Tech

A $16 alarm clock stopped my morning doomscrolling

I grew up using my smartphone as an alarm and watched both my mornings and evenings devolve into doomscrolling. In September 2024 I bought a $16 analog alarm clock and was surprised by how quickly some habits broke. The hardest hurdle was the fear that the clock would fail; once

Tech

Rust Naval Update adds buildable boats and a walk-the-plank option

The Naval Update for Rust introduces buildable seafaring boats and an option that can be used to make other players walk the plank. It also adds the Deep Sea, a hazardous zone reached from the map's ends where rare pirate loot waits. The area is risky, not always

Culture

Blind date: ‘We didn’t kiss but we exchanged Instas’

Alfie had hoped to meet a “silly softie” who enjoys the occasional deep chat, and Sam wanted to be surprised. Both noticed great smiles and lively energy; they were briefly seated at separate tables, which led to a few awkward glances until the manager realised they were on a blind

Culture

Keke Palmer says Spaceballs 2 was 'one of the best times' of her life

The sequel to Mel Brooks’s 1987 spoof Spaceballs is due in 2027, but beyond a cast reveal inspired by The Force Awakens and a humorous announcement video, few details have emerged. Returning are Rick Moranis (his first live-action role in 27 years) as Dark Helmet, Bill Pullman as Lone

Tech

RayNeo Air 3s Pro delivers a 201-inch virtual screen

As a train commuter and regular business traveler, I’ve found XR glasses essential for work and entertainment on the go. High prices put many models out of reach, but RayNeo’s Air 3s Pro offers advanced micro-OLED screens, 20 brightness levels and a 201-inch visual experience for $299. Compared

Culture

Guillermo del Toro developed 'Gothic Western' Count of Monte Cristo with Coppola

Guillermo del Toro says he once developed a screenplay with Francis Ford Coppola for an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, describing it as a Gothic Western. He wrote on X, "I have the screenplay! Which we developed w Francis Coppola in and around 1997-1998,

Culture

‘They’d rarely seen television’: childhood magic in rural Colombia – in pictures

Magic Eyes is a true-life novel about magic, violence and the powers of seeing. Told through the voices of Alicia Vásquez and her family, it is a vivid memoir of love and revenge, survival and responsibility. Interweaving the story are remarkable photographs by Wendy Ewald and the children she taught

Culture

Nioh 3 review: bold open world, superb combat, bloated story

Nioh 3 is a risk-taker that shakes up the series by tossing out straightforward missions in favor of an open-world approach. Exploring hidden corners of Japan yields evocative battles and neat secrets, but the game’s ambition is often held back by a surprising lack of challenge and a deadweight

Culture

Iron Lung Tops 1993 Super Mario Bros. at the Box Office

Mark Fischbach's Iron Lung grossed $24.5 million in its first week, surpassing the domestic run of the 1993 Super Mario Bros., which earned $20.8 million. The film was made on a reported $3 million budget, filmed at Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios, and was written,

Culture

10 Sci‑Fi Books That Are Better Than 'Dune'

Science fiction has long been a battleground of ideas rather than merely a genre of spaceships and spectacle. Dune currently dominates pop culture, in large part because of Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed big‑screen adaptations, but Frank Herbert’s epic is not the be‑all and end‑all of

Science

Habitable Worlds Observatory SIG Seminar, 11 Feb 2026

This seminar will feature an update from the Habitable Worlds Observatory Community Science & Instrument Team (CSIT), presentations on technical capabilities, and time for groups to advertise their HWO-related work and find collaborators. If you would like an advertisement slot please email laura.mayorga@jhuapl.edu to confirm your slot.

