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Things I Learned In 2026 (naf)

Articles and publications tagged Things I Learned In 2026 (naf) across the Atmosphere.

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The Emu Café SocialOct 1, 2026

Back in the 90s and very early 2000s, most of my video games came from Toys 'R Us. See, for example, my discussion in Nintendo 64 at 30 and My N64 Memories (which includes a photo of my Toys 'R Us-sourced copy of Mario Party) and EGM’s 2001 Sega Neptune April Fools Joke (referencing the...

anecdotesjapan

The Emu Café SocialSep 23, 2026

Higurashi Mahjong

I have played and reviewed many little-known and niche visual novels. But I am also familiar with some of the classics. For example, I am a fan of the much-esteemed Higurashi: When They Cry series, which I was in the process of completing in the early days of The New Leaf Journal. Since completing the...

higurashi when they crylearning (2026)

The Emu Café SocialSep 22, 2026

AP Tests and College Credits

According to Neetu Arnold, writing for City Journal, "37 states require public universities to award credit to students who score a '3' or higher on an AP exam." That note is consistent with the College Board's position. Back in 11th grade way back when, I took four AP exams, all without the benefit of studying...

ap examscollege board

The Emu Café SocialSep 1, 2026

Pokémon is Older than Tamagotchi

I read an August 31, 2026 article in SoraNews24 titled Tamagotchi evolves into a ring for its 30th anniversary, preorders now open. I had a Tamagotchi at some point in the 90s, but I do not think it left a big impression on me. But this headline made me think. Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary...

learningpokémon

The Emu Café SocialSep 1, 2026

Fujinokawa First Kyoto-Born Rikishi to Reach Sekiwake in 198 Years

The 2026 Aki banzuke (September Grand Sumo tournament) were released yesterday. 21-year-old Fujinokawa, one of the smallest wrestlers in the top-division, was expected to make his san'yaku debut after finishing 8-7 at maegashira-1 in July. The more burning question was whether he would make his san'yaku debut at Komosubi or the higher Sekiwake rank. Sekiwake...

fujinokawajapanese history

The Emu Café SocialAug 26, 2026

Learning About Cassette Types

I read an article by Mark Tyson for Tom's Hardware titled Maxell brings back classic 1970s cassette tapes — 1970s ferric formula is custom-made for vintage PC data drives. I have many VCR memories, but I do not have many audio cassette tape memories despite being old enough to remember when they were readily available...

cassette playerscassettes

The Emu Café SocialAug 24, 2026

Burger King Surpasses Wendy’s

Fox Business reported on August 9, 2026, that Burger King surpassed Wendy's as the (distant) second largest burger chain in the United States after McDonald's. According to the report, Wendy's had passed Burger King in 2020 and held the runner-up spot for six years, but their fortunes have reversed: Burger King reclaimed the No. 2...

anecdotesburger king

The Emu Café SocialAug 6, 2026

Learning About Zantigo

I do not recall having heard of Zantigo before reading an August 5, 2026 piece in Atlas Obscura about its small revival. According to the article, Zantigo filled the same niche as Taco Bell but went extinct after its parent company merged with Taco Bell's. By the end of 1988, all Zantigo locations were closed...

fast foodlearning (2026)

The Emu Café SocialAug 3, 2026

2026 Nagoya Basho Unfortunate For Yokozuna

I learned from a Sumo Stats post that the 2026 Nagoya Basho marked the first grand sumo tournament since the July 1991 Nagoya Basho that multiple Yokozuna failed to reach 10 wins. Yokozuna Onosato finished 9-6 and Hoshoryu finished 7-7-1, which was unfortunate for my pre-tournament predictions.

learning (2026)sports statistics

The Emu Café SocialAug 2, 2026

Fixing Failed KOReader OTA Update on PocketBook

I have a PocketBook InkPad Color and PocketBook Color (both first generation). I run KOReader on both. I tried to do an OTA update of KOReader, but it failed in both cases (locked up after hitting update) and trying to launch KOReader would freeze the device. My first idea was to update manually by connecting...

ereaderkoreader

The Emu Café SocialJul 2, 2026

World Cup De-Branding

I have never been a soccer person, so this year's World Cup has not registered much on me beyond seeing an unusual number of foreign national team soccer jerseys on some days (despite the best efforts of the New York City and State governments to pretend that it is taking place in New York and...

brandingfifa

The Emu Café SocialJun 28, 2026

Tatakiage Recruits in Sumo

I watched all the matches in the first three grand sumo tournaments of 2026. Because I am following sumo this year, I looked for a couple of sumo blogs to add to my feed collection. One is Tachiai. On June 27, 2026, author Hochiyama covered the lower divisions (which I have not watched in 2026,...

