Files
www.aklabs.net/2026/07/09/News-2026-Week-28/index.html

845 lines
44 KiB
HTML
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters
This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta
name="viewport"
content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0">
<meta
http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible"
content="ie=edge">
<meta
name="theme-color"
content="#fff"
id="theme-color">
<meta
name="description"
content="AKLabs">
<link
rel="icon"
href="/">
<title>News - 2026 - Week - 28</title>
<meta
property="og:title"
content="News - 2026 - Week - 28">
<meta
property="og:url"
content="https://aklabs.net/2026/07/09/News-2026-Week-28/index.html">
<meta
property="og:img"
content="/images/akesterson.webp">
<meta
property="og:type"
content="article">
<meta
property="og:article:published_time"
content="2026-07-09">
<meta
property="og:article:modified_time"
content="2026-07-10">
<meta
property="og:article:author"
content="Andrew Kesterson">
<link rel="preload" href="//at.alicdn.com/t/font_1946621_i1kgafibvw.css" as="style" >
<link rel="preload" href="//at.alicdn.com/t/font_1952792_89b4ac4k4up.css" as="style" >
<link rel="preload" href="/css/main.css" as="style" >
<link rel="modulepreload" href="//instant.page/5.1.0">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/main.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="//at.alicdn.com/t/font_1946621_i1kgafibvw.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="//at.alicdn.com/t/font_1952792_89b4ac4k4up.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/js/lib/lightbox/baguetteBox.min.css">
<script>
function loadScript(url, cb) {
var script = document.createElement('script');
script.src = url;
if (cb) script.onload = cb;
script.async = true;
document.body.appendChild(script);
}
function loadCSS(href, data, attr) {
var sheet = document.createElement('link');
sheet.ref = 'stylesheet';
sheet.href = href;
sheet.dataset[data] = attr;
document.head.appendChild(sheet);
}
function changeCSS(cssFile, data, attr) {
var oldlink = document.querySelector(data);
var newlink = document.createElement("link");
newlink.setAttribute("rel", "stylesheet");
newlink.setAttribute("href", cssFile);
newlink.dataset.prism = attr;
document.head.replaceChild(newlink, oldlink);
}
</script>
<script>
function prismThemeChange() {
if(document.getElementById('theme-color').dataset.mode === 'dark') {
if(document.querySelector('[data-prism]')) {
changeCSS('/js/lib/prism/prism-tomorrow.min.css', '[data-prism]', 'prism-tomorrow');
} else {
loadCSS('/js/lib/prism/prism-tomorrow.min.css', 'prism', 'prism-tomorrow');
}
} else {
if(document.querySelector('[data-prism]')) {
changeCSS('/js/lib/prism/prism-defauult.min.css', '[data-prism]', 'prism-defauult');
} else {
loadCSS('/js/lib/prism/prism-defauult.min.css', 'prism', 'prism-defauult');
}
}
}
prismThemeChange()
</script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/js/lib/prism/prism-line-numbers.min.css">
<script>
// control reverse button
var reverseDarkList = {
dark: 'light',
light: 'dark'
};
var themeColor = {
dark: '#1c1c1e',
light: '#fff'
}
// get the data of css prefers-color-scheme
var getCssMediaQuery = function() {
return window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches ? 'dark' : 'light';
};
// reverse current darkmode setting function
var reverseDarkModeSetting = function() {
var setting = localStorage.getItem('user-color-scheme');
if(reverseDarkList[setting]) {
setting = reverseDarkList[setting];
} else if(setting === null) {
setting = reverseDarkList[getCssMediaQuery()];
} else {
return;
}
localStorage.setItem('user-color-scheme', setting);
return setting;
};
// apply current darkmode setting
</script>
<script>
var setDarkmode = function(mode) {
var setting = mode || localStorage.getItem('user-color-scheme');
if(setting === getCssMediaQuery()) {
document.documentElement.removeAttribute('data-user-color-scheme');
localStorage.removeItem('user-color-scheme');
document.getElementById('theme-color').content = themeColor[setting];
document.getElementById('theme-color').dataset.mode = setting;
prismThemeChange();
} else if(reverseDarkList[setting]) {
document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-user-color-scheme', setting);
document.getElementById('theme-color').content = themeColor[setting];
document.getElementById('theme-color').dataset.mode = setting;
prismThemeChange();
} else {
document.documentElement.removeAttribute('data-user-color-scheme');
localStorage.removeItem('user-color-scheme');
document.getElementById('theme-color').content = themeColor[getCssMediaQuery()];
document.getElementById('theme-color').dataset.mode = getCssMediaQuery();
prismThemeChange();
}
};
setDarkmode();
</script>
<link rel="preload" href="/js/lib/lightbox/baguetteBox.min.js" as="script">
<link rel="preload" href="/js/lib/lightbox/baguetteBox.min.css" as="style" >
<link rel="preload" href="/js/lib/lozad.min.js" as="script">
<meta name="generator" content="Hexo 6.0.0"><link rel="alternate" href="/atom.xml" title="AKLabs" type="application/atom+xml">
</head>
<body>
<div class="wrapper">
