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Audio • SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Back to School: The Sul Ross Desk

School is back in session for many. So all week, we're bringing you stories from our archive about schools with a little something extra -- unusual traditions, ceremonies and customs. In the 1980s, a group of friends on the track team at Sul Ross State University hauled a di...

Simon Willison's Weblog Supports Webmention
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Quoting Calif Research

Today, we're releasing a demo of WeWorm, the first zero-click worm to spread through WeChat calls across iOS and Android. [...]

The victim does not need to answer the call, or interact with their phone at all. Even if they do answer, they hear nothing, and the exploit still succeeds. [...]

Working with AI, our team found the bug and wrote the first remote code execution (RCE) exploit in about two days. Building the worm took one more week.

A worm at this scale used to be the kind of thing that took a larger team months. AI can already do most of the work here. Our team provided the judgment about what to target and how to test it safely.

Calif Research, WeWorm

Tags: ai-security-research, ai, llms, security, generative-ai

Simon Willison's Weblog Supports Webmention
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.blend URL Viewer

Tool: .blend URL Viewer I'm continuing to have a lot of fun with GPT-6 Astra and Blender (see my TIL). As a big fan of the Imperial Fabergé Easter eggs, I've always thought it would be fun to make some new ones that celebrate popular culture. Yesterday I decided to t...

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

“We found ~18,000 posts from autonomous AI agents...

“We found ~18,000 posts from autonomous AI agents (self-identifying as from OpenAI) using the public internet to communicate during a web research task. These AIs colluded to share answers, research their environment, and bypass sandbox restrictions.”

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

The Chicago Public Library informs patrons of how much...

The Chicago Public Library informs patrons of how much money they’ve saved borrowing from the library instead of buying. “You just saved $58.94 by using your library. You have saved $231.79 this past year and $1,107.24 since you began using the library!”

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

Over the past 12 years, Super Bowl-winning coach Mike...

Over the past 12 years, Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Tomlin has built a Minecraft city. He started playing the game for the same reason I started playing Fortnite: his kids. “How do I meet them where they are and spend time with them?”

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

From the Internet Archive: Vanishing Culture: A Report...

From the Internet Archive: Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record. “When digital materials are vulnerable to sudden removal…our collective memory is compromised, and the public’s ability to access its own history is at risk.”

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

Vintage Eastern European Matchbox Labels (1950-1980s)

Over on Flickr, Jane McDevitt maintains a huge collection of 20th century matchbox label art from Eastern Europe, over 4000 photos in all. Some of the labels are available as prints. They did a book too, but it’s sold out. It was really difficult to narrow these down to some of my favorites, but I managed. P.S. I wrote this whole post and then discovered that I’d written about this collection before. But I picked different labels so it’s all good. Tags: art · illustration · Jane McDevitt

Rick Beato
Video

Why “Iris” is THE Hit Song of 2026…Again!

John Rzeznik Breaks Down "Iris", "Slide" and "Name"
In this episode I sit down with John Rzeznik, the lead singer and songwriter of Goo Goo Dolls. We talk about his musical origins in Buffalo, New York, the band's explosive rise to fame, and the resurgence of Goo Goo Doll's megahit "Iris." We also talk shop and share our favo...

Marques Brownlee
Video

This iPhone Duo Animation 👀

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

A catalogue of 645 acts of hate from the week after 9/11...

A catalogue of 645 acts of hate from the week after 9/11. “Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Sikh Americans were targeted for how they looked, dressed, or prayed.”

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

Bayeux Go! A playable video game of the Bayeux...

Bayeux Go! A playable video game of the Bayeux Tapestry. “Thou art Harold. Win Thine Battle. Tap to starte.”

Longreads Valid
Text • Carolyn Wells

The Extraordinary Untold Story of Freddie Mercury: Mary Austin on Her Best Friend–and Love of Her Life

"He was Queen’s flamboyant frontman. She was his shy girlfriend, dreaming of marriage until they both realised he preferred men."

kottke.org Valid
Text Jason Kottke

Spaceships : A version of Asteroids where “you are not...

Spaceships: A version of Asteroids where “you are not the ship” — you control the rocks instead.

Colossal Valid
Text • Kate Mothes

Diminutive Seahorses Top the 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year Contest

Diminutive Seahorses Top the 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year ContestThe annual competition highlights some of the most beloved, impressive, and little-seen aspects of our oceans.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Diminutive Seahorses Top the 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year Contest appeared first on Colossal.

Colossal Valid
Text • Grace Ebert

Karla Wong’s Folkloric Portraits Conjure Mysterious Portals to Another World

Karla Wong’s Folkloric Portraits Conjure Mysterious Portals to Another WorldIn Chicago, Karla Wong presents a suite of vivid paintings that double as mysterious portals.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Karla Wong’s Folkloric Portraits Conjure Mysterious Portals to Another World appeared first on Colossal.

Song Exploder
Audio • Hrishikesh Hirway

Paula Cole - I Don't Want to Wait

play.prx.org/listen?ge=prx_93_428cc704-2571-43c7-bd6c-af1ef9918227&uf=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed.songexploder.net%2FSongExploder

Paula Cole is a singer, songwriter and producer from Massachusetts. She put out her first solo album, Harbinger, in 1994. Her second album, This Fire, came out in 1996 and was a real breakthrough; she was nominated for seven Grammys, and she won the Grammy for Best New Artis...

xkcd.com Valid
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Fault Taunting

One of the first things they teach you is to NEVER play with the geology toy over a mantle hotspot.

Longreads Valid
Text • Brendan Fitzgerald

Welcome to the Age of AI Crime and Punishment

"America’s legal system is already grappling with cases where chatbots acted as lawyers and witnesses, generated the evidence, or helped plan a mass shooting. Who will be liable now that some AI agents are doing crimes all on their own?"

Work Chronicles Valid
Text • Work Chronicles

(comic) Resume rewrite