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Posted by Zach Weinersmith

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/hop

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Of course you don't need AI. You can just crunch the numbers in excel.

Today's News:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/hop

wildeabandon

Classes for the first semester are done, and I'm back in the UK for Christmas. According to my study schedule I'm about 8 hours behind on where I should be at this point, but said schedule also assumes that I don't do any schoolwork between now and my return to Belgium on the 29th of December, so I should be able to get caught up without too much difficulty. I am feeling pretty pleased with myself for a)having made a realistic schedule for the semester, and b)having pretty much stuck to it - sometimes getting a day or so behind, but never more than that, and occasionally actually getting a couple of days ahead. It's also been quite helpful at times when I've definitely felt as though I was getting behind to be able to look at it and say "No, actually I'm on track to get everything done as long as continue to work at the same rate as I have been doing so far."

I didn't manage to get to the conversation table I had planned for last week, because I stayed up too late the night before and then spent the day translating Ugaritic tablets, which meant I had absolutely no brain left by the evening, but I shall try again in a couple of weeks. I did go to the cabaret on Sunday evening, which counts both as 'doing a social thing' (albeit with someone I already know, which is much less stressful), and 'practising my French' (albeit largely receptive rather than productive).

The big food order arrived this morning, and I've just got two more presents left to buy, and one to finish crocheting, so that's my plan for today, and I think I'll then be basically ready for Christmas. Tomorrow I'm heading to York for the day, to see

leonato in "Anything Goes", which should be a lot of fun.

rmc28

Yesterday after work I did a library run (more Rick Riordan!) on the way to pick up a hire car for the weekend. Then drove with Charles over to Northstowe for the Kodiaks Christmas party at the Northstowe Tap and Social. Secret Santa, noodles buffet, attempting to introduce an American to prawn crackers - she didn't like them - and a drag queen bingo.

I left the party a little early to go to the last Warbirds practice of the year and was so glad to be back on the ice again. (Yes, in shock news, 48 hours after having a massive mood crash about having a cold forever, I was well enough to skate hard for 90 minutes. It is a weird signal, but a consistent one.) It was ten days since my last practice, and it's now ten days until my next one (Kodiaks 2 on 30 Dec). I missed it so much. Practice was just the right level of challenging that I'm really pushing myself but not feeling like a hopeless incompetent, it was just what I needed, as was seeing my teammates again.

(Charles made his own way home from Northstowe by bus)

Tonight is the last Kodiaks 1 game of the year, for which I will be herding the volunteers as usual, and rocking my lovely new manager's coat (incredibly warm knee-length hooded puffer coat, personalised with the club logo and my initials). There is apparently a post-game clubbing plan. And tomorrow morning I'm taking Nico climbing. Somewhere in there I'm sleeping, honest.

I have 2.5 more days to work this year, and I am so ready to be done. The giant Ocado order is booked for Tuesday evening. I have a very large pile of borrowed books to read, and the rink public skate schedule in my calendar. The hot yoga place had a special offer, so I also have a 12-day pass to get me through the lack of hockey practices. They are quite strict about turning up sick, and I still have a bit of a cough this morning, so I won't be using it today. But hopefully tomorrow.

andrewducker

9 years ago I bought Bloodborne as one of my first Playstation games.
I was rubbish at it.
I'd play for a bit, get stuck on Father Gascoigne, go play something else, come back two years later, repeat.

Today, having not played Bloodborne for months, I thought I'd give the fight a few goes through, to warm up on the game again. It took me at least ten minutes of wandering about to remember what the buttons did.

And then I beat him first time, without it even feeling that hard.

I made mistakes, I nearly died twice, and I'm not sure I *deserved* the win, but for the first time he felt clumsy, and like he was giving me space to breathe, and I wasn't panicking all the way through the fight.

And now I get to play the other 90% of Bloodborne.

(I'm now trembling quite a lot, as my adrenaline levels drop back to a reasonable level. If you'd like to see what the fight looks like, for someone rather better than me, here's an example).

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3183/

My goal in life is to be personally responsible for at least one sports rule change.

https://xkcd.com/3183/

cosmolinguist

Despite having technically finished work yesterday, I did log on for one meeting today because it looked so incredibly useful, and it was. And it was done at noon so I still had time to help pack and get stuff ready and we got going on time.

We had a pretty smooth journey to Birmingham and a delightful time visiting barakta and Kim and seeing their new house before we got here.

Now we're at D's sister's. Her husband and son arranged to get her a sourdough starter from a from a friend of the kid's.

Of course the first thing they have to do with it is name it.

I joked that it should be called Joe Ryan of course. Or Pablo López. (They are starters for my baseball team, you see.)

So now it's called Pablo.

