nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: You know what? I’ve had enough. Interactions on hover are fucked up. Being afraid to move my mouse is fucked up. Blocking content with stuff nobody asked for is fucked up. LET ME MOVE MY MOUSE WITHOUT FEAR! If I’d want to see something I’ll click on it. #Hover…

Researchers have found that some aspects of sperm...

Researchers have found that some aspects of sperm whales’ communication are “remarkably similar” to human languages.

Everwhen

As always Jamie Smith nails it with No one is listening to Steve Jobs’s advice about the EU Digital ID Wallet.  Still the only way Interesting how old posts get new traffic. The biggest this morning on the ProjectVRM blog is to Health Care Relationship Management, which ran…

Threat models

People talk about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of large language models as though all tasks are comparable. But it strikes me that there are three broad categories of work that large language models are applied to: Compression. Transformation. Expansion. Compression is…

The Only Mirrorless Camera You Need For Street Photography

Mirrorless cameras are all the rage in the industry. With companies like Canon and Nikon switching to the same, photographers today have only two options: stick to the aging DSLR system, or get a new camera with a fast system. For those in street photography, the latter makes mu…

What Was the Very First Plant in the World?...

What Was the Very First Plant in the World? “Scientists believe the first true plants evolved from green algae around 470 million years ago.”

The Brennan Self-Balancing Monorail

This is so cool: in the early 1900s, a mechanical engineer named Louis Brennan invented a self-balancing train that ran on a single track. This video demonstrates how the train worked using a clever system of gyroscopes. This is the Brennan Monorail, a train from the early…

Trust This Signal

Next Wednesday, 21 April, at 4 pm Eastern, Judith Donath will speak here at Indiana University and online on The Alchemy of Confidence, addressing the most pressing question in our still-new digital age: Why do we trust some signals—and fall for others? She explains, In a time…

I mentioned this book in a previous post but it deserves...

I mentioned this book in a previous post but it deserves its own thing: Timothy Ryback’s 53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy will hit shelves in September. A must-read for me.

The People’s Clock: a Timepiece Made of People

As part of his Real Time series, artist Maarten Baas has created The People’s Clock, a timepiece that lives in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. To create the clock’s “workings”, Baas recorded more than 1000 volunteers moving as the clock’s hands over a 12-hour period…

The Great American GLP-1 Experiment . In the last few...

The Great American GLP-1 Experiment. In the last few years, people have come up with all sorts of off-label uses for GLP-1s, including treating concussions, menopause, long Covid, IBS, drug addiction, anxiety, hair loss, and arthritis.

Thrustday

A hopeful sign My News Commons site and series are getting action lately.

Why is This Nikon Film Camera Outdoing the Z8 in 2026?

Nikon has been one of the few companies that has always had to work hard to prove itself; and that's especially been the case since the inception of mirrorless camera. Sometimes, we all forget that they started the same way that many Chinese manufacturers have today: by imitatin…

The Monochrome WLV-01 Waist Level Camera Review: The Sony E Mount Just Got Better

I've long shot and loved analog film photography, an experience that cannot be reproduced digitally. Until I tried the Monochrome WLV-01.

Is a New Third-Party Lens Brand Making Lenses for Canon RF?

Canon users have never had an opportunity to use a nice autofocus lens from third-party lens makers. One of the reasons being that the company was not ready to give access to other brands. Despite the challenges, some people did rely on them and worked with manual focus instead.…

Will Nikon Get Creative With Its Lighting System Again?

A little over a decade ago, Nikon had arguably the best speedlight system of any camera brand on the market. The lights could all talk to each other wirelessly without much hassle, and the system helped many a photographer become a creative professional. But with their last spee…

A rare event to capture on video: an underwater volcanic...

A rare event to capture on video: an underwater volcanic eruption in the Solomon Islands.

Make It Myself

The Best Travel Photography Lens You Can Find for Under $700

A travel photographer knows how important a good lens that can photograph anything. For more photographers who like to go out, they often have one of the basic requirements; the ability to keep their gear minium. Most enthusiasts, thus, rely on a super zoom that allows them to w…

From a few weeks ago: Bush’s Tiny Desk Concert ....

