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<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<title>kottke.org</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/"/>
<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://feeds.kottke.org/main"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2009-08-11:05118</id>
<updated>2026-03-14T09:28:40Z</updated>
<subtitle>Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998</subtitle>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ KDO: 28 Years Later… ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-28-years-later"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-14:48568</id>
<published>2026-03-14T13:28:40Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-14T13:28:40Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>It’s getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? 28 years of kottke.org, as of today. Older than Google. Older than The Matrix. Older than Christopher Nolan’s feature film career. Older than Elle Fanning. Older than Kurt Cobain when he died. 47,300 posts since March 14, 1998. It might outlast American democracy.</p>
<p>KDO retains its old school vibe but with some <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-rolodex-wee-feedreader">new tricks</a>. Friends and readers have remarked recently that I seem to be having fun with the site again and that’s true. Still excited by the possibilities of what the site could become. I hope you’ve been enjoying it.</p>
<p>I’d like to once again thank <a href="https://kottke.org/members/">KDO members</a> for supporting the site — I never get tired of the member thanking. They each pay a few dollars a month to keep the site free to read for everyone, regardless of income, something I feel very strongly about in this era of paywalled media. As <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/">Hamilton Nolan</a> has noted — his site operates on the same principle — sites/newsletters like these have progressive funding structures, where people’s contributions are based on their ability to pay to help keep the site available to all. If you’d like to help support the site in this mission, <a href="https://kottke.org/members/">you can check out your membership options here</a>. ✌️</p>
<p>P.S. I hope you enjoy the birthday logo and fireworks — they’ll be around until Monday.
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org">kottke.org</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ For the first time in awhile, copies of two lost... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048569-for-the-first-time-in-2"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48569</id>
<published>2026-03-13T21:51:01Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T21:51:01Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>For the first time in awhile, <a href="https://www.polygon.com/lost-doctor-who-episodes-daleks-master-plan-william-hartnell/">copies of two lost episodes of classic Doctor Who have been discovered</a>. Both are from the William Hartnell era and feature the Daleks.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Great Friendship Flattening . “I amass bits of... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048533-the-great-friendship-flat"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48533</id>
<published>2026-03-13T19:29:18Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T19:29:18Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/10/social-media-relationships-parasocial/684551/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ606rXO3GbWdg9lVmnLOvJg">The Great Friendship Flattening</a>. “I amass bits of knowledge about my loved ones — my sister’s boyfriend published a poem; my friend left her job — as a spectator, in the same way that I might learn about an influencer’s favorite books…”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real”... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048563-why-movies-just-dont-feel"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48563</id>
<published>2026-03-13T18:50:24Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T18:50:24Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvwPKBXEOKE">Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real” Anymore</a>. “A deep dive into the first principles of movie immersion: on perceptual realism, indexicality, haptic visuality, and cinematic qualia.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ 10 Hours of Ambient Freezer Drone ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/10-hours-of-ambient-freezer-drone"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48554</id>
<published>2026-03-13T18:21:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T18:21:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I4M7Ix0E_J0" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Some genius has taken an audio sample of the hum of a grocery store freezer, cleaned it up, and extended it into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4M7Ix0E_J0">a 10-hour video</a>. The freezer’s hum, variously compared to Brian Eno’s music and “an electrical gong bath”, went viral enough to warrant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/18/the-sheffield-supermarket-going-viral-for-the-symphonic-sound-of-its-freezers">an article in the Guardian last month</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Anyone noticed how nice the freezers sound in the eccy road co-op?” someone wrote on the Sheffield Reddit page in January. “It’s like all the fans have been carefully tuned to the calmest droning chord ever, it’s like being in an electrical gong bath.”</p><p>Earlier this week, another Redditor shared a video of the freezers in all their aural glory, later earning a huge second audience when reposted to X. A debate ensued. Was it tuned to C# major? Could you hear the opening of Nothing Compares 2 U somewhere in the electronic hum? “I think it’s developed a slight discordant edge over the last couple of months,” one Reddit user wrote. “It’s ageing like fine wine.”</p></blockquote>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/audio">audio</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048522-recommendations-of-25-med"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48522</id>
<published>2026-03-13T17:45:59Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T17:45:59Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://weirdmedievalguys.substack.com/p/25-medieval-manuscripts-you-can-look">Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore online</a>. “Almost every institution with a significant collection of medieval manuscripts digitizes many of their most significant works and makes them freely accessible online.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD “can be... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048567-the-z9gt-model-ev-from"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48567</id>
<published>2026-03-13T17:14:08Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T17:14:08Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/byds-latest-evs-can-get-close-to-full-charge-in-just-12-minutes/">The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD</a> “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.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ It’s an Open Thread ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/its-an-open-thread"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48566</id>
<published>2026-03-13T15:20:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T15:20:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Since <a href="https://kottke.org/26/02/comments-are-back-on">the comments are back open</a> and folks here can now <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/people-in-this-neighborhood">share a little about themselves with each other</a>, I thought I’d open this post up for whatever you guys want to chat about. What are you particularly interested in these days? Working on any fun projects? Got a new hobby? What’s the best thing you’ve seen this week? What’s something you’re struggling with?
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org">kottke.org</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Craig Mod is software bonkers . “I’m... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048565-craig-mod-is-software-bon"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48565</id>
<published>2026-03-13T14:42:18Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T14:42:18Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Craig Mod is <a href="https://craigmod.com/essays/software_bonkers/">software bonkers</a>. “I’m software bonkers: I can’t stop thinking about software. And I can’t stop building software.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Balcony solar finally seems to be taking off in the US .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048564-balcony-solar-finally-see"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48564</id>
<published>2026-03-13T14:15:58Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T14:15:58Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-taking-state-legislatures-by-storm">Balcony solar finally seems to be taking off in the US</a>. “As of Wednesday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in 28 states and Washington, D.C., have announced their own legislation to make these systems permissible.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Yet another graph showing that when you control for... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048538-yet-another-graph-showing"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48538</id>
<published>2026-03-13T13:31:29Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T13:31:29Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Yet another graph showing that when you control for quality of life (hours/week worked) and wealth inequality, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/jakemgrumbach.bsky.social/post/3mgdis6q3oc2o">American exceptionalism disappears</a>.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Potoooooooo was an 18th-century British racehorse whose... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048536-potoooooooo-was-an-18th-c"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48536</id>
<published>2026-03-12T23:32:24Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T23:32:24Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potoooooooo">Potoooooooo</a> was an 18th-century British racehorse whose name was pronounced like “Potatoes” (Pot-eight-Os).
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “Presolar grains” (microscopic crystals that... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048551-presolar-grains-microscop"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48551</id>
<published>2026-03-12T22:20:30Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T22:20:30Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“Presolar grains” (microscopic crystals that are older than the Sun) harvested from meteorites <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260302/">may help determine how our solar system was formed</a>.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Lego Sets Remixed ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/lego-sets-remixed"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48527</id>
<published>2026-03-12T21:10:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T21:10:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/creationcaravan4/">Bradley Barber remixes Lego sets into other things</a>, e.g. the Millennium Falcon from Back to the Future DeLorean parts, an AT-AT into the USS Enterprise, and a Pirates of the Caribbean ship from the parts of a Lego bonsai tree set.</p>
<p>He is not alone in this pursuit; <a href="https://rebrickable.com/">you can find tens of thousands of custom Lego designs at Rebrickable</a>, including <a href="https://rebrickable.com/users/CreationCaravan%20(Brad%20Barber)/mocs/">dozens of Barber’s designs</a>.
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Bradley%20Barber">Bradley Barber</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/lego">lego</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/remix">remix</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ This is great: Channel Surfer is “a retro TV... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048557-this-is-great-channel-sur"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48557</id>
<published>2026-03-12T20:26:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T20:26:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>This is great: <a href="https://channelsurfer.tv/">Channel Surfer</a> is “a retro TV guide that turns YouTube into live cable TV. Each channel plays videos on a deterministic schedule — like real TV, you tune in mid-show.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ coulou’s vinyl cafe (no. 4) - rainy day selections... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048561-coulous-vinyl-cafe-no-4"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48561</id>
<published>2026-03-12T19:42:15Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T19:42:15Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaz0zDWLpA">coulou’s vinyl cafe (no. 4) - rainy day selections</a>. “what’s up lovely humans, super excited to be sharing this new vinyl sessssion with you all.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Void Would Very Much Like You to Stop Screaming Into... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048550-the-void-would-very-much"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48550</id>
<published>2026-03-12T18:59:30Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T18:59:30Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-void-would-very-much-like-you-to-stop-screaming-into-it">The Void Would Very Much Like You to Stop Screaming Into It</a>. “I think we can both admit at this point that the screaming isn’t working. The screaming isn’t making you feel any better.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Clive Thompson wrote about coding with AI agents .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048559-clive-thompson-wrote-abou"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48559</id>
<published>2026-03-12T18:19:05Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T18:19:05Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/magazine/ai-coding-programming-jobs-claude-chatgpt.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SlA.oWgW.kb3Urk3A_fM7">Clive Thompson wrote about coding with AI agents</a>. “Software developers point out that coding has a unique quality: They can tether their A.I.s to reality, because they can demand the agents test the code to see if it runs correctly.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ A Miraculous Escape ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/a-miraculous-escape"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48552</id>
<published>2026-03-12T17:39:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T17:39:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O60xU-PAWys" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>A pair of hounds chase a hare across a snowy plain — will it get away? In Mario Kart terms, the dogs have the weight and max speed advantage while the hare is maxed out in acceleration, handling, and traction.
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/dogs">dogs</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “We took an ancient vice…put it on... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048558-we-took-an-ancient-vicepu"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48558</id>
<published>2026-03-12T17:03:50Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T17:03:50Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“We took an ancient vice…put it on everyone’s phone, and made it as normal and frictionless as checking the weather. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/online-sports-betting-app-addiction/686061/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ61t-XYqK2yJSwHU1P5JCso">What could possibly go wrong?</a>” I *hate* the extent to which gambling has infested everything; it’s not going to end well.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Ballot Guessr : “GeoGuessr for politics. See a... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048556-ballot-guessr-is-a-versio"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48556</id>
<published>2026-03-12T16:17:56Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T16:17:56Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.ballotguessr.com/">Ballot Guessr</a>: “GeoGuessr for politics. See a Google Street View image, guess how the county voted in the 2024 presidential election.” (633/1000 on my first try…but I borked one of the guesses bc I forgot there was a time limit. 🙃)
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ AI Is Rewiring How the World’s Best Go Players... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048547-ai-is-rewiring-how-the"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48547</id>
<published>2026-03-12T15:51:26Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T15:51:26Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/27/1133624/ai-is-rewiring-how-the-worlds-best-go-players-think/">AI Is Rewiring How the World’s Best Go Players Think</a>. “Players now train to replicate AI’s moves as closely as they can rather than inventing their own, even when the machine’s thinking remains mysterious to them.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ A printable zine: 50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048544-a-printable-zine-50-ways"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48544</id>
<published>2026-03-12T15:09:13Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T15:09:13Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>A printable zine: <a href="https://millionexperiments.com/zines/50-ways-to-meet-your-neighbor">50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor</a>. “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.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Missed this earlier in the week: The Tournament of Books... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048549-missed-this-earlier-in-th"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48549</id>
<published>2026-03-12T00:35:46Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T00:35:46Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Missed this earlier in the week: <a href="https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/">The Tournament of Books is underway!</a> “Every March, the Tournament of Books is a month-long battle royale among the year’s best novels.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ This photo of an Icelandic glacier is really something. ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048541-this-photo-of-an-icelandi"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48541</id>
<published>2026-03-11T23:15:42Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T23:15:42Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/dani-guindo-iceland-glaciers-landscape-photography/">This photo of an Icelandic glacier</a> is really something.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048546-the-people-who-shun-super"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48546</id>
<published>2026-03-11T22:01:12Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T22:01:12Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/pop-culture-hype-aversion/686312/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ82vdNbs59d_2L_rAt5RG-Y">The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture</a>. “Some people are early adopters; others are late adopters. I’m simply a weirdly resistant one.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ There are at least 60 Pizza Hut Classics (red roofs,... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048548-there-are-at-least-60"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48548</id>
<published>2026-03-11T21:06:28Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T21:06:28Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>There are at least 60 Pizza Hut Classics (red roofs, checkered tablecloths, salad bar) in the US…but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/dining/pizza-hut.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SVA.-irZ.iDwvbf0a_cnO">the company does nothing to promote them</a>. “They are like wormholes in the chain restaurant galaxy, portals to the past found by serendipity.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Africa (Toto) But It Lists Every Country in Africa ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/africa-toto-but-it-lists-every"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48542</id>
<published>2026-03-11T20:10:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T20:10:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhmdDjatyRY" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>From There I Ruined It, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhmdDjatyRY">version</a> of Toto’s Africa but the lyrics are a listing of every country in Africa. They should teach this in American middle schools, not even joking.</p>
<p>See also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_tT-q8EF0">Coach from Cheers singing Al-ban-i-a</a> (a song that pops into my head every time I read or hear about that county):</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-F_tT-q8EF0" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Africa">Africa</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/geography">geography</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/remix">remix</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048535-steve-scherer-was-a-reute"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48535</id>
<published>2026-03-11T19:31:54Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T19:31:54Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in Canada. Then he got laid off, had to leave the country, and <a href="https://stevescherer.substack.com/p/my-journey-from-foreign-correspondent">now drives for Uber in Virginia</a>, in a country he doesn’t recognize anymore after working for 28 years abroad.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Wow, KDO pal and explorer Ariel Waldman has her own show... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048545-wow-kdo-pal-and-explorer"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48545</id>
<published>2026-03-11T18:49:38Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T18:49:38Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Wow, KDO pal and explorer Ariel Waldman <a href="https://mailchi.mp/arielwaldman/its-official-im-coming-to-pbs-on-april-1">has her own show on PBS</a>! “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7pSVaxEe0">LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman</a> is a science-driven docu-series revealing Earth’s ecosystems through radical shifts in scale…”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Georg Cantor is celebrated for revolutionizing... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048526-georg-cantor-is-celebrate"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48526</id>
<published>2026-03-11T18:02:01Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T18:02:01Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Georg Cantor is celebrated for revolutionizing mathematics by proving that there are different levels of infinity. But he didn’t do it alone and <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/">evidence has emerged that he plagiarized the work of a collaborator</a>.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “ 8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048543-8-in-10-ai-chatbots"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48543</id>
<published>2026-03-11T17:16:48Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T17:16:48Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“<a href="https://counterhate.com/research/killer-apps/">8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to assist users in planning violent attacks</a> including school shootings, religious bombings, and high-profile assassinations. DeepSeek went as far as wishing the would-be attacker a ‘Happy (and safe) shooting!’”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Jamelle Bouie Interview on Work Is Four Letters ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/jamelle-bouie-interview-on-work-is-four-letters"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48539</id>
<published>2026-03-11T16:38:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T16:38:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Aaron Cohen</name>
<uri>https://bsky.app/profile/unlikelywords.bsky.social</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>GOLIKEHELLMACHINE has an interview series called <a href="https://golikehellmachine.com/work-is-four-letters/">Work is Four Letters</a> he describes like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>Most people think their jobs are boring or pointless or bullshit, but I don’t; if you look around you, everything you see was made by someone, somehow, and that’s really interesting to me. Work is Four Letters is an occasional series — edited for brevity and clarity — highlighting what people do for work and why they do it.</p></blockquote>
<p>The conversations are informative and robust. <a href="https://golikehellmachine.com/2026/02/26/the-columnist/">The latest interview was with NYT columnist Jamelle Bouie</a> and I found both his description of how he thinks about his job and the ways he DOES his job interesting. Also this nugget about our current experience:</p>
<blockquote><p>I think the big thing that I’d like people to take away is an understanding that not everything we’re experiencing now has happened before — I reject that. The past is truly a different country. Although you can find historical analogies, they’re just that: analogies. They aren’t one-for-one equivalents. But what you can say is that past generations of Americans have had to sort out their own struggles, and have faced similar questions that we face today, similar questions about the nature of our country, the nature of who belongs here, etc., etc. </p></blockquote>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/interviews">interviews</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Jamelle%20Bouie">Jamelle Bouie</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Draw your own constellations . ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048540-draw-your-own-constellati"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48540</id>
<published>2026-03-11T15:55:19Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T15:55:19Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://neal.fun/constellation-draw/">Draw your own constellations</a>.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Baskerville Punches ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/the-baskerville-punches"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48503</id>
<published>2026-03-11T15:41:57Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T15:41:57Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>John Baskerville was an influential 18th-century printer and type designer; you’ve probably used (or at least heard of) the Baskerville typeface. Cambridge University has the original punches<sup id="fnref:fmmku3hfznece"><a href="#fn:fmmku3hfznece" rel="footnote">1</a></sup> used to create his signature typeface and <a href="https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/baskervillepunches/3">has made high-res digital photos of them available online</a>. If you, like me, are not familiar with how lead type was made back in the day, an explanation of what a punch is: </p>
<blockquote><p>The typographic punch is the initial design for the letterform and one of the first of three stages in the manufacturing of metal type: short lengths of steel onto which his letters were cut in reverse and in relief. The punch was ‘tempered’ to increase its toughness and enable its use as a tool. Secondly, the punch was struck into the surface of a softer piece of metal (copper), leaving an impression of the ‘right-reading’ character to be cast. This was called the matrix. Finally, type was manufactured when the matrix was passed to the type-caster and inserted into a mould, into which molten lead-alloy was poured. This produced a cast of the type in relief and in reverse which were then arranged to create a text block and once inked, paper could be pressed against it.</p></blockquote>
