#Notes
July 15, 2026
July 14, 2026
Notes for July 14, 2026
The Beatles vs Hitler in the most fucked-up 1970s movie ever made
The basic idea sounds almost like a practical joke. Take thousands of hours of wartime newsreel footage, splice it together with clips from old Hollywood combat movies, then soundtrack the whole thing with contemporary artists covering Lennon and McCartney classics.
wtf I didn't even know this existed lol. I'll stick with George Martin's In My Life record whenever I want to hear covers of Beatles songs.
Jesus "had six packs!" Conservative pastor rages at "gay, effeminate" Jesus images
Jesus was a twunk 🫦
via lgbtqnation.com
Nokia’s 14 years of mobile-phone supremacy ended in an afternoon
A look back on how Android and iPhone killed arguably the best dumb phone brand.
via osnews.com
Came across a post about an app called Nearby Glasses while scrolling Bluesky today. It uses Bluetooth to scan your surroundings for anyone wearing those dumb ass Meta glasses.
I've been loving Standard Reader.
Some of my posts here are probably a little meta at times, but that's mostly because I'm starting fresh in a whole new place and I'm still discovering new things about it. This is definitely one of my favorite inventions since RSS, so I had to share it for anyone who doesn't know.
It's a web reader for all things Atmosphere: Leaflet, Standard.site, etc. It's like a hub for this whole little universe. Definitely worth a look if you're blogging or even just reading posts in this space. I get most of my content from the Unread RSS app, but this feels more native and immersive for Atmosphere sites.
My history with blogging (what about YOU?)
I love everyone's blogging journey stories. It's the Wild West out here; a lot of blogs are self-hosted, or hosted on sites that eventually die, or sometimes we just pick up and migrate somewhere else for the hell of it. I've used Wordpress, Ghost, Micro.blog, Bear Blog, and back in the day, Angelfire, Xanga, Blogger, and I even tried regular blogging on Tumblr in its younger days. I've migrated and tried to save everything before, but lately I just nuke the whole thing and start over when I'm feeling burned out. I think I'll stick around in the Atmosphere for a good long while though. I like it here.
July 13, 2026
Notes for July 13, 2026
Bluesky Is Not The Center of The Atmosphere
I use Bluesky — it's pretty much my only social media presence. But Sam is right: it's only a small part of the Atmosphere, even if it was the original app here. The biggest reason I stick with the main instance instead of moving to something different (and with more/better features) like mu.social is because I have nightmares from when I first migrated to Mastodon from Twitter.
I found a cool instance, then it shut down so I had to migrate. Then I found another instance but it got raided by the FBI and its owners didn't tell anyone until months after the fact. Then I moved to another instance and that one shut down too. Decentralization is great and all, but I don't have any more migrations in me right now.
My website is ATmospheric
Really good read on hosting your blog in the Atmosphere. For people much more technologically inclined than me anyway; I always screw up anything I try to self host and that's why I love Leaflet.
via bekapod.dev
the internet is becoming increasingly hostile towards VPNs
I feel this more every day. I used to use an always-on vpn and it only broke things like banking apps or maybe the HR website for my job. Now it feels like almost nothing works. The only thing I use now is iCloud Private relay. It only works inside of Safari, but (most) websites will still load with it and I get the illusion of privacy or something like that.
via blog.basementcommunity.com
Astronomers find sugar near the creamy center of the Milky Way
The discovery of interstellar erythrulose suggests that the interstellar medium could be a viable source of sugar feedstock for the prebiotic synthesis of the first nucleic acids, not only on the primitive Earth but also elsewhere in the Universe
TIL there is sugar in space.
