Tuesday, 10 November
12:00 EST
Darth Vader and Son / White Heat 25 [Cool Tools]
DARTH VADER AND SON GIVES US A FUNNY PEEK AT VADER’S HYPOTHETICAL DADDY SIDE
Darth Vader and Son
by Jeffrey Brown
Chronicle Books
2012, 64 pages, 6.8 x 6.8 x 0.2 inches
Darth Vader and Son is cute, and perfect for the little Star Wars fan in your life. It playfully posits the question “What if Darth Vader had actually raised Luke?” Author and illustrator Jeffrey Brown turns run-of-the-mill parenting activities into fun moments full of Star Wars references.
This book isn’t so much a story as it is a peek into the hypothetical everyday life of Vader and Luke. Every page of the book tells its own complete story of sorts. Some pages are miniature comics while others are full-page illustrations. Brown does an incredible job of telling his story in these single images. I imagine this book would be great for children just learning to read, similar to how the Owly books help develop a sense of story without the need for lines and lines of text. If you have a child that enjoys books but isn’t yet able to read longer children’s books with more words, Darth Vader and Son is a great compromise. At 64 pages it is long enough to be engaging for an extended period of time, but you can basically jump in and out of the book at any point.
Brown’s art style is colorful and light, reminiscent of childhood crayon drawings. Darth Vader always looks slightly goofy, which goes a long way to establish the tone of the book. The drawings include a number of visual references to the Star Wars films that will delight anyone with the eye to catch them (and there’s something on almost every page, so have fun looking for everything). Possibly the funniest parts are seeing Darth Vader engaged in totally mundane tasks like making breakfast or wrapping Luke’s birthday present. It’s a side to the character we’ve never had the opportunity to see, and Brown plays on the quirkiness perfectly. Overall, Darth Vader and Son is a fun read for adult Star Wars fans who like a good laugh, as well as for children just learning to love these characters. This book is actually the first in a series, so if you like it be sure to check out Vader’s Little Princess, Goodnight Darth Vader, and Darth Vader and Friends. – Alex Strine
WHITE HEAT 25 – A COOKBOOK ABOUT A SLEEP-DEPRIVED, NICOTINE-FUELED MAD MAN IN THE KITCHEN
White Heat 25
by Marco Pierre White (author) and Bob Carlos Clarke
(photographer)
Mitchell Beazley
2015, 192 pages, 9.9 x 12.5 x 0.8 inches
White Heat has long been my White Whale when searching through used bookstores. I’ve wanted this book for going on ten years. The first time I heard the name Marco Pierre White I had been reading a copy of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, wondering if I had what it takes to be a professional chef (I did not). Bourdain mentioned White’s book, saying that it was the first time he’d seen a “real” chef in a cookbook, a sleep-deprived, nicotine-fueled, mad man in the kitchen.
I thought that I