As it was foretold: the Trump regime gutted the NOAA and now weather forecasts are less accurate. An atmospheric scientist: “The forecasts I’m able to offer you are less accurate than they would otherwise be.”
Daring Fireball
• John Gruber
‘A Perfect Reflection of Trump’s Washington’
politicalwire.com/2026/06/19/a-perfect-reflection-of-trumps-washington/
Taegan Goddard, two weeks ago at Political Wire:
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become an almost
too-perfect metaphor for Donald Trump’s presidency.
He promised a quick, cheap fix.
Instead, taxpayers got a no-bid project that ballooned to more
than $14 millio...
Using DSPy to evaluate and improve Datasette Agent's SQL system prompts
Research: Using DSPy to evaluate and improve Datasette Agent's SQL system prompts
One of this morning's AIE keynotes covered dspy, which reminded me I've been meaning to see if it could help me improve the system prompt used by Datasette Agent - so I fired off an asy...
Something for the digital crate-diggers: The 40 Best...
Something for the digital crate-diggers: The 40 Best Albums From the Last 40 Years That You Probably Didn’t Hear (But Should’ve). I’d only heard of one or two these…
Daring Fireball
• John Gruber
Claude Fable and Kayfabe
Anthropic:
On Friday, June 12, the US government applied export controls to
our newest models, Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5. This
required us to restrict access to foreign nationals, whether
inside or outside the United States. Because the order took effect
immedia...
“ Dictionary of the Illegible proposes...
“Dictionary of the Illegible proposes illegibility as a strategy for navigating a world increasingly governed by visibility, efficiency, and total surveillance.”
It’s a great day to be alive! #surgery #anniversary #shorts
“ The average paid newsletter costs $10 per month...
“The average paid newsletter costs $10 per month or $100 per year, according to analysis of thousands of publications hosted on Beehiiv.” KDO memberships start at $3/mo. and I haven’t raised prices since 2016. You folks are getting an incredible deal!
Understand to participate
I saw Geoffrey Litt speak at AIE yesterday, and one framing he used particularly resonated with me:
Understand to participate
Geoffrey was talking about the challenge of collaborating with coding agents as they construct increasingly large and sophisticated changes, and the ...
Daring Fireball
• John Gruber
‘Why Is Meta Destroying Its Engineering Organization?’
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/why-is-meta-destroying-its-engineering
Gergely Orosz, writing at The Pragmatic Engineer (which, sadly, is a Substack blog):
The biggest problem: people stop caring about real work and focus
on performative work. Let’s check the four ingredients that
Meta’s leadership has decided to introduce to their workplac...
Hank Green interviews Ze Frank , who kind of invented...
Hank Green interviews Ze Frank, who kind of invented the modern YouTube format (aka vlogging). “At the episode’s end, Ze lays down some of the best advice Hank’s ever heard.”
Longreads
• Carolyn Wells
The Brits Panning for Gold
"In remote rivers, prospectors still hunt for treasure .They even hold tournaments."
Daring Fireball
• John Gruber
MG Siegler Got Banned From WhatsApp for No Reason
MG Siegler, writing at Spyglass:
Yes, that’s right, for a third time in as many years, I’ve been
banned by Meta. What for? Do you really have to ask? Nobody
knows. My suspicion is that it’s directly tied to the
claiming of usernames on WhatsApp, which Meta opened up
yest...
Parker Molloy on why the panic about trans women in...
Parker Molloy on why the panic about trans women in sports is not actually about fairness or protecting women & girls (in the similar way Gamergate was not about “ethics in games journalism”).
Daring Fireball
• John Gruber
Hackers Stole Instagram Accounts Simply by Asking Meta AI to Give Them Access
Jason Koebler, a month ago at 404 Media:
Over the last several days, Telegram groups for security
researchers and hacking groups have been sharing videos and
screenshots of the steps taken to steal an account, which appeared
to be shockingly easy. One video shows a hacke...
Will America Ever Give White-Man Rights to Everyone...
Will America Ever Give White-Man Rights to Everyone Else? “These documents…were written by rich white men for the benefit of rich white men, and this country has never for a day recovered from their failure.”
The US Constitution Is for Simple Folk Still Burdened by...
The US Constitution Is for Simple Folk Still Burdened by the Belief That Words Have Meaning. “The true Constitution is not a document. It’s more of a gut feeling. It is a shimmering legal gas that settles wherever conservatives need it most…”
Colossal
• Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art Reopens Applications for Fall 2026
The art institution is accepting applications from June 22 through August 15 for artists and designers considering graduate study.
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 Cranbrook Academy of Art Reopens Applications for Fall 2026 appeared first on Colossal.
Rebecca Solnit: What Is the United States of America...
Rebecca Solnit: What Is the United States of America Now? “The United States of America is a truck that has driven into a ditch. The United States of America is a program that has been hacked.” But also: “It is the country that gave the world jazz…”
Report from a cruise full of celebrity impersonators ....
Report from a cruise full of celebrity impersonators. “A woman sat a toddler down beside us, while another, larger toddler tugged at her capris. At this point, every child was starting to look like Wallace Shawn.”