Is the Olympus Pen F Still Worth Buying in 2026?

If you own the original Olympus Pen F digital camera, then you understand what we mean when we say it's still worth buying today. It's such an excellent camera in so many ways. Olympus has created some fantastic cameras and the Pen series is one of them. The original Pen was lau…

Earth Sized Planets

Gravitational Square Wave

Siege Engine

“We should be more ambitious with the software we build”

Since early this year, Michael Malis (of pgrust) has been showing me interesting things he's done and saying [W]e should be more ambitious1 with the software we build There is, understandably, a lot of skepticism about projects like pgrust because there are so many low-quali…

There's no reason for software to be slow anymore

The other day, I saw a viral tweet saying that people talking about how LLMs are causing slow, bloated, code are going to eat crow once they re-write everything in super-optimized assembly. We're not quite at the point where we want to write everything in assembly, but some vari…

This Week in the IndieWeb

October 23-30, 2026 Recent EventsFrom events.indieweb.org/archive: Front End Study Hall #061 Thursday, October 29 at 10:00am Online! Zoom!Front End Study Hall is an HTML + CSS focused group meeting, held on Zoom to experiment and learn with the basic building blocks of the web…

nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: Looks like Siri came to Europe. As usual, with impeccable Apple animation quality. And two active text cursors #Apple #Siri #Animation #macOS #AppleNotes #Cursor

nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: Button with question? #Google #Chrome #Button #Question

The Breathing Trick Photographers Use to Hold Still

Camera shake ruins more photos than bad gear ever does. There's a simple breathing technique, borrowed from meditation practice, that a lot of photographers have never been taught -- and it makes a real difference.

Lightcraft Review: It’s Adobe Lightroom, Without Adobe

The truth is that Lightcraft really is a free version of Adobe Lightroom -- and in some ways it's better but in other ways it's just nearly as frustrating. If you're aware of the odd headaches that you get sometimes when you're doing something new, then know that you're probably…

Sony FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS Review: the Lightest Telephoto Prime We’ve Tested, but is That Enough?

You should buy the Sony FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS with a big caveat: you're a wildlife or sports photographer who is accustomed to carrying around two camera bodies. If you're an enthusiast though, skip it. Super-telephoto lenses typically conjure up images of large, heavy lenses tha…

Where to Actually Find Real Photography Writing Online

Most "best photography blogs" lists just repeat each other, and nearly all of them are focused on gear. Here's a different list -- one built around publications that actually cover photography as an art form.

Is the Fujifilm 14mm f2.8 Still Worth Buying in 2026?

Back when it was introduced, the Fujifilm 14mm f2.8 wasn't a bad option; but we wouldn't use it today. There are better lenses on the market for sure. Fujifilm has some of the finer range of lenses for APS-C users. The company has created models like the 23mm, the 50mm, or the 1…

The Sigma 35mm f1.4 Is 13 Years Old. Is It Still Worth Your Time in 2026?

One of Sigma's first lenses of their Global Vision program was the 35mm f1.4; and it's still considered to be a favorite of the staff here. The contrasty look it gave was truly something special. Sigma has created some of the finest lenses for photographers. The company's 14mm,…

Is the Fujifilm 23mm f1.4 a Good Lens in 2026?

If you're looking for the Fujifilm 23mm f1.4 lens variant with more character, then you should consider the original lens. The newer lens doesn't have the same feeling and is meant more for faster autofocus in video. Fujifilm has some wonderful lenses in its portfolio. The compa…

At 18, He Was Already Building Surreal Worlds With a Camera

Some photographers spend years finding a visual identity. Italian photographer Giulio Musardo had one by 18 -- a surreal, self-portrait-heavy style built with little more than a plain wall and natural light. We asked him how he got there.

Viltrox 35mm f1.4 Pro Review: This is Different

The new Viltrox 35mm f1.4 Pro lens seems like it's an older design of some sort give how small many modern 35mm f1.4 lenses are. Make no mistake, it's a great lens with fast autofocus that's sometimes missing the mark, weather resistance, and really nice image quality. But after…

Is the Sony RX1R II Worth Your Time in 2026?

