about that.

Thomas Mattera is not only the tallest guy who has ever been on Happy Hour he’s also the only guest who rode his bike across the USA, twice, and lived in Nepal. If you had to be trapped on a desert island with only one other person and you could choose anybody in the world, Thomas would be a wise choice. Especially if you need to rustle up Mexican food in the middle of nowhere or build a house.

Andrew Duhon cements in place the first track off his new album, “It’s Alright Johnette, Leave It There” (maybe not the final title).

Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon.