Tag: operation epic fury

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Time for the Sepender edition of our regularly scheduled Pook-Emu Bee Links.

Subway Stories

1 | These salvaged relics in a Brooklyn subway station are the ghostly remains of old New York buildings (Ephemeral New York. Sep. 28, 2026.)
I wouldn’t call this being restored to their former glory, but it’s something.

2 | MTA axes G train shutdowns planned for December after outcry from small businesses (Kirstyn Brendlen for Brooklyn Paper. Sep. 28, 2026.)
Fun fact for non-New Yorkers: The G train is the only non-shuttle line that runs directly between Brooklyn and Queens without going through Manhattan in between. It is also an oft-troubled line in the repair space.

Tech Replacements

3 | Fedora Discussion Raises The Idea Of Replacing LibreOffice With Collabora Office (Michael Larabel for Phoronix. Sep. 24, 2026.)
That is a stupid idea. Fedora should not do that. LibreOffice is a good default office suite (if one wants to ship a default office suite).

4 | US sanctions force The Netherlands off Microsoft and toward alternative NixOS-based software ecosystem — trial programs running now, first release expected at end of 2027 (Oliver Hansen for Tom’s Hardware. Sep. 28, 2026.)
U.S. sanctions of the ICC did not “force” the government of the Netherlands to do anything, as the first paragraph of the article itself notes. But since I use Linux instead of Windows myself, it will be interesting to see to what extent governments can make the switch work.

Military Conflicts

5 | Iran publishes propaganda letter urging US voters to punish Trump in midterm elections (Ronny Reyes for the New York Post. Sep. 29, 2026.)
I could state the obvious that I am not taking voting advice from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. But let us go with a less obvious angle. 26 pages? Does the IRGC really expect me to read 26 pages? Moreover, are they aware that 1 USD is now worth more than 2.5 million Iranian Rial? If for no other reason than preserving tokens I would recommend they keep future communications to me to a strict 500 word limit. Thank you.

6 | Captured Hamas Spy Chief Helps Israel Take Out Three Senior Terror Commanders (Vijeta Uniyal for Legal Insurrection. Sep. 29, 2026.)
Hamas is finally showing the kind of cooperation that can lead to peace in the Middle East. Inspiring.

7 | Ukraine’s former defense minister launches ‘Manhattan Project’ for killer robots (Katie Livingstone for Defense News. Sep. 30, 2026.)
The problem with Giant Death Robots is that by the time you reach the end of the tech tree, you probably already made it to Alpha Centauri or won a domination victory, no? I don’t see how he is addressing that. Shallow. (Link for readers who never played Civilization.)

Video Games

8 | Danganronpa 2×2 hands-on impressions: Witnessing the exact moment Slayhem Mode takes the familiar killing game off the rails (Dorde P for Automation West. Sep. 30, 2026.)
I was mildly curious how they were going to re-do the Danganronpa 2 scenario. This sounds plausible. I may talk myself into this one but TBD. (They had better not kill Chiaki off early, however.)

9 | After Years Of Hard Work, One Of The Most Ambitious Super Mario Kart SNES Hacks Of All Time Finally Has A Release Date (Jack Yarwood for Time Extension. Sep. 30, 2026.)
Interesting. I’m curious what the new courses are.

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We went just over one week without daily Pook-Emu Bee links. Sickness (probably mostly allergies) and work intervened. But today I have a window for links. Back and better than ever?

1 | NCAA declares it cannot overturn outcome of game following Western Michigan’s appeal (Daniel Hager for ON3. Sep. 9, 2026.)
I didn’t watch Michigan get saved from defeat against Western Michigan in a manner reminiscent of the Soviet men’s basketball team in the 1972 Summer Olympics, but the story reminded me of when Appalachian State stunned Michigan in its season opener on September 1, 2007. I did watch that 2007 game.

2 | Google Earth’s AI experiment lasted 24 hours. The damage to trust will linger (Masha Alimardani for Rest of World. Sep. 10, 2026.)
I didn’t closely follow the Google Earth AI experiment but I’ll note that the delusional consumers of Iranian lego videos have many tools at their disposal.

