Nostr notes by kottke.org

In lieu of flowers, Dolly Parton’s family is asking for ...

2026-08-25T20:46:01Z

In lieu of flowers, Dolly Parton’s family is asking for donations to her Imagination Library, which has distributed over 330 million books to kids. https://imaginationlibrary.com

RIP Dolly Parton, a gem and a hero. She died today at the age of ...

2026-08-25T18:22:02Z

RIP Dolly Parton, a gem and a hero. She died today at the age of 80. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/dolly-parton-dead-country-music-1236680877

Meat proxy (noun): “A person who forwards AI-generated text, ...

2026-08-24T15:00:02Z

Meat proxy (noun): “A person who forwards AI-generated text, code, or other output without reading, understanding, or validating it. The person acts only as a relay between the AI system and the intended recipient.” https://sfisms.org/meat-proxy

Opinion columnist Karen Attiah won her arbitration against the ...

2026-08-24T12:24:01Z

Opinion columnist Karen Attiah won her arbitration against the Washington Post. They are ordered to reinstate her and pay full back pay. The Post fired her almost a year ago for her remarks in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/business/washington-post-karen-attiah.html?unlocked_article_code=1.71A.MIsp.hZLydEMjrl9o

Walking the Length of Manhattan. I did this, solo, right before I ...

2026-08-21T17:48:01Z

Walking the Length of Manhattan. I did this, solo, right before I moved out of NYC. Loved it. Will do it again someday. https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/232

Weird Al Tiny Desk! Weird Al Tiny Desk! Weird Al Tiny Desk! ...

2026-08-20T21:16:02Z

Weird Al Tiny Desk! Weird Al Tiny Desk! Weird Al Tiny Desk! https://kottke.org/26/08/weird-al-yankovics-tiny-desk-concert

Anil Dash built a standalone Touch ID sensor to use with your Mac ...

2026-08-20T20:26:02Z

Anil Dash built a standalone Touch ID sensor to use with your Mac if you don’t have a newer Apple keyboard. It’s open-source…the code and instructions are on Github. https://www.anildash.com/2026/08/20/introducing-dashboard-touch

Long past time to quit X. “Those who continue to post on X — ...

2026-08-20T13:34:01Z

Long past time to quit X. “Those who continue to post on X — in particular those X users who are not racist psychopaths — are enhancing the site’s usefulness to [Musk] as a propaganda tool by drawing more eyes to the platform… “ https://publiccomment.blog/p/it-is-past-time-for-you-to-quit-elon-musk-s-x

The area known as Tornado Alley continues to shift eastward (from ...

2026-08-18T14:02:02Z

The area known as Tornado Alley continues to shift eastward (from Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) due to “a warming climate that helps transport warmer and more-humid air farther north and east than in the past”. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2026/08/14/881534.htm

“Sand temperatures above 29°C now produce 95–99% female sea ...

2026-08-17T19:34:01Z

“Sand temperatures above 29°C now produce 95–99% female sea turtles instead of the historical 50–50 ratio, creating a reproductive bottleneck that could collapse populations within two generations.” https://mazingamazingly.blogspot.com/2026/08/sea-turtle-sex-crisis-why-99-are-now.html

Yale study: “A single-payer universal health care system could ...

2026-08-17T13:30:02Z

Yale study: “A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace.” https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/universal-health-coverage-could-save-one-trillion-dollars-and-114000-lives-every-year

“Widely regarded as the most complicated board game ever made, ...

2026-08-12T00:26:02Z

“Widely regarded as the most complicated board game ever made, The Campaign for North Africa tries to simulate WW2’s North African theater in as granular fashion as possible…” 1500 hours to finish the game — that’s 1h20m every day for 3 years. https://www.wargamer.com/board-games/the-campaign-for-north-africa-two-years

“Since 1974, vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, ...

2026-08-11T13:34:02Z

“Since 1974, vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years… For every death averted, 66 years of full health were gained on average, translating to 10.2 billion years of full health gained.” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2824%2900850-X/fulltext

This guy hooked his hamster’s wheel up to Strava — Mollie is ...

