dittodat

an image recognition app that can "now" quickly copy-paste handwritten notes between devices.

the verge
(see: google)

thomas edison was the most famous inventor during the great age of invention. in his lifetime, he was granted 1,093 patents. his inventions included a telegraph that would send and receive messages simultaneously over the same line; a transmitter for bell's telephone; the phonograph; the incandescent light bulb; the mimeograph machine; waxed paper; and the basic system for making motion pictures.

working at his laboratory in menlo park, new jersey, edison worked long hours, slept little, talked to himself, and became lost in his work. in fact, on his wedding night, he forgot about his bride and went back to his lab to work out a problem.

i gain people's trust and learn every one of their vulnerabilities. their weakest points, their fears, who hurt them, what completely breaks them down. most people are cautious at first, but after talking for a bit, they hand over all their cards themselves. sometimes a single sentence is enough to tear down all their defenses. the strangest part is that after all of this, they thank me and want to come back again.

not understanding myself or what i wanted out of life. being complacent, and not at least trying to surround myself with an environment and group of people that i would be better suited for. i don't know if that place or those people are actually out there, but i should have made an attempt to find them.

a collection of tests that measure various cognitive abilities like reaction time, memory, visual attention, and aiming. you can compare your scores against the statistics of other users worldwide. https://humanbenchmark.com/

this will be the first world cup played with 48 teams.

from scottish gaelic mac an toisich, meaning "son of the chief."
basically leadership energy in last name form before it became your laptop.

mother i'd like to fuck.

(see: burning man)
(see: lake tahoe)
(see: death valley)
(see: las vegas)
(see: area 51)
(see: reno)

(see: #643)

apple's new tv series about extraordinary athletes. episodes are really short* because the show focuses on the athletes' specific moments of their careers. here are the athletes:

(see: lebron james)
(see: tom brady)
(see: alex morgan)
(see: usain bolt)
(see: shaun white)
(see: kelly slater)
(see: katie ledecky)

indian head eagle is one of the coolest and most beautiful u.s. coins ever made. here's why:

it's a $10 gold coin officially called the "indian head eagle", minted between 1907 and 1933. the "eagle" part refers to the denomination (back then $10 coins were called eagles).

but here's the kicker: the design is by augustus saint-gaudens, one of the most famous american sculptors. president theodore roosevelt personally asked him to redesign u.s. coinage because he thought american money was boring and ugly at the time. roosevelt wanted coins that looked like ancient greek masterpieces.

now here's the fun part: the coin shows lady liberty wearing a native american headdress — so despite the name, it's not actually a native american on the coin. kind of weird but very roosevelt-era. on the reverse, there's a super bold and powerful eagle standing on a branch, no frills.

even cooler, early versions of the coin had no motto ("in god we trust"). this caused a public outcry, so later versions added it back.

you can also find rare varieties like the "wire rim" or "rounded rim" versions from 1907, which were part of the experimental first batches. those versions are super valuable to collectors.

each coin is made of 90% gold and weighs nearly half an ounce of gold (exactly 16.718 grams, with .48375 oz pure gold).

the indian head eagle was pulled from production after fdr's 1933 gold recall — so 1933 versions are super rare (only about 40 exist).

today, top-condition versions can easily sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and the rarest ones have hit six figures at auction.

in short: bold design, great history, gorgeous coin. if you like old u.s. gold coins, the indian head eagle is a gem. image

an italian marxist thinker who sought answers to the questions, "why hasn't the revolution karl marx envisioned happened?" and "where did marx go wrong?" and found the answer in the middle class.

according to gramsci, marx overlooked the middle class. a revolution can only be carried out by those who have nothing to lose. however, the middle class has things to lose. at the very least, they have hopes and dreams for the future. because of this, they are unlikely to risk rebelling against the system in order to protect what they have. history shows that they have not done so.

big threat to the decentralized cryptocurrency world.

it's becoming increasingly clear that the u.s. is undergoing a serious shift in its relationship with the world. this shift is showing up in several ways:
1. the gradual dismantling of interventionist tools like usaid.
2. marco rubio openly admitting that the world has moved to a multipolar structure with multiple major powers and that the post-wwii global order is not just outdated but is now being used as a weapon against the u.s. itself.
3. tariffs on so-called "allies" like mexico, canada, and the eu.

this signals the end of the u.s. trying to run the world. the message is clear: everyone is on their own now. we're just another major power, not the "indispensable nation."

if you're still stuck in the old paradigm, this might seem reckless (even the wall street journal called it that). but assuming any country's actions are just dumb is always a mistake.

hegemony was always going to end at some point. the u.s. is simply choosing to end it on its own terms. this is america actively shaping the post-american world order it once created.

seen from this angle, even tariffs on allies make sense. because this isn't just about economics—it's about redefining what "ally" even means. the u.s. no longer wants vassals, or maybe it just can't afford them anymore. instead, it's opting for relationships based on immediate interests, not long-term obligations.

you could see this as a collapse—because it does look like the end of the american empire. but it could also be a strategy to avoid an even bigger collapse: withdrawing from imperial commitments in a controlled way to focus on core national interests, rather than facing a chaotic retreat later.

either way, the era is over. the trump administration may have looked chaotic to many observers, but they likely understood these shifting realities far better than their predecessors. recognizing multipolarity and learning to operate within it makes a lot more sense than clinging to an increasingly expensive global hegemony. it looks messy, but it's a far better option than maintaining an illusion of dominance that was never sustainable.

none of this means the u.s. will stop creating chaos worldwide. it might even become more aggressive. the difference is that, before, it at least pretended to uphold a "rules-based order"—however hypocritically. now, it doesn't even need to fake it. no more obligations, not even the appearance of restraint.

the american empire is ending. but the u.s. isn't going anywhere. it will remain a major and destructive force on the global stage.

this shift might be the biggest transformation in international relations since the collapse of the soviet union. and the ones least prepared for it—something that's already becoming painfully obvious—are the vassals that depended on the u.s. for decades.

because the patron they once relied on now just sees them as negotiable bargaining chips.

america's satellites are now on their own. and for smaller countries in northern europe and asia, this might look like a disaster. but it was never sustainable in the first place.