3 | Can the UK defend the Falkland Islands? (Richard Thomas for Army Technology. Sep. 4, 2026.)
At the moment the UK hasn’t demonstrated the ability to consistently defend itself from rafts crossing the channel from France, so put me down in the “doubt” category, granting all of Argentina’s technical and political limitations noted in the article.

4 | Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan Elevate Relations to Alliance (Vusal Guliyev for Jamestown. Sep. 9, 2026.)
The alliance the caucuses/Central Asia region has been waiting for?

5 | U.S. Open Fans Nauseated by Smell of Human Waste from Restrooms: ‘You’re Breathing in Sh*t’ (Warner Todd Huston for Breitbart. Sep. 8, 2026.)
New York City has had some “sewer smell” problems which I noticed began intensifying around 2020. My working theory is that some parts of the Department of Sanitation are still on vacation. In any event, I suppose even our betters at the U.S. Open must deal with plebian problems.

6 | US forces sink fifth ‘refueling vessel’ linked to Los Choneros terrorist organization (Washington Examiner. Sep. 8, 2026.)
Buried lede: These cartels have refueling vessels?

7 | NYC’s first racial equity plan sets new framework for future budget decisions (Adam Daly for amNY. Sep. 1, 2026.)
“The racial equity planning process stems from ballot measures approved by NYC voters in 2022 that amended the City Charter, created the Office of Racial Equity and required the city to regularly produce racial equity plans.” (Don’t look at me: I voted NO.)

8 | Your Roku TV Offers AI Slop For Free (If You’re Into That Sort Of Thing) (Novak Božović for Endgadget. Sep. 5, 2026.)
My Roku TV does not offer me “AI Slop” because I do not connect it to the internet. But if you have a Roku TV and connect it to the internet, maybe you enjoy the AI slop?

9 | NYC’s notoriously violent West Indian American Day parade to end early in effort to curb crime (Matthew Fischetti and Zoe Hussain for the New York Post. Sep. 4, 2026.)
To the shock of no one who has been alive in Brooklyn for more than 5 minutes, it didn’t work (noble plan though, noble plan).

10 | Gen Z isn’t interested in Burning Man (Matty Merritt for Morning Brew. Sep. 4, 2026.)
I’m squarely “millennial” by birth and have made it through life in general ignorance of Burning Man. Thus, I suppose I must side with “Gen Z.”

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I missed Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday and am late today, but we can hardly let a backlog grow… so let us link today.

A black Cybertruck parked in Brooklyn Heights.
A black Cybertruck seen parked in Brooklyn Heights. I took this photo on June 18, 2026.

1. Peeved NYC students, teachers, parents beg mayor to cancel school for Knicks parade: ‘This is once in a lifetime’ (Asia Grace for the New York Post. June 18, 2026.)

‘It’s upsetting because, obviously, we’ve been waiting for this moment a long time,’ … a Brooklyn public school student, exclusively told The Post. ‘The parade is really important, and everyone should be able to experience it.’

Is it possible for a 12-year old to have “been waiting for this moment for a long time”?

2. Who Would Take Iran’s Uranium? (RFE/RL, via OilPrice.com. June 18, 2026.)

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

3. Councils bans England flags on public property during World Cup (Anne-Laurie Dufael for Brussels Signal. June 18, 2026.)

‘The irony of this becomes clear when we realise that St George himself was a migrant from what is now Turkey to Palestine,’ [Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer] added.

I had been thinking earlier in the article that these rules would probably not be enforced against other flags. My suspicions were not ameliorated by the conclusion.

4. UFC Freedom 250 (John Hinderaker for Power Line. June 15, 2026.)

I am a boxing fan, but not an MMA fan. To me, MMA is more a gladiatorial spectacle than a legitimate sport.

MMA is definitely a “legitimate sport” and I respect the practitioners, but I too like boxing and do not like the MMA for reasons similar to those noted by Mr. Hinderaker. With that being said, I haven’t watched much boxing since ditching cable (along with the premium channels that aired the best fights) 11-12 years ago. I should catch up on YouTube.

