2025-05-24

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• A Bead Too Far: Rethinking Global Connections Before Columbus

  Every now and again, though, the glittery, exciting things are important for a reason. A case in point comes from what I think are perhaps the most exciting findings in recent North American archaeology: glass beads, indisputably European, and manufactured in Venice, have been uncovered in pre-Columbian archaeological contexts in Arctic Alaska - thousands of kilometres from their point of origin, and crucially, before Columbus’s arrival in the Americas.

• The secret life of wind tunnels

  There are lots of wind tunnels in the world, from giants like this and the S1MA transonic wind tunnel in France (powered by its own hydroelectric reservoir) to the frigid ETW tunnel in Germany that uses compressed cryogenic nitrogen, and even little lab-scale tunnels in universities scattered across the globe. They range from low speed tunnels for modelling cars and city centres, to hypersonic tunnels that can recreate the aerodynamics of capsules re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. They can use air, nitrogen, water or even oil. And their uses branch across industry, academia and sport…

Horseshit

• Amazon tribe says NYTimes story led to its members being smeared as porn addicts

• GeoGuessr withdraws from Esports World Cup following fan backlash

• Airhull lets electric boats glide on a layer of air

• FAA ATC Move from Newark to Philadelphia Was a Terrible Idea

• Marked decline in semicolons in English books

• A pro-doping sporting contest is coming to Las Vegas

  • Ped Use Allowed in New Enhanced (Olympic Style) Games

• How the Passionate Male Friendship Died

• Modern dog ownership has redefined family and parenting

• Latin America's Baby Bust Is Arriving Early

• Only elites used hallucinogens in ancient Andes society

• Buying a Robot Cat and Falling into the Weird World of Animal-Robot Research

• Ship footage captures sound of Titan sub imploding

• Everything Not Forbidden Is Compulsory

  something fundamental has changed in recent decades. The constraints that held possible and likely together are collapsing. Now, many more combinations are not just possible, they happen all the time. A programmer launching an app in San Francisco is likely to reach only a handful of customers, but she might reach a billion of them. An office worker sneezing in Wuhan will likely infect only a few colleagues, but he might infect people on five continents within weeks. A mortgage-backed securities trader on Wall Street is likely to ruin his life, but he might spark a global financial crisis. A factory worker uploading a lip-synching video to TikTok will likely be seen by a handful of people, but he might reach hundreds of millions, catapulting a 50-year-old song to the Billboard 100. What changed? We no longer live in an industrial, linear economy constrained by physical space and time. Our nonlinear economy is dominated by software and stories and biological formulas that spread across elaborate networks with limited friction.

• Is All of This Self-Monitoring Making Us Paranoid?

• What's Fueling America's Fast Food Fixation?

• Robots Are Starting to Make Decisions in the Operating Room

• What Do Gen Z Renters Want? Amenities, Aesthetics and Their Own Mini Universe

• Why 3D-Printing an Untraceable Ghost Gun Is Easier Than Ever | WIRED

• Meta promised $1B for affordable housing. Then it walked away

celebrity gossip

• Sam Altman is a visionary with a trustworthiness problem

• Ralph Macchio on kicking it as The Karate Kid for 41 years

Obit

• Bodybuilding star Nikita Tkachuk dead at 35

• Remembering Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-2025) - Word on Fire

  MacIntyre’s best known work, After Virtue, was described in 1981 by Newsweek as “a stunning new study of ethics by one of the foremost moral philosophers in the English-speaking world.” Conventional wisdom had offered the bare alternatives of Kantian duty based ethics and utilitarian consequentialist ethics. Echoing themes found in Elizabeth Anscombe’s “Modern Moral Philosophy,” After Virtue revolutionized the field by reintroducing virtue ethics as a viable alternative and by calling into question modern moral philosophy as an attempt to make sense of the shards left over from the shattered premodern synthesis of Athens and Jerusalem.

• Legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at 81

Musk

• Fire Breaks Out at a Data Center Leased by Elon Musk's X

• Elon Musk's Starlink issued warning by Australian communications watchdog

• Twitter down as users of Elon Musk's X app report major issues

• Tesla is badly affected by Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' the GOP just passed

• FTC investigates media watchdog over Musk's X boycott claims, document shows

  • Muzzling Media Matters

• What Are People Still Doing on X?

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• Mental-health lessons in schools sound like a great idea. They don't work

• Everyone's Using AI to Cheat at School. That's a Good Thing

• Kermit the Frog gives commencement speech at University of Maryland

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Apple cannot miss its smart glasses swing

• Apple Plans Glasses for 2026 as Part of AI Push, Nixes Watch with Camera

• Intel direct liquid cooling for up to 1000W CPUs package-level approach

• Bluesky will begin verifying 'notable' users

• A wave of new owners brings fresh energy to independent bookselling

• Verizon asks for an end to its phone unlocking requirements

• Nvidia’s RTX 5060 review debacle should be a wake-up call for gamers and reviewers | The Verge

  Nvidia has gone too far. This week, the company reportedly attempted to delay, derail, and manipulate reviews of its $299 GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card, which would normally be its bestselling GPU of the generation. Nvidia has repeatedly and publicly said the budget 60-series cards are its most popular, and this year it reportedly tried to ensure that by withholding access and pressuring reviewers to paint the new 5060 in the best light possible.

  the reality, according to reviews that have since hit the web, is that the RTX 5060 often fails to beat a four-year-old RTX 3060 Ti, frequently fails to beat a four-year-old 3070, and can sometimes get upstaged by Intel’s cheaper $250 B580.

• Nvidia ain't done with x86 as it taps Intel Xeons to babysit GPUs

• OnlyFans owner in talks to sell to investor group at about $8B value

• Mozilla is shutting down read-it-later app Pocket

  • Digg founder Kevin Rose offers to buy Pocket from Mozilla

• The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 4: Chainsaw Monday

• Why console makers can legally brick your game console

• Discord admits role in the decline of forums, wants to fix things using AI

• Amazon has canceled its Wheel of Time series,despite 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• Realtek's $10 tiny 10GbE NIC will hit motherboards soon

• Why I no longer have an old-school cert on my https site

• Raspberry Pi Modems

  I saw a picture of the new Light Phone 3. I was like "That's pretty cool, how much is it?" I was expecting $200-400 but to my astonishment, after pre-orders, it will be $800. So I logically said, "It can't be that hard," and this project was born, make an E-Ink phone for less than $400 with off-the-shelf parts.

• Keep American Science & Surplus Alive

  • The "geek surplus" market has truly vanished. These folks disposed of "oops" for many manufacturers when stuff got made in the Chicago suburbs. The catalog was epic.

  • Local Business American Science and Surplus Launches GoFundMe

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• Chicago Sun-Times confirms AI was used to create list of books that don't exist

• Google's Veo3 Is Already Deepfaking All of YouTube's Most Smooth-Brained Content

• Claude Opus 4 sometimes turns to blackmail when threatened with being replaced

  • AI system resorts to blackmail if told it will be removed

  • Anthropic faces backlash to Claude 4 Opus behavior that contacts authorities

  • Anthropic's new model shows troubling behavior

• Anthropic CEO claims AI models hallucinate less than humans

• Creating a 5-second AI video is like running a microwave for an hour

• Do chatbots have free speech? Judge rejects claim in suit over teen's death

• Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle

• The Dystopian Dream Team

  Well, it’s finally here, the dystopian dream team. Jony Ive and Sam Altman hitched their carts together to create god knows what. While some people are “excited” or “intrigued,” I am frankly “disgusted.” Both of these men are made for each other in the worst way imaginable. They both seemingly have a disdain for computers. None of what they spoke about in that ten-minute masturbatory video showed any ounce of wonder and amazement for what humans are able to do with computers. I don’t think these men are here to save us.

