Nicholas A. Ferrell

@naferrell.social.emucafe.org.ap.brid.gy

My name is Nicholas Ferrell and I am the founder and administrator of The Emu Café Social (my admin account is nafaugustus). I an a writer and legal […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://social.emucafe.org/author/naferrell/, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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Longform Stories

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-26-26

I am a bit late on today's Pook-Emu Bee links, but the links are better late than never. 1. Ghost CMS SQL injection flaw exploited in large-scale ClickFix campaign (Bill Toulas for Bleeping Computer.…

20h ago·3 min read·534 words

Pink Tea With Baking Soda

My friend told me that she was making "Kashmiri chai" tea this morning. She correctly anticipated that I did not know what Kashmiri chai was and sent a link to the recipe she was using. I read the rec…

1d ago·2 min read·309 words

Moina Michael and the Remembrance Poppy

Inspired by Col. John McCrae's poem, In Fladers Fields, Georgia resident and professor Moina Michael championed the remembrance  poppy following World War I. Sara Freeland, writing for UGA Today, expl…

1d ago·2 min read·214 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For Memorial Day (2026)

The Pook-Emu Bee links return today for Memorial Day, a day for remembering those Americans who gave their lives in battle. I put together some suitable links for the occasion to lead off today's Pook…

1d ago·5 min read·802 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-22-26

I was too busy yesterday to put together my daily Pook-Emu Bee links. I am busy today as well, but not too busy to take a link break. Article Links 1. Six search engines worth trying now that Google…

5d ago·3 min read·534 words

Emu Café Social and ATmosphere

I use the ActivityPub for WordPress plugin here on ECS (follow me from Masotdon or similar at @naferrell). Because ActivityPub for WordPress is a key part of this project, I subscribe to the ActivityP…

6d ago·2 min read·327 words

Italy-Azerbaijan Trade Partnership

According to Vasif Huseynov writing for The Jamestown Foundation, "Italy is Azerbaijan's largest trading partner." Had you asked, I would have probably guessed Turkey. But I suppose Italy makes sense.…

6d ago·1 min read·85 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-20-26

We are having a second consecutive 90+ degree day here in Brooklyn today's Pook-Emu Bee links are warmer than the outside temperatures. Links 1. Google Search as you know it is over (Sarah Perez for…

6d ago·3 min read·540 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-19-26

I had been sitting down to churn out today's edition of Pook-Emu Bee links when work fell into my lap. But it is now lunch, and lunch means it is time for links. 1. Humpback Whales Sometimes Hold The…

May 19·3 min read·542 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-18-26

Monday is here. So too after taking the weekend off are my Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. Maniac strangles 7-year-old boy in Brooklyn park: cops (Dean Moses for Brooklyn Paper. May 18, 2026.) These sorts of…

May 18·4 min read·618 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-15-26

After two missed days due to having many work assignments, I return with a new edition of my Pook-Emu Bee links. Of course, there are no Pook-Emu Bee links tomorrow because of the newsletter and Sunda…

May 15·4 min read·684 words

Weighing Large Owls

I have never had to weigh an owl before, much less a large owl. But in the event I were ever called upon to weigh a large owl, I learned from MARS Wildlife Rescue, via Owls in Towels (see Owls in Towe…

May 14·1 min read·98 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-12-26

I have another busy day ahead of me, but we cannot forsake our daily Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. Syncthing 2.1 adds group organization and proxy support options (Fla for AlternativeTo. May 12, 2026.) I a…

May 12·1 min read·91 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-11-26

I took an off-day from Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday. I am busy today, but let us not let that stop us from our daily selection of links from around the web. 1, Putting the phone down: an Osmo Nano wo…

May 11·1 min read·91 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-08-26

I was busy this morning and forgot to write daily Pook-Emu Bee links. But since tomorrow is newsletter day and there are no Pook-Emu Bee links on newsletter day, I figured I would publish a late-night…

May 9·1 min read·90 words

Learning About Preserving Strawberry Freshness

I came across a blog post by Chris Glass titled Strawberries were on sale. Having not long ago published an article about once purchasing out-of-season cherries on sale. I had to open. While Mr. Glass…

May 8·1 min read·89 words

Writer’s Take on Not Wasting Readers’ Time

Cesar Aguirre writes “[t]elling readers you don’t want to waste their time is already wasting it.” I agree. It comes off as protesting too much. In Staying the Course in Writing in the LLM Moment, I w…

May 7·1 min read·93 words

Justice Thomas Moves Into Second

Clarence Thomas assumed office as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on October 23, 1991. Today, being May 7, 2026, Justice Thomas has now been on the bench for 12,615 days…

May 7·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-07-26

After bouncing back from missing Tuesday with daily Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday, we make it two days in a row with your daily collection of links for May 7, 2026. 1. Mamdani to announce free 2026 Wo…

May 7·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-06-26

I missed publishing daily Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday due to a work deadline. But we are back today with nine new links from around the world wide web. 1. Famed Atheist Richard Dawkins — Author of ‘…

May 6·1 min read·97 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-04-26

Saturday was Newsletter day and I was busy on Sunday, so our daily Pook-Emu Bee links had the weekend off. But there are no such impediments this Monday, so I am back with my regularly scheduled links…

