October 23, 2020
Efficient text editing on a PDP-10
So I started to dig around in the SAILDART archives, and quickly found Donald Knuth’s TeX working directory, because this actually was the system TeX initially was developed on! Not only the early TeX78 can be found there (look for the TEX*.SAI files), but also the source code of TeX82, written in literate Pascal, which essentially still is the core of today’s TeX setups.
1400 words from Leah Neukirchen on some deep UNIX roots.
She sells skeins well via self serve
"A new vending machine was dropped into a North Philly barbershop on Thursday night, and it officially opened for biz on Friday morning. But don’t show up looking for snacks. Painted bright pink, this machine is stocked with nearly 500 balls of yarn." (Billy Penn)
The Westing Game May Be A Murder Mystery—But It's Also A Ghost Story
Ellen Raskin's classic (and funny!) whodunit is one of the most adored (if, somehow, under-the-radar) children's novels of all time. But in The Westing Game May Be A Murder Mystery—But It's Also A Ghost Story, CrimeReads, an offshoot of Literary Hub, pegs The Westing Game as a ghost story, and sees Raskin's earlier novels as ghostly siblings of Raskin's best-known work. [more inside]
"The words barely stick in her throat at all."
"The Avengers’ training regime will start soon; today is for her to relearn the world." "Pour Back The Ocean" by imperfectcircle (Katherine Fabian) is a sweet fanfiction story depicting Wanda Maximoff after the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Age of Ultron. As the author puts it, "Wanda has to find a new place in the world. Contains team training exercises, expected grief and unexpected kindness." There are also cute dogs.
Retired fisherman and gardener into growing big veg
The Never Ending Story, Part III
Daily new infections with COVID-19 virus hit a new peak in the United States as a third surge takes place shortly before the election.
City of Heroes is back!
In 2012, the parent company NCSoft to the shock of the players shutdown down the MMORPG City of Heroes even though it was making a profit. Everything thought this was the end of their beloved game. [more inside]
Squish That Cat
Squish that cat! All you need to do is squish that cat.
“We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
Contrary to Elon Musk's Twitter claims, Bolivians return Evo Morales's party to power one year after a U.S.-applauded coup. [more inside]
"When Tomorrow is Today..."
“...and 100 percent fresh cream from Finnish cows”
An infomercial from the Kyrö Distillery in Finland (some mild profanity) regarding their products and Finnish culture.
rewriting queerness and rural culture
"The spring before I left for a summer job in Colorado and then college in Montana, Dad and I went turkey hunting. He proudly photographed me in PapPap’s old cotton camo fatigues buttoned to the collar and my bad small-town pixie cut, holding a 12-gauge shotgun and a turkey decoy. Today when I look at that turkey-hunting photo, I see someone who was trying to reconcile two seemingly disparate cultures; I’m proud, now, to recognize a kid who was already one very queer redneck." Sarah Keller on Hunting for themself in the high Montana sagebrush, celebrating a new vision of queerness and rural culture.
Not done yet
Remember the Murder Hornets? Washington Department of Agriculture has found a nest. Video of Hornets entering/exiting nest in tree. [more inside]
The Harper Lee of Social Media...
is Red's Java House.
A Special Performance by Run the Jewels
Personally, I just can't listen to Trump talking. It hurts my brain. So last night, when I needed something in my headphones to drown out the sound of the debate coming from the next room, I fired this up in a tab, intending to keep multitasking:
Adult Swim x Ben & Jerry’s Present Holy Calamavote | A Special Performance by Run The Jewels. [more inside]
Sludge Metal Friday
Vagina Witchcraft (self-titled album) 2020 (NSFW album cover) Fronted by genderqueer nonbinary poet & activist Kayla Fernandes, Vagina Witchcraft dives headfirst into deeply personal topics concerning mental health, depression, heartbreak & anger. The 4-piece doom metal-hardcore band hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, draws influence from classics like Black Sabbath combined with the sheer, combative energy of 80s hardcore punk. [more inside]
Yeah, they got it!
The Go-Go's perform "We Got the Beat" live for The Today Show, September 2020. (SLYT)
(The Go-Go's previously) [more inside]
Make your last minute donations count
The Panic Decision Matrix This is a page for anyone who still wants to do something, anything to help in the November election. Answer the questions below and follow the arrows to figure out the appropriate place to give money. [more inside]
Bongo Cat
Have you wanted your own Bongo Cat? Now you can! I saw this on HN and immediately wasted several minutes. I apologize for derailing your Friday morning productivity.
This page is a truly naked, brutalist html quine.
<p>The world of esoteric programming is filled with examples of people stretching the rules to breaking point, and misusing technology in creative ways. In particular (for example) I love <a href='http://wiki.secretgeek.net/quine'>quines</a>. Quines are programs which output their own source code. Life is a Quine.</p> [more inside]
Wait for Version 3
Microsoft’s new folding Surface Duo smartphone has had a mixed reception – “all the right ideas but spoiled by buggy software and a bad camera” (The Verge) and “orphaned Windows hardware makes a poor Android device” (Ars Technica) – but it remains the fulfilment of Microsoft’s dual-screen dream dating back to the ill-fated Courier tablet (previously). Meanwhile, the Surface Neo dual-screen tablet running Windows 10X (the original OS for the Surface Duo before it moved to Android) has been delayed beyond 2020.
« Previous day | Next day »