Currently reading: Derby Dugan’s Depression Funnies by Tom De Haven. I’ve reread this a few times. I love this book. 📚
Inside the secret meeting that led to the AI political resistance. Strange bedfellows, uniting progressives, conservatives and MAGA: The Pro-Human Declaration has been signed by the American Federation of Teachers, the Congress of Christian Leaders, the Progressive Democrats of America and Steve Bannon.
Oh great, here comes 6G. A good explainer.
Tokyo University graduate student Takatsugu Kuriyama built an accurate three-dimensional model of Tokyo’s incredibly complex subway system “using multi-colored tubes strung with wire. Different color liquids pulsate throughout all 18 lines, creating a staggering picture of what goes on below the streets of Tokyo every day.”
Looking at this diagram, I realized that I visualize subway systems (like Tokyo’s, New York’s or London’s) operating on a single plane. Flat. But Tokyo’s, at least, is tall as well as broad. It’s like an anthill or termite’s nest.
Having contingency plans beats agility for emergency preparedness. “In an unexpected and urgent situation you don’t rise to the occasion. You sink to the level of your training.”
Tucker Carlson’s latest baseless conspiracy blames Iran war on Chabad movement. A dangerous anti-Semite — and Candace Owens is right there with him.
The View From RSS. What the web looks like when you subscribe to 2,000 RSS feeds. I am not tempted to try this.
Cory Doctorow: The web is bearable with RSS. Also, a brief history of Google Reader, Google+ (which Cory doesn’t think much of but which I loved and still mourn), and tips for customizing Firefox for avoiding nag screens and other annoyances. I’m using a Chrome-based browser; hopefully the plugins he recommends have parallels in the Chrome universe.
I am a die-hard RSS user and have been for more than 20 years. I have a love-hate relationship with Inoreader — I am perpetually looking for alternatives and keep coming back to it. Right now, I’m actually looking to use RSS less, and unsubscribe from high-volume feeds, viewing those websites in the browser instead.
Regarding breaking news, I used to say that if I don’t hear the helicopters circling over the house, I can wait to find out about it.
A fun read about Burger King president and viral video star Tom Curtis, who presents a down-to-Earth image: The Burger King President Who Took a Bite Out of McDonald’s. Also a fun read, about the viral McDonald’s video that Burger King responded to. Here’s the video of Curtis taking a big hearty bite from a Whopper. And the McDonald’s CEO takes a prissy nibble from the Big Arch. He calls it a “product!” Good grief!
Meet your new phone away from phone
A roundup of phones designed to be used as second phones, to minimize distraction. By Allison Johnson at The Verge.
This is an idea that seems stupid to me at first, but now I find it intriguing.
I do not see something like this as a solution to the distraction problem. If you’re distracted by your phone, the problem is not with the phone, it’s between your ears. (Says the guy who is 100% too distracted by his phone.)
But maybe we’d be better off with something limited-purpose but elegant, like these devices, to use as phones, and something like an iPad mini for video, gaming, apps, etc.?
It would be better for my mental health if I did not check the news as often as I do. Surely I am the first person ever to have had this insight.
What do you use for breaking news? I check in with a few sources a few times a day to see what the latest crisis is. I check Google News, Apple News and my RSS reader. How about you?
I stopped using Grammarly on the desktop earlier this week. It’s too intrusive with popups and insists I add Oxford commas, which violates my employer’s style guidelines and annoys my editors. I’m using a Claude project for proofreading instead, and it seems to work better while being less annoying.
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.
That’s from “The Great Gatsby,” published 101 years ago, and perfectly describing the Epstein White House and its sexual predation and wars.
Mr. T on his hairstyle, gold chains and why he called himself “Mr. T”— He’s reclaiming his African heritage and defying racism. This brief interview is strikingly articulate and intelligent in the context of his being typecast as a brute during his acting career.
I’m glad we stuck with “Starfleet Academy,” because the most recent two episodes, which we watched Saturday, were brilliant. The most recent episode may have been the only time I’ve been deeply emotionally moved watching “Star Trek.”
And now I want to see “Our Town” again. I love that play and haven’t seen it since 2003, when the Paul Newman production aired.
Jay-den has seemed to be a delicate, hesitant character, but when his shipmate is threatened, Jay-den goes full Klingon. No hesitation there!
Caleb can be a dick a lot of the time, but he understands consent in his bones. And he and Nahla have great bantering repartee.
