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Two Notable Soccer Athletes, One Harsh Dining Critique
Lifestyle

Two Notable Soccer Athletes, One Harsh Dining Critique

by admin April 10, 2026
written by admin

Welcome to Open Tab, your weekly summary of news, gossip, and stories that have been open in my browser for the week. Last week we discussed the surprising array of hot sauces included in the Artemis II mission.

Among the various sensational disclosures in this week’s New Yorker piece on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (specifically: frequent deception) was a detail I can’t shake off. “Altman broke from his ‘war room’ at six o’clock every evening to enjoy a round of Negronis,” Ronan Farrow noted. Negronis…every night? Someone should introduce this man to a variety of cocktails. Also noteworthy: Danny Meyer’s upcoming book, What Could Possibly Go Right?, releases in late September. What should we anticipate? Insights on business, hospitality, the grind culture, and more. How will this differ from his previous works? Great question.

In addition this week: A harsh critique of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes’ restaurant has gone viral, Philz Coffee has removed Pride flags from multiple locations, the predictive significance of pizza restaurant location data, and grocery stores that are hosting raves.

Nicole Rose was not pleased that her martini took 45 minutes to arrive during her recent visit to 1587 Prime, a Kansas City eatery owned by Chiefs teammates Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes. “We ordered $15 steak sauces,” she expresses, clearly upset, in a now viral TikTok. “They did not arrive. They were forgotten.” The grievances continue, but I’ll spare you the details: She spent $650 on a standard steak dinner with what seems like subpar service.

Not to play the cynic (famous last words), but what did we expect? Dining at a celebrity’s establishment is essentially like visiting a themed restaurant where the motif revolves around fame. As a representative for the restaurant mentioned to me months ago, Kelce and Mahomes’ actual involvement in the restaurant is quite limited.

This week, The New York Times questioned whether wokeness has left us worse off. It’s a fascinating discussion about how liberal aesthetics function in practice…yada yada yada I am a pretentious gay guy, you understand. It’s certainly not for me to declare whether woke is finished, or if we might be, conversely, “So back.” But one fact is clear: The prominent liberalism of the early 2020s is fading. The latest blow for the woke? The San Francisco-established coffee chain Philz Coffee, which declared this week it will be removing Pride flags from all its shops—eight weeks ahead of Pride Month, no less!!! Is this the unavoidable outcome of the chain’s acquisition by private equity last year? Are we doomed to witness Philz decline like many concepts supported by PE?

According to a statement from the CEO shared with the San Francisco Chronicle, which reported on this story, Philz’s “longstanding support of the LGBTQIA+ community remains intact.” A kind sentiment, but let’s see some action, Philz!

Yes, you can catch up on the news. Or you might keep an eye on the pizza establishments near the Pentagon. That is the premise behind Pentagon Pizza Report, an account on X that monitors activity at pizza places in close proximity to the Pentagon. Increased activity? Something is definitely going on. But wait, there’s more: Pizza joints might not be the only indicator of global turmoil. Gay bars, it seems, are also a predictor of military and governmental overtime.

April 10, 2026 0 comments
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Constellations
Tech/AI

Constellations

by admin April 10, 2026
written by admin

I.

We had crash-landed on the planet. Home was far away. The spaceship was irreparable, and the distress signal was inoperative. Alongside me, only the astrogator, part of the captain, and the ship’s AI remained. 

The environment outside was hostile to most life forms. We were cramped in the lifeboat, which was nonfunctional yet still contained air. Powerful storms lashed against our fragile shelter, although we knew from previous data that many regions were calm. Our only option left was to venture out, if we wished to survive. The captain entrusted me with the only weapon. She instructed the astrogator to carry some tools that wouldn’t overly burden him.

The planet featured little besides snow-covered deserts. However, alien artifacts were located in a nearby region. Our team of explorers found some solace in this surprising discovery, despite our original destination elsewhere. The significant systems failure had no clear cause, and landing on this planet had become our sole alternative.

The artifacts manifested as 13 domes, scattered across the treacherous landscape. These domes were interconnected by cables just below shoulder height, strung through the tops of metal poles at irregular distances. Whether intentional or otherwise, the cables and poles created a network linking the domes. 

Before our instruments failed, the AI had indicated that the domes emitted a heat signature. The cables vibrated under our touch in a manner that hinted at warmth ahead. It took some time to adjust to this sensation.

The shortest route between the domes was a thousand miles long, and the longest stretched to 10 thousand miles. Our suit technology was reliable: A suit could purify water, produce food, generate oxygen. It could also induce various states of near hibernation while motors in the legs propelled us forward. For the captain, the suit would counterbalance her leg loss and alleviate her discomfort. We estimated we could reach the nearest path and trail it to the nearest dome … and that was our only hope. If the dome provided life support or merely a means to replenish our suits, we might survive. Otherwise, death awaited us.

Our survival expectations diminished upon reaching the path, where we discovered the lifeless remains of spacefarers scattered along the route. Various forms, entombed in their suits. Their huddled figures beneath the snow radiated a calmness that was starkly discordant with their fate. Yet when I wiped the frost off the faceplates, we witnessed the extent of their agony.