<nav class="navbar">
<div class="navbar-logo">
<a class="navbar-logo-main" href="/">
<span class="navbar-logo-dsc">AKLabs</span>
</a>
</div>
<div class="navbar-menu">
<a
href="/now"
class="navbar-menu-item">
~/.plan
</a>
<a
href="/archives"
class="navbar-menu-item">
Archive
</a>
<a
href="/categories"
class="navbar-menu-item">
Categories
</a>
<a
href="/about"
class="navbar-menu-item">
About
</a>
<a
href="/contact"
class="navbar-menu-item">
Contact
</a>
<button
class="navbar-menu-item darknavbar navbar-menu-btn"
aria-label="Toggle dark mode"
id="dark">
<i class="iconfont icon-weather"></i>
</button>
<button
class="navbar-menu-item searchnavbar navbar-menu-btn"
aria-label="Toggle search"
id="search">
<!-- <i
class="iconfont icon-search"
style="font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 400;">
</i> -->
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" aria-hidden="true" role="img"
class="iconify iconify--ion" width="28" height="28" preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid meet" viewBox="0 0 512 512">
<path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-miterlimit="10" stroke-width="28"
d="M256 80a176 176 0 1 0 176 176A176 176 0 0 0 256 80Z"></path>
<path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-miterlimit="10" stroke-width="28"
d="M232 160a72 72 0 1 0 72 72a72 72 0 0 0-72-72Z"></path>
<path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-miterlimit="10" stroke-width="28"
d="M283.64 283.64L336 336"></path>
</svg>
</button>
</div>
</nav>
<div
id="local-search"
style="display: none">
<input
class="navbar-menu-item"
id="search-input"
placeholder="请输入搜索内容..." />
<div id="search-content"></div>
</div>
<div class="section-wrap">
<div class="container">
<div class="columns">
<aside class="left-column">
<div class="card card-author">
<img
src="/images/akesterson.webp"
class="author-img"
width="88"
height="88"
alt="author avatar">
<p class="author-name">Andrew Kesterson</p>
<p class="author-description"><center><i>"Love God. Live Righteously. Die Well."</i> <br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://source.starfort.tech/andrew">Source Code</a> || <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkesterson/">LinkedIn</a> <br/> </center></p>
<div class="author-message">
<a
class="author-posts-count"
href="/archives">
<span>38</span>
<span>Posts</span>
</a>
<a
class="author-categories-count"
href="/categories">
<span>9</span>
<span>Categories</span>
</a>
<a
class="author-tags-count"
href="/tags">
<span>0</span>
<span>Tags</span>
</a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sticky-tablet">
<article class="display-when-two-columns spacer">
<div class="card card-content toc-card">
<div class="toc-header">
<i
class="iconfont icon-menu"
style="padding-right: 2px;">
</i>TOC
</div>
<ol class="toc"><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Money-and-Work"><span class="toc-text">Money and Work</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#The-Sloppening"><span class="toc-text">The Sloppening</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Corporate-Cyberpunk-Dystopia"><span class="toc-text">Corporate Cyberpunk Dystopia</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Technology-Generally"><span class="toc-text">Technology Generally</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Philosophy"><span class="toc-text">Philosophy</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Entertainment"><span class="toc-text">Entertainment</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Humans-of-the-Internet"><span class="toc-text">Humans of the Internet</span></a></li></ol>
</div>
</article>
<article class="card card-content categories-widget">
<div class="categories-card">
<div class="categories-header">
<i
class="iconfont icon-fenlei"
style="padding-right: 2px;">
</i>Categories
</div>
<div class="categories-list">
<a href="/categories/Books/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Books
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">14</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Philosophy/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Philosophy
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">9</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Faith/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Faith
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">7</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Technology/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Technology
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">17</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Outdoors/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Outdoors
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">1</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Current-Events/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Current-Events
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">7</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Leadership/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Leadership
