Email isn't an obvious business benefit. Imagine it is the early 1980s and you need to communicate with people across the country. A first-class letter will cost you 17p - about 60p in today's money. The letter will be delivered the next day and you'll have your answer back the day after.

By contrast, a single computer terminal was likely to set you back around £3,000 - and that's before you take into account message transmission costs. That's roughly the same price as sending over 8,000 letters. Is that a sensible investment for the 1980's businessman?

In 1986, British Telecom started producing "The Communications Programme" which was "a new video magazine produced exclusively for the top communications people in the UK's largest organisations".

The show was distributed on video-tape and the archived shows are genuinely fascinating. They're a mixture of business reporting, thinly veiled advertorials, and a glance at the future of digital services.

Buried in the middle of episode 4 is this advert from the Department of Trade and Industry.

There's very little online information about the "Vanguard Project" - it was a VADS initiative (Value Added Data Services) run by DTI, BT, IBM, INS, ISTEL, and FASTRAK. Some of those acronyms survive, some don't!

Its aim was to promote awareness of EDI and its potential for the United Kingdom.

In 1986 the Department of Trade and Industry launched a project called Vanguard to promote the development of this kind of service in 10 different sectors including construction, educational supplies and wholesale food distribution. The major VADS suppliers (BT, IBM, INS, Istel and the Midland Bank) in the UK were heavily involved in the project from the beginning.

Information Sources in Information Technology

What's "EDI"?

Electronic Data Interchange.

A means of transferring data between co-operating enterprises without having to print it out on one computer and key it into another. Requires agreement about standards (proprietary or otherwise).

Did it work? Well, that's hard to say!

There's a paper from 1989 called Survey of Electronic Data Interchange Users and Service Providers in the UK. It dives into the then current challenges of getting British businesses to adopt EDI.

It quotes Sir John Harvey-Jones saying that most people running companies were:

…old people like me not familiar with the technological possibilities! We have great difficulty in making imaginative jumps to see the way in which the whole of our business can be reorganised, revitalised, set up in totally new ways, releasing energy and cost and putting us into the pole position. I can see abundant evidence that the full benefits of EDI will only be reaped by the companies where the Chief Executives is seized with enthusiasm for the potential prize he can grasp.

Which still seems true today! Although over-enthusiasm has led us to a weird AI-in-everything future.

The paper doesn't talk about Vanguard specifically, although it does have this rather cute diagram adapted from one of its reports:

Not quite the Gartner Hype Cycle!

The paper concludes that:

Unfortunately the zealots of EDI tend to be unable to 'sell' the benefits to management in most companies, and this is not helped by the way that many companies have been forced to trade electronically. Management tends to think that EDI is about computers, and because they think that computers are technical they abdicate responsibility with the cry of 'its all too difficult'. This must be wrong. It is up to those who understand EDI to learn how to talk to management, and it is up to management to understand that not only is EDI not about technology, but even if it was it is still their responsibility.

Again, true as it ever was!

Nestled in the bibliography is this tantalising list of publications from the now-defunct Her Majesty's Stationery Office:

None of which appear to be online, although a few are in The British Library - and a few more available on Google Books

The state awarded several contracts for Vanguard - most of which seemed to be in the training space. Here's what The EDI handbook said about it:

(My thanks to Don Thompson, Owen Boswarva, and Ms7821 for digging out some of those references.)

Did it work? By the time I entered the workforce in the 1990s, it seemed like every desk had a computer. Although the Internet was in its infancy, email and electronic ordering was a normal part of business. The various proto-Internet protocols were still around, but were quickly being replaced.

A thesis published in 1991 asked an important question:

why should a non-interventionist Government as Thatchers become directly involved in developing the market and working together with private companies whose normal aim is to increase market share at the expense of their competitors rather, than cooperate with them?

The impact of Electronic data interchange on Irish foreign trade and transport

Metcalfe's Law tells us that there is no value being the only business on a network. It simply isn't rational to invest in connecting to a data service that no-one else is on. But the value of that network increases as more people and businesses get connected. If you've read The Entrepreneurial State, you'll know that governments are often responsible for subsidising technological initiatives like this. The state, its citizenry, and its businesses all benefit from the increased efficiencies of electronic communications, so it is only right that the state should bootstrap these sorts of projects.