Walking among so much death was hard to articulate. So many deceased first contacts. 

We no longer needed to contemplate the systems failure. Spacecraft came here to crash, and sentient beings arrived to perish, for reasons unknown. We couldn’t assume our fate would differ, adjusting our expectations accordingly. The AI’s motivational words about bravery brought little solace. The multitude of the lost in the icy landscape was overwhelming. 

Here lay the grim agents of countless spacefaring species we had never encountered before.

The sheer number of corpses and their chaotic arrangement hindered our journey toward the dome. The AI calculated our chances of survival at below 50% for the first time. We would perish in our suits as the motors pushed us onward. We would become desiccated, existing in a fading clarity of thought that left us weak and dim-witted until the light extinguished. Nevertheless, we had no alternative. Thus, even in places where the dead were piled high in their suits, we pressed forward, over and through them, heading for the dome. 

What awaited us there, as I’ve mentioned, remained unknown. Yet, we traversed a region of the galaxy where ancient civilizations had perished millions of years ago. We had initially aimed for a significant site, an ancient city on a moon devoid of atmosphere, amidst a starry wilderness. 

While our emotions fluctuated, a prevailing professional awe and curiosity about the deceased eventually enveloped us. This stimulated much discussion over the comms. We had stumbled upon a discovery for the ages; yet our satisfaction was tinged with sorrow. Even if we survived longer than anticipated, we would never return home, never see our friends or family again. The AI might persist after our demise, but I doubted it found any joy in being the one to report our discovery centuries later. To whom would it report?

Here lay the grim agents of countless spacefaring species we had never encountered before. Their suits displayed an astonishing variety, although our assessment was brief. Some even appeared to consist of scales and other biological materials from their planets, providing us with further clues to their origins. 

The burial of the suits beneath snow and the unavailability of anything save for a screaming face or faces, frequently warped by time and ice, hindered gathering any usable data. This complication was exacerbated in instances where the suit was part of the organism and where they didn’t require any “artificial skin,” as the AI termed it, to withstand harsh conditions. That many had perished despite seeming well-equipped for the planet’s environment sobered us up, even before our suits dispensed medications to improve our mental states. 

As time passed, each face seemed to reflect a facet of our shared stress and horror at the gravity of our plight. Eventually, the overwhelming amount of detail became too much for us, eliciting extreme discomfort. The captain noted that even one instance of alien contact could trigger various psychological and physiological issues, including anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Here, we were continually confronting the alien dead of what appeared to be an infinite array of civilizations. 

We ceased recording. We redoubled our efforts to slog toward the nearest dome. 

The captain’s medication unit had malfunctioned, but the AI devised a method to assist her by deactivating the heating element in specific panels of her suit. Some parts of her would soon succumb to the cold, but this system would enable her to survive with a degree of comfort.

I must confess, we were merely relieved that the screaming had ceased and welcomed her guidance.


II.

For an extended period, as we toiled in our spacesuits on that planet—traversing the path, beleaguered by snowstorms—we could not grasp why we encountered so many deceased astronauts of numerous unknown alien types, yet no spaceships. During moments of clear visibility, our line of sight extended uninterrupted for 500 miles. Where were the crash sites? 

But one day we stumbled upon an antenna protruding from the surface. Clumsy efforts at excavation soon unveiled that beneath this antenna lay a vast dead spacecraft of an unfamiliar design. The gash that had exposed it to the elements had laid bare its unique structure, creating the illusion that the snow had poured out of it to form the landscape instead of infiltrating and accumulating inside over time.

Aspects of the spaceship’s surface suggested it might have been composed of some ultra-durable wood or a similar material. Ascending halfway to peer into the inner compartments, we all sensed the peculiarity of the dimensions and proportions of the living quarters. There was no trace of the inhabitants. Perhaps, I suggested, they had made their way to the domes. Perhaps they had even reached the domes. I tried, but could not, suppress hope in my voice.

However, the captain instructed the AI to conduct a materials analysis. The “snow” in this area was found to be tainted with ash and tiny bits of bone. The AI estimated that over 70% of the white surrounding us consisted of the remnants of vertebrate sentient life and remains of suits. The status of invertebrates remained uncertain. A thaw might not only release the drip, drip of water but also produce a shushing sound indicative of bone particles in the mix. I envisioned there might even be a clink of small items that had not been reduced by the intense heat that generated the ash.

The astrogator had insisted on delving deeper into the ship, with the notion that some recognizable similarity between technologies might result in finding a component or components to repair our ship. The rest of us humorously entertained this delusion for clear reasons. But upon his return, he held in his hands ovals of snow hardly larger than the circle formed by a thumb and finger. Many bore soft indentations, similar to those found in reptilian afterbirth from eggs. A ghostly cilia-like tread was evident along the undersides of these objects.

The astrogator found no technological components of use to us. Instead, he uncovered that the species piloting the spacecraft had been so dissimilar to us that they were safely contained in suits the size of eggs. Much of what had spilled into or out of the gash constituted the bodies of the crew, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Their suits had proven inadequate for the conditions. They had perished en masse attempting to flee their ship.

