Recently updated blogs

Map created by geo.facts_The map above shows traffic signs for crosswalks/zebra crossings throughout Europe. Here’s some more key details from the map’s author: Most of the countries refer to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, except from Moldova, Spain and Ireland. This is why all of the signs look so similar, although if you check carefully they are almost all different! Sweden is the only country in …

2025 will become my personal year of philosophy. I turn forty this year, which, if all goes well, marks the first part of my life as over. Considering recent illnesses along my family and friends, I have little hope of ever reaching eighty, but let’s keep that as a grand goal for the sake of the argument. I’ve been reading more philosophy lately, including Joep Dohmen’s De kunst van het …

Echo is finally doing well, though winter is not great for him. He is active, eating and sleeping well. Though his urinary problems continue, they do not threaten his day-to-day activities. Temperatures have been quite low in Bengaluru this week, and Echo feels cold. I started using a standing table during COVID-19, and it's still a habit. I plan to mix it up a bit this year, alternating between standing …

Today's anniversary. Wiki

Derek Thompson’s interrogation into adult loneliness corresponds with a wavelength that connects to what’s going on politically, with capitalism/branding, and probably the future of the human race. It’s an astounding change in our species.

This is a writeup of research into using satellite imagery to track mining operations, funded as part of Bellingcat’s 2024 Technical Writing Fellowship, and is a more in-depth version of a short guide published on their online platform. The accompanying Multispectral Satellite Imagery Explorer tool is available here. This guide is intended as an overview of my research, and a starting point for these techniques. a false colour satellite image …

I recently encountered the following party game: Mumbo Jumbo, based on trying to pronounce a word while wearing a mouth-stretcher. Basically, you wear a mouth-stretcher, and then you are asked to read out a phrase. Your teammate has to figure out the phrase you're trying to say. The mouth-stretcher means that you cannot make labials. Of course, the words are selected to take advantage of this limitation as much as …

I needed to do something. My family's new house had sprung a leak, as in the outside air (-28C with the wind at one point) was gushing into a room in our house, making things very unpleasant. I have been wrestling with many renovations to our new house, which has been neglected for years and is in need of some TLC.But on Wednesday night, I had had my share of …

Elon buys accounts someone else spent the hours developing, doesn't know how to play them

It’s the feast day of your patron saint, and a recipe has gone missing. A short tale of birds, books, and the cloistered life. It would be easy to say Hatoful Boyfriend meets Pentiment – but this is more intricate and loving than that would imply to me. Turn the sound on, but don’t worry, this won’t take too long.

After clocking out from my day job, I usually look for games that help me unwind. Fast Food Simulator had a different plan. The game perfectly captures the hustle and bustle of a fast-food joint, placing you in the shoes of a manager who has to handle everything from taking orders to balancing the books. It’s a frantic, fast-paced experience that mimics the real-world stress of working in fast food—but …

While the new year has just kicked off, we are excited to share the most viewed blog posts of last year. We published 192 new posts on this blog, In Custodia Legis, in 2024. These posts are authored by staff, both on the blog team and guest bloggers, as well as intern bloggers, from across different parts of the Law Library and the Library of Congress. The blog team features …

Really. And no, I’m not about to follow that statement up with something annoying like “…Because I love it! Haha!” either. I know the general term has its uses but I could do without the retro gaming mindset entirely, if I’m honest. I think we’d all be better off chucking that artificial distinction in the bin. If I happen to say I like a game made in 1981, or for …

My favorite songs of 2024.

Editor’s note: The third edition of “Cut & Dried” should arrive in February. You can sign up to be notified when it arrives here. In this post, author Richard Jones explains his update to Chapter 6. Rombald’s Moor: The opening image to Chapter 6. In 2021, I decided I ought to update “Cut & Dried,” and the third reprint of it at the end of 2024 was a good opportunity …