Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth by Jack Kirby (DC Comics, October 1972 and February 1973). Covers by Jack Kirby Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth, written and illustrated by Jack “King” Kirby (1917-1994), has long been an inspiration to my creative works.
A recording of my recent Q&A with subscribers
Rewatched Interstellar tonight. First time since back when it came out.
Great movie. Very intense. Amazing music. Sure hits different when you're a parent. Cried like a baby.
It also triggers an immense longing. Something deep inside me. A desperate urge to know. What's beyond? I need to know. I must! It's almost a temptation.
Great movie. Fantastic, even. But I don't think I shall ever watch it again.
When it is time, I'll finally know.
Jeremy in Finally Finishing Ocarina of Time:
Ocarina of Time is one of those games that gets talked about so much that I’ve sort of always felt like a fake gamer for never finishing it, even nearly 30 years after release.
I don't know why Jeremy needs to exaggerate (or, alternatively, make me feel so old) when opening this otherwise great post. Was great reading some thoughts — thirty years on, apparently — about the game that defined my youth. Jeremy points out that the combat experience has aged well. I would agree. Every battle in every 3D Zelda game since has felt like a natural evolution of the standard set by Ocarina of Time. It was groundbreaking at the time, and even three decades later it holds up well.
Raymond Chen published a blog post about how a crappy uninstaller on Windows caused a mysterious spike in the number of Explorer (Windows’ graphical shell) crashes. It turns out the buggy uninstaller caused repeated crashes in the 32bit version of Explorer on 64bit systems, and – hold on a minute.
Not too long ago I had a need and an opportunity to re-acquaint myself with the mechanism used for software emulation of the 8087 FPU on 8086/8088 machines. ↫ Michal Necasek Look, when a Michal Necasek article starts out like this, you know you’re in for a learnin’ ol’ time.
Sebastian Wick has a great explanation of why opening files – programmatically – is a lot more complex and fraught with dangers than you might think it is. This issue was relevant for Wick as he is one of the lead developers of Flatpak, for which a number of security issues have recently been discovered, and it just so happens that many of these issues dealt with this very topic.
In that reading „AI“ is a machine for the creation of epistemic injustice and the replacement of truth with what a tech elite wants it to be in order to control the population. This is a Fascist project that not so subtly aligns with Fascism’s totalitarian will to power and control as well as its reliance in replacing reasoning and debate with belief in power and the leader.
Measuring the strength of gravity is extraordinarily difficult, and different experiments have always disagreed – but a new test is paving the way to finally understanding nature’s most enigmatic force
People with cognitive decline or early-stage dementia saw their symptoms improve when given bespoke treatment plans that targeted their personal nutritional deficiencies, ongoing infections and environmental exposures
Green Peyton Wertenbaker was born on December 23, 1907 in New Castle, Delaware. He attended the University of Virginia. After graduation, he worked as a technical writer and eventually a journalist in addition to writing fiction.
Just the latest moral and logistical atrocity.
Over a month in and we're still discovering fresh new consequences to Donald Trump's insane intervention in Iran.
Physicists have long suspected that there is a layer of physical reality beneath quantum theory and a new mathematical model unveils just how strange it might be
A clinical trial to reverse age-related vision conditions using stem cell treatment could finally deliver on the promise of a major discovery in ageing and regeneration made 20 years ago, says columnist Graham Lawton
The movie Return to Silent Hill (2026) is an adaptation of the psychological horror Silent Hill 2 (SH2) video game that was rebooted by Konami under Bloober Team in 2024. This ‘return’ film is directed by Christophe Gans, who championed the original 2006 film (which loosely adapted the first video game released in 1999).
WU LYF are back!
Their 2012 show at Parkteatret in Oslo is one of my all time favourite concerts. Fourteen and a half years later, they have a new record out and they're coming back to Oslo.
I'll be there at John Dee in September. Cannot wait!