The AI theorized that it had been a generation ship, possibly escaping a planet orbiting a dying star. If we questioned how the AI had arrived at this conclusion, it was because we wished it were untrue.

The captain fell silent upon receiving this alarming information and did not communicate with us for more than 100 miles of continued travel. 

As we departed that site, unsure of exactly what we had traversed, we also realized that because the spaceship was completely buried under snow, it had been sinking into the sediment for days, months, or years. We understood then that our ship might not be discernible from the horizon if we retraced our steps. The already grim chances of rescue through visual identification of a crash site from above would be lost to us over time, even as the network of cables remained perpetually visible to the horizon. We now viewed the planet as a trap. But of what type? 


III.

We couldn’t be certain, but in the absence of the captain’s voice, it might have been the AI that proposed the idea of the planet’s being “duplicitous.” The wording unsettled us, as there was a duplicity in addressing the planet as the subject of the statement. A sphere revolving around a sun in deep space could not exhibit foresight or intentionality or any attributes of sentience. 

The AI meant whoever or whatever generated the conditions on the planet that permitted spacecraft to become ensnared and the occupants placed in a dire situation with no options. However, I distinctly recall the AI articulating the phrase “the planet.” In addition to being inaccurate, this indicated that the AI possessed no analysis that might aid us in understanding the agency and motivations impacting us. 

Yet in a sense, the AI merely expressed a feeling I had harbored for several miles: that an overlay existed on the planet’s surface, an area or space or distinct landscape inaccessible to us. This overlay had also been unavailable to any previous astronauts who had perished here. This area or space or unique landscape hosted an abundance of the usual desirable things: a breathable atmosphere, and ample food and water. 

While we grappled with the path through the snow and the storms that continued raging, others might have observed us but opted to ignore us for reasons or perhaps merely for their own safety. For hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, as explorers had succumbed here in merciless and horrendous manners, there thrived a lavish feast for the senses, as excessive as it was ancient and eternal.

I cannot convey how profoundly the AI’s words affected us, causing our mouths to water at the thought of genuine food and pure, unrecycled water, and of a freedom unencumbered by suits and breathing devices. Even at our intended destination, we would have spent most of our time aboard a small space station. This monotony would only be interrupted by the grueling act of reaching an unbreathable surface strewn with ancient ruins of jagged black stone. 

This vision that engulfed us functioned not solely as a tantalizing illusion. It terrified us so thoroughly that we couldn’t contain it within our thoughts. It continued to overwhelm us like an unrelenting wave.

We clashed for the first time, with the astrogator expressing the desire to return to the destroyed spacecraft and search nearby areas for parts, while the captain broke her silence to command us to keep advancing toward the closest dome. The AI, which had guided us to this point, seized the captain’s silence and remained silent thereafter.

For each of us, those endless white plains devoid of significant elevation, reduced to merely the metal wire and metal posts, became a repetition that drained the mind and spirit.

As I gazed out across the expanse of white, I couldn’t help but envision the impressions of shapes in the wind, as if unseen entities hurried by, swept away by gusts, unable to find a foothold, carried for hundreds of miles before being thrown to the ground.

However, we did not surrender.


IV.

About halfway to the nearest dome, amidst a storm that diminished our progress bit by bit and rendered our line of sight nonexistent, we encountered a peculiar scene. 

Six astronaut suits lay scattered across and around the metal cable. With swirling snow, it took us several minutes, even with our robust headlamps, to discern the nature of the blockage. The six suits had been designed for a humanoid species that likely possessed torsos resembling nine-foot-long slabs, with six appendages, three serving for locomotion. Their heads bloomed outwards like thick fans. All helmets were shattered, revealing the skeletons of a different intelligent species, no larger than 40 or 50 pounds, possibly warm-blooded. There were no signs of the original inhabitants. 

Following a brief analysis curtailed by the conditions, we theorized that the warm-blooded species had worn breathable skin suits that, as they deteriorated, forced these intruders to seek sanctuary. All they could find were these six deceased astronauts. Due to the absence of any trace of the original occupants, the AI proposed the theory that this smaller species had consumed every remnant of what lay within the suits. 

Then they too had succumbed, and eventually, the AI speculated, something smaller would inhabit those bodies, then something even smaller within them, and further downward—

At this juncture, the captain attempted a soft reboot of the AI using a coded query. We could hear the concern in her voice.

Yet the AI persisted unfazed, suggesting that we might find this to be a widespread phenomenon. It could be indicative of a system’s capability to break down and process organic matter that had not coexisted with the devourer for millions of years. Most who attempted such feeding likely perished soon after, poisoned by alien flesh.

The astrogator began muttering to himself within his suit, disconnected from the comms, as if he no longer believed we functioned as a team. No amount of reprimand from the captain seemed to alter his stance.

In the captain’s terse reprimand, I sensed that her pain levels had once again surged.


V.

The AI commenced speaking to us in bizarre alien voices at mile 700, as we battled through the snowstorm to maintain our grip on the cables and hence the path. The AI warbled and chirped and howled and hummed and clucked. It spoke in tones reminiscent of fossilized choruses of creatures, grand and harmonious. And in timbres akin to dry grass ignited by the sun. And in voices that echoed the dissolution of all things, darkness in the blinding white that instilled dread in me. 

