For a long time, personal computers tried very hard to explain themselves. You had a desktop. On that desktop were files and folders. Programs opened in windows. Commands were grouped into menus. If you wanted to move something, you dragged it somewhere else. If you wanted to throw it away, there was usually a trash can or recycle bin waiting for it. None of that was accidental. Early graphical interfaces borrowed heavily from the physical office because computers were unfamiliar and needed a…

TL;DR - After not having issues for years, I've been having trouble with my alignment for a while now. To resolve it, I installed some cam tab gussets that I probably should have installed a long time ago. Cam tab gusset kit. I've been having a bit of trouble with my alignment, and I've mostly been trying to ignore it. I say mostly because I did purchase an All-Pro cam tab gusset kit, but of course, I just left it sitting in the "to be installed" pile of parts that any good Tacoma owner…

My dog instinctively chases squirrels, rabbits, and racoons. I used to want to train her out of this. In an uneducated bid to teach her not to chase, I would hold the leash tight, attempting to keep her stationary. This never worked. The second I started walking or let the leash slack, she would pull and chase. The trainer we worked with suggested a new idea. Maybe my dog needed an opportunity to run in order to calm down. Instead of running in the direction of the prey though, we could try…

As reported by James Cridland of Podnews, the podcast player app that I am using, Castro, has been sold. Again. If I am counting accurately, this will be the fourth owner. This app has gone through ups and downs, and have been neglected at multiple times. It's not just a lack of updates. There is a server component that is critical to the day-to-day usage of the app, so any problems with the server will directly impact customers. Let's see how the new owner will take care of this app. I am not…

Once the rebellions were finished, the reign of Khosrow II (590 - 628) experienced a golden age in some respects. One facet of his reign was his tolerance of Christians, which may have had something to do with the persecutions in the times of his immediate ancestors, and also to do with one of his wives, Shirin.Shirin was a Christian, a member of the Church of the East and later a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church. When Jerusalem was conquered in 614 by the Sassanians and the True Cross was…

From Japan, 1941: Countdown to Infamy, by Eri Hotta (Vintage, 2013), pp. 286-287: On January 11, 1941, the government issued, as a supplement to the National Mobilization Law, a set of regulations concerning newspapers and other media. Sensitive matters of military, diplomatic, and fiscal policies could no longer be officially written or spoken about, and there were detailed instructions regarding the coverage of resource shortages, weather forecasts (because of their potential strategic…

I like to use log/slog in Go. And I use custom LogValue() functions to have more control over how my structs get logged. But sometimes getting the right format is tedious.

Getting to the island of Belle-Île-en-Mer, to put it lightly, is difficult. We stayed in Sauzon, which is an obscenely beautiful hamlet right on the water. This destination was largely inspired by how much we enjoyed Iona last year, but the experience couldn’t have been more different.The golf course is on the north end of the island. The people were very friendly, and the adjacent restaurant was quite nice. Much of the tourism on Belle Île is folks hiking around the island. You will see them…

A number of classic walls appear in Les Revenants s02e04-05 (Canal+, 2015). ▲ Les Revenants s02e04 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e04 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e04 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e05 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e05 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e05 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e05 (Canal+, 2015) ▲ Les Revenants s02e05 (Canal+, 2015)

Total miscellany for Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate (Canadians). I made a pumpkin brownie pie... tart... loaf... thing that is currently cooling on the counter but that is all the holiday cooking/baking I will be doing. However I also have some mini cans of a Cranberry Ginger Ale from Canada Dry that are pretty good. Lanterns and the folly of Black Excellence by Isaiah Colbert (Aftermath) Lanterns as in the DC Universe comics property. Norway seeks temporary ban on…

Anyone who has visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and driven down Chain of Craters Road to the coast, likely ended up taking a photo of Holei Arch, which is near the end of the road. Anyone who visits that spot in the future will not do that, because the arch is no more. It collapsed while the park was closed during the passage of Tropical Storm Nolo. The exact time of its collapse isn’t known. It was there on Wednesday, September 23, but gone by Sunday evening on September 27.

I had to run some errands today and one required that I go to my local art supply store, Blick Art Materials. While there, I wandered down the pen aisle and remembered why I love shopping at art supply stores. First, there are individual pens and pencils available for purchase and scrap paper to test the colors and nib widths. The staff and clientele all love pens, paper, ink and other creative tools so they are always fun conversationalists. And finally, it is instant gratification for just a…

Lex Friedman for his relatively new and excellent Lex on Tech: That all may be true. But it’s not the point. It is true that X has, by some definition, “won.” Elon bought it, quickly ruined it, squandered its great Twitter branding, drove many users off the platform — but because it’s the most popular microblogging platform, it continues to succeed. And business leaders like [Apple CEO John] Ternus, celebrities, and other smart and interesting people are posting there again, or they never left.…

There’s a weird and depressing continuation of folks moving back to X, formerly Twitter, currently still a cesspool. The weirdness and my depression started when Federico Viticci and John Voorhees of MacStories fame headed back to stuffing Elon Musk’s back pocket. They’ve recently been followed by others in the tech-o-sphere, lured primarily because that’s apparently where the action is when it comes to talking about AI. Or talking to bots. I’m nor sure it matters. I expect them to all start…

In the past couple of months, my focus as a tech writer has shifted from writing to building machines, which in reality are elaborate skills that do things. One skill triages incoming bugs and website feedback on an hourly schedule, and another analyzes AI chat logs to recommend documentation improvements and hands its bugs off to the triage skill. This post describes both skills and reflects on documentation logistics, comparing them to the many processes that keep a city running.