I’m not sure many OSNews readers still use Ubuntu as their operating system of choice, and from the release announcement of today’s Ubuntu 26.04 it’s clear why that’s the case. Resolute Raccoon builds on the resilience-focused improvements introduced in interim releases, with TPM-backed full-disk encryption, improved support for application permission prompting, Livepatch updates for Arm-based servers, and Rust-based utilities for enhanced memory safety.
During the Cretaceous, 19-metre-long predatory octopuses swam the seas, and evidence from their fossilised remains suggest they may have been highly intelligent hunters
A powerful AI kept from public access because of its ability to hack computers with impunity is making headlines around the world. But what is Mythos, does it really represent a risk and might it even be used to improve cybersecurity?
Infecting mice with RSV, a common virus that causes cold-like symptoms, prevented breast cancer cells from reaching their lungs. This was due to the release of proteins that stop viruses from replicating in the lungs also making it harder for cancer cells to seed new tumours
The Epstein-Barr virus seems to affect gene expression and cell signalling in a way that causes the autoimmune condition multiple sclerosis
The Mardi Gras Mystery is an interesting novella by H. Bedford-Jones that appeared in Short Stories in the August 1920 issue. I got the edition reprinted by Steeger Books in its H. Bedford-Jones Library.
Lords of Dyscrasia by S. E. Lindberg (IGNIS Publishing, July 7, 2011). Cover by S. E. Lindberg One of the most unique voices working in Sword & Sorcery today is S. E. Lindberg. I met Seth a few years back and we’ve corresponded frequently as well as running into each other here at Black Gate, where he is the Managing Editor, and at Goodreads.
Herman in The commodification of travel:
Perhaps once sunglasses cameras take off and people can record their entire lives they can finally experience where they are, instead of trying to capture it perfectly for later.
Yeah, I don't know it's going to be as peaceful as that. I think Black Mirror got it spot with The Entire History of You back in 2011.
Otherwise, I fully agree with what Herman's saying about travel. What I will say is that this long predates social media. Although social media has certainly exacerbated the tendency beyond all hope.
You can find beauty in the oddest of places. WSL9x runs a modern Linux kernel (6.19 at time of writing) cooperatively inside the Windows 9x kernel, enabling users to take advantage of the full suite of capabilities of both operating systems at the same time, including paging, memory protection, and pre-emptive scheduling.
Despite years of apparent stagnation and reported mass layoffs, it seems the Solaris team at Oracle has found somewhat of a renewed stride recently. Both branches of Solaris – the one for paying customers (SRU) and the free one for enthusiasts (CBE) – are receiving regular updates again, and there seems to be a more concerted effort to let the outside world know, too.
I'll be hosting a Zoom call with subscribers on April 24 at 12 pm PDT / 3 pm EDT
Photographer Yuri Segalerba explores how dengue has spread to Nepal's Himalayan districts, and how locals are fighting back
The food industry has made big promises to reduce emissions and become more sustainable, but a review concludes that many of the pledges are not backed up by evidence
The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week
Feedback, always on the hunt for absurd units of measurement, is delighted by recent attempts to convey the 406,771 kilometres that the Artemis II crew travelled from Earth
Discovering he is getting old before his time, David Cox tries to lower his biological age by changing his diet in a helpful new book, The Age Code, says Graham Lawton
A seaside town is devastated when a small fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada, disappears at sea. Thirty years later, the boat reappears in the harbour and sets off a moving story, says Bethan Ackerley
Executive Summary:
- Internal documents reveal Microsoft’s planned rollout for token-based billing for all GitHub Copilot customers starting in June.
- Copilot Business Customers will pay $19 per-user-per-month and receive $30 of pooled AI credits.
- Copilot Enterprise customers will pay $39 per-user-per-month and receive $70 of pooled AI credits.
The rise of a new generation of radiotherapies means we will soon need much greater quantities of radioactive atoms. That's why companies are scrambling to refine them from all manner of radioactive waste
A robot built by Sony AI is rapidly learning how to beat the world's very best table tennis players
Exercise has been touted as a tool for managing and treating long covid, but much of the evidence has neglected one of its most debilitating symptoms: post-exertional malaise
We got the third issue of RevERBerate, a fanzine devoted to Edgar Rice Burroughs, in January 2026. Like the previous ones, this one is again 48 pages, printed on high-quality, glossy stock, perfect-bound with color cardstock covers.
