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The narrator of Sharon Bolton’s new novel is the very definition of a nosy neighbour. Living in the middle of three adjoining cottages with very thin walls makes it easy to hear the people on either side: the narrator knows what music they listen to and what they watch on television, who they speak to on the telephone and what time they get out of bed in the morning. In …

Also rated feeders, AllHere fraud, expensive banana and AI on the blockchain.

The Panthers have been mixing and matching a lot the past couple years? Will they break out a new combo this Sunday? Source

Austin/Glasgow duo SKLOSS have been making waves the last few years, releasing their Voices Travel Through EP in 2022; their buzz has led to the signing with Fuzz Club Records for their forthcoming LP. The video version sets the ominous tone with a dimly lit convenience store introducing the opening riff that builds before Karen enters the picture with wailing

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you. 2025 Bargain Destinations I joined Jason Moore at the Zero to Travel Podcast recently to run down some of the top travel and living abroad values for next year in destinations around …

A perennial name to those with a fondness for Chicago’s post-rock and jazz enclaves, Jeff Parker further dug himself into the public consciousness with a run of records for International Anthem and Nonesuch. The run also traces Parker’s exodus to the West Coast, a move that also led to a residency at the now shuttered, but much beloved Enfield Tennis Academy. The quartet that formed in Parker’s ETA residency was …

Quick Hits: lots of listening, not much writing This is inbox material that I have no notes on. It’s a comp of a bunch of left field ambient artists, some of whom I know but most I don’t. I pride myself on my stupid randomly exact memory, so it always drives me a little crazy when I find things like this that I have no recollection of. The record itself …

Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico & Eno - June 1, 1974 (Outtakes)I’ve been spending the better part of the week digging into the new reissue of John Cale’s Paris 1919; I’ve bought this record at least four times in various formats over the decades, but I have to admit that I was pushed into getting the latest edition because I wanted to hear the previously unreleased bonus track “I Must …

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has published comments and a call for changes to two new access to information and privacy bills tabled in the legislative assembly earlier this month by the Alberta government. The bills are designed to create two new pieces of legislation to replace the existing... The post Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner calls for changes to new proposed public sector …

What was it like to watch The Box Of Delights for the first time back in 1984? Unless you've actually got the box, there's only one way to find out...

We often consider spoken language to be a feature that distinguishes humans from other forms of animal life. Brain research, however, suggests that other creatures — including certain birds — share some of our neural circuitry related to language. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin explores the origins and underlying mechanisms of human speech and birdsong with neurobiologist and geneticist Erich Jarvis. The post What Can Birdsong Teach Us About …

Polyverse Music has announced Filterverse, described as "the most powerful and musical multi-filter plug-in available today", is now available to order.… Read More Polyverse Music Filterverse, A ‘Universe of Filters’, Now Available

The crew of the USS Cerritos are faced with a classic diplomatic mission in “Of Gods and Angles” as Captain Freeman and her crew work to bring peace between two races of photonic beings, the Orbs and the Cubes. Seemingly standalone from the multiversal storyline running through this season, this episode is a fun comfort food episode of Lower Decks — there’s some good character work, some funny jokes, and …

Yesterday at QCon, I got to give a talk with my colleague Dan Fike about the Principal Engineer role. You can also watch the video on YouTube. The content itself is largely based on the High-Context Triad of blog posts I wrote in late 2023: Layers of context Navigating ambiguity Useful tradeoffs are multi-dimensional I hope you enjoy the talk! (Unfortunately I don’t have a recording of Dan Fike’s portion, …

Back in May 2017, Avatar-themed trash cans debuted in the newly opened Pandora area of Animal Kingdom, enhancing the tourism aspect of the official storyline:Pandora – The World of Avatar provides eco-tourists the opportunity to join Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE) for the transformational experience of a lifetime—filled with unforgettable expeditions, floating mountains, a bioluminescent forest, winged mountain banshees and more.In partnership with ACE, visitors of every age will have the …