How to Buy the Best Keycaps for Your Mechanical Keyboard (2025) | WIRED
Everyone should have a mechanical keyboard, and everyone should be buying keycaps.
When Your Threat Model Is Being a Moron
The threat model to our current administration is that it’s full of morons.
Bill Gates Gives Up on Climate Change
Um… is anyone actually working on climate change anymore? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
How to Enter the US With Your Digital Privacy Intact | WIRED
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I don’t even know if leaving or entering the country is super safe for anyone anymore, but certainly the people who are most at risk for having their humanity violated are those who are not white and not US citizens.
AI coding assistant refuses to write code, tells user to learn programming instead - Ars Technica
I hear you, AI. Constantly answering questions from people who don’t actually want to learn is exhausting.
Simon Laveuve’s 1/35-Scale Dwellings Hint at a Post-Apocalyptic Way of Life — Colossal
Somehow apocalyptic renderings always seem less apocalyptic than you know they would be. If the worst I wind up in the end days is hiding out in a weird shack like one of these, I’m probably ok with it.
20 jaw-dropping places on Earth that look like an alien planet | Space
It’s easy to hate this place (earth) in recent times, but take a look around it a little more. Maybe you’ll feel a tiny bit better about the planet we’re burning. I particularly love Lake Hillier and The Giant’s Causeway. The latter looks like the cover of Houses of the Holy.
New matcha crepes in Nara serve up good luck with traditional Japanese patterns | SoraNews24 -Japan News-
I’ve read quite a few things recently that make me slightly pessimistic about the future of Japan, but this isn’t one of them. MATCHA CREPES! Even better, the shop that makes them, Mikuriya, is stuffed at the bottom of a staircase in Higashimuki Shopping Street that appears to be completely inaccessible. It’s very Japanese.
What do Egyptian mummies smell like? Surprisingly pleasant. | Popular Science
Stopping sniffing those matcha crepes and get a whiff of these! I’m a little undecided as to whether mummies really smell as good as advertised or researchers just spend too much time in ancient university buildings. Either way, I think we’ve finally discovered something that has never been dusted with matcha powder.
How Airlines Deal With Bodies When Deaths Occur During A Flight
I would very much rather sit next to a dead person than some of the live ones I’ve shared a row with.
Fungus-infected zombie spiders discovered in Northern Ireland | Popular Science
I wonder if these fungus zombies voted in November?
How Phished Data Turns into Apple & Google Wallets – Krebs on Security
I didn’t even know this was possible, but my daughter tipped me off to it because they deal with people trying to pay with stolen card wallets where she works.
The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians | WIRED
So, about those fungus zombie spiders…
Matt Roussel’s Textured Woodcuts Metamorphose into Paintings — Colossal
These are wild. Carving blocks which are then painted – the results are fantastic.
DOGE’s Cyberattack Against America
This country is sleepwalking through the takeover of the US. We are letting this happen.
The Red Pill Was Hijacked | Techdirt
The right’s Red Pill obsession is not only idiotic, it’s also a freaking lie. Their red pill is blue, and they’re super happy to be in the Matrix of their own creation.
The ‘World’s Smallest Record Player’ Is a VW Bus That Plays Vinyls by Driving on Them
This was a Sony idea and I’d never heard of it. If it was created in 1976, they must have been known and talked about while I was still there. I LIKE IT!
This 1969 Ford GT40 Race Car Has a Secret Slot Car Track Inside
And now for something completely different… but also not. MOAR CARZ!!??
Bonobos recognize when humans are ignorant, try to help - Ars Technica
I think we’re gonna need a lot more Bonobos to get through 2025.
Life on Earth Depends on Networks of Ocean Bacteria | WIRED
It’s almost like boiling the ocean might be a bad idea!
Massive Pedestrian Crushers Don’t Actually Keep Occupants Safe Either, New Research Shows
Giant vehicles aren’t safe for the people outside them, but they’re also not safe for the people in them either, it turns out. But that’s not why people buy them anyway, they buy them to compensate for their tiny genitals.
“Just give me the f***ing links!”—Cursing disables Google’s AI overviews - Ars Technica
I don’t use Google, but if all tech starts behaving differently to people who swear, I’m in luck because most of my conversations with Siri are just a torrent of expletives.
Rats beat AI at recognizing obscured objects | Popular Science
“Living creatures that have evolved for billions of years better than computers with no eyes at identifying things!” You don’t say? 😄
Declassified CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism Is Suddenly Viral
I’ve no idea why this could be…
The Pad-O-Matic Prints One-Time Pads On Demand - IEEE Spectrum
Back when fighting Nazis as opposed to being Nazis was cool, the one-time pad provided security against the enemy. Now, a digital version – the Pad-O-Matic!
Your Soul Is a Blue Marble: How to See with an Astronaut’s Eyes – The Marginalian
Here’s a book review, because why not? We should probably all read this book and write encrypted reviews of it using our Pad-O-Matics.
The Winners of This Annual Competition Show Nature Is Ready for Its Close-Up — Colossal
From the “Nature is weird so you don’t have to” department, more fantastic photos of living things.
Do You Believe in Life After Death? These Scientists Study It. - The New York Times
I don’t know how anyone would ever prove reincarnation, but it seems like a fun job trying. Better than digging ditches or trying to keep hackers out of your financial institution.
A brief history of logs and Console – The Eclectic Light Company
If you’re a Mac person who’s ever dug through Console logs looking for errors, this should be a fun read. I’ve always appreciated the fact that the Mac tried to give a one-stop shopping center for logs.
A Capitol Rioter’s Son Is Terrified About His Father’s Release | WIRED
Yikes. How’d you like to turn your father in for insurrection and then have the incoming fascist-in-chief pardon him? On top of that, this kid is gay and I can’t imagine his Texas Three Percenter father being super chill about that. By the way, the dad that was pardoned is the one who threatened to crack Nancy Pelosi’s head open on the Capitol steps. Thanks for voting Trump, America.
I’m a Luddite (and So Can You!) | The Nib
I’m not sure I’m full-Luddite, but considering the damage what passes for Silicon Valley is doing these days and how enthusiastically they’ve cozied up to corrupt and power abusing politicians, I think it’s ok to be one. Also consider the huge environmental aspects of the mega-data center build-outs. It’s a weird time to be in tech, I’ll say that.
From Infocom to 80 Days: An oral history of text games and interactive fiction - Ars Technica
Stepping back to when tech was fun with very few qualifications, here’s a great story. Am I the only one old enough to remember these? I know I’m not, so are you. Stop lying.