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">8</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/History/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
History
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">1</span>
</div>
</a>
<a href="/categories/Liberal-Education/">
<div class="categories-list-item">
Liberal-Education
<span class="categories-list-item-badge">1</span>
</div>
</a>
</div>
</div>
</article>
<article class="card card-content tags-widget">
<div class="tags-card">
<div class="tags-header">
<i
class="iconfont icon-biaoqian"
style="padding-right: 2px;">
</i>hot tags
</div>
<div class="tags-list">
</div>
</div>
</article>
</div>
</aside>
<main class="main-column">
<article class="card card-content">
<header>
<h1 class="post-title">
News - 2026 - Week - 28
</h1>
</header>
<div class="post-meta post-show-meta">
<time datetime="2026-07-09T19:06:29.000Z">
<i
class="iconfont icon-calendar"
style="margin-right: 2px;">
</i>
<span>2026-07-09</span>
</time>
<span class="dot"></span>
<a
href="/categories/Technology/"
class="post-meta-link">
Technology
</a>
<a
href="/categories/Current-Events/"
class="post-meta-link">
Current Events
</a>
<span class="dot"></span>
<span>2.6k words</span>
</div>
</header>
<div
id="section"
class="post-content">
<h2 id="Money-and-Work"><a href="#Money-and-Work" class="headerlink" title="Money and Work"></a>Money and Work</h2><p>Major US banks are going to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/07/07/1726247/major-banks-in-talks-to-exploit-debit-card-loophole?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed">acquire the major debit processors</a> which would allow them to hike debit card processing fees to literally whatever they want. Im sure theyll charge <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_price">a just price</a> and not whatever <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price#Market_price">the market will suffer</a>.</p>
<p>Lots of people who have endured recent layoffs have been asking questions like “what about loyalty?”, “what about my sleepless nights”, “what about my contributions?” <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thedailywtf.com/articles/the-roadmap">TheDailyWTF does an excellent job of explaining that they simply do not care</a>, and will probably hang you out to dry for a nickel. Ive talked about this <a href="https://aklabs.net/2024/03/08/new-manager-pt3/#Correctly-define-the-relationship-between-you-your-team-and-the-business">in part 3 of my advice for new managers</a>, but most younger workers already understand this: you do exactly whats in your job description, you put in your 40 hours, and nothing more. Because chances are theyll give you no more than that, and maybe less, if given the chance.</p>
<h2 id="The-Sloppening"><a href="#The-Sloppening" class="headerlink" title="The Sloppening"></a>The Sloppening</h2><p>It looks like the AI companies are tired of NVIDIA holding all the cards. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://openai.com/index/openai-broadcom-jalapeno-inference-chip/">OpenAI is introducing Jalapeno</a>, its own AI inference chip. Supposedly its really great, but its also vaporware at this point. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/07/07/1740259/chinas-deepseek-developing-its-own-ai-chip?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed">DeepSeek is also manufacturing its own chip</a> to reduce dependence on Huawei. It will be interesting to see what happens if&#x2F;when these chips become real. Maybe we could have our damn GPUs and DDR5 back.</p>
<p>Eventually <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://lazybea.rs/re-no-i-dont-want-you-to-summarise-the-page/">those inference chips will be reading your zoom transcripts</a>. All the brain power in the world and were using it to <em>checks list</em> look for naughty words in the zoom transcript. (<em>Protip: They already ARE reading the transcripts.</em>)</p>
<p>While the agent that flags you (rightly or not) for engaing some kind of fireable behavior will never have an identity in the way that will allow you to track it down and give it a piece of your mind, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenewstack.io/vercel-acquires-better-auth/">Vercel via Better Auth is designing an identity and auth solution for agents</a>. As agents assume more and more responsibility and take more and more actions on our behalf, were definitely going to need to solve the problem of identity delegation with separation. Meanwhile, others are asking if <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenewstack.io/can-dns-become-the-basis-for-ai-agent-identity/">DNS could become the basis for AI Agent identity</a>. I love to see what kinds of problems will come from that. (<em>Its not DNS. Theres no way its DNS. It was DNS.</em>)</p>
