Hello internet friends,

you’re welcome: ibless.therains.downin.africa
(But why?)

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De Chelonian Mobile

Oh, how lovely: The art of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld – in pictures
(Before we get into discussions: It’s Paul Kidby, not Josh Kirby. They’re both amazing in their very different ways.)

Social

I still remember when Web 2.0 became Social Media and all of us started to worry. And we probably all agree: The End of the Social Era Can’t Come Soon Enough
Let the idiots play with their bitcoin and SEO get-rich-quick schemes and maybe we can go back to personal blogs and uh… tag clouds and opinions about RSS.

Dogs!

These may be the world’s first images of dogs—and they’re wearing leashes.
This is rather amazing. Turns out dogs have domesticated the ape for a lot longer than we knew.

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That’s all folks – after you’re done reading, why not read some Science Fiction, watch a western or listen to some classical music.

Toodles!

Hello internet friends,

it’s Monday and what a fine day it is to think about art. And because everything has to be a listicle, let’s get right to it: All the Da Vincis in the world: rated

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Analog News

I’m not quite sure I can totally agree with this guy but sure, he has quite a lot of points: Our Love Affair With Digital Is Over
That being said: oh boy, do I still like digital, too. How else would I reach you folks? You bet I wouldn’t type these out on a typewriter (I do still have one) while listening to music on vinyls (I don’t have a record player) and taking photos with a 35mm camera. (I have… multiple. Almost as many as digital cameras.)

Machine Learning

Have you ever heard of MENACE? Turns out it is a machine learning machine from the 1950s and it is awesome: Machine Learning Explained
And if you actually read through the whole thing, congratulations. How about a fifteen minute (FIF! TEEN! What’s wrong with these people.) YouTube video? MENACE: the pile of matchboxes which can learn

Reading

Even though I don’t read as many books as I should or want – I mean, how? I have a day job and I need to read the internet and watch all of Netflix, not because I enjoy it but because of compuslion – I would identify myself as someone who really really likes reading. I mean, one of the reasons why I never properly learned how to interact with people is probably the fact that during the formative years for social behaviour (I’d say roughly between 12 and 22?) I usually was just sitting somewhere with a book.
And yet, I have never once thought about the fact that reading in silence is something weird(-ish) but it turns out: it is a pretty recent thing. History of reading: The beginning of silent reading changed humans’ interior life.

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So, yeah. Grab a book or something. Toodles!

Hello internet friends,

turns out, it is Monday Tuesday again and here we are. An email!
If you want to see ~the future~ let me introduce you to Replika, your new robot friend. Or how Wired would say it: What My Personal Chat Bot Is Teaching Me About AI’s Future
I tried it and it is creepy. (Can’t wait, to be honest.)

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Rent-A-Friend

If chat bots aren’t doing it for you and you’re still unable to attract people into interacting with you, here is something for you: How to Hire Fake Friends and Family
You’ll have to move to Japan first, though.

Apps!

Imagine for just a moment that the problem you have with apps on your phone is not that there are too many of them or that they spy on your every move or open up the door to random strangers to yell at you. Image instead that you might have not enough apps. Huh. For this situation there is an “App of the Day” thing going on at the iPhone app store and boy, is it wild: (for a very loose definition of “wild”) What I learned after downloading every iPhone App of the Day for a month

Happy Death

Important New Zealand news! A Country Created A Viral Vacationing “Swim Reaper” And People Love It
(In other New Zealand news: as far as I followed the news they’ve elected a pretty great new Prime Minister. But what’s that next to a grim reaper who enjoys the beach?)

Ads Ads Ads

I openly admit: I fell for this crap, too: A psychologist explains why those Facebook product ads are so darn compelling. Twice!
And let me tell you: the fancy scandinavian slippers are rather nice, but the shoes (from another company, but same contemporary conformist marketing) are… complicated.

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Toodles.
Sorry. Weird week. (And uhm, yeah… I told you about my newly acquired Terrace House addiction, right? Well… I’m now at this (rather low) point in my life where I download fan-subs of the first Japan-only iteration which I find in the weirder corner of the internet. This eats mightly into my “reading the internet” time. Again: sorry.)

Hello internet friends,

I’m in a mood today, so this is going to be fun!
First things first: let’s disable bloody bitcoin and maybe give boils to everybody who mentions cryptocurrencies or the blockchain. Deal? Deal.
I mean what the hell? One Bitcoin Transaction Now Uses as Much Energy as Your House in a Week

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Dead People News

Do you know what a muon is? Well, I didn’t know either, but apparently is helps to find voids: What we know about the mysterious chamber discovered inside the Great Pyramid
Before you click: the answer is “not all that much” – but now that I’ve spoiled it for you, you can still read the article to learn about muons.

Poop News

Luckily there are no bigger concerns on this planet than emoji. (Don’t @ me, bro.) So let’s spend some time Inside The Great Poop Emoji Feud! (Honestly, it is worth it just for the illustrations.)

Old People News

Remember a time before the internet? Welcome, you’re one of the olds. If you don’t – here’s What it feels like to be the last generation to remember life before the internet.
But then I’ve noticed lately that there are people around who are so young they don’t even [#RememberWebsites](http://tttthis.com/rememberwebsites.php/). I don’t know why this has to be a hashtag. Seriously. Anyway. People who do remember websites and are of the female persuasion do so because they learned about the internet from a browser game: ‘Neopets’: Inside Look at Early 2000s Internet Girl Culture.

Websites. I miss them.

Old Man News

There are not many old men who make me thing: Well, now that is a nice old man. He is one of them: Luke Skywalker Speaks

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That’d be it for tonight. Unless you want to learn about one man’s experiment with recipe boxes or how the rich tend to stay rich. Have a look at the most futuristic looking library so far or my first ever unboxing video. (Honestly, I almost lost it when I saw that. Good god.)

Anyway, have a nice week, really do. Toodles!