DNA | 1440 (Science and Technology Newsletter)
Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the molecule that encodes the genetic information of all known living things. Tightly packed into the nucleus of nearly all cells, DNA takes the shape of a double hel
DNA
Monopoly Round-Up: The $2 Trillion Collapse of Bitcoin and Terrible Software Companies
AI is going to displace business software because so much of it is terrible quality crap peddled by monopolists. Policy can help. Plus, bitcoin falls, & enforcers may drop the Ticketmaster suit.
Crypto has gone down by $1.7 trillion in market value since its October peak, with the decline accelerating last week
The blockchain is a foundational groundbreaking technology, only known to a niche segment, and hamstrung by a hostile political environment.
When Trump got elected, the story seemed to play out. Bitcoin jumped in value, and the first “crypto President” appointed friendly regulators. Congress passed the GENIUS Act to legalize "stablecoins" a type of financial instrument based on crypto,
Only, it turns out there are no real use cases for crypto except for money laundering and fraud,
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang thinks that replacing all software with AI is dumb, akin to re-inventing the screwdriver rather than just buying one that already exists.
But there are sector-specific ones as well, in every nook and cranny of American business.
Tyler Technologies provides software that manages municipal functions, everything from “permitting, police dispatching, jail booking, property appraising, campground reservations, restaurant inspecting, cannabis licensing and school bus tracking.”
As Keeler notes, all of the software incumbents close their ecosystems to prevent rivals from selling to their customers.
If a new company can come in and interoperate with a dominant platform, it can offer a new feature and help make the software ecosystem better. It doesn’t need to displace the platform;
And that’s where generative AI comes in. Over the past couple of weeks, like a lot of journalist-adjacent political types, I’ve spent time using Anthropic’s new tool for creating computer programs. Generative AI tools, from Google’s Gemini to Anthropic’s Claude Code, are now quite useful. They aren’t super-intelligent, they are fundamentally pattern recognition and copying machines, and they still hallucinate and lie. But unlike crypto, there are important use cases where people can deploy these tools to do things they couldn’t do before.
I know of companies that use generative AI to radically accelerate creating tools for projects, but those projects only need to be 90% correct. That’s not the case with, say, health records, or bank transfers. Those have to be correct every time. And if AI systems are given access to important file systems they can accidentally do great damage. But used carefully, generative AI can foster significant gains.
Finance
Why This Liquid Replaces Concrete 🧪🏗️ - YouTube
not concrete but an improved polyurethane, shapes to fit and can be cut with a saw to match ground level after it was poured and expanded. Two components are mixed, fast expansion and setting, waterproof
Concrete
Grok
How Can Puffins Fly Both in the Air and Underwater? Wild Birds Revealed | All About Birds
Can't read on android, Need to get rid of the Pop up
Birds, Birding
apps![Underground Findings That Will Blow Your Mind ! [34:12]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FAXsq9MHbuOw%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
Underground Findings That Will Blow Your Mind ! [34:12]
Forget about finding a few bucks in an old jacket! Today we're looking at discoveries so massive and bizarre they belong in a movie.. and these are the most ...
Abandoned![Ukrainian ENGINEER Finds GENIUS Way to STEAL All Russian Drones - YouTube [22:02]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FaBqAXMoiO_Q%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
Ukrainian ENGINEER Finds GENIUS Way to STEAL All Russian Drones - YouTube [22:02]
This weapon doesn’t explode, doesn’t fire bullets, and costs less than $20 — yet on Ukraine’s front lines, it’s quietly flipping the drone war on its head. A...
Drone, warfare
Symbols
Wildlife![Watch a Ukrainian Drone DESTROY a Russian Helicopter - YouTube [24:24]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FSy-7jGF235w%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
Watch a Ukrainian Drone DESTROY a Russian Helicopter - YouTube [24:24]
An early morning strike across the Black Sea turns into a chess match of electrons. Ukraine’s “Ghosts/Prymary” unit pushes a swarm of long-range drones towar...
![Ukrainian TEEN Finds GENIUS Way to TAKE OUT Russian Drones - YouTube [18:29]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FA0pt4LkhKRM%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
Ukrainian TEEN Finds GENIUS Way to TAKE OUT Russian Drones - YouTube [18:29]
An 18-year-old from Kyiv has stunned Ukraine’s defense community with a homemade anti-drone shotgun round that’s already saving lives on the front line. As d...
![12 Most Mysterious Finds Scientists Still Can't Explain - YouTube [15:37]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F_89FfTJ6gk4%2Fhqdefault.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
Ancients
9 Firefox settings I always keep disabled
Ditch these default settings.
ReadLater
Anthropic launches Claude Opus 4.6 as AI moves toward 'vibe working'
lon's tech group has interest in AI writing code
People
Laptops
6 signs your computer has been compromised and how to check right now
Is your computer acting strange? Unexpected slowdown, pop-ups, and account activity could be signs of a hidden threat lurking within.
Windows Misbehavior
For Trump, architecture is policy - The Washington Post
archived 5 Feb 2026 12:53:27 UTC
Trump is KAOS
This Phone Stays Charged for Almost a Week by Keeping Your Data Secure - CNET
Plugging up data-leaking apps extends your phone's battery life. Who would have guessed?
Phone
Green Goddess Chickpea Sauté Recipe
3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 (14- to 15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained 1 tablespoon yellow or white miso 1 bunch scallions (6 to 8 scallions), thinly sliced 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced 4 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper ½ to ¾ cup roughly chopped soft fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, parsley, chives or tarragon (or a combination) 1 avocado, pitted and chopped into bite-size pieces 1¼ cups buttermilk (preferably whole-milk)
Recipes
ICE RaidsNude photos and potential victims exposed in Epstein files | AP News
Nude photos. The names and faces of sexual abuse victims. Bank account and Social Security numbers in full view. All of these things appeared in the mountain of documents released publicly by the U.S. Justice Department as part of its effort to comply with a law requiring it to open its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein. A review by The Associated Press and other news organizations has found countless examples of sloppy, inconsistent or nonexistent redactions that have revealed sensitive private information. Lawyers for some of the accusers have called on the Justice Department to temporarily take down the information. The Justice Department says it is taking down all inadvertently disclosed private information it’s been made aware of.
Epstein
'Saturday Night Live UK' Cast Unveiled (EXCLUSIVE)
Tried to get identifying images of each member this is what I got from grok on 2026-02-05: https://grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5_637d2144-0ee7-46d6-844f-4f6079c2838c Perhaps asking at a later date will get more images as very few were supplied and for those that were shown both images were the sane.
TVTour Requests | Senator Andy Kim
Washington DC tours, generally restricted to US citizens and greencard holders. Citizens must/should have a driver's license with a star.
New York attorney general launches federal immigration officer monitor project - ABC News
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office will monitor and document federal immigration enforcement actions across the state.
DHS Promoted Neo-Nazi Anthem After ICE Killed Renee Good
The federal government is openly embracing white nationalist online content — including in a recent recruitment post.
How ICE is using far-right subculture to recruit - YouTube
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been on a hiring spree, but some of its tactics are raising questions about who it’s really trying to recr...