• A Man Who 'AGI-Pilled' Google

• OpenAI's Biggest Data Center Secures $11.6B in Funding

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• New study suggests scientists were wrong about dark streaks on Mars

• The Pentagon seems to be fed up with ULA’s rocket delays: “The ULA Vulcan program has performed unsatisfactorily this past year.”

Crypto con games

• Digital Payment System GNU Taler Gets Green Light to Operate in Switzerland

• The Bitcoin hum that is unsettling Trump’s MAGA heartlands

  For the last five years, a loud hum has been a continual backdrop to birdsong and the occasional barking dog in the village of Dresden, New York state. The issue here in Dresden, a village of about 300 people surrounded by winding country roads, single-track rail lines and farms growing grapes and hops, sounds like a familiar story about the tension between nature-loving locals and economic development. But their annoyance is also a signal of something less expected – policies of US President Donald Trump meeting resistance from people in the rural areas whose votes drove his return to the White House. And the cause? Bitcoin mining.

• Some US banks explore venturing into crypto with joint stablecoin, WSJ reports

  • Big Banks Explore Venturing into Crypto World Together with Joint Stablecoin

Economicon / Business / Finance

• The Death of the Digital Nomad

• Why the bond market is barfing

  Around the world, investors are sending a clear-as-glass signal: After years of profligate debt issuance, the world's major economies are now facing the bill. A sell-off in bond markets over recent weeks is signaling that the long-term trajectory for interest rates is higher than it has been in decades. The drop in long-term bond prices means a rise in the interest rates governments must pay to borrow money.

• Why American venture capital is flowing into India like never before

• Venture-Debt Fundraising Slides Despite Private-Credit Boom

• US banana giant Chiquita fires thousands over Panama strike

• Justice Dept reaches deal to allow Boeing avoid prosecution for 737 MAX crashes

• Toyota’s Cheap Compact Pickup Truck All But Done Deal for America.

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• FCC Looks to Unleash More Than 20k Megahertz for Satellite Spectrum Abundance

• Supreme Court dooms taxpayer funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma

• Tim Cook Called Texas Governor to Stop Online Child-Safety Legislation

• With REAL ID, America now has national ID cards and internal passports

Trump

• US Treasury to stop producing pennies next year

• Trump USDA Secretary Commits to Terminate CCP Gain-of-Function Partnership.

• Trump Signs Orders To Speed Nuclear Reactor Deployment

Democrats

• DC Jewish shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez father Eric Rodriquez invited to Trump address by far-left lawmaker Chuy Rodriguez

  “Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” a spokesperson for Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) told The Post Thursday night. In March, he hailed Rodriguez as “an outspoken advocate against attacks on veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees.”

  • ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, MSNBC Conceal Jewish Museum Shooter’s Left-Wing Politics

Left Angst

• America is in danger of experiencing an academic brain drain

• China pledges support for overseas students after Trump's Harvard curb

• Trump admin revokes Harvard's ability to enroll all international students

  • Harvard's foreign students are stuck and scared

  • Harvard sues Trump administration over international student enrollment ban

  • Harvard files complaint against DHS over termination of student visas

  • Harvard Sues Trump Administration over Move to Bar International Students

  • Judge Blocks Trump Move to Halt Harvard's International Student Visas

  • Judge blocks Trump admin's ban on Harvard accepting international students

  • Federal judge halts Trump admin ban on Harvard's ability to enroll intl students

  US District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled hours after the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college filed suit Friday. Harvard argued revocation of its certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program was “clear retaliation” for its refusal of the government’s ideologically rooted policy demands. Burroughs is the same judge considering a separate lawsuit from Harvard challenging the administration’s freeze of $2.65 billion in federal funding.

  • Hong Kong university offers unconditional admission to Harvard students

  • Chinese College Gives Harvard International Students 'Unconditional Offers'

• Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs on Apple If iPhones Not Made in US

  • Trump says a 25% tariff 'must be paid by Apple' on iPhones not made in the U.S.