5. Russia Imposes Restrictions on Acquisition of Citizenship Except for Belarusians (Anzhelika Kalchenko for Militarnyi. November 10, 2025.)

I deal with many cases involving individuals who moved from former USSR countries to Russia and voluntarily acquired Russian citizenship (no Belarusians, however). If that puzzles you… remember it’s all relative. Of course, they end up here applying for asylum regardless.

6. DeMarcus Cousins explains how John Calipari made him declare for the NBA Draft (Bruno Rukavina for Basketball Network. February 5, 2025.)

‘And Cal is like, look, dude, if you want to take care of my family, you’re going to stay. If you want to take care of yours, you’re out of here. It’s real,’ he said. ‘That’s all I needed to hear. You know what I mean? So real.’

That was good advice from Coach Calipari given that Mr. Cousins was a high draft pick and had a good NBA career (including a few All Star appearances) before being derailed by injuries.

7. ID Verification for P*rn Sites Can be Okay (nephitejnf [PeerTube video]. June 15, 2026.)

I concur, and he kicks around some interesting-sounding solutions (albeit I am not concerned about making that onerous).

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Time for a new edition of Pook-Emu Bee links on this very pretty (in Brooklyn, at least) June 16.

Blurry photo of the face of a female kokeshi doll figure.
I took this phone on June 14, 2026, to send to Victor V. Gubo.

1. SCOTUS To Newman: Drop Dead (Josh Blackman at The Volokh Conspiracy. June 15, 2026.)

Say what one will but if applied broadly, chief judges being able to involuntarily retire other judges with lifetime tenure would be a very interesting new standard.

2. Neighbors in posh neighborhood fume about wild antics inside OnlyFans home next to local school (Nina Joudeh for the California Post. June 15, 2026.)

As much work as this headline is trying to do covering for the porn producers, I think some of the complaints are also about what’s happening outside the “OnlyFans home” and the negative effect it is having on the community. With that being said, the fact that the people with justified complaints constantly qualify their complaints by noting how cool they are with OnlyFans as a general matter does have the tendency to open up their position to the headline’s subtle critique.

3. Iran Deal Can Work If We Hit Them Every Time They Break It (Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. June 15, 2026.)

The headline is accurate in a sense, but not entirely in accord with the opinions presented or the hypothetical deal that is sure to occur (which we may see someday). Take aside, I am glad to see Mr. Hanson doing well as he works through some serious health issues.

4. Build large model of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens without the BQE (Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 15, 2026.)

This ship probably sailed somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 years ago. But at least it left me with a bridge to write about.

5. G7 allies seek common ground with Trump after Iran accord (Brussels Signal. June 15, 2026.)

I’m a bit concerned about the common ground the G7 (definitely not looking at France) and others, now including the United States, seems to be seeking on Hezbollah. Still holding a few grudges and all.

6. Chauncey Billups on 2004 Pistons being underestimated vs. Lakers in NBA Finals (Virgil Villanueva for Basketball Network. November 13, 2025.)

Notwithstanding the fact that I published an article noting various reasons why the evidence did not support favoring the Lakers to the degree which they were favored going into the 2004 Finals, and there was in fact a good statistical case for the Pistons, that the Lakers were favored at all was far in light of the fact they had the two most talented players in the series (that was not the case in their previous two rounds against the Spurs and Timberwolves). However, Basketball Network goes way too far in describing the 2004 Lakers, which featured a slightly past-peak Shaquille O’Neal, an excellent but not-peak Kobe Bryant (2003-04 was arguably a slight down-year for him), and very past-peak versions of Karl Malone and Gary Payton, as “one of the greatest teams ever assembled.”

7. Productivity Videos Are The Bane Of Productivity (Matthew Weber at Matt’s Blog. September 18, 2025.)

Only if you view “productivity” as ideally leading to the production of something of value. If you view productivity as consuming “content” about productivity, productivity videos are probably the best choice.

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Monday is a fun day. One reason Monday is a fun day is because it marks the return of Pook-Emu Bee links after the weekend. Speaking of the weekend, I published links and commentary to enjoy in Saturday’s Newsletter Leaf Journal 284.

