nick

Scientists build tiny 'diving suit' for cockroaches, turning them into search-and rescue cyborgs via Live Science

This is kinda cute lol I'm just picturing this guy with a little mask and scuba tank:

But then again he's already underwater and doesn't need the diving suit? Can someone explain??

‘100% a mountain lion:’ After viral video, other alleged sightings occur; but ODNR disputes claims via 614NOW

The most exciting thing to happen in Ohio all year. Most likely just some viral bullshit from Facebook though;

While the truck driver maintains the roadkill he observed was a mountain lion, ODNR says it has no record of recovering or confirming such an animal.

Meta patches Ray-Ban glasses spy-cam privacy loophole via TNW

In other Facebook news: fuck these things. I don't care if the light is on or not, they're creepy and gross.

Update: Meta’s new AI creep glasses will record 24-7 without a light via Pivot to AI

Meta's Teen Safety Case Just Became a $1.4 Trillion Existential Threat via Gizmodo

Thirty-three states have banded together to sue Meta, alleging that the company was exploiting its young users on Instagram and Facebook for profit

I feel like it'll be swept under the rug before anything meaningful actually happens, but I would love to see this be the thing that wipes Facebook off the face of the Metaverse™

75 reasons to start a personal website via James' Coffee Blog

I like having some kind of non-corporate online space in one form or another at all times. Right now that's this link blog, before that I tried a bunch of different platforms and personal blog styles until I decided this is what I wanna do.

Because I have a website, I always have the idea in the back of my mind that there is a place for my writing.

This is the biggest thing for me. Sometimes I have something to say — something that doesn't fit into a Bluesky or Tumblr post. And I don't want to post anything on Reddit. I want my own little place where I have control. Everything for profit is 1000% guaranteed to enshittify eventually. The small web is one of the last escapes from that.

James makes a list of 75 other reasons to spin up a personal site here. Really fun read with lots of good reasons to blog.

Status bars on websites via Future Perfect

Short tutorial on how to code a neat little online/status bar for your blog.

...and that's about all I read today. I go back to work tomorrow so I'm going to chill out and spend some time offline 🌳🌱

I deleted my old personal blog, so this is going to be my home base from now on. Might post some longer, more essay-style stuff sometimes, but for now I'm having fun with the low pressure process of just sharing a few links every day or two.

Had a busy day today. Went to Costco, got caught in rush hour traffic, finally made it home and chomped a couple gummies.

Realizing I'm getting old because I consider going to the grocery store on my day off a "busy day", worthy of getting home and eating so many edibles that I have to resort to manual breathing as a way to relax.

Also it's sobering enough realizing the Ramones are classic rock, even more painful to admit Green Day, Blink-182 and Rancid are all oldies hits by now too.

I'm absolutely stoked for this though:

GREEN DAY, BLINK-182 and RANCID members form RAMONES tribute band CRETIN FAMILY via Revolver Mag

The upcoming performance at Los Angeles, California’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery will unite late-era Ramones bassist CJ Ramone with Green Day vocalist-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, Rancid vocalist-guitarist Tim Armstrong, blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and “special guests.” They’ll be performing as Cretin Family, a Ramones-referencing portmanteau of the “Cretin Hop” and “We’re a Happy Family” tracks off 1977’s Rocket to Russia.

Anyway, I'm kinda burned out from doing stuff, so I don't have much to say but here's a few stories I read this morning:

Thieves Are Now Targeting AI Data Center Construction Sites for Copper and Expensive Equipment via Vice

ACAB includes anyone who doesn't support these national heroes 🤪

Sperm Whales Living in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Seem to Have Developed a Distinct Dialect From Those in the West via Smithsonian Mag

Not Everything Is About The Money via Ewan’s Blog

Nobody Cares About Your Protocol via Delta Shift Diaries

Gizmodo: California Man's Eyelid Bump Turned Out To Be a Worm Never Before Seen in the US

Tl;dr it was a nematode. Not to be confused with the neematoad from season 1 episode 2 of Doug. Fucking terrifying 😬

Popcar's Blog: It's not about physical vs digital games, it's about ownership

...it's not about the disc and putting your games on the shelf... it's about Sony's attempt to completely kill ownership. People keep comparing this to PC getting rid of disc drives, but these two scenarios are not comparable at all.

