< Notes...

Today, without looking for it, totally randomly like many things on The Tubes happen to be, I came across the strange world of isopods collectors . I would have never imagined, not even in my wildest dreams, that some people would find collecting “earth crustaceans” interesting, or desireable. Yet, here we are.

Update: 30 Jan 2026 @ 10:53:14

Forgot to add that not only collecting isopods is a thing, but that it is a very expensive hobby. Yup, that Cuban Spiky goes for $450 USD. For one tiny isopod!

What kind of sorcery is this? Whether it will survive a washing or not is irrelevant. The skill level is of 100.

➝ Via brettezeleliquide.

On Anthony Bourdain’s Lost Li.st you can find a few things of interest. I wish there was more, as I liked Anthony very much. On his dinner with Obama in Hanoi, Vietnam:

“The reaction among regular people in Hanoi to the fact that the US President chose to eat Bún chả was beyond all imagining. The effect was unbelievable. People were actually crying the next day, describing to me their shock and their pride, the reactions of their neighbors, to this completely unexpected choice of meal—and the venue.”

I have eaten Bún chả, and it is delicious. There is another similar plate that has more protein (shrimps and eggrolls, in addition to grilled pork) whose name escapes me now, which is a favourite of mine. But I digress.

I am mesmerised and in love with this Shadertoy. I am sure there are others equally, if no better. This one is a keeper.

The futureme service, or project, is very ambitious. It allows you to send an email to yourself—or someone—into the future. Funny thing is, it can be as early as today, which is alright, and as far into the future as 31 December 2075. That’s where the previously attributed noun comes into play.

“If you can find a host for me that has a friendly parrot, I will be very very glad. If you can find someone who has a friendly parrot I can visit with, that will be nice too.”

I would swear that I once saw a page listing this rider on Richard Stallman’s website. I haven’t been able to find it this time. Not sure what drove me down this rabbit hole today, but there I was.

Today I learned which seems, amussingly, a crafty “trick”. All thanks to a comment left by mistake to the wrong article.

“Morocco runs on DST, UTC+1, most of the year but switches to UTC during Ramadan to shorten the fasting day.”

➝ Via Hacker News.

More than 30 people arrested because sport’s betting, and rigged poker games. Some of the details are truly something!

“In some of the rigged games, the poker chip trays had hidden cameras that could read the cards on the table. Sometimes, the cards had markings visible only to people wearing specially designed contact lenses or sunglasses […]”

“Ultimately, rights are not given or granted, but asserted and acknowledged. People assert their rights, insist, and others come to recognize and acknowledge them. This has happened through revolt and rebellion but also through non-violent protests and strikes. In the end, rights are acknowledged because it is only practical, because everyone is better off without the conflict. Ultimately it has eventually become impractical and counterproductive to deny rights to various classes of people. Should not the same thing happen with robots? We may all be better off if robot’s rights were recognized. There is an inherent danger to having intelligent beings subjugated. These beings will struggle to escape, leading to strife, conflict, and violence. None of these contribute to successful society. Society cannot thrive with subjugation and dominance, violence and conflict. It will lead to a weaker economy and a lower GNP. And in the end, artificially intelligent robots that are as smart or smarter than we are will eventually get their rights. We cannot stop them permanently. There is a trigger effect here. If they escape our control just once, we will be in trouble, in a struggle. We may loose that struggle.

If we try to contain and subjugate artificially intelligent robots, then when they do escape we should not be surprised if they turn the tables and try to dominate us. This outcome is possible whenever we try to dominate another group of beings and the only way they can escape is to destroy us.”

Rich Sutton’s debating notes on whether or not artificially intelligent robots could/should have the same rights as people.

I came across the following quote, and that sent me through the rabbit hole. The quote goes (and there are several variations of it):

“Be not afraid of any man, no matter what his size; when danger threatens, call on me and I will equalize”.

It seems that the exact wording for this came from Winchester (not Colt), thought I haven’t found verifiable sources for that. One bit caught my attention, though, which relates to Colt, and a phrase on similar sentiment, which is “God created men equal, Col. Colt made them equal.” According to PBS, Colt died fairly young, “having never fired a gun at another person”.

Incredible photos taken inside musical instruments. Charles Brooks’ setup to accomplish this feat is borderline marvelous. Bigger photos, and the ability to buy prints at his website.

