Pluralistic: Michael Swanwick's "The Universe Box" (03 Feb 2026)

Today's links

Michael Swanwick's "The Universe Box": Short stories from a science fiction master at the top of his form.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: DRM lobotomizes “human memory”; Crayola hex values; Tattoo artists copyright customers' bodies.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Stock swindles: A buyback is not just a dividend by another name.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Acme License-Plate Maker; IPV4 delenda est; Mandatory gun-ownership; Sukey; Ross and Carrie x LRH; Criti-hype.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Disenshittification Nation: How Canada can defend itself from Trump, make billions of dollars, and build a new, global, good internet.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Project Blue Sky"; O'Reilly v Graham on inequality; Big Pharma's worst nightmare; Dissipation of rents; Shoelace v Ming vases; "Diviner's Tale": Great Humungous Snow Pile; Trudeau signs Harper's trade deal; On Comity (pts 1 & 2); What's that dingus called?
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Carney isn't a hero (and that's OK): There is nothing harder to stop than an idea whose time has come to pass.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About; AnarchistU; "Monopolized"; All bets are off.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Trump and the unmighty dollar: "Flipping the table over in a poker game rigged in your favor because you resent having to pretend to play the game at all."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: H2G2 v BBC; Anti-capitalist bank rave; Narrative and magic; It's still censorship; Boss politics antitrust; Game library; Gamers 6-65; Google Cache; "Probiotics" aren't; "Starve"; Uptown Funk mashup; Not a crime if we do it with an app; Gibson on Stuxnet; Gates sells Tank Man pic to China; Paul Allen's yacht destroys a reef; Mass surveillance in Anaheim.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The petty (but undeniable) delights of cultivating ungovernability as a habit: Get good at being on hold.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Ventus"; Woody Guthrie v Trump's dad; Tory MP v poppers.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Google's AI pricing plan: From each according to their ability (to pay).
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Disney buys Pixar; Bruces on "vernacular video"; Hickey paralysis; RIP David Hartwell; Personalized pricing; They were warned.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

AI is how bosses wage war on "professions": The only people *required* to tell their bosses to fuck off.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Enshittification v VC; Byrne v DRM; Forger does it for the exposure; Beach trash hotel; Mafia nicknames; Longbow puzzle; NIMBYs; No one should be on the No-Fly list.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Social media without socializing: For Zuck, your friends are a problem to be solved.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Among Others"; Vagina tea-balls; MLK was a socialist; Planet Money's free Gatsby audiobook; Bounty for wiretapping lefty profs; Poe's graveside ritual; Sleep Mafia; Whence came tarps; GM's Dieslgate; NRO's octopus; Amazon solidarity; Billionaire-proofing the internet.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.