Aesthetics

So, I really like keyboards, it turns out. I currently have 5 keyboards in my house besides the ones attached to any laptops. My favorite in terms of aesthetics is definitely the wireless mechanical keyboard that I swapped the keycaps on. Here’s the whole setup:

On that note, I’ve done some customization to still be able to use my Mac’s media hotkeys, and also, because Caps Lock is a huge waste of space.

I’m not the only one who thinks this — just glance at this piece titled “It’s time for Caps Lock to die.”

Suffice to say, it’s not very aesthetic to waste functional space like this on the average keyboard.

Meanwhile, did you know that Anime Avatars Are Going Mainstream on Twitch? Note the difference between the anime character and the real-life background in the image above.

I can definitely see this becoming a trend, since I’d estimate about 5% of streamers I follow already don’t use their cameras or wear costumes onscreen. It seems that trends like this start in Asia, and gradually make their way to the US. Reminds me a bit of that one Black Mirror episode…

Follow Recs

@kefan404 (Kefan Weng) is a digital artist and photographer. Their work has a serene and surreal quality, often using everyday objects.

@avatarlo (Arlo Chapple) is an illustrator, animator, and occasional musician/performer/streamer. He has a distinctive style of line-work and creature drawing that’s quite pleasing.

Technology

Another entrant into the “game streaming as-a-service” business, Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service sounds like the cable of video games. Their unique take is a twist on the business model—users can subscribe to each publisher individually, rather than getting everything for a fixed price. “The company will sell access to game publisher channels, like how it sells streaming TV subscriptions”

I can barely get cellular service in my apartment (Thanks, AT&T!) but Nokia won a NASA contract to put a 4G network on the moon.

In the latest advance in the cat-and-mouse game of deepfakes versus detection, it seems that The Subtle Effects of Blood Circulation Can Be Used to Detect Deep Fakes! If you’re curious, watch the very cool demo video for the software.

Good news if you like keeping track of trees: an analysis of satellite images has pinpointed individual tree canopies over a large area of West Africa. The data suggest that it will soon be possible, with certain limitations, that Satellites could map every tree on Earth.

Culture

In a headline that will surprise nobody, but bears repeating for our collective mental health: Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Happiness. The piece is a light review of a few studies and makes practical suggestions.

One nice thing that’s happening On TikTok: men aren’t the only skating superstars.

A strange story from the notoriously regulated Chinese internet: Quiet Experiment Let Millions View Long-Banned Websites using an apparently government-approved VPN app.

This insightful CNN Opinion piece reflects on the unrelenting horizonlessness of the Covid world by tying it to “acedia.”

Acedia was a malady that apparently plagued many Medieval monks. It's a sense of no longer caring about caring, not because one had become apathetic, but because somehow the whole structure of care had become jammed up.

The piece ends on a positive note after reminding us that we, as humanity, have been through bad times like this before.

[W]e can recognize it as a problem we choose to face together -- across political and cultural lines -- as families, communities, nations and a global humanity. Which means doing so in acceptance of our shared vulnerability, rather than suffering each on our own.

Finally, another piece of good news from The Youth: Teens Did Surprisingly Well in Quarantine! More sleep and family time—and less social media—may have made the difference.