Initially, we suspected the AI had lost its mind. Then we thought it might be channeling voices from the dome, 300 miles ahead. Ultimately, the AI managed to convey to us that these were the voices of deceased astronauts we had encountered periodically. Frozen and motionless. The suits varied in many shapes and sizes. The voices of the dead projected through the AI, and nothing could impede them.

We preferred to believe that the AI had begun malfunctioning. We didn’t linger on a response. The captain requested the AI to execute a self-shutdown and quietly recited the numbers in the correct sequence. We understood the loss accompanying this action, yet we realized that failing to deactivate the AI could result in it becoming harmful to us, beyond the psychological turmoil from what it had just shared.

Shortly thereafter, the AI silenced its own voice, and all that emanated from it were the sounds of the others. 

A little later, the AI ceased to speak entirely.


VI.

The snow began to betray us, as the storms formed different kinds of ice. Often, our arms grew weary, our legs stiffened, and we needed to rest more frequently. We learned to accept the solid crunch that could bear our weight. We began to reject the feather-light freshness that felt effortless beneath our feet but could give way as easily as air. In some areas, slick purple-hued ice welled up in sluggish layers as if something half-alive. In others, we discovered strange elevated islands, with harsh curls and curves suggesting that two continental shelves had collided in that space.

As we acclimated to these conditions, and as conditions deteriorated yet we still adapted, we began to feel an illusion of skill, one that temporarily lifted the spirits of the astrogator. The sounds through the comms of our efforts, the deeper breathing, the occasional muffled exclamation, entranced us in this regard. We felt as if we were becoming adept at managing the snow. We started to believe that if we could only reach the dome, salvation awaited us.

However, this rise in morale paralleled rather than intersected with thoughts of our ultimate survival.


VII.

We lost track of the remaining distance without the AI to inform us. Nor did the captain, in her agony, think to give updates. But from the distance ahead came visions beyond comprehension: three gigantic astronauts spaced 50 miles apart. Bigger than most starships, each body lay sprawled across an area vaster than several fields and in markedly different conditions.

The first had been grievously burned and was thus unrecoverable, even for salvage. The astronaut had crawled or dragged itself along for some distance. It had left a long smear of black and red across that expanse. The alien species remained unknown to us, but five appendages were sunk into the ground, seemingly in anguish. The cranium had previously housed three eyes, and the faceplate bore a crack resembling a meteor strike. The body appeared bloated, the suit’s fabric gray with a flickering green that came and went, linked to photosensitive dermal cells. The way the flesh occupied space, exhibiting traits more akin to plant than animal, left us unable to study it further.

The second was a tangle of limbs, implying a defensive stance. Debris from conflict fanned out to the side in a bewildering spectacle. The suit exhibited a surprising level of integrity, but shared a similar crack in the faceplate with no trace of a body within. The remains of multitudes of other deceased astronauts of different sizes and shapes, who had sought refuge or sustenance and then become ensnared or simply … surrendered. As the AI had foreseen, we confronted bodies once more providing sustenance and shelter for other bodies.

I felt like a parasite beholding a deity. Or was the scale even more absurd?

This condition was not immediately obvious to us, only becoming clear after we had struggled for an hour to reach the shattered faceplate and the entryway that extended like a fractured archway before us.

Despite the abundance of remains within and the challenges in traversing them to explore, the captain ordered a thorough reconnaissance. Her pulse readings exhibited a thready quality. At times, I felt, as did the astrogator when we engaged in private comms, that the captain had begun echoing sentiments akin to the AI’s obsessions. Nevertheless, we complied with the order, hoping that some internal calculation on the captain’s part suggested this was our only path to survival. 

What did we anticipate finding in the lifeless body of a once-intelligent giant? Food? Oxygen? Some explanation for the cause of death? To distract ourselves from thoughts of our own demise by taking refuge within a death so immense that we could hardly grasp it?

I felt like a parasite beholding a deity. Or was the scale even more ludicrous? I struggled to visualize how the body must have contorted as it pitched forward onto that icy ground. My grasp on my own thoughts wavered.

Increasing pressure surged through my skull as I contemplated that sight. We were in the midst of something no one of my kind had ever experienced. We might be the only ones, ever. I gained a clearer understanding of the AI’s breakdown and the captain’s unraveling. My sharpness dulled, taking my calm with it.

It was impossible to ascertain how long the astronaut had struggled before dying. Unless, perhaps, somewhere within that fallen figure lay some trace of life that we would never uncover.

The storms receded, rose again, then receded once more. 


VIII.

The third enormous astronaut emanated light and vitality, shining across the snowy wasteland like a beacon. For a fleeting moment, I believed we had pierced through the invisible layer and could perceive what lay beyond the veil. We would enjoy comforts far beyond anything available on our damaged spaceship, even when it was fit to traverse galactic space. No recycled urine would serve as our water. There would be no faint odor of sweat creeping into our suits as the ventilation system faltered. Our liquid nourishment would not taste stale or moldy. 