Photograph of an intersection with a short red brick building with an American Flag outside and tall apartment buildings in the background.
My photograph of the intersection of Carroll and Bond Streets in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Taken on June 15, 2026.

1. Historic Carroll Street Bridge in Gowanus reopens after 5-year renovation (Aaron Ginsburg for 6sqft New York City. June 11, 2026.)

The above photo is from my walk to the re-opened Carroll Street Bridge. Why did I go to the Bridge? NLJ article forthcoming…

2. Brussels welcomes US-Iran deal and presses for toll-free reopening of Hormuz (Brussels Signal. June 15, 2026.)

Everyone is learning what is in this sure-to-succeed deal (or MOU) except me.

3. GentleOS, A Simple OS For Your Old PC (Jenny List for Hackaday. June 13, 2026.)

This looks worth trying. Maybe it is time for me to sharpen my VM skills.

4 & 5. Knicks fans set school bus on fire in Times Square madness: ‘I’m scared for my homies!’ ( Jennifer Bain, Jordan Donegan, and Katherine Donlevy for the New York Post. June 14, 2026.) & 63 people arrested, 4 stabbings and 1 shooting reported in NYC as Knicks fans go wild celebrating NBA Finals win (Fenix Suriel, Joe Marino, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Steven Vago for the New York Post. June 14. 2026.)

You would have thought that the violence after the first four games would have put the NYC government on notice for potential violence after the championship-clinching game. Maybe authorities just wanted to rekindle to 2020 vibes.

6. More than 75 data center build-outs worth $130 billion have been successfully blocked in the first three months of 2026 — bipartisan opposition mounts nationwide over fears of soaring power and water costs (Joe Morales for Tom’s Hardware. June 13, 2026.)

Many of the concerns raised by residents include massive electricity price hikes, egregious water consumption, and potential noise pollution, among others. However, there have also been reports that Chinese users have been amplifying these issues while posing as Americans.

Let no one doubt my credentials on the CCP propaganda beat, but one must be cautious of attributing potentially reasonable oppositions to one thing or another because the Chinese government may have its own reasons propagandizing.

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I am on a daily Pook-Emu Bee links roll. Today, I keep it doing with a third consecutive edition of the links.

Photograph of the Gowanus Canal from 3rd Street with Brooklyn Tower reflecting on the water.
I took this photo of the Gowanus Canal from the 3rd Street Bridge at about noon on June 8, 2026. While Washington DC has a shiny refurbished reflecting pool, note how the murky waters of the Gowanus Canal reflect Brooklyn’s tallest building (Brooklyn Tower).

1. Construction of jail in tony NYC nabe turns into potentially deadly ‘clown show’ with failling debris: records, locals (Nicole Rosenthal, Kevin Sheehan, and Katherine Donlevy for the New York Post. June 8, 2026.)

Boerum Hill is “tony” but that particular stretch of it was not “tony” even before the monstrous jail construction project (not least because the new jail is replacing a prior, smaller jail).

2. Federal Court Invalidates Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee as Illegal Usurpation of Congress’ Power to Tax (Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy. June 8, 2026.)

Earlier today, in the case of California v. Mullin, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a decision striking down the Trump Administration’s $100,000 fee on applications for H-1B visas (which are used by tech firms, research institutions, and other organizations to hire immigrant workers and researchers with a variety of specialized skills).

Ilya Somin

Far be it from me to issue corrections but the H-1B program, as I am genuinely confident Mr. Somin knows, is for nonimmigrant workers, not immigrant workers (the immigrant analogs for most H-1Bs are EB-2 and EB-3). Moreover, while it is technically for specialty occupation workers, the baseline requirement for H-1B is a qualifying degree, H-1B is far from the most strictly-defined work visa classification.

3. xAI is looking more like a datacentre REIT than a frontier lab (HT Ambient Irony)

Fair. But you can look like many things when you don’t run out of money.

4. Colombia’s Outgoing President Gustavo Petro Publishes ‘Heil Hitler’ Message (Christian K. Caruzo for Breitbart. June 8, 2026.)

