The Rise of Computer Games, Part I: Adventure – Creatures of Thought
Author’s note: I originally intended for this post to cover adventure games, computer role-playing games, wargames and other simulations, a brief look at the home video game market, and finally the rise of hybrids that fused home video game systems with personal computers. In the grand scheme of the story about personal computers that I am trying to tell, it probably does not make sense to lavish nearly 7,000 words on early adventure games alone, but it’s a topic of personal interest to me and the tale grew in the telling.
Typeframe
The Typeframe PX-88 is an integrated system that has been perfectly arranged to guarantee a superior outcome for the operator. Leave it to Typeframe to integrate these critical elements into one commanding machine.
The Secret Life Of Moles: What They’re Really Up To Underground – The Nature Network
While you’re walking above ground, completely unaware, an entire civilisation of furry engineers is constructing elaborate tunnel networks beneath your feet. Moles live in a hidden world that’s far more complex and fascinating than most people realise. Here’s what they’re up to while we’re not paying attention (or aren’t even aware they’re there!).
Google Releases its New Google Sans Flex Font as Open Source – OMG! Ubuntu
Google has made its ‘next generation brand typeface’, Google Sans Flex, available for download — under an open source license, which is welcome news. A modern sans serif font purpose-designed for use on screens and OSes, Google Sans Flex is a ground-up, multi-axis rebuild of the proprietary Google Sans font, by typographer David Berlow (of Font Bureau fame).
Unscii – a bitmapped Unicode font for blocky graphics
Unscii is a set of bitmapped Unicode fonts based on classic system fonts. Unscii attempts to support character cell art well while also being suitable for terminal and programming use.
AI agents are starting to eat SaaS – Martin Alderson
The other, potentially more impactful, shift I'm starting to see is people really questioning renewal quotes from larger "enterprise" SaaS companies. While this is very early, I believe this is a really important emerging behaviour. I've seen a few examples now where SaaS vendor X sends through their usual annual double-digit % increase in price, and now teams are starting to ask "do we actually need to pay this, or could we just build what we need ourselves?". A year ago that would be a hypothetical question at best with a quick 'no' conclusion. Now it's a real option people are putting real effort into thinking through.
"I was forced to use AI until the day I was laid off." Copywriters reveal how AI has decimated their industry
“AI didn’t quite kill my current job, but it does mean that most of my job is now training AI to do a job I would have previously trained humans to do,” he told me. “It certainly killed the job I used to have, which I used to climb into my current role.” He was concerned for himself, as well as for his more junior peers. As he told me, “I have no idea how entry-level developers, support agents, or copywriters are supposed to become senior devs, support managers, or marketers when the experience required to ascend is no longer available.” When we checked back in with Jacques six months later, his company had laid him off. “I was actually let go the week before Thanksgiving now that the AI was good enough,” he wrote.
Chafa: Terminal Graphics for the 21st Century
The premier UX of the 21st century just got a little better: With chafa, you can now view very, very reasonable approximations of pictures and animations in the comfort of your favorite terminal emulator. The power of ANSI X3.64 compels you!
The best science images of 2025 — Nature’s picks
The Sun’s fiery surface, a tattooed tardigrade, rare red lightning and more — prachtige foto's, ook dit jaar weer.
Coding Agents & Complexity Budgets | Lee Robinson
I migrated cursor.com from a CMS to raw code and Markdown. I had estimated it would take a few weeks, but was able to finish the migration in three days with $260 in tokens and hundreds of agents.
cms, AI, vibe coding
“You should never build a CMS” | Sanity
Lee Robinson migrated cursor.com off Sanity. He made good points. Here's what he missed.
A brief history of Times New Roman | Typography for Lawyers
Fame has a dark side. When Times New Roman appears in a book, document, or advertisement, it connotes apathy. It says, “I submitted to the font of least resistance.” Times New Roman is not a font choice so much as the absence of a font choice, like the blackness of deep space is not a color. To look at Times New Roman is to gaze into the void.
MODALZ MODALZ MODALZ
It doesn’t have to be a modal! Have you considered using the following?
Ravaan – Art Reimagined
Reimagine classical and contemporary masterpieces transformed through AI.
The Weird Way The 404 Media Zine Was Built
Lessons on laying out the 404 Media zine using a relatively weird setup—on Linux, using Affinity, with the help of the Windows translation layer WINE.
Why SETI Relies On Us Accepting Our Mediocrity
Fermi’s paradox is not only downplayed and ignored by a large part of the scientific community, but also mocked and even censured. Distinguished SETI researchers, like Frank Drake or Seth Shostak, claim in their memoirs that they had not heard about Fermi’s paradox until very recently and that it should not be taken seriously. Astrobiology, one of the premier journals in the field, has recently instituted a policy of not considering manuscripts dealing with Fermi’s paradox, including even short communications and book reviews. There are many scientists who, like the British astronomer John Gribbin, are happy to proclaim that there is no paradox whatsoever, since “we are alone, and we had better get used to it.” In principle there may be several reasons for this attitude. But in my opinion one underlies all of them: We humans still think we’re special.
Paraquat, a pesticide sprayed on U.S. farms, blamed for Parkinson’s in lawsuit – mlive.com
Paraquat, a heavily regulated weed killer, is banned in more than 70 countries, but still legal in the United States. It's the subject of thousands of lawsuits claiming it’s linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Were classical statues painted horribly? – Works in Progress Magazine
It is often suggested that modern viewers dislike painted reconstructions of Greek and Roman statues because our taste differs from that of the ancients. This essay proposes an alternative explanation.