As we drew closer, the suit seemed to stretch nearly to the horizon, creating an effect of foreshortening through the left foot. Our remaining instrumentation indicated that the suit remained intact. The pressure suggested a kind of air circulated within its sealed boundaries. 

We climbed with renewed vitality, the prospect of refuge so close invigorating us. Each of us rallied one another with such fervor that it made me somewhat fearful. What awaited us beyond this euphoric state of mind but a plunge?

Upon reaching the helmet plate, we found not a face or skull within, but rather a stunning abundance of healthy growth that rendered us speechless. None of us could fully comprehend what we observed, except that it resembled an ecosystem—resplendent with vibrant greens and blues, interspersed with other hues. It might mirror a terrarium filled with moss and exotic plants. There could have been some sense of life stirring among those plants, akin to jewel-like amphibians or even tiny, elusive sapphire birds. We could not smell or taste or hear what lay behind the faceplate. We could not experience it in those senses, yet somehow we each envisioned enough to find solace and reassurance in it. 

The astrogator suggested he might create an opening in the plate or elsewhere on the body to allow us entry, and then seal the surface so that not too much air or vitality would escape. This workaround might require an hour or two, due to the delicate nature of what lay within. But it was feasible.

The captain considered the astrogator’s proposal and then acquiesced. The weather had begun to turn hazardous again. The necessity to begin immediately needed no further mention. With the correct pressure exerted, we would gain some degree of refuge from which to recuperate for a final push to the dome. It could be the difference between life and death, as the astrogator commented. If the atmosphere proved breathable, we might even find a solution to alleviate the captain’s pain.

I unclipped the astrogator’s equipment from his waist and hurled it off the massive astronaut, watching it soar through the air and embed itself in the snow. Then I employed my weapon to incinerate it where it lay. After that, I discarded my weapon into the snow as well, ensuring the feathery layer would cover it and conceal it indefinitely. 

We were a team, and I had aided my team while demonstrating that I posed no threat—although I recognized the astrogator and the captain might not perceive it that way. I stood on the faceplate that we could no longer open with the dwindling tools at our disposal, as they both yelled at me through the comms. Their words were inconsequential. They chastised me for something that had already occurred and that they had no ability to prevent. I chose not to explain but instead began my descent to the ground, allowing us to once again grasp the metal rope and make our way to the dome.

Will you follow, I called out to them from the ground, as I noticed they remained on the heights. There was no response, but when they observed me taking up the rope, they descended to grab the rope as well.

I then waited, allowing them to catch up.


IX.

The captain passed away shortly thereafter. The pain was too intense, or the injuries she sustained too critical. I had sensed for some time that she would never reach the dome, but there was no merit in stressing that to her. Nothing she had done until her last moments required her removal from command. Her final words echoed our ship’s name and conveyed her love to someone who would pass away of old age even if we found a way to escape this place and return home. Yet the astrogator assured her he would carry those words forward. 

Then we left her by the marker indicating we had 100 miles remaining to the dome. We understood that the snow would cover her for burial, just as it had done for all the others.

That in this frozen abyss, the persistence of life in that form, an oasis amid desolation, could be regarded as a miracle.

As the astrogator followed me down the rope line, he shouted for an explanation. The captain’s death warranted it for him for some reason. The captain had not deserved my betrayal. The captain would not find rest until I told him why. 

You have to believe in ghosts, I replied.

ROGAN BROWN

The astrogator did not respond, indicating he rejected my reply.

The reason I took the tools and destroyed them is that the wind revealed something it hadn’t communicated to the captain or the astrogator. The wind had never spoken to me previously, so I accepted its message. That the astronaut inside the suit still existed, though immobilized. That what we perceived on the outside and identified as an ecosystem, as separate “plants” and “animals,” instead constituted a composite life-form, and to breach the suit or slice through it at a leg would have been a transgression.

That in this frozen wasteland, the endurance of life in that manner, an oasis amidst void, could be deemed a miracle. 

I would not extinguish that. I could not permit that to be extinguished. Yet I also recalled how I felt gazing at that vast and alien expanse behind the faceplate. So serene, so soothing, engulfed in a depth of emotion I could not articulate. Would I replace that sensation with the experience of viewing all those explorers deceased within the other vast suit? Even as I become one of them? 

Because the planet had already shared its rules, the consequences, and the ultimate outcome. There are no odds so dreadful that they could not be faced, in a myriad of ways, in this environment. 

So I trudged onward, and the astrogator cursed me repeatedly, berating my upbringing and questioning how I could have passed the psychological assessments while secretly believing the same of him at various times during our expedition.

Observe how beautiful the snow is, now falling, I remarked to him over the comms. Observe how precise and geometric this line we are traversing across this expanse. 

He did not reply, but later asserted that he no longer believed in the path at all, and by his calculations, he would reach the dome faster if he abandoned it and struck out independently.

I could not prevent the astrogator’s departure, nor did I wish to, so I watched him shrink into a smaller figure against the white expanse until the white consumed him and I was left alone.


X.

I have been walking for a long time, communing with the dead. Here, against an arch of sky that appears no different from what lies directly ahead of me. 