Simon Singh's exploration of mathematical proof – in particular Pierre de Fermat's last theorem – remains an absolute treasure, almost three decades after it was first published
A final-stage trial has started of an mRNA vaccine against the bird flu strain infecting many animals – and occasionally people – worldwide
Executive Summary:
- In the later afternoon of April 21 2026, Anthropic removed access to Claude Code for its $20-a-month "Pro" Plans on various pricing pages.
"It's the right thing to do"
I'll be hosting a Zoom call with paid subscribers on Friday 24 April at 12 PDT / 3 EDT
Most of Titan’s surface is oddly flat and smooth, and it may be because it is coated by as much as a metre of fluffy organic material that snowed down from the icy moon’s thick atmosphere
If you liked this piece, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 words, including vast, detailed analyses of NVIDIA, Anthropic and OpenAI&
Some seemingly simple sequences of multiplication and addition grow so quickly that they question the very foundations of mathematics. In doing so, they demand a whole new level of logic
Some seemingly simple sequences of multiplication and addition grow so quickly that they question the very foundations of mathematics. In doing so, they demand a whole new level of logic
The ongoing conflict around the Strait of Hormuz has become a situation in game theory known as a war of attrition. The maths behind it can help explain what's going on, says Petros Sekeris
Excalibur (141 minutes; 1981) Written by Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman. Directed by John Boorman. Loosely based on Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory. What is it? A classic telling of the story of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the magical sword Excalibur.
Only took me like half a year to notice that the default port for Navidrome is 4533. As in 45 and 33 rounds per minute vinyl. Now that I have seen it, I cannot help thinking ‘that's so clever!’ every time I open Navidrome.
Kiwi Farms is a web forum that facilitates the discussion and harassment of online figures and communities. Their targets are often subject to organized group trolling and stalking, as well as doxing and real-life harassment.
I need to post about this because if I don’t, people will get mad. Cook will continue on as Apple CEO through the summer, with Ternus set to join Apple’s Board of Directors and take over as CEO on September 1, 2026.
Have you ever tried clicking the back button in your browser, only to realise the website you’re on somehow doesn’t allow that? Out of all the millions of annoyances on the web, Google has decided to finally address this one: they’re going to punish the search rankings of websites that use this back button hijacking.
Experiment with nanodiamonds reveals that they are less rigid than other diamonds, adding to our understanding of how they could be used in new technologies
LXQt, the desktop environment which is effectively to KDE what Xfce is to GNOME, has released version 2.4.0. Quite a few changes in this release are further refinements and fixes related to LXQt’s adoption of Wayland, but there are also a ton of small fixes, improvements, and small new features that have nothing to do with Wayland at all.
Filtering a protein that may cause sepsis out from the blood has shown promising signs for improving survival
Executive Summary:
- Internal documents reveal that Microsoft plans to temporarily suspend individual account signups to its GitHub Copilot coding product, as it transitions from requests (single interactions with Copilot) towards token-based billing.
- The documents reveal that the weekly cost of running Github Copilot has doubled since the start
An injured kea with just half a beak has used what's left as a weapon that gives him dominance over a captive colony of the birds
A traditional vaccine primes the immune system to build better defences. Researchers think we can do something similar to increase our resilience to the pressures and worries of life
Stress is linked to many of our biggest killers, but a growing body of research suggests that certain types can sharpen the mind and strengthen the body. Here’s how to find your perfect dose
I picked up the first of a new annual journal from Belanger Books, done in conjunction with the Arthur Conan Doyle Society: Steel True, Blade Straight 2022 Annual. It is subtitled “A Journal of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle-Inspired Stories, Poems, and Scholarship.” At this time, there are annuals for 2023, 2024-25, and 2025-26.
