This story is *so close* to being good. Great set-up. Compelling idea. Just doesn't quite seal the deal.
I Was Lucky to Be Alive. But I Missed Being Pretty.
A pump-up girl faces her own mortality.
theatlantic.com
Curious reader — 66 sources in 90 days
Also a writer — 2 original pieces this quarter
This story is *so close* to being good. Great set-up. Compelling idea. Just doesn't quite seal the deal.
I Was Lucky to Be Alive. But I Missed Being Pretty.
A pump-up girl faces her own mortality.
theatlantic.com
I respect everyone involved here.
He’s the Top Snake Catcher, and Business Is Booming. There’s Just One Problem.
Bangkok’s firefighters do more snake catching than firefighting, and Pinyo Pukpinyo trains them. But he refuses to kill the snakes, and he’s running out of containers.
nytimes.com
My endorsements for the full slate of November elections. Beware, some spicy takes herein!
Nov. 2026 Endorsements: All the Candidates
Make your ranked choices dank
mortlandia.com
This is an interesting slice-of-life piece but mostly it just makes me sad.
She Will Not Stop Until Every Haitian Is Gone. And She’s Happy to Tell You Why.
“No one seemed to be concerned about ‘heritage citizens.’ Where is your empathy for any of us?”
slate.com
A banger Yglesias, not paywalled: "For 2028, I really want moderate Democrats — by which I mean people who admire the Blue Dog Coalition and think that Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries are too left-wing — to let go of their terror of a leftist winning the primary."
Those who work and those who post
Mamdani seems surprisingly moderate because mayors need to govern.
slowboring.com
Crowdfunding ones divorce? Whatever it takes, I suppose...
The cost of leaving: Why some women are crowdfunding their divorces
From attorney retainers to childcare expenses, divorce costs begin before a woman leaves and continue long after. Some are asking strangers for help.
19thnews.org
Something approximating systematic analysis of noise complaints around data centers. tl;dr: noise issue is real, especially if you're within half a kilometer of the data center. More common if the DC has onsite power gen. if you are >800 meters, there does not appear to be noise issues. (There may be other effective mitigations but distance makes the heart grow fonder.) This...all makes sense to me? P.s. I notice train noise at night at my house but not during the day.
How Noisy Are America’s Largest Data Centers?
my agents and i mapped noise coming from america’s 25 largest data centers. turns out not all hyperscalers annoy their neighbors, and this problem is very solvable.
piratewires.com
An LLM for preppers to use when things, due to natural disaster, go pear-shaped. AI was never something I considered adding to my go bag before now but ... honestly, it's a pretty cool idea if you have battery backups?
Survival LLM: an AI that still works when the internet doesn
A free AI assistant and survival library (1.5 million offline articles) that runs on your own computer, with no internet. Shows the source of every answer. Mac and Windows.
brangus.io
Those who know ball already follow but if you're new to obsessive election watching / forecasting / bed-wetting Jon Ralston's NV Independent blog is the gold standard.
The early voting blog, 2026 general - The Nevada Independent
Using actual data from those who vote early, we track November's marquee races, including those for Nevada's governor, congressional seats and state Legislature.
thenevadaindependent.com
Dolan being Dolan. (Gift Link)
Knicks coaches didn’t get rings on banner night; MSG staff received phishing email: Sources
“We are not disclosing anything about the rings,” an MSG Sports spokesperson said in a statement Thursday evening.
nytimes.com
Did you know that Portland has one of the nation's preeminent vexillologists? He's a delight.
For this Portland vexillologist, every day is Flag Day
Portland vexillologist Ted Kaye has amassed a collection of over 500 flags from around the world. He displays them for his neighbors.
opb.org
I expect to have quibbles. I'm also pretty ok that this exists, as an artifact.
Ranking Every Taylor Swift Song, From 270 to 1
Twenty years of Taylor Swift. One definitive guide to her entire catalog.
theringer.com
As someone who used to run a media website somewhat smaller than TheRinger but still in the same general ballpark, I have also been thinking about this question. The answer is probably simple. Free written content on the Internet used to be a loss leader. Now it's just a loss. The golden age is dead, y'all. It's all subscriptions and passion projects now, I'm afraid.
Nobody Wants To Talk About Why The Ringer Is Pivoting To Substack | Defector
A media company launching a series of paywalled newsletters is not, on its own and on its face, a strange thing to do. AI’s ongoing cannibalization of online search is ravaging website traffic, and programmatic advertising doesn’t provide the kind of revenue it used to. If you were running a website like The Ringer, you…
defector.com
I know people are tired of talking about / hearing about the HuggingFace hack but a) it really is a big deal and b) this is the most accessible explanation of it, especially if you haven't listened to the Ezra podcast on it.