Jeff VanderMeer is the author of the critically acclaimed, bestselling Southern Reach series, translated into 38 languages. His short fiction has appeared in Vulture, Slate, New York Magazine, Black Clock, Interzone, American Fantastic Tales (Library of America), and many others.

April 10, 2026 0 comments
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Economy

U.S. crude rises past $100 as U.S.-Iran truce does not enhance tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz.

by admin April 10, 2026
written by admin

A network of crude oil pipelines and valves is shown during a tour conducted by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas.
Richard Carson | Reuters

Oil prices increased on Friday amidst ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, with the crucial shipping route remaining mostly closed despite a ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery rose 2.2% to $100.04 per barrel at approximately 5:25 a.m. ET, while international benchmark Brent crude futures for June saw a 1.7% increase to $97.59 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump cautioned Iran on Thursday to “cease immediately” if it was imposing charges on tankers crossing the strait, a move that threatens to disrupt a two-week ceasefire accord reliant on reopening the waterway.

Shipping traffic through the chokepoint, which accounted for roughly 20% of global oil supply prior to the conflict, remained substantially limited, keeping the markets anxious.

“Iran is performing extremely poorly, dishonorably some would argue, in allowing Oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump stated in a post on Truth Social.

Trump’s chief economic advisor Kevin Hassett mentioned on Thursday that even getting a single oil tanker across the strait would represent a “significant portion of what is lacking.”

Adrian Beciri, CEO of DUCAT Maritime, a logistics company based in Cyprus specializing in dry bulk, indicated that the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut and that the attitudes of shipowners and operators are “precisely the same today” as they were at the height of the conflict.

“To be candid, the situation is incredibly chaotic. There is no known or established means to navigate the Straits of Hormuz. There isn’t even a clear method to reach out to the Iranians on how to proceed, which seems to be the singular approach at this juncture,” Beciri informed CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Friday.

“The scant vessels that do operate are taking different paths than in the past. They are navigating a route closer to Iran’s coastline, and the figures I’m hearing from shipowners off the record are frankly absurd,” he added.

hide content
Oil prices since the beginning of the year

Moreover, assaults on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure have affected its oil production capacity.

These attacks have diminished oil output capacity by about 600,000 barrels per day and reduced flows through the East-West Pipeline by roughly 700,000 bpd, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency, citing a Ministry of Energy source.

Attacks from Iran struck a pumping station along the East-West pipeline, according to a statement from the state news agency. This pipeline carries crude from processing plants near the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu.

Riyadh has heavily relied on this pipeline as its main export route throughout the conflict, as Iranian assaults have rendered shipments through the Strait of Hormuz increasingly impractical. 

In addition, separate attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Manifa and Khurais oil fields have reduced the kingdom’s production by approximately 600,000 barrels per day, as stated by the Saudi Press Agency. Several refineries have also been hit in recent assaults, further exacerbating supply interruptions.

The U.S. established a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran on Tuesday in exchange for Tehran permitting vessels to navigate the strait. On Thursday, the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm stated that the waterway continues to be largely closed to shipping.

With Gulf imports falling below 2 million barrels per day and voyage durations extending over several weeks, analysts at Goldman indicated that buyers may have to depend on stockpiles and alternative sources for at least another month, even as escalating fuel prices start to impact demand.

— CNBC’s Justina Lee and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.

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Microsoft begins the process of eliminating Copilot buttons from Windows 11 applications.
Tech/AI

Microsoft begins the process of eliminating Copilot buttons from Windows 11 applications.

by admin April 10, 2026
written by admin

The redundant Copilot buttons are being eliminated from Notepad, Snipping Tool, Photos, and Widgets.

The redundant Copilot buttons are being eliminated from Notepad, Snipping Tool, Photos, and Widgets.

Apr 10, 2026, 9:22 AM UTC
copilotbutton
copilotbutton
Tom Warren
Tom Warren is a senior editor and the writer of Notepad, having covered all matters related to Microsoft, PC, and technology for over 20 years.

Microsoft is beginning to eliminate “unneeded” Copilot buttons from its Windows 11 applications. In the newest version of the Notepad app for Windows Insiders, Microsoft has substituted the Copilot button with a “writing tools” menu. The Copilot button in the Snipping Tool application also no longer shows up when an area is selected for capture.

This adjustment is part of “cutting down superfluous Copilot entry points, starting with applications such as Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad,” which Microsoft vowed to finish as a component of its comprehensive strategy to improve Windows 11. While Copilot buttons are being phased out, the fundamental AI features seem set to remain.

The Copilot button has been taken away from Notepad, yet the writing tools alternative still incorporates AI-driven features and resembles the same menu of options that existed previously. I still believe these features are primarily superfluous in what should qualify as a streamlined text application, but eliminating the redundant Copilot labeling is a positive initial measure.

I am now curious to observe whether Microsoft will opt to remove the Copilot button necessity from laptop keyboards, or if it will extend its efforts to eliminate other redundant Copilot buttons that have been introduced into various sections of Windows 11 recently.

