Ten English fire services tackled record number of grass, forest and crop fires in 2025
At least 12,454 grassland, woodland or crop fires were recorded by fire services in England in the three months from March to May 2025 … This is more than four times the 2,621 incidents logged by these services in the same period in 2024 and is the highest spring total for more than a decade.
Oscars to stream on YouTube starting in 2029, leaving ABC
How burr size affects coffee
I searched this, but got back a lot of AI slop, so like to hear what people’s experience is. I was considering upgrading to reduce the morning noise for the household, and learned that big burrs are faster and can be quieter. Maybe that’s true? Going down the rabbit hole, it seems like the burrs can also affect the taste (clarity, body, etc.) in wildly different directions, not necessarily one size fits all. Is there anyone with more than one grinder over time that has noticed one way or the other? I use a Niche now, and had a Commandante 40. I just drink espresso, but what do I know? In this case, nothing!
Someday, someone will invent something that can ‘envelope’ small flat items so they can be shipped more efficiently. Until that day …
Vietnam's 'Sorrow of War' sells out after viral controversy
When “The Sorrow of War” was honoured by Vietnam’s government as one of the 50 greatest works of literature and art since reunification, some conservative figures reacted with fury – suggesting the novel’s unvarnished depictions of the war diminished the victors’ heroism.
Germany accuses Russia of air traffic control cyber-attack
Germany has accused Russia of a cyber-attack on air traffic control and attempted electoral interference, and summoned the Russian ambassador. A foreign ministry spokesman said Russian military intelligence was behind a “cyber-attack against German air traffic control in August 2024”. The spokesman also accused Russia of seeking to influence and destabilise the country’s federal election in February this year.
TIL about Real Tennis, the thousand-year-old precursor to tennis. “If you wanted to design a game that was going to put people off from playing it, you would probably design a real tennis court.”
I was watching The Seven Percent Solution (Nicol Williamson is a swell Sherlock Holmes) wherein Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin) is challenged to a ‘duel’ of tennis. The match takes place in a black, blue, uneven and totally enclosed space. Like tennis, but with incomprensible rules and instant win spots to hit along the court. I looked it up, and it’s called ‘real tennis’. Still played today, and way cooler than tennis. ‘Real’ tennis. Don’t know what to call it anymore. Here’s an archive article from the NYT - https://archive.is/IoXWx [https://archive.is/IoXWx] Here are the rules - https://www.tennisandrackets.com/real-tennis/play [https://www.tennisandrackets.com/real-tennis/play]
TIL: That from 1866 to 1984, Paris had a pneumatic tube postal service!
I was A Coffin for Dimitrious (great book), and found a character saying “send me a pneumatique when you get to Paris.” And in fact, there was a series of pneumatic tubes to speed the mail in Paris for over 100 years. Thought it was cool. Here’s the wiki [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_pneumatic_post] as well.
Seared Tuna with Cumin Butter and a Corn/Tomato salad.
