I am a bit late today, but I decided to keep the Pook-Emu Bee links running with four in a row before our off-day tomorrow (Newsletter Saturday).
1. Private email is fine, actually (Matthew Guay for Buttondown Blog. August 7, 2026.)
I agree. But I my own solution (SimpleLogin) is not specifically listed (they note Proton Mail, which now owns Simple Login, but I have SL separate from Proton).
2. THE MORNING RANT: PepsiCo (Frito Lay) Snack Sales Decline as SNAP Restrictions Kick In (Buck Throckmorton for Ace of Spades HQ. August 7, 2026.)
But I’ll venture there are probably many corner stores in New York City that are not that particular about the restrictions.
3. California police clap back at John Oliver as comedian clutches pearls over department policy (Daniel Farr for the New York Post. August 7, 2026.)
I didn’t read this. I thought I had a “John Oliver” mention block in my Miniflux. Maybe I was thinking about a previous feed set-up. Time to refresh.
4. D-Hopper Review (Virtual Boy) (Nile Bowie for Nintendo Life. August 7, 2026.)
It came out 31 years late for the Virtual Boy, but neat to see Nintendo publishing some fun things for Switch 2 subscribers. With that being said, speaking as someone who has a Virtual Boy (not in working condition at the moment), I would be less than enthusiastic about a 3-4 hour Virtual Boy session.
5. When it comes to education, here’s what I look for when hiring veterans (Justin Burgess for Task & Purpose. August 7, 2026.)
The definition of “education” is also often misunderstood by hiring managers and prospective veteran employees alike. If I’m reading the resume of an individual with no college degree, but they have successfully earned a Ranger tab and served in the 75th Ranger Regiment, then I already know that person has been tested mentally and physically in ways generally unimagined by civilian prospects.
6. Brooklyn’s Waterfront Transforms with Jen Lewin’s ‘Ursas’ Sculptures from Reclaimed Plastic (Sam Johnson for Free York. August 7, 2026.)
I have never seen anyone refer to the Gowanus Canal as the “waterfront”… But that aside, I sense a reporting opportunity. This also reminds me I have a Gowanus Canal reporting article project that I have been sitting on for more than a month. Soon!
7. Umineko When They Cry Pop-Up Shop Features New Beatrice, Bernkastel, Lambdadelta, and More Artwork (Orpheus Joshua for Noisy Pixel. August 7, 2026.)
This is very much how I remember Bernkastel from Umineko. If you read Umineko, you’ll understand the quip.
8. CNN’s Phillip Says El-Sayed Doesn’t Support Defunding the Police, Is Fact-Checked by CNN Report (Ian Hankchett for Breitbart. August 6, 2026.)
Did she lie on air in support of her preferred Senate candidate in Michigan while pretending to be an objective moderator and then fail at improvising after being gently called on it? Almost certainly yes. But in the spirit of charity, I propose an alternative, relatable explanation. Abby Philip, like me and the vast majority of Americans, does not want to stay abreast of the latest CNN reports.
9. Anthropic’s Claude AI shared chats appear in Google searches, raising privacy concerns (Santiago Nino for Notebook Check. July 28, 2026.)
I don’t have any privacy concerns about this. Speak for yourself, headline.