via theregister.com
Tribute Bands Team Up for "The Nu-Metal Values Ozzfest Rehash Tour"
The three acts performing on most dates are Twist (Korn), Full Nelson (Limp Bizkit), and Diamond Eyes (Deftones), with select appearances by Oldschool Hollywood (SOAD), Projekt Hybrid Theory (Linkin Park), Stricken (Disturbed), Forfeit (Cehvelle), and Redefined (Sevendust)
This must be how my dad felt when he saw that Pink Floyd tribute band a few years ago 🤪
via consequence.net
July 11, 2026
Notes for July 11, 2026
My Retirement Uniform
Before that trip to Cavender’s I ordered a leather belt off Amazon. When it arrived one of the little snaps where you change the buckle was already broken. ENSHITTIFICATION. I returned it for a refund. Cavender’s was 95% stuff I would never wear. The whole country/western/cowboy aesthetic doesn’t appeal to me...BUT – the merchandise was super nice! My style or not, man, being in a store full of quality clothing and intelligent employees made me feel like I was in the right place! At least for a plain leather work belt.
I feel this SO MUCH lately. Everything is shit. It's almost impossible to find real leather shoes, belts or even wallets in most department stores anymore. And I, too, wear Doc Martens to work every day. Even though, as Bob mentions in this post, they're made in China now, they're still the only dressier shoes I've bought that haven't fallen apart after six months. I need to get a good belt now too.
You paid me, a long-time Linux user, to use Windows 11 exclusively for a month: here’s how it went
This goes about how you'd expect 😆
For someone used to desktop Linux, where respect for the user, consistency, customisability, and performance are still held in high regard, Windows 11 feels like an endless string of punches in the face.
via osnews.com
HyperTexting is now available on the App Store
I absolutely love this! I geek out over anything with an emphasis on RSS. Especially since everything has an algorithm now, and it's constantly trying to manipulate your emotions and attention so you spend more time in their app, or buying things from ads.
It feels a bit like a Twitter or Bluesky timeline, only everything is pulled from RSS feeds. No login necessary. It looks like they're working on letting you post from your Hugo, Wordpress or Ghost blog eventually too, so that's cool. Anything to make the web more human is cool with me.
via hypertexting.com
The Tiny Awards, celebrating the best personal, independent, non-commercial, and newest websites
Founded by Matt Muir, Matt Klein and Kristoffer Tjalve, who is also a co-publisher of the Internet Phone Book, the Tiny Awards celebrate the independent, quirky, and utterly unique. Something even a cursory glance at the previous three winners quickly makes apparent.
That's what blogging is all about: being your authentic self instead of posting for clout or ad views. We're all unique and have our own quirks. I love community stuff like this that showcases awesome indie bloggers you'd probably never find otherwise.
Let's call doomscrolling what it is
We are drowning in an endless stream of things calling for our undivided attention.
I had to delete TikTok off of my phone recently because it became such a vampire with my free time. If I have something to do in two hours I'm like fuck it; I'll just scroll TikTok until it's time to leave. Or if I'm bored at work, sitting in the drive through waiting on my order, up late on a Saturday night after everyone went to sleep... whenever I had free time, I was doomscrolling.
That's what I love about the small web/indie web; whatever you wanna call it. It moves slower and more intentionally. You might actually have to do a little digging and exploring, but what you'll find is authentic content without an endlessly scrolling page. There's a pause after you read a blog post — an opportunity to tune back into the real world, instead of feeling like you're going to miss something the second you look away.
July 10, 2026
Notes for July 10, 2026
Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of Google Search
Who even uses Google anymore? There are so many good alternatives. Kagi, obviously, but even DuckDuckGo is pretty good these days. The models it uses for its AI assistant are more accurate than Google, or if you absolutely hate it you can easily disable it. Or if you're not a fan of either of those, there's the EU-based Uruky.
I remember how obnoxiously important it was to optimize your website for Google back in the 2000's and 2010's, but we're not living in that world anymore. Fuck em.
SEO slop is out, AI slop is in 😵💫
via adweek.com
Fan-favorite Taco Bell items affected by ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite in US
Taco Bell has been causing explosive diarrhea since 1962 but suddenly it's national news 🤨
via dexerto.com
McConnell Bolts Upright in Terror as JD Vance Enters Hospital Room
“Get that bastard away from me!” the Kentucky lawmaker shrieked.