May 4·1 min read·91 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 05-01-26

We welcome May with a new edition of the daily Pook-Emu Bee links (after a spotty week). It looks nice outside my window... 1. Stripe introduces Link, a digital wallet that autonomous AI agents can u…

May 1·1 min read·88 words

Banned Trees and Plants in New Jersey

I read an April 18, 2026 report in the New York Post titled After holding its nose for decades, NJ finally bans stinky Bradford pear tree: Under a new law, the Bradford pear tree and 29 other non-nat…

Apr 30·1 min read·94 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-30-26

Work did not allow for timely Pook-Emu Bee links, but today I return with nine new links from around the web. 1 Popular WordPress redirect plugin hid dormant backdoor for years (Bill Toulas for Bleep…

Apr 30·1 min read·89 words

Learning About Cassette Futurism

I recently read Mike Piggott's blog post A love letter to cassette futurism (HT Dragonfly BSD Digest). I did not recall having seen the term before, but Mr. Piggott's definition of it being "a retr-fu…

Apr 29·1 min read·83 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-28-26

I failed to post daily Pook-Emu Bee links on Sunday (out) and yesterday (work). But I return to you on this fair morning of April 28, 2026, with nine links from around the world wide web. 1. Hipster …

Apr 28·1 min read·96 words

Schrödinger’s Ayatollah and Umineko: When They Cry

I read a cleverly-titled article by Amit Segal titled Schrödinger’s Ayatollah: Is Mojtaba Dead or Alive? The article examines the life status, or lack thereof, of Iran's purported Supreme Leader, Mojt…

Apr 27·1 min read·89 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-24-26

I am a bit late today because I had a rush assignment to take care of. But now that it has been taken care of, I present for your enjoyment today's edition of Pook-Emu Bee links (note that "we" will b…

Apr 24·1 min read·97 words

Bad IP Watch

I checked my emails this morning and saw an alert from Cloudron that New Leaf Journal had become non-responsive. By the time I saw the report, NLJ had recovered. I was a bit alarmed since I had recent…

Apr 23·1 min read·89 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-23-26

Delayed by work, but not denied, The drags on, Pook-Emu Bee links for April 23, 2026. 1. Hochul's Fast-Track Booze Permit Sets Stage for World Cup Street Parties Across New York (Reid Carlisle for Ho…

Apr 23·1 min read·92 words

Remembering My Clamshell Landline Phone

Dan Lewis' April 21, 2026 "Now I Know" newsletter covered the subject of Garfield (the comic cat) phones washing up in France. It is a good (and well-sourced) story, but here I will focus on his openi…

Apr 22·1 min read·98 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-22-26

The drags on, but the Pook-Emu Bee links are strong. Or so I tell myself, at least. 1, Italy Summons Russian Ambassador After Propagandist Calls Giorgia Meloni 'Whore' (Christian K. Caruzo for Breitb…

Apr 22·1 min read·86 words

Framework Designs Wireless TouchPad Keyboard

I power my non-internet connected TV with a mini PC. To control the mini PC, I usually use a Logitech K400 keyboard. However, as Brad Linder if Liliputing aptly notes, the K400 "isn't actually all tha…

Apr 22·1 min read·90 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-21-26

Let us see what is happening around the world wide web with today's collection of Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. Brussels launched an age checking app. Hackers say it takes 2 minutes to break it. (Emile Marz…

Apr 21·1 min read·94 words

Development of the Anglerfish Lure

I am a long-time admirer of the anglerfish, one of the ocean's most aesthetic creatures. The University of Kansas news service published a news release about an open access study vt Alex J. Maile and …

Apr 21·1 min read·81 words

Second Best NBA Team of the 2000s

User Matt15 posed a question on the RealGM Basketball Player Comparisons board: What was the second best NBA team of the 2000s (2000-01 through 2009-10) after the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers. I'll begi…

Apr 20·1 min read·95 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-20-26

I present for your reading enjoyment our daily selection of Pook-Emu Bee links for Monday, April 20, 2026. 1. AI Use Appears to Have a "Boiling Frog" Effect on Human Cognition, New Study Warns (Maggi…

Apr 20·1 min read·92 words

Installing Android and Linux on Switch

I had seen on the LineageOS website that the LineageOS project supports a couple of different Nintendo Switch models. While I have run LineageOS on phones and tablets, I will stick to Nintendo's stock…

Apr 20·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-19-26

Pook-Emu Bee was off yesterday because it was Newsletter day. But the newsletter is out, and Pook-Emu Bee links are back. 1. FDNY changes policy after clout-chasing models turn NYC fire station into …

Apr 19·1 min read·85 words

New Victor V. Gurbo Podcast Interview

My good friend Victor V. Gurbo (who has written some articles for NLJ) was interviewed by Charles Zona for an episode of Seeing Them Live With Charles Zona. I read the interview transcript, but you ca…

Apr 17·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-17-26

Today is Friday. That means it is time for our last Pook-Emu Bee link collection of the week (Saturday's links come in the Newsletter Leaf Journal). 1. Gemini adds personalized AI image generation us…

Apr 17·1 min read·81 words

Yellow-Capped Passover Coca Cola

I never paid much attention to the color of caps on bottles of Coca Cola. In fact, I do not think I bought a bottle of Coca Cola in almost two years. But thanks to a 2014 article in Food & Wine, I lea…

