The goal of the Trump Action Tracker is to “document how the trajectory of Trump’s presidency is aligned with the authoritarian playbook”.
16.02.2026
The K-Shaped Economy
I think I’d heard the term “k-shaped economy” somewhere before but didn’t really know what it meant until I watched this video:
American Airlines is changing the layout of some of their aircraft to add 31 first class and premium seats while cutting out 73 economy seats. ...
Why AI Writing Is So Generic, Boring, and Dangerous:...
Why AI Writing Is So Generic, Boring, and Dangerous: Semantic Ablation. “The AI identifies high-entropy clusters — the precise points where unique insights…reside — and systematically replaces them with the most probable, generic token sequences.”
★ Apple Releases iOS 26 Adoption Rates, and They’re Pretty Much in Line With the Last Few Years
Speaking of iOS 26, here’s Joe Rossignol reporting for MacRumors:
Apple has shared updated iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 adoption
figures, revealing how many iPhones and iPads are running
those software versions. These adoption numbers are based on
iPhones and iPads that transact...
Jesse Jackson on Sesame Street in 1971 doing a...
The 19 richest Americans hold more than 2% of the total...
The 19 richest Americans hold more than 2% of the total US holdhold wealth. That figure has roughly doubled in the past 5-6 years. “The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering.”
How to Force Restart an iPhone
support.apple.com/guide/iphone/force-restart-iphone-iph8903c3ee6/ios
Apple Support:
If iPhone isn’t responding, and you can’t turn it off then
on, try forcing it to restart.
Press and quickly release the volume up button.
Press and quickly release the volume down button.
Press and hold the side button.
When the Apple logo appears, relea...
Vote Dizzy!
In 1964, legendary jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie ran for President as a write-in candidate. Some of the more interesting details about his campaign:
If elected, he’d rename the White House to the Blues House.
Running mate was slated to be Phyllis Diller. “She seems to h...
Jesse Jackson dies at 84
The American civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson, who twice ran for the Democratic nomination for president, has died aged 84. Tributes have been flowing in, with President Trump describing him as a good man and a force of nature. In a statement, Reverend Jackson's family cal...
Ski Jumping Pairs is my favorite Winter Olympics event....
Ski Jumping Pairs is my favorite Winter Olympics event. (Video by Riichiro Mashima.)
From designer Beth Mathews, a free “Private...
From designer Beth Mathews, a free “Private Property! No ICE” sign you can print out for your shop or restaurant.
What movies can you brag about seeing during their...
What movies can you brag about seeing during their original run in the theater? Not big movies, more culty ones. I’ve got Iron Giant, American Movie, Run Lola Run, Hands on a Hardbody, and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. 😂
Quoting ROUGH DRAFT 8/2/66
This is the story of the United Space Ship Enterprise. Assigned a five year patrol of our galaxy, the giant starship visits Earth colonies, regulates commerce, and explores strange new worlds and civilizations. These are its voyages... and its adventures.
— ROUGH DRAFT 8/2/66, before the Star Trek opening narration reached its final form
Tags: screen-writing, science-fiction
From a draft of the opening narration of Star Trek :...
From a draft of the opening narration of Star Trek: “Assigned a five year patrol of our galaxy, the giant starship visits Earth colonies, regulates commerce, and explores strange new worlds…” I’m glad they punched it up.
First kākāpō chick in four years hatches on Valentine's Day
First kākāpō chick in four years hatches on Valentine's Day
First chick of the 2026 breeding season!
Kākāpō Yasmine hatched an egg fostered from kākāpō Tīwhiri on Valentine's Day, bringing the total number of kākāpō to 237 – though it won’t be officially added to the popula...
Quoting Dimitris Papailiopoulos
But the intellectually interesting part for me is something else. I now have something close to a magic box where I throw in a question and a first answer comes back basically for free, in terms of human effort. Before this, the way I'd explore a new idea is to either clums...
Hillary Clinton accuses Trump of Epstein 'cover up'
Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, and her husband, the former president Bill Clinton, have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. She said the government's behaviour indicated it had something to hide. President Trump has r...
Nano Banana Pro diff to webcomic
Given the threat of cognitive debt brought on by AI-accelerated software development leading to more projects and less deep understanding of how they work and what they actually do, it's interesting to consider artifacts that might be able to help.
Nathan Baschez on Twitter:...
‘GoldenEye’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey
Half of everything is luck, the other half is The Rewatchables. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey revisit the first James Bond film with Pierce Brosnan in ‘GoldenEye’ also starting Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, and Famke Janssen. Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Matt Pevic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices