Bid your name into the next novel of a best selling author

4 November 2026

My old English high school teacher once told us authors take great care choosing the names of their characters. He said many writers opted to go with more common names such as, for example, John Smith or Mary Brown. They refrained, we were told, from using unique, made up names. This lest it turned out there was someone named thusly, who might threaten legal action for whatever reason.

But now well-known writers including Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, and Zadie Smith, are giving people — however common or not so common their name is — the chance to be characters in their upcoming novels. The move is in support of Freedom from Torture, a British charity organisation. I’m not sure if you have a say as to what sort of person — good, bad — your name sake will be though.

When Reddit gives you login screens, go back to the open web

4 November 2026

CEO of social news aggregator Reddit, Steve Huffman:

This is a big change for Reddit, where we’ve allowed logged-out access to basically all of Reddit for the last two decades. And I don’t know about you, but as someone whose life has been defined by the open internet, it’s a big change for me. But I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the right decision for our platform and the right decision for our business.

The results of one search engine in particular seem to, or did, rely heavily on the masses of content published at Reddit. But soon, anyone wanting to verify that information will need to login to Reddit.

That’s probably not too difficult though. But there is an opportunity here for actual pundits of the open web, who publish quality content on their website/blog, that isn’t hidden behind a login screen.

Just as well-written blogs can counter AI slop, they can also keep the web open, truly open.

Yes, there’s an inordinate quantity of information dwelling within Reddit. But there are also bloggers who loath login screens and walled gardens, and are passionate about the open web.

The end of internet, and what comes next

3 November 2026

Ben Thompson, writing at Stratechery:

My life is defined by the Internet: I witnessed and participated in its evolution, and maybe in some small way contributed to it; I certainly owe my livelihood and success to it. I bemoan its passing.

A thought provoking read. It’s strange to think I may not be doing what I’ve been doing in this space since 1997 for much longer, or what I might be doing going forward will be quite different.

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South Africa blitz Australia in the cricket. But who is Simon Harmer?

2 November 2026

Things did not go well for the Australian men’s cricket team over the weekend, in South Africa. They lost the third test, played in Cape Town, by one-hundred-and-seventy-six runs, handing South Africa the three match series, two games to one.

I sat down to watch one session, and looked on in disbelief as Simon Harmer, a South African spin bowler, tore through the Australian batting line up.

Spin bowling is a method of delivery that is slower than pace or fast bowling, but can be far more unpredictable, depending how the bowler manipulates the ball with their wrist and fingers. The condition of the playing pitch can also aid spin bowlers, as it deteriorates throughout the game.

Harmer ended up taking ten wickets, out of a possible twenty, across both Australian innings. Until now though, I’d never heard of him. This was surprising given he seems to be of the same pedigree as late Australian spin bowler, Shane Warne.

The picture was all the more puzzling as Harmer first played for South Africa in 2015, but since then has been in fewer than twenty test matches. I’d have thought if someone with the ability of Warne was available, you’d pull out all the stops to keep them in the team.

But a number of factors have kept Harmer out the South African team, including contractual obligations to an English county team.

As I looked on though, it seemed as if Australia had no idea what had struck them. Experienced batters can often “read the spin”, by watching the bowler’s hand movements, and react accordingly. But that knowledge appeared to be in short supply at Cape Town.

At age thirty-seven, Harmer may not be playing too much longer, but I think Australia needs to better prepare their batters to deal with spin bowling.

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Patrick Stewart, Star Trek Captain Picard, dies aged 86

30 October 2026

Some late news to hand. British actor Patrick Stewart, known to Star Trek fans as Captain Picard, of The Next Generation (TNG) series of the iconic sci-fi show, died on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.

This just days after Walter Koeing, from TOS died earlier in the week, on Monday.

There is the erroneous tendency to believe TNG crew are considerably younger than those of TOS, given TNG is set almost one-hundred years later. I was slightly surprised to realise — or, should I say, be reminded — Stewart was just four years younger than Keonig.

It’s been an awful week for fans of the Star Trek franchise.

Rest in peace Koenig and Stewart, and thanks for the great stories.

Apple Duo hinge designed with AI help. That must be why there is a problem

30 October 2026

Lucas Ropek, writing for Techcrunch, quoting Johny Srouji, Chief Hardware Officer, at Apple:

During manufacturing, we use AI algorithms to precisely match each individual hinge with its best-fit housing to ensure perfect alignment, and a confocal laser progressively scans the topology of every single unit and 3D prints up to 25 micro layers of a custom photopolymer to eliminate residual waviness.

But since launching, some users of the the foldable phone, called Duo, have reported the appearance of cracks in the screen, above the location of the centre hinge. So far, only a small number of people are having a problem.

Frank Landymore, writing for Futurism, suggests the cause of the fault may have been isolated:

In light of that fiasco, now feels like a good time to bring up how the hinge was designed: with the help of AI.

Srouji did say AI algorithms were used during manufacture, not design. I doubt Apple “vibe designed” the Duo’s hinge. If AI played any part in the design process, that was possibly in assessing a vast array of hinges, so the best possible hinge could be developed.

Some people reviewing the folding phone subjected the hinge to rigorous testing. Joanna Stern, for instance, used a custom made device to open and close the phone more than thirty-two thousand times, over the course of four nights, but reported no problems.

A Linux smartphone: a viable alternative to iPhone and Android?

29 October 2026

The idea of a Linux smartphone has been simmering for several years. There have been a few obstacles along the path, but such a device is somewhat more possible now, than previously.

To fly, the l-Phone — could I use that name? — would need to meet the expectations of smartphones users, particularly in regards to apps. But a Linux smartphone might offer enhanced privacy, which would appeal to some people.

The article, by Amos B. Batto, is a longer read, but worth the time, if you’ve ever wondered about Linux smartphones ever being a thing.

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Then there were two: vale Walter Koenig, AKA Pavel Chekov, of Star Trek

28 October 2026

The American actor, who died on Monday at the age of ninety, was best known for his portrayal of Russian navigator Chekov, on the star ship USS Enterprise, in the Star Trek original TV series, from 1966 to 1969, and the subsequent movies.

I obviously don’t follow the sci-fi show as much as I used to, and was surprised to learn yesterday Keonig reprised his role as Chekov in a 2015 fan made film, Star Trek: Renegades, trailer.

In Renegades, he’s over one-hundred-and-forty years of age, and holds the rank of admiral. A nod perhaps to a certain line of his from the 1986 Star Trek film The Voyage Home? But don’t all Trek alumni end up as admirals?

With Keonig gone, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, and William Shatner, as Captain Kirk, are the only remaining core members of the original series. It’s a sad day for fans of the franchise.

Talking of Sulu, I was likewise surprised to find out he served as president of the United Federation of Planets, after eventually leaving Star Fleet. This though was in a series of Star Trek novels written by Shatner, which were not series canon.

The next giant leap for humanity: landing on a moon of Mars

27 October 2026

JAXA, being the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, last week launched a probe towards Mars, with the ambitious aim of landing on Phobos, one of the red planet’s moons.

The probe, called the Martian Moons eXploration mission (MMX), will collect samples from Phobos’ surface, and return them to Earth for study. The whole mission is expected to take five years.

Astronomers have long wondered if Phobos, and no doubt Deimos, Mars’ other moon, are asteroids captured billions of years ago. That seems like a reasonable assertion, given the solar system’s asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter.

If it can be ascertained the “moons” are asteroids snared by the fourth planet, perhaps then we could give thought to demoting both satellites to the status of captured object, rather than moon.

If Pluto can be reduced to dwarf planet status, the same ought to apply to moons, or so-called moons, unless they adhere to a certain criteria in terms of size and shape, among other things.

I’m not — by the way — singling out Mars either.

Saturn is said to have over two-hundred-and-seventy moons. But only if you consider a gloried rock to be a moon. Only handful of these satellites could be said to have the… stature of Earth’s Moon.

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Life Out of Order, a novel by Audrey Niffenegger, sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife

26 October 2026

Twenty-three years after writing The Time Traveler’s Wife, American author Audrey Niffenegger, has published a sequel, Life Out of Order.

The focus of the follow up moves to Alba, the daughter of Henry DeTamble, who had a rare genetic disorder that caused him to travel through time, often with little warning. In Life Out of Order, Alba has inherited her father’s disorder, and also finds herself moving back and forth through time.

You’d almost have needed to be able to travel through time when Niffenegger penned the original novel in 2003, to have been able to envisage the world of 2026:

Alba DeTamble is a time traveler, slipping unpredictably through decades like her father before her. But the hardest thing she carries isn’t the burden of futures she can’t understand, or pasts she cannot change — it’s a secret: she is in love with two different people.

Each of them offers a different life. Zach lives in the present and can’t follow her when she disappears. Oliver can travel through time, just like she can.

As Alba careens from time to time, moving from the riot-torn Chicago streets of her present to the eerie, timeless Yellow House, and into the digital corridors of the Museum of Lost Souls and a flooded future London, she must face a question she can no longer avoid: how is it possible to love, and live a meaningful life, in an increasingly troubled, fractured world?

Alba was seen as a child in the 2009 film adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife, directed by Robert Schwentke, which featured Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.

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