One of the highlights of my day today was practically inhaling a bunch of cheap pizza in a strip mall parking lot. It was absolutely sublime.

"The U.S. administration has suggested that the troop withdrawal was meant to punish German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for criticizing Washington’s Iran policy. But in fact it punishes the pro-American German middle class" www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

"They are making a long-term bet that the United States is hastening a decline that will necessitate a more central and powerful role for China in a new world order. Whether this gamble pays off rests in no small part on what the United States does next."

Touching grass isn't enough; you gotta touch dirt. Put some seeds in some dirt, put some plants in some dirt. Remind yourself that the future exists, that you have some power to change it, that life is fragile but incredibly persistent and unspeakably beautiful.

Man, this past month or so has been rough. I massively over-extended myself, and I'm really feeling it.

Nothing quite like driving all the way to the gas station, only to pull up and wonder to yourself "huh, I wonder where my wallet is".

Man, I am just catching it from all sides today. What a mess.

🎉#Artemis II update: Integrity is back on Earth! At 01:07 BST/02:07 CEST, Orion and its crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. 🚀Our European Service Module propelled Orion over 1 million km through deep space, before burning up in Earth's atmosphere, its job complete 🔥 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

This NASA coverage some of the most astonishing live television I’ve ever seen.

Genuinely think this is the most I've enjoyed watching a crewed spaceflight mission since STS-135. I can't begin to tell you how much I've missed the days of NASA running the show.

Humanity did that. Science did that. Publicly-funded research did that. Excellent universities did that. Diversity did that. International cooperation did that. Artemis II is a perfect example of what we can do at our best. Welcome home, Integrity crew!

✅ #Artemis II splashdown at 01:07 BST/02:07 CEST!

Handing over the reigns to a handful of space barons, and leaving NASA to be hollowed out, was a colossal mistake.

Back on the old site, there was a guy who worked as a controller at the Canberra DSN site. He would often post interesting technical info about what they were up to. It was a fascinating inside look at how the DSN conducts deep space RF communications.

I have to say, the US Navy also deserves a lot of praise for their recovery ops.

There's something about watching NASA missions that's just so much sweeter than watching missions from commercial providers.

And those orange flight suits beat the hell out of those weird, wanna-be, sci-fi abominations that some of these commercial launch providers use.

Man, watching the Artemis II mission has reminded me how much I've missed the way NASA does human spaceflight. Pure technical excellence.

Nobody does it better than NASA.

Aftermath of a rescue: wreckage of aircraft at site of US mission in Iran

While this is a positive development, it's shameful that any of this happened in the first place.

The federal government is defying court orders in immigration habeas cases. Lawfare's new interactive tracker, updated regularly by @katherinepomps.bsky.social, documents what is known—and what still remains unclear—about government non-compliance in habeas corpus proceedings.

In a letter sent last week, ICE's top official indicated to members of Congress the agency is using a spyware tool to intercept encrypted messages of fentanyl traffickers. n.pr/4mm5qV2

Mandated 3D printer censorware is doomed to fail for its intended purpose, but will still manage to hurt the professional and hobbyist communities using these tools. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Decided to write about this very strange, very scary, very existential moment www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

OH. MY. GOD. THIS IS THE MILKY WAY SHOT BY THE ARTEMIS II CREW. LOOK AT ALL THOSE STARS!!!!

The astronauts on Artemis II observed parts of the moon humans had never seen before. Their findings provide a scientific baseline — and sense of wonder — for future missions. n.pr/4cdG475

I wrote a tiny thing about the most beautiful moment of the Artemis II mission www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...

The Artemis II crew, led by Reid Wiseman, was the first to lay eyes on several craters on the far side of the moon. The astronauts want to name one of them after Carroll Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020. n.pr/4c9ZU2L

Speaking of Threads, this one got me in the feels.

Artemis II’s astronauts got the opportunity to recreate the iconic 1968 photograph on either side of their journey around the moon, showing Earth as beautiful—and precious—as ever

During the mission's loop around the moon, the crew took geological observations of places of interest on the lunar surface using their own eyes and snapping thousands of photos of the surface. n.pr/4sWjwi6

Artemis II crew describe ‘overwhelming’ emotions after soaring past the moon

Ceasefire wins Trump instant gratification but Iran can enter talks with stronger hand

Recklessly producing and then accepting a situation where a foreign power can restrict freedom of navigation is not just a strategic defeat, it is a reversal of the most fundamental foreign policy and national security priority of the United States since the founding of the republic.

"The president has spent the past few days warning that he would attack civilian infrastructure…but an apparently explicit threat of civilizational erasure is unheard of outside of cartoon villains; even most real-world génocidaires have denied that’s what they’re doing."

"Many of the gatekeepers of GOP values view Hungary as a model. In their mind, Orbán shows how to cast aside conservative niceties and seize the institutions of the state to advance a particular vision…"

If Trump does give an order to attack civilian targets that have no military value as a means of collectively punishing the Iranian people - and make good his threat to begin a genocide - Marco Rubio should resign and the military must refuse the order. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Given the way things seemed to have played out so far, it feels like these utterly indefensible remarks could end up swept under the rug. That would be a mistake.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates about 80% of original grassland ecosystems in the U.S. are gone, and the vast majority of prairies have been turned into farmland and residential areas. There are several efforts tackling big swaths of prairie across several states, including Kansas.

I think putting on some Joy Division and opening the tap on an empty highway in the middle of the night would do a lot for my mood.

I picked up a neat plant (Euphorbia myrsinites) on Saturday, and I've been really excited about it. Since it's still a bit cold and I haven't made up my mind about where to plant it, I've been bringing it inside at night and setting it out on a table during the day.

lmao

This is an important and worthwhile read. Far too many people are unfamiliar with Viktor Orban, his autocratic takeover in Hungary, and why it matters so much. It says a lot that the Trump administration is going to such great lengths in an attempt to secure his reelection.

This about sums it up. #history

I'm so extremely happy to hear about this ruling. This is really great news.

Data brokers buy up huge amounts of information from cell phones and browsers to sell for targeted advertising. But the government, including ICE, also buys the data.

I really enjoy these videos that the SWPC has been making recently. Shawn does a superb job of presenting rather complex information in a way that's approachable and easy to understand, without oversimplifying it.

New from 404 Media: police used Flock to give a man a traffic ticket. This is notable because many police departments around the country explicitly say they will not use the cameras for traffic enforcement, instead the cameras are used to solve serious crimes www.404media.co/police-used-...