Apr 16·1 min read·101 words

On Vertical vs Horizontal Tab Hot Takes

Manuel Moreale published a blog post on the vertical vs horizontal tabs debate. But instead of choosing a side in what is ultimately an inconsequential debate, he made the case for nuance, or asking "…

Apr 16·1 min read·97 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-16-26

Today marks the 1957th anniversary of the death-by-suicide of the short-reigning Roman Emperor, Otho. I note this because my longest NLJ article, clocking it at more than 18,000 words, is about Otho. …

Apr 16·1 min read·88 words

Unique Individual Scoring Games in NBA History

I recently published a new NBA research project inspired by Bam Adebayo’s 83-point eruption on March 10, 2026. Noting that Bam Adebayo is a modest scorer in the pantheon of NBA players who scored 60 p…

Apr 15·1 min read·96 words

AI Can’t “Lie”

Ars Technica published an article by Ryan Whitwam titled Testing suggests Google’s AI Overviews tell millions of lies per hour. The article itself is about a New York Times investigation into the accu…

Apr 15·1 min read·88 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-15-26

We have a second consecutive warm day in New York City. We also have a third consecutive day of Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. Seven Myths About the Iran War (Michael Doran for Tablet Magazine. April 13, 202…

Apr 15·1 min read·87 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-14-26

I did not have much time to engage in my daily "feed reading" this morning. But I will not let that stop me from publishing my daily Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. Justice Department Files Case to Revoke U.S…

Apr 14·1 min read·90 words

Learning About Zespri RubyRed Kiwi

I learned two things from Kat & Satoshi's April 6, 2026 post on Our Adventures in Japan (see the first). The post featured four photos. The last of four photos shows slices of yellow-orange-red kiki o…

Apr 14·1 min read·94 words

Learning About Bonbon Drop Stickers

Back in Newsletter Leaf Journal 269, I linked to an article about Pokémon card speculating which referenced "Bonbon Drop stickers." Regarding the stickers, I wrote that I did not know what they were. …

Apr 13·1 min read·61 words

Google Verbatim Mode Custom Search Shortcut

I read read a good article by Hana Lee Goldin at Card Catalog titled Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. In the post, she ran through several tips for using Google Search effecti…

Apr 13·1 min read·94 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-13-26

There were no Pook-Emu Bee links on Saturday because it was newsletter day (22 links in issue 275!). There were no Pook-Emu Bee links on Sunday because I failed. But today is Monday. Monday is a fun d…

Apr 13·1 min read·97 words

Asian Carp and Gefilte Fish

I have read about the invasive Asian carp problem in U.S. waterways. But I learned something new from Dan Lewis' aptly named "Now I Know" blog: Asian carp is commonly used in gefilte fish. I must conf…

Apr 13·1 min read·101 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-10-26

My Pook-Emu Bee links are a bit late today. I had to deal with an issue related to my wireless access point this morning and then some work assignments. Unfortunately, I did not have time to engage in…

Apr 10·1 min read·91 words

Non-Meta Smartglasses and my Pet Issues

Some time ago, I saved a link to a November 12, 2025 report in Wired titled Hate Meta? Even Realities Is Making the Smart Glasses You Want. This is a flawed headline. It presupposes that the main reas…

Apr 9·1 min read·98 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-09-26

I am a bit late today because I just spent about an hour troubleshooting why I was not receiving calls on my Ubuntu Touch-powered Google Pixel 3a XL. I think I fixed the issue. With that aside, on to …

Apr 9·1 min read·92 words

The “Build A Boy” Project

I recall having read about a project which lets people turn Lego Game Boys into working Game Boys. I was reminded of it when I saw a link to the official Crowd Supply project, authored by Natalie Curs…

Apr 9·1 min read·73 words

Blocking Bad Bots With AbuseIPD Blacklist

Sean Conner at The Boston Diaries wrote about trying to block annoying and/or malicious bots from crawling his website. It is a good read. Beginning in late 2024, I started noticing The New Leaf Jour…

Apr 8·1 min read·92 words

On the Phone Map Crisis

The New York Post published a report (of sorts) about commuters having difficulty navigating the labyrithine Fulton Street (Manhattan) subway station, which functions as something of a major hub in lo…

Apr 8·1 min read·88 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-08-26

Another day ending in -day (that isn't Saturday) means it is time for another edition of Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. Astonishing Find in the Czech Republic: Hikers Discover a 3.7 Kilogram Serbian/Bosnian …

Apr 8·1 min read·85 words

Storing Photos on Someone Else’s Computer

Wojtek Powiertowski wrote a pair of interesting blog posts on backing up photos and checking photos for bitrot. Both posts are interesting and include valuable tips for protecting digital photo collec…

Apr 8·1 min read·91 words

Japan’s Oil Imports

Access to natural resources has long been a challenge for Japan (see e.g., World War II). According to a report by Alex Kimani for OilPrice.com, prior to the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, Japan…

Apr 8·1 min read·88 words

April’s Pink Moon

The Moon has been in the news lately thanks to the Artemis II Mission. I shared a Supermoon fact back in December and "blood Moon" news in the March 1, 2026 Pook-Emu Bee. While checking the local weat…

Apr 7·1 min read·96 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-07-26

I have a few new work assignments today (Sad!) but more than enough time (or just enough time) for our regularly scheduled edition of daily Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. OpenAI calls for robot taxes, a publ…

Apr 7·1 min read·93 words

Grokipedia Thinks I Wrote About Persona Q2 (I Have Never Played Persona Q2)

I became aware that Grokipedia, the Grok-powered AI answer to Wikipedia, had cited to my NLJ article Outline Guide to Persona 3 FES The Answer. I previously wrote about Grokipedia making questionable …

Apr 6·1 min read·99 words

Touching the Gowanus Canal?

