Posts tagged “elephants”

• I love these Big Tuskers! – via johansiggesson.com
• Why Apple's Move to Video Could Endanger Podcasting’s Greatest Power
• I haven’t been able to play the best video game ever made — Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1997) — in over a quarter of a century, though I still have my old Microsoft Sidewinder in storage somewhere for it. Could the DOS Retro-Emulation Arena for Maniac Mansion™ (DREAMM) allow me to play on a Mac? We shall learn soon!
• Speaking of Mac software, I am not sure if I’ve ever mentioned how much I love Grand Perspective. If you are a Mac user, this is a must-have utility for analyzing where all your hard drive space is being used. I’ve had it for years and years and use it often.
• Are prediction markets just sports betting by another name? is a good primer on all the hooplah around them if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
• A new meta-analysis of nearly 100,000 people found that the more you watch short-form videos, the more likely you are to struggle with attention and cognitive control. The scientists found that watching short-form videos affects your ability to stop impulses and redirect focus. And it had a negative effect on mental health, specifically increasing stress and anxiety. – via Arnold’s Pump Club
• Goonies Never Say Die is a lovely essay by Dan Sinker that hit this GenXer right in the feels.
• A Rant about Daylight Saving Time: Chronobiologists and sleep researchers have reached a near-unanimous conclusion that making Daylight Saving Time permanent would subject the entire population to a kind of chronic, low-grade jet lag, one that never resolves because the clocks are perpetually misaligned with the sun.
• Do you have any ancestors who were from Canada? Great news: You are eligible for Canadian citizenship. – via my dad
• I don’t understand why the 1983 classic WarGames – one of my all-time favorite movies – isn’t required viewing for anyone and everyone who works in any way, shape, or form with the United States military, because AI really likes using nuclear weapons in simulated war scenarios.
• Radiohead tells ICE to take down a video using their song, writing, “It ain’t funny, this song means a lot to us and other people, and you don’t get to appropriate it without a fight. Also, go fuck yourselves.”
• The US struck an Iranian school where a blast killed at least 165.

• For the first time in nearly 25 years, an Asian elephant gave birth to a calf at the Smithsonian Zoo. – via What A Day
• Got kids? Send them a link to Ian’s Shoelace Site!
• Super quick and easy way to send a message to your reps asking them to stand with the people of Minnesota against ICE: ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA NOW – via @bhay
• NSS: The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023. – via @jfallows
• Leslie Jones shares what her reaction would be if she were a reporter and the President insulted her.

Winter Olympics

• Lindsey Vonn says she is competing this weekend despite rupturing the ACL in her left knee just a few days ago.
• Winter House is definitely a better name than the original.
• Where, when, and how to watch the Opening Ceremony
• How to watch Mikaela Shiffrin live at Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
• As law enforcement officials continue to search for her mother, Savannah Guthrie will no longer be part of NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage – via @latimes.com

What fresh hell is this?

• In an interview with NPR, Melinda Gates confirmed that she ended her marriage with Bill Gates because of allegations contained in the Epstein files.
• Operation Dirtbag, Swamp Sweep, Operation Catch of the Day, the Speedway Slammer, the Cornhusker Clink, Alligator Alcatraz, and Deportation Depot are just some of the degrading, dehumanizing, and disgusting names the current administration has been using for ICE operations and facilities.
• Health officials in New Mexico are warning against consuming raw dairy products after a newborn baby in the state died from a listeria infection that they say was likely contracted when the baby’s mother drank raw milk during pregnancy. – via @philplait
• The POTUS urged Republicans to seize control of elections and place voting under national authority, one of his most explicit signals yet that he plans to interfere with the workings of democracy. – via @marcelias
• ICE confirms measles outbreak at Dilley family detention center – via @pgourevitch

• Elephants trumpet, squeak, and flap their ears after their complex move across an Australian city.
• Bridge Grades score Congress members on their ability to collaborate, build coalitions, deliver consensus solutions, and bridge America. – via @froggyb.bsky.social
• Men Actually Crave Romantic Relationships More Than Women Do: According to more than fifty studies of mixed-gender relationships, men tend to experience greater mental and physical health benefits from being in a relationship, are less likely to initiate breakups, and struggle more with the emotional toll of a breakup.
• Kudos to Anker customer support. The ring stand on my wife’s iPhone case snapped and when I contacted them via the Amazon product support page, they sent me a new one right away.
• “I resent having to have so much anger in my heart all the time. Because it’s not my default. I’m a happy person by default.” – via @anildash.com
• A recent survey revealed that 83% of Americans say the President is required to follow Supreme Court rulings. (It’s the other 17% that bother me.)
• This is just pathetic: The “DOGE” website created to document how the ‘team’ is eviscerating the US federal government is wide open for anyone to edit.

• If you have any Apple devices – a MacBook, an iPhone, etc. – I strongly urge you to subscribe to the Simple Apple Tutorials newsletter published by Gannon Nordberg. Every two weeks, you’ll get one actionable lesson on how to use your Apple tech to be more organized, productive, and stress-free from a former Apple Certified Consultant and Mac Technician of seven years. His latest one, explaining the fastest way to protect all your Mac’s photos and documents, is superb and nearly identical to what I have been telling friends and family forever.
• Short-sightedness is on the rise – including among kids. Here’s what can be done. – via Links You‘ll Love
• Proboscis was one of my mom’s favorite words. Funny the little details you remember sometimes. Mostly because of her, a profound childhood infatuation with Mr. Snuffleupagus, and my maternal grandparents’ shared love of small carved figurines of them, I have always been interested in elephants. If you are also fascinated by regal creatures with prehensile noses, you might enjoy this incredible Royal Society Open Science deep dive into how elephants develop trunk wrinkles through both form and function. – via Curious About Everything
• If You Think You Can Hold a Grudge, Consider the Crow: “Renowned for their intelligence, crows can mimic human speech, use tools, and gather for what seem to be funeral rites when [one of them] dies or is killed. They also tenaciously hold grudges. When a murder of crows singles out a person as dangerous, its wrath can be alarming, and can be passed along beyond an individual crow’s life span of up to a dozen or so years, creating multigenerational grudges.” – via kottke
• Stop killing yourself over that project for five minutes and read the divine discontent, an essay by Celine Nguyen on the pursuit of unhappiness: “The most fulfilled people I know tend to have two traits. They’re insatiably curious—about new ideas, experiences, information and people. And they seem to exist in a state of perpetual, self-inflicted unhappiness.” – via personal canon
• A recent study suggests mindfulness isn’t just for mental health. It can support healthier body composition, less body fat, and better weight management. – via Arnold’s Pump Club
• Since the start of 2022, in the regular season Penn State is 0-5 versus Michigan and Ohio State, 27-0 versus all other schools. – via TMQ