The Spice Drawer

Over the past six months (leisurely) and in the past three weeks (intensely), I’ve cleaned out and packed up my entire house where I’ve been living for the past 10 years. I went through every bit and bob of what I owned and either: gave it away (fiddle leaf fig, grill, ch…

A declaration signed by 25 Fields medalists : “The...

A declaration signed by 25 Fields medalists: “The goals of the AI companies and the goals of the mathematical community are severely misaligned.”

Affinity (Version 3.3) Review: Better for Photographers, Still not Replacing Capture One

Since the release of Affinity 3.0, one of my biggest gripes with the software has been the unshakable feeling that this was at best a piece of software that was largely incomplete and at worst not made with photographers in mind. The latest release, Affinity 3.3, changes a lot o…

nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: Apple’s HIG: Show one popover at a time. Displaying multiple popovers clutters the interface and causes confusion. Never show a cascade or hierarchy of popovers, in which one emerges from another. If you need to show a new popover, close the open one first. Use…

Neal Slavin: Vintage Photos of a Lost American Culture

There's something inherently Americana about the work that photographer Neal Slavin is really known for. Towards the end of summer 2026, I sat on my balcony to take in the book, "Neal Slavin: When Two or More are Gathered Together," I realized that we've lost something: communit…

Nextings

See them while you can As I’ve been writing about at length on my Trunkline blog, broadcast towers are both a lifelong preoccupation of mine, and (like all of us) doomed in the long run. That’s because high-bandwidth wireless digital tech doesn’t require them. (Yes, over-t…

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 Review: They Fixed Fuji’s Worst Camera

The Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 is a re-envisioning of the company's really awful Instax Pal, and it's mostly for the better. The ergonomics are very classic and retro inspired while the entire way that you use the camera is also quite liberating. In fact, that's the best part of the…

Fujifilm Instax Link Wide 2 Printer Review: For When Your Images Mean Something

The Fujifilm Instax Link Wide 2 is, well, to be frank with you, I didn't even really bother reading the press release much because I know how photographers will use it. Fujifilm added stuff like the collage feature; but every time I see photographers printing images from these c…

Aerospace Flowchart

Inside Canon’s Newest Lens Patents: A 20-60mm f2, a 70-135mm f2, and More

Canon has been publishing patents over the past few months. And some of them are very innovative lenses that haven't been made before. The pace does not seem to slow down either. As part of their latest filings, the company is announcing four new zoom lenses, of which, one inclu…

The Great Dude Battles of the 1880s

E. Berry Wall was a dude. But not just any dude. In 1888, he was declared “King of the Dudes” in a competition against another gentleman, one Robert Hilliard. Wall became famous after meeting Blakely Hall, a reporter hungry for good copy. Thereafter, every week or so, H…

From a curator at the Getty, ratings of every...

From a curator at the Getty, ratings of every “framed picture” emoji. “A total rejection of nature and reality. Why is the horizon rounded? Has this artist seen planet earth before?”

The 2026 winners of the Ig Nobel Prize include papers...

The 2026 winners of the Ig Nobel Prize include papers on “a more precise definition of kissing”, “An Aerodynamic Study of the Nose Blowing”, and the discovery “that milk proteins from cockroaches pack 3X as much energy as milk proteins from cows”.

Rocky Sleep, You Watch, Question?

Project Hail Mary is already on my list of movies that I can just throw on in the backround while I do a bit of work or puttering around. (Not sure whether that’s an endorsement or not…I like the movie!) Anyhoo, if you get tired of the movie, you can watch Rocky sleep for…

Shooting Like a Photojournalist? Our Presets Are Inspired by Life, Nat Geo, and Time

Street photography has always leaned on a bit of grit, and that's exactly what our retro digital presets are built for. When I'm out shooting on the sidewalk, I want images that feel a little rougher around the edges, not polished to the point where they lose their character. Th…

Now open for business in Nyack, NY: Busman’s Holiday , a...

Now open for business in Nyack, NY: Busman’s Holiday, a stationary store run by (former?) graphic designer Sam Potts, who announced the shop back in March in a KDO open thread. Lots of nice touches here, including a used pencil exchanger.

Ok wait, the NES Tetris world record is now 40.26...

Ok wait, the NES Tetris world record is now 40.26 million??! It took 2 hours and 20 minutes and the previous record was 29 million. At level 255, you hit “rebirth” and the pieces slow down to level 0 speeds again. Totally bonkers.

A Deep Dive Into the Full Bayeux Tapestry Story

From Deep Down History, an entertaining hour-long explainer video on the Bayeux Tapestry. This video tells the Tapestry’s story in full, using Charles Stothard’s early colour reproduction, presented here as a seamless scroll for the first time. We follow Harold Godwinso…

I’ve linked to Summoning Salt’s videos before (they make...

I’ve linked to Summoning Salt’s videos before (they make some of the best video game explainer videos out there — hell, some of the best YT videos period) and here’s their newest one: The Tournament That Changed Tetris Forever.

In 1992, Canada declared a moratorium on Northern cod...

In 1992, Canada declared a moratorium on Northern cod fishing due to overfishing. It was devastating for Newfoundlanders. This year, for the first time since then, the govt has “upgraded the cod stock’s status from ‘critical’ to ‘healthy’”.

The Sony RX100V is 10 Years Old. Is it Good in 2026?

A decade ago, I reviewed the Sony RX100V for the Phoblographer. Considering how modern cameras just aren't doing it for so many of us these days, we've taken to looking back in our archives. And truthfully, I'm glad that I'm doing so. This camera is from a time before Sony did a…

Two-Hour Mix of the Jazz in Haruki Murakami Novels

From NTS, this is a two-hour mix of jazz music featured in the books of Haruki Murakami. ‘Somewhere along the line Coltrane’s soprano sax runs out of steam. Now it’s McCoy Tyner’s piano solo I hear, the left hand carving out a repetitious rhythm and the right layeri…

We Are Living in the Fantasy World of 13-Year-Old Boys ....

We Are Living in the Fantasy World of 13-Year-Old Boys. Today’s tech titans took all the wrong lessons from the science fiction of their youths and now they’re each building their version of the Torment Nexus.

3 New Canon Macro Lenses May Be Coming, Patent Filing Suggests

Canon has introduced some wonderful patents in the past few months. Of the lot, a few pertaining to macro lenses. This includes the world's first macro lens of its kind and a few wide angle macro options. Per a new patent, the company has detailed three new canon macro lenses, n…