Sports

John Terry criticises Arsenal's celebrations after Carabao Cup semi

Kai Havertz scored late at the Emirates to complete a 4-2 aggregate victory and send Arsenal to the Carabao Cup final, where they will face Manchester City. Mikel Arteta described the win as "the best vitamins that we can put in our bodies," praising the joy and energy

Crypto

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Sees $231.6M Inflows After Volatile Week

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), recorded $231.6 million in inflows on Friday after two days of heavy withdrawals that capped a turbulent week for Bitcoin. Farside data show IBIT experienced $548.7 million in total outflows on Wednesday and Thursday. Preliminary Farside figures also

Business

BofA: Small-cap stocks likely to outperform into US midterms

Bank of America says investors should favor Main Street plays as the US midterms approach, arguing a "[F]lip from asset-light to asset-heavy business model suggests major threat to 2020s market leadership of Big Tech/Magnificent 7," analysts led by Michael Hartnett wrote, adding that AI capex means

Culture

Why Law & Order: SVU Isn't New Tonight (February 5, 2026)

No, Law & Order: SVU won't be airing a new episode tonight. Both Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit are going on a brief hiatus to make way for NBC's action-packed programming for the Milano Cortina Winter Games. New episodes of Law

Culture

Insiders say Debmar-Mercury 'never supported' Sherri Shepherd

Sherri Shepherd’s eponymous daytime talk show will not be renewed for a fifth season, and production company Debmar-Mercury announced the series will end after four seasons. Shepherd stepped in to replace the Wendy Williams Show; her first season premiered in 2022 and she booked A-list guests including Oprah Winfrey

Politics

Judge Extends Block on Trump Officials Slashing Funds to Democratic States

A federal judge extended an order blocking the Trump administration from withholding child care and social service funds for five Democratic-led states, averting cuts that the states say were politically motivated and would harm hundreds of thousands of people. Judge Vernon S. Broderick’s decision prevents the administration from restricting

Culture

What levels the main characters reach by the end of Fallout season 2

Amazon's Fallout TV show season 2 has concluded: some loose ends were tied and several setups were left in place for season 3, which will start filming in the summer. The characters' progress was converted into Fallout 3-style levels, using survival-mode XP rules where discovering locations, killing

Politics

Mamdani Faces Costly Challenge to Cut N.Y.C. Class Sizes

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made shrinking class sizes a priority as New York City confronts a state law that requires public school classes to be 25 students or fewer by 2028. To meet the mandate across the nation’s largest school system the city would need to hire more than

Culture

Go Viking is live on Gamefound

Go Viking centers on a simple, tense choice: push your luck or return home. Each turn you lead a raid by rolling Destiny Dice, collecting Loot, and drawing carved Runestones that grant temporary Mythic Powers. When the turn ends the gods fall silent, and fate shifts again. At the start

Culture

3 new to Netflix movies to watch this weekend (Feb 7-Feb 8)

The weekend is almost here, and Netflix is stacked with TV and film choices. To help narrow things down, here are three new arrivals: a remake of an iconic romantic comedy, a classic Rob Reiner film with a standout cast, and a feature-length documentary that should appeal to fans of

World

Cyclone Mitchell intensifies as towns in north-west WA brace for winds, flooding

Cyclone Mitchell, offshore of Port Hedland, was moving south-west towards the coast off Karratha late Saturday morning and is expected to intensify into a severe category three system. Authorities expect it to continue churning south-west and cross the western Pilbara coast late Sunday afternoon, passing just north of Karratha on

Culture

Ultra Beasts were based on rejected Pokémon designs

The Ultra Beasts in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have always looked like they belonged to a different franchise. In the games' fiction they come from another dimension, and in real life illustrator Yusuke Omura — who worked at Game Freak until 2016 — revealed on X that he based

Culture

Isabela Merced to Star in 'House of the Dead' Video Game Adaptation

Isabela Merced, who recently played Hawkgirl in James Gunn's Superman and appears in Peacemaker, is set to lead a film adaptation of The House of the Dead. Merced has shown a range in genre work, from a devastating turn in HBO's The Last of Us to

Culture

Starfleet Academy's Deep Space Nine Homage Returns Series to Paramount+ Top Ten

Starfleet Academy’s episode "Series Acclimation Mil" leans into classic Deep Space Nine elements, earning strong reviews and pushing the series back into Paramount+’s streaming top ten. New episodes premiere weekly every Thursday. The story follows Series Acclimation Mil, or Sam (Kerrice Brooks), the Academy’s only