<p>If you work in the DevSecOps or AI&#x2F;ML world, you may need to deploy AI models as part of your job. If youre running Kubernetes and are used to the Crossplane model for managing arbitrary infrastructure through Kubernetes, you can now use <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://modelplane.ai/blog/open-control-plane-for-inference">ModelPlane as a unified control plane for inference workloads</a>. I dont have personal experience with it, but if its like crossplane, it will be pretty great to use if you can convince some other poor sunnuvabitch to do the hard thinking of getting it all set up and working. Oh, and debugging it when it breaks, because God knows where the actual error is going to show up in the logs.</p>
<p>Im really not a pessimist. Ive just taken many, many trips around the block, and I know how this bus ride tends to go.</p>
<p>Weve all been watching GitHub start to rot in real time, and with blood in the water, the AI companies are <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://archive.is/3LIpx">offering source code hosting alongside model usage</a>. Dont fall for it - dont cast your pearls before swine. Host your own source. Dont give them your data.</p>
<p>But hey, if nothing else, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://x.com/github/status/2072801888525840476?s=20">GitHub can burn you a copy of your repo on CD-ROM</a>. Nevermind that the people asking for this <em>already own the code locally</em>, and <em>probably dont even have a CD ROM drive to put the disc in</em>. This is the most ridiculous hipster bullshit. And people are standing around wojacking like its so stunning and brave.</p>
<center>
<img src="/images/posts/news-2026-week-28/planetanymore-1248x780.png" width=512px srcset="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20300%20300'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/posts/news-2026-week-28/planetanymore-1248x780.png" class="lozad post-image">
<br/><i>It's not the living. It's not even the planet. It's the people who buy their GitHub repo on CDROM.</i>
</center>
<h2 id="Corporate-Cyberpunk-Dystopia"><a href="#Corporate-Cyberpunk-Dystopia" class="headerlink" title="Corporate Cyberpunk Dystopia"></a>Corporate Cyberpunk Dystopia</h2><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/06/24/175214/walmarts-first-nuclear-deal-shows-demand-beyond-ai-data-centers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed">Walmart is making a deal to buy dedicated nuclear power</a>. WalMart datacenters are massive, and few people understand just how big Wal Mart is, both as an employer and as a corporate entity generally. Imagine waking up one day and going to work as a Sams Club Nuclear Engineer. Dont laugh - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/06/24/0639241/trump-admin-announces-175-billion-in-loans-for-10-new-large-nuclear-reactors?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed">the American taxpayer is loaning out $18 BILLION dollars</a> to develop 10 new large nuclear reactors. I dont know how many of those are slotted for WalMart, but, time will tell.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/06/24/2053235/gta-vi-is-a-worrying-sign-for-the-future-of-physical-games?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed">Physical copies of Grand Theft Auto 6</a> will not ship with … physical media. Isnt that kind of the point of buying a physical copy? Meanwhile <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/">PlayStation is ceasing production of physical media for future playstation consoles</a>. Youll own nothing and youll be happy. Or, you wont be happy, and … they wont care.</p>
<p>Terry Godier released an absolutely stellar piece, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.terrygodier.com/the-last-quiet-thing">“The Last Quiet Thing”</a> that perfectly captures the problem with the modern technology weve built. Not just smart devices, but every damn thing. Its all tech debt that were living with every single day, in every part of our lives. Well worth the read. As mkultra.monster said this week, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://mkultra.monster/gaming/2026/07/02/bad-news-bearer/">“No wonder Im tired all the time”</a>.</p>
<p>But if youre tired, theres a selfhosted app for that. Install <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://github.com/buildthehomelab/tiredarr">TiredArr</a> and outsource your nap scheduling, aggregation and execution. One of the most honest app writeups Ive seen in a while.</p>
<p>All that being said, its not all doom and gloom; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/07/being-excited-still-about-technology-in-2026/">there are still reasons to be excited about technology</a>. Dont let the enduring hellscape that is the modern commercial internet corposphere get you down.</p>
<h2 id="Technology-Generally"><a href="#Technology-Generally" class="headerlink" title="Technology Generally"></a>Technology Generally</h2><p>Jeremy <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://moddedbear.com/everything-is-a-computer.-nothing-is-a-computer./">raises an interesting question</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
If everything is a computer, why is hardly anything something I can actually use as a computer?