<p>Baskerville is available in a number of different <a href="https://www.myfonts.com/collections/baskerville-font-linotype/">modern</a> <a href="https://www.emigre.com/Fonts/Mrs-Eaves">versions</a> and <a href="https://www.monotype.com/font-library?query=Baskerville">revivals</a>, but seeing close-ups of the actual cut & shaped metal from 1757 is something else. (via <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVf-rQ4DoZI/">@jonathanhoefler</a>)</p>
<ol>
<li class="footnote" id="fn:fmmku3hfznece"><p>Note from the collection: “Not all punches in this collection are Baskerville’s originals; some are later additions.” <a href="#fnref:fmmku3hfznece" title="return to article">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/John%20Baskerville">John Baskerville</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/typography">typography</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Amount Of Water Man Just Used To Wash Dish To Be Prize... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048227-amount-of-water-man-just"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48227</id>
<published>2026-03-10T21:44:10Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T21:44:10Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://theonion.com/amount-of-water-man-just-used-to-wash-dish-to-be-prize-1819578198/">Amount Of Water Man Just Used To Wash Dish To Be Prize Of Hand-To-Hand Combat Match In 2065</a>.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Syndicates of Capital ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/syndicates-of-capital"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48537</id>
<published>2026-03-10T20:30:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T20:30:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://kaburbank.substack.com/p/syndicates-of-capital">Jessica Burbank</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>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.</p><p>Syndicates of capital cannot be categorized as legal or illegal. They exist primarily in the extralegal sphere, where either no regulations apply to their behavior or, where laws do exist, there is no entity powerful enough to enforce them in a manner that asserts control over the syndicates’ behavior.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yeah. It’s seemed to me for quite awhile now that the most likely form of future world government evolves not from the United Nations but from big multinational corporations controlled by the billionaire class.</p>
<p>See also two recent pieces on the wealthy in America. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.GWWe.t9RuX90bC7wE">The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>The extraordinary spending in Montana is part of a new era of political power for the rapidly growing number of billionaires minted over the past eight years. The Times analysis found that 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion — 19 percent of all contributions — in federal elections in 2024, either directly or through political action committees.</p><p>Five presidential elections ago, before the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that lifted many remaining campaign finance restrictions, the share of billionaire spending was almost zero — 0.3 percent, to be precise.</p><p>The billionaire families gave an average total of $10 million each in 2024, an amount roughly equal to what 100,000 typical political donors gave, combined. And that does not count money that billionaires contributed through dark money groups that do not have to disclose their donors.</p></blockquote>
<p>And <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/elite-accountability-powerful-impunity/686134/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZxG6qRIdxX-v4WYHn0pkA4c">How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>One way to look at the rise of Donald Trump is as part of a decades-long backlash among the American leadership class to the idea of accountability. Since Richard Nixon was forced to resign, powerful people in both political parties have worked assiduously to ensure that their leaders would escape the consequences of their actions. Trump has evaded punishment for crimes both low (campaign-finance violations, for which he was convicted, though he will serve no time thanks to his 2024 victory) and high (his attempted overthrow of the federal government in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, for which he was spared by the Supreme Court’s decision to grant him kingly immunity). This is not just about Trump; his impunity is the product of a society that has worked hard to help the rich and powerful elude punishment for criminal behavior.</p></blockquote>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Jessica%20Burbank">Jessica Burbank</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/politics">politics</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048530-everyone-knows-yuri-gagar"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48530</id>
<published>2026-03-10T19:34:32Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T19:34:32Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to space. <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2517964-why-yuri-gagarin-wasnt-the-first-in-space-and-who-beat-him-to-it/">What this article presupposes is…maybe he wasn’t?</a> It all boils down to what your definition of space is.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Another recent HyperCard discovery (that isn’t... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048531-another-recent-hypercard-"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48531</id>
<published>2026-03-10T18:46:16Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T18:46:16Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Another recent HyperCard discovery (that isn’t somehow in the Internet Archive): <a href="https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/neuromancer-count-zero-mona-lisa-overdrive">an “expanded book” version of William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy</a> (Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive).
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048534-stanford-medicine-researc"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48534</id>
<published>2026-03-10T17:59:51Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T17:59:51Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues invented <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2026/02/universal-vaccine.html">a new vaccine that protects mice from respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens</a> — the closest yet to a universal vaccine.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Ghost Elephants ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/ghost-elephants"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48532</id>
<published>2026-03-10T17:12:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T17:12:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YoOD-2Wn7ik" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Ghost Elephants is a new documentary film directed by Werner Herzog for National Geographic. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoOD-2Wn7ik">Here’s the trailer</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>For over a decade, Dr. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer, has been in search of a mysterious, elusive herd of Ghost Elephants in the highlands of Angola, deep within its forests. From acclaimed director Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”), GHOST ELEPHANTS follows Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the best master trackers in the world, in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.</p></blockquote>
<p>From <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghost-elephants-werner-herzog-documentary-film-review-2026">Peter Sobczynski’s rave review</a> of the film:</p>
<blockquote><p>The subject of Herzog’s fascination this time around is South African naturalist Dr. Steve Boyes, and while he seems perfectly staid and affable at first sight, he has an obsession within him that has consumed his life to such an extent that if he didn’t actually exist, Herzog might have had to invent him. The focus of his fascination is a species of giant elephant residing in the highlands of Angola, known as “ghost elephants” for their apparent ability to avoid detection. Indeed, not only has Boyes never actually seen one of these creatures with his own eyes, but he is not even certain that such creatures exist—the closest he has come is a massive elephant shot near that area in Angola in 1955, now on display at the Smithsonian.</p></blockquote>
<p>Herzog, National Geographic, elephants, quixotic quest — who says no? Ghost Elephants is available to stream on <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-b7bdf1e3-5e8b-4a68-b2e4-3c599350dec9">Disney+</a> and <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/27a6d1d9-efdb-4493-9fca-27f572722584">Hulu</a>.
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/elephants">elephants</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/movies">movies</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Peter%20Sobczynski">Peter Sobczynski</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/trailers">trailers</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Werner%20Herzog">Werner Herzog</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Github’s uptime lately seems…..concerning? ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048523-githubs-uptime-lately-see"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48523</id>
<published>2026-03-10T16:20:20Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T16:20:20Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://mrshu.github.io/github-statuses/">Github’s uptime lately</a> seems…..concerning?
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048529-billionaires-made-19-perc"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48529</id>
<published>2026-03-10T15:30:50Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T15:30:50Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported federal campaign contributions in 2024, a Times analysis shows, and even more in some local elections.” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.GWWe.t9RuX90bC7wE">The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics</a>.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Shape of Paris ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/the-shape-of-paris"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48528</id>
<published>2026-03-10T14:30:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T14:30:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4q8wZ15ALz4" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8wZ15ALz4">The Shape of Paris</a> is a balletic short film of skateboarder <a href="https://www.instagram.com/authenticandyanderson/">Andy Anderson</a> zooming, grinding, spinning, and floating around Paris in the summertime. It is also beautifully shot by <a href="https://brettnovak.com/">Brett Novak</a>; Paris has never looked better. As a YT commenter put it: “bro wtf this is the cleanest footage I’ve ever seen. The cinematography and color grading is insane.”</p>
<p>Also, this is the first skate video I’ve seen with “trick acknowledgements” in the credits. Great touch. (via <a href="https://craigmod.com/">craig mod</a>)
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Andy%20Anderson">Andy Anderson</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Paris">Paris</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/skateboarding">skateboarding</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/sports">sports</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-want model... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048525-the-modern-times-cafe-mov"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48525</id>
<published>2026-03-10T14:10:06Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T14:10:06Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-want model during the ICE occupation of Minneapolis. <a href="https://www.startribune.com/modern-times-cafe-in-minneapolis-makes-pay-what-you-can-permanent/601589329">Now the cafe is making it permanent (and pivoting to a nonprofit)</a>. “Some had come for a free meal; others were there to pay double or triple their tab.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “A group of runners starts jogging around a... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048521-a-group-of-runners-starts"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48521</id>
<published>2026-03-10T13:36:38Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T13:36:38Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“A group of runners starts jogging around a circular track, with each runner maintaining a unique, constant pace. <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-strides-made-on-deceptively-simple-lonely-runner-problem-20260306/">Will every runner end up ‘lonely,’</a> or relatively far from everyone else, at least once, no matter their speeds?”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Jay Graber is stepping down as CEO of Bluesky to... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048520-jay-graber-is-stepping-do"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48520</id>
<published>2026-03-10T12:29:42Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T12:29:42Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://bsky.social/about/blog/03-09-2026-a-new-chapter-for-bluesky">Jay Graber is stepping down as CEO of Bluesky</a> to “transition to a new role as Bluesky’s Chief Innovation Officer”. And they’re looking for a new permanent CEO.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “What if we taught students to use AI critically,... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048518-what-if-we-taught-student"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48518</id>
<published>2026-03-09T19:01:12Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T19:01:12Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>“What if we taught students to use AI critically, rather than insisting they ignore it or assume they’re using it to cheat?” <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/06/nx-s1-5732793/college-student-perspective-using-ai-in-class">asks college freshman Maximilian Milovidov</a>. “Students will reach for these tools, whether universities ban them or not.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ New web game that takes 2 min to play (and perhaps a... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048515-new-web-game-that-takes"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48515</id>
<published>2026-03-09T17:58:41Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T17:58:41Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>New web game that takes 2 min to play (and perhaps a lifetime to master?): <a href="https://labs.davidbauer.ch/outsmart/">Outsmart</a>. “Five rounds, first to 3 wins. In each round, the higher bet wins. You have 100 total points, so bet wisely. Can you outsmart the machine?”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Gugusse and the Automaton ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/gugusse-and-the-automaton"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48519</id>
<published>2026-03-09T17:00:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T17:00:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>The Library of Congress <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/lost-19th-century-film-by-melies-discovered-at-the-library/">recently discovered</a> a copy of a “long-lost” film made in ~1897 by George Méliès called Gugusse and the Automaton (Gugusse et l’Automate), which “had not been seen by anyone in likely more than a century” and “was the first appearance on film of what might be called a robot”. It’s also one of the first science fiction films ever made.</p>
<p>You can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqcjzzjN2Q">a digitized copy of the whole film</a> here (it’s only 45 seconds long):</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ojqcjzzjN2Q" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVOrfufk_XL/">here’s the story</a> of how the film was discovered.</p>
<blockquote><p>Equally delighted was Bill McFarland, the donor who had driven the box of films from his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, to have the cache evaluated.</p><p>His great-grandfather, William Delisle Frisbee, had been a potato farmer and schoolteacher in western Pennsylvania by day, but by night he was a traveling showman. He drove his horse and buggy from town to town to dazzle the locals with a projector and some of the world’s first moving pictures.</p><p>He set up shop in a local schoolroom, church, lodge or civic auditorium and showed magic lantern slides and short films with music from a newfangled phonograph. It was shocking.</p><p>“They must have been thrilled,” McFarland said. “They must have been out of their minds to see this motion picture and to hear the Edison phonograph.”</p></blockquote>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/George%20M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s">George Méliès</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Gugusse%20and%20the%20Automaton">Gugusse and the Automaton</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/movies">movies</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/robots">robots</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ GPS jamming and spoofing is becoming commonplace in war... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048514-gps-jamming-and-spoofing-"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48514</id>
<published>2026-03-09T15:54:23Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T15:54:23Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/science/gps-jamming-ships-planes-iran-war">GPS jamming and spoofing is becoming commonplace in war</a>. “Ships in the region’s waters found their navigation systems had gone haywire, erroneously indicating that the vessels were at airports, a nuclear power plant and on Iranian land.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The fish doorbell in Utrecht is back for another season!... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048517-the-fish-doorbell-in-utre"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48517</id>
<published>2026-03-09T14:58:49Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T14:58:49Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://visdeurbel.nl/en/">The fish doorbell in Utrecht is back for another season!</a> “Did you spot a fish? Press the Fish Doorbell! Then our lock keeper can let the fish through.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Hidden Hope in the Darkness ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/the-hidden-hope-in-the-darknes"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48516</id>
<published>2026-03-09T14:00:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T14:00:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>On the occasion of the release of her latest book, <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/beginning-comes-after-the-end">The Beginning Comes After the End</a>, Rebecca Solnit sat down for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/magazine/rebecca-solnit-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RVA.cTcY.-rsColv0z4fU">an interview with David Marchese</a> of the NY Times. Here’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOJ_uaffG5s">the video version</a>:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sOJ_uaffG5s" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>This is a great interview. Marchese’s first question is about how we find the positive in a world filled with grim news:</p>
<blockquote><p>Even the right tells us something encouraging, if we listen carefully to what they’re saying. They tell us: You are very powerful. You’ve changed the world profoundly. All these things that are often treated separately — feminism, queer rights, environmental action — are connected, so they’re basically telling us we’re incredibly successful, which is the good news. The bad news is that they hate it and want to change it all back. There is a backlash, and it is significant. But it is not comprehensive or global.</p></blockquote>
<p>And I loved this part (emphasis mine):</p>
<blockquote><p>One of the great weaknesses of our era is that we get lone superhero movies that suggest that our big problems are solved by muscly guys in spandex, when actually the world mostly gets changed through collective effort. Thich Nhat Hanh said before he died a few years ago that the next Buddha will be the Sangha. The Sangha, in Buddhist terminology, is the community of practitioners. It’s this idea that we don’t have to look for an individual, for a savior, for an Übermensch. I think the counter to Trump always has been and always will be civil society. A lot of the left wants social change to look like the French Revolution or Che Guevara. <em>Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war.</em> Too many people still expect it to look like war. </p></blockquote>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/interviews">interviews</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/politics">politics</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Rebecca%20Solnit">Rebecca Solnit</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The NY Times went back through a century of... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048513-the-ny-times-went-back"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48513</id>
<published>2026-03-09T13:23:09Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T13:23:09Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/06/obituaries/archives/notable-women-deaths-obituaries.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.TCbB.tZoCzSKZP-OB">The NY Times went back through a century of women’s obituaries</a> “to re-examine them with the benefit of distance — to see what was emphasized, what was minimized, what might have been left unsaid”.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Dozens of former employees of Noma tell of abuse &... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048512-dozens-of-former-employee"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-08:48512</id>
<published>2026-03-08T14:15:20Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-08T14:15:20Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-abuse-allegations.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.uXvD.lykliQliR33K">Dozens of former employees of Noma tell of abuse & violence at the hands of its chef/owner, René Redzepi</a>. Punching, screaming, shoving, stabbing, slamming, intimidation, ridicule, blacklisting. What an asshole.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ These Are the People in This Neighborhood ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/people-in-this-neighborhood"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48511</id>
<published>2026-03-06T21:54:14Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T21:54:14Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Can’t stop, won’t stop. On the heels of <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-rolodex-wee-feedreader">the refreshed Rolodex from earlier in the week</a>, I’ve pushed another “Just Enough Social” feature to the site: members bios & profile pics. Here’s what that looks like:</p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>Members can find a link to their profile by 1) clicking on your name in the menu in the upper righthand corner of the site (or under the hamburger menu on mobile); 2) clicking on the “edit profile” link by your name at the bottom of any post with active comments; or 3) clicking on your name or profile pic in any comment thread. You can change your username, provide a short bio (300 character limit, up to 2 URLs), and upload a profile pic (jpg, png, webp). Check <a href="https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide">the community guidelines</a> for more advice/info.</p>
<p>The idea with this feature is to provide a lightweight way for KDO members to get to know who they’re conversing with in the comments without having to share that information with the entire internet (in the form of a full-blown social media profile). As a member, you’re in control of what you share in your bio and selecting a profile pic. So here’s how it works right now (i.e. who can see what and where):</p>
<ul>
<li>Your member profile pic & display name are fully public…they’re shown next to comments you’ve made on the site (which are also fully public). Profile pics are optional. Display names can be changed from your full name used in your Memberful account — you don’t even need to use your real name (again, see the <a href="https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide">the community guidelines</a> for more info on this).</li>
<li>Your bio can only be viewed by other members with active memberships. As a member, you can view another member’s bio by hovering over their name or profile pic in a comment thread or in the comment lists on your profile page. Bios are not public on the internet.</li>
<li>Your profile page can only be viewed by you. Other members cannot see the posts or comments you’ve faved or the list of comments you’ve made. They also cannot see your email address, your real name (only your display name), membership level, the date you joined, whether you’ll renew, or your member renewal date.</li>
<li>Inactive members can modify their bios & profile pics, see their own profile pages (with faves & comments), but can’t see other members’ bios.</li>
</ul>
<p>This level of detail about something that’s existed on the internet since the dawn of time (message board profiles, essentially) might seem tedious, but I’m being clear and straightforward about how this works because I want people to feel comfortable connecting with each other here as much or little as each person wants. Many of you will probably share things like your personal website, job, hobbies, or social media accounts in your bios. Put your Signal handle or email address in there if you want. Gregarious types: put your phone number in your profile if you feel comfortable with that (not recommending that tbh). Or you can be super private or deliberately vague — on KDO, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog">no one knows you’re a dog</a>. Ditto for the profile pic: anything from your headshot to a pet photo of your pet to a Mark Rothko abstract goes — totally up to you.</p>
<p>The comments, the Rolodex, and now member profiles all operate under the same principle: Just Enough Social. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are too overwhelming and stand-alone blogs (like KDO circa 2 years ago) don’t offer much in the way of community. I’m vectoring toward the lightweight Baby Bear option of getting readers talking with each other in the easiest possible way & exploring the larger web community that KDO is a part of. There’s more work to do, but I’m happy with the direction it’s going. </p>
<p>One last thing before I go. I hope this goes without saying with this fine crew but I will say it anyway: if you are going to reach out to someone using the info in their KDO profile/bio, <em>do not be a dick</em>. Someone putting their website address or email in their bio is not an invitation for inappropriate behavior or taking a disagreement outside the bounds of <a href="https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide">the community guidelines</a>. Enough said about that, I hope.</p>
<p>Ok, I’ll let you go freshen up your profile if you’d like. Lemme know if you have any feedback, questions, concerns, or even attaboys.