2026-08-06T13:08:02Z

This guy hooked his hamster’s wheel up to Strava — Mollie is logging 5-6 miles per day. https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a73355106/hamster-wheel-strava-running

Lidar and other discoveries continue to show that the Amazon ...

2026-08-05T17:10:01Z

Lidar and other discoveries continue to show that the Amazon rainforest was home to a “sprawling ancient civilization much bigger than researchers expected” (possibly up to 3 million people around 100-300 CE). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysterious-shapes-hidden-beneath-the-amazon-canopy-reveal-a-sprawling-ancient-civilization-much-bigger-than-researchers-expected-180989236

Reading Maps: Journeys from books & films (Moby-Dick, Murder ...

2026-08-04T14:50:01Z

Reading Maps: Journeys from books & films (Moby-Dick, Murder on the Orient Express, The Hunt for Red October, The Muppet Movie, etc.) plotted on a map. https://readingmaps.com

Google Earth stupidly launched an AI image-gen feature with no ...

2026-08-03T13:46:01Z

Google Earth stupidly launched an AI image-gen feature with no guardrails then put it on pause after a huge outcry. “Tonight I typed just one sentence into Google Earth and put refugees near the Mexican border. Then I planted a nuclear plant in Iran.” https://www.digitaldigging.org/p/how-to-plant-a-nuclear-plant-in-iran

Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk’s Racist Commentary? “Musk’s ...

2026-07-29T13:02:02Z

Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk’s Racist Commentary? “Musk’s virulent racism and vicious, disturbing views are no secret. He does not hide them. They sit in plain view, easily accessible on the social media website he owns…” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/opinion/elon-musk-far-right-remigration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1VA.4_zS.8XuEwDkq06SF

19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints Creatively Illustrate the ...

2026-07-28T16:16:01Z

19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints Creatively Illustrate the Inner Workings of the Human Body. Love these. https://www.openculture.com/2026/07/japanese-woodblock-prints-illustrate-the-human-body.html#google_vignette

We Used to Be Able to Buy Things in This Country. “Locking up ...

2026-07-27T21:20:02Z

We Used to Be Able to Buy Things in This Country. “Locking up toothpaste was a warning sign that our executive class was crazy.” https://dannykatch.substack.com/p/we-used-to-be-able-to-buy-things

“This map shows the predicted density of underground networks ...

2026-07-23T14:18:02Z

“This map shows the predicted density of underground networks created by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These networks form one of Earth’s circulatory systems, moving massive amounts of carbon, nutrients, and water across plant communities.” https://a-hidden-infrastructure.spun.earth/story/mycorrhizal-infrastructure-map

What do America’s earliest restaurant menus teach us about ...

2026-07-22T19:58:02Z

What do America’s earliest restaurant menus teach us about America? “A menu describes what a restaurant serves — but a menu also describes who is being served. They reflect the class, gender, political, technological, and environmental shifts of history.” https://pudding.cool/2026/06/menu-story

Contender for the most remarkably bonkers sports photo of all ...

2026-07-15T17:38:01Z

Contender for the most remarkably bonkers sports photo of all time: a 20-year-old Lionel Messi bathing a five-month-old Lamine Yamal (taken in 2007 for a UNICEF fundraiser). https://kottke.org/26/07/lionel-messi-bathing-a-baby-lamine-yamal

Trump Dismantled a Federal Climate Website. These Women Rebuilt ...

2026-07-14T19:00:02Z

Trump Dismantled a Federal Climate Website. These Women Rebuilt It. “It’s not a pretty picture for climate communication and climate journalism right now.” You can check out the new site at climate.us. https://19thnews.org/2026/07/noaa-climate-data-website

Swiss project proves the viability of solar panels placed in the ...

2026-07-14T17:02:01Z

Swiss project proves the viability of solar panels placed in the otherwise unused space between railroad tracks. https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/switzerland-train-tracks-solar-panels

Interviews with some of the dwindling number of survivors of ...

2026-07-07T21:02:01Z

Interviews with some of the dwindling number of survivors of World War II Japanese American incarceration camps, including George Takei. https://age-of-incarceration.longlead.com

Over the past few centuries, humans have decimated bird ...