</blockquote>
<p>The answer of course is that most things that <em>contain</em> a computer are not meant to be used as a <em>general purpose computer</em>. They are an <em>appliance</em>. In much the same way that your washing machine <em>contains</em> a timer, a motor, and a water pump, yet you were never meant to access and use these things for other purposes. As much as you may not like to admit it, your phone has more in common with your washing machine than it does with your personal computer, in terms of the designers intentions for how you interface with it.</p>
<p>Speaking of design choices, I have to agree with lazybea.rs that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://lazybea.rs/gmail-ui-is-awful/">GMail is awful in basically every respect</a>. Although, to be fair, MOST email clients are also terrible. This is because of the design choices made over thousands of iterations of turning it into an appliance that has raced to the bottom to serve the lowest common denominator (and, along the way, every marketer who is both feeding you ads and consuming data from your mail). But instead of fixing them, were all just moving away from email, so itll never get fixed, but we can never actually get away from email, so well never stop suffering.</p>
<p>This is fine. Theres a very good chance that, by the year 2029, some major computing event is going to occur that will destroy our previous notions of all that which is normal in the technology space. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://archive.is/djqqR">The major players are moving their deadline for Post-Quantum Computing Encryption to 2029</a> - which is very interesting, because at this time, we dont actually have relevant quantum computers that allow us to meet the bar of having a post-quantum computing encryption standard. The fact that theyre moving this deadline up to 2029 most likely means that theres a skunkwork project out there that either A) will very soon or B) already has a quantum computer that can break our known encryptions in a repeatable and accessible way. Im personally curious to see what the quantum computing revolution will look like; we have a very narrow perception of what a computer is because weve been using Von Nuemann architecture for so long, its easy to forget thats not the only possible definition of a computer. </p>
<p>Maybe Chrome wont suck on a quantum computer.</p>
<p>In lighter projects, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://82mhz.net/posts/2026/07/old-computer-challenge-2026-make-something/">Andreas is working through building an IR remote receiver&#x2F;controller</a> for their RPi media center. Its part of their 2026 “Make Something” challenge and looks like a fun project to follow along with.</p>
<p>It looks like the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/24/slate-autos-radically-simple-electric-truck-starts-at-24950/">Slate Truck is going to actually come to market</a>. I think the Slate Truck is really interesting, but its really hard to beat the versatility of a standard gasoline engine. You just feed it, and it keeps running, basically forever. Having a range limit and having to charge it feels … uncomfortably limiting. Then again, electric charging stations are becoming far more common, so maybe it is less of an issue than Im imagining.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a study shows exactly what weve known all along: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/06/25/0531201/new-study-shows-that-tall-vehicle-hoods-cause-hundreds-more-deaths-per-year?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed">that the Toddler Destroyer effect is real</a>. Vehicles with incredibly tall hoods result in more deaths per year than vehicles in the same class that do not have tall hoods. We call modern pickups “Toddler Destroyers” for this reason. But part of the reason theyre built so ridiculously tall, short (in length) and thick is due to the modern EPA “CAFE” regulations on trucks. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azI3nqrHEXM">These same roles are also why we cant have small pickups anymore</a>.</p>
<p>Theres another company thats trying to revive the small American made pickup with a gasoline engine, but I lost the link to that one. Hopefully Ill come across it again.</p>