I recently came across Clive Thompson's Linkfest newsletter (hosted on Buttondown just like my own Newsletter Leaf Journal). Each issue consists of links he collected from around the web with commenta…

Apr 6·1 min read·88 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-06-26

The Pook-Emu Bee, your favorite (or "favourite" if you prefer British English) daily links collection, returns after taking two days off for Newsletter Leaf Journal Saturday and Easter. 1. E-Bikes = …

Apr 6·1 min read·85 words

High Ad Block Usage in Indonesia

I came across an article on Backlinko featuring statistics about worldwide ad blocker usage. Different surveys noted in the article have wildly different results. But the first survey discussed, condu…

Apr 6·1 min read·86 words

U.S. Special Operations Forces Rescue Air Force Officer

We welcome Easter with the remarkable news that U.S. Special Operations forces successfully extracted the second airman (a Colonel, according to President Trump) who had been shot down over Iran on Th…

Apr 5·1 min read·93 words

The Former Bronx Zoo Platypuses

I am a fan of the platypus. But I have never seen a platypus in person, for I live in New York City and not Australia. But thanks to a 2023 article in Mental Floss, I now know that New York City's Bro…

Apr 4·1 min read·105 words

Capcom: DRM-free on GOG, DRM’d on Steam

On March 28, 2022, I published On DRM-Free Games on Steam, wherein I examined the status of DRM on Steam, shared resources for identifying DRM-free games on the platform, and offered my unsolicited ad…

Apr 4·1 min read·91 words

Connecting Self-Hosted WP Site to Tags.pub

Yesterday I shared Discover more of the Fediverse with tags.pub in my Pook-Emu Bee links for the day. The post introduces a new feature for the ActivityPub for WordPress plugin: Subscribing a site to …

Apr 3·1 min read·83 words

Takopi’s Original Sin Review Reminds Me of Narcissu

Cabbage reviwed the anime adaptation of Takopi's Original Sin on her always-fun Cabbage Sorter blog. Takopi was a short six-episode series which aired in summer season 2025. It was one of the last sho…

Apr 3·1 min read·92 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-03-26

Another non-Saturday day ending in -day means it is time for a new set of Pook-Emu Bee. However, this will be our last Pook-Emu Bee until fun Monday. Tomorrow, Saturday, is newsletter day (which comes…

Apr 3·1 min read·98 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-02-26

For once I'm not too busy today. But even if I were busy, I would still publish the newest edition of Pook-Emu Bee. 1. Discover more of the Fediverse with tags.pub (Matthias Pfefferle at ActivityPub …

Apr 2·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-01-26

Today is April 1. It is both April Fools and the first day of Passover (happy Passover to any Jewish readers!). I do not have a new April Fools joke prepared, but maybe there will be something April F…

Apr 1·1 min read·88 words

The Ever-Present Old Internet

Tyler Gaw published a good blog post titled The Old Internet is Still Here, noting that there are many personal websites and blogs worth reading on the web. As he put it, "they just got layered over b…

Apr 1·1 min read·97 words

2026 is the Year of the Windows Desktop(TM)

The phrase "the year of the Linux desktop" has become something of a meme. As a 2025 Hackaday headline went, The Year of the Linux Desktop is Always Next Year. Note that I write this with all due affe…

Mar 31·1 min read·100 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-31-26

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. That is true in terms of whether (looks nice out), but not in terms of your regularly-scheduled Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. OneTaste ‘org…

Mar 31·1 min read·92 words

Re; Respond, Don’t Create

I came across a blog post by Herbert Lui titled Respond, Don't Create, and thought I would respond. For people looking to publish more often, he recommends reading interesting articles from around the…

Mar 30·1 min read·88 words

Retro Re; On Ditching AMP

I came across a 2021 blog post by Maddy Miller on dropping Accelerated Mobile Pages ("AMP") support on her blog. Back when I started running The New Leaf Journal, I had little idea what I was doing an…

Mar 30·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-30-26

I have work today, but let us start the work week with a new set of Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. New Apple Silicon M4 & M5 HiDPI Limitation on 4K External Displays (Sam McLeod. March 29, 2026.) As a Linux…

Mar 30·1 min read·97 words

“What if the [AI] bubble bursts?”