This is fairly tame political commentary by his lofty standards.

5. GLP-1-related returns leave retailers reeling (Brandon Cosgrove. June 6, 2026.)

I still have at least one shirt from when I was in high school (a fairly long time ago at this stage). I think they should be giving me discounts.

6. The Jason Kidd Nets (Neil Paine at Basketball History. June 27, 2012.)

The New York Knicks’ Finals drought was so long that the most recent team from the New York Metropolitan area to have made the NBA Finals before the Knicks in 2026 no longer exists in its “Finals” form. Revisiting the Jason Kidd-era New Jersey Nets, which represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 (they were reasonably competitive in the 2003 Finals against the Spurs).

7.Trump: US Will Respond to Iran After Apache Downed (Sandy Fitzgerald for Newsmax. June 9, 2026.)

I don’t doubt Iran wants a deal but I’m starting to get this sneaking suspicion it’s not the same kind of deal we’re looking for. (Thank goodness the pilots were once again rescued (very creatively) and are safe.)

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I took an off-day from Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday. I am busy today, but let us not let that stop us from our daily selection of links from around the web.

1, Putting the phone down: an Osmo Nano workflow (Wojtek Powiertowski at Behind the Viewfinder. May 10, 2026.)

That camera is adorable.

2. Latvian defence minister resigns after Ukrainian drones hit oil depot (Brussels Signal. May 11, 2026.)

To be fair to the now-former Defense Minister, I am not sure Ukrainian drone strikes would have been anyone’s first contingency in the context of 2026.

3. Experts warn Trump admin any Iran deal must block plutonium path to atomic bomb (Benjamin Weinthal for Fox News. May 9, 2026.)

Doesn’t sound like it should be the first priority, but while you’re in the area dealing with the uranium. With that being said, I would respectfully decline a recent magnanimous request for assistance with the matter.

4. Red Hook’s Alma BK Has one of the Best Views in Brooklyn (TimeOut New York. May 5, 2026.)

I had lunch on the roof at Alma 12-13 years ago. Alma is not in Red Hook. It is in Columbia Street Waterfront District (the view is as advertised). One day they say CSWD is Red Hook, the next Carroll Gardens. No respect for that little neighborhood (which may soon become bigger).

5. Medicaid fraud fears grow amid massive red state billing spike in sector that also plagued Minnesota (Andrew Mark Miller for Fox News. May 9, 2026.)

Many people see autism as a piggy bank. Taxpayers, kids who get fake/wrong diagnoses, and kids (and their parents) who actually need services search in a sea of real-world slop.

6. No spectator parking for NJ World Cup has nearby town’s police dept issuing warning (Angela Barbuti for the New York Post. May 9, 2026.)

No one asks why the New Jersey state government, a state with two NFL teams and 17 NFL home games every year, is trying to manufacture chaos over the World Cup.

7. Mixtape is garbage, Don’t Listen to IGN! (Game Slush Pile. May 9, 2026.)

I had never heard of it but a cursory glance does suggest to me Game Slush Pile may be onto something.

8. AI Slop is Killing Online Communities (Robin Moffatt at rmoff’s random musings for May 6, 2026.)

I’m not a member of any online communities, but this lines up with what I would have assumed. With that being said, if AI slop can sink Reddit to the bottom of the sea, I am willing to reassess my AI slop priors.

9. kicking out human slop from my online space (Ava at Ava’s Space. May 8, 2026.)

I looked at the things she is no longer engaging with and confirmed that I only see them second-hand. Feed-reader centric surfing wins again.

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Replied to It’s Noon in Israel: Schrödinger’s Ayatollah: Is Mojtaba Dead or Alive? by Amit SegalAmit Segal (It's Noon In Israel)
The narrative has essentially frozen there. For the last month and a half, the regime has subsisted entirely on ventriloquism—statements attributed to the new Supreme Leader without a single visual confirmation—while foreign reports have described his condition as ranging between severely mutilated and dead.

