Featured Links - May 5, 2025

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

Chinatown East, Toronto

Fitting a round peg into a genre-sized hole. "Two authors talk about things not often talked about." Genre has always been a big point of discussion in the science fiction and fantasy field.

New images of Soviet Venus lander falling to Earth suggest its parachute may be out. "The soon-to-reenter Soviet Cosmos 482 Venus probe is getting increased attention by satellite trackers – and new imagery provides some interesting details." 

The Sliding State of the TTC. "Torontonians should expect a high-quality and reliable transit system from our well-compensated, civic and transit leaders, not an unreliable, low-ridership, low-frequency system that you might expect in an American city (outside of New York). The issues with the Toronto subway depress me, and are one of the things that makes me worry about our ability to deliver good transit — and they are likely mostly organizational, not technical." It's sad to see what's been happening with the TTC; transit in Toronto has been declining over the last decade despite several big, new projects.

Markdown and the Slow Fade of the Formatting Fetish. "Year after year, document formats like .docx, .ppt, and pdf lose a little bit of steam. You might not have noticed… But Markdown is growing over and into the old formats, slowly, and nicely, like moss on a stranded star destroyer. Notes on a revolution in slow motion." If I need a text format that preserves some formatting, I prefer to write in HTML. 

Please, for the love of all things holy, update your BIOS. "I don't care if you call this a PSA, an explainer, or even a hot take. If you leave this article and decide it's time to update your BIOS, I've done my job. Despite how useful new BIOS releases can be for your system overall, there's still a reluctance to update unless something has gone seriously wrong with your system. That's outdated advice, and it's high time to address it."

Deep Research with AI: 9 Ways to Get Started. "Practical strategies for thorough, citation-rich AI research." There are some useful tips here.

Step up measles vaccinations, say doctors as outbreaks accelerate in Ontario, Alberta. "Despite surge in measles cases, getting more people immunized hasn't been easy for public health."

My Miserable Week in the 'Happiest Country on Earth' (gift link). "For eight years running, Finland has topped the World Happiness Report — but what exactly does it measure?" I would like to visit Finland, but not as the author did, in February.