I had wondered before what would happen if the AI bubble bursts, or if the current AI-obsessive moment passes. In my mind, I assumed that companies like OpenAI and Anthropic would be in particular tro…

Mar 29·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-28-26

There was no Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday because it was newsletter day. But I am back early this Sunday morning (before I go to bed) with the first edition of the Pook-Emu Bee for the new week. 1. T…

Mar 29·1 min read·97 words

AI Editing vs Editing AI

I came across Ben Werdmuller's March 27 notable links of the week through Minifeed. One part of his commentary on an NBC article titled AI is changing the style and substance of human writing, study f…

Mar 28·1 min read·95 words

Re; Improve the RSS experience of your blog readers

Jatan, writing on his Journal J blog, offers good advice for webmasters who want to promote feed subscriptions for their projects. Having tried to pitch people on feeds in real life, I concur entirely…

Mar 27·1 min read·97 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-27-26

I am publishing today's Pook-Emu Bee links a bit later than I had hoped due to having had a little bit more work on my recent assignment, but I now complete a second perfect week before our Saturday b…

Mar 27·1 min read·97 words

Seadra Pokémon Cosplay Photography

I am writing an article about Marginalia Search. I wanted to check something on the search results page. Since Marginalia is good at turning up small web and vintage websites and articles, I decided t…

Mar 27·1 min read·87 words

Joke is on the Crunchyroll Hackers

Crunchyroll is investigating a potential hack which may have led to the exposure of customer email addresses. As readers of my anime writing on NLJ may know, I am a Crunchyroll subscriber (I have been…

Mar 26·1 min read·83 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-26-26

I am winding down a big project today. But I take a brief break to publish our daily Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. I Just Moved From Manjaro Linux To EndeavourOS (Danie van der Merwe at GadgeteerZA. March 2…

Mar 26·1 min read·90 words

OpenAI’s “Checkout Experiences”

I have been hard on "AI" tools at times. Among other things, I have questioned the wisdom of outsourcing ones online commerce activities to "agents" (see my posts on Ebay and Amazon). OpenAI is appare…

Mar 25·1 min read·88 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-25-26

I have another busy "work" day ahead of me, but I won't let that come between you and today's Pook-Emu Bee daily links collection. 1. yokohama (Kat at Our Adventures in Japan. March 25, 2026.) Sprin…

Mar 25·1 min read·94 words

Jehovah’s Witnesses Remove WATCHTOWER Sign in Brooklyn (2017)

In the March 12 edition of Pook-Emu Bee, I shared a link to a story about a proposal to turn the former Jehovah's Witness Watchtower buildings on Columbia Heights (between Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO) …

Mar 25·1 min read·92 words

Getting to the Point in Blogs

Words of wisdom from Leon Mika about getting to the point in blog posts.To expand a bit (without losing the point), I would advise my fellow internet writers to define the point in the writing process…

Mar 24·1 min read·96 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-24-26

I am busy with work today. But today is a day ending in -day that is not Newsletter Satur-day, so I briefly set aside my business to deliver my not-yet-world-famous Pook-Emu Bee links. 1. FCC bans im…

Mar 24·1 min read·94 words

Anime News Network’s Confusing Season Ranking

Anime News Network does a "best of" run-down at the end of every anime season. I decided to check out the Winter 2026 season review to see what I should watch in a couple of months after I catch up on…

Mar 24·1 min read·102 words

Re; On AI in response to: A Positive Technologist Identity (4/4)

(See parts 1, 2, and 3 of my response.) I conclude my response with a favorable reply to Mr. Powiertowski's eloquent penultimate paragraph. He includes a general disclosure statement of sorts above a…

Mar 24·1 min read·96 words

Re; On AI in response to: A Positive Technologist Identity (3/4)

(See parts 1 and 2 of my response.) Mr. Powitowski shared an interesting essay by Benjamin Breen. Mr. Breen, a historian and writer, explained that he respectfully abstains from AI in his areas of ex…

Mar 24·1 min read·94 words

Re; On AI in response to: A Positive Technologist Identity (2/4)

(See part 1 of my reply.) Mr. Powiertowski writes that the point on which he would "push back gently is on the implication that AI-assisted media is somehow lesser for being assisted," using early ne…

Mar 24·1 min read·91 words

Re; On AI in response to: A Positive Technologist Identity (1/4)

I published a short post titled A Positive Technologist Identity, wherein I offered my thoughts on a longer post by Wojtek Powiertowski titled The tool, the craft, and the joy. In the main, I apprecia…

Mar 24·1 min read·101 words

Adding Victor V. Gurbo’s YouTube Channel to NLJ Blogroll

Victor V. Gurbo is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter (see his official website). I have known him for just about 20 years now (we both agree that has been way too long but it is too late now to do an…

Mar 23·1 min read·99 words

Sony’s Very Long-Term PS3 Support

On February 8, 2022, I wrote an article praising Nintendo for its apparent commitment to support the Nintendo Switch (which is still being supported notwithstanding the presence of Switch 2) for a lon…

Mar 23·1 min read·88 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-23-26

Monday is the beginning of the work week. But it is also Pook-Emu Bee links day. Of course, every day except Newsletter Saturday is Pook-Emu Bee links day... 1. Hiding Behind Pen Names (Jerome Mazand…

Mar 23·1 min read·86 words

Internet Reply Posting

Maddy Miller wrote a good essay titled I wish reply articles worked better. As a fellow fan of site-to-site conversations (and not at all a fan of social media), I too wish that reply articles work be…

Mar 23·1 min read·89 words

NAF Blogroll Entry: Joel Chrono

I credited a blog post to the personal blog of the pseudonymous Joel Chrono with giving me a concept for my new New Leaf Journal Blogroll. Because Joel Chrono’s post gave me an idea and I read his pos…