The kid once called it Pablo Escobar and now its full name is Pablo Escojar.

bruce_schneier_feed

Posted by Bruce Schneier

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/12/friday-squid-blogging-petting-a-squid.html

https://www.schneier.com/?p=71304

Video from Reddit shows what could go wrong when you try to pet a—looks like a Humboldt—squid.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

Blog moderation policy.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/12/friday-squid-blogging-petting-a-squid.html

https://www.schneier.com/?p=71304

kaberett

This afternoon did not go to plan and we did not achieve The Fancy Dinner we'd intended, but we DID make it to Glow Wild and the macaroni cheese was NOT sad cold soup, so I'm calling that a win.

Have a starfish for now, with more to follow <3

a lantern shaped like a starfish, with purple centre and cyan arms

smbc_comics_feed

Posted by Zach Weinersmith

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/splat

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They quietly cruise into a carwash and try to put his body in the trash.

Today's News:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/splat

dinosaur_comics_feed

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4418


archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about

but i'm ONLY saying "normal minutes" only because they're shorter and therefore allow me to MATHEMATICALLY REDUCE my earlier compliment given to you regarding saving minutes of time, and i hope you feel that deeply!! PRECISELY AND DEEPLY

← previous

December 19th, 2025

December 19th, 2025: And that is IT for 2025, everyone!! I'm taking the rest of the year off (AS IS TRADITION) and will be back on January 5th with some BRAND NEW COMICS for you!! Mostly new, anyway. They might have the same pictures??

Thank you as always for being a reader - it means the world to me, and it's what has allowed me to have An Entire Career, so "thankful" doesn't really cover how I feel. You are the best! Yes, you, the person reading this!

See you in 2026 :0

– Ryan

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4418

bruce_schneier_feed

Posted by Bruce Schneier

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/12/ai-advertising-company-hacked.html

https://www.schneier.com/?p=71360

At least some of this is coming to light:

Doublespeed, a startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) that uses a phone farm to manage at least hundreds of AI-generated social media accounts and promote products has been hacked. The hack reveals what products the AI-generated accounts are promoting, often without the required disclosure that these are advertisements, and allowed the hacker to take control of more than 1,000 smartphones that power the company.

The hacker, who asked for anonymity because he feared retaliation from the company, said he reported the vulnerability to Doublespeed on October 31. At the time of writing, the hacker said he still has access to the company’s backend, including the phone farm itself.

Slashdot thread.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/12/ai-advertising-company-hacked.html

https://www.schneier.com/?p=71360

andrewducker

1. Combining over 650 "Greatest Comic Book" lists to find the critical consensus on the 200 Greatest Comics of All Time: (tags:viaLinkMachineGo comics recommendation )
2. Jury trial reforms: How did the court backlog get so bad?: (tags:uk law austerity )
3. Facebook tests £9.99 monthly subscription for sharing more than two links: (tags:facebook business )
4. Heart and Kidney Diseases, plus Type 2 Diabetes, May Be One Illness: (tags:heart disease diabetes )
5. Christian couple who believe homosexuality is 'wrong' blocked from fostering children (case went to the high court): (tags:bigotry adoption LGBT UK religion )
6. 2025 in polls: (tags:uk polls politics )
7. £100 UK contactless card limit to be lifted from March: (tags:uk money Technology )
8. YouTube bans two popular channels that created fake AI movie trailers: (tags:youtube ai trailers fraud )
9. How Dinosaurs Thrived in the Snow: (tags:dinosaurs snow weather cold )

wondermark_feed

Posted by David Malki !

https://wondermark.com/bolted-designer-diary/

https://wondermark.com/?p=18534

My game Bolted! has under 48 hours left on Kickstarter, and I’ve written a “Designer Diary” about some of the game’s development process — parts of which which longtime readers may recognize!

I like sharing this kind of stuff, even though it might spotlight some of my more doofus choices and missteps, because I trust that some people will find the process interesting, and take heart at how a polished outcome can be the result of a long, winding, and setback-filled process.

Does that mean that the final result is definitionally awesome? Well, yes, of course.

This is mainly written for an audience new to the game and new to my work generally. I submitted it to BoardGameGeek for their blog of designer diaries (which will reach an audience that mostly has never heard of me).

I don’t actually know if they’ll publish it, but I wanted to make sure it was published SOMEWHERE, so while I wait to hear back from them, here it is!

Bolted! A Game of Creative Necromancy

When you combine different things, sometimes the result is a chemical reaction. Other times, it’s a surprising creative breakthrough.

I’m the author of the comic strip Wondermark, which is created collage-style out of vintage illustrations. So I’ve long been a champion of “creative re-combination.”