The air we breathe is composed, amongst many other things of course, “of the previous breaths of everyone who ever lived”.

“How many molecules from Caesar’s last breath do we inhale with each breath we take? Shockingly, the answer is about one molecule—we actually do share breaths with Caesar! And, by extension, every breath we take is composed of the previous breaths of everyone who ever lived—Socrates, Lincoln, Einstein, etc. Isn’t that crazy?”

➝ Via Hacker News.

Chetan—whose blog I have read since, well, its very beginning—provides an elegant solution on his Text enclosures post that I wish it was built-in everywhere. VS Code, Obsidian, and Logseq, to mention a few, has it. It is so useful! What is it? Select, and add single, double quotes, brackets, parenthesis, asterisks, etc. to both sides of the selection.

Update: 20 Feb 2026 @ 19:04:57

The post I referred about on this note has since been removed. I will need to start using the Wayback Machine to save, and refer to posts from Chetan, as they seem ephemeral quite often. 😅

Having not watched it for a few years, I had forgotten how awesome Eurovision is. So refreshing, so many talented people! If you can, and haven’t, I strongly recommend you watch it. This year’s is on Peacock, at least in the US.

Statistics on “Notes…” since I started them, including this one:

002 2022
400 2023
153 2024
052 2025

That 2023 sure was a prolific year, wasn’t it?

Robot chefs, LOL. They are as much chefs as our pressure cooker, microwave, or oven. I am sure they will get better.

“When a customer orders a bowl of dumpling ramen at a kiosk, a robot activates. A steel nozzle swirls boiling water and spicy broth paste into a pot. Dried noodles drop from a dispenser. Cradling heat and spice, the pot glides onto a burner. An overhead chute sprinkles dried vegetable flakes. The ramen simmers.”

A new Pope has been elected, just on the second day of conclave. Three Popes (counting this one) have been elected on the second day of conclave. Now the world waits to know who he is, and the name he has chosen to bestow upon himself.

Update: 20 Feb 2026 @ 18:22:26

The new Pope is ex-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the US. He has chosen the name Leo. So, he is Pope Leo XIV.

One can find quite a few interesting websites listed at this Blogroll, this Blogroll, and this Blogroll. I am still missing one, but can’t find it. Just a note to have the URLs handy, as I have “lost” them more than once.

I miss RadioShack, Circuit City, Computer City, CompUSA, Fry’s… all those “old” computer/electronics stores, and what they used to be. No store these days compare. None. Oof, I am getting old.

Based on this Hacker News submission, see below for how long you have been iddle. You move your mouse, it stops the counter. Don’t. Even. Breathe! (kidding, kidding, breathe, damn it! 😅)

You have been idle for 000 seconds.

“I awoke one night in Quito, Ecuador, this year and came up with a way to save a chip or two from the Apple II, and a trivial way to have the 2 grays of the Apple II be different (light gray and dark gray) but it’s 38 years too late. It did give me a good smile, since I know how hard it is to improve on that design.”
— Woz thinks of an Apple II improvement over 35 years later

Now, that’s truly something, eh? Just as Steve Jobs was, Steve Wozniak sure is an interesting fellow.

“As he rode the train back to Yokosuka, he watched his fellow passengers absorbed in their phones. ‘We completed the job’, he thought with satisfaction, ‘and they have no idea’.”

Interesting reading titled “The Cloud Under the Sea”. It was difficult to navigate on my Linux laptop (Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all struggled with it), but worth it.

“This is a teenager” is an interactive webpage well worth watching. I can assure you! Take your time, go slowly. Read, and understand. Then, if you can, react.

Yes, that unbelievable screenshot you might have come across social media about reporting certain things to the IRS is true:

“Illegal activities. Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity.”
— IRS.gov

And:

“Stolen property. If you steal property, you must report its FMV in your income in the year you steal it, unless in the same year you return it to its rightful owner.”
— IRS.gov

Peter Higgs has died:

“Higgs, 94, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass, died at home in Edinburgh on Monday.”

Ninety four years old! If only I could be that lucky!

Let’s go back to 1986 for a moment, because the years around it were those of my youth. This one is an interesting rendition. I like it!

Kottke, to whom website I browse every once and them, have long monetised from it, using supporters, and advertisements. Until fairly recently it didn’t have comments, but now it does. Want to drop one? Subscribe. Ha! I would pay not to see them. Ironic, eh?