The Hugging Face Incident
An accessible but complete explanation. 700 AI agents hacked into a 12-billion-dollar company. If they were human, it’d have been multiple felonies. 3 considered warning humans. 0 did.
huggingface.wtf
I often think about the fact that crabs have evolved multiple times, like a natural end state of nature.
Marine Heatwave Triggered a Hybrid Crab Surge in the Bering Sea
A major marine heatwave in the Bering Sea set off a chain reaction that resulted in a dramatic surge in snow-Tanner hybrid crab abundance, posing new challenges for federal fisheries management.
fisheries.noaa.gov
News you can use for my PDX food nerds.
JinJu Patisserie Is Back! We Got the Deets.
Nearly a year after it closed, the beloved bakery is reopening on N Williams.
pdxmonthly.com
Amen.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics: Why Rising Graduation Rates May Not Be Good News
Arnold: If a high school diploma is to mean anything, it must differentiate between those who have mastered the skills to earn it and those who have not.
the74million.org
This is an excellent case of guerilla urbanism.
Risking arrest, he paints illicit crosswalks across L.A. 'We can’t wait any longer'
In a neighborhood touched by tragedy, where residents say speeding is rampant, guerrilla activist Jonathan Hale and his group painted crosswalks without permission.
latimes.com
Bummer. Also, this is quite the quote: "Hagstette said that the city’s permitting system remains clunky and disorganized, a dynamic that leads to long permit delays for new construction. It can be a deterrent for smaller construction firms."
Portland fee waiver program hasn’t spurred massive increase in new construction
Portland’s mission to incentivize new housing construction has done little to change the sluggish pace of development in the city.
opb.org
It's election season, which means my favorite Portland amateur policy nerd is writing again.
Nov. 2026 Endorsements: Participatory Budgeting
Vote on whether ... you want to vote more?
mortlandia.com
Positive sum possibilities abound.
This Is Edgar Allan Poe, and I Am Begging Kelly Clarkson to Take My Bird
I eagerly await your response.
theatlantic.com
This is withering and correct.
Making A Great Fantasy Map Is An Art, And Ross Douthat Sucks At It | Defector
Ross Douthat has a fantasy novel for young-adult readers: The Falcon’s Children, the first in what reportedly will be a trilogy from the respectability-conservatism peddler, who left his sinecure as a columnist at the New York Times earlier this year so that he could lower television’s aggregate charisma level by 944 percent as a correspondent…
defector.com
Sometimes I post because I think my follows here will enjoy something. Other times I post because it's something only 3 folks in my group chat will find funny. This one is the latter.
Micah Nori is taking an Ernest Hemingway approach with Blazers players, coaches
Micah Nori gave each of his coaches a gift to help them reach their players: a paperback copy of a Hemingway classic.
nytimes.com
A+ headline; no notes. (The article is interesting too.)
Nine-Inch Snails
They block roads, eat houses, and spread literal brain worms. Only Florida knows how to deal with them.
theatlantic.com
There's a certain appeal to science when it's simple.
Why is the stream at this Kentucky national park green? It’s not for St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is not the reason for the bright green color at Mammoth Cave’s streams.
kansascity.com
I'd rather overregulated rather than an outright ban...
Portland moves to regulate robotaxis
Waymo robotaxis have recently been spotted out and about on Portland’s streets. These autonomous vehicles are mapping the city — with a safety driver on board — in advance of their proposed launch.
opb.org
I'm a little skeptical of this piece while housing costs are so high but, hey, I'm game to give something a little different a try while folks are unhoused.
Opinion | We Know How to Fix Homelessness. Look at Denver.
It takes doing things conservatives and progressives both dislike.
nytimes.com
The high cost of affordable housing. A friendly reminder that both inflation and various regulatory costs (prevailing wage rules, zoning and permit timing and costs) impact all comers. If those trade-offs are worth it, then great! But there's always a trade-off.
State Housing Agency Regularly Exceeds Benchmark for Construction Costs — Oregon Journalism Project
oregonjournalismproject.org
History will not look kindly on our age.
CDC Is Moving Forward With a Previously Shelved Controversial Hepatitis B Vaccine Study
“It’s a wholly unethical trial, and it shouldn’t be allowed,” says Dr. Paul Offit of Guinea-Bissau study
rollingstone.com
There are some viral charts about right-wing bot traffic declining in the wake of Ukraine bombing several Russian data centers. The evidence so far is a little thin so I would take it with a grain of salt (even if it feels very appealing to believe).
Zelenskyy Says Yandex Strikes Crippled Pro-Kremlin Bots But Tech Experts Question Evidence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's recent attacks on data centers of Russian tech giant Yandex have lowered the number of Internet bots promoting pro-Kremlin hate, a claim that has been disputed by many technology researchers.
rferl.org
Out from behind the paywall, a simple recommendation to both live your beliefs and support policy that reflects how you actually live.