japanjunited

The Emu Café SocialJun 9, 2026

Great Falls, Montana, and Cascade County

I have never been to Montana. Save for the occasional competitive U.S. Senate race, Montana is also not a common election hotspot. Thus, I never thought much about counties in Montana. I just learned that Great Falls, Montana, is in Cascade County. Do I see what they just did there? I see what they just...

montanapokémon

The Emu Café SocialJun 8, 2026

No Grand Slam Winners in 2026 French Open Men’s R16

I watched a good amount of most of tennis' grand slams from about 2000 through 2013 or so. I was a Roger Federer fan, and for a good chunk of that period, you could always count on Mr. Federer playing late into the Slam (he had a record 23 consecutive Semifinals appearances from Wimbledon 2004...

french openjunited

The Emu Café SocialMay 29, 2026

Disabling AI in WordPress 7.0

This site is (as of the publication of this post) on WordPress 7.0. I became aware that WordPress added some AI features through articles and blog posts instead of the WordPress admin area. The fact that I did not notice on my own is probably a good sign. In any event, Rodrigo Ghedin published a...

ailearning (2026)

The Emu Café SocialMay 26, 2026

Pink Tea With Baking Soda

My friend told me that she was making "Kashmiri chai" tea this morning. She correctly anticipated that I did not know what Kashmiri chai was and sent a link to the recipe she was using. I read the recipe and learned that the tea is pink because of a reaction that occurs between the green...

baking sodagreen tea

The Emu Café SocialMay 25, 2026

Moina Michael and the Remembrance Poppy

Inspired by Col. John McCrae's poem, In Fladers Fields, Georgia resident and professor Moina Michael championed the remembrance poppy following World War I. Sara Freeland, writing for UGA Today, explained: She also launched a national letter-writing campaign encouraging others to adopt the poppy. The American Legion designated the red poppy as its official flower in...

flowerslearning (2026)

The Emu Café SocialMay 21, 2026

Italy-Azerbaijan Trade Partnership

According to Vasif Huseynov writing for The Jamestown Foundation, "Italy is Azerbaijan's largest trading partner." Had you asked, I would have probably guessed Turkey. But I suppose Italy makes sense. The more you know.

azerbaijaninternational trade

The Emu Café SocialMay 14, 2026

Weighing Large Owls

I have never had to weigh an owl before, much less a large owl. But in the event I were ever called upon to weigh a large owl, I learned from MARS Wildlife Rescue, via Owls in Towels (see Owls in Towels re-post) that I should first “burrito” the large owl in a towel and...

animal rescuebirds

The Emu Café SocialMay 8, 2026

Learning About Preserving Strawberry Freshness

I came across a blog post by Chris Glass titled Strawberries were on sale. Having not long ago published an article about once purchasing out-of-season cherries on sale. I had to open. While Mr. Glass’ post came as advertised, I found a tip. After purchasing his for-sale strawberries, he soaked them in one part white...

anecdotesfruit

The Emu Café SocialApr 30, 2026

Banned Trees and Plants in New Jersey

I read an April 18, 2026 report in the New York Post titled After holding its nose for decades, NJ finally bans stinky Bradford pear tree: Under a new law, the Bradford pear tree and 29 other non-native plants that have been leafing chaos on local ecosystems, posing public safety risks, crowding out native plants...

invasive specieslearning (2026)

The Emu Café SocialApr 29, 2026

Learning About Cassette Futurism

I recently read Mike Piggott's blog post A love letter to cassette futurism (HT Dragonfly BSD Digest). I did not recall having seen the term before, but Mr. Piggott's definition of it being "a retr-fusion aesthetic from around 1970-1985 ... that essentially envisions a future through utilitarian, analogue technology" was about what I expected from...

cassette futurismcyberpunk

The Emu Café SocialApr 21, 2026

Development of the Anglerfish Lure

I am a long-time admirer of the anglerfish, one of the ocean's most aesthetic creatures. The University of Kansas news service published a news release about an open access study vt Alex J. Maile and Matthew P. Davis titled The Evolution of Lures in Anglerfishes (Acanthuriformes: Lophioidei): Investigating Nature's Tackle Box. The summary notes that...

anglerfishdeep sea fish

The Emu Café SocialApr 16, 2026

Yellow-Capped Passover Coca Cola

I never paid much attention to the color of caps on bottles of Coca Cola. In fact, I do not think I bought a bottle of Coca Cola in almost two years. But thanks to a 2014 article in Food & Wine, I learned that Coca Cola makes yellow-capped Coke for Passover (HT Dan Lewis...

coca colalearning (2026)