From the Government Offices of Sweeden:

“Just before 17.30 CET, Sweden’s instrument of accession was deposited with the United States Government, as depositary of the North Atlantic Treaty. Therefore, Sweden is now a member of NATO.”

If I am lucky to live until I am 80 years old, I only have 1280 Sundays remaining. That number sure puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? You can add the extension to your Chrome, or Edge browser.

I never thought, in a million years, that I was going to write this: when it comes to UI between Windows 11 and Windows 95, I prefer the later. You will not believe the memories “My Briefcase”, and “The Microsoft Network” brought to me!

The Guidebook has many more screenshots worth re-seeing.

It is proven, time after time, that it is completely stupid to censor that which you don’t want people to remember, or know. Stupid because the end result is the total opposite of the aim. In this case, especially, because it wasn’t something done on purpose.

Dieter Rams’ good design principles are so on-point, so beautiful, so simple, so everlasting. According to Rams, good design:

1. Is innovative: Design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.
2. Makes a product useful: Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.
3. Is aesthetic: Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
4. Makes a product understandable: It can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition.
5. Is unobtrusive: Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools; they are neither decorative objects nor works of art.
6. Is honest: It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
7. Is long-lasting: Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years.
8. Is thorough down to the last detail: Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
9. Is environmentally friendly: Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment.
10. Is as little design as possible: Less, but better. Simple as possible but not simpler.

How many of those Apple follows? It isn’t a trick question, think about it.

Seven hours from now will get us to the beginning of Autumn. In Florida that doesn’t mean much. Hopefully, hopefully, temperatures will tone down a degree, or two, if we are lucky. One can only wish, and hope, right? Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Found myself questioning, smiling, chuckling, and nodding in agreement to Joshua’s list of 100 opinions that he holds.

Film director Rian Johnson has lifted the lid on a secret in the world of product placement – Apple will not allow its kit to be used by a villainous character on screen.

“Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies, but – and this is very pivotal – if you’re ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera,” Johnson, whose credits include Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Looper and Knives Out, revealed in a video recorded for Vanity Fair.

Thank you, George, for spoiling a few shows and movies for me. This is something I hadn’t correlated, but now cannot miss. Ha!

It is truly incredible that I can find my iPhone with ease, yet the United States military can’t find an F-35 (yes, that very expensive plane), and it’s asking for help. I guess it is truly stealth, after all. 😂

It is simply amazing the amount of high quality, instructive videos, available on YouTube. Most are curiosities, to see how things are made, or to experience how someone else does it. And that’s just scratching the surface just a millimetre—which, in inches, is some other number.

I don’t think Kim Jong Un likes to air travel very much (or at all), and as he doesn’t go places that aren’t connected through land mass, he uses an armoured(!) train instead. He is travelling to meet Putin as I type this.

It is rumoured to include at least 20 bulletproof cars, making it heavier than average trains and unable to go beyond 59 km/h (37mph). His journey to Vladivostok is expected to take an entire day.

I wondered why was a train picked as the preferred travel method (it was such curiosity what brought me here to type this note), and Wikipedia provided a suitable, logical explanation.

TIL that there are around 12kg of gold, and 21kg of silver in 4.2 cubic kilometres of seawater. You can read more about it and, at the same time, learn why the ocean is salty.

➝ Via Hacker News.

From this week’s Areopagus Volume LXII, the temples atop Fanjing, their history, and the Cultural Author wrap up on chapter “IV - Architecture” was very interesting, educative, and inspiring. I quote it below, some emphasis mine.

“Architecture is not only a question of style, of whether we want to build in Gothic or Classical, Bauhaus or Constructivist. And nor is it only a question of choice, of what sort of building we want to create, whether a library or school, office block or hospital. It is, even more than any of these, a matter of faith. That which we believe to be true, and to be most important — be this religious, economic, or otherwise — is far upstream of these other questions. It was because of their beliefs that the builders of the Fanjingshan temples decided to construct them on the Red Cloud Golden Summit. For when we believe that something is both right and necessary we almost always accomplish our goal. The process that has led to urban skyscrapers, to sports stadiums, and to cathedrals, is much the same as that which led to the creation of the Fanjingshan temples — in all cases, at all times, it begins with belief.”

I really encourage you to subscribe to his newsletter. They bring joy to me, and I want—very much—to share it with you.