Mar 22·1 min read·92 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-22-26

The daily Pook-Emu Bee links were off yesterday thanks to Newsletter Leaf Journal 272. But with no new newsletter coming until next Saturday, the Pook-Emu Bee returns. If you enjoy the (almost) daily …

Mar 22·1 min read·93 words

Bossert Hotel Work in Brooklyn Heights (March 2026)

I saw new scaffolding going up around the iconic, and now derelict, Bossert Hotel building in Brooklyn Heights. According to Brooklyn Bridge Parents, the new scaffolding is going up so that new new ow…

Mar 22·1 min read·91 words

The Heaviest Owl in North America

I learned from Cornell Labs' All About Birds site that the Snowy Owl is the heaviest bird in North America, "typically weighing about 4 pounds—one pound heavier than a Great Horned Owl and twice the w…

Mar 21·1 min read·90 words

Sega Genesis Stock Ticker Available

My first video game console was a Sega Genesis. I received mine in 1994. Back in 1994, I almost certainly had no idea what a stock was, much less a ticker. But had I known, I am sure I would have want…

Mar 21·1 min read·94 words

Re; Return Old Online Things to your own Site

I read a good blog post by Lisa Charlotte Muth titled I’m bringing everything back to my website. In the post, she described how she pulled everything she has published online in various places since …

Mar 20·1 min read·96 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-20-26

Another day means more daily Pook-Emu Bee links. Note that the Pook-Emu Bee will take tomorrow off for The Newsletter Leaf Journal (which features even more links), but should return on Sunday. If you…

Mar 20·1 min read·90 words

Jeff Green’s Career-High 43 on 03-18-13

Brian Windhorst for ESPN wrote 27 straight wins: The most dominant stretch of LeBron James' career, revisiting the 27-game winning streak of the 2012-13 Miami Heat. I followed the NBA closely that yea…

Mar 20·1 min read·90 words

MSN Dial-Up Internet in 2026

I read Dave Luna's interesting hacker story Hacking the Compaq iPAQ IA-2 Internet Appliance. I learned many things from reading. But one fact which jumped out to me was a note about Microsoft's MSN Di…

Mar 20·1 min read·95 words

Carroll Street Bridge Proposals

The Carroll Street Bridge is the second bridge crossing Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, situated between the Union Street and Third Street Bridges. It is the most interesting of the Gowanus Canal Bridges in…

Mar 19·1 min read·88 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-19-26

Another day means more daily Pook-Emu Bee links. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can also follow via feed. 1. Opera GX Web Browser Released For Linux (Michael Larabel for Ph…

Mar 19·1 min read·89 words

Re; Underwhelming HN Comments

Joel Chrono recently published a good blog post titled Setting up phones is a nightmare that is certainly worth reading (it made me happy that I was able to find affordable older Google Pixels on Ebay…

Mar 19·1 min read·94 words

Re; Search Engine Shortcuts in Firefox

James at James' Coffee Blog published a good post in 2024 titled Search engine shortcuts in Firefox, which regular New Leaf Journal readers will know is a topic near and dear to my heart. James demons…

Mar 18·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-18-26

I continue my perfect daily Pook-Emu Bee links stretch. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can also follow via feed. 1. Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs …

Mar 18·1 min read·90 words

Image Thumbnails in Nemo File Manager (EndeavourOS)

I had been using XFCE as my desktop on EndeavourOS. I switched to Cinnamon after having some issues with XFCE (I believe tied to Nvidia drivers). Since I switched my desktop environment, I then had a …

Mar 18·1 min read·96 words

U.S. States With Alienation of Affection Laws

According to WRAL News on November 11, 2025, six U.S. states still still have alienation of affection laws: Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. I knew about North …

Mar 17·1 min read·72 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-17-26

I have some pressing work-work to attend to today, but I will not let that stop me from publishing my daily Pook-Emu Bee links last week. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can …

Mar 17·1 min read·98 words

3rd Anime Season For The Dangers in My Heart

Anime News Network reported that The Dangers in My Heart will receive a third anime season in 2027. I reviewed the first two seasons on NLJ (see first season and second season reviews). While my first…

Mar 17·1 min read·99 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-16-26

I was inconsistent in publishing daily Pook-Emu Bee links last week. But I am on the ball this week. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can also follow via feed. Links from aro…

Mar 16·1 min read·88 words

Crispy Bacon in Japan

I came across Kat & Satoshi's long-running Our Adventures in Japan blog on Marginalia Search when I was looking for a White Day link for issue 271 of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. The White Day link I …

Mar 16·1 min read·99 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-15-26

I missed posting Pook-Emu Bee links on Friday and Saturday was newsletter day. But today we are back and ready to trim down my list of unused Pook-Emu Bee links. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links …

Mar 15·1 min read·96 words

Mid-March Snow in Brooklyn (2021 and 2026)

At about 4:00 PM on March 12, 2026, a friend of mine who lines nearby in Brooklyn sent me a message on Delta Chat: it's snowing. I turned my head to the right to look out my window. Indeed, it was sno…

