kottke.org

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home of fine hypertext products since 1998

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Last Notes

2024-08-14 15:42:02

“When Google increased paid maternity leave to 18 from 12 weeks in 2007, the rate at which new moms left the company fell by 50%.” Paid leave, universal healthcare, and related programs would be such a boon to workers & the economy. https://fortune.com/2024/08/12/susan-wojcicki-knew-what-working-parents-need-elon-musk-does-not/

2024-08-14 13:52:01

Recent CDC report: “Among children born during 1994–2023, routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented approximately 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1,129,000 deaths…” https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7331a2.htm

2024-08-13 20:22:01

Fever Feels Horrible, But Is Actually Helpful. “Fever feels bad. So we take medication to suppress it — but is this a good idea? It turns out fever is one of the oldest defenses against disease.” https://kottke.org/24/08/fever-feels-horrible-but-is-actually-helpful

2024-08-12 20:18:03

The Mushroom Color Atlas is an extensive collection of pigment and dye colors that can be derived from mushrooms. https://kottke.org/24/08/mushroom-color-atlas-a-rainbow-of-dye-colors

2024-08-12 13:18:01

Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk’s estranged daughter, excoriates Walter Isaacson for his misrepresentation of her in his “puff-piece” Musk biography. “You portrayed me in a light that is genuinely defamatory and I’m not going to mince my words.” https://www.threads.net/@vivllainous/post/C-jgBWQxyRs

2024-08-08 17:52:02

Is this a new streaming device for your TV or the bar of soap in the shower that’s been worn down to a sliver but your parents won’t throw it out because “there’s still a lot of soap there”? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/08/google-kills-chromecast-replaces-it-with-apple-tv-and-roku-ultra-competitor/

2024-08-07 17:42:01

The Undisguised Extremism of the Republican Party. “The book argues that leftists don’t deserve the status of human beings — that they are, as the title says, unhumans.” This is the type of thing endorsed by prominent Republicans now. https://kottke.org/24/08/the-undisguised-extremism-of-the-republican-party

2024-08-07 17:02:01

Utah is basically burning books now. “State has ordered books by 13 authors, 12 of them women, to be removed from every public school, classroom and library.” Includes books by Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, and Rupi Kaur. https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/07/utah-outlaws-books-by-judy-blume-and-sarah-j-maas-in-first-statewide-ban

2024-08-05 23:16:01

YES YES YES: “Campaigns from Harris for President on down should clarify that they will post to Twitter only after updating other platforms. Steering the media away from Twitter helps democracy.” Time to stop helping Musk’s disinformation campaign. https://www.theframelab.org/beware-trumps-secret-weapon-elon-musks-x-twitter/

2024-08-05 19:56:01

Google, a monopoly, loses its antitrust case against the Dept of Justice. “A federal judge ruled that Google violated US antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly in the search and advertising markets.” https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/5/24155520/judge-rules-on-us-doj-v-google-antitrust-search-suit

2024-08-01 16:32:01

How the decline of Indian vultures led to 500,000 human deaths. “Understanding the role vultures play in human health underscores the importance of protecting wildlife, and not just the cute and cuddly.” It’s all connected. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c28e2pvzn3lo

2024-07-31 22:36:01

Public Work is an image search engine that boasts 100,000 “copyright-free” images from institutions like the NYPL, the Met, etc. It’s fast with a relatively simple interface and uses AI to auto-categorize and suggest possibly related images. https://kottke.org/24/07/public-work-a-fast-search-engine-for-public-domain-images

2024-07-31 16:14:02

Results of LA’s 3-year basic income experiment were “transformative”. It gave people “time and space” to improve their lives by “landing better jobs, leaving unsafe living conditions and escaping abusive relationships”. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-31/study-details-what-happened-when-la-residents-were-guaranteed-1000-dollars-a-month

2024-07-30 19:56:02

For the first time, wind & solar generated more of the EU’s electricity in the first 6 months of 2024 than fossil fuels. “We are witnessing a historic shift in the power sector, and it is happening rapidly.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/30/renewables-overtake-fossil-fuels-to-provide-30-of-eu-electricity