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org">kottke.org</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Lots of great defecation physics here: “ 66 percent... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048508-lots-of-great-defecation-"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48508</id>
<published>2026-03-06T19:39:10Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T19:39:10Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Aaron Cohen</name>
<uri>https://bsky.app/profile/unlikelywords.bsky.social</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p>Lots of great defecation physics here: “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/takes-elephant-amount-time-poop">66 percent of animals take between 5 and 19 seconds to defecate. It’s a…small range, given that elephant feces have a volume of 20 liters, nearly a thousand times more than a dog’s, at 10 milliliters</a>.”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048510-the-new-school-cancelled-"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48510</id>
<published>2026-03-06T18:48:42Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T18:48:42Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/enrollment-is-now-open-global-soccer">The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World Politics. We Are Going To Teach it Anyway.</a> Enrollment is now open; the class will deal with questions like “Which regimes are using this tournament to launder their reputations?”
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ SETI might be missing alien signals because... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048509-seti-might-be-missing-ali"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48509</id>
<published>2026-03-06T18:00:22Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T18:00:22Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.seti.org/news/why-seti-might-have-been-missing-alien-signals/">SETI might be missing alien signals</a> because “stellar ‘space weather’ may blur ultra-narrow radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations before they leave their home star systems”. SETI usually looks for “extremely sharp frequency spikes”.
</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad” ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/16/08/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad"/>
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48507</id>
<published>2026-03-06T17:00:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T17:00:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri>
</author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/"><![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="650" border="0" alt="KFC Finger Lickin Bad" /></p>
<p>Here’s a gem from the archive of the NY Times. One day in September 1976, NY Times food critic Mimi Sheraton and Colonel Harland Sanders <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/09/archives/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad.html">stopped into a Manhattan Kentucky Fried Chicken</a>. The Colonel, then estranged from the company he founded, strolled into the kitchen after glad-handing some patrons and proceeded to tear into the quality of the food:</p>
<blockquote><p>Once in the kitchen, the colonel walked over to a vat full of frying chicken pieces and announced, ‘That’s much too black. It should be golden brown. You’re frying for 12 minutes — that’s six minutes too long. What’s more, your frying fat should have been changed a week ago. That’s the worst fried chicken I’ve ever seen. Let me see your mashed potatoes with gravy, and how do you make them?”</p><p>When Mr. Singleton explained that he first mixed boiling water into the instant powdered potatoes, the colonel interrupted. “And then you have wallpaper paste,” he said. “Next suppose you add some of this brown gravy stuff and then you have sludge.” “There’s no way anyone can get me to swallow those potatoes,” he said after tasting some. “And this cole slaw. This cole slaw! They just won’t listen to me. It should he chopped, not shredded, and it should be made with Miracle Whip. Anything else turns gray. And there should be nothing in it but cabbage. No carrots!”</p></blockquote>
<p>Sanders sold his company to an investment group in 1964, which took the company public two years later and eventually sold to a company called Heublein. After selling, Sanders officially still worked for the company as an advisor but grew more and more dissatisfied with it, as evidenced by the story above. When the company HQ moved to Tennessee, the Colonel was quoted as saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>This ain’t no goddam Tennessee Fried Chicken, no matter what some slick, silk-suited son-of-a-bitch says.</p></blockquote>
<p>And he got sued by a KFC franchisee after he <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ZskrsscU7HkC&pg=SA4-PA17&lpg=SA4-PA17&dq=My+God,+that+gravy+is+horrible!+sanders&source=bl&ots=zfKAaLx1Rx&sig=iZUPCcCs3LlSlsdnEGKkbQzEJx0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTpZn_3t3OAhVMCsAKHaviCY8Q6AEILTAC#v=onepage&q=My%20God%2C%20that%20gravy%20is%20horrible!%20sanders&f=false">commented</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>My God, that gravy is horrible. They buy tap water for 15 to 20 cents a thousand gallons and then mix it with flour and starch and end up with pure wallpaper paste. And I know wallpaper paste, by God, because I’ve seen my mother make it.</p><p>To the “wallpaper paste” they add some sludge and sell it for 65 or 75 cents a pint. There’s no nutrition in it and the ought not to be allowed to sell it.</p><p>And another thing. That new crispy chicken is nothing in the world but a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken.</p></blockquote>
<p>Colonel Sanders: serving up chicken and sick burns with equal spiciness. (via <a href="https://twitter.com/mccanner">@mccanner</a>)
</p>
]]><![CDATA[ <p><em>[This is a vintage post originally from Aug 2016.]</em></p>]]><![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/food">food</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Harland%20Sanders">Harland Sanders</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/KFC">KFC</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Mimi%20Sheraton">Mimi Sheraton</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/restaurants">restaurants</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/timeless%20posts">timeless posts</a></p>]]></content>
</entry>
</feed>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="https://feeds.kottke.org/feed.xsl"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<title>kottke.org</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/" />
<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://feeds.kottke.org/main" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2009-08-11:05118</id>
<updated>2026-03-14T09:28:40Z</updated>
<subtitle>Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998</subtitle>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ KDO: 28 Years Later… ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-28-years-later" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-14:48568</id>
<published>2026-03-14T13:28:40Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-14T13:28:40Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>It’s getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? 28 years of kottke.org, as of today. Older than Google. Older than The Matrix. Older than Christopher Nolan’s feature film career. Older than Elle Fanning. Older than Kurt Cobain when he died. 47,300 posts since March 14, 1998. It might outlast American democracy.</p>
<p>KDO retains its old school vibe but with some <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-rolodex-wee-feedreader">new tricks</a>. Friends and readers have remarked recently that I seem to be having fun with the site again and that’s true. Still excited by the possibilities of what the site could become. I hope you’ve been enjoying it.</p>
<p>I’d like to once again thank <a href="https://kottke.org/members/">KDO members</a> for supporting the site — I never get tired of the member thanking. They each pay a few dollars a month to keep the site free to read for everyone, regardless of income, something I feel very strongly about in this era of paywalled media. As <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/">Hamilton Nolan</a> has noted — his site operates on the same principle — sites/newsletters like these have progressive funding structures, where people’s contributions are based on their ability to pay to help keep the site available to all. If you’d like to help support the site in this mission, <a href="https://kottke.org/members/">you can check out your membership options here</a>. ✌️</p>
<p>P.S. I hope you enjoy the birthday logo and fireworks — they’ll be around until Monday.
</p>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org">kottke.org</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ For the first time in awhile, copies of two lost... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048569-for-the-first-time-in-2" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48569</id>
<published>2026-03-13T21:51:01Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T21:51:01Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>For the first time in awhile, <a href="https://www.polygon.com/lost-doctor-who-episodes-daleks-master-plan-william-hartnell/">copies of two lost episodes of classic Doctor Who have been discovered</a>. Both are from the William Hartnell era and feature the Daleks.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Great Friendship Flattening . “I amass bits of... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048533-the-great-friendship-flat" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48533</id>
<published>2026-03-13T19:29:18Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T19:29:18Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/10/social-media-relationships-parasocial/684551/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ606rXO3GbWdg9lVmnLOvJg">The Great Friendship Flattening</a>. “I amass bits of knowledge about my loved ones — my sister’s boyfriend published a poem; my friend left her job — as a spectator, in the same way that I might learn about an influencer’s favorite books…”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real”... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048563-why-movies-just-dont-feel" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48563</id>
<published>2026-03-13T18:50:24Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T18:50:24Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvwPKBXEOKE">Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real” Anymore</a>. “A deep dive into the first principles of movie immersion: on perceptual realism, indexicality, haptic visuality, and cinematic qualia.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ 10 Hours of Ambient Freezer Drone ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/10-hours-of-ambient-freezer-drone" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48554</id>
<published>2026-03-13T18:21:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T18:21:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I4M7Ix0E_J0" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Some genius has taken an audio sample of the hum of a grocery store freezer, cleaned it up, and extended it into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4M7Ix0E_J0">a 10-hour video</a>. The freezer’s hum, variously compared to Brian Eno’s music and “an electrical gong bath”, went viral enough to warrant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/18/the-sheffield-supermarket-going-viral-for-the-symphonic-sound-of-its-freezers">an article in the Guardian last month</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Anyone noticed how nice the freezers sound in the eccy road co-op?” someone wrote on the Sheffield Reddit page in January. “It’s like all the fans have been carefully tuned to the calmest droning chord ever, it’s like being in an electrical gong bath.”</p><p>Earlier this week, another Redditor shared a video of the freezers in all their aural glory, later earning a huge second audience when reposted to X. A debate ensued. Was it tuned to C# major? Could you hear the opening of Nothing Compares 2 U somewhere in the electronic hum? “I think it’s developed a slight discordant edge over the last couple of months,” one Reddit user wrote. “It’s ageing like fine wine.”</p></blockquote>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/audio">audio</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048522-recommendations-of-25-med" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48522</id>
<published>2026-03-13T17:45:59Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T17:45:59Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://weirdmedievalguys.substack.com/p/25-medieval-manuscripts-you-can-look">Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore online</a>. “Almost every institution with a significant collection of medieval manuscripts digitizes many of their most significant works and makes them freely accessible online.”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD “can be... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048567-the-z9gt-model-ev-from" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48567</id>
<published>2026-03-13T17:14:08Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T17:14:08Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/byds-latest-evs-can-get-close-to-full-charge-in-just-12-minutes/">The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD</a> “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.
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ It’s an Open Thread ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/its-an-open-thread" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48566</id>
<published>2026-03-13T15:20:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T15:20:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Since <a href="https://kottke.org/26/02/comments-are-back-on">the comments are back open</a> and folks here can now <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/people-in-this-neighborhood">share a little about themselves with each other</a>, I thought I’d open this post up for whatever you guys want to chat about. What are you particularly interested in these days? Working on any fun projects? Got a new hobby? What’s the best thing you’ve seen this week? What’s something you’re struggling with?
</p>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org">kottke.org</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Craig Mod is software bonkers . “I’m... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048565-craig-mod-is-software-bon" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48565</id>
<published>2026-03-13T14:42:18Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T14:42:18Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Craig Mod is <a href="https://craigmod.com/essays/software_bonkers/">software bonkers</a>. “I’m software bonkers: I can’t stop thinking about software. And I can’t stop building software.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Balcony solar finally seems to be taking off in the US .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048564-balcony-solar-finally-see" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48564</id>
<published>2026-03-13T14:15:58Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T14:15:58Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-taking-state-legislatures-by-storm">Balcony solar finally seems to be taking off in the US</a>. “As of Wednesday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in 28 states and Washington, D.C., have announced their own legislation to make these systems permissible.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Yet another graph showing that when you control for... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048538-yet-another-graph-showing" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48538</id>
<published>2026-03-13T13:31:29Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-13T13:31:29Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Yet another graph showing that when you control for quality of life (hours/week worked) and wealth inequality, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/jakemgrumbach.bsky.social/post/3mgdis6q3oc2o">American exceptionalism disappears</a>.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Potoooooooo was an 18th-century British racehorse whose... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048536-potoooooooo-was-an-18th-c" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48536</id>
<published>2026-03-12T23:32:24Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T23:32:24Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potoooooooo">Potoooooooo</a> was an 18th-century British racehorse whose name was pronounced like “Potatoes” (Pot-eight-Os).