2026-07-07T16:56:02Z

Over the past few centuries, humans have decimated bird populations — you can hear it in the thinning of the dawn chorus — but it’s difficult to notice sometimes because of shifting baseline syndrome. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/03/dawn-chorus-uk-birdsong-50-years-audio-landscape

Parker Molloy on why the panic about trans women in sports is not ...

2026-07-02T16:04:01Z

Parker Molloy on why the panic about trans women in sports is not actually about fairness or protecting women & girls (in the similar way Gamergate was not about “ethics in games journalism”). https://www.readtpa.com/p/reasonable-concerns

The Adjective Word Order We All Follow Without Realizing It. ...

2026-06-29T18:00:05Z

The Adjective Word Order We All Follow Without Realizing It. "So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you'll sound like a maniac." https://kottke.org/16/09/the-adjective-word-order-we-all-follow-without-realizing-it

Fulfilling the purpose for which it was built almost 2000 years ...

2026-06-25T13:40:02Z

Fulfilling the purpose for which it was built almost 2000 years ago, football fans packed the Roman Theatre of Amman to watch the Jordan v Algeria World Cup match. What a sight. https://kottke.org/26/06/2000-year-old-roman-amphitheatre-hosts-world-cup-watch-party

I love this playable 3D-rendered reel-to-reel player made by ...

2026-06-23T14:02:02Z

I love this playable 3D-rendered reel-to-reel player made by Dunstan Orchard and Kristina Dutton. Despite their virtuality, the buttons are delightfully clicky and the attention to detail is impressive. https://dunstanorchard.com/reel-to-reel-player

A long oral history of Steven Spielberg and his career. “He’s ...

2026-06-22T20:20:02Z

A long oral history of Steven Spielberg and his career. “He’s a terrific collaborator. He himself is a continuous lightbulb flickering on and off with one idea after another, but he’s not terribly protective of an idea.” https://www.vulture.com/article/oral-history-of-steven-spielberg-and-his-movies.html

Human brains were not designed to deal with an endless supply of ...

2026-06-22T14:42:01Z

Human brains were not designed to deal with an endless supply of bad news. “We are the same species as we were thousands of years ago. What’s changed is the size of the world it’s asked to scan for threats.” https://theconversation.com/why-40-per-cent-of-people-are-avoiding-the-news-according-to-a-psychologist-282023

This is kind of fantastic: Ribbie lets you watch actual MLB ...

2026-06-18T00:50:02Z

This is kind of fantastic: Ribbie lets you watch actual MLB baseball games "rendered pitch by pitch in a cozy 8-bit view while they happen”. https://kottke.org/26/06/watch-baseball-games-in-realtime-in-8-bit-view

A searchable archive of the almost 5000 TV episodes that ...

2026-06-17T15:34:01Z

A searchable archive of the almost 5000 TV episodes that naturalist David Attenborough has worked on in his career (1954-present). “Search by animal, habitat, location, natural phenomenon, or theme to find exactly the episode you’re looking for.” https://attenborough-100.vercel.app

How The Heck Do Solar Panels Work? “Every hour, the Earth ...

2026-06-15T23:12:01Z

How The Heck Do Solar Panels Work? “Every hour, the Earth receives enough sunlight to power all of human civilization for a year. It arrives silently, from all directions, at no cost.” https://perthirtysix.com/how-the-heck-do-solar-panels-work

Hot new job: telescope ranching. "People from all around the ...

2026-06-15T19:00:03Z

Hot new job: telescope ranching. "People from all around the world send their telescopes here to observe the night sky from this place with no light pollution. We set them up and they can all access their stuff through a computer remotely." https://kottke.org/26/06/telescope-ranchers

An amazing visual field guide to the chili peppers of the world. ...

2026-06-11T19:02:02Z

An amazing visual field guide to the chili peppers of the world. Includes hand-drawn illustrations of 176 peppers, descriptions of the peppers, where they originated, the heat level, and even what hot sauces feature them. https://kottke.org/26/06/a-hand-drawn-visual-guide-to-chili-peppers

Billionaires’ Billions Are Increasing Faster Than Ever. 15 ...