  • Trump threatens Apple with a 25 percent iPhone tariff

  • Trump threatens Apple with a 25% tariff if it doesn't build iPhones in America

  • Trump tells Apple to build iPhones in U.S. or pay 25% tariff

• Trump threatens tariffs on EU goods and Apple iPhones

• Trump warns of 50% tarriff on EU goods from next month

  • Trump calls for 50% tariff on EU, says he's 'not looking for a deal' with bloc

• Tariff Exemptions Are Terrible News for Electronics Repairability

• Lenovo thought it could surf geopolitics, until the sudden tariff changes

• Gaming Out a Sudden Stop

  So a U.S. sudden stop still looks quite possible, indeed considerably more likely given the grotesquely cruel and irresponsible budget bill Republicans are trying to ram through. It doesn’t help that key players are being utterly dishonest about what they’re doing: House Republicans have been denying that the bill will increase the budget deficit, while Trump claims that “We’re not touching anything” on Medicaid, just eliminating waste, fraud and abuse (and somehow taking away health care for millions in the process.) Low-information voters may be fooled for a little while, but bond markets won’t.

• Musk's DOGE expanding his Grok AI in US Government, raising conflict concerns

• The Father Pursues Trump's Diplomatic Deals. The Son Chases Crypto Deals

• House budget bill effectively halts US clean energy boom.

  The House budget bill that narrowly passed in an early morning vote on Thursday would effectively put the brakes on a clean energy production boom in the United States spurred by subsidies enacted in 2022.

• Why Silicon Valley's Most Powerful People Are So Obsessed with Hobbits

• Elon Musk's Fake Retreat from Doge

• More than 100 National Security Council staffers put on administrative leave

• CDC can no longer help prevent lead poisoning in children, state officials say

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Aftermath of North Korean Frigate Launch Seen in Satellite Image

World

• Image of dead 'white farmers' came from Reuters footage in Congo

• Man in Norway wakes to find container ship in garden

  The 135m-ship (443ft) missed Johan Helberg's house by metres at about 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Thursday. Mr Helberg was only alerted to the commotion by his panicked neighbour who had watched the ship as it headed straight for shore, in Byneset, near Trondheim. "The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Mr Helberg told television channel TV2.

  • 'It was so unreal': Norwegian man wakes to cargo ship in his garden

• Unexplained electronics found in imported equipment for Denmark's supply network

  Unexplained electronic components have been found in imported equipment for Denmark's energy supply network, industry group Green Power Denmark said on Wednesday, adding that an investigation was underway to learn more. The findings coincide with an increased focus internationally on potential security vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure such as energy grids. "It concerns printed circuit boards that were supposed to be part of components for the energy supply," Jorgen Christensen, technical director at Green Power Denmark, told Reuters. "We don't know how critical it is or whether there are bad intentions behind it," he said. The Danish ministry for preparedness and resilience declined to comment on whether an investigation had been started. The justice ministry, energy ministry and the intelligence service did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment.

• Rideshare companies in India are asking for tips before the trip

• M&S contractor 'investigating whether it was gateway for cyber-attack'

• Canada is building its own social network based on Canadian laws and values

• Administrative court: Cookie banner must contain "Reject all" button

• Denmark to raise retirement age to highest in Europe

  Denmark is set to have the highest retirement age in Europe after its parliament adopted a law raising it to 70 by 2040. Since 2006, Denmark has tied the official retirement age to life expectancy and has revised it every five years. It is currently 67 but will rise to 68 in 2030 and to 69 in 2035. The retirement age at 70 will apply to all people born after 31 December 1970.

Israel

• IDF control of Gaza Strip jumps over 50%, on the way to vast majority.

China

• The Fortress That China Built for Its Battle with America

Health / Medicine

• Cold memories cue our bodies to warm up

• Compared to white participants, blacks experienced less cold symptoms

• Trial finds benefits of 16-hour fasting are evident for at least 1 year

• Sesame Scheme: Unintended Consequences of Allergen Food Labeling

• 17-year old found a less-toxic version of acetaminophen using computer models

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• Why Microsoft just signed a deal for green cement

• US solar keeps surging, generating more power than hydro in 2025

• The End of California's Green Car Dream