I sent an FoI request to find out more but it looks like all the information is now archived.

If you know of any other sources of information about Project Vanguard - please leave a comment.

"How do you do, fellow kids / claudebots"

Announcing her defection from Conservative to Reform, Suella Braverman told us that "Britain is broken". It has been a growing theme of Reform's messaging, especially since the fall in migration numbers, which was previously their main policy issue. They want to convince us that the two parties which have dominated British politics for a century have both failed. Their solution is a radical change, though precisely how radical, and in whose interests, is not always clear. Against them, Keir Starmer claims that Britain has problems, but that unglamorous, serious policy work will put things right again in time. But that requires patience and trust; and it is not clear that the voters are prepared to wait.

There is a widespread view that nothing works in Britain like it used to do, at some undefined point in the past, and that government has failed to fix the problems. But if Britain is broken, or at least in serious difficulties, who broke it?

British decline is a long story, and much more complex than Reform will admit. Some is driven by a long-term rebalancing of global economics and politics, beyond our control. But four key events have contributed. And the fingerprints of those who now want to take control are on all four.

In the long history of British decline and recovery, the last optimistic time was probably the first Blair government. In retrospect, the 1997 government ushered in a hopeful, golden age. Tony Blair took over from a Conservative party which had run out of energy, at a time when the UK and global economies were looking up. The Good Friday agreement signalled an end to 30 years of civil war in Ireland. The peace dividend, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, strengthened economic expansion. While economic liberalisation generated profits for the rich, there was enough to feed down to rising wages, better public services, and improved living standards for most people.

The mood darkened in Blair's second term. After 9/11 the world seemed a more dangerous place. A succession of wars - Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya - shook confidence that government was living up to its ideals, or even competent. And then, in 2008, came the global blow, proving that unregulated capitalism eats itself.

The deregulation of financial services had generated wealth during the boom, but it was fundamentally unstable. In the US, lack of regulation meant that there were huge profits to be made by selling houses to people who couldn't afford the repayments. This was done through mechanisms which nobody understood. But it became suddenly clear that defaults were on a massive scale, not only in the US but across the globe. There was a serious possibility of a collapse of all the Western economies. Leaders struggled to rescue the capitalist system.

The crash was an American creation, and although Britain's Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was a leading figure in the global recovery, British voters blamed him. And the incoming Conservative Chancellor, George Osborne, was quick to capitalise on the mood.  For a party fundamentally attached to a small state and private profit, it was a golden opportunity. So, as the world economy struggled, he told voters that, because Labour had spent all the money, it was necessary to rein back the state. 'Austerity' was born.

Most economists now agree that his decision to cut public spending during a near recession, prevented growth. Average incomes stood still, while public services went backwards. People could see this, in closed libraries and swimming pools, potholes and A&E waiting times. And the NHS and social care struggled at a time when an ageing population was making ever greater demands.

And then came Brexit. People were angry at economic stagnation, unclear about the causes, and looking for someone to blame. The EU was an easy target. Mainstream politicians could blame foreigners, rather than their own policies.  

Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, and their followers, told us that independence would solve the problem. So, despite a struggling economy, we voted to leave our biggest trading partner. Ironically, after leaving the EU's Dublin agreement on migration, immigration rose rapidly.

Most economists, including the Office of Budget Responsibility, now estimate the immediate economic consequence of Brexit as a reduction of 4-8% in British GDP per head. Implementation was much more complicated than the Brexiteers claimed, and for a couple of years, government did little except manage Brexit. Ironically, it entirely reversed Osborne's cuts to the civil service, which had shrunk to its smallest since the second world war.

Then came Covid. Johnson's government was slow to react, inconsistent in its response, and Britain suffered higher mortality rates than many comparable countries. Although the headline economic indicators bounced back, GDP per head remained below pre pandemic levels, and some very visible sectors - hospitality, travel and retail - suffered badly.

