kottke

kottke, 9 hours ago to random

The 40-hour workweek isn’t “a biological necessity,” per a recent episode of History Unplugged. “In fact, for much of human history, 15 hours … was the standard.” I haven’t listened yet, but 15 hours sounds pleasant. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/history-unplugged/the-15-hour-work-week-was-Pc1xnyK9pq2

kottke, 10 hours ago to random

Why do big cicada broods emerge at prime-numbered year intervals? It could be because it’s easier for them to avoid predators with two-, three-, four-, or six-year cycles. https://kottke.org/24/05/cicadas-and-prime-numbers

kottke, 1 day ago to random

Tracing the history of emoji, surprisingly, back to the 80s. “Once you accept that emoji existed in the 1980s, more things come to light.” https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2024/05/10/emoji-history-the-missing-years/

kottke, 1 day ago to random

Paul Ford writing about AI is a treat. “AI is, very simply, a totally shameless technology. It does everything badly and confidently. And I want to be it.” https://www.wired.com/story/generative-ai-totally-shameless/

kottke, 1 day ago to random

TIL that some tiny bits of bitcoins are more valuable than others. “Those produced in the year bitcoin was created are considered vintage, like a fine wine. Other coveted sats were part of transactions made by bitcoin’s inventor.” https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/05/the-hunt-for-rare-bitcoin-is-nearing-an-end/

kottke, 1 day ago to random

Google is replacing their search results with AI answers. There’s a very simple explanation for this: it’s better/cheaper to provide potentially wrong answers to keep you clicking within Google than it is to send you away for the right answers. https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/14/24155321/google-search-ai-results-page-gemini-overview

kottke, 1 day ago to random

Love this phrase: decanting groceries. “Do you really want to spend your one wild and precious life putting marshmallows in jars?” https://www.eater.com/24105047/you-dont-need-to-decant-your-groceries-kitchen-storage

kottke, 3 days ago to random

This is a good piece about third places (“settings a person frequents beyond their home & work”), their benefits, how to find/make your own, and the challenges people face in finding them. Do you have a third place? https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/24119312/how-to-find-a-third-place-cafe-bar-gym-loneliness-connection

kottke, 3 days ago to random

“The student left is the most reliably correct constituency in America. Over the past 60 years, it has passed every great moral test American foreign policy has forced upon the public”: Vietnam, apartheid South Africa, Iraq War, civil rights, etc. https://kottke.org/24/05/the-kids-are-right-and-alright

kottke, 3 days ago to random

Currently listening to Atavista, a “new” album from Childish Gambino (which he says is the “finished version” of an album he released in 2020 called 3.15.20). https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-childish-gambinos-new-album-atavista/

kottke, 3 days ago to random

Incredible fact: none of the Big Three US automakers makes a sedan anymore. “That decision is bad news for road users, the environment, and budget-conscious consumers — and it may ultimately come around to bite Detroit.” https://www.fastcompany.com/91123174/detroit-killed-the-sedan-we-may-all-live-to-regret-it

kottke, 3 days ago to random

A new LoTR movie is coming: Andy Serkis is starring and directing in Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Peter Jackson is producing and Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens are writing the script. https://variety.com/2024/film/news/lord-of-the-rings-movie-2026-release-warner-bros-1235997102/

kottke, 4 days ago to random

The Sky Was Purple and Red and Yellow and On Fire. I loved the aurora borealis takeover of social media this weekend. Here’s some of the best shots taken by folks all over the world. https://kottke.org/24/05/the-sky-was-purple-and-red-and-yellow-and-on-fire

kottke, 6 days ago to random

Seabike is an “underwater mobility device” that can propel you through the water at “superhuman speed”. You pedal with your feet, driving a small propellor. https://newatlas.com/marine/seabike-swimming-propeller/

kottke, 6 days ago to random

A neat technique to rebuild roads using a movable temporary bridge — traffic goes over and the work happens in the shade. https://boingboing.net/2024/05/07/how-to-resurface-a-road-without-stopping-traffic.html

kottke, 6 days ago to random

A love letter to bicycle maintenance and repair. “Learning to fix bicycles has changed my outlook on manual labor, on the nature of work, and ultimately on life itself.” https://tegowerk.eu/posts/bicycle-repair/

kottke, 6 days ago to random

AI Copilots Are Changing How Coding Is Taught; they can “free up time for us to teach higher-level thinking — for example, how to design software, what is the right problem to solve, and what are the solutions.” https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-coding

kottke, 6 days ago to random

Some tips for long walks. “We’re prone to lean forward when we walk. Over long distances, this wreaks havoc on one’s lower back and hips. As such, ‘head over hips’ is something to be conscious of.” https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/187/

kottke, 6 days ago to random

I missed this from last year: the original “on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog” New Yorker cartoon sold for $175,000 at auction. https://news.artnet.com/market/new-yorker-cartoon-highest-price-auction-2381602

kottke, 7 days ago to random

This is the first I’m learning of the spookily named Decline at 9 phenomenon, in which kids apparently lose interest in reading around age nine. (Per the article, 57% of 8-year-olds claim to read for fun daily, vs. only 35% of 9-year-olds.) ¯_(ツ)_/¯ https://slate.com/culture/2024/05/kids-reading-fun-books-decline-by-nine-crisis.html

kottke, 8 days ago to random

Wes Anderson recently directed a commercial for Montblanc that stars Rupert Friend, Jason Schwartzman, and Anderson himself. https://kottke.org/24/05/wes-andersons-montblanc-commercial

kottke, 8 days ago to random

Bushwick Analytica is an art project that helped kids microtarget their parents and other adults on Facebook with hand-drawn ads such as “I should have a dog. Get your kids a dog!” and “Save the animal habitats”. https://kottke.org/24/05/parents-micro-targeted-by-their-kids-hard-drawn-ads-on-facebook

kottke, 8 days ago to random

The Cheese-Making Magic of Alka-Seltzer, Explained. You can make a creamy nacho cheese sauce at home using Alka-Seltzer — its ingredients react to form an emulsifying agent. Plop, plop, Cheez Whiz, oh what a trick this is… https://www.seriouseats.com/alka-seltzer-cheese-sauce-recipe-8643844

kottke, 9 days ago to random

“For the first time ever, more online news sites produced Pulitzer finalists than newspapers did.“ https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/05/this-years-pulitzer-prizes-were-a-coming-out-party-for-online-media-and-a-marker-of-local-newspapers-decline/

kottke, 9 days ago to random

A video clip of how rope was made by hand in the olden days. https://kottke.org/13/03/how-rope-was-made-the-old-fashioned-way