Mar 12·1 min read·104 words

Re; Against Linking to Instagram

Jatan at Journal J wrote a good blog post back in 2021 against using "bad links" in blog posts. What does he mean by "bad link"? He explains: While Instagram is one of the worst offenders of the open…

Mar 12·1 min read·95 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-12-26

I missed publishing a set of Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday due to an assignment. But that does not mean I was not collecting links. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can also fo…

Mar 12·1 min read·91 words

Re; Offering RSS vs Newsletters

I came across an interesting take by Sebastian Sastre on why he uses an RSS feed instead of a newsletter for his blog. I agree with the feed-first position. However, I personally recommend using both.…

Mar 11·1 min read·93 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-10-26

I missed publishing a set of Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday. But that just means I have more links saved for today. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can also follow via feed. 1…

Mar 10·1 min read·89 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-08-26

There was no daily Pook-Emu Bee link post yesterday because it was Newsletter Leaf Journal day (see the links in Newsletter 270). But the next Newsletter is next Saturday. Below, I present the March 8…

Mar 8·1 min read·84 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-06-26

I am workng on a few "work" projects today. But I have enough time for a new set of daily Pook-Emu Bee links. If you enjoy the links, you can follow via feed (although I personally recommend following…

Mar 6·1 min read·96 words

First Impression of Pokémon Winds and Waves

I recently read about the announcement of the generation 10 Pokémon entries, Winds and Waves. I have yet to actually play through Scarlet and Violet and have no current plans to buy a Switch 2, so I m…

Mar 6·1 min read·103 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-05-26

It is time four our daily Pook-Emu Bee links. If you enjoy the links, you can follow via feed (although I personally recommend following the main site feed for all of my postings). Links from around …

Mar 5·1 min read·94 words

The Oldest Known Mallard

I subscribe to Cornell Lab's All About Birds RSS feed. Through the feed, I learned that "[t]he oldest known Mallard was a male, and at least 27 years, 7 months old when he was shot in Arkansas in 2008…

Mar 5·1 min read·61 words

Re; On Ruka in Rent-A-Girlfriend

"Infnitezenith" published an interesting review of the fourth season of the Rent-A-Girlfriend anime in a post titled Terrible Anime Challenge: Kanojo, Okarishimasu Season Four and Contemplating A Hous…

Mar 4·1 min read·82 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-04-26

Yesterday, I made up for missing an entry in my new daily Pook-Emu Bee links series. Today, I publish the links early in the day (which is when they should be published). Links from around the web 1…

Mar 4·1 min read·96 words

Re; Pokémon That Deserve a Second Chance

Tim Rattay of Nintendo Life published a list of Pokémon which he believe deserve a "second chance." His list is solid. I thought about my own contributions, limiting myself to Pokémon which (A) I do n…

Mar 4·1 min read·88 words

GrapheneOS-Motorola Partnership

Motorola and GrapheneOS announced a new partnership for developing phones that meet GrapheneOS's security standards (see Motorola News and GrapheneOS Forum Post). This strikes me as good news after Gr…

Mar 3·1 min read·83 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-03-26

I missed posting daily Pook-Emu Bee Links yesterday, but we are back in business on this rainy (in Brooklyn NYC, at least) March 3, 2026. Links from around the web 1. On veteran rival's turf, Nepal'…

Mar 3·1 min read·89 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 03-01-26

I am late with today's selection of Pook-Emu Bee Links, but we need not allow a backlog to form (I have enough backlog as it is). 1. The Eerie 'Blood' Moon Will Grace the Night Sky Next Week, Thanks …

Mar 2·1 min read·98 words

From Thunar to PCManFM

I run EndeavourOS on my main workstation. I recently switched from XFCE to Cinnamon due to having flickering/performance issues with XFCE after a Nvidia update. I was still using XFCE's Thunar as my f…

Feb 27·1 min read·91 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 02-27-26

Welcome to edition four of my Pook-Emu Bee links of the day. Pokemon turns 30 today (although as an American, its birthday from my perspective is September 28, 1998), so we will need some links for th…

Feb 27·1 min read·92 words

Grokipedia Cites to My Anime Review

I checked the top NLJ backlinks on Ahrefs (the limited free selection). I saw Grokipedia: I understand that Grokipedia is the X AI answer to Wikipedia. While I have some documented issues with Wikipe…

Feb 27·1 min read·90 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 02-26-26

Posting links for the third edition of the Pook-Emu Bee. Links from around the web Maduro’s Ouster Creates Existential Crisis for Lukashenka (Dmitry Bolkunets for Jamestown Foundation. February 25, …

Feb 26·1 min read·73 words

Early Flaw With Tuta Calendar-Thunderbird Integration

Tuta Calendar's Thunderbird plugin opens Tuta in a webapp in Thunderbird. With my set-up at least, I cannot stay signed in. That is a bit of an annoyance when I have 2FA set up.

Feb 26·1 min read·40 words

What is the YandoriRSSBot?