Public confidence in government fell further, and Boris Johnson was replaced with Liz Truss, whose solution proved too radical for the financial markets, and her premiership collapsed. Rishi Sunak struggled to recover both the economy and public confidence, and was in due course replaced by Keir Starmer.

After 14 years of increasingly dysfunctional government, in 2024, voters chose the most plausible alternative. First past the post elections gave Labour a large parliamentary majority. But it was a vote of desperation, not of confidence, and they won with the lowest vote share ever for an elected government.

Anticipating the scale of the challenge, the Labour manifesto was deliberately cautious, with few promises. Keir Starmer's belief that the many major issues can only be resolved by slow, patient technical change inevitably disappointed many Labour supporters, and the press, dominated by explicitly right-wing politics, was eager to exploit weaknesses and downplay achievements.

People are right to be disappointed. The last 30 years has been a period of long decline, reversing the experience of the post war years. Although most politicians come into politics to make the world a better place, they often fail, or lose heart. They are absorbed into an antiquated government machine which is slow to deliver or to change itself.

The present government is struggling to make it work on a long agenda of problems. They claim that in the long term, things will get better but, as someone once said, "In the long term, we are all dead."

So, does putting broken Britain back together mean radical change? Many think so, but we have tried that. In 2017, Jeremy Corbyn offered it on the left, and was rejected (although he did get 40% of the votes). 

Johnson and Farage offered it with a Brexit vote, which almost nobody now thinks was the right decision. Liz Truss offered it, and was defeated by the financial markets.

Now the Greens are bidding for a radical left agenda, but their inexperience counts against them, and they could probably only hold power through an election conducted on proportional lines, a reform which the present government has rejected.

And the latest idea is Reform UK. But their lack of political experience has been demonstrated in the local authorities where they took control in 2024. To overcome that problem, they are recruiting former Ministers and MPs from the Conservative Party. But this is a dangerous game. These are precisely the people who broke Britain.

So, the history of broken Britain is a long one. Although there were peaks and troughs between 1945 and 2008 when average incomes rose dramatically. Most people were better off than their parents, and most could look forward to a better future. But the long term rise stopped in 2008. We have never recovered, and a succession of Conservative governments have steadily made things worse. Now they are trying reincarnation as Reform UK. 

The stagnation of living standards and decline of public services have many causes. Triggered by global events imported from the US, exploited for ideological purposes by George Osborne, it was amplified by Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson with the economic shock of Brexit, from which we may never recover. Johnson's response to Covid struck another blow, to economy and public confidence. Liz Truss shook global confidence in our reputation for sensible economic management. And a host of Ministers have come and gone, with little evident impact on people's lives for the better.

Reform promises to put this all right. But it is led by the man who almost singlehandedly took us into the biggest economic shock since 2008. And he is joined by a host of people who led the Conservative Party in government during the years that Britain 'broke'. He has five former Cabinet Ministers from the Johnson or Truss governments: Zahawi, Jenrick, Braverman, Dorries and Jones, and three junior ministers. And with them, 20 former MPs, a former chair and two former vice chairs of the Conservative party.

Is this seriously radical? It looks exactly like the people who got us into the mess. How many times can we repeat a mistake. Radical change, led by the people who broke Britain. Really?

With a thematic issue on a vital topic - the rise child poverty, ending on a hopeful note. You will find sharp analyses on the effect of poverty on children's lives, with a spotlight on the communities that are on the front line of deprivation, with personal stories and shared solutions. Click on the image to gain access to it, or find us on Substack.

Journalism by the people, for the people.

The post Who broke Britain? first appeared on East Anglia Bylines.

Congressman Nick Begich, a Republican representative from Alaska, introduced a bill in July 2025 that'll drastically weaken the fifty year old Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act was not written because whales, seals, and dolphins were thriving. It exists because industrial fishing, shipping, sonar, and offshore development were killing them at scale. — Read the rest

The post An attempt to gut the Marine Mammal Protection Act appeared first on Boing Boing.

The most powerful dialect in America isn't loud, it's default.

The California dialect isn't about drawls or dropped consonants. It's about vowels sliding sideways, uptalk sneaking into declarative sentences, "like" doing an unreasonable amount of labor, and a vocal cadence that sounds relaxed even when someone is delivering bad news. — Read the rest

The post The persistent myth of the California accent appeared first on Boing Boing.