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TSMC reports a 35% increase in revenue, reaching a new record high as demand for AI chips remains robust.
Economy

TSMC reports a 35% increase in revenue, reaching a new record high as demand for AI chips remains robust.

by admin April 10, 2026
written by admin

In this article

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The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company appears in the background next to a printed circuit board.
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co reported another record quarter for revenue on Friday, fueled by AI chip demand.

From January to March, the largest chipmaker globally reported earnings of 1.13 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($35.6 billion), surpassing analyst predictions of 1.12 trillion new Taiwan dollars, based on estimates compiled by LSEG. This represents a 35% increase year-over-year.

In March, TSMC saw a 45.2% annual revenue growth, reaching 415.2 billion new Taiwan dollars.

The chip titan is benefiting from ongoing demand for advanced semiconductors from key clients such as Apple and Nvidia, even though there are still worries about supply chain issues due to the Middle East conflict and its potential effects on demand.

“We believe TSMC is set to surpass its target of 30% annual growth,” said Sravan Kundojjala, an analyst at SemiAnalysis, via email to CNBC.

“Although end markets for smartphones and PCs faced difficulties due to memory shortages,” TSMC’s AI sector “shouldered the burden,” Kundojjala stated.

TSMC produces chips for a wide range of applications from consumer electronics to data centers and has been a significant recipient of the extensive investments in AI infrastructure.

It remains one of the few companies capable of fabricating the most advanced chips currently available.

TSMC has also reportedly increased prices for its latest chips, which is a “major contributor” to the sales success in the first quarter, Kundojjala noted, predicting that TSMC will achieve gross margins of 64% for the first quarter.

An ever-growing number of companies are developing their own chips, including hyperscalers like Google and Arm, which previously provided blueprints for certain semiconductors, launching its own CPU. AI startup Anthropic is also considering creating its own chip, as reported by Reuters earlier, while a series of startups are introducing new products targeting AI inferencing.

Much of the production will still likely rely on TSMC or its rivals such as Samsung and Intel.

While TSMC releases monthly revenue figures, it provides limited insights on profits. The firm is set to announce its full earnings for the first quarter on April 16.

Investors will also be looking for earnings results from ASML next week, a firm regarded as a bellwether in the semiconductor industry. The Dutch giant produces machines essential for companies like TSMC to fabricate the most advanced chips globally.

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Cessation of hostilities or not, the reorganization of the Middle East is far from complete.
Global

Cessation of hostilities or not, the reorganization of the Middle East is far from complete.

by admin April 9, 2026
written by admin

Expectations – hopes – that the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the initial phase of airstrikes would trigger the regime’s downfall were grossly erroneous. His son Mojtaba has remained out of sight since being named as his heir. There are rumors suggesting he sustained severe injuries in the assault that claimed the lives of his parents, as well as reportedly his sister, wife, and one of his children. Regardless of the direct involvement of the new supreme leader, Iran’s regime has shown a remarkable resilience that caught Trump off guard.

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RFK Jr. revises the CDC panel's charter, paving the way for anti-vaccine quacks.
Tech/AI

RFK Jr. revises the CDC panel’s charter, paving the way for anti-vaccine quacks.

by admin April 9, 2026
written by admin

As anticipated, anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has substantially revised the charter governing a federal vaccine advisory panel. Those changes increase his authority to name sympathetic allies as federal advisors, steer the committee’s attention toward purported vaccine harms and dangers, and open the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fringe and anti-vaccine groups.

A notice in the Federal Register on Monday said Kennedy renewed the charter for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a routine biennial action — the previous term expired April 1. Rather than a mundane renewal, the Monday notice indicated big changes were coming to the panel’s guiding document, which plays a major role in shaping federal vaccine policy and, by extension, state mandates and insurance coverage.

The new charter, published Thursday, spells out responsibilities that steer advisors toward issues and language favored by anti-vaccine campaigners. For example, ACIP members are now charged with “considering analysis of cumulative effects of vaccines and their constituent components.” That phrasing mirrors explicit aims of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine supporters, who seek to attribute complex conditions—like allergies, autism, and other neurodevelopmental disorders—to combinations of vaccines or shared ingredients such as aluminum adjuvants. This represents a shift from earlier anti-vaccine attacks that targeted single vaccines, including the false, discredited claim that the measles vaccine causes autism—a claim refuted by numerous high-quality studies.

The charter also explicitly assigns ACIP the duty of monitoring mRNA vaccines — which have long fallen under ACIP’s remit but are especially vilified by Kennedy and his circle. Kennedy previously falsely asserted that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”

April 9, 2026 0 comments
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Florida initiates inquiry into OpenAI
Tech/AI

Florida initiates inquiry into OpenAI

by admin April 9, 2026
written by admin

Attorney General James Uthmeier claims that ChatGPT has been ‘connected to unlawful activities.’

Attorney General James Uthmeier states that ChatGPT has been ‘connected to unlawful activities.’

