As an experiment, The Pudding used an LLM (Claude) to produce one of their data-driven, visual stories. “Do we feel replaceable? In short, not right now.”
Diary Comics, July 3-5
Tags: diary comics
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“Everywhere they go, the world’s best table tennis players meet strangers who...
“Everywhere they go, the world’s best table tennis players meet strangers who believe they can hold their own against them.” No, you’re not taking even a single point from an Olympic table tennis player. “It’s cute. But it’s not true.”
The DMV Is Good Actually
Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed this piece by Tressie McMillan Cottom: People Hate on the D.M.V. But It’s Great.
The D.M.V. is a beacon of equality in this country. Celebrate the place where you can watch a celebrity fill out the same forms that you do. We should revel in the fac...
598: Three-Burner Stove
Follow-up:
Rivian Repair
Becki & Chris (timestamp link) (via Matt Rigby)
Marco’s Repair Breakdown
Parts: 39%
Right Uniside assembly quarter panel: $2,751
Bumper cover: $940
Right tail lamp assembly: $630
Right quarter panel glass: $537
Labor: 53%
Miscellaneou...
How the decline of Indian vultures led to 500,000 human deaths. “Understanding...
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.
Watch a clip from the first animation Hayao Miyazaki directed on his...
Watch a clip from the first animation Hayao Miyazaki directed on his own: a pilot for a series called Yuki no Taiyou from 1972.
The True Function of Racism Is Distraction
On social media this morning, I ran across this evergreen quote from Toni Morrison about the true function of racism:
It’s important, therefore, to know who the real enemy is, and to know the function, the very serious function of racism, which is distraction. It keeps yo...
Terrified Conservative Planning To Move To 1930s Austria If Trump Loses. “A...
Terrified Conservative Planning To Move To 1930s Austria If Trump Loses. “A tearful Hawkins sobbed while imagining his sons growing up in a place and time where they were considered equal to another race or gender.”
The Difference Between the EU and US Apple Pencil Pro: Regulatory Certification Tattoos
Look closely.
Public Work: A Fast Search Engine for Public Domain Images
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 (both visually and content-wise). And it’s fun to just visually click around on related images. On the downside, their sourcing and attribution isn’t great — especially when compared to something like Flickr Commons.
I’d love it if an interface this quick and visual-first were adopted by museums though — let’s face it: the image search on museum, library, and institution websites is often terrible and slow. (via @jaygogh)
Tags: art
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Driving PSA…
From XKCD, a public safety announcement about driving: random drivers can’t grant you the right of way as a gift.
Yes, yes, yes, yes to the moon and back. I thought no one else noticed this! Vermont drivers are unusually “nice” in this regard and it drives me bonkers.
I ...
London expanded their Ultra Low Emission Zone (which polluting cars need to...
London expanded their Ultra Low Emission Zone (which polluting cars need to pay a fee to enter) and pollution levels decreased significantly in the first 6 months. Particulate matter (PM2.5) dropped 22% and NO2 fell 21%.
The science and mechanics of six Olympic events, explained. Skater Minna Stess:...
The science and mechanics of six Olympic events, explained. Skater Minna Stess: “If you think about a trick, sometimes it makes it harder. When I’m skating, the best thing is not to think at all.”
Building Lego Machines to Destroy Tall Lego Towers
Brick Technology’s new video features increasingly powerful Lego machines designed to topple ever stronger towers. I love their iterative engineering videos (and those from Brick Experiment Channel). As I’ve written about these videos before:
They’re not even really about...
Mocking fascists is good, necessary, and effective. “Good thrusting mockery cuts right...
Mocking fascists is good, necessary, and effective. “Good thrusting mockery cuts right through that. Yes, they’re dangerous. But they’re also insecure, stunted degenerates. They’re weird. Normal people don’t want to be around them.”
It’s the wrong trousers, Gromit! And they’ve gone wrong! (Electric hiking pants?)...
It’s the wrong trousers, Gromit! And they’ve gone wrong! (Electric hiking pants?)
Point Break & Kathryn Bigelow’s Revolutionary POV Shots
In this video, Evan Puschak takes a close look at the iconic chase scene in Point Break to see how director Kathryn Bigelow uses POV shots to help put the viewer right into the action in a way that is incredibly immersive. Oh, and there a surprise appearance by Disneyland’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
Confession: I have never seen Point Break. Guess I should watch it now?
Tags: Evan Puschak · film school · Kathryn Bigelow · movies · Point Break · video
The EFF on the harmful KOSA bill working its way through Congress....
The EFF on the harmful KOSA bill working its way through Congress. “The Senate just passed a bill that will let the federal and state governments investigate and sue websites that they claim cause kids mental distress.”
Results of LA’s 3-year basic income experiment were “transformative”. It gave people...
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”.