Linkage
The Fake Influencers Selling Wellness on Your Feed – NYTimes
Today’s Internet Rabbit Hole – Ned Hardy
The perfect everyday glasses—thick, durable tempered glass, stack neatly to save cabinet space, and have that timeless European café look that somehow makes even a glass of water feel better. – Amazon
29 Reasons We Loved the 2026 World Cup – The Ringer
America needs to stop getting shocked by Chinese AI – Archive.ph
How AI is supercharging drug development – Axios
Trump Accounts launch July 4, giving newborns $1,000. Here’s what to know – AP News
Teen Actor Kaylee Hottle Has Died in a Car Accident – Teen Vogue
Could You Survive Stalin’s Great Terror? – Ned Hardy
If you’re serious about quitting smoking, this is one of those rare books that helps many people change how they think about cigarettes instead of relying on willpower alone. – Amazon
The best games of 2026 so far, picked by NPR’s staff – NPR
I’ve studied friendship for 10 years: 4 questions to move beyond small talk and make new friends – CNBC
French lawmakers approve social media ban for children under 15 – France 24
Crushing crowds turn Yosemite into DISNEY – Archive.is
Ranked: The World’s Longest-Living Countries in 2026 and 2100 – Visual Capitalist
Scammers Are Using FaceTime to Pose As Apple Support Reps – Lifehacker
The Dumping Grounds
Could WWII Defenses Stop a B-21?
Imagine waking up on an airfield in Germany in 1944.
Radar operators are tracking a contact unlike anything they have ever seen. It is flying high. It is fast enough to be unusual, but not impossibly so. It does not travel in formation. There are no escort fighters. No bomber stream stretching across the horizon.
Just one aircraft.
Confessions of a Professional Shill
I don’t expect anyone to automatically believe me.
In fact, if there’s one thing I hope you take away from my story, it’s that you shouldn’t.
For about a year, I worked for a public relations contractor whose job was to influence conversations online. I won’t name the company. I signed paperwork that still makes me careful about specifics. But I can tell you what the work actually looked like, because the public imagines armies of sophisticated hackers sitting behind glowing monitors. The reality was much more ordinary.
“I am at the love of my life’s wedding”
I met my best friend about two years ago while he was in a long distance relationship. He is a straight man, I am a straight woman, and we became instant best friends. We spent a lot of time together, and although nothing ever crossed the line, I developed strong feelings for him a few months after we met.
We have never kissed or been physically affectionate beyond what close friends might be. Some of our friends noticed the chemistry between us and even warned him that he was being a little too flirty, but he never changed the way he treated me.
Now I am at his wedding weekend.
Why an AI Girlfriend Will Never Heal Your Loneliness
There is a loneliness epidemic happening right now, and most people misunderstand it.
Loneliness is not simply being alone. Plenty of people enjoy solitude. Loneliness is the ache that comes from not feeling known. It is the feeling that nobody sees you, chooses you, or carries part of your burden.
[Read more…] about Why an AI Girlfriend Will Never Heal Your Loneliness
Linkage
20 Fascinating Photos Collected From History – Ned Hardy
If you grill or smoke food regularly, this is one of those tools you’ll wonder how you lived without—it gets charcoal blazing fast without lighter fluid, chimneys, or the lingering chemical smell. – Amazon
How much did it cost to attend the 2026 World Cup? 7 fans shared their receipts – NYTimes
Disturbing Runaway Slave Ads From the 19th Century Capture the Struggle for Freedom – Rare Historical Photos
Engineer behind buckled high-rise says crucial reinforcing steel was ‘never installed’ – Gothamist
China’s Moonshot AI claims Kimi K3 can rival OpenAI and Anthropic. – BBC News
Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in Miami for rape and trafficking charges in the UK – CBS News
24 Memes About Our Unhealthy Relationship With Our Phones – Ned Hardy
If you want the best portable AC out there, this one cools faster, runs quieter, and the dual-hose design is far more efficient than the typical single-hose units. – Amazon
All the Cool Kids Are Birding – Archive.ph
I Got a Beard Transplant So I’d Be Taken Seriously at Work – The Cut
Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin ‘El Mayo’ Sentenced to Life in Prison – WSJ
24 Memes About Our Unhealthy Relationship With Our Phones – Ned Hardy
The Odyssey Backlash Failed Tremendously – Wired
What the FIRE Movement Gets Right About Modern Work, Hustle Culture – Archive.ph
The Dumping Grounds
Could One M1 Abrams Defeat an Entire Battalion of Panther Tanks?
For nearly eighty years, the Panther has occupied a mythical place in military history.
Ask someone to name the greatest tank of World War II, and chances are they will say the Tiger. Ask historians, though, and many will quietly point to the Panther instead.
[Read more…] about Could One M1 Abrams Defeat an Entire Battalion of Panther Tanks?