2026-06-11T13:32:02Z

Billionaires’ Billions Are Increasing Faster Than Ever. 15 years ago, billionaires had $4.5 trillion. “Now, their combined wealth totals $20.1 trillion — an amount that is equivalent to nearly a fifth of the entire world’s total yearly output.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/business/economy/billionaires-musk-gabriel-zucman.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pFA.dLQV.6d9-fXSuW6k3

The Last Surviving Japanese Porsche 912 Police Car. It's one ...

2026-06-10T20:42:03Z

The Last Surviving Japanese Porsche 912 Police Car. It's one of four 912s that were used as police cars in Japan in the late 60s & early 70s. https://kottke.org/26/06/the-last-surviving-japanese-porsche-912-police-car

"Fuck the Empire!" Andor won a Peabody Award the other ...

2026-06-03T17:36:02Z

"Fuck the Empire!" Andor won a Peabody Award the other day and Tony Gilroy went hard in his acceptance speech. “If you’re not willing to fight for the things that you love...there’s an asshole ready to come in and take it away." https://kottke.org/26/06/tony-gilroy-accepts-award-for-andor-fuck-the-empire-1

The 100 Greatest Bird Names of All Time, including Inaccessible ...

2026-06-02T20:06:01Z

The 100 Greatest Bird Names of All Time, including Inaccessible Island Rail, Macaroni Penguin, Morepork, Chocolate Boobook, Dickcissel, Carunculated Caracara, and Resplendent Quetzal. https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/the-100-greatest-bird-names-of-all

“Hackers say that they used Meta’s AI support chatbot to ...

2026-06-01T18:14:02Z

“Hackers say that they used Meta’s AI support chatbot to break into a host of high-profile Instagram profiles by asking the support bot to change the email address associated with the target account.” And the bot just went ahead and did it. https://404media.co/hackers-simply-asked-meta-ai-to-give-them-access-to-high-profile-instagram-accounts-it-worked

How did dictionary makers keep track of rhyming words or ...

2026-05-28T18:40:03Z

How did dictionary makers keep track of rhyming words or similarly suffixed words, like those ending in -ism, -graphy, -ness, or -ology, before the computer age? With a Backward Index, a collection of 315,000 dictionary words typed out backwards. https://kottke.org/26/05/the-backward-index

Imagine a party with 100 guests and 100 slices of pizza, divvied ...

2026-05-27T20:22:01Z

Imagine a party with 100 guests and 100 slices of pizza, divvied up according to US household wealth. "1 person gets 30 slices" and "50 people get 0.05 slices each". https://kottke.org/26/05/american-wealth-sliced-up

A recent study of 2.5M scientific papers found ~146,900 fake ...

2026-05-27T18:02:06Z

A recent study of 2.5M scientific papers found ~146,900 fake citations, presumably hallucinated by AI. The fake citations “were not limited to a handful of bad apples but appeared across many papers, each containing a small number of fake references.” https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-generated-fake-citations-scientific.html

Free admission to Canadian national parks this summer! “From ...

2026-05-21T15:12:01Z

Free admission to Canadian national parks this summer! “From June 19 to September 7, no fees apply for: admission for all visitors to all national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas operated by Parks Canada.” https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/conseils-tips/choisis-canada-choose/admission-camping

“In 2014, the Dutch scholar Hans Corneel de Roos first noticed ...

2026-05-18T12:46:02Z

“In 2014, the Dutch scholar Hans Corneel de Roos first noticed that the Icelandic version of Dracula was in fact not a translation, but was rather a very different novel from Stoker’s version.” The “translation” was published in 1901. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powers_of_Darkness_(Iceland)

Pocket forests. “The Miyawaki method of reforestation inserts ...

2026-05-05T17:16:02Z

Pocket forests. “The Miyawaki method of reforestation inserts small, densely packed wild acreage into urban environs. It’s proving wildly successful.” The key is densely planting diverse & native species…this isn’t just planting some trees. https://ambrook.com/offrange/environment/a-forest-in-your-pocket

“They Would Never Use the Death Star on Us”: Alderaan ...

2026-05-04T15:22:01Z

“They Would Never Use the Death Star on Us”: Alderaan Residents Reflect on Their Support for the Empire as a Large Imperial Installation Enters the System. “The Senate was ineffective, and the liberal Jedi were out of touch…” https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/they-would-never-use-the-death-star-on-us-alderaan-residents-reflect-on-their-support-for-the-empire-as-a-large-imperial-installation-enters-the-system

Ohhhhh dear, Richard Dawkins: Is AI the Next Phase of Evolution? ...