Mount Baldy is a 10,000 ft mountain in the Los Angeles area that takes more lives than something so small should.

Winter and early Spring see Mount San Antonio, better known as Mount Baldy, covered in snow and ice. Hikers often underestimate the mountain, especially as weather patterns change unexpectedly. — Read the rest

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While 2025 started with a large and deadly measles outbreak in Texas, South Carolina is already outpacing it for 2026. The United States is likely to lose its "eradication" qualification for this easily preventable disease.

The measles outbreak in South Carolina is showing little sign of slowing down.

— Read the rest

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More shades of Nazi Germany from the Department of Homeland Security, this time of the "benefit from reporting on your neighbors" sort.

While the Orange Menace does backflips trying to make excuses for his extremely disliked goon Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security is doing all it can to remain unpopular. — Read the rest

The post A very ICE housing plan: snitch on your neighbors appeared first on Boing Boing.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the first to visit China in eight years, taking the opportunity to warm up frosty relations in meetings with Xi Jinping and announce £2.2bn in export deals. He brought Scottish Whisky, and in return brings home an army of Labubus, the fuzzy, snaggletoothed elves in high demand in the west. — Read the rest

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When photographer Stephen Gill slipped a disc carrying heavy photographic equipment a few years ago, he had no idea what the outcome would be. The physiotherapist advised him to buy a trolley for all his kit, and the world became different for Stephen - not only was his injured back able to recover but he found himself part of a select group of society, those who wheel trolleys around. And for someone with a creative imagination, like Stephen, this shift in perspective became the inspiration for a whole new vein of work, manifest in the fine East End Trolley Portraits you see here today.

Included now within the camaraderie of those who wheel trolleys - mostly women - Stephen learnt the significance of these humble devices as instruments of mobility, offering dominion of the pavement to their owners and permitting an independence which might otherwise be denied. More than this, Stephen found that the trolley as we know it was invented here in the East End, at Sholley Trolleys - a family business which started in the Roman Rd and is now based outside Clacton, they have been manufacturing trolleys for over thirty years.

In particular, the rich palette of Stephen Gill's dignified portraits appeals to me, veritable symphonies of deep red and blue. Commonly, people choose their preferred colour of trolley and then co-ordinate or contrast their outfits to striking effect. All these individuals seem especially at home in their environment and, in many cases - such as the trolley lady outside Trinity Green in Whitechapel, pictured above - the colours of their clothing and their trolleys harmonise so beautifully with their surroundings, it is as if they are themselves extensions of the urban landscape.

Observe the hauteur of these noble women, how they grasp the handles of their trolleys with such a firm grip, indicating the strength of their connection to the world. Like eighteenth century aristocrats painted by Gainsborough, these women claim their right to existence and take possession of the place they inhabit with unquestionable authority. Monumental in stature, sentinels wheeling their trolleys through our streets, they are the spiritual guardians of the territory.

Photographs copyright © Stephen Gill

Brett Ratner, the director of "Melania," the "documentary" about Melania Trump now in theaters, appears in photos released in the latest batch of documents from the Epstein Files. Billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein died in jail awaiting trial in 2019. — Read the rest

The post Director of "Melania" in the latest Epstein Files drop appeared first on Boing Boing.

A bright blue jet of plasma captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the "cosmic blowtorch" in the image above has been traced 3,000 light years through space by the Event Horizon Telescope. Its source: the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy Messier 87, 55 million light years from earth. — Read the rest

The post "Cosmic blowtorch" blasts from black hole appeared first on Boing Boing.

An NHS trust called in an exorcist after staff at a Norfolk hospice complained the site was haunted, including by the spectral figure of a girl in a red dress. Workers said they had experienced a series of "paranormal incidents" at the Priscilla Bacon Lodge, which was previously used as a children's hospital.

To address their concerns, the lodge's chaplain contacted the Diocese of Norwich and requested the assistance of 'deliverance ministers', commonly referred to as exorcists. The Church of England is believed to have more than 40 deliverance ministers who conduct religious services, including the use of holy oil, to address spiritual distress.

