Roy Scranton in The Baffler: TAKE A GOOD LOOK at yourself in the mirror. Really go look. Observe closely the skin over the cheekbones, the chin, the lips, the cunning little teeth. See the ears and nose, the smooth forehead, the hair and eyebrows. Admire what an intelligent beast … | Continue reading
From UChicago News: Michael Levin: Pretty much everything, birth defects, traumatic injury, aging, degenerative disease, cancer, all of these things boil down to the problem of a group of cells not knowing how or not being able to build the right thing. If we have the answer to t … | Continue reading
Bizarre worm that looks "like the rump of a pig from one side and Mick Jagger's lips from the other" may be in the middle of an evolutionary leap, scientists say. | Continue reading
In the tech world, developer conferences are like birthdays. These mega-events happen annually and remind us of the cadence of life and that time is a neverending circle. Google I/O 2024 will be no different. Read more... | Continue reading
"Looks like they took your bin and left your garbage." Agitated homeowner shares photo of mess left behind by local garbage collector: 'File a complaint' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Learning to Read By four I knew what my mother must have known immediately. I was more trouble than I was worth. She’d lie down for a nap and there I’d be buzzing around her, thinking that I had a right to push my nose into everything. That’s how I learned: bumping into things li … | Continue reading
While building tempest/highlight, I came across an interesting design problem. One of its core components is a concept called "patterns"; these are classes that match a very specific part of code-to-be-highlighted using regex. Part of my test suite's responsibility is to test eac … | Continue reading
Many years ago - when I was very young and you were even younger - it was standard for an ISP to provide all their users with a small amount of webspace. Both Pipex and Demon offered webspace back in 1996. If my hazy memory is correct, they offered a few megabytes - more than […] | Continue reading
BREAKING: University of Florida students chose to breakdown their encampment after being handed this of Allowable Activities and Prohibitive Items and Activities. Look at those Consequences for Non-Compliance 👀 University of Florida's chapter of Young Democratic Socialist … | Continue reading
This week Apple got a dose of reality as people are caring less about its Vision Pro. A robot tank with green eyes and a robo dog with a flamethrower show that the future of warfare is here. And to round things out, Elon Musk’s AI bot isn’t that smart. Here’s all the big tech new … | Continue reading
From William Hogarth's series "A Harlot's Progress", to the descent of the seamstress from sewing machine to prostitution. A popular 19th century story. | Continue reading
As I rummaged through my old blog posts recently, I couldn’t help but notice a recurring theme: Twitter. Surprisingly, amid the clutter of musings and reflections, Twitter stood out as a significant part of my online presence. This got me thinking: What if Twitter had been design … | Continue reading
The past year has seen record renewable power production nationwide. | Continue reading
Colossal Biosciences has generated a flurry of headlines in recent years, as the ‘de-extinction’ company announced plans to resurrect the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and, most recently, the dodo bird, developing a bioengineering toolkit along the way that has prompted in … | Continue reading
For its 10th anniversary, the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) is expanding in a major way. “We are moving along with the rest of the market—which is all about deployment,” current IN2 Program Manager Sarah Derdowski said. “One of the hardest challenges in the cleantech ind … | Continue reading
Fallout 76 is good now. Actually, it’s always been good. | Continue reading
Chris should be done with the chair above by the time you’re reading this. As I write and schedule this post, he’s doing the “make pretty” on the arms, legs and seat, and the backrest will be installed by lunchtime. Then he’ll spray a coat or two of shellac and rub on a coat of.. … | Continue reading
Apple is reportedly holding discussions with OpenAI about using the startup’s AI technology to power some features coming to the iPhone later this year, Bloomberg reported on Friday. This comes roughly a month after reports surfaced that Apple was holding discussions with Google … | Continue reading
"We have demonstrated that our vehicle can levitate on an existing track." Company develops innovative magnetic train that can operate with existing infrastructure: 'An easily usable technology' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
I admit this might be a bit much, but, to be clearthe title of this journalis called The Book of Chaosand so . . in fairness to the topic, yesI think that both love and lustand the interchangeablenessof the two can be enough to drive anyone crazy. And, so . . . Yes, sure.I am […] | Continue reading
They say project yourself, But I’m an Edinburgh man myself Manu’s post on how marketing himself makes him feel uncomfortable has been doing the rounds recently. As ever from Manu, it’s a thoughtful, honest piece that’s well worth the read. Every time I need to do something that … | Continue reading
This hack could save your fruits this summer. Kitchen hack expert shares 'game-changing' trick to make summer fruits last as long as possible: 'The best advice' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
If you spend your hard-earned money on fresh produce, you probably hate to see it wasted at the end of the week. Doctor shares safe and healthy tip for keeping your produce fresh for longer: 'I've been doing it all wrong' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