2026-05-01T21:52:02Z

Ohhhhh dear, Richard Dawkins: Is AI the Next Phase of Evolution? Claude Appears to Be Conscious. “My conversations with several Claudes and ChatGPTs have convinced me that these intelligent beings are at least as competent as any evolved organism.” 😬 https://archive.is/6RdK9

I Bought Friendster for $30k — Here’s What I’m Doing With ...

2026-04-29T15:26:01Z

I Bought Friendster for $30k — Here’s What I’m Doing With It. “I created an iOS app for Friendster, and I made it so that in order to connect with someone as a friend, you have to actually tap phones together in real life.” https://ca98am79.medium.com/i-bought-friendster-for-30k-heres-what-i-m-doing-with-it-d5e8ddb3991d

“We had the idea to make a Bodoni interpretation with potato ...

2026-04-24T19:06:02Z

“We had the idea to make a Bodoni interpretation with potato stamps, so we bought 8kg of potatoes, some knives and [started carving]. When we finally had the full alphabet we stamped it on paper, made a font out of this and called it Bodedo.” https://www.hvdfonts.com/fonts/hvd-bodedo

Twin Peaks × LCD Soundsystem: a video mashup of Dance Yrself ...

2026-04-23T21:16:01Z

Twin Peaks × LCD Soundsystem: a video mashup of Dance Yrself Clean and the Twin Peaks theme music. Perfect. A damn fine cup of coffee, even. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbcAAV09OwA

I can't believe it: there's actually (finally!) a trailer ...

2026-04-22T14:26:01Z

I can't believe it: there's actually (finally!) a trailer for the Coyote vs. ACME movie and the movie itself is actually coming out on Aug 28. Looks fun! I hope it makes a billion dollars. https://kottke.org/26/04/finally-the-trailer-for-the-coyote-vs-acme-movie

A French corporation was recently found criminally liable for ...

2026-04-21T21:10:03Z

A French corporation was recently found criminally liable for enabling terrorism. “The court in Paris has just ruled that cynicism and an exclusive focus on profits can constitute a crime.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/opinion/lafarge-corporate-terrorism-syria-france.html?unlocked_article_code=1.clA.cfuW.P1y4G_7u6woO

The Leaf Sheep Slug: The Animal That Eats Sunshine. A few animals ...

2026-04-21T19:46:03Z

The Leaf Sheep Slug: The Animal That Eats Sunshine. A few animals can get their energy from photosynthesis; one of those is the adorable leaf sheep, which steals chloroplasts from algae and stores them to run on solar. https://kottke.org/26/04/the-leaf-sheep-slug-the-animal-that-eats-sunshine

This is a map published in 1927 by Paramount Studios showing the ...

2026-04-17T01:36:02Z

This is a map published in 1927 by Paramount Studios showing the areas of California & Nevada that doubled as shooting locations for far-flung locales, including Siberia, Wales, the Nile, New England, the Red Sea, and the Alps. https://kottke.org/26/04/hollywoods-world-map-of-california

Your Backpack Got Worse On Purpose. “From a shareholder’s ...

2026-04-15T19:26:02Z

Your Backpack Got Worse On Purpose. “From a shareholder’s perspective, the bag that falls apart is the better product. That’s the business model. Repeat failure, repeat purchase, repeat revenue. The quality decline isn’t a side effect. It’s the strategy.” https://www.worseonpurpose.com/p/your-backpack-got-worse-on-purpose

Two Japanese aquariums have released their 2026 flowcharts of ...

2026-04-15T18:42:01Z

Two Japanese aquariums have released their 2026 flowcharts of their penguins’ relationships. “Penguin drama can include serious crushes and heartbreaks but also adultery and egg-stealing.” https://spoon-tamago.com/japanese-aquarium-penguin-relationship-flowchart/

For decades, Aadam Jacobs recorded live music shows. His ...