Sony has introduced some fantastic cameras for photographers from varied backgrounds. The APS-C range caters to serious and intermediate photographers. The full frame is perfect for a plethora of genres, while the compact cameras are divided into beginner-friendly and premium mo…

The Nikon 120-300mm f2.8 Z is For a Special Breed of Photographer

Today, Nikon is announcing their Nikon 120-300mm f2.8 Z lens that's designed for photographers of various types. We see this lens being mostly in use with event photographers and perhaps a few sports photographers. Nikon has long needed a lens like this for their Z8 and Z9. But…

Samsung Patent Describes an Undo Button for AI-Edited Photos

Samsung may have quietly exited the serious part of the photo industry, but they've got a new patent that's going to add to the authenticity of images. And if it's real, then it could help the entire web in so many different ways. Photography patents are important for the advanc…

10 Things I Want from the Nikon Z7 III

While I don't know what the Nikon Z7 III will be like, I think that it's fun to think about it! It's been a very long time now since Nikon refreshed the Z7 lineup. And it's sort of in an odd place. I mean, why would someone buy one when the Z8 and Z9 all exist? Well, I think tha…

A Photographer Slaps the Factory Farm Industry in the Face (NSFW)

In 2026, here in America we've been faced with some real food scares. Lettuce can sometimes be very contaminated -- and our government did nearly nothing about it. Then the problem was said to spread to blueberries, raspberries, and others. This, along with many things in our ec…

The Camp Snap 2 Outsold the CS8 in 2026

In 2026 so far, the Camp Snap 2 seems to be the big winner for the company followed by the CS8 and the CSPro. I remember back in 2023 when I reviewed the first Camp Snap. I couldn't imagine that the company would turn into the surprising success that it is today -- but I'm glad…

Great Art Explained: Henri Matisse’s The Red Studio....

Great Art Explained: Henri Matisse’s The Red Studio. “Even Matisse wasn’t entirely sure what he had created and nobody wanted to buy it.”

The top 10 paintings of Judith beheading Holofernes. “I...

The top 10 paintings of Judith beheading Holofernes. “I feel like Artemisia has actually thought through the logistics of overpowering a grown man and hacking his head off.”

Three-Body Orbits

There are no generalized solutions to the three-body problem. Say you have three planets orbiting each other: it’s impossible to calculate how they will move using Newton’s laws of motion and gravity. Unlike the two-body problem, the three-body problem has no general cl…

James Bridle on making chairs with LLMs. “What we have...

James Bridle on making chairs with LLMs. “What we have here is, quite literally, a chair designed by someone who has read a lot about chairs but never actually sat in one.”

In a late-stage trial, personalized mRNA vaccines for...

In a late-stage trial, personalized mRNA vaccines for melanoma “reduced the risk of death or recurrence by 42 percent compared to standard treatment”.

Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Site Search!

After years in the making (or more accurately, years in the wanting), I finally figured out how I wanted to do search for KDO posts. I’ve been tinkering with this specific implementation since the beginning of the summer and it finally all came together. If you’re a member,…

Listen to a Long-Lost Daft Punk Mix From 1997

A DJ named Ralph Lawson, who hosted a radio show called Trans Europe Express, found an incredible time capsule in his collection: an hour-long mixtape sent to him by Daft Punk in 1997, shortly after the release of their debut album, Homework. The tape was badly damaged, but he w…

Rest In Peace, Patrick Stewart (1940-2026)

Sir Patrick Stewart, best known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died at the age of 86. He passed at home in Los Angeles from Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was largely considered an unknown when the “Star Tr…

An Italian farmer planted some decades-old seeds he found...

An Italian farmer planted some decades-old seeds he found in his attic. Wheat with seven ears per stalk came up and the farmer found a reference to this type of nutritious, drought-resistant wheat in the Bible’s book of Genesis.

Star Wars: The Radio Drama

Somehow I’d never heard of this before: NPR produced and aired1 radio dramatizations of the films in the original Star Wars trilogy. The first program was particularly popular, garnering NPR hundreds of thousands of new listeners. The original versions are available in full on…

Dumpster Archeology. “Lew Blink’s passion for dumpster...

Dumpster Archeology. “Lew Blink’s passion for dumpster diving, his tenacity in connecting the dots, and his magnetic charisma as he unearths the secrets of others were a captivating lens through which to explore themes of privacy, waste…”

What’s the largest tweetable number? You’ve got 280...

What’s the largest tweetable number? You’ve got 280 characters. So: “9999…” or “one centillion” or “googol!!!!!!…” or an image of a number? Turns out it’s complicated!

Rolling Stone: The 200 Greatest Rock Songs of the 21st...

Rolling Stone: The 200 Greatest Rock Songs of the 21st Century So Far. I cannot argue with the top pick: Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. There’s a Spotify playlist with all 200 songs…a great way to spend 15 hours and 25 minutes.