Before you get your hopes up: yes, it's satire.
Columbus one of the country’s most bed bug-infested cities, Orkin says; 5 other Ohio cities in top 50
Everyone knows bedbugs are the secret ingredient for the "scarlet" in OSU's scarlet and grey. I say that as a Buckeye, with love.
via 614now.com
It's pretty early in the day still; most of these links are from last night. I'm back at work today, so I'll be focusing on more productive things like vaping in the bathroom and playing Nintendo games... but mostly trying to manifest no one walking through that fucking door and making me do stuff.
👾 What I'm playing:
I've been into the Castlevania Dominus Collection lately. Tried playing the original arcade version of Haunted Castle but I was ready to rip my hair out after five minutes so I switched to the much more forgiving remastered version and finished it in about a half an hour.
Pretty hyped that Konami is FINALLY working on an all new title in the series: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse.
💿 What I'm listening to:
Converge is still heavily in rotation, right now Hum of Hurt is getting the most playtime. Listening to a lot of nostalgic MySpace screamo bands too, like I Set My Friends on Fire, Scary Kids Scaring Kids and of course a little Hawthorne Heights.
July 9, 2026
Notes for July 9, 2026
Scientists build tiny 'diving suit' for cockroaches, turning them into search-and rescue cyborgs
This is kinda cute lol I'm just picturing this guy with a little mask and scuba tank.
via livescience.com
‘100% a mountain lion:’ After viral video, other alleged sightings occur; but ODNR disputes claims
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.
via 614now.com
Meta patches Ray-Ban glasses spy-cam privacy loophole
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
via thenextweb.com
Meta's Teen Safety Case Just Became a $1.4 Trillion Existential Threat
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™
via gizmodo.com
75 reasons to start a personal website
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.
via jamesg.blog
Status bars on websites
Short tutorial on how to code a neat little online/status bar for your blog.
via futureperfect.bearblog.dev
...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.
July 8, 2026
Notes for July 8, 2026
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
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.
via revolvermag.com
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
ACAB includes anyone who doesn't support these national heroes 🤪
via vice.com
Sperm Whales Living in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Seem to Have Developed a Distinct Dialect From Those in the West
Not Everything Is About The Money
Nobody Cares About Your Protocol
July 7, 2026
Notes for July 7, 2026
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 😬
via gizmodo.com
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"
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
Drummer Brendan Canty Condemns "Vans and Fugazi" Collab as "Tone Deaf"
via consequence.net
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.
via 10tv.com
Emergency with Tim Heidecker - ALEX JONES POPPED LIKE A BALLOON
https://www.youtube.com/embed/RX8-VGDK1vQ?rel=0
via m.youtube.com
July 6, 2026
Notes for July 6 2026
👾 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:
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.
via lostfocus.de
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.
via nintendowire.com
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... 🧘
via tism.help
Why the Taco Bell Meal for Two Is the Only Economic Indicator That Matters
via mcsweeneys.net
July 5, 2026
Notes for July 5 2026: Listening to Converge and playing Gato Roboto
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!
Orange-lipped monkey that roars and snorts deep in Congo rainforest is new species to science ↗
New monkey who dis 🙊
↳ via livescience.com
Ancient Egyptians Believed That These Newly Discovered Gold Tongues Allowed the Dead to Communicate in the Afterlife ↗
Well this is a lot more sane than injecting it into your body while you're still alive...
↳ via smithsonianmag.com
How to avoid getting cyclosporiasis—and why washing lettuce may not be enough ↗
Follow my revolutionary diet of gas station roller grill items and various deep fried meats and cheeses and you'll be just fine.
↳ via scientificamerican.com
Startup Developes Micro-Drones Capable of Shooting Down Insects in Mid-Air ↗
↳ via odditycentral.com
95-Year-Old William Shatner to Play Riot Fest with Metal Backing Band ↗
This dude never stops lol. One of the GOATs.
↳ via consequence.net