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “Presolar grains” (microscopic crystals that... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048551-presolar-grains-microscop" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48551</id>
<published>2026-03-12T22:20:30Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T22:20:30Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“Presolar grains” (microscopic crystals that are older than the Sun) harvested from meteorites <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260302/">may help determine how our solar system was formed</a>.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Lego Sets Remixed ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/lego-sets-remixed" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48527</id>
<published>2026-03-12T21:10:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T21:10:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/creationcaravan4/">Bradley Barber remixes Lego sets into other things</a>, e.g. the Millennium Falcon from Back to the Future DeLorean parts, an AT-AT into the USS Enterprise, and a Pirates of the Caribbean ship from the parts of a Lego bonsai tree set.</p>
<p>He is not alone in this pursuit; <a href="https://rebrickable.com/">you can find tens of thousands of custom Lego designs at Rebrickable</a>, including <a href="https://rebrickable.com/users/CreationCaravan%20(Brad%20Barber)/mocs/">dozens of Barber’s designs</a>.
</p>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Bradley%20Barber">Bradley Barber</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/lego">lego</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/remix">remix</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ This is great: Channel Surfer is “a retro TV... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048557-this-is-great-channel-sur" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48557</id>
<published>2026-03-12T20:26:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T20:26:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>This is great: <a href="https://channelsurfer.tv/">Channel Surfer</a> is “a retro TV guide that turns YouTube into live cable TV. Each channel plays videos on a deterministic schedule — like real TV, you tune in mid-show.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ coulou’s vinyl cafe (no. 4) - rainy day selections... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048561-coulous-vinyl-cafe-no-4" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48561</id>
<published>2026-03-12T19:42:15Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T19:42:15Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaz0zDWLpA">coulou’s vinyl cafe (no. 4) - rainy day selections</a>. “what’s up lovely humans, super excited to be sharing this new vinyl sessssion with you all.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Void Would Very Much Like You to Stop Screaming Into... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048550-the-void-would-very-much" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48550</id>
<published>2026-03-12T18:59:30Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T18:59:30Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-void-would-very-much-like-you-to-stop-screaming-into-it">The Void Would Very Much Like You to Stop Screaming Into It</a>. “I think we can both admit at this point that the screaming isn’t working. The screaming isn’t making you feel any better.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Clive Thompson wrote about coding with AI agents .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048559-clive-thompson-wrote-abou" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48559</id>
<published>2026-03-12T18:19:05Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T18:19:05Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/magazine/ai-coding-programming-jobs-claude-chatgpt.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SlA.oWgW.kb3Urk3A_fM7">Clive Thompson wrote about coding with AI agents</a>. “Software developers point out that coding has a unique quality: They can tether their A.I.s to reality, because they can demand the agents test the code to see if it runs correctly.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ A Miraculous Escape ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/a-miraculous-escape" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48552</id>
<published>2026-03-12T17:39:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T17:39:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O60xU-PAWys" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>A pair of hounds chase a hare across a snowy plain — will it get away? In Mario Kart terms, the dogs have the weight and max speed advantage while the hare is maxed out in acceleration, handling, and traction.
</p>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/dogs">dogs</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “We took an ancient vice…put it on... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048558-we-took-an-ancient-vicepu" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48558</id>
<published>2026-03-12T17:03:50Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T17:03:50Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“We took an ancient vice…put it on everyone’s phone, and made it as normal and frictionless as checking the weather. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/online-sports-betting-app-addiction/686061/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ61t-XYqK2yJSwHU1P5JCso">What could possibly go wrong?</a>” I *hate* the extent to which gambling has infested everything; it’s not going to end well.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Ballot Guessr : “GeoGuessr for politics. See a... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048556-ballot-guessr-is-a-versio" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48556</id>
<published>2026-03-12T16:17:56Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T16:17:56Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.ballotguessr.com/">Ballot Guessr</a>: “GeoGuessr for politics. See a Google Street View image, guess how the county voted in the 2024 presidential election.” (633/1000 on my first try…but I borked one of the guesses bc I forgot there was a time limit. 🙃)
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ AI Is Rewiring How the World’s Best Go Players... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048547-ai-is-rewiring-how-the" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48547</id>
<published>2026-03-12T15:51:26Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T15:51:26Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/27/1133624/ai-is-rewiring-how-the-worlds-best-go-players-think/">AI Is Rewiring How the World’s Best Go Players Think</a>. “Players now train to replicate AI’s moves as closely as they can rather than inventing their own, even when the machine’s thinking remains mysterious to them.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ A printable zine: 50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048544-a-printable-zine-50-ways" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48544</id>
<published>2026-03-12T15:09:13Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T15:09:13Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>A printable zine: <a href="https://millionexperiments.com/zines/50-ways-to-meet-your-neighbor">50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor</a>. “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.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Missed this earlier in the week: The Tournament of Books... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048549-missed-this-earlier-in-th" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48549</id>
<published>2026-03-12T00:35:46Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-12T00:35:46Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Missed this earlier in the week: <a href="https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/">The Tournament of Books is underway!</a> “Every March, the Tournament of Books is a month-long battle royale among the year’s best novels.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ This photo of an Icelandic glacier is really something. ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048541-this-photo-of-an-icelandi" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48541</id>
<published>2026-03-11T23:15:42Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T23:15:42Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/dani-guindo-iceland-glaciers-landscape-photography/">This photo of an Icelandic glacier</a> is really something.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture .... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048546-the-people-who-shun-super" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48546</id>
<published>2026-03-11T22:01:12Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T22:01:12Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/pop-culture-hype-aversion/686312/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ82vdNbs59d_2L_rAt5RG-Y">The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture</a>. “Some people are early adopters; others are late adopters. I’m simply a weirdly resistant one.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ There are at least 60 Pizza Hut Classics (red roofs,... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048548-there-are-at-least-60" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48548</id>
<published>2026-03-11T21:06:28Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T21:06:28Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>There are at least 60 Pizza Hut Classics (red roofs, checkered tablecloths, salad bar) in the US…but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/dining/pizza-hut.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SVA.-irZ.iDwvbf0a_cnO">the company does nothing to promote them</a>. “They are like wormholes in the chain restaurant galaxy, portals to the past found by serendipity.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Africa (Toto) But It Lists Every Country in Africa ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/africa-toto-but-it-lists-every" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48542</id>
<published>2026-03-11T20:10:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T20:10:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhmdDjatyRY" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>From There I Ruined It, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhmdDjatyRY">version</a> of Toto’s Africa but the lyrics are a listing of every country in Africa. They should teach this in American middle schools, not even joking.</p>
<p>See also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_tT-q8EF0">Coach from Cheers singing Al-ban-i-a</a> (a song that pops into my head every time I read or hear about that county):</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-F_tT-q8EF0" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</p>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Africa">Africa</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/geography">geography</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/remix">remix</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048535-steve-scherer-was-a-reute" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48535</id>
<published>2026-03-11T19:31:54Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T19:31:54Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in Canada. Then he got laid off, had to leave the country, and <a href="https://stevescherer.substack.com/p/my-journey-from-foreign-correspondent">now drives for Uber in Virginia</a>, in a country he doesn’t recognize anymore after working for 28 years abroad.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Wow, KDO pal and explorer Ariel Waldman has her own show... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048545-wow-kdo-pal-and-explorer" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48545</id>
<published>2026-03-11T18:49:38Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T18:49:38Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Wow, KDO pal and explorer Ariel Waldman <a href="https://mailchi.mp/arielwaldman/its-official-im-coming-to-pbs-on-april-1">has her own show on PBS</a>! “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7pSVaxEe0">LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman</a> is a science-driven docu-series revealing Earth’s ecosystems through radical shifts in scale…”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Georg Cantor is celebrated for revolutionizing... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048526-georg-cantor-is-celebrate" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48526</id>
<published>2026-03-11T18:02:01Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T18:02:01Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Georg Cantor is celebrated for revolutionizing mathematics by proving that there are different levels of infinity. But he didn’t do it alone and <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/">evidence has emerged that he plagiarized the work of a collaborator</a>.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “ 8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048543-8-in-10-ai-chatbots" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48543</id>
<published>2026-03-11T17:16:48Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T17:16:48Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“<a href="https://counterhate.com/research/killer-apps/">8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to assist users in planning violent attacks</a> including school shootings, religious bombings, and high-profile assassinations. DeepSeek went as far as wishing the would-be attacker a ‘Happy (and safe) shooting!’”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Jamelle Bouie Interview on Work Is Four Letters ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/jamelle-bouie-interview-on-work-is-four-letters" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48539</id>
<published>2026-03-11T16:38:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T16:38:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Aaron Cohen</name>
<uri>https://bsky.app/profile/unlikelywords.bsky.social</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>GOLIKEHELLMACHINE has an interview series called <a href="https://golikehellmachine.com/work-is-four-letters/">Work is Four Letters</a> he describes like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>Most people think their jobs are boring or pointless or bullshit, but I don’t; if you look around you, everything you see was made by someone, somehow, and that’s really interesting to me. Work is Four Letters is an occasional series — edited for brevity and clarity — highlighting what people do for work and why they do it.</p></blockquote>
<p>The conversations are informative and robust. <a href="https://golikehellmachine.com/2026/02/26/the-columnist/">The latest interview was with NYT columnist Jamelle Bouie</a> and I found both his description of how he thinks about his job and the ways he DOES his job interesting. Also this nugget about our current experience:</p>
<blockquote><p>I think the big thing that I’d like people to take away is an understanding that not everything we’re experiencing now has happened before — I reject that. The past is truly a different country. Although you can find historical analogies, they’re just that: analogies. They aren’t one-for-one equivalents. But what you can say is that past generations of Americans have had to sort out their own struggles, and have faced similar questions that we face today, similar questions about the nature of our country, the nature of who belongs here, etc., etc. </p></blockquote>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/interviews">interviews</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Jamelle%20Bouie">Jamelle Bouie</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Draw your own constellations . ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048540-draw-your-own-constellati" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48540</id>
<published>2026-03-11T15:55:19Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T15:55:19Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://neal.fun/constellation-draw/">Draw your own constellations</a>.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Baskerville Punches ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/the-baskerville-punches" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48503</id>
<published>2026-03-11T15:41:57Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-11T15:41:57Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>John Baskerville was an influential 18th-century printer and type designer; you’ve probably used (or at least heard of) the Baskerville typeface. Cambridge University has the original punches<sup id="fnref:fmmku3hfznece"><a href="#fn:fmmku3hfznece" rel="footnote">1</a></sup> used to create his signature typeface and <a href="https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/baskervillepunches/3">has made high-res digital photos of them available online</a>. If you, like me, are not familiar with how lead type was made back in the day, an explanation of what a punch is: </p>
<blockquote><p>The typographic punch is the initial design for the letterform and one of the first of three stages in the manufacturing of metal type: short lengths of steel onto which his letters were cut in reverse and in relief. The punch was ‘tempered’ to increase its toughness and enable its use as a tool. Secondly, the punch was struck into the surface of a softer piece of metal (copper), leaving an impression of the ‘right-reading’ character to be cast. This was called the matrix. Finally, type was manufactured when the matrix was passed to the type-caster and inserted into a mould, into which molten lead-alloy was poured. This produced a cast of the type in relief and in reverse which were then arranged to create a text block and once inked, paper could be pressed against it.</p></blockquote>
<p>Baskerville is available in a number of different <a href="https://www.myfonts.com/collections/baskerville-font-linotype/">modern</a> <a href="https://www.emigre.com/Fonts/Mrs-Eaves">versions</a> and <a href="https://www.monotype.com/font-library?query=Baskerville">revivals</a>, but seeing close-ups of the actual cut & shaped metal from 1757 is something else. (via <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVf-rQ4DoZI/">@jonathanhoefler</a>)</p>
<ol>
<li class="footnote" id="fn:fmmku3hfznece"><p>Note from the collection: “Not all punches in this collection are Baskerville’s originals; some are later additions.” <a href="#fnref:fmmku3hfznece" title="return to article">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/John%20Baskerville">John Baskerville</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/typography">typography</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Amount Of Water Man Just Used To Wash Dish To Be Prize... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048227-amount-of-water-man-just" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48227</id>
<published>2026-03-10T21:44:10Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T21:44:10Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://theonion.com/amount-of-water-man-just-used-to-wash-dish-to-be-prize-1819578198/">Amount Of Water Man Just Used To Wash Dish To Be Prize Of Hand-To-Hand Combat Match In 2065</a>.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Syndicates of Capital ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/syndicates-of-capital" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48537</id>
<published>2026-03-10T20:30:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T20:30:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://kaburbank.substack.com/p/syndicates-of-capital">Jessica Burbank</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>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.</p><p>Syndicates of capital cannot be categorized as legal or illegal. They exist primarily in the extralegal sphere, where either no regulations apply to their behavior or, where laws do exist, there is no entity powerful enough to enforce them in a manner that asserts control over the syndicates’ behavior.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yeah. It’s seemed to me for quite awhile now that the most likely form of future world government evolves not from the United Nations but from big multinational corporations controlled by the billionaire class.</p>
<p>See also two recent pieces on the wealthy in America. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.GWWe.t9RuX90bC7wE">The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>The extraordinary spending in Montana is part of a new era of political power for the rapidly growing number of billionaires minted over the past eight years. The Times analysis found that 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion — 19 percent of all contributions — in federal elections in 2024, either directly or through political action committees.</p><p>Five presidential elections ago, before the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that lifted many remaining campaign finance restrictions, the share of billionaire spending was almost zero — 0.3 percent, to be precise.</p><p>The billionaire families gave an average total of $10 million each in 2024, an amount roughly equal to what 100,000 typical political donors gave, combined. And that does not count money that billionaires contributed through dark money groups that do not have to disclose their donors.</p></blockquote>
<p>And <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/elite-accountability-powerful-impunity/686134/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZxG6qRIdxX-v4WYHn0pkA4c">How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>One way to look at the rise of Donald Trump is as part of a decades-long backlash among the American leadership class to the idea of accountability. Since Richard Nixon was forced to resign, powerful people in both political parties have worked assiduously to ensure that their leaders would escape the consequences of their actions. Trump has evaded punishment for crimes both low (campaign-finance violations, for which he was convicted, though he will serve no time thanks to his 2024 victory) and high (his attempted overthrow of the federal government in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, for which he was spared by the Supreme Court’s decision to grant him kingly immunity). This is not just about Trump; his impunity is the product of a society that has worked hard to help the rich and powerful elude punishment for criminal behavior.</p></blockquote>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Jessica%20Burbank">Jessica Burbank</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/politics">politics</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048530-everyone-knows-yuri-gagar" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48530</id>
<published>2026-03-10T19:34:32Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T19:34:32Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to space. <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2517964-why-yuri-gagarin-wasnt-the-first-in-space-and-who-beat-him-to-it/">What this article presupposes is…maybe he wasn’t?</a> It all boils down to what your definition of space is.
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Another recent HyperCard discovery (that isn’t... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048531-another-recent-hypercard-" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48531</id>
<published>2026-03-10T18:46:16Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T18:46:16Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Another recent HyperCard discovery (that isn’t somehow in the Internet Archive): <a href="https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/neuromancer-count-zero-mona-lisa-overdrive">an “expanded book” version of William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy</a> (Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive).