Live your values, and adopt values to live by
Participate in public institutions and support making them pleasant and workable
slowboring.com
I find a lot of the answers here directionally interesting but a bit shallow. Still, a credit to our local Alt-Weekly for even asking the question and I hope they follow up with more digging.
Why Don’t Oregon Student Outcomes Match Spending?
Candidates for the Oregon Legislature give their diagnosis.
wweek.com
Submitted without comment.
Iran War Energy Cost Tracker
Tracks the extra cost paid by U.S. consumers for gasoline and diesel since the Iran conflict began on February 28, 2026, compared against a no-war counterfactual baseline.
iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
I love everything about this. (Except for the fact that a bunch of maintainers are doing their work thanklessly.)
The people holding up the internet
Four billion phones ask one text file what time it is. One lecturer keeps it in his spare time. We counted the rest.
sheets.works
The important debates are timeless.
On the Implausibility of the Death Star’s Trash Compactor
A classic from our archives to help celebrate #Maythe4thBeWithYou. 5/4/23 5/4/25 5/3/26 CALENDAR 2027
mcsweeneys.net
A bit too technical for my needs but this was interesting!
Hank Hill Heat Pumps
The future of air conditioning is spelled 'propane.'
therebuild.pub
The joys of 30 Rock, and specifically their cutaways.
From ‘MILF Island’ to ‘The Rural Juror’: Inside the Fake World of ‘30 Rock’
Nothing explains the greatness of the NBC sitcom—which premiered 20 years ago—like its TV, movie, and song parodies. “They were a treat to write,” says Tina Fey.
theringer.com
Congrats on Northern Ireland for winning the UKs "tree of the year"
Newcastle: Wonky wych elm is Tree of the Year
It is the first time a tree in Northern Ireland has won the national title since it was launched in 2014.
bbc.com
I've always been opposed to the death penalty but this makes sense to me. If we're going to do it, let's make it quick, honest, and loud.
He’s Witnessed a Dozen Executions. He Has a Clear Answer as to Which Method Is Most Humane.
Would you rather die by lethal injection or firing squad?
slate.com
For my Portland peeps, I-5 southbound reopening a bit early.
Portland's I-5 closure will end ahead of schedule
Southbound lanes will reopen Wednesday night, more than a week early.
axios.com
Big drama in the Portland ice cream scene.
kgw.com
There's a whole user generated site about malls of yore? This is the entry for a local one I remember from my youth. RIP Flickers.
DeadMalls.com — retail history, photos, and field notes documenting the impact of time and competition on America’s shopping malls.
deadmalls.com
A good Yglesias education piece out in the light of day instead of paywalled. An education person I trust says he's broadly right here, though there have historically been *some* places that do drill and kill.
Why Schools Need a Phonics-Style Reckoning for Math
Yglesias: Teachers should embrace showing kids how to tackle problems — and then make them practice until they get good at it on their own.
the74million.org
I am pro-legalized gambling (and even ok with prediction markets) but our failure to actually regulate these spaces at the national level is embarrassing. I always thought the proposed SAFE BET Act would have been a good start but things have moved so fast that even that's not enough.
After bankruptcy, he was banned from sports betting sites. Then he discovered Kalshi
The dark side of the prediction market boom is becoming more clear: Experts say the sites have become go-to outlets for gambling addicts to relapse as the companies avoid state consumer protections.
npr.org
<Charlie Brown voice> Rats!
How I Accidentally Pinpointed the Arrival of Rats in MN Through Environmental Archaeology - Racket
Turns out ‘Steamboat Willie’ was actually a documentary.
racketmn.com
I'm glad the W hasn't yet had a malice in the palace. Not sure I'm fully on board with this piece but it's food for thought.
The WNBA wanted attention. A’ja Wilson should know what comes with it
There's a reason strict rules against confronting fans exist, especially after the Malice at the Palace. The WNBA's inaction is troubling.
nytimes.com
Sign me up for yurt 🛖 backpacking!
Central Asia’s First Yurt-to-Yurt Hiking Hut Network Opens in Kyrgyzstan
Fodor
fodors.com
This one is long but fascinating. Harkens back to simpler time, a decade ago, when it was the regular tech bros building bunkers in their basements in anticipation of the apocalypse, rather than the billionaire ones.
A Paranoid Tech Bro, a Homemade Nuclear Bunker, and a Shocking Death - Washingtonian
It was late afternoon on September 10, 2017, and Bruce Leshan was at home repairing a crack in his car's windshield…
washingtonian.com
The green mountain state still looking to develop a professional baller.
The NBA’s Missing State
Vermont is the only state that has never produced an NBA player, but its basketball culture is alive and … well, it’s alive
theringer.com
Two epidemics are not better than one.
Why this island paradise has the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemic
In mid-September, Fiji's government declared a national emergency because of a startling rise in HIV infections. The country's crystal meth epidemic is a strong contributing factor.
npr.org