The Remarkable Serbian Election

I’ve been reading a bit about the recent election in Serbia and some of the details are fascinating. A student-led coalition toppled the 12-year corrupt reign of “the increasingly authoritarian leader” Aleksandar Vučić in recent elections. But in order to ensure voters a…

The NY Times recently asked readers “what they can no...

The NY Times recently asked readers “what they can no longer afford, or have given up on having”. Among the answers: medication, car repairs, new clothes, having more kids, eating out, and contact lenses.

Old Newspaper Headlines About the Name Doppelgängers of Current Celebrities

This is great: Annie Rauwerda (of Depths of Wikipedia fame) sifted through the archive at newspapers.com to find the goings on of long-ago celebrity name doppelgängers (follow-up post). A few of my favorites: Tags: Annie Rauwerda · cel…

I made a small tweak to Prometheus (gift link discovery...

I made a small tweak to Prometheus (gift link discovery site) that kinda kicks ass: NYT Cooking is now a separate source (which you can filter by). The Rigatoni With White Bolognese recipe is a favorite of mine. 🤌

Errol Morris shot ads for Theranos and recently revealed...

Errol Morris shot ads for Theranos and recently revealed he has a two-hour interview with Elizabeth Holmes that he’s considering releasing. “Did I have any reason to believe that she was a fraud? I did not. Did that change as time went on? It did.”

Remember the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game? Turns out:...

Remember the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game? Turns out: “Kevin Bacon is not the center of Hollywood. In fact, he never has been, and almost certainly never will be.”

A bunch of items from Stanley Kubrick’s personal archive...

A bunch of items from Stanley Kubrick’s personal archive will be auctioned off early next year, including Jack Torrance’s axe & the sisters’ blue dresses from The Shining, Kubrick’s director’s chair, and a chess set owned by the director.

The Moving Image Archive

The Moving Image Archive is a collection of over 120,000 clips from almost 2300 archival films drawn from public domain collections. The internet is full of forgotten films, and this archive is a growing library of that collection. When synthetic footage can now fabricate…

It’s Hard To Be A Rich Radical. “It was disappointing how...

It’s Hard To Be A Rich Radical. “It was disappointing how easily money turned a lot of them into sudden conservatives, full of right-wing doctrine about bootstraps and the fantasy of a black capitalist utopia…”

Scientists are studying whether “many chronic diseases we...

Scientists are studying whether “many chronic diseases we treat as separate failures of separate organs may share one deeper problem: cells struggling to extract and use energy from food” (diabetes, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, etc.)

Paleovirology: How HIV Started a Century Before Anyone Noticed

I’ve been vaguely aware for awhile that researchers had traced the origins of HIV/AIDS back to Sub-Saharan Africa. But I didn’t know the whole story, which turns out to be really fascinating. For decades, one man was blamed for bringing AIDS to America. But the “Patie…

They Stopped 57 Shootings. Everyone Was Just Fired. “A...

They Stopped 57 Shootings. Everyone Was Just Fired. “A program called Peace Orlando hired neighborhood residents closest to the violence…who could see a shooting coming and talk people down.” It worked…and then the program was shut down.

Sprout is planning to sell replacement motherboards for...

Sprout is planning to sell replacement motherboards for certain iPods. “Sprout only replaces the motherboard and uses your iPod’s original parts. No soldering required, and fully reversible.” Bluetooth, WiFi, 500K songs, USB-C, even streaming.

Have We Confused Having Good Taste With Being Creative?

From 713 Magazine on Instagram: In a world where cultural knowledge has become its own form of social currency, knowing the right designers, listening to the right music, and recognizing the right references can make someone appear just as creative as the people actually pr…

“Local Wikipedia is Wikipedia, but only for things a half...

“Local Wikipedia is Wikipedia, but only for things a half hour walk from you.” There is also Walkipedia.

John Oliver on the Republican Party and the Far Right...

John Oliver on the Republican Party and the Far Right (redundant).

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual movement of African-American artists in the 1920s and 30s. In 1972, filmmaker William Greaves threw a party in Duke Ellington’s apartment for some surviving members of the movement and recorded the whole thing. The foot…

Apple Music’s 404 page features a fully functional iPod...

Apple Music’s 404 page features a fully functional iPod simulator.

Short video teasing an new collab between Daft Punk and...

Short video teasing an new collab between Daft Punk and Lego, including a forthcoming Lego set based on this fan-submitted entry.