I read a cleverly-titled article by Amit Segal titled Schrödinger’s Ayatollah: Is Mojtaba Dead or Alive? The article examines the life status, or lack thereof, of Iran’s purported Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. As I read the article, I found myself thinking about the iconic Japanese visual novel, Umineko: When They Cry. Then I found myself thinking about the best of its many great music tracks, Happiness of Marionette. Then I had Happiness of Marionette playing on loop in my head. I would explain how one thing led to another, but that would involve too many spoilers.

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We have a second consecutive warm day in New York City. We also have a third consecutive day of Pook-Emu Bee links.

1. Seven Myths About the Iran War (Michael Doran for Tablet Magazine. April 13, 2026.)

Good start. Hard to choose just seven.

2. Someone Bought 30 WordPress Plugins and Planted a Backdoor in All of Them. (Austin Ginder for Anchor. April 9, 2026.)

WordPress should send notifications to webmasters whenever an installed plugin from the standard WordPress repository changes hands.

3. Sam Altman’s house targeted in second attack; two suspects arrested (John Owen Lamb for The San Francisco Standard. April 12, 2026.)

Scary stuff and good thing both attacks failed (these sorts of types are often not too competent). Let us hope the perpetrators are dealt with appropriately and quickly to minimize the number of other deranged individuals who may take inspiration.

4. Reflecting on Microsoft Windows Vista in 2026 (Maya Posch for Hackaday. April 9, 2026.)

Say what one will but my Vista experience was fine. I’d take it over whatever is going on with Windows 11 these days.

5. Failing the Fix (2026) (U.S. PIRG Education Fund. April 7, 2026.)

I won’t spoil everything but I will note that having recently operated on a 2006-07 Macbook, I can confirm that Apple’s failing grade is nothing new.

6. You Should Be Using Reddit on Your RSS Reader (David Nield for Lifehacker. April 10, 2026.)

That is an interesting suggestion but I counter with “use an RSS reader and don’t use Reddit at all.”

7. Amazon is ending support for Kindle devices from 2012 and earlier (Brad Linder for Liliputing. April 7, 2026.)

But not all is lost for people with ancient Kindles: “You can still ‘transfer personal documents’ to an unsupported Kindle using a USB cable, although you may need to use a third-party tool like Calibre to convert some eBooks into a format that your Kindle recognizes.” Calibre does handle conversions to MOBI.

8. MLB pitcher Merrill Kelly says California tax rate swayed decision to reject Padres’ free agency offer (Chantz Martin for Fox News. February 28, 2026.)

Today reminds him why he made that call in free agency.

9. A medical journal says the case reports it has published for 25 years are, in fact, fiction (Retraction Watch. March 3, 2026.)

But other than that, the reports were accurate.

(HT to Pixy Misa for links 2 and 3.)

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Quoted The Iran War Has Finally Exposed Japan's Achilles Heel by Alex Kimani (OilPrice.com)
Prior to the conflict, Japan imported over 90% of its crude oil and about 11% of its LNG from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and UAE its top suppliers ... The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and its allies has effectively blocked the route for ~95% of Japan’s Middle Eastern oil...

Access to natural resources has long been a challenge for Japan (see e.g., World War II). According to a report by Alex Kimani for OilPrice.com, prior to the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, Japan was importing 90% of its oil from the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and the UAE its top suppliers). Moreover, approximately 95% of Japan’s oil imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The report notes that Japan is looking to diversify its oil supplies:

Japan is reaching out to suppliers in Central Asia, South America and Canada while negotiations with Venezuela, a former supplier, are currently underway. Following high-level discussions with the U.S., Japan is exploring a joint effort to boost Alaskan oil production. Japan plans to invest in Alaskan oil infrastructure, including investing in loading facilities to facilitate the transport of Alaskan crude, as part of a broader $550 billion bilateral investment program between the two countries. Oil from Alaska takes about 12 days to reach Japan, compared to over 20 days from the Middle East.

Sounds promising.

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I have a few new work assignments today (Sad!) but more than enough time (or just enough time) for our regularly scheduled edition of daily Pook-Emu Bee links.

1. OpenAI calls for robot taxes, a public wealth fund, and a 4-day workweek to tackle AI disruption (Tom Carter for Business Insider. April 6, 2026.)

