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calibre e-book manger
calibre is one of the preeminent pieces of open-source software of our time, and it just reached Version 8, so I thought I would make a post about it. [more inside]
"Two other users subsequently added prayer emoji"
The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen. I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing. This is going to require some explaining.The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans: U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling. [Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic]
Trump urges Supreme Court to limit judges' power to impede his agenda
With sweeping actions, Trump tests US constitutional order [ungated] - "With a Congress controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans largely falling in line behind his agenda, federal judges often have emerged as the only constraint on the president's torrent of executive actions since his January inauguration." [more inside]
SomaFM
"SomaFM is an independent Internet-only streaming multi-channel radio station, supported entirely with donations from listeners. SomaFM originally started broadcasting out of founder Rusty Hodge's basement garage in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, as a micropower radio station broadcast at the Burning Man festival in 1999. The response to the project was sufficiently positive that Rusty Hodge launched it as a full-time internet radio station in February 2000."* [more inside]
Erdoğan's endgame: outlawing the Turkish opposition
For more than 20 years, Turkey has experienced steady democratic backsliding under the rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) founded on the ideals of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has remained fierce. Following the failed 2016 coup attempt that Erdoğan leveraged to push through a constitutional overhaul centralizing power, social democrat Ekrem İmamoğlu emerged as the opposition's brightest star, winning a 2019 Istanbul mayoral race that authorities first nullified, then watched him win again by an even larger margin. Further gains for the CHP in municipal contests last year amid lingering economic dysfunction gave renewed hope that Erdogan could finally be ousted. That hope faded this week as the government launched an unprecedented crackdown, pressuring the cancellation of İmamoğlu's (required) college diploma, jailing him on corruption charges, and investigating over a hundred others. The shock move, which has sparked mass protests in the streets and widespread censorship, threatens to move Turkey firmly from a "competitive authoritarian" system (where the political landscape is merely biased) towards outright autocracy.
1-800-CALL-ATT
The AT&T Tech Channel on YouTube posts videos from the telecom giant's century-old archives, including some legitimately interesting documentaries. Reconnecting 170,000 Phone Customers in NYC After a Major Fire (1975) and The Life of a Telephone Operator in 1969 are both fascinating time capsules of corporate America. A wide variety of other videos, from interviews with famous Bell Labs alumni to advertisements and trainings, are scattered across the channel's uploads.
“Conversion therapy with a side of ranch”
Why Dads Take Their Gay Sons to Hooters (NYTimes gift link, archive). Consider the delicious irony that a chain restaurant famed for its cleavage and chicken wings somehow became a secret sanctuary for young gay men.
“For that money, we could buy up TV stations...not just TV ads."
Via Americans of Conscience Checklist: Rural organizers and grassroots leaders in the U.S. form the Rural Defenders Union to support under-resourced anti-authoritarian actions. [more inside]
We deserve it all
Full Remarks: AOC in Tempe, Arizona - "I am here to remind you of a simple fact. In spite of what Trump wants you to believe, we are not powerless in this moment."
Two Hundred Fifty Things An Architect Should Know
I like this advice to architects e.g.
- 23. How to turn a corner.
- 24. How to design a corner.
- 25. How to sit in a corner.
Rogan and Vonn are the Latest to Play Footsie with AntiSemites
On March 8, 2025, Palantir co-founder and Trump ally Joe Lonsdale described the fear generated by the antisemitic conspiracy theorists recently hosted on some of America's top podcasts.
For the first time in my lifetime, a lot of successful Jewish friends called me worried this week — names we all know — asking what is going to happen as these libels re-enter the mainstream, and are shared by millions.[more inside]
Adolescence, and toxic masculinity
The Guardian: “Jamie has fallen under the spell of misogynistic influencers and suffered cyber-bullying for being an “incel”. His parents admit that he would shut himself in his bedroom and be on his computer long into the night. They assumed he was safe but he was secretly being radicalised. His story highlights the corrosive impact of social media on impressionable minds and has resonated profoundly with audiences. Parents of teenagers have been watching rapt, heartbroken and horrified in equal measure – with the show clocking up an astonishing 24.3m views in its first four days of release, four times more than the number two show. It tops the Netflix ratings in 71 countries, ranging from Chile to Vietnam.” [Also on FanFare] [more inside]
That's no bee
Ethiopian wolves may be pollinating Ethiopian red hot poker plants. The wolves have been observed moving[YT] from plant to plant licking nectar and coincidentally getting a muzzle full of pollen. If the wolves are confirmed to be pollinating these flowers they'd be the largest carnivorous mammals to act as pollinators by far. [more inside]
Sloan - the Canadian power pop band non-Canadians need to know
If you’re Canadian and you listen to rock music on the radio in Canada then you’ve heard Sloan. If you’re not Canadian then you need to know all about the harmonies, handclaps and guitars so please step inside. [more inside]
Ain't No Place to Run To
The queer people who are buying guns to prepare for Trump’s America
Since Donald Trump’s reelection in November, nontraditional gun groups across the city and country have seen a flood of interest. The national Liberal Gun Club said it has received thousands of training requests since the election, more than in all of 2023. A spokesperson for the group estimated that roughly a quarter were from LGBTQ people.
Bang Bang Bang - Tracey Chapman [more inside]
Since Donald Trump’s reelection in November, nontraditional gun groups across the city and country have seen a flood of interest. The national Liberal Gun Club said it has received thousands of training requests since the election, more than in all of 2023. A spokesperson for the group estimated that roughly a quarter were from LGBTQ people.
Bang Bang Bang - Tracey Chapman [more inside]
The 24-hour diner contains multitudes
Depending on the time of day, it can be: a hub where decades-long regulars grab their morning coffee; a comfy spot for families to gather over an affordable, hearty meal; and a post-closing-time oasis where the young and buzzed find post-bar grub. In her short documentary Regulars, the US filmmaker Emma Kopkowski spends an entire 24-hour day at Jake’s Diner in Greensboro, North Carolina. There, she encounters a fascinating cast of employees and patrons, each of them with stories to tell and full lives viewers only ever catch a glimpse of. from The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner [Aeon]
Vangelis' "Blade Runner"
Nick Soulsby: The soundtrack to Blade Runner remains a singular achievement; a soundtrack that invoked the past and the future, that remained suspended like Schrödinger’s cat in a state of unresolved being, that plays ancestor to an impressive clutch of modern musical forms while simultaneously sounding like a product of the modern age, or the first fruit of music yet to come. [more inside]
Dying, slow & fast
“It was a matter of some consternation to Danny’s friends and family that he seemed to be enjoying life so much at the end,” says a friend. “‘Why stop now?’ we begged him. And though I still wish he had given us more time, it is the case that in following this carefully thought-out plan, Danny was able to create a happy ending to a 90-year life, in keeping with his peak-end rule. He could not have achieved this if he had let nature take its course.” from The Last Decision by the World’s Leading Thinker on Decisions [WSJ; ungated] [CW: suicide, assisted suicide]
The General Strike
The proof is not in the pudding
Trump Admin Unveils New Legal Standard: ‘We Have No Proof, Which Actually Proves Our Case’
Many deportees lacked any evidence of criminality, but the government argues that really makes them MORE criminals. [more inside]
Many deportees lacked any evidence of criminality, but the government argues that really makes them MORE criminals. [more inside]