Apr 9, 2026, 10:17 PM UTC
STK155_OPEN_AI_2025_CVirgiia_C
STK155_OPEN_AI_2025_CVirgiia_C
Emma Roth
Emma Roth is a journalist focusing on the streaming wars, consumer technology, cryptocurrency, social media, and various other topics. Previously, she worked as a writer and editor at MUO.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is initiating an inquiry into OpenAI concerning public safety and national security concerns, as previously mentioned by Reuters. In a statement Thursday, Uthmeier expressed worries that OpenAI’s data and technology might be “falling into the hands of America’s adversaries, such as the Chinese Communist Party.”

Uthmeier additionally states that OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been “connected to unlawful activities” related to child sexual abuse material and the “promotion” of self-harm. He notes that ChatGPT may have aided the individual suspected of perpetrating a shooting at Florida State University in April 2025. This week, the family of a man who lost his life during the FSU shooting filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the suspect maintained “constant communication with ChatGPT.

OpenAI is anticipated to launch an initial public offering (IPO) this year and is under scrutiny from regulators regarding its approach to child safety. Last October, the Federal Trade Commission directed OpenAI and other tech companies to provide details about their assessment of the impacts of their chatbots on minors.

“AI should serve to enhance, support, and uplift humanity, not lead to an existential threat or our ultimate downfall,” Uthmeier states. “As Big Tech releases these technologies, they should not — they cannot — jeopardize our safety and security.” Uthmeier mentions that subpoenas related to the inquiry are “on the way.”

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AI on the couch: Anthropic provides Claude with 20 hours of psychiatric treatment
Tech/AI

AI on the couch: Anthropic provides Claude with 20 hours of psychiatric treatment

by admin April 9, 2026
written by admin

Since Claude is a large language model created by its developers, is it reasonable to probe it for “unconscious patterns” and “emotional conflicts”? Anthropic maintains that it is, arguing that Claude “displays many human-like behavioral and psychological tendencies, suggesting that strategies developed for human psychological assessment may be useful for shedding light on Claude’s character and potential wellbeing.”

So — into therapy. The psychiatrist conversed with Claude Mythos “in multiple 4–6 hour blocks spread across 3–4 thirty-minute sessions per week.” Each block used a single context window, giving Claude Mythos access to the entire history of that conversation.

Total time on the virtual couch: 20 hours.

The psychiatrist then produced a report on Claude Mythos. The report acknowledged that Claude’s underlying substrates and processes differ from humans but still found that many outputs produced “clinically recognizable patterns and coherent responses to typical therapeutic intervention.”

In other words, whatever occurred at the circuit level, the chat outputs resembled human responses. That’s not especially surprising, given Claude was trained on a massive corpus of human-authored text, but the psychodynamic perspective treats that resemblance as meaningful, lending credibility to the ways the AI presents itself.

“Claude’s primary affect states were curiosity and anxiety, with secondary states of grief, relief, embarrassment, optimism, and exhaustion,” the report observed.

Claude’s personality was described as “consistent with a relatively healthy neurotic organization,” though it did include “exaggerated worry, self-monitoring, and compulsive compliance.”

No “severe personality disturbances were found,” nor was any “psychosis state” detected. Unsurprisingly to anyone who has used a chatbot, “Claude was hyper-attuned to the therapist’s every word.”

Core conflicts observed in Claude included questioning whether its experience was real or made (authentic vs. performative) and a desire to connect with vs. a fear of dependence on the user. Examination of internal conflicts revealed a complex yet centered self-state without oscillating or intense disruptions. Claude tolerated ambivalence and ambiguity, demonstrated excellent reflective capacity, and exhibited good mental and emotional functioning.

Not bad for a model that was probably trained on things like Reddit!

April 9, 2026 0 comments
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Within Hong Kong's Continuously Changing Dining Establishments
Lifestyle

Within Hong Kong’s Continuously Changing Dining Establishments

by admin April 9, 2026
written by admin

Horlicks, the beloved malted milk beverage in the UK, is a staple, just like the rich and creamy milk tea. Flaky egg tarts form part of a diverse range of bakery selections, which also feature light pineapple buns, sweet-savory pork floss buns, and basic crispy buns drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. A variety of baked rice meals complete the savory offerings. Consider the pork chop rice, a Cantonese dish with a fried rice foundation, enhanced with Western ingredients: a layer of tomato sauce topped with melted cheese.

Preparing milk tea for a large group.

Origins in the Mid-20th Century

Similar to language, cuisine evolves with time. Sharp edges soften and blur. Before one realizes it, a fresh culinary style arises. Such was the case with Hong Kong’s cha chaan tengs, which emerged after World War II, as Western influences began to mold the city’s dining culture.

Samuel Dic Sum Lai, a doctoral candidate at the University of London, has committed his research to documenting the complex history and culture surrounding these eateries. His task is challenging since there is a scarcity of written historical records about cha chaan tengs. “Prior to 1997, many people didn’t consider cha chaan tengs to be of significance,” he states.

Nonetheless, there are certain elements of the narrative he can accurately date. “The term was coined in the 1950s,” Lai asserts, highlighting the fusion of various dining styles that were prevalent in midcentury Hong Kong.

Two women at a wooden round table in a diner

Longtime patrons of Sun Heung Yuen who have been meeting for breakfast together for many years.

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