I came across an article recently suggesting ways the big AI players could modify their PR approaches. I said it was impossible. The people running them have no theory of the mind for normal human beings. See e.g., You do communism while we do capitalism.

2. The Cult Of Vibe Coding Is Insane (Brian Cohen. April 5, 2026.)

The dangers of getting high on your own supply.

3. In bloom: NY and NJ cherry blossoms are objectively the best in the nation (Ryan Kost for The Gothamist. April 4, 2026.)

I can’t speak for the whole nation but NYC does have some good blossoms.

4. So, While You Still Have CSAR in Your Scan (CDR Salamander. April 6, 2026.)

On rescue operations and learning for potential future conflicts.

5. Nieces of Late Iranian Terror Commander Face Deportation (Andrew R. Arthur for CIS. April 6, 2026.)

I’ve worked on some plausible asylum cases that were denied. Meanwhile…

6. City unveils $24M sanitation facility in Gowanus, advances long-delayed CSO tank construction (Kirstyn Brendlen for Brooklyn Paper. April 3, 2026).

Speaking of the Gowanus Canal…

7. Your Dishwasher Filter Is Disgusting: Here’s How to Clean It (Charlie Sorrel for IFIXIT. April 6, 2026.)

I am 100% confident that I do not have a disgusting dishwasher filter. But my secret is proprietary (or betrayed by my careful word choices).

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Quoted FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP by Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) (Truth Social)
WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND! This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue. At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation. This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies. This is a moment that ALL Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!

We welcome Easter with the remarkable news that U.S. Special Operations forces successfully extracted the second airman (a Colonel, according to President Trump) who had been shot down over Iran on Thursday (see report in the New York Post). I was thinking about the ongoing war and search-and-rescue effort when I shared in our newsletter an Easter account from a sailor in World War II.

To quote President Trump (without caps, I can’t do the all caps): “God bless America, God bless our troops, and happy Easter to all!”

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I am workng on a few “work” projects today. But I have enough time for a new set of daily Pook-Emu Bee links. If you enjoy the links, you can follow via feed (although I personally recommend following the main site feed for all of my postings).

Links from around the web

1. Iconic 121-year-old NYC Italian restaurant Ferdinando’s gets new life — but with a twist (Nicole Rosenthal for the New York Post. March 4, 2026.)

Never been. Sounds like good news. But just to be pedantic, I submit my two cents that Fernando’s is in Columbia Street Waterfront District, not Carroll Gardens. It is just around the corner from the American Beauty Pasta mural I once covered on NLJ.

2. The Nine Best Whole-Pie Pizza Spots in Brooklyn Right Now (Scott Lynch for BK Mag. March 2, 2026.)

I don’t really go out to eat and have not been to any of these places. I know of Frank’s (walk by it regularly) but did not know they made pizza. Now I know.

3. The Insider: Boerum Hill Garden Floor Taps English Design (Cara Greenberg for Brownstoner. February 19, 2026.)

I like it on the whole but the lack of ceiling moldings outside the bedroom (especially kitchen, bathroom, and “gym”) bother me.

4. Review: Tales Of Berseria Remastered (Switch) – QoL Tweaks Make A Brilliant Game Even Better (George Yang for Nintendo Life. March 6, 2026.)

I was playing through Bersaria co-op with a friend back in 2019 and early 2020. Something happened in 2020. Didn’t finish Bersaria but did launch NLJ.

5. Yemen’s Houthis could still join war, IDF sources say (Yonah Jeremy Bob for The Jerusalem Post. March 5, 2026.)

The article throws out a few theories for why the Houthis have been oddly quiet in the current Iran War. I (speciously?) suggested the reason was money three days ago. Alternative theory: Perhaps they are being “held back” as leverage against Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

6. Marco Rubio in Europe: No Foreign National Has a Right to a Visa in U.S. (John Binder for Breitbart. February 16, 2026.)

I have worked on several cases in the past that would have gone better had the petitioner/applicant understood (or acted as if he/she understood) this basic principle.

Clicking “Random Article” on NLJ

Powder Blue Tugboat and Foggy Manhattan Skyline (Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 28, 2022.)

