I’m Defending My City Against the Mongols. What Are My Chances?
Imagine you’re standing on the walls of your city sometime around the year 1220.
You hear they’re coming long before you see them.
Merchants stop arriving. Refugees begin trickling through the gates. Then the stories start.
Entire cities erased.
Mountains of skulls.
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“My girlfriend won’t contribute to a kitchen remodel in the house we both lived in for a year”
Recently my girlfriend, 29, and I, 31, started talking about remodeling the kitchen in the house we have both been living in for about a year. I bought the house about three years ago, and she moved in with me a year ago after we had been dating for a little over two years.
As we discussed the remodel and the features we wanted to include, the topic of the budget came up. In my mind, we were going to split the costs. Maybe not equally, but something closer to 60 percent from me and 40 percent from her.
I was surprised when she said she did not feel comfortable putting money into the house because it legally belongs to me. She thought I should be responsible for financing most of the renovation.
What It’s Really Like to Grow Up Unschooled
For most of my life, I thought my childhood was normal.
My parents didn’t believe in traditional school. They believed in something called “unschooling.” The idea wasn’t that kids should never learn. It was almost the opposite. They believed children are naturally curious and that if you let them experience the world, they’d figure out what they needed to know on their own.
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The Harsh Reality of Retiring with Nothing
Nobody likes thinking about getting old.
We’d rather think about vacations, promotions, new cars, and what we’re ordering for dinner than picture ourselves at 78, standing in line at a pharmacy wondering whether we can afford both our medication and the electric bill this month.
It’s uncomfortable, so we avoid it.
The problem is that time doesn’t care whether you’re uncomfortable.
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Linkage
Cigarettes are back in vogue. How did this happen? – Archive.ph
15 Fascinating Photos That Show Everyday Life in 1941 – Ned Hardy
Just bought this, it’s ridiculously cute, gives off a soft warm glow, is rechargeable with touch-controlled dimming, and the squishy silicone design somehow makes it equal parts night light, stress toy, and conversation piece – Amazon
New York Enacts Nation’s First Statewide Moratorium on Data Centers – NYTimes
‘If we die, we die together’: wife of Ryanair passenger almost sucked through window speaks – The Guardian
Nearly 7,000 cases of cyclosporiasis confirmed or under investigation nationwide, CDC says – NBC News
OpenAI is breaking Silicon Valley’s unwritten code. That’s why Apple is so angry. – Business Insider
Why Gen Z is nostalgic for a world it never knew – Big Think
Billionaire Warren Buffett stops donations to Bill Gates charity – BBC News
25 Memes That Say “Welcome to Parenthood” Louder Than Words – Ned Hardy
If you cook at all, grab some Black Tellicherry peppercorns—they’re one of those small upgrades that make everything from steak to scrambled eggs taste noticeably better. – Amazon
The Superrich Aren’t Just Buying Mansions—They Want the Entire Block – WSJ
Spotify expands its AI push with a ChatGPT-like music assistant – TechCrunch
Extremely rare cancer striking kids in rich SoCal city takes worrying turn — as possible cause emerges – New York Post
Ranked: The Best Countries for Quality of Life in 2026 – Visual Capitalist
US ‘whites-only’ towns spread to Wales – The Telegraph
The Dumping Grounds
The Meiji Restoration: How Japan Went From Samurai to Superpower in One Generation
In 1853, Japan appeared to be frozen in time.
For more than 250 years, the country had limited most contact with the outside world. Samurai carried swords, society was divided into strict social classes, and Japan was governed by the Tokugawa shogunate.
The emperor still existed, but he held little practical political power.
Then four unfamiliar warships appeared near Tokyo Bay.
Poll of the Day
Health officials are investigating reports that 6 children from Ladera Ranch, California have been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, an extremely rare bone cancer that affects only about 200 to 240 children and teens in the United States each year, or roughly 3 cases per 1 million people under age 20 annually.
Officials are reviewing whether the cases represent a true cancer cluster, but no cause has been identified and no environmental link has been established.
The Psychological Trick That Makes You Think Everyone Is Watching You
You trip on a curb walking into a coffee shop.
You laugh it off, grab your drink, and spend the next six hours convinced everyone inside witnessed one of the most embarrassing moments of your life.
The reality? Most of them probably didn’t notice. The ones who did forgot about it before they got back to their laptops.
Psychologists have a name for this disconnect between how much attention we think we’re getting and how much attention we’re actually getting: the spotlight effect.
Once you know about it, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.
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