Exorcists became a household concept in the 1970s in the wake of the horror film The Exorcist, about a young girl possessed by a demon.

The incidents at the Unthank Road hospice, run by the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, and the request for church support, are outlined in emails from the hospice chaplain to the Diocese of Norwich, obtained by the Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act.

The emails were sent in 2023, shortly before the hospice relocated to a purpose-built site at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

In one email, the chaplain described a "difficult time" at the site and said staff were "awaiting advice/support from the deliverance team [regarding] some 'paranormal' incidents which have been really upsetting staff". The chaplain also requested holy oil from Norwich Cathedral to be used as part of a service for patients and staff concerned the site was haunted.

A week later, the chaplain thanked the diocese for its "kind support", adding: "I am in conversation with a member of the deliverance team which is aiding the care and ministry I'm offering." The chaplain said that once staff had left the site, they would walk round the building "blessing and sprinkling all areas in respect of the memories the [sic] hold and the new future they will have".

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust confirmed that a "blessing of the building" took place, but said no exorcist had visited in person.

The Unthank Road site remains part of a health complex, including the Colman Hospital. The former hospice building is no longer in use.

The incident has shone a light on the lesser-known work of the Church of England's deliverance ministry. While the Church has historically taken a cautious approach, formal guidance introduced in the 1970s requires consultation with medical professionals and stresses the need to avoid sensationalism.

An NHS expert said hospitals may contact deliverance ministers on behalf of patients or staff.

A Church of England spokesman said: "Deliverance ministry is a specialist form of pastoral care … rooted in the church's commitment to healing, wholeness and peace for those experiencing distress, whether physical, mental or spiritual."

The Priscilla Bacon Lodge, the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust and the Norwich Diocese have been approached for comment.

While clinical care is provided by the NHS, the hospice itself is a registered charity delivering specialist end-of-life care. At the time of the incidents, Rev Helen Garrard was hospice chaplain. She previously spent 10 years as a specialist palliative care nurse at the lodge before completing her ministerial training.

While the incident may sound unusual, it is not without precedent. The Church of England has formally recognised deliverance ministry for decades, with strict safeguards in place. Similar low-key pastoral interventions have been requested in hospitals and care settings when distress is expressed in spiritual terms - usually quietly, and rarely attracting public attention.

What makes this case notable is not belief in the supernatural, but the way public institutions continue to navigate fear, grief and distress at the edges of medicine, where emotional and spiritual needs still sit alongside clinical care.

With a thematic issue on a vital topic - the rise child poverty, ending on a hopeful note. You will find sharp analyses on the effect of poverty on children's lives, with a spotlight on the communities that are on the front line of deprivation, with personal stories and shared solutions. Click on the image to gain access to it, or find us on Substack.

Journalism by the people, for the people.

The post NHS hospice called in exorcists after staff complaints first appeared on East Anglia Bylines.

Without losing its charm

I am in Harbour Island, where all the old houses have shutters. The house where we're staying is a small cottage built in 1832. It has survived countless hurricanes.

Remember Her?

Moltbook is a Reddit for AI chatbots. NBC: Humans welcome to observe: This social network is for AI agents only. Wikipedia. Google. Bonus link.

I have a fully offline android phone, treated as an mp3 player. As such I haven't ever updated from 20.62. Realistically I only wish a couple things were changed

1: The ability to search "title artist" and get a result. Currently (by design according to the creator in a different thread) this doesnt work. This is minorly annoying from the pov of someone with a 50k+ song library. If I want to look up a song with a generic title like "love" Ill get hundreds of results. If I look up the artists name I could get hundreds of results if I have that artists entire discography downloaded

2: Proper artist seperation. If a song is by "ArtistA/ArtistB" then the player treats that as 1 artist instead of the two it is. If ArtistA has any solo songs then its fine. You can look up that artist. However if every single song by ArtistA is a colab, you cant view ArtistA's artist profile. It doesnt exist.

Either of those changed/fixed ? I looked through the patch notes for each update and didnt see either of those. If anything it seems 20.62 might've been the best version. Figured Id ask anyways.

Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol field leader removed last week from Minneapolis, made antisemitic remarks about U.S. attorney Daniel N. Rosen, reports The New York Times, citing several anonymous sources who heard him.

Mr. Bovino, who has been the face of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, used the term "chosen people" in a mocking way, according to the people with knowledge of the call.

— Read the rest

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Watch the multi-step process of repairing a hole in a leather car seat. What starts as a darkened hole (it looks like a cigarette burn) ends up looking good as new.

The hole is the kind of thing that would drive me crazy if I had one in my own car. — Read the rest

The post Watch a hole in a leather car seat get repaired step by step (oddly satisfying transformation) appeared first on Boing Boing.

 I prepared for my recent podcast with Rasa on Midnight Frequency Radio by listening to much of the above, Robert Anton Wilson's 1997 interview on the Coast to Coast AM late night radio show featuring the late Art Bell. (Carl Richardson, the host of Midnight Frequency Radio, was Bell's brother in law and is still close to Bell's widow and children).

The Art Bell interview is a lot of fun. One reason I liked it is because Bell asks RAW about topics RAW did not usually cover. So, for example, he gets RAW to talk about the Big Bang Theory (the scientific theory, not the TV show) and about oil companies. 

A farm in Saxony, Germany, is offering free potatoes after spud surplus left it with unsold inventory. The bumper crop resulted in nearly 9 million pounds (4500 U.S. tons) of them; the alternative is that it goes to waste.

While one might think free potatoes for all could only be considered a universal boon, famers' organization, the Brandenburg Farmers' Association, called the initiative a "disgusting PR stunt," claiming it would "destroy regional markets."

— Read the rest

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TL;DR: Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business refines the tools many people already rely on, adding performance improvements, modern design updates, and low-key AI features without taking over the experience for $99.97 (reg. $249.99).

If you still use Microsoft Office daily but feel like it's been quietly aging alongside you, Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business might be the makeover you actually notice. — Read the rest

The post Microsoft Office 2024 fixes a few things you've been side-eyeing for years appeared first on Boing Boing.

This person rides a bicycle, plays a Stylophone, paints a picture, and talks to the camera — all at the same time. The painting is a still life of what he's looking at as he bikes.

The Stylophone is a compact electronic instrument that produces a distinctive buzzing tone when a stylus touches its metal keyboard. — Read the rest

The post Watch a man bike, paint, and play Stylophone at once appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Get a UPDF lifetime subscription for $59.99, a single payment that you can use across your desktop and mobile devices.

Let's face it — nobody wants to buy PDF software. But when that deadline hits, the form needs filling, or the scanned document has to be redacted now, you'll be glad you've got UPDF at the ready. — Read the rest

The post Properly redact files and a heck of a lot more with 60% off this PDF app appeared first on Boing Boing.

Despite his conviction for procuring a child for prostitution in 2008, financier Jeffrey Epstein didn't want for human companionship: from Prince Andrew to Elon Musk, there was always a steady stream of pals, associates, courtiers and outstretched palms coming his way. — Read the rest

The post Jeffrey Epstein was banned by Xbox Live appeared first on Boing Boing.

Get Eight Million Ways to Happiness

Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Finding Inner Peace Through Japan's Living Spiritual Traditions by Hiroko Yoda is a memoir and spiritual guide that reveals how Japan's ancient traditions — Shinto, Buddhism, and mountain mysticism — offer practical wisdom for healing and reconnection in modern life.

The title refers to the Japanese belief in eight million kami—spiritual presences that inhabit everything from mountains to rice paddies. This isn't polytheism so much as a recognition that the sacred shows up everywhere, in countless forms. There's no single path to meaning or spiritual health. The practice is finding the ways that work for you.

Japan's spiritual traditions aren't abstract philosophies locked in temples. They integrate so naturally with daily secular life that even natives sometimes forget they're there — a charm on a backpack, a seasonal ritual, a moment of gratitude before eating. These small practices accumulate into something larger without requiring dramatic conversion or belief.