Making comics from collage has both freedoms and limitations. I get to hitch a ride on beautiful artwork from ages past, but I’m also constrained in storytelling (to a degree) by the images I can find.

It means the artwork itself is a creative collaborator. The gestures, expressions, and style of the artwork inform the stories that I tell with them…

[Read more]

https://wondermark.com/bolted-designer-diary/

https://wondermark.com/?p=18534

tim_harford_feed

Posted by Tim Harford

https://timharford.com/2025/12/cautionary-questions-they-fall-behind-and-are-slowly-crushed-board-games-and-economics-with-richard-garfield/

https://timharford.com/?p=9818

Christmas is the time of year to worry about two things: running out of money, and playing board games. To mark the festive season, Tim is joined by creator of Magic: The Gathering, Richard Garfield, for a special Q&A about economics and game design.

How should you go about designing a game? Will Magic ever be made into a movie? Why was there an intentional crash of the Magic stock market? Why do so many people hate monopoly? Plus, Richard has a bone to pick with Tim about a previous episode of Cautionary Questions.

For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, our monthly newsletter and behind-the-scenes conversations with members of the Cautionary Tales production team, consider joining the Cautionary Club.

[Apple] [Spotify] [Stitcher]

https://timharford.com/2025/12/cautionary-questions-they-fall-behind-and-are-slowly-crushed-board-games-and-economics-with-richard-garfield/

https://timharford.com/?p=9818

dotaturls_feed

Posted by Tony Finch

https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~imunro/cs840/ResizableArrays.pdf

https://dotat.at/:/GCM4N.html

2025‑12‑18 - Resizable arrays in optimal time and space.

https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~imunro/cs840/ResizableArrays.pdf

redirect https://dotat.at/:/GCM4N

blurb https://dotat.at/:/GCM4N.html

atom entry https://dotat.at/:/GCM4N.atom

web.archive.org archive.today

https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~imunro/cs840/ResizableArrays.pdf

https://dotat.at/:/GCM4N.html

kaberett

No, internet, I guarantee you that 100% of the time that someone searches for explain pain supercharged, results they do not want are anything you think matches the string "explain paint supercharged". Hope that helps! Have A Nice Day!

(Still not anything like as annoying as fuzzy matching on a[b|d]sorb in GOOGLE SCHOLAR, but nonetheless Quite.)

cosmolinguist

This morning I mused that today is in that liminal space where I cannot yet eat the cheese we bought for Christmas but there are mince pies on the countertop and I could have one for breakfast.

I did have one for breakfast. (With a slice of regular cheese because mince pies are too sweet for me on their own and taste really good with strong cheese.)

D and I are off to family Christmas celebrations tomorrow, so I signed off work this afternoon for the last time until 2026!

In the three previous years I've had a white collar job, I've never taken this long off, I've always worked a little between Christmas and new year. I kinda like it for catching up on stuff when work is quiet and people leave me alone, and long stretches of unstructured time isn't good for my mental health.

But this time, I'm so ready for this. This year has been so long.

(I know myself well enough to expect that I'll be horrified on the 27th of December when I have a whole week ahead of me with nothing to do. But I can worry about that when I get to it.)

I'm a little sad to be missing queer club's Christmas party this evening, but my carefully planned after-work itinerary fell apart almost as soon as I made it, when my friend L texted and asked if I could come over because he and his husband (also my friend) were having a bad mental health time thanks to the DWP (they are both disabled).

I almost literally dropped everything and left the house, because L isn't the kind of person who gets in touch spontaneously, has the energy for social stuff, or can ask for help easily, so for him to do all these things felt like a big deal to me.

It felt kinda weird to leave in what felt like an emergency and arrive only able to offer hugs and silly, distracting conversation. But I'm assured that it did help. And I'm glad I could do it, I like them so much. It was a good use of my social spoons for the evening.

squirmelia

It was dark and drizzly and low tide had already passed when I got to the foreshore, so I made a quick dash along, shining my torch, and just picked up a few bits before heading back, as I didn't fancy climbing over the gate.

There’s another bit of a J Bourne bottle that says 1860 on it, and there’s GL, which was probably G.L. Ashworth, and that has a 3 on it, so maybe that’s from the 1930s?

I am not sure what “kha” is from - probably not the mayor.

“Woo” could be Wood & Son.

(You need a permit to mudlark or search on the Thames foreshore.)

wondermark_feed

Posted by David Malki !

https://wondermark.com/c/tiffeve/

https://wondermark.com/?post_type=webcomic1&p=18528

This comic was created as part of a “Secret Santa” comics exchange on Reddit. These characters are Tiff and Eve, and this strip was written by Fran Sundblad, the author of the comic Tiff & Eve, and rendered in Wondermark style by me.