“I’m stressed” is a phrase that many of us use, but now there are ways to shed light on how stressed you actually are
Pushing against years of scepticism, an analysis suggests quantum computers may offer real advantages for running machine learning and similar algorithms in the near future
I reinstalled Elder Scrolls Online, which is a rabbit hole I jump down periodically. I usually do side, and zone, quests. But when I decide to follow some of the main storyline, I am delighted to come across John Cleese’s Sir Cadwell.
Most hospital patients don't brush their teeth regularly, but doing so could cut their risk of developing pneumonia during their stay
Most hospital patients don't brush their teeth regularly, but doing so could cut their risk of developing pneumonia during their stay
The Barbarian Swordsmen (Star, 1981). Cover by Gino D’Achille The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards, Star publishers, a British press, 1981, cool cover by Gino D’Achille. A collection of Sword & Sorcery (S&S) tales that likely wouldn’t exist except for Robert E.
Rishabh in Old newspaper like blog design:
I also added another category of posts, i.e., workout, whose design is copied from Lars‑Christian's website. Thanks to Lars for the guidance.
Stumbling across this in my feed reader put a huge smile on my face! Risabh's workout log looks great, and it's so cool to have provided a little inspiration for someone else to take control of their data and share workouts on their personal website.
Another great implementation is by Zak, who created a dedicated site on a subdomain for his workouts.
Of course, I encourage both to create dedicated feeds for the workouts. That way, I can truly recreate the good parts of Strava (with none of the many drawbacks) by building a ‘workouts’ folder in my feed reader to draw inspiration when people get the work done.
Hopefully many people will join us in sharing their workouts on their own websites like this, and this is just the beginning of the workout log revolution!
After what seems like strange aeons of dreaming about it, Mark Finn, Jason Waltz, and I (Adrian Simmons) have pulled the trigger on running an in-person Sword & Sorcery writing workshop. Added bonus, we’re holding it in the heart of S&S history, Cross Plains Texas, Robert E.
The texts, ideas, and debates shaping the seminar
Electric vehicles could store renewable energy when there is excess supply and give it back to the grid when demand peaks, but car companies disagree on the best way to do that
A few years ago, I made the mistake of filling out a form to look into a business loan, one that I never ended up getting. Since then I receive no less than three texts a day offering me lines of credit ranging from $150,000 to as much as
As a follow-up to my prior posting on the Hellboy-related comics, here are the comics that have come out so far in 2026 and those I am aware are coming. All are from Dark Horse Comics under Mike Mignola‘s new imprint: Curious Objects.
Customs union is a distraction. Only full membership offers a compelling vision of Britain's future.
The most important debate happens now, within the pro-European movement.
Austin Hall was born on July 27, 1880. While working as a cowboy, Hall was asked to write a story. This led to his career as an author, writing westerns, science fiction and fantasy stories, with westerns forming the majority of his published work.
Changing your opinion can be difficult, and it’s sometimes even seen as a flaw. But research shows being open-minded has a host of benefits. Columnist David Robson finds there are a few simple ways to encourage yourself to withstand the discomfort that gets in the way of mental flexibility
Cyclic cosmology, or the big bounce, is the idea that the universe will eventually crunch back together and then go through another big bang. Columnist Leah Crane finds that, appropriately, it’s coming back
Tam Lin (Tor Books paperback reprint edition, April 1982). Cover by Thomas Canty There’s been a lot of genre fiction set at schools. Hogwarts is an obvious example, but such settings were around long before Harry Potter; Heinlein’s Space Cadet, The Uncanny X-Men, and Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea were all there first.
The title of my article on age verification in Linux and other operating systems had a “for now” added for a reason, and here we are, with two members of the US Congress introducing a bill to add age verification to operating systems.
Terminally ill people are commonly reunited with lost loved ones in their dreams and have visions of doors, stairways and light, which are said to help them accept the dying process
The Lyrid meteor shower will soon hit its peak. Here's how to spot it, including by using the New Scientist stargazing companion
Tribblix, the Illumos distribution focused on giving you a classic UNIX-style experience, doesn’t only support x86. It also has a branch for SPARC, which tends to run behind its x86 counterpart a little bit and has a few other limitations related to the fact SPARC is effectively no longer being developed.