"You'll own nothing and be happy"

Dangerous Minds: The prisoner who claimed that drugs found in his butt weren't his

I've been waiting for this moment all my life 🥲

https://www.youtube.com/embed/oYYdF0zcuSI?rel=0

Consequence: Drummer Brendan Canty Condemns "Vans and Fugazi" Collab as "Tone Deaf"

10tv Columbus: How to help the children rescued from the house in Vinton County

This story was huge across Ohio a few days ago. This couple had 16 kids, from around one to 18 years old. The house was 1300-something square feet and all 16 of these kids lived in a 12x12 room. Never allowed to leave the house. Neighbors didn't even know any kids lived there.

InfoWars: Emergency with Tim Heidecker - ALEX JONES POPPED LIKE A BALLOON

https://www.youtube.com/embed/RX8-VGDK1vQ?rel=0

👾 What I'm playing:

Finished up Gato Roboto and just started another Devolver Digital x Doinksoft game: Gunbrella. Still very much a metroidvania, but western themed instead of space cat themed. Very cute (and kinda brutal) side scroller.

💿 What I'm listening to:

Still rocking out to Converge, but I keep coming back to that old MGMT album with Kids and Electric Feel. Been feeling a little sentimental lately and it brings me back to simpler times. I could listen to Kids on repeat, singing along (very badly) at the top of my lungs and never get bored with it. Maximum nostalgia.

💌 A few posts I read today:

LostFocus: Homesick for virtual places

A long time ago “hanging out in GTA Online with the boys” was my number one third place – there was a time when I just knew I could switch on my Xbox and Skype (yes, it was that long ago) and someone would be willing to just hang out.

I miss those days. I never really played anything like CoD or GTA Online, but I put so many hours into chatting on Skype and playing old school Minecraft. I don't think I miss the actual space as much as I miss the freedom of being young and having no obligations.

Nintendo Wire: Nintendo Switch 1 to be discontinued in Europe in early 2027

I knew it was coming eventually. I can't justify paying $500 for a new Switch 2, and most of the games I play are from the previous decade anyway, so I think I'll be okay for the foreseeable future. Whenever they shut down Switch Online I might have to reevaluate. I'll buy one just in time for the Switch 3 to come out probably.

Steve: The Phone People

There are people out there who, outside of their work computer, never use a laptop or desktop. Like, they just use their phone. That can't be healthy, right?

I've become one of the phone people. Been rocking a Surface Go 2 tablet running Debian for the last few years, but the keyboard cover is dying on me and the battery doesn't hold much of a charge anymore so I'm already mourning the loss. It's getting old fast trying to do everything on my iPhone. Manifesting a new ThinkPad now... 🧘

Annnnd one more from McSweenys: Why the Taco Bell Meal for Two Is the Only Economic Indicator That Matters

I know this was supposed to be a link blog, but I felt like throwing a regular old blog post in here today. There's still a couple links though so I think we're good. Honestly, I might move my personal blog over here from Bear eventually. I like this better and who cares if I keep breaking my RSS feed.

💿 What I'm listening to:

I've been obsessed with the band Converge lately. They've been around since the 90s and they're considered to be one of the first/most influential mathcore bands of all time.

I'm not going to pretend I know their full history or really anything about them other than the fact that their music absolutely fucks. Everyone goes straight to Jane Doe for their favorite record, but I've been stuck on You Fail me. The opening instrumental track "First Light" blends right into the devastating and oddly inspirational "Last Light." Both really showcase the unique, dissonant style of their guitarist Kurt Ballou.

Probably like 80% of the music I listen to is either on Fat Wreck or Epitaph, so I thought it was cool that these guys just happen to be on Epitaph too.

Definitely worth a listen if you like hardcore music. Their energy reminds me of older Turnstile but so much fucking heavier and more technical. No fancy vocal techniques here; their singer shreds his vocal cords at the top of his lungs. Not everyone's cup of tea but it pairs really well with the rest of the chaos.