2026-04-14T18:02:03Z

For decades, Aadam Jacobs recorded live music shows. His collection of over 10,000 shows since 1984 features Nirvana, R.E.M., The Pixies, Björk, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and so many more — and they're now available on the Internet Archive for free. https://kottke.org/26/04/online-treasure-trove-secret-concert-recordings

“Gerontocracy has always thrived in undemocratic places — ...

2026-04-14T14:16:01Z

“Gerontocracy has always thrived in undemocratic places — Communist people’s republics, Gulf monarchies — where only death could pry power from the ruling elders. American gerontocracy is exceptional for being freely elected.” https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/05/gerontocracy-wealth-power/686585/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ5Gz2kWnN4pZX5aCDL8KTdE

Media companies are increasingly blocking the Internet Archive ...

2026-04-13T22:02:02Z

Media companies are increasingly blocking the Internet Archive from archiving their material (but at the same time using the site to gather data for their stories). https://www.wired.com/story/the-internets-most-powerful-archiving-tool-is-in-mortal-peril/

This is incredible: Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here’s ...

2026-04-13T19:36:01Z

This is incredible: Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here’s How to Use It. I knew some of these but not all, e.g. verbatim mode “returns results for exactly what you typed, stripped of personalization and synonym-swapping.” https://cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has-a-secret-reference-desk

This tiny e-ink reader is small enough to attach to the back of ...

2026-04-09T23:36:01Z

This tiny e-ink reader is small enough to attach to the back of your phone. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0GPXPK65X/ref=nosim/0sil8

Someone ported Mac OS X to the Nintendo Wii. “Since its launch ...

2026-04-09T16:52:01Z

Someone ported Mac OS X to the Nintendo Wii. “Since its launch in 2007, the Wii has seen several operating systems ported to it: Linux, NetBSD, and most-recently, Windows NT. Today, Mac OS X joins that list.” https://bryankeller.github.io/2026/04/08/porting-mac-os-x-nintendo-wii.html

Farmers won their right-to-repair fight against John Deere. The ...

2026-04-09T13:32:02Z

Farmers won their right-to-repair fight against John Deere. The settlement includes a 10-year “agreement by Deere to provide ‘the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair’ of tractors, combines, and other machinery”. https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement

Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest ...

2026-04-08T23:02:03Z

Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service. “…the most devastating attack on the U.S. Forest Service in the agency’s 121-year history. Not a budget cut. Not a policy shift. Not a ‘reorganization.’ An execution.” https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/trump-administration-orders-dismantling-us-forest-service/7716263

“I have a feeling that everyone likes using AI tools to try ...

2026-04-08T14:24:02Z

“I have a feeling that everyone likes using AI tools to try doing someone else’s profession. They’re much less keen when someone else uses it for their profession.” https://gilest.org/notes/2026/human-ai/

I missed that author Tracy Kidder died a few weeks ago. Kidder ...

2026-04-07T16:06:02Z

I missed that author Tracy Kidder died a few weeks ago. Kidder wrote the excellent The Soul of a New Machine, which won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/04/tracy-kidder-writer-obituary-mountains-beyond-mountains/686651/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZwSaqoM6dTGllXas5rNj7gs

Great photo of the whole Earth taken from NASA's Artemis II ...

2026-04-03T14:46:03Z

Great photo of the whole Earth taken from NASA's Artemis II spacecraft. "There are two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun." Wow. https://kottke.org/26/04/this-is-us

“If Artemis II is successful, the astronauts will be the first ...

2026-04-03T01:32:01Z

“If Artemis II is successful, the astronauts will be the first humans to reach the moon’s orbit in more than 50 years, and their path around its far side will take them farther into the universe than any human being has previously traveled.” https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2026/04/artemis-moon-launch-trump/686661/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ0fNOSfoCs5Ae2CU41BTIqk

After two years off, Tom Scott is back with a new YouTube series: ...

2026-04-01T15:32:02Z

After two years off, Tom Scott is back with a new YouTube series: “I took a road trip through every county in England, and filmed something interesting in each of them.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz3lSKgz4q8

The future of energy is being decided now. "The US is ...

2026-03-31T14:02:01Z

The future of energy is being decided now. "The US is basically aligning itself as the last big petrostate. We're going to go down with the fossil fuel ship, and China is aligning itself as the first electrostate." https://kottke.org/26/03/us-the-last-big-petrostate

Paris now has a cycling network bigger than Amsterdam and “more ...