<h2 id="Philosophy"><a href="#Philosophy" class="headerlink" title="Philosophy"></a>Philosophy</h2><center>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pgxWJfvyhiQ?si=8oUeNfLsZfQGvz4m" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</center>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thebeginnersmindcoaching.substack.com/p/i-dont-wish-you-happiness">Alicia wrote a great article</a> in which she posits that “<i>… Happiness isnt the goal. Being fully alive is.</i>“. Because of this, she does not wish you happiness. She wishes that you have a full life that is painted with all the colors of the spectrum - even the dark colors. As a Christian, this is a topic that I sometimes struggle with, and frequently help others struggle with: the idea that you can have enduring joy in your life even in the absence of happiness. Part of it comes from the idea that there is value in suffering, and in fact, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1984/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris.html">that suffering itself is a Holy thing</a>. But even without the religious view of suffering, one can appreciate that if you spend your life chasing happiness, rather than the full experience of life itself, you will be miserable basically all the time. Happiness will come and go; let love and joy persist anyway.</p>
<p>At the same time, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://mkultra.monster/gaming/2026/07/03/physical-shmysical/">dont do the easy thing</a>. mkultra.monster wasnt talking about theology of phylosophy when they said this, but I agree. Dont do the easy things. Or at least, dont do the easy thing all the time. Examine the actions youre taking, consider whether or not youre sliding along through easy choices, and whether or not you could be improving your life, your future, or even your persistent joy, by making harder choices. Like I wrote in one of my previous articles, <a href="https://aklabs.net/2026/02/23/Why-Firefighting/#This-comfortable-desk-is-gonna-kill-me">realize that comfort is gonna kill you, and adopt the wisdom of “Hard Way”</a>.</p>
<p>Speaking of choices and hard things, bucking the general trend of your society or of your era can be an especially difficult thing. But it can be very important for your own mental health, your lasting joy, and your survival. Consider the choice to specialize or be a generalist. Some people will tell you that unless you can master something, you should not bother. I strongly disagree, and encourage dabbling. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://html-chunder.neocities.org/posts/allowing-myself-to-be-a-generalist/">zkrbo writes this week about the struggle of allowing themselves to be a generalist</a> and I think a lot of us can identify with them. Part of the reason we feel its not okay is because of the modern economic theories that demand specialization as a way to produce revenue which is ultimately how we measure our worth. But thats enlightenment humanist bullshit, which I roundly encourage rejecting, and encourage you to embrace being a generalist dilettante. </p>
<h2 id="Entertainment"><a href="#Entertainment" class="headerlink" title="Entertainment"></a>Entertainment</h2><p>If youre into cozy gaming, heres one for you. Ive never really wanted to run a little japanese corner store, but <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://indiegamesplus.com/inkonbini-has-had-a-physical-release/">inkonbini</a> is really making me want to try. My parents ran a small general store before I was born, and Im honestly kinda upset I missed that time. Running a retail establishment in the time before the internet just seems like such a fun thing. Im sure the reality is nowhere near that. I also love the idea of running a hot dog cart, and thats far more acheivable, so who knows maybe Ill find out.</p>
<p>In other gaming news, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-DaPl85Xg">Hasbro is happily destroying Dunegons and Dragons</a>. The video does a good job of explaining the myriad of problems currently destroying the brand, but suffice to say, theyve gone mad, and Im not sure the customers are going to forget it this time. Hasbro is introducing “CharacterOS” which will sell you AI versions of NPCs which will interact with your players via audio. Theyre offering AI dungeon masters. Theyre moving their new content to D&amp;D Beyond, a digital subscription live service, and are going to stop printing books. Fucking hell.</p>
<p>Look, Ive been playing D&amp;D since the <em>old</em> days. My dice bag has an old school TSR dragon logo patch stitched to the outside. Ive been around that long. And Hasbro is engaging in some fuckery the likes of which weve never seen. Ill be honest, with the state that Pathfinder is in, Im not sure that we even need core D&amp;D anymore. Maybe Hasbro needs to learn an expensive lesson.</p>