We are all subject to forces beyond our control. But we are also part of a larger natural system that can strengthen us — if we learn to reconnect with it. The Japanese approach isn't about conquering nature or transcending it, but about recognizing our place within it and drawing support from that relationship.

Yoda began her decade-long spiritual journey in the wake of her mother's death. Rather than rushing through grief, she let it lead her deeper into Japan's healing traditions. Loss can be a doorway. The search for comfort and meaning, when followed honestly, often reveals wisdom we wouldn't have found any other way.

1. Notice one natural thing today — a tree, the sky, rain on a window — and acknowledge it silently. Not worship, just recognition that it exists alongside you.
2. Create one small daily ritual: a moment of stillness before your first sip of coffee, a breath before opening your laptop. Let it become automatic.
3. The next time you feel overwhelmed, step outside. Feel yourself as part of a larger system that has existed long before you and will continue after you. Let that perspective adjust your sense of scale.
4. If you're grieving something, don't rush. Ask what the grief might be trying to teach you or where it might be trying to lead you.

"When you visit a shrine, you don't have to believe or disbelieve. You don't have to swear any kind of loyalty, or refuse any affiliations."

Prototype turned a Smith-Corona 210 Automatic into a modern personal computer, with the only obvious addition being the external display, which sits on the slide, and is indeed slidden by it.

"We'll have to build each component from scratch!" he says, and he means it—it's a very technical conversion. — Read the rest

The post Typewriter turned into a PC appeared first on Boing Boing.

The Cosmic Odometer calculates how far you've traveled through space just by being alive. Even if you've never left Earth, you've orbited the sun, rotated with the planet, and embarked on both solar and galactic travel — all while sitting on your couch. — Read the rest

The post This website calculates how far you've traveled through space just by being alive appeared first on Boing Boing.

The upcoming special episode of The Muppet Show, which may or may not signal a reboot for the beloved show, has stirred up controversy with fans. Kevin Vogel will be the muppeteer behind Kermit, and not everyone is thrilled. Steve Whitmire, the previous man behind the Muppet, is among them, and woof does he have some thoughts. — Read the rest

The post Long-time voice of Kermit calls the current Muppets a tribute band appeared first on Boing Boing.

Jeffrey Epstein gifted Steve Bannon an Apple Watch in January 2019, months before Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges. "Steve has been given his Apple Watch!" read an email to Epstein after the gift was delivered, according to the Washington Free Beacon. — Read the rest

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"There's no drama to it. It should have been called 'Day of the Living Tradwife.'" That's Variety's Owen Gleiberman reviewing Melania, Brett Ratner's documentary about the First Lady, which cost $40 million to make (plus $35 million on marketing) and is projected to gross around $1 million in its first week. — Read the rest

The post Variety's review of Melania: a "Cheeseball Infomercial of Staggering Inertia" appeared first on Boing Boing.

Disneyland Handcrafted is a new documentary about the construction of Disneyland from July 16, 1954 to its opening date on July 17, 1955. The fact that this groundbreaking park was built in one year is mind-boggling. Today, it can take five years to construct one Disney theme park ride! — Read the rest

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Is it possible to "die well"? We have midwives for births, should we have "deathwives" for the other end of our lives? I think this book was recommended to me in the depths of the pandemic. I was too much of a chicken to read it while those around me were dying. The book aims to normalise the process of death and mostly succeeds. Unlike a lot of books, it doesn't just identify a problem - it provides pages of solutions. Every chapter ends with a series of questions to ask yourself (or your loved ones) about death.

At times, it is utterly heartbreaking and more than a little gruesome. Death is emotionally and physically distressing. Similarly, there are several stories which deal with the reality of assisted dying. I think the author comes down against euthanasia - but it certainly helps raise questions of whether repeatedly offering the option amounts to pressuring them into an unwanted decision.

It is a bit homespun and cloying. I felt like it painted quite a rosy picture of what death can look like. All the nurses are angels and the doctors have endless patience, there's always time for a cuppa and deathbed revelations are never awkward.

Oh, and there's a lovely aside about memorial benches being harbingers of doom, which I found quite amusing!

This will probably sit unread on your ebook for far too long - but it is worth cracking it open and thinking about the questions it raises.