They're notoriously raw and rough around the edges at times, but their latest record The Hum of Hurt sounds a little more refined. Still just as brutal as anything else they've put out over the years though.

👾 What I'm playing:

My jam has always been dungeon crawlers and metroidvanias. I've played every Castlevania and Metroid title in the catalogue, and plenty of newer ones that stay true to the genre like Blasphemous and The Messenger.

My latest fix has been Gato Roboto. It's gotta be like... one bit graphics maybe? Four bit?? Idk what bits even are but it's duo tone with chunky pixels. The default skin looks sick on my OLED switch because it's just white on a pure black background. I am a sucker for OLED friendly games.

You play as a space faring cat who accidentally jumps on the controls to the ship and crashes it on some random planet overrun with hostile mobs. The pilot is stuck on the ship for some reason I forgot already, so you go around in a mech suit collecting upgrades and mission items until you're able to get back off the ground.

It's developed by Devolver Digital, and I honestly don't think I've ever played a game from them that didn't hit me with the perfect amount of challenge and nostalgia. Visually, it reminds me of Metroid II for the OG Gameboy, but it has the super responsive controls of more modern games. Also reminds me a lot of another, little bit older Devolver game called Downwell. Wouldn't be surprised if the art was done by the same team.

And I didn't even mean to buy this; I got new game from Devolver called Dark Scrolls and it came bundled with it. I haven't even touched that one yet, I've been too obsessed with the cat game. 100% worth the pocket change it costs if you're into 'vanias.

Annnnd that's about all I've got for today!

Manuel Moreale interviews Andy Baio from Waxy.org

The timing of this interview on Manuel's People and Blogs series was perfect for kicking off my first post here. Sites like Waxy and Kottke are legendary in this space. Definitely a huge part of my inspiration to share links in an old school blog format. I think a lot of bloggers have larped as this guy at one point or another. Really good interview.

A few blog posts I read today:

Absurd Pirate: Your Metablogging is Lame as Hell

I'm guilty of blogging about blogging sometimes. The small web is a hobby in itself, and it's easy to get lost in that. It's like teenagers who sit around smoking weed and talk about all the other times they smoked weed. I was one of those teenagers 😖

Loam: 7 Apps You Can Unlock With Your Bluesky Account

Great post about Atmosphere ecosystem so far. My absolute favorite project here was missing from the list though: it's a sick alternative Bluesky frontend called Anisota.

Jon's Blog: Dying technology and what to do about it

I grew up poor, so I've had my share of obsolete tech way past its prime. That kinda shit used to be fun though, you know? Taking a beat up old PC and bringing it back from the dead with a little bit of RAM and an Ubuntu install disc. Or getting a couple more years out of an old Android phone with Cyanogenmod. Maybe the price of literally everything going up will inspire more people to tinker and hold on to this stuff a little longer.

Unstory: Why web browsers don't support Markdown

Short post, but I vibed with it because I love markdown and hate modern browsers.

DustyCloud.org: what happened to the fight for the internet?

When I have conversations with family members and friends who haven't yet thought much about the age verification and similar bills and their consequences, they've said "well, someone has to hold corporations like Meta" responsible. To which I say, "but what about all the smaller, non-corporate parts of the internet?" To which, many people are surprised, because they've simply forgotten about those things.

Joan Westenberg: I'm Begging You to Leave Your AI Note-taker at Home

Working retail sales, I never really run into AI note taking apps, but if you walk in here wearing Meta Glasses I'm going to avoid you like the plague. I miss when we weren't being recorded 24/7.

I've mostly been on a personal blog kick for the last few months. I missed running an old school link blog though, and this seems like as good a place as any to do something like that.

No idea how serious I'm going to get with it, but I had this unused domain name collecting dust and it felt perfect.

I'll be posting links to weird and interesting stuff around the web; I like tech, offbeat news, personal blog posts and whatever other interesting stuff I find living in my RSS reader.

I'm trying to keep this mostly links, but who knows how it'll turn out.