<p>In the same wheelhouse, [SI]ilberheim](<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://indiegamesplus.com/new-silberheim-evolving-card-game-extended-beta-available-to-test-for-free/">https://indiegamesplus.com/new-silberheim-evolving-card-game-extended-beta-available-to-test-for-free/</a>) is a digital CCG that is entering an extended beta available for free. Ill be honest, I dont understand the draw of electronic CCGs. You dont get the joy of physically collecting things. You dont get the community of nerding out around a table with other collectors. Youre just going through the mechanics, and your entire collection is digital, which may very well all go away if and when the game shuts down. I jut dont get the attraction. But hey, whatever, its yo baby…</p>
<p>Finally, heres some cool stuff I found on Newgrounds recently. Its easy to forget that one of the internets oldest digital playgrounds is still out there, and people are still doing cool things on it.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/1037912">Mimis Delivery Service</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/1037724">Strange things are happening at the illegal drug exchange point</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/1038248">Good Kid - Cicada</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/1038634">Someone reanmiated an entire Tom &amp; Jerry episode with Deltarune characters in a pixel art style</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="Humans-of-the-Internet"><a href="#Humans-of-the-Internet" class="headerlink" title="Humans of the Internet"></a>Humans of the Internet</h2><p>I believe that if youre a human on the internet these days, one of the most important things you can do is write. It doesnt have to be polished, or have a defined audience. It can be sloppy, misspelled, rambling, nonsensical drivel. It can be pictures of you in a peter pan costume looking for love (if you know, you know). <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://lukealexdavis.co.uk/posts/a-response-to-accidental-anonymity/">Just share it. Whatever it is, share it. Not for others, to get a response, just for yourself.</a></p>
<p>If you want to discover some other humans spouting their craziness out into the void, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://petrapixel.neocities.org/indiewebdb/">The IndieWebDB is a neocities page that has collected ~150 websites, 278 webrings, and 240 cliques</a> at the time of this writing.</p>
<center>
<blockquote>
The powerful play goes on,<br/>
and you may contribute a verse.<br/>
<br/>
Just share it.
</blockquote>
</center>
<!--
-- tags
INFO Validating config
INFO Start processing
Name Posts Path
No tags.
---------------
-- categories
INFO Validating config
INFO Start processing
Name Posts
Books 14
Current Events 6
Current Events 0
Faith 7
History 1
Leadership 8
Liberal Education 1
Outdoors 1
Philosophy 7
Philosophy 0
Technology 16
technology 0
--!>
</div>
<div>
</div>
</article>
<div class="nav">
<div class="nav-item-prev">
<a
href="/2026/07/10/News-2026-Week-2/"
class="nav-link">
<i class="iconfont icon-left nav-prev-icon"></i>
<div>
<div class="nav-label">Prev</div>
<div class="nav-title">News-2026-Week-2 </div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="nav-item-next">
<a
href="/2026/06/30/Be-Yourself/"
class="nav-link">
<div>
<div class="nav-label">Next</div>
<div class="nav-title">Just Be Yourself ... Whoever that is </div>
</div>
<i class="iconfont icon-right nav-next-icon"></i>
</a>
</div>
</div>
<div
class="card card-content toc-card"
id="mobiletoc">
<div class="toc-header">
<i
class="iconfont icon-menu"
style="padding-right: 2px;">
</i>TOC
</div>
<ol class="toc"><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Money-and-Work"><span class="toc-text">Money and Work</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#The-Sloppening"><span class="toc-text">The Sloppening</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Corporate-Cyberpunk-Dystopia"><span class="toc-text">Corporate Cyberpunk Dystopia</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Technology-Generally"><span class="toc-text">Technology Generally</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Philosophy"><span class="toc-text">Philosophy</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Entertainment"><span class="toc-text">Entertainment</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Humans-of-the-Internet"><span class="toc-text">Humans of the Internet</span></a></li></ol>
</div>
</main>
<aside class="right-column">
<div class="sticky-widescreen">
<article class="card card-content toc-card">
<div class="toc-header">
<i
class="iconfont icon-menu"
style="padding-right: 2px;">
</i>TOC
</div>