Very much an “as advertised” article from my archive.

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Yesterday, I made up for missing an entry in my new daily Pook-Emu Bee links series. Today, I publish the links early in the day (which is when they should be published).

Links from around the web

1. Wildflower explosion only 4 hours from LA — but it won’t last long (Katie Jerkovich for the New York Post. March 3, 2026.)

Be sure to also enjoy the linked PoppyCam.

2. An AI avatar is running to represent Indigenous voters in Colombia (Mariel Lozada and Rina Chandran for Rest of World. March 4, 2026.)

Alternatively, someone is using a chatbot for a look-at-me stunt.

3. Tired of Gmail’s invasive data collection? Try these privacy-focused alternatives (Paul for AlternativeTo. March 4, 2026.)

A good run-down of Gmail alternatives save for where it conflates “privacy” and “security” (not the same to be sure). I am still rolling my Posteo-SimpleLogin combination although I do have two Gmail accounts as well.

4. Russians in Iran can leave via Turkmenistan, Russian embassy says (Reuters. March 2, 2026.)

The Iran-Turkmen border may be the least-discussed Iran border. Perhaps that is why Russia is directing some of its nationals there. I just hope they do not expect good internet in Turkmenistan.

5. Is it really the end of SaaS as we know it? (Patrick Kulp for Tech Brew. March 2, 2026.)

This sounds promising until you see that the proposed alternative is “vibe coding.”

6. Sad News! AI’s RAM Hunger Finds a New Victim in the Orange Pi Neo Linux Handheld (Sourav Rudra for It’s FOSS. March 2, 2026.)

Even the SBCs aren’t safe from Sam Altman’s voracious memory appetite.

Clicking the “Random Article” button on NLJ

Flowers for Brave Soldiers – Memorial Poem (Nicholas A. Ferrell. May 29, 2023.)

I re-published this early 20th century poem for Memorial Day in 2023. A fitting Random Article choice with the War Department’s naming four of the six U.S. soldiers killed in Operation Epic Fury:

The fallen service members were identified as Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa.

“With flags we are marking / Their last earth-dwelling. / Our hearts are bending / In gratitude…”

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I missed posting daily Pook-Emu Bee Links yesterday, but we are back in business on this rainy (in Brooklyn NYC, at least) March 3, 2026.

Links from around the web

1. On veteran rival’s turf, Nepal’s rapper-turned-leader takes a swing at power. (Sahana Bajracharya for Reuters. March 2, 2026.)

Out with the communists and in with the rappers in Nepal? We will find out on March 5, 2026.

2. Houthis express solidarity with Iran but do not launch retaliatory attacks—yet. (Bridget Toomey for FDD. March 1, 2026.)

Money must be tight for the Houthis these days.

3. Russia Struggles to Find a Response to U.S.–Israel Attack on Iran. (Pavel K. Baev for Jamestown. March 2, 2026.)

I believe in Russia’s ability to come up with words.

4. NYC transit crime spiked nearly 20% as subway ejections paused due to extreme cold: NYPD. (Amanda Woods, Craig McCarthy, and David Propper for the New York Post. March 2, 2026.)

“Law abiding New York City residents hardest hit (and stabbed, slashed)” theme continues to develop.

5. An upcoming California law requires operating system providers to enforce basic mandatory age verification (Andy Edser for PC Gamer. February 27, 2026.)

I was planning to try the People’s Republic of California Ubuntu spin, but now I may hold off.

6. Great RSS Feeds That Are Too Noisy to Read Manually (Evan Schwartz. February 25, 2026.)

Feed filters help in some cases, but not with these sorts of aggregate feed streams (Scour, the product he is pitching, is neat, although I haven’t found a specific use-case case for it in my own feed collection).

Clicking “Random Article” on NLJ

Planning and Angel Next Door Season 2 (Nicholas A. Ferrell at The New Leaf Journal. November 5, 2022.)

My third most-read article of 2024 came up when I hit “Random Article.” While this was something of a joke article, the real season 2 of the Angel Next Door anime is coming this year.