2024-07-30 15:02:01

Germans are installing “plug-and-play” solar panels to feed energy back to the grid. “You don’t need to drill or hammer anything. You just hang them from the balcony like wet laundry.” Collectively, they are contributing significantly to solar capacity. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/business/germany-solar-panels-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=1._E0.zL83.1FCeoxOrFDBY

2024-07-25 17:42:01

Fun little browser game: What Beats Rock? https://www.whatbeatsrock.com/

2024-06-19 19:26:01

Mel Brooks is producing a sequel to Spaceballs with Josh Gad starring. Please say they are getting Rick Moranis to come back for this… https://variety.com/2024/film/news/spaceballs-2-josh-gad-mel-brooks-amazon-mgm-1236041375/

2024-06-19 17:52:02

How heat affects our brains: it makes us dumber, irritable, impulsive, and aggressive (i.e. don’t blame me if the site sucks today, it feels like 97° here and I don’t have A/C). https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/well/mind/heat-affect-brain-emotions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.000._KgR.uR0e2BTcYdLw

2024-06-18 21:02:01

An Apple Watch reimagined in the style of a Newton. Love the app icons for Bluesky, BBEdit, and Marathon. https://bsky.app/profile/nanoraptor.danamania.com/post/3kuwhczwlok2d

2024-06-14 15:16:03

A 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s epic Seven Samurai is heading to theaters this summer. From the trailer, it looks pretty amazing. https://kottke.org/24/06/seven-samurais-4k-restoration

2024-06-11 22:02:02

The myth about cars that’s hurting cities. “In study after study in city after city around the world, researchers have found that merchants exaggerate the share of patrons who arrive by car and undercount those who walk, bike, or ride transit.” https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/354672/hochul-congestion-pricing-manhattan-diners-cars-transit

2024-06-10 19:32:01

“There have been more gun suicides than gun homicides in the United States every year for the past 25 years. Yet the harm inflicted on communities by suicides rarely registers in the national debate over guns.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/us/montana-suicide-guns.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk0.vvwJ.5sKdJsiGgSrz

2024-06-06 18:40:03

Download free coloring books sourced from the collections of dozens of museums and libraries. You know, for kids. https://kottke.org/24/06/download-free-coloring-books-from-museums-and-libraries

2024-06-05 19:32:01

In the last 10 years, Paris has closed 100 streets to cars, removed 50,000 parking spots, tripled parking fees for SUVs, and built more than 800 miles of bike lanes. “Those changes have contributed to a 40% decline in air pollution.” https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/paris-olympics-city-reduce-air-pollution-rcna153470

2024-06-04 18:16:01

World-first tooth-regrowing drug will be given to humans in September. “If successful, this therapy could be available to patients with any permanently missing teeth within six years.” https://newatlas.com/medical/tooth-regrowing-human-trial/

2024-05-29 15:06:01

Scientists have figured out why killer whales are smashing up luxury yachts: it’s a new fad among teen orcas. “A combination of free time, curiosity and natural playfulness has led to young orcas adopting this ‘trend’ of boat-bumping.” https://newatlas.com/biology/orcas-killer-whales-boats/

2024-05-22 17:06:02

A Massachusetts “millionaire’s tax” (extra 4% tax on $1M+ incomes) has earned the state more than $1.8 billion in income for fiscal 2023. That’s about double the estimates and the funds will be spent on education and transportation. https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2024-05-21/millionaires-tax-revenue-reaches-1-8-billion-on-pace-to-double-estimates

2024-05-15 15:12:02

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

2024-05-13 16:06:02

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

2024-04-29 18:12:02

With MovieCart, you can create Atari 2600 cartridges that will play full-length movies. “Joystick controls brightness, volume, and shuttle position. Console switches control b/w, ten second rewind and full rewind.” https://github.com/lodefmode/moviecart

2024-04-29 15:32:02

“I blame Facebook for January 6.” Aaron Sorkin is writing a sequel to The Social Network. “There’s supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity. There isn’t. It’s just growth.” https://variety.com/2024/film/news/aaron-sorkin-social-network-2-sequel-january-6-facebook-1235983390/