2026-03-19T18:06:02Z

Paris now has a cycling network bigger than Amsterdam and “more daily trips in Paris are now made by bike than by car”. https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/03/12/in-pariss-mayoral-race-its-drivers-against-cyclists

A generator for VHS slipcovers, cassette tape inserts, CD labels ...

2026-03-18T19:06:02Z

A generator for VHS slipcovers, cassette tape inserts, CD labels & inserts. You can paste in Spotify URLs, search for movies, etc. Really cool and fun. https://vhs.texs.org/

Am I a sucker for these kinds of ultra-detailed images because I ...

2026-03-17T20:30:02Z

Am I a sucker for these kinds of ultra-detailed images because I am a fan of Richard Scarry books and Wes Anderson movies or am I a fan of Scarry & Anderson because I'm a sucker for these kinds of ultra-detailed images? https://kottke.org/26/03/vertical-societies

Extreme Macro Photos of Insect Wings. Hundreds of images are ...

2026-03-17T17:12:01Z

Extreme Macro Photos of Insect Wings. Hundreds of images are stacked to create a deep depth of field that’s impossible to do optically, ensuring everything is in focus. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/chris-perani-macro-photography-insects-wings/

“The US is hurtling towards autocracy at a faster rate than ...

2026-03-17T14:32:01Z

“The US is hurtling towards autocracy at a faster rate than Hungary and Turkey”. The Varieties of Democracy Institute: “Our data on the USA goes back to 1789. What we’re seeing now is the most severe magnitude of democratic backsliding ever…” https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2026/mar/17/trump-is-aiming-for-dictatorship-thats-the-verdict-of-the-worlds-most-credible-democracy-watchdog

Gorgeous: rural Kyoto in the heavy snow. ...

2026-03-16T21:06:02Z

Gorgeous: rural Kyoto in the heavy snow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd-Fy3LHJF8

The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD “can be 70 percent charged ...

2026-03-13T17:16:02Z

The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD “can be 70 percent charged in five minutes and be almost full in 12 minutes, even in temperatures as low as -30° C” and “has a range of up to 800 km” (~500 miles). The US is sooooo far behind here. https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/byds-latest-evs-can-get-close-to-full-charge-in-just-12-minutes/

Potoooooooo was an 18th-century British racehorse whose name was ...

2026-03-12T23:36:02Z

Potoooooooo was an 18th-century British racehorse whose name was pronounced like “Potatoes” (Pot-eight-Os). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potoooooooo

The most exciting chase scene in cinema this year is a pair of ...

2026-03-12T17:42:01Z

The most exciting chase scene in cinema this year is a pair of hounds chasing a hare across a snowy plain. https://kottke.org/26/03/a-miraculous-escape

A printable zine: 50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor. “32. Picking ...

2026-03-12T15:10:01Z

A printable zine: 50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor. “32. Picking up trash, generally, is a good way to meet neighbors. People notice. 33. Winter: Shovel someone’s sidewalk. It’s also great cardio.” https://millionexperiments.com/zines/50-ways-to-meet-your-neighbor

"A new world order is here. States (countries) are no longer ...

2026-03-10T20:32:03Z

"A new world order is here. States (countries) are no longer the highest form of power globally. Power has shifted to wealthy individuals who work in groups and operate across borders: syndicates of capital." https://kottke.org/26/03/syndicates-of-capital

The Shape of Paris, a balletic short film of skateboarder Andy ...

2026-03-10T14:32:01Z

The Shape of Paris, a balletic short film of skateboarder Andy Anderson zooming, grinding, spinning, and floating around Paris in the summertime. "This is the cleanest footage I've ever seen. The cinematography and color grading is insane." https://kottke.org/26/03/the-shape-of-paris

The Internet Archive has a ton of old HyperCard programs that you ...

2026-03-05T17:56:02Z

The Internet Archive has a ton of old HyperCard programs that you can run right in your browser, including Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, the Whole Earth Catalog, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ebook, and The Manhole (Myst precursor). https://kottke.org/26/03/brian-enos-oblique-strategies

Steve Jobs famously said that computers are a bicycle for the ...

