If you grew up enjoying Stephen Biesty’s cross-sections like me, you’ll appreciate this brilliant project from Google engineer Bryan Macomber. The website breaks down mechanical objects, like the G2 retractable pen (my favorite), the PEZ dispenser, and the Zippo lighter. I can’t wait to see what comes next. (h/t to Kottke for spotting it.)
[Mechanical Pencil]
The S&P just found the backbone that Nasdaq discarded on the street alongside the rest of New York City’s trash. While others are bending the rules to accommodate SpaceX and other gargantuan IPOs, the S&P is standing firm. “No changes will be made” to accommodate these mega offerings.
[S&P Dow Jones]
Adrian Bliss never misses. I might actually start being nicer to my Google Nest orbs.
I enjoyed this piece from Ted Chiang in The Atlantic because it’s a well-deserved smack in the face to the clowns who suggest LLMs might be conscious. Nope, we’re just falling for one of the most obvious confidence tricks of all time: giving in to “someone” who appears to like us.
[The Atlantic]
The original lightsabers in Star Wars were hacked together from antique camera parts, so it’s fitting that folks are still going back to basics to build new ones. As lightsaber home-build videos are exploding right now on TikTok, it’s fun to see Home Depot embrace it. Sure, you can still buy something fancy directly from Disney, but the best lightsabers in the world have always been built by fans.
Cooler Master’s just introduced new DDR5 sticks with built-in fans, which promise significant improvements in heat management. If you can’t afford new fancy new RAM, like most of us, consider making friends with the Snow Miser.
I just got an emergency alert in Manhattan for something happening 8 miles away at an ICE detention center in New Jersey, where state police and federal agents have been facing off against the public. Newark, NJ has “declared a curfew within a 1/2-mile radius” of Delaney Hall, with the apparent exception of media with “verified credentials.” Trump recently bragged about NJ police cooperating with the feds here.
Note to the government, once again: you don’t need a media badge to report on what’s going on in this country. Stay safe, friends in New Jersey.
It’s also one of the better intros to any James Bond film. The opening sequence in 007 First Light feels like it belongs in the official Bond catalog, with an original song written and composed by Lana Del Rey and David Arnold. Hell, I’d even place it as a top-10 Bond theme song. The game is out May 27th.