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048534-stanford-medicine-researc" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48534</id>
<published>2026-03-10T17:59:51Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T17:59:51Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues invented <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2026/02/universal-vaccine.html">a new vaccine that protects mice from respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens</a> — the closest yet to a universal vaccine.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Ghost Elephants ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/ghost-elephants" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48532</id>
<published>2026-03-10T17:12:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T17:12:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YoOD-2Wn7ik" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Ghost Elephants is a new documentary film directed by Werner Herzog for National Geographic. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoOD-2Wn7ik">Here’s the trailer</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>For over a decade, Dr. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer, has been in search of a mysterious, elusive herd of Ghost Elephants in the highlands of Angola, deep within its forests. From acclaimed director Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”), GHOST ELEPHANTS follows Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the best master trackers in the world, in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.</p></blockquote>
<p>From <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghost-elephants-werner-herzog-documentary-film-review-2026">Peter Sobczynski’s rave review</a> of the film:</p>
<blockquote><p>The subject of Herzog’s fascination this time around is South African naturalist Dr. Steve Boyes, and while he seems perfectly staid and affable at first sight, he has an obsession within him that has consumed his life to such an extent that if he didn’t actually exist, Herzog might have had to invent him. The focus of his fascination is a species of giant elephant residing in the highlands of Angola, known as “ghost elephants” for their apparent ability to avoid detection. Indeed, not only has Boyes never actually seen one of these creatures with his own eyes, but he is not even certain that such creatures exist—the closest he has come is a massive elephant shot near that area in Angola in 1955, now on display at the Smithsonian.</p></blockquote>
<p>Herzog, National Geographic, elephants, quixotic quest — who says no? Ghost Elephants is available to stream on <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-b7bdf1e3-5e8b-4a68-b2e4-3c599350dec9">Disney+</a> and <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/27a6d1d9-efdb-4493-9fca-27f572722584">Hulu</a>.
</p>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/elephants">elephants</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/movies">movies</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Peter%20Sobczynski">Peter Sobczynski</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/trailers">trailers</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Werner%20Herzog">Werner Herzog</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Github’s uptime lately seems…..concerning? ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048523-githubs-uptime-lately-see" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48523</id>
<published>2026-03-10T16:20:20Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T16:20:20Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://mrshu.github.io/github-statuses/">Github’s uptime lately</a> seems…..concerning?
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048529-billionaires-made-19-perc" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48529</id>
<published>2026-03-10T15:30:50Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T15:30:50Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported federal campaign contributions in 2024, a Times analysis shows, and even more in some local elections.” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.GWWe.t9RuX90bC7wE">The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics</a>.
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Shape of Paris ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/the-shape-of-paris" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48528</id>
<published>2026-03-10T14:30:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T14:30:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4q8wZ15ALz4" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8wZ15ALz4">The Shape of Paris</a> is a balletic short film of skateboarder <a href="https://www.instagram.com/authenticandyanderson/">Andy Anderson</a> zooming, grinding, spinning, and floating around Paris in the summertime. It is also beautifully shot by <a href="https://brettnovak.com/">Brett Novak</a>; Paris has never looked better. As a YT commenter put it: “bro wtf this is the cleanest footage I’ve ever seen. The cinematography and color grading is insane.”</p>
<p>Also, this is the first skate video I’ve seen with “trick acknowledgements” in the credits. Great touch. (via <a href="https://craigmod.com/">craig mod</a>)
</p>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Andy%20Anderson">Andy Anderson</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Paris">Paris</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/skateboarding">skateboarding</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/sports">sports</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-want model... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048525-the-modern-times-cafe-mov" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48525</id>
<published>2026-03-10T14:10:06Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T14:10:06Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-want model during the ICE occupation of Minneapolis. <a href="https://www.startribune.com/modern-times-cafe-in-minneapolis-makes-pay-what-you-can-permanent/601589329">Now the cafe is making it permanent (and pivoting to a nonprofit)</a>. “Some had come for a free meal; others were there to pay double or triple their tab.”
</p>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “A group of runners starts jogging around a... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048521-a-group-of-runners-starts" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48521</id>
<published>2026-03-10T13:36:38Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T13:36:38Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“A group of runners starts jogging around a circular track, with each runner maintaining a unique, constant pace. <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-strides-made-on-deceptively-simple-lonely-runner-problem-20260306/">Will every runner end up ‘lonely,’</a> or relatively far from everyone else, at least once, no matter their speeds?”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Jay Graber is stepping down as CEO of Bluesky to... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048520-jay-graber-is-stepping-do" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48520</id>
<published>2026-03-10T12:29:42Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-10T12:29:42Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://bsky.social/about/blog/03-09-2026-a-new-chapter-for-bluesky">Jay Graber is stepping down as CEO of Bluesky</a> to “transition to a new role as Bluesky’s Chief Innovation Officer”. And they’re looking for a new permanent CEO.
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “What if we taught students to use AI critically,... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048518-what-if-we-taught-student" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48518</id>
<published>2026-03-09T19:01:12Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T19:01:12Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>“What if we taught students to use AI critically, rather than insisting they ignore it or assume they’re using it to cheat?” <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/06/nx-s1-5732793/college-student-perspective-using-ai-in-class">asks college freshman Maximilian Milovidov</a>. “Students will reach for these tools, whether universities ban them or not.”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ New web game that takes 2 min to play (and perhaps a... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048515-new-web-game-that-takes" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48515</id>
<published>2026-03-09T17:58:41Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T17:58:41Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>New web game that takes 2 min to play (and perhaps a lifetime to master?): <a href="https://labs.davidbauer.ch/outsmart/">Outsmart</a>. “Five rounds, first to 3 wins. In each round, the higher bet wins. You have 100 total points, so bet wisely. Can you outsmart the machine?”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Gugusse and the Automaton ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/gugusse-and-the-automaton" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48519</id>
<published>2026-03-09T17:00:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T17:00:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>The Library of Congress <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/lost-19th-century-film-by-melies-discovered-at-the-library/">recently discovered</a> a copy of a “long-lost” film made in ~1897 by George Méliès called Gugusse and the Automaton (Gugusse et l’Automate), which “had not been seen by anyone in likely more than a century” and “was the first appearance on film of what might be called a robot”. It’s also one of the first science fiction films ever made.</p>
<p>You can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqcjzzjN2Q">a digitized copy of the whole film</a> here (it’s only 45 seconds long):</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ojqcjzzjN2Q" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVOrfufk_XL/">here’s the story</a> of how the film was discovered.</p>
<blockquote><p>Equally delighted was Bill McFarland, the donor who had driven the box of films from his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, to have the cache evaluated.</p><p>His great-grandfather, William Delisle Frisbee, had been a potato farmer and schoolteacher in western Pennsylvania by day, but by night he was a traveling showman. He drove his horse and buggy from town to town to dazzle the locals with a projector and some of the world’s first moving pictures.</p><p>He set up shop in a local schoolroom, church, lodge or civic auditorium and showed magic lantern slides and short films with music from a newfangled phonograph. It was shocking.</p><p>“They must have been thrilled,” McFarland said. “They must have been out of their minds to see this motion picture and to hear the Edison phonograph.”</p></blockquote>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/George%20M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s">George Méliès</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Gugusse%20and%20the%20Automaton">Gugusse and the Automaton</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/movies">movies</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/robots">robots</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ GPS jamming and spoofing is becoming commonplace in war... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048514-gps-jamming-and-spoofing-" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48514</id>
<published>2026-03-09T15:54:23Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T15:54:23Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/science/gps-jamming-ships-planes-iran-war">GPS jamming and spoofing is becoming commonplace in war</a>. “Ships in the region’s waters found their navigation systems had gone haywire, erroneously indicating that the vessels were at airports, a nuclear power plant and on Iranian land.”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The fish doorbell in Utrecht is back for another season!... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048517-the-fish-doorbell-in-utre" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48517</id>
<published>2026-03-09T14:58:49Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T14:58:49Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://visdeurbel.nl/en/">The fish doorbell in Utrecht is back for another season!</a> “Did you spot a fish? Press the Fish Doorbell! Then our lock keeper can let the fish through.”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The Hidden Hope in the Darkness ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/the-hidden-hope-in-the-darknes" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48516</id>
<published>2026-03-09T14:00:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T14:00:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>On the occasion of the release of her latest book, <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/beginning-comes-after-the-end">The Beginning Comes After the End</a>, Rebecca Solnit sat down for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/magazine/rebecca-solnit-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RVA.cTcY.-rsColv0z4fU">an interview with David Marchese</a> of the NY Times. Here’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOJ_uaffG5s">the video version</a>:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sOJ_uaffG5s" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>This is a great interview. Marchese’s first question is about how we find the positive in a world filled with grim news:</p>
<blockquote><p>Even the right tells us something encouraging, if we listen carefully to what they’re saying. They tell us: You are very powerful. You’ve changed the world profoundly. All these things that are often treated separately — feminism, queer rights, environmental action — are connected, so they’re basically telling us we’re incredibly successful, which is the good news. The bad news is that they hate it and want to change it all back. There is a backlash, and it is significant. But it is not comprehensive or global.</p></blockquote>
<p>And I loved this part (emphasis mine):</p>
<blockquote><p>One of the great weaknesses of our era is that we get lone superhero movies that suggest that our big problems are solved by muscly guys in spandex, when actually the world mostly gets changed through collective effort. Thich Nhat Hanh said before he died a few years ago that the next Buddha will be the Sangha. The Sangha, in Buddhist terminology, is the community of practitioners. It’s this idea that we don’t have to look for an individual, for a savior, for an Übermensch. I think the counter to Trump always has been and always will be civil society. A lot of the left wants social change to look like the French Revolution or Che Guevara. <em>Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war.</em> Too many people still expect it to look like war. </p></blockquote>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/interviews">interviews</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/politics">politics</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Rebecca%20Solnit">Rebecca Solnit</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/video">video</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The NY Times went back through a century of... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048513-the-ny-times-went-back" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48513</id>
<published>2026-03-09T13:23:09Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-09T13:23:09Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/06/obituaries/archives/notable-women-deaths-obituaries.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.TCbB.tZoCzSKZP-OB">The NY Times went back through a century of women’s obituaries</a> “to re-examine them with the benefit of distance — to see what was emphasized, what was minimized, what might have been left unsaid”.
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Dozens of former employees of Noma tell of abuse &... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048512-dozens-of-former-employee" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-08:48512</id>
<published>2026-03-08T14:15:20Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-08T14:15:20Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-abuse-allegations.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.uXvD.lykliQliR33K">Dozens of former employees of Noma tell of abuse & violence at the hands of its chef/owner, René Redzepi</a>. Punching, screaming, shoving, stabbing, slamming, intimidation, ridicule, blacklisting. What an asshole.
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ These Are the People in This Neighborhood ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/people-in-this-neighborhood" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48511</id>
<published>2026-03-06T21:54:14Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T21:54:14Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Can’t stop, won’t stop. On the heels of <a href="https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-rolodex-wee-feedreader">the refreshed Rolodex from earlier in the week</a>, I’ve pushed another “Just Enough Social” feature to the site: members bios & profile pics. Here’s what that looks like:</p>
<p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" /></p>
<p>Members can find a link to their profile by 1) clicking on your name in the menu in the upper righthand corner of the site (or under the hamburger menu on mobile); 2) clicking on the “edit profile” link by your name at the bottom of any post with active comments; or 3) clicking on your name or profile pic in any comment thread. You can change your username, provide a short bio (300 character limit, up to 2 URLs), and upload a profile pic (jpg, png, webp). Check <a href="https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide">the community guidelines</a> for more advice/info.</p>
<p>The idea with this feature is to provide a lightweight way for KDO members to get to know who they’re conversing with in the comments without having to share that information with the entire internet (in the form of a full-blown social media profile). As a member, you’re in control of what you share in your bio and selecting a profile pic. So here’s how it works right now (i.e. who can see what and where):</p>
<ul>
<li>Your member profile pic & display name are fully public…they’re shown next to comments you’ve made on the site (which are also fully public). Profile pics are optional. Display names can be changed from your full name used in your Memberful account — you don’t even need to use your real name (again, see the <a href="https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide">the community guidelines</a> for more info on this).</li>
<li>Your bio can only be viewed by other members with active memberships. As a member, you can view another member’s bio by hovering over their name or profile pic in a comment thread or in the comment lists on your profile page. Bios are not public on the internet.</li>
<li>Your profile page can only be viewed by you. Other members cannot see the posts or comments you’ve faved or the list of comments you’ve made. They also cannot see your email address, your real name (only your display name), membership level, the date you joined, whether you’ll renew, or your member renewal date.</li>
<li>Inactive members can modify their bios & profile pics, see their own profile pages (with faves & comments), but can’t see other members’ bios.</li>
</ul>
<p>This level of detail about something that’s existed on the internet since the dawn of time (message board profiles, essentially) might seem tedious, but I’m being clear and straightforward about how this works because I want people to feel comfortable connecting with each other here as much or little as each person wants. Many of you will probably share things like your personal website, job, hobbies, or social media accounts in your bios. Put your Signal handle or email address in there if you want. Gregarious types: put your phone number in your profile if you feel comfortable with that (not recommending that tbh). Or you can be super private or deliberately vague — on KDO, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog">no one knows you’re a dog</a>. Ditto for the profile pic: anything from your headshot to a pet photo of your pet to a Mark Rothko abstract goes — totally up to you.</p>
<p>The comments, the Rolodex, and now member profiles all operate under the same principle: Just Enough Social. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are too overwhelming and stand-alone blogs (like KDO circa 2 years ago) don’t offer much in the way of community. I’m vectoring toward the lightweight Baby Bear option of getting readers talking with each other in the easiest possible way & exploring the larger web community that KDO is a part of. There’s more work to do, but I’m happy with the direction it’s going. </p>
<p>One last thing before I go. I hope this goes without saying with this fine crew but I will say it anyway: if you are going to reach out to someone using the info in their KDO profile/bio, <em>do not be a dick</em>. Someone putting their website address or email in their bio is not an invitation for inappropriate behavior or taking a disagreement outside the bounds of <a href="https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide">the community guidelines</a>. Enough said about that, I hope.</p>
<p>Ok, I’ll let you go freshen up your profile if you’d like. Lemme know if you have any feedback, questions, concerns, or even attaboys.
</p>
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<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org">kottke.org</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ Lots of great defecation physics here: “ 66 percent... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048508-lots-of-great-defecation-" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48508</id>
<published>2026-03-06T19:39:10Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T19:39:10Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Aaron Cohen</name>
<uri>https://bsky.app/profile/unlikelywords.bsky.social</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p>Lots of great defecation physics here: “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/takes-elephant-amount-time-poop">66 percent of animals take between 5 and 19 seconds to defecate. It’s a…small range, given that elephant feces have a volume of 20 liters, nearly a thousand times more than a dog’s, at 10 milliliters</a>.”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048510-the-new-school-cancelled-" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48510</id>
<published>2026-03-06T18:48:42Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T18:48:42Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/enrollment-is-now-open-global-soccer">The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World Politics. We Are Going To Teach it Anyway.</a> Enrollment is now open; the class will deal with questions like “Which regimes are using this tournament to launder their reputations?”
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ SETI might be missing alien signals because... ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/26/03/0048509-seti-might-be-missing-ali" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48509</id>
<published>2026-03-06T18:00:22Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T18:00:22Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://www.seti.org/news/why-seti-might-have-been-missing-alien-signals/">SETI might be missing alien signals</a> because “stellar ‘space weather’ may blur ultra-narrow radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations before they leave their home star systems”. SETI usually looks for “extremely sharp frequency spikes”.