The American Divide on Empathy

PRRI’s 2026 American Values Survey reveals some, uh, interesting views on whether Americans think empathy is a good thing or not. Those respondents unaffiliated with a religion were much more inclined to think that empathy is “a foundational moral value that helps build a he…

OMG, the height of these waves hitting a seawall in...

OMG, the height of these waves hitting a seawall in Taiwan as Typhoon Champi hit the island nation a few days ago. That’s gotta be close to 100 feet. Waves also inundated this 75-foot-tall lighthouse and a crane 164 feet tall, knocking it over.

Michael Pollan reflects on what has and hasn’t changed in...

Michael Pollan reflects on what has and hasn’t changed in the 20 years since he wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma. “Looking at the landscape of food and farming today, I’m sorry to report that things haven’t changed all that much.”

Matt Webb is bunkering down, bracing for more LLM-driven...

Matt Webb is bunkering down, bracing for more LLM-driven security exploits. “Realistically, let’s say the internet gets infested with AI worms and we need to turn it off and on again, could we do it?” I had not heard of the air-gapped LLM communication 😳

Harry Kane is this year’s men’s winner of the Ballon...

Harry Kane is this year’s men’s winner of the Ballon d’Or. 100% the right choice — he had the best season of anyone. Like, almost ever.

A poignant short documentary about a mother who only...

A poignant short documentary about a mother who only knows her son is alive by the new graffiti tags he leaves around town. Eventually, she started tagging back…

From Charles Mann, a quick history of porcelain, which is...

From Charles Mann, a quick history of porcelain, which is basically what his pricey induction stovetop is made from. (Fun fact: I went to grad school for ceramic engineering before dropping out after a semester to teach myself web design.)

Russian and East European Posters

Princeton houses a large digital collection of posters from Russia and Eastern Europe, almost 5000 total item spanning 101 years (1904-2004). This album on Flickr contains nearly 1500 Russian & Soviet posters from 1917-1991 — not sure how much overlap there is betw…

Ten of the most bizarre films and their posters, as...

Ten of the most bizarre films and their posters, as chosen by Eternal Family. I linked to Eternal Family recently and this is a good guide to some of their weirdest stuff.

How Tree Rings Challenged the Myth of American...

How Tree Rings Challenged the Myth of American Wilderness. “When one revisits colonial accounts of North America, one finds a striking amount of evidence that Native Americans set fire to the landscape.”

NASA’s Perseverance Sets Off-World Record for Total Distance Driven

According to NASA, the Perseverance rover has driven just over 28 miles on the surface of Mars, making it the vehicle that has driven the farthest distance outside of Earth. On Oct. 11, the rover’s odometer reached 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers), eclipsing the record of 2…

Simon Willison: “Battle Drones is heavily vibe coded —...

Simon Willison: “Battle Drones is heavily vibe coded — I’ve reviewed almost none of the code, and it’s built in a language (TypeScript) that I’ve hardly used myself.” There’s a French steampunk version too.

This exhibition of ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) by Utagawa...

This exhibition of ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) by Utagawa Hiroshige at the Tokyo National Museum was great. Awesome to see these prints in person.

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026

London’s Natural History Museum has announced the winners of the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year, a competition that has been going since 1965. You can see a gallery of all the winners on the competition website (and also places like The Guardian and The…

How to Install an App on Your Commodore 64. “Oh, don’t...

How to Install an App on Your Commodore 64. “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll just need to type in the code for that program. There’s an article explaining what MLX is, which you can read really quickly on page 93, and then you’ll find the code for it on page 94.”

Our Response To The eMudhra Key Disclosure Incident

The Go Blog Our Response To The eMudhra Key Disclosure Incident Roland Shoemaker, on behalf of the Go Security team 26 October 2026 On October 19, the Go team initiated an expedited security release to protect Go users and their applicati…

The California AI Rush

There have been five tech booms since Gordon Moore coined his eponymous Law in 1965: In my long experience, the AI boom is the biggest of all. Tom Friedman calls it “the second big bang.” Watch that. I think he’s right. Business-wise, we get a lot of sky-pie, naturally. Th…

Harvest Moonday

Stripe, Meta, and Apple, sitting in a tree In Tyler Cowen’s Marginal Revolution, Patrick Collison (of Stripe fame) says (among much else),  Much of what I’m writing hinges on the assumption that personal agents will be on the consumer’s side. I suspect that that will be t…

Filtered for spelunking the archives

Back in February 2023 I launched Braggoscope, my unofficial spelunker for official best show ever, BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time (write-up here). You can listen to all 1,000+ episodes online for free (and see all books in the online reading lists). i.e. there’s a lot so don’…