Tootfinder

This evening I have been listening to one of @… 's podcasts and thinking about my failure in trying to lead the village's planning working group, and about the cognitive dissonance underlying my Tricycle project. I suspect this essay will be a grim read; it's not well formed in my mind as I sit down to write.

The Smashing Magazine comment form is still broken, so I’m memorializing the comment I _wanted_ to leave about CSS carousels:
https://adrianroselli.com/2025/05/my-request-to-google-on-accessibility.html#Update06 (anchor)
Includes quote fr…

My Request to Google on Accessibility
Hey, Alphabet or Google or Chrome or whomever in that illegal monopoly continues to release things to the web platform that are full of accessibility barriers, I have what I think is a straightforward request. My Request Please, if your team cannot explain how the thing satisfies all WCAG Success…

Day 18: Mark Oshiro
Having just learned that Oshiro is nonbinary, they're an instant include on this list. In veering extremely heavily towards YA, and losing a spot that would have gone to an absolutely legendary mangaka, anime writer, or feminist philosopher, but "Anger is A Gift" and "Each of us a Desert" are just that good, and I'm trying to steer a bit towards towards lesser-known authors I respect.
I already mentioned "Anger is a Gift" above, but to recap, it's a painful, vivid, and beautifully honest story of queer love, loss, and protest against an oppressive system. CW for racist police murder, intergenerational trauma, and police brutality against highschool students. It's a book a lot of Americans could benefit from reading right now, and while it's fiction, it's not fantasy or sci-fi. Besides the themes and politics, the writing is just really solid, with delicate characterization and tight-plotted developments that are beautifully paced.
To me "Each of us a Desert" is maybe even more beautiful, and Oshiro leaps into a magnificent fantasy world that's richly original in its desolation, dark history, lonely characters, and mythical magic. Particularly the clearly-not-just-superscription but ambiguously-important/powerful magical elements of Oshiro's worldbuilding are a rare contrast to the usual magic-is-real-here's-how-it-works fare, and pulling that off a all as they do is a testament to their craft. The prose is wonderful, probably especially so if you speak Spanish, but I enjoyed it immensely despite only knowing a few words here and there. The rich interiority of the characters, their conflicts both with each other and within themselves, and the juxtaposition of all that against origins in cult-like ignorance allows for the delivery of a lot of wisdom and complex truths.
Between these two books, so different and yet each so powerful, Oshiro has demonstrated incredible craft and also a wide range of styles, so I'm definitely excited to read more of their work and to recommend them to others.
I'm also glad to have finally put a nonbinary author on this list; the others I had in mind won't make it at this point because there's too much genre overlap, although I'll include them in my didn't-make-it list at the end. I've now got just 2 slots left and have counted up 14 more authors that absolutely need to be mentioned, so we'll see what happens.
#20AuthorsNoMen

Ankara warns of Black Sea escalation after Russian strike on Turkish ship in Odesa: https://benborges.xyz/2025/12/13/ankara-warns-of-black-sea.html

I had made an appointment with the car repair place, but I needed to cancel it. So I called there, and an AI answered. Transcript from memory.
AI: "How can I help you?"
Me: "I need to cancel my appointment on Thursday."
AI: "Sure, what is your name and the exact date of your appointment?"
Me: "Vrandečić. That's V-R-A—"
AI: "Thank you. Your appointment has been cancelled. Can I help you otherwise?"
Me: "…

I'm really looking forward to seeing this: https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/anchor-me-don-mcglashan-story-2025

Grading NFL QBs on rookie deals: Drake Maye is acing the 2025 season while two others are flunking out

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-qb-grades-rookie-deals-drake-maye-aces-2…

Wow, if you have a friend who is curious about programming, send them this video! Professor Chasins is charismatic and answers some common questions with great analogies and examples. I wish more of my profs were this engaging.
Professor Answers Coding Questions | Tech Support | WIRED - YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?…

I needed to replace* my lovely extra long yoga mat and I’ve been angry for a week that I can only buy longer mats (I’m 178 cm tall, most mats are about 180) that are also wider. My new cute blue mat got delivered today in time for my class and … actually it was great. The extra width means less shuffling between poses for long limbs.
* the top layer unstuck from the bottom layer and stuck to itself instead to create a sort of curly lettuce effect, after years of loyal service!

US needs 'answers' before next meeting with Zelensky, Trump says: https://benborges.xyz/2025/12/11/us-needs-answers-before-next.html