On parenting, getting older, torture, and being useless (i.e., interesting things I wanted to write about and maybe will some day, 2026 edition)

Every year I like to let go of these links I wanted to write about but never found a way to and likely never will. They’re interesting still. Last year it was 60 or so. This year it’s a little less.

A few travel stories I liked were this, 21 US airports that let you walk to a gate without a ticket, and this, The longest train journey in the EU.

I enjoyed several historical pieces, such as this 13th-Century Cookbook Featuring 475 Recipes from Moorish Spain that recently was Published in a New Translated Edition, and this Historical Photos Taken Just Before The Iconic Moment. I found this piece from February 1970 in the Vassar Newspaper & Magazine that was critical of IBM during the Vietnam war to be worth a read.

Lloyd Alter shares interesting ideas on his Substack. For example, this one on how it’s time to dump Railway Time and War Time and go Local Time, and this one on why we need deposits on everything.

Cincerning matters of privacy, I thought this collection of Dark Patterns and Unethical Designpatterns were Ring Cameras, with the Ring company dark patterns is this: ICE, Secret Service, Navy All Had Access to Flock’s Nationwide Network of Cameras and this Zenni’s Anti-Facial Recognition Glasses are Eyewear for Our Paranoid Age. No doubt such abuses lead people to ask Hackaday: How Do You Detect Hidden Cameras?

I started to collect articles on getting older, like this one, When You’re ‘Fired From Retirement’. It was a bit grim. Less grim and easier to read is this post about a 72 year old woman who graduated medical school and was starting  residency.  This was also positive: I’d Like to Stay 85 Forever.

Parenting is a difficult job, to say the least. Some might say impossible at times. I thought that when I read this, consider the parents caring for adult children not in work or education, and also this, This could happen to us: Parents who see themselves in the Reiner case

I don’t imagine too many will want to read about Lee Geun-an, Infamous ‘Torture Master’ Under South Korean Dictator who recently died at 88. I like to remember things like that. Likewise, I like to remember what Michael Ignatieff said about torture in Macleans: here. Never forget.

Finally,

I liked this, on Nudge theory. Also…

 

How to feel less hopeless and other good links I’ve found

Here’s some random links I have found this week and some comments. The tone is somewhat negative. The mood of the web is negative these days, and it gets to me. If you are not up for that, just ignore this for now.

 

New recipe and food links. Because we all need more of that. :)

I clearly collect too many food links. 🙂 These are some of the better ones I have found and think worth sharing.

Image from: Slow Cooker Bread Recipe | Baked by an Introvert