I just happened to have my NLJ logs open (I had opened them when the site was slow for a moment). I saw something called the YandoriRSSBot requesting the NLJ ATOM feed. While not unprecedented, almost…

Feb 25·1 min read·99 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 02-25-26

It is time for more daily links in the second edition of the Pook-Emu Bee. Links from around the web Shiroi Printer – Visual Novel Review (Nicholas A. Ferrell at The New Leaf Journal. February 25, 2…

Feb 25·1 min read·99 words

Tuta Calendar Thunderbird Integration

AlternativeTo reported that email provider Tuta has released mail and calendar add-ons for Thunderbird.  I have a cheap Tuta account (so cheap it is no longer available, thank you grandfathering) that…

Feb 25·1 min read·91 words

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 02-24-26

Welcome to the first edition of the Pook-Emu Bee, where I will publish interesting links (maybe daily!) collected from my feed collection (or unused newsletter link backlog). I usually include 21 link…

Feb 25·1 min read·90 words

Incredible Article Variety on NLJ

I have published seven NLJ articles in the previous two weeks. I want everyone to admire the kind of variety I'm bringing to the internet writing table: 02/10/2026: AI Game Worlds and Humane Games (…

Feb 24·1 min read·80 words

Remembering to Post to Pixelfed

I have a Pixelfed account that I use to share better quality versions of photos I post to New Leaf Journal (and more rarely this site). Back in 2021, I published an article about how to follow my Pixe…

Feb 24·1 min read·100 words

I Hear YouTube Is Down

Unlike Alphabet, I have never run the world's largest video hosting service. I am, however, the administrator of two of the internet's most popular websites (you're reading one, check out the other). …

Feb 18·1 min read·54 words

Questionable Murena Tablet Value

I have a Murena Teracube 2e phone that I had purchased in 2021 (now decently out-dated and several years removed from being my primary phone). The phone came pre-installed with Murena's /e/ OS operati…

Feb 17·1 min read·90 words

Happy Presidents’ Day (2026)!

I have been busy lately. For that reason I did not have time to do anything special for President's Day. I present a quote from an article I wrote about an interesting passage from the Autobiography o…

Feb 17·1 min read·87 words

Begonia, Oh Deer!

I was sent a video of a deer eating a begonia. I thought to myself that begonias do not sound like ideal deer food. According to Coast Redwood Adventures, begonias are a deer-resistant plant. Granting…

Feb 15·1 min read·68 words

AI-Influencer-Journo Marketing Gimmicks

I have noticed a subtle marketing trick by AI companies that journalists have a tendency to amplify unironically. AI company releases new tool. People on the internet claim the tool is revolutiona…

Feb 14·1 min read·84 words

A Positive Technologist Identity

I read an interesting post by Wojtek Powiertowski in partial response to Khürt Williams's excellent essay against defining the indie web by its enemies, which had inspired me to write a short post her…

Feb 14·1 min read·96 words

Criminal Sentencing in Nigeria

Courtesy of Breitbart, two Chinese men in Nigeria pled guilty to cyber terrorism charges and were each sentenced to 46 years in prison and three days of community service before deportation. Breitbart…

Feb 14·1 min read·87 words

Atlus Forgets a Persona Protagonist

Atlus is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Persona series. I have played through Persona 3 FES, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 (Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 Relo…

Feb 13·1 min read·100 words

Newsletters and Email Clipping

Buttondown, which powers The Newsletter Leaf Journal, published an informative post explaining how some email hosts clip emails that reach a certain size. It varies based on email provider. Several e…

Feb 13·1 min read·88 words

Even the Cheap Computer Cubes Are Out of Stock

I referenced Valve's announcement that it would delay the launch of the cube-shaped Steam Machine in my recent article,  which touched on AI-driven computer memory price increases. Before going off my…

Feb 12·1 min read·91 words

Things I Learned: Berlin’s Road Salt Ban

I am used to seeing road salt in New York City before and after it snows. A couple of years ago (definitely during the Eric Adams administration), I recall having noted remarkable amounts of road salt…

Feb 11·1 min read·98 words

Things I Learned: Hedgehogs, Erinaceiane

I just published a NLJ article in which I made a reference to the murderous camera in Sonic Adventure for Sega Dreamcast. I described the camera as homicidal in my draft. But that did not seem right. …

Feb 11·1 min read·92 words

Taking Bets On OpenClaw’s New Shiny Object

I saw a link to a 1Password report about totally shocking and unofreseeable vulnerabilities involving OpenClaw. I recently discussed how they started a so-called AI social network to distract from the…

Feb 6·1 min read·85 words

Re; The Indie Web Is Not Defined by Its Enemies

I read an excellent response blog post by Khürt Williams titled The Indie Web Is Not Defined by Its Enemies. In the post, Mr. Williams eloquently makes the case for defining the indie web by what it i…

Feb 5·3 min read·432 words

Posteo Doubles Storage

I have a Posteo email account. I was paying 1 Euro per month (or whatever that converts to in USD at the moment) for 2 GB of storage. Today, Posteo doubled the amount of storage on the 1 Euro plan fro…

Feb 5·1 min read·103 words

Sad Update to ACE Academy and Kaori After Story Reviews

I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago about the "retirement" of visual novel developer PixelFade Studio. I had reviewed two PixelFade Studio visual novels, ACE Adademy (see review) and Kaori After …

Feb 5·1 min read·94 words

Things I Learned: NES Wario’s Woods ESRB Rating

I recall having known that Wario's Woods was the final licensed game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System ("NES") in North America. But I learned something extra about that previously-known …

Feb 2·1 min read·93 words