By applying the lessons of great novels to real life, a professor predicted cancel culture decades before the internet existed. | Continue reading
Lasers have helped uncover ancient human-made structures the world over. | Continue reading
In our top stories this week, reporter Passant Rabie explores potential projects to visit and study asteroid Apophis when it performs a close encounter with Earth in 2029. Consumer Reports reveals that about 20% of fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S. may have unsafe pesticide … | Continue reading
"Great advice." Expert gardener demonstrates 'simple' trick for boosting tomato production: 'I instantly got higher yields' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Everything you need to know about the humanoids that will soon enter the workforce — or are in it already. | Continue reading
This is the thirtieth part of a fiction serial, in 754 words. During the next two years, Hettie’s life changed a great deal. Edward got his long-desired move to the suburbs when they bought a pre-war semi-detached house in Beckenham, still in Kent but close to south London. He so … | Continue reading
Fix A Drink – Chris Janson | Continue reading
My cat has nothing in common with Maisie Dobbs. Let me back up. Picture the scene: it’s December 2021. My first nephew had just been born, and because of the pandemic, I couldn’t meet him in person or help my sister the way she’d helped me after my sons were born. I was feeling h … | Continue reading
Hubble Monitors Supernova In Nearby Galaxy M82 from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Mefites are expressing joy that their seeking-tendrils have encountered the short science fiction story "Hello! Hello! Hello!" by Fiona Jones ... plus general vibrating gratitude at brainwane for … | Continue reading
What's the science behind starting a fire with flint and steel? | Continue reading
“Ending Agriculture isn’t the Climate-Crisis Solution Some Think It Is.” Taras Grescoe weighs in on the debate about lab-grown protein and makes a sensible defense of farming: “we need to forget about techno-mirages. Lab-grown protein, like the hyperloop and flying cars, will pro … | Continue reading
"Found out it's in the mint family and immediately dug it back up and put it in a pot." Gardener shares cautionary photo after realizing common planting mistake: 'RIP garden' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
This painting depicts the famous charge of the Scots Greys at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. It was painted by Lady Elizabeth Butler in 1881, and can be seen at the Leeds Art Gallery in Yorkshire, England. The canvas is just over 3 feet high by 6.5 feet wide. Like many paintings … | Continue reading
I am a pretty big fan of working from home. But I am accumulating that “I need to get out more” feeling. S and I have gotten into our routines. And going out is generally not in that routine. A lot available to us in Tokyo, but huge crowds are also included in that “a lot”. It’s … | Continue reading
Productivity is like a flower, it needs nurturing and dies if salted. For me, the fertilizer is knowing the meaning of work, how to do it, being on a good team, and feeling enthusiasm. I feel most productive in the mornings, late afternoons, and early evenings, and least producti … | Continue reading
Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation. 1: Financial collapse […] | Continue reading
The government is leaning heavily into subsidizing the research and development needed to make nuclear energy even safer and more efficient. Government announces nearly $20 million in funding to advance nuclear energy technology: 'These awards invest in the next generation of nuc … | Continue reading
So, I recently quit my job. On the evening of 25th Feb, I finally decided I’d had enough of the bullshit and that was that. I went in to work the next day and quit. Except, I didn’t. No, I’d planned to resign on the following day but I think I was so mentally committed to the ide … | Continue reading
The Bitcoin price increase, seen easily on the Binance website, has catalyzed a renaissance of interest in blockchain technology, highlighting its potential beyond cryptocurrencies. Blockchain, the underlying technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is essentially a … | Continue reading
Our apartment above the print shop in Serrazzano is heated by a woodstove in the kitchen. We’ve landed in Western Europe during some unseasonably cold weather; nearly everyone we tells us that it was so wonderfully warm “just a few weeks ago.” It’s 8°C outside this morning, thou … | Continue reading
The current AI chaos is prompting people to write all sorts of posts and articles about the imminent death of the web. The current debacle surrounding the TikTok ban (forced sale?) in the US is making journalists believe that the internet as a global town square where people can … | Continue reading
The basic ingredients dictate Overmono mixing Turn the Page should be brilliant – I love both artists and the original song – and foregrounding the strings and swirls of the original is cool. But this sounds a bit like just welding Overmono and The Streets together. The fucking h … | Continue reading
Besides creating a nuisance and a mess, all that plastic waste contaminates the environment with microplastics. Passerby captures photos of concerning scene outside construction site: 'Not sure how they are ever going to clean up' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
If you can't run Sonoma on your Mac, how can you ensure it's still secure? Do you need to run 3rd party software? What are the risks? | Continue reading
I started the week with several days of headaches, thinking I might have caught what E had the days before. I stayed at home mostly because of it. In the second half of the week my head cleared. This week I Discussed the Digital Europe Program with a client and the national stati … | Continue reading