2026-03-04T14:12:02Z

Steve Jobs famously said that computers are a bicycle for the mind. What does that make LLMs? An e-bike for the mind? A car for the mind? A jet plane for the mind? https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/12/21/steve-jobs-bicycle-for-the-mind-1990/

New Rembrandt Painting Discovered. "A painting from 1633 ...

2026-03-03T17:08:02Z

New Rembrandt Painting Discovered. "A painting from 1633 called Vision of Zacharias in the Temple has been newly identified by Rijksmuseum researchers as an authentic Rembrandt van Rijn." https://kottke.org/26/03/new-rembrandt-painting-discove

Pope Leo XIV to his priests: stop using AI to write sermons. ...

2026-02-27T14:44:02Z

Pope Leo XIV to his priests: stop using AI to write sermons. “‘To give a homily is to share faith,’ he said, and AI ‘will never be able to share faith.’” https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/pope-priests-ai

Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate ...

2026-02-26T14:10:02Z

Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses. “The letter…marks one of the most significant erosions of transgender civil rights in the United States to date.” https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/kansas-sends-letters-to-trans-people

“The CyberTruck is 17 times more likely to have a fire fatality ...

2026-02-25T17:02:12Z

“The CyberTruck is 17 times more likely to have a fire fatality than a Ford Pinto”, a 70s automobile that put the “car” in “exploding car”. https://fuelarc.com/evs/its-official-the-cybertruck-is-more-explosive-than-the-ford-pinto/

A Meta employee who works on AI safety let an AI agent named ...

2026-02-24T14:56:33Z

A Meta employee who works on AI safety let an AI agent named OpenClaw loose on her inbox and it deleted all her email. (This tracks; companies like Meta actually don’t care about AI safety and hire accordingly.) https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/23/a-meta-ai-security-researcher-said-an-openclaw-agent-ran-amok-on-her-inbox/

Unusual Views of the Winter Olympics. A collection of photos ...

2026-02-23T20:32:03Z

Unusual Views of the Winter Olympics. A collection of photos taken at the just-concluded Winter Games "featuring infrared imaging, vintage cameras, optical filters, digital composites, unusual angles, unexpected subjects, and more..." https://kottke.org/26/02/unusual-views-of-the-winter-olympics

“Antibodies harvested from the blood of paediatricians are up ...

2026-02-23T19:52:02Z

“Antibodies harvested from the blood of paediatricians are up to 25 times better at protecting against the common respiratory infection RSV than existing antibody therapies, and are now being developed as preventative treatments.” https://www.newscientist.com/article/2516079-paediatricians-blood-used-to-make-new-treatments-for-rsv-and-colds/

The Color Game. “Humans can’t reliably recall colors. This is ...

2026-02-20T18:56:02Z

The Color Game. “Humans can’t reliably recall colors. This is a simple game to see how good (or bad) you are at it. We’ll show you five colors, then you’ll try and recreate them.” I scored 39/50 but got a perfect score on one color. https://dialed.gg/

Loop is an award-winning animated short featuring a society where ...

2026-02-20T16:26:02Z

Loop is an award-winning animated short featuring a society where people live a perfectly looping existence, all in rhythm. Then one day... https://kottke.org/26/02/loop

A data analysis of how women’s clothing doesn’t actually fit ...

2026-02-19T19:52:02Z

A data analysis of how women’s clothing doesn’t actually fit women. “That leaves millions of people — over half of all adult women — who are excluded from standard size ranges” in their 20s and beyond. https://pudding.cool/2026/02/womens-sizing/

The goal of the Trump Action Tracker is to “document how the ...

2026-02-17T21:32:02Z

The goal of the Trump Action Tracker is to “document how the trajectory of Trump’s presidency is aligned with the authoritarian playbook”. https://www.trumpactiontracker.info/

“‘CEO said a thing!’ journalism generally involves a press ...

2026-02-12T19:06:02Z

“‘CEO said a thing!’ journalism generally involves a press outlet parroting the claims of a CEO or billionaire utterly mindlessly without any sort of useful historical context as to whether anything being said is factually correct.” https://karlbode.com/the-press-is-still-propping-up-elon-musks-supergenius-engineer-mythology/