<ol class="toc"><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Money-and-Work"><span class="toc-text">Money and Work</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#The-Sloppening"><span class="toc-text">The Sloppening</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Corporate-Cyberpunk-Dystopia"><span class="toc-text">Corporate Cyberpunk Dystopia</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Technology-Generally"><span class="toc-text">Technology Generally</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Philosophy"><span class="toc-text">Philosophy</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Entertainment"><span class="toc-text">Entertainment</span></a></li><li class="toc-item toc-level-2"><a class="toc-link" href="#Humans-of-the-Internet"><span class="toc-text">Humans of the Internet</span></a></li></ol>
</article>
<article class="card card-content">
<div class="recent-posts-card">
<div class="recent-posts-header">
<i
class="iconfont icon-wenzhang_huaban"
style="padding-right: 2px;">
</i>Recent Posts
</div>
<div class="recent-posts-list">
<div class="recent-posts-item">
<div class="recent-posts-item-title">2026-07-10</div>
<a href="/2026/07/10/News-2026-Week-2/"><div class="recent-posts-item-content">News-2026-Week-2</div></a>
</div>
<div class="recent-posts-item">
<div class="recent-posts-item-title">2026-07-09</div>
<a href="/2026/07/09/News-2026-Week-28/"><div class="recent-posts-item-content">News - 2026 - Week - 28</div></a>
</div>
<div class="recent-posts-item">
<div class="recent-posts-item-title">2026-06-30</div>
<a href="/2026/06/30/Be-Yourself/"><div class="recent-posts-item-content">Just Be Yourself ... Whoever that is</div></a>
</div>
<div class="recent-posts-item">
<div class="recent-posts-item-title">2026-06-30</div>
<a href="/2026/06/30/You-Cant-Go-Home-Again/"><div class="recent-posts-item-content">You Cant Go Home Again</div></a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</article>
</div>
</aside>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<footer class="footer">
<div class="footer-container">
<div>
<div class="footer-dsc">
<span>
Copyright ©
-
2026
</span>
&nbsp;
<a
href="mailto:andrew@aklabs.net"
class="footer-link">
Andrew Kesterson
</a>
<br/>
</div>
</div>
<div class="footer-dsc">
Powered by
<a
href="https://hexo.io/"
class="footer-link"
target="_blank"
rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">
&nbsp;Hexo
</a>
<span>&nbsp;|&nbsp;</span>
Theme -
<a
href="https://github.com/theme-kaze"
class="footer-link"
target="_blank"
rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">
&nbsp;Kaze
</a>
</div>
</footer>
<a
role="button"
id="scrollbutton"
class="basebutton"
aria-label="回到顶部">
<i class="iconfont icon-arrowleft button-icon"></i>
</a>
<a
role="button"
id="menubutton"
aria-label="menu button"
class="basebutton">
<i class="iconfont icon-menu button-icon"></i>
</a>
<a
role="button"
id="popbutton"
class="basebutton"
aria-label="控制中心">
<i class="iconfont icon-expand button-icon"></i>
</a>
<a
role="button"
id="darkbutton"
class="basebutton darkwidget"
aria-label="夜色模式">
<i class="iconfont icon-weather button-icon"></i>
</a>
<a
role="button"
id="searchbutton"
class="basebutton searchwidget"
aria-label="搜索">
<i class="iconfont icon-search button-icon"></i>
</a>
<script>
var addImgLayout = function () {
var img = document.querySelectorAll('.post-content img')
var i
for (i = 0; i < img.length; i++) {
var wrapper = document.createElement('a')
wrapper.setAttribute('href', img[i].getAttribute('data-src'))
wrapper.setAttribute('aria-label', 'illustration')
wrapper.style.cssText =
'width: 100%; display: flex; justify-content: center;'
if (img[i].alt) wrapper.dataset.caption = img[i].alt
wrapper.dataset.nolink = true
img[i].before(wrapper)
wrapper.append(img[i])
var divWrap = document.createElement('div')
divWrap.classList.add('gallery')
wrapper.before(divWrap)
divWrap.append(wrapper)
}
baguetteBox.run('.gallery')
}
</script>
<script>
loadScript(
"/js/lib/lightbox/baguetteBox.min.js",
addImgLayout
)
</script>
<script src="/js/main.js"></script>
<script>
var addLazyload = function () {
var observer = lozad('.lozad', {
load: function (el) {
el.srcset = el.getAttribute('data-src')
},
loaded: function (el) {
el.classList.add('loaded')
},
})
observer.observe()
}
</script>
<script>
loadScript('/js/lib/lozad.min.js', addLazyload)
</script>
<script src="//instant.page/5.1.0" type="module"
integrity="sha384-by67kQnR+pyfy8yWP4kPO12fHKRLHZPfEsiSXR8u2IKcTdxD805MGUXBzVPnkLHw"></script>
<script>
var googleAnalytics = function () {
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []
function gtag() {
dataLayer.push(arguments)
}
gtag('js', new Date())
gtag('config', 'G-S3YLF516N6')
}
</script>
<script>
loadScript(
'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=' +
'G-S3YLF516N6',
googleAnalytics
)
</script>
</body>
</html>