From a few weeks ago: Bush’s Tiny Desk Concert. Machinehead and Glycerine still hit.

Your Backpack Got Worse On Purpose . “From a...

Your Backpack Got Worse On Purpose. “From a shareholder’s perspective, the bag that falls apart is the better product. That’s the business model. Repeat failure, repeat purchase, repeat revenue. The quality decline isn’t a side effect. It’s the strategy.”

Two Japanese aquariums have released their 2026...

Two Japanese aquariums have released their 2026 flowcharts of their penguins’ relationships. “Penguin drama can include serious crushes and heartbreaks but also adultery and egg-stealing.”

Vintage Pan-Am Luggage Tags

I love these oversized prints of vintage Pan-Am luggage tags from artist Ella Freire. The typography and colors are just perfect. (via daringfireball) Tags: art · design · Ella Freire · travel

Fun trompe-l’œil graph paper drawings .

Fun trompe-l’œil graph paper drawings.

This Fujifilm Instant Film Is Now More Expensive Than Ever

Fujifilm has earned a reputable name with their X-series cameras. The company has been at the forefront of offering popular film simulations, along with other features that young and professional photographers can't get enough of. However, while the digital world is seeing succe…

Don’t Just Replace Chavez — Rethink Monuments ....

Don’t Just Replace Chavez — Rethink Monuments. “A memorial based on the great-man theory of history is a tale only half told.” And: “There are elegant ways to pay tribute to groups of people.”

The Testaments TV Series

I’d vaguely remembered that Hulu was adapting The Testaments, Margaret Atwood’s follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale, as a sequel to the TV series of the same name, but I was surprised to find out that the show has premiered and is already three episodes in (a fourth will b…

Listen to the NYC Subway play some Train Jazz ....

Listen to the NYC Subway play some Train Jazz. “Every dot is a real subway train. Eight hundred of them, give or take, form a small jazz combo (walking bass, piano, sax, vibes, brushes) that has been playing without pause for over a hundred years.”

nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: This date of birth calendar let you choose dates multiple years in the future. Just in case #Calendar #DateOfBirth

The Single Best Nikon Camera for Travel Photography

Nikon cameras have evolved over the years a lot. The company has designed offerings that are smaller, faster, and ergonomically the best. In fact, travel photographers have great offerings to choose from. But, this particular model is the best they can get, and at a decent price…

The Engineer Guy Bill Hammack has written a book based on...

The Engineer Guy Bill Hammack has written a book based on his great YouTube channel: The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans.

It’s Happening: More Signs of Life From Boards of Canada

I reported last week that signs of activity have been detected from Boards of Canada in the form of mysterious VHS tapes sent out to fans. Yesterday, the group’s record label posted a bunch of photos of posters hung up in cities around the world (NYC, Tokyo, LA) that mat…

Nowsday

Has Atlas shrugged? The post in my archive that has had the most visits lately is this one about ChatGPT Atlas. I haven't heard Atlas talked about much lately. According to Google Trends, interest has trailed off. Meanwhile, Google Search remains a skin on Gemini, so maybe that…

Is Fujifilm Getting Rid of an Analog Wonder?

Fujifilm has some exceptional cameras but also some wonderful analog papers. While the company caters to film photographers, it appears that the company insists on discontinuing a film that is liked by many: the RA4. Here's a look at what to expect.

Digital to Film: Making 36 Exposures Count and Fighting Brain Rot

"...going into your shoot with some sort of story that you want to tell can be a great way to help you keep a good flow and have those 36 exposures count."

Has Canon Discontinued This Iconic Telephoto Lens?

Canon has introduced some popular lenses over the years. The company has a wide range, catering from fisheye lenses to some truly iconic telephoto lenses and zooms. While they moved to the mirrorless mount less than a decade ago, their older lenses, for the EF mount, continue to…