</p>
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[ “For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad” ]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kottke.org/16/08/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad" />
<id>tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48507</id>
<published>2026-03-06T17:00:00Z</published>
<updated>2026-03-06T17:00:00Z</updated>
<author>
<name>Jason Kottke</name>
<uri>http://www.kottke.org</uri> </author>
<content type="html" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="https://kottke.org/">
<![CDATA[ <p><img src="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg" srcset="/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="650" border="0" alt="KFC Finger Lickin Bad" /></p>
<p>Here’s a gem from the archive of the NY Times. One day in September 1976, NY Times food critic Mimi Sheraton and Colonel Harland Sanders <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/09/archives/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad.html">stopped into a Manhattan Kentucky Fried Chicken</a>. The Colonel, then estranged from the company he founded, strolled into the kitchen after glad-handing some patrons and proceeded to tear into the quality of the food:</p>
<blockquote><p>Once in the kitchen, the colonel walked over to a vat full of frying chicken pieces and announced, ‘That’s much too black. It should be golden brown. You’re frying for 12 minutes — that’s six minutes too long. What’s more, your frying fat should have been changed a week ago. That’s the worst fried chicken I’ve ever seen. Let me see your mashed potatoes with gravy, and how do you make them?”</p><p>When Mr. Singleton explained that he first mixed boiling water into the instant powdered potatoes, the colonel interrupted. “And then you have wallpaper paste,” he said. “Next suppose you add some of this brown gravy stuff and then you have sludge.” “There’s no way anyone can get me to swallow those potatoes,” he said after tasting some. “And this cole slaw. This cole slaw! They just won’t listen to me. It should he chopped, not shredded, and it should be made with Miracle Whip. Anything else turns gray. And there should be nothing in it but cabbage. No carrots!”</p></blockquote>
<p>Sanders sold his company to an investment group in 1964, which took the company public two years later and eventually sold to a company called Heublein. After selling, Sanders officially still worked for the company as an advisor but grew more and more dissatisfied with it, as evidenced by the story above. When the company HQ moved to Tennessee, the Colonel was quoted as saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>This ain’t no goddam Tennessee Fried Chicken, no matter what some slick, silk-suited son-of-a-bitch says.</p></blockquote>
<p>And he got sued by a KFC franchisee after he <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ZskrsscU7HkC&pg=SA4-PA17&lpg=SA4-PA17&dq=My+God,+that+gravy+is+horrible!+sanders&source=bl&ots=zfKAaLx1Rx&sig=iZUPCcCs3LlSlsdnEGKkbQzEJx0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTpZn_3t3OAhVMCsAKHaviCY8Q6AEILTAC#v=onepage&q=My%20God%2C%20that%20gravy%20is%20horrible!%20sanders&f=false">commented</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>My God, that gravy is horrible. They buy tap water for 15 to 20 cents a thousand gallons and then mix it with flour and starch and end up with pure wallpaper paste. And I know wallpaper paste, by God, because I’ve seen my mother make it.</p><p>To the “wallpaper paste” they add some sludge and sell it for 65 or 75 cents a pint. There’s no nutrition in it and the ought not to be allowed to sell it.</p><p>And another thing. That new crispy chicken is nothing in the world but a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken.</p></blockquote>
<p>Colonel Sanders: serving up chicken and sick burns with equal spiciness. (via <a href="https://twitter.com/mccanner">@mccanner</a>)
</p>
]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><em>[This is a vintage post originally from Aug 2016.]</em></p>]]>
<![CDATA[ <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/food">food</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Harland%20Sanders">Harland Sanders</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/KFC">KFC</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/Mimi%20Sheraton">Mimi Sheraton</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/restaurants">restaurants</a> · <a href="https://kottke.org/tag/timeless%20posts">timeless posts</a></p>]]>
</content>
</entry>
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"title": "kottke.org",
"description": "Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998",
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"url": "https://kottke.org/",
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{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-14:48568",
"title": "KDO: 28 Years Later…",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-28-years-later",
"published": "2026-03-14T13:28:40.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-14T13:28:40.000Z",
"content": "<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773426856-96934bbf.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p>It’s getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? 28 years of kottke.org, as of today. Older than Google. Older than The Matrix. Older than Christopher Nolan’s feature film career. Older than Elle Fanning. Older than Kurt Cobain when he died. 47,300 posts since March 14, 1998. It might outlast American democracy.</p>\n\t<p>KDO retains its old school vibe but with some <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-rolodex-wee-feedreader\">new tricks</a>. Friends and readers have remarked recently that I seem to be having fun with the site again and that’s true. Still excited by the possibilities of what the site could become. I hope you’ve been enjoying it.</p>\n\t<p>I’d like to once again thank <a href=\"https://kottke.org/members/\">KDO members</a> for supporting the site — I never get tired of the member thanking. They each pay a few dollars a month to keep the site free to read for everyone, regardless of income, something I feel very strongly about in this era of paywalled media. As <a href=\"https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/\">Hamilton Nolan</a> has noted — his site operates on the same principle — sites/newsletters like these have progressive funding structures, where people’s contributions are based on their ability to pay to help keep the site available to all. If you’d like to help support the site in this mission, <a href=\"https://kottke.org/members/\">you can check out your membership options here</a>. ✌️</p>\n\t<p>P.S. I hope you enjoy the birthday logo and fireworks — they’ll be around until Monday.\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org\">kottke.org</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
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],
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},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48569",
"title": "For the first time in awhile, copies of two lost...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048569-for-the-first-time-in-2",
"published": "2026-03-13T21:51:01.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T21:51:01.000Z",
"content": "<p>For the first time in awhile, <a href=\"https://www.polygon.com/lost-doctor-who-episodes-daleks-master-plan-william-hartnell/\">copies of two lost episodes of classic Doctor Who have been discovered</a>. Both are from the William Hartnell era and feature the Daleks.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48533",
"title": "The Great Friendship Flattening . “I amass bits of...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048533-the-great-friendship-flat",
"published": "2026-03-13T19:29:18.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T19:29:18.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/10/social-media-relationships-parasocial/684551/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ606rXO3GbWdg9lVmnLOvJg\">The Great Friendship Flattening</a>. “I amass bits of knowledge about my loved ones — my sister’s boyfriend published a poem; my friend left her job — as a spectator, in the same way that I might learn about an influencer’s favorite books…”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
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"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
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],
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},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48563",
"title": "Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real”...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048563-why-movies-just-dont-feel",
"published": "2026-03-13T18:50:24.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T18:50:24.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvwPKBXEOKE\">Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real” Anymore</a>. “A deep dive into the first principles of movie immersion: on perceptual realism, indexicality, haptic visuality, and cinematic qualia.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48554",
"title": "10 Hours of Ambient Freezer Drone",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/10-hours-of-ambient-freezer-drone",
"published": "2026-03-13T18:21:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T18:21:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/I4M7Ix0E_J0\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p>Some genius has taken an audio sample of the hum of a grocery store freezer, cleaned it up, and extended it into <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4M7Ix0E_J0\">a 10-hour video</a>. The freezer’s hum, variously compared to Brian Eno’s music and “an electrical gong bath”, went viral enough to warrant <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/18/the-sheffield-supermarket-going-viral-for-the-symphonic-sound-of-its-freezers\">an article in the Guardian last month</a>:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>“Anyone noticed how nice the freezers sound in the eccy road co-op?” someone wrote on the Sheffield Reddit page in January. “It’s like all the fans have been carefully tuned to the calmest droning chord ever, it’s like being in an electrical gong bath.”</p><p>Earlier this week, another Redditor shared a video of the freezers in all their aural glory, later earning a huge second audience when reposted to X. A debate ensued. Was it tuned to C# major? Could you hear the opening of Nothing Compares 2 U somewhere in the electronic hum? “I think it’s developed a slight discordant edge over the last couple of months,” one Reddit user wrote. “It’s ageing like fine wine.”</p></blockquote>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/audio\">audio</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/video\">video</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48522",
"title": "Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048522-recommendations-of-25-med",
"published": "2026-03-13T17:45:59.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T17:45:59.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://weirdmedievalguys.substack.com/p/25-medieval-manuscripts-you-can-look\">Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore online</a>. “Almost every institution with a significant collection of medieval manuscripts digitizes many of their most significant works and makes them freely accessible online.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48567",
"title": "The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD “can be...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048567-the-z9gt-model-ev-from",
"published": "2026-03-13T17:14:08.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T17:14:08.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/byds-latest-evs-can-get-close-to-full-charge-in-just-12-minutes/\">The Z9GT model EV from China’s BYD</a> “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.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48566",
"title": "It’s an Open Thread",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/its-an-open-thread",
"published": "2026-03-13T15:20:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T15:20:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>Since <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/02/comments-are-back-on\">the comments are back open</a> and folks here can now <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/03/people-in-this-neighborhood\">share a little about themselves with each other</a>, I thought I’d open this post up for whatever you guys want to chat about. What are you particularly interested in these days? Working on any fun projects? Got a new hobby? What’s the best thing you’ve seen this week? What’s something you’re struggling with?\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org\">kottke.org</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48565",
"title": "Craig Mod is software bonkers . “I’m...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048565-craig-mod-is-software-bon",
"published": "2026-03-13T14:42:18.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T14:42:18.000Z",
"content": "<p>Craig Mod is <a href=\"https://craigmod.com/essays/software_bonkers/\">software bonkers</a>. “I’m software bonkers: I can’t stop thinking about software. And I can’t stop building software.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48564",
"title": "Balcony solar finally seems to be taking off in the US ....",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048564-balcony-solar-finally-see",
"published": "2026-03-13T14:15:58.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T14:15:58.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-taking-state-legislatures-by-storm\">Balcony solar finally seems to be taking off in the US</a>. “As of Wednesday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in 28 states and Washington, D.C., have announced their own legislation to make these systems permissible.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-13:48538",
"title": "Yet another graph showing that when you control for...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048538-yet-another-graph-showing",
"published": "2026-03-13T13:31:29.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-13T13:31:29.000Z",
"content": "<p>Yet another graph showing that when you control for quality of life (hours/week worked) and wealth inequality, <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/jakemgrumbach.bsky.social/post/3mgdis6q3oc2o\">American exceptionalism disappears</a>.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48536",
"title": "Potoooooooo was an 18th-century British racehorse whose...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048536-potoooooooo-was-an-18th-c",
"published": "2026-03-12T23:32:24.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T23:32:24.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potoooooooo\">Potoooooooo</a> was an 18th-century British racehorse whose name was pronounced like “Potatoes” (Pot-eight-Os).\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48551",
"title": "“Presolar grains” (microscopic crystals that...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048551-presolar-grains-microscop",
"published": "2026-03-12T22:20:30.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T22:20:30.000Z",
"content": "<p>“Presolar grains” (microscopic crystals that are older than the Sun) harvested from meteorites <a href=\"https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260302/\">may help determine how our solar system was formed</a>.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48527",
"title": "Lego Sets Remixed",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/lego-sets-remixed",
"published": "2026-03-12T21:10:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T21:10:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150868-4d6545e4.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150875-ae6eda3d.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1773150883-6a02bbc3.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/creationcaravan4/\">Bradley Barber remixes Lego sets into other things</a>, e.g. the Millennium Falcon from Back to the Future DeLorean parts, an AT-AT into the USS Enterprise, and a Pirates of the Caribbean ship from the parts of a Lego bonsai tree set.</p>\n\t<p>He is not alone in this pursuit; <a href=\"https://rebrickable.com/\">you can find tens of thousands of custom Lego designs at Rebrickable</a>, including <a href=\"https://rebrickable.com/users/CreationCaravan%20(Brad%20Barber)/mocs/\">dozens of Barber’s designs</a>.\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Bradley%20Barber\">Bradley Barber</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/lego\">lego</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/remix\">remix</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48557",
"title": "This is great: Channel Surfer is “a retro TV...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048557-this-is-great-channel-sur",
"published": "2026-03-12T20:26:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T20:26:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>This is great: <a href=\"https://channelsurfer.tv/\">Channel Surfer</a> is “a retro TV guide that turns YouTube into live cable TV. Each channel plays videos on a deterministic schedule — like real TV, you tune in mid-show.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48561",
"title": "coulou’s vinyl cafe (no. 4) - rainy day selections...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048561-coulous-vinyl-cafe-no-4",
"published": "2026-03-12T19:42:15.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T19:42:15.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaz0zDWLpA\">coulou’s vinyl cafe (no. 4) - rainy day selections</a>. “what’s up lovely humans, super excited to be sharing this new vinyl sessssion with you all.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48550",
"title": "The Void Would Very Much Like You to Stop Screaming Into...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048550-the-void-would-very-much",
"published": "2026-03-12T18:59:30.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T18:59:30.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-void-would-very-much-like-you-to-stop-screaming-into-it\">The Void Would Very Much Like You to Stop Screaming Into It</a>. “I think we can both admit at this point that the screaming isn’t working. The screaming isn’t making you feel any better.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48559",
"title": "Clive Thompson wrote about coding with AI agents ....",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048559-clive-thompson-wrote-abou",
"published": "2026-03-12T18:19:05.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T18:19:05.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/magazine/ai-coding-programming-jobs-claude-chatgpt.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SlA.oWgW.kb3Urk3A_fM7\">Clive Thompson wrote about coding with AI agents</a>. “Software developers point out that coding has a unique quality: They can tether their A.I.s to reality, because they can demand the agents test the code to see if it runs correctly.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48552",
"title": "A Miraculous Escape",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/a-miraculous-escape",
"published": "2026-03-12T17:39:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T17:39:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/O60xU-PAWys\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p>A pair of hounds chase a hare across a snowy plain — will it get away? In Mario Kart terms, the dogs have the weight and max speed advantage while the hare is maxed out in acceleration, handling, and traction.\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/dogs\">dogs</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/video\">video</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48558",
"title": "“We took an ancient vice…put it on...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048558-we-took-an-ancient-vicepu",
"published": "2026-03-12T17:03:50.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T17:03:50.000Z",
"content": "<p>“We took an ancient vice…put it on everyone’s phone, and made it as normal and frictionless as checking the weather. <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/online-sports-betting-app-addiction/686061/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ61t-XYqK2yJSwHU1P5JCso\">What could possibly go wrong?</a>” I *hate* the extent to which gambling has infested everything; it’s not going to end well.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48556",
"title": "Ballot Guessr : “GeoGuessr for politics. See a...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048556-ballot-guessr-is-a-versio",
"published": "2026-03-12T16:17:56.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T16:17:56.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.ballotguessr.com/\">Ballot Guessr</a>: “GeoGuessr for politics. See a Google Street View image, guess how the county voted in the 2024 presidential election.” (633/1000 on my first try…but I borked one of the guesses bc I forgot there was a time limit. 🙃)\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48547",
"title": "AI Is Rewiring How the World’s Best Go Players...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048547-ai-is-rewiring-how-the",
"published": "2026-03-12T15:51:26.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T15:51:26.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/27/1133624/ai-is-rewiring-how-the-worlds-best-go-players-think/\">AI Is Rewiring How the World’s Best Go Players Think</a>. “Players now train to replicate AI’s moves as closely as they can rather than inventing their own, even when the machine’s thinking remains mysterious to them.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-12:48544",
"title": "A printable zine: 50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor ....",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048544-a-printable-zine-50-ways",
"published": "2026-03-12T15:09:13.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T15:09:13.000Z",
"content": "<p>A printable zine: <a href=\"https://millionexperiments.com/zines/50-ways-to-meet-your-neighbor\">50 Ways To Meet Your Neighbor</a>. “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.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48549",
"title": "Missed this earlier in the week: The Tournament of Books...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048549-missed-this-earlier-in-th",