Last night I slept decently enough. It was kind of surprising as the rain and thunder outside along with a picture that I saw on social media reminded me greatly of where I used to camp. I would probably put money on the picture being taken there, and I have a good idea where it was taken. I am not 100% positive though as things have changed a lot in nearly 30 years. Between that picture and talking to an old friend the other night from up there I have been feeling pretty nostalgic about those…

Ridgeline subscribers — Hello! It’s me, Craig Mod. I’m doing an event with David Marx in Tokyo this Friday night (17th) at Tiger Mountain, a small, hip bookshop. The in-person tix are all sold out, but it will be livestreamed, and there are still tickets for that bit. It costs about seven bucks, and would make the small bookshop running it super happy to sell more tickets! (Although I realize the timezone difference is terrible for most readers …)

In which I show how, over the last few years, the world has rapidly moved from open-source software being produced and maintained by online communities, to software projects being built and maintained in isolation. By single developers, with ever-decreasing input from others. AI coding tools are now dramatically accelerating movement away from code as a collective endeavour to "coding alone". I conclude by describing how such progression need not be considered inevitable. Every step has…

I have always struggled with morality. Not that I am immoral from a societal standpoint. I am amoral—not because I have no morals, but because I don't see morality as absolute. I do have values and principles, and I follow them, but I am not rigid about them. For me, the person matters more than the values we hold. For me, the person matters more than the values we hold. I know I shouldn’t fall in love with someone, but there’s no way in hell I can control who I fall in love with. All I can…

Monday means Fantasy with Friends time! All the prompts are hosted at Pages Unbound, if you’d like to join in. This week’s prompt is about fantasy worlds you’d want to live in: What fantasy world(s) would you want to live in? Why? None, really. I know that’s a really boring answer, and it’s also the same answer I give to questions about what period you’d like to travel to. I like where I am, mostly! Obviously there’s things I’d change in the wider socioeconomic and political environment, if I…

I found Ron on the Go’s stream while we were in line. Earl is shown on the right, I’m behind him in my big hat. While we were waiting in line for Pirates of The Caribbean, I noticed a man holding a tripod with a gimbal on it; he was recording or sharing video. His shirt gave a clue as to what he’s doing, he’s Ron On The Go. I was amazed by the simplicity of his YouTube setup. I could see little chats going by on his smartphone display; I presume he was responding verbally. That’s kind of cool.…

I literally just bought a new notebook to replace the near-full battered Moleskine that permanently lives in my back pocket. Then I saw this! The lines are watermarked, not printed so they basically are invisible! One of those ridiculously simple solutions that you wonder why no-one thought of it before. £62 whole English pounds is a little steep for my to-do lists but, with that Japanese paper quality and outstanding engineering, it will likely strike a chord with hardcore journalists that…

Wallgate Railway Bridge Wallgate Railway Bridge II The Raven Standishgate Wallgate

I’m heading to Japan soon, and while researching places to go near Gotokuji, the temple that gave the world the maneki neko (the lucky beckoning cat), I found out about a burger place called Easy. I may have to check it out, considering their creations include the “Midsummer Burger,” which is topped with: Lemon zest Lemon marmalade Cream cheese At that point, the thought that came to mind is “Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.” They also have a pineapple…

Hænesy: EsentiaOut 25th September on Purity Through Fire Five years ago this Hungarian outfit presented an interesting proposition with ‘Garabontzia’, a black metal album crafted almost entirely from clean, reverb drenched guitar lines, working their way through oddly cathartic melodic hooks and chord sequences rich in pathos. There was no denying its proximity to post metal, a prospect that will reliably drive me to disengage. But this felt like post metal done right, or at least black metal…

Sea Horses - 1989-1992Sea Horses were (approximately) pitched to me as “haunted britfolk filtered through a late 1980s 4AD lens.” And yeah, I’ll go along with that enticing description. And I’ll go one further by saying that they makle me think: what if the Bronte Sisters joined the Smiths?! Let your imagination fill in the rest of the blanks. Sea Horses floated around the fertile Manchester scene for a few years, and the 1989-1992 compilation gathers a captivating “best-of” from the three…

Instead of taking responsibility, the government is passing crucial resilience roles to the public, and failure is inevitable. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 8th October 2026 Would you mind fixing the NHS? And while you’re at it, could you please build an anti-missile system in your garden? Then regulate the banks, replace the water mains, tax the very rich and use the proceeds to rebuild our schools. Well, come on people: what are you waiting for? I exaggerate, but this isn’t…

I’m collecting here a list of some other recent blog posts or opinion pieces on math and AI beyond the ones posted here or at Proofs and Prompts. Readers are invited to contribute further such links in the comments. Kevin Buzzard, “To grieve, or not to grieve?“ Alexander Gamburd, “The Siren Call of Silicon Leviathan: Reflections on blowup and Aufklärungsdämmerung“ Harald Helfgott, “Mathematics and the AI crisis“ Gil Kalai, ““Be a Grothendieck!”—On AI and Mathematics“ Asaf Karaglia, “OpenAI, the…

Hui Yang (University of Illinois) and NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of a vast nebula called NGC 604, which is rich in helium. In the early moments of the Big Bang, two elements were forged: hydrogen and helium. Technically, the tiniest traces of light elements such as lithium were produced as well, but nothing of consequence. The early Universe was about 3 parts hydrogen to 1 part helium. All the heavier elements, from the oxygen in your lungs to the iron in your blood, were created…

Nunatsiarmiut Mother and Child, Baffin Island, NunavutWarm light bathes this lovely Nunatsiarmiut mother and child from Baffin Island, Nunavut. They speak Inuktitut, the mother tongue of the majority of the Nunatsiarmiut who call Baffin Island home. Baffin is the largest island in the Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut in Canada's far north—the chilliest region of Turtle