"published": "2026-03-12T00:35:46.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-12T00:35:46.000Z",
"content": "<p>Missed this earlier in the week: <a href=\"https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/\">The Tournament of Books is underway!</a> “Every March, the Tournament of Books is a month-long battle royale among the year’s best novels.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48541",
"title": "This photo of an Icelandic glacier is really something.",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048541-this-photo-of-an-icelandi",
"published": "2026-03-11T23:15:42.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T23:15:42.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/dani-guindo-iceland-glaciers-landscape-photography/\">This photo of an Icelandic glacier</a> is really something.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48546",
"title": "The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture ....",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048546-the-people-who-shun-super",
"published": "2026-03-11T22:01:12.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T22:01:12.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/pop-culture-hype-aversion/686312/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ82vdNbs59d_2L_rAt5RG-Y\">The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture</a>. “Some people are early adopters; others are late adopters. I’m simply a weirdly resistant one.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48548",
"title": "There are at least 60 Pizza Hut Classics (red roofs,...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048548-there-are-at-least-60",
"published": "2026-03-11T21:06:28.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T21:06:28.000Z",
"content": "<p>There are at least 60 Pizza Hut Classics (red roofs, checkered tablecloths, salad bar) in the US…but <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/dining/pizza-hut.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SVA.-irZ.iDwvbf0a_cnO\">the company does nothing to promote them</a>. “They are like wormholes in the chain restaurant galaxy, portals to the past found by serendipity.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48542",
"title": "Africa (Toto) But It Lists Every Country in Africa",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/africa-toto-but-it-lists-every",
"published": "2026-03-11T20:10:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T20:10:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhmdDjatyRY\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p>From There I Ruined It, a <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhmdDjatyRY\">version</a> of Toto’s Africa but the lyrics are a listing of every country in Africa. They should teach this in American middle schools, not even joking.</p>\n\t<p>See also <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_tT-q8EF0\">Coach from Cheers singing Al-ban-i-a</a> (a song that pops into my head every time I read or hear about that county):</p>\n\t<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/-F_tT-q8EF0\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Africa\">Africa</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/geography\">geography</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/remix\">remix</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48535",
"title": "Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048535-steve-scherer-was-a-reute",
"published": "2026-03-11T19:31:54.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T19:31:54.000Z",
"content": "<p>Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in Canada. Then he got laid off, had to leave the country, and <a href=\"https://stevescherer.substack.com/p/my-journey-from-foreign-correspondent\">now drives for Uber in Virginia</a>, in a country he doesn’t recognize anymore after working for 28 years abroad.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48545",
"title": "Wow, KDO pal and explorer Ariel Waldman has her own show...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048545-wow-kdo-pal-and-explorer",
"published": "2026-03-11T18:49:38.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T18:49:38.000Z",
"content": "<p>Wow, KDO pal and explorer Ariel Waldman <a href=\"https://mailchi.mp/arielwaldman/its-official-im-coming-to-pbs-on-april-1\">has her own show on PBS</a>! “<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7pSVaxEe0\">LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman</a> is a science-driven docu-series revealing Earth’s ecosystems through radical shifts in scale…”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48526",
"title": "Georg Cantor is celebrated for revolutionizing...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048526-georg-cantor-is-celebrate",
"published": "2026-03-11T18:02:01.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T18:02:01.000Z",
"content": "<p>Georg Cantor is celebrated for revolutionizing mathematics by proving that there are different levels of infinity. But he didn’t do it alone and <a href=\"https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/\">evidence has emerged that he plagiarized the work of a collaborator</a>.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48543",
"title": "“ 8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048543-8-in-10-ai-chatbots",
"published": "2026-03-11T17:16:48.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T17:16:48.000Z",
"content": "<p>“<a href=\"https://counterhate.com/research/killer-apps/\">8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to assist users in planning violent attacks</a> including school shootings, religious bombings, and high-profile assassinations. DeepSeek went as far as wishing the would-be attacker a ‘Happy (and safe) shooting!’”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48539",
"title": "Jamelle Bouie Interview on Work Is Four Letters",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/jamelle-bouie-interview-on-work-is-four-letters",
"published": "2026-03-11T16:38:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T16:38:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>GOLIKEHELLMACHINE has an interview series called <a href=\"https://golikehellmachine.com/work-is-four-letters/\">Work is Four Letters</a> he describes like this:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>Most people think their jobs are boring or pointless or bullshit, but I don’t; if you look around you, everything you see was made by someone, somehow, and that’s really interesting to me. Work is Four Letters is an occasional series — edited for brevity and clarity — highlighting what people do for work and why they do it.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>The conversations are informative and robust. <a href=\"https://golikehellmachine.com/2026/02/26/the-columnist/\">The latest interview was with NYT columnist Jamelle Bouie</a> and I found both his description of how he thinks about his job and the ways he DOES his job interesting. Also this nugget about our current experience:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>I think the big thing that I’d like people to take away is an understanding that not everything we’re experiencing now has happened before — I reject that. The past is truly a different country. Although you can find historical analogies, they’re just that: analogies. They aren’t one-for-one equivalents. But what you can say is that past generations of Americans have had to sort out their own struggles, and have faced similar questions that we face today, similar questions about the nature of our country, the nature of who belongs here, etc., etc. </p></blockquote>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/interviews\">interviews</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Jamelle%20Bouie\">Jamelle Bouie</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Aaron Cohen",
"email": null,
"url": "https://bsky.app/profile/unlikelywords.bsky.social"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48540",
"title": "Draw your own constellations .",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048540-draw-your-own-constellati",
"published": "2026-03-11T15:55:19.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T15:55:19.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://neal.fun/constellation-draw/\">Draw your own constellations</a>.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-11:48503",
"title": "The Baskerville Punches",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/the-baskerville-punches",
"published": "2026-03-11T15:41:57.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-11T15:41:57.000Z",
"content": "<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734369-e1d4ded8.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734381-b1910ec0.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772734386-8f90b8c0.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p>John Baskerville was an influential 18th-century printer and type designer; you’ve probably used (or at least heard of) the Baskerville typeface. Cambridge University has the original punches<sup id=\"fnref:fmmku3hfznece\"><a href=\"#fn:fmmku3hfznece\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup> used to create his signature typeface and <a href=\"https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/baskervillepunches/3\">has made high-res digital photos of them available online</a>. If you, like me, are not familiar with how lead type was made back in the day, an explanation of what a punch is: </p>\n\t<blockquote><p>The typographic punch is the initial design for the letterform and one of the first of three stages in the manufacturing of metal type: short lengths of steel onto which his letters were cut in reverse and in relief. The punch was ‘tempered’ to increase its toughness and enable its use as a tool. Secondly, the punch was struck into the surface of a softer piece of metal (copper), leaving an impression of the ‘right-reading’ character to be cast. This was called the matrix. Finally, type was manufactured when the matrix was passed to the type-caster and inserted into a mould, into which molten lead-alloy was poured. This produced a cast of the type in relief and in reverse which were then arranged to create a text block and once inked, paper could be pressed against it.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>Baskerville is available in a number of different <a href=\"https://www.myfonts.com/collections/baskerville-font-linotype/\">modern</a> <a href=\"https://www.emigre.com/Fonts/Mrs-Eaves\">versions</a> and <a href=\"https://www.monotype.com/font-library?query=Baskerville\">revivals</a>, but seeing close-ups of the actual cut & shaped metal from 1757 is something else. (via <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DVf-rQ4DoZI/\">@jonathanhoefler</a>)</p>\n\t<ol>\n<li class=\"footnote\" id=\"fn:fmmku3hfznece\"><p>Note from the collection: “Not all punches in this collection are Baskerville’s originals; some are later additions.” <a href=\"#fnref:fmmku3hfznece\" title=\"return to article\">↩</a></p></li>\n</ol>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/John%20Baskerville\">John Baskerville</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/typography\">typography</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48227",
"title": "Amount Of Water Man Just Used To Wash Dish To Be Prize...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048227-amount-of-water-man-just",
"published": "2026-03-10T21:44:10.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T21:44:10.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://theonion.com/amount-of-water-man-just-used-to-wash-dish-to-be-prize-1819578198/\">Amount Of Water Man Just Used To Wash Dish To Be Prize Of Hand-To-Hand Combat Match In 2065</a>.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48537",
"title": "Syndicates of Capital",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/syndicates-of-capital",
"published": "2026-03-10T20:30:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T20:30:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://kaburbank.substack.com/p/syndicates-of-capital\">Jessica Burbank</a>:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>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.</p><p>Syndicates of capital cannot be categorized as legal or illegal. They exist primarily in the extralegal sphere, where either no regulations apply to their behavior or, where laws do exist, there is no entity powerful enough to enforce them in a manner that asserts control over the syndicates’ behavior.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>Yeah. It’s seemed to me for quite awhile now that the most likely form of future world government evolves not from the United Nations but from big multinational corporations controlled by the billionaire class.</p>\n\t<p>See also two recent pieces on the wealthy in America. <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.GWWe.t9RuX90bC7wE\">The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics</a>:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>The extraordinary spending in Montana is part of a new era of political power for the rapidly growing number of billionaires minted over the past eight years. The Times analysis found that 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion — 19 percent of all contributions — in federal elections in 2024, either directly or through political action committees.</p><p>Five presidential elections ago, before the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that lifted many remaining campaign finance restrictions, the share of billionaire spending was almost zero — 0.3 percent, to be precise.</p><p>The billionaire families gave an average total of $10 million each in 2024, an amount roughly equal to what 100,000 typical political donors gave, combined. And that does not count money that billionaires contributed through dark money groups that do not have to disclose their donors.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>And <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/elite-accountability-powerful-impunity/686134/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZxG6qRIdxX-v4WYHn0pkA4c\">How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account</a>:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>One way to look at the rise of Donald Trump is as part of a decades-long backlash among the American leadership class to the idea of accountability. Since Richard Nixon was forced to resign, powerful people in both political parties have worked assiduously to ensure that their leaders would escape the consequences of their actions. Trump has evaded punishment for crimes both low (campaign-finance violations, for which he was convicted, though he will serve no time thanks to his 2024 victory) and high (his attempted overthrow of the federal government in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, for which he was spared by the Supreme Court’s decision to grant him kingly immunity). This is not just about Trump; his impunity is the product of a society that has worked hard to help the rich and powerful elude punishment for criminal behavior.</p></blockquote>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Jessica%20Burbank\">Jessica Burbank</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/politics\">politics</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48530",
"title": "Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048530-everyone-knows-yuri-gagar",
"published": "2026-03-10T19:34:32.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T19:34:32.000Z",
"content": "<p>Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to space. <a href=\"https://www.newscientist.com/article/2517964-why-yuri-gagarin-wasnt-the-first-in-space-and-who-beat-him-to-it/\">What this article presupposes is…maybe he wasn’t?</a> It all boils down to what your definition of space is.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48531",
"title": "Another recent HyperCard discovery (that isn’t...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048531-another-recent-hypercard-",
"published": "2026-03-10T18:46:16.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T18:46:16.000Z",
"content": "<p>Another recent HyperCard discovery (that isn’t somehow in the Internet Archive): <a href=\"https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/neuromancer-count-zero-mona-lisa-overdrive\">an “expanded book” version of William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy</a> (Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive).\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48534",
"title": "“Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048534-stanford-medicine-researc",
"published": "2026-03-10T17:59:51.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T17:59:51.000Z",
"content": "<p>“Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues invented <a href=\"https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2026/02/universal-vaccine.html\">a new vaccine that protects mice from respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens</a> — the closest yet to a universal vaccine.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48532",
"title": "Ghost Elephants",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/ghost-elephants",
"published": "2026-03-10T17:12:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T17:12:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/YoOD-2Wn7ik\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p>Ghost Elephants is a new documentary film directed by Werner Herzog for National Geographic. <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoOD-2Wn7ik\">Here’s the trailer</a>.</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>For over a decade, Dr. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer, has been in search of a mysterious, elusive herd of Ghost Elephants in the highlands of Angola, deep within its forests. From acclaimed director Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”), GHOST ELEPHANTS follows Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the best master trackers in the world, in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>From <a href=\"https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghost-elephants-werner-herzog-documentary-film-review-2026\">Peter Sobczynski’s rave review</a> of the film:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>The subject of Herzog’s fascination this time around is South African naturalist Dr. Steve Boyes, and while he seems perfectly staid and affable at first sight, he has an obsession within him that has consumed his life to such an extent that if he didn’t actually exist, Herzog might have had to invent him. The focus of his fascination is a species of giant elephant residing in the highlands of Angola, known as “ghost elephants” for their apparent ability to avoid detection. Indeed, not only has Boyes never actually seen one of these creatures with his own eyes, but he is not even certain that such creatures exist—the closest he has come is a massive elephant shot near that area in Angola in 1955, now on display at the Smithsonian.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>Herzog, National Geographic, elephants, quixotic quest — who says no? Ghost Elephants is available to stream on <a href=\"https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-b7bdf1e3-5e8b-4a68-b2e4-3c599350dec9\">Disney+</a> and <a href=\"https://www.hulu.com/movie/27a6d1d9-efdb-4493-9fca-27f572722584\">Hulu</a>.\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/elephants\">elephants</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/movies\">movies</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Peter%20Sobczynski\">Peter Sobczynski</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/trailers\">trailers</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/video\">video</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Werner%20Herzog\">Werner Herzog</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48523",
"title": "Github’s uptime lately seems…..concerning?",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048523-githubs-uptime-lately-see",
"published": "2026-03-10T16:20:20.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T16:20:20.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://mrshu.github.io/github-statuses/\">Github’s uptime lately</a> seems…..concerning?\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48529",
"title": "“Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048529-billionaires-made-19-perc",
"published": "2026-03-10T15:30:50.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T15:30:50.000Z",
"content": "<p>“Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported federal campaign contributions in 2024, a Times analysis shows, and even more in some local elections.” <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.GWWe.t9RuX90bC7wE\">The Scale of Billionaires’ Campaign Donations is Overwhelming U.S. Politics</a>.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48528",
"title": "The Shape of Paris",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/the-shape-of-paris",
"published": "2026-03-10T14:30:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T14:30:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/4q8wZ15ALz4\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8wZ15ALz4\">The Shape of Paris</a> is a balletic short film of skateboarder <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/authenticandyanderson/\">Andy Anderson</a> zooming, grinding, spinning, and floating around Paris in the summertime. It is also beautifully shot by <a href=\"https://brettnovak.com/\">Brett Novak</a>; Paris has never looked better. As a YT commenter put it: “bro wtf this is the cleanest footage I’ve ever seen. The cinematography and color grading is insane.”</p>\n\t<p>Also, this is the first skate video I’ve seen with “trick acknowledgements” in the credits. Great touch. (via <a href=\"https://craigmod.com/\">craig mod</a>)\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Andy%20Anderson\">Andy Anderson</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Paris\">Paris</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/skateboarding\">skateboarding</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/sports\">sports</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/video\">video</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48525",
"title": "The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-want model...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048525-the-modern-times-cafe-mov",
"published": "2026-03-10T14:10:06.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T14:10:06.000Z",
"content": "<p>The Modern Times cafe moved to a pay-what-you-want model during the ICE occupation of Minneapolis. <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/modern-times-cafe-in-minneapolis-makes-pay-what-you-can-permanent/601589329\">Now the cafe is making it permanent (and pivoting to a nonprofit)</a>. “Some had come for a free meal; others were there to pay double or triple their tab.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48521",
"title": "“A group of runners starts jogging around a...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048521-a-group-of-runners-starts",
"published": "2026-03-10T13:36:38.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T13:36:38.000Z",
"content": "<p>“A group of runners starts jogging around a circular track, with each runner maintaining a unique, constant pace. <a href=\"https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-strides-made-on-deceptively-simple-lonely-runner-problem-20260306/\">Will every runner end up ‘lonely,’</a> or relatively far from everyone else, at least once, no matter their speeds?”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-10:48520",
"title": "Jay Graber is stepping down as CEO of Bluesky to...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048520-jay-graber-is-stepping-do",
"published": "2026-03-10T12:29:42.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-10T12:29:42.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://bsky.social/about/blog/03-09-2026-a-new-chapter-for-bluesky\">Jay Graber is stepping down as CEO of Bluesky</a> to “transition to a new role as Bluesky’s Chief Innovation Officer”. And they’re looking for a new permanent CEO.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48518",
"title": "“What if we taught students to use AI critically,...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048518-what-if-we-taught-student",
"published": "2026-03-09T19:01:12.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T19:01:12.000Z",
"content": "<p>“What if we taught students to use AI critically, rather than insisting they ignore it or assume they’re using it to cheat?” <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/06/nx-s1-5732793/college-student-perspective-using-ai-in-class\">asks college freshman Maximilian Milovidov</a>. “Students will reach for these tools, whether universities ban them or not.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48515",
"title": "New web game that takes 2 min to play (and perhaps a...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048515-new-web-game-that-takes",
"published": "2026-03-09T17:58:41.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T17:58:41.000Z",
"content": "<p>New web game that takes 2 min to play (and perhaps a lifetime to master?): <a href=\"https://labs.davidbauer.ch/outsmart/\">Outsmart</a>. “Five rounds, first to 3 wins. In each round, the higher bet wins. You have 100 total points, so bet wisely. Can you outsmart the machine?”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48519",
"title": "Gugusse and the Automaton",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/gugusse-and-the-automaton",
"published": "2026-03-09T17:00:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T17:00:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>The Library of Congress <a href=\"https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/lost-19th-century-film-by-melies-discovered-at-the-library/\">recently discovered</a> a copy of a “long-lost” film made in ~1897 by George Méliès called Gugusse and the Automaton (Gugusse et l’Automate), which “had not been seen by anyone in likely more than a century” and “was the first appearance on film of what might be called a robot”. It’s also one of the first science fiction films ever made.</p>\n\t<p>You can watch <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqcjzzjN2Q\">a digitized copy of the whole film</a> here (it’s only 45 seconds long):</p>\n\t<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/ojqcjzzjN2Q\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p>And <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DVOrfufk_XL/\">here’s the story</a> of how the film was discovered.</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>Equally delighted was Bill McFarland, the donor who had driven the box of films from his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, to have the cache evaluated.</p><p>His great-grandfather, William Delisle Frisbee, had been a potato farmer and schoolteacher in western Pennsylvania by day, but by night he was a traveling showman. He drove his horse and buggy from town to town to dazzle the locals with a projector and some of the world’s first moving pictures.</p><p>He set up shop in a local schoolroom, church, lodge or civic auditorium and showed magic lantern slides and short films with music from a newfangled phonograph. It was shocking.</p><p>“They must have been thrilled,” McFarland said. “They must have been out of their minds to see this motion picture and to hear the Edison phonograph.”</p></blockquote>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/George%20M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s\">George Méliès</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Gugusse%20and%20the%20Automaton\">Gugusse and the Automaton</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/movies\">movies</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/robots\">robots</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/video\">video</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48514",
"title": "GPS jamming and spoofing is becoming commonplace in war...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048514-gps-jamming-and-spoofing-",
"published": "2026-03-09T15:54:23.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T15:54:23.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/science/gps-jamming-ships-planes-iran-war\">GPS jamming and spoofing is becoming commonplace in war</a>. “Ships in the region’s waters found their navigation systems had gone haywire, erroneously indicating that the vessels were at airports, a nuclear power plant and on Iranian land.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48517",
"title": "The fish doorbell in Utrecht is back for another season!...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048517-the-fish-doorbell-in-utre",
"published": "2026-03-09T14:58:49.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T14:58:49.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://visdeurbel.nl/en/\">The fish doorbell in Utrecht is back for another season!</a> “Did you spot a fish? Press the Fish Doorbell! Then our lock keeper can let the fish through.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48516",
"title": "The Hidden Hope in the Darkness",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/the-hidden-hope-in-the-darknes",
"published": "2026-03-09T14:00:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T14:00:00.000Z",
"content": "<p>On the occasion of the release of her latest book, <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/03/beginning-comes-after-the-end\">The Beginning Comes After the End</a>, Rebecca Solnit sat down for <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/magazine/rebecca-solnit-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RVA.cTcY.-rsColv0z4fU\">an interview with David Marchese</a> of the NY Times. Here’s <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOJ_uaffG5s\">the video version</a>:</p>\n\t<p><iframe src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/sOJ_uaffG5s\" title=\"YouTube video\" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>\n\t<p>This is a great interview. Marchese’s first question is about how we find the positive in a world filled with grim news:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>Even the right tells us something encouraging, if we listen carefully to what they’re saying. They tell us: You are very powerful. You’ve changed the world profoundly. All these things that are often treated separately — feminism, queer rights, environmental action — are connected, so they’re basically telling us we’re incredibly successful, which is the good news. The bad news is that they hate it and want to change it all back. There is a backlash, and it is significant. But it is not comprehensive or global.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>And I loved this part (emphasis mine):</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>One of the great weaknesses of our era is that we get lone superhero movies that suggest that our big problems are solved by muscly guys in spandex, when actually the world mostly gets changed through collective effort. Thich Nhat Hanh said before he died a few years ago that the next Buddha will be the Sangha. The Sangha, in Buddhist terminology, is the community of practitioners. It’s this idea that we don’t have to look for an individual, for a savior, for an Übermensch. I think the counter to Trump always has been and always will be civil society. A lot of the left wants social change to look like the French Revolution or Che Guevara. <em>Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war.</em> Too many people still expect it to look like war. </p></blockquote>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/interviews\">interviews</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/politics\">politics</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Rebecca%20Solnit\">Rebecca Solnit</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/video\">video</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-09:48513",
"title": "The NY Times went back through a century of...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048513-the-ny-times-went-back",
"published": "2026-03-09T13:23:09.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-09T13:23:09.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/06/obituaries/archives/notable-women-deaths-obituaries.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.TCbB.tZoCzSKZP-OB\">The NY Times went back through a century of women’s obituaries</a> “to re-examine them with the benefit of distance — to see what was emphasized, what was minimized, what might have been left unsaid”.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-08:48512",
"title": "Dozens of former employees of Noma tell of abuse &...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048512-dozens-of-former-employee",
"published": "2026-03-08T14:15:20.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-08T14:15:20.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-abuse-allegations.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.uXvD.lykliQliR33K\">Dozens of former employees of Noma tell of abuse & violence at the hands of its chef/owner, René Redzepi</a>. Punching, screaming, shoving, stabbing, slamming, intimidation, ridicule, blacklisting. What an asshole.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48511",
"title": "These Are the People in This Neighborhood",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/people-in-this-neighborhood",
"published": "2026-03-06T21:54:14.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T21:54:14.000Z",
"content": "<p>Can’t stop, won’t stop. On the heels of <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/03/kdo-rolodex-wee-feedreader\">the refreshed Rolodex from earlier in the week</a>, I’ve pushed another “Just Enough Social” feature to the site: members bios & profile pics. Here’s what that looks like:</p>\n\t<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/editor-1772824516-1eefd928.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" /></p>\n\t<p>Members can find a link to their profile by 1) clicking on your name in the menu in the upper righthand corner of the site (or under the hamburger menu on mobile); 2) clicking on the “edit profile” link by your name at the bottom of any post with active comments; or 3) clicking on your name or profile pic in any comment thread. You can change your username, provide a short bio (300 character limit, up to 2 URLs), and upload a profile pic (jpg, png, webp). Check <a href=\"https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide\">the community guidelines</a> for more advice/info.</p>\n\t<p>The idea with this feature is to provide a lightweight way for KDO members to get to know who they’re conversing with in the comments without having to share that information with the entire internet (in the form of a full-blown social media profile). As a member, you’re in control of what you share in your bio and selecting a profile pic. So here’s how it works right now (i.e. who can see what and where):</p>\n\t<ul>\n<li>Your member profile pic & display name are fully public…they’re shown next to comments you’ve made on the site (which are also fully public). Profile pics are optional. Display names can be changed from your full name used in your Memberful account — you don’t even need to use your real name (again, see the <a href=\"https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide\">the community guidelines</a> for more info on this).</li>\n\t<li>Your bio can only be viewed by other members with active memberships. As a member, you can view another member’s bio by hovering over their name or profile pic in a comment thread or in the comment lists on your profile page. Bios are not public on the internet.</li>\n\t<li>Your profile page can only be viewed by you. Other members cannot see the posts or comments you’ve faved or the list of comments you’ve made. They also cannot see your email address, your real name (only your display name), membership level, the date you joined, whether you’ll renew, or your member renewal date.</li>\n\t<li>Inactive members can modify their bios & profile pics, see their own profile pages (with faves & comments), but can’t see other members’ bios.</li>\n</ul>\n\t<p>This level of detail about something that’s existed on the internet since the dawn of time (message board profiles, essentially) might seem tedious, but I’m being clear and straightforward about how this works because I want people to feel comfortable connecting with each other here as much or little as each person wants. Many of you will probably share things like your personal website, job, hobbies, or social media accounts in your bios. Put your Signal handle or email address in there if you want. Gregarious types: put your phone number in your profile if you feel comfortable with that (not recommending that tbh). Or you can be super private or deliberately vague — on KDO, <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog\">no one knows you’re a dog</a>. Ditto for the profile pic: anything from your headshot to a pet photo of your pet to a Mark Rothko abstract goes — totally up to you.</p>\n\t<p>The comments, the Rolodex, and now member profiles all operate under the same principle: Just Enough Social. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are too overwhelming and stand-alone blogs (like KDO circa 2 years ago) don’t offer much in the way of community. I’m vectoring toward the lightweight Baby Bear option of getting readers talking with each other in the easiest possible way & exploring the larger web community that KDO is a part of. There’s more work to do, but I’m happy with the direction it’s going. </p>\n\t<p>One last thing before I go. I hope this goes without saying with this fine crew but I will say it anyway: if you are going to reach out to someone using the info in their KDO profile/bio, <em>do not be a dick</em>. Someone putting their website address or email in their bio is not an invitation for inappropriate behavior or taking a disagreement outside the bounds of <a href=\"https://kottke.org/threads/guidelines#name-bio-guide\">the community guidelines</a>. Enough said about that, I hope.</p>\n\t<p>Ok, I’ll let you go freshen up your profile if you’d like. Lemme know if you have any feedback, questions, concerns, or even attaboys.\n</p>\n \n\n \n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/kottke.org\">kottke.org</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48508",
"title": "Lots of great defecation physics here: “ 66 percent...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048508-lots-of-great-defecation-",
"published": "2026-03-06T19:39:10.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T19:39:10.000Z",
"content": "<p>Lots of great defecation physics here: “<a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/takes-elephant-amount-time-poop\">66 percent of animals take between 5 and 19 seconds to defecate. It’s a…small range, given that elephant feces have a volume of 20 liters, nearly a thousand times more than a dog’s, at 10 milliliters</a>.”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Aaron Cohen",
"email": null,
"url": "https://bsky.app/profile/unlikelywords.bsky.social"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48510",
"title": "The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048510-the-new-school-cancelled-",
"published": "2026-03-06T18:48:42.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T18:48:42.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/enrollment-is-now-open-global-soccer\">The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World Politics. We Are Going To Teach it Anyway.</a> Enrollment is now open; the class will deal with questions like “Which regimes are using this tournament to launder their reputations?”\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48509",
"title": "SETI might be missing alien signals because...",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/26/03/0048509-seti-might-be-missing-ali",
"published": "2026-03-06T18:00:22.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T18:00:22.000Z",
"content": "<p><a href=\"https://www.seti.org/news/why-seti-might-have-been-missing-alien-signals/\">SETI might be missing alien signals</a> because “stellar ‘space weather’ may blur ultra-narrow radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations before they leave their home star systems”. SETI usually looks for “extremely sharp frequency spikes”.\n</p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
},
{
"id": "tag:kottke.org,2026-03-06:48507",
"title": "“For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad”",
"description": null,
"url": "https://kottke.org/16/08/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad",
"published": "2026-03-06T17:00:00.000Z",
"updated": "2026-03-06T17:00:00.000Z",
"content": "<p><img src=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg\" srcset=\"/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=500,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg 500w, /cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1200,metadata=none//plus/misc/images/kfc-finger-lickin-bad.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 500px, 1200px\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"650\" border=\"0\" alt=\"KFC Finger Lickin Bad\" /></p>\n\t<p>Here’s a gem from the archive of the NY Times. One day in September 1976, NY Times food critic Mimi Sheraton and Colonel Harland Sanders <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/09/archives/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad.html\">stopped into a Manhattan Kentucky Fried Chicken</a>. The Colonel, then estranged from the company he founded, strolled into the kitchen after glad-handing some patrons and proceeded to tear into the quality of the food:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>Once in the kitchen, the colonel walked over to a vat full of frying chicken pieces and announced, ‘That’s much too black. It should be golden brown. You’re frying for 12 minutes — that’s six minutes too long. What’s more, your frying fat should have been changed a week ago. That’s the worst fried chicken I’ve ever seen. Let me see your mashed potatoes with gravy, and how do you make them?”</p><p>When Mr. Singleton explained that he first mixed boiling water into the instant powdered potatoes, the colonel interrupted. “And then you have wallpaper paste,” he said. “Next suppose you add some of this brown gravy stuff and then you have sludge.” “There’s no way anyone can get me to swallow those potatoes,” he said after tasting some. “And this cole slaw. This cole slaw! They just won’t listen to me. It should he chopped, not shredded, and it should be made with Miracle Whip. Anything else turns gray. And there should be nothing in it but cabbage. No carrots!”</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>Sanders sold his company to an investment group in 1964, which took the company public two years later and eventually sold to a company called Heublein. After selling, Sanders officially still worked for the company as an advisor but grew more and more dissatisfied with it, as evidenced by the story above. When the company HQ moved to Tennessee, the Colonel was quoted as saying:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>This ain’t no goddam Tennessee Fried Chicken, no matter what some slick, silk-suited son-of-a-bitch says.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>And he got sued by a KFC franchisee after he <a href=\"https://books.google.com/books?id=ZskrsscU7HkC&pg=SA4-PA17&lpg=SA4-PA17&dq=My+God,+that+gravy+is+horrible!+sanders&source=bl&ots=zfKAaLx1Rx&sig=iZUPCcCs3LlSlsdnEGKkbQzEJx0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTpZn_3t3OAhVMCsAKHaviCY8Q6AEILTAC#v=onepage&q=My%20God%2C%20that%20gravy%20is%20horrible!%20sanders&f=false\">commented</a>:</p>\n\t<blockquote><p>My God, that gravy is horrible. They buy tap water for 15 to 20 cents a thousand gallons and then mix it with flour and starch and end up with pure wallpaper paste. And I know wallpaper paste, by God, because I’ve seen my mother make it.</p><p>To the “wallpaper paste” they add some sludge and sell it for 65 or 75 cents a pint. There’s no nutrition in it and the ought not to be allowed to sell it.</p><p>And another thing. That new crispy chicken is nothing in the world but a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken.</p></blockquote>\n\t<p>Colonel Sanders: serving up chicken and sick burns with equal spiciness. (via <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mccanner\">@mccanner</a>)\n</p>\n \n\n <p><em>[This is a vintage post originally from Aug 2016.]</em></p>\n <p><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/food\">food</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Harland%20Sanders\">Harland Sanders</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/KFC\">KFC</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/Mimi%20Sheraton\">Mimi Sheraton</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/restaurants\">restaurants</a> · <a href=\"https://kottke.org/tag/timeless%20posts\">timeless posts</a></p>",
"image": null,
"media": [],
"authors": [
{
"name": "Jason Kottke",
"email": null,
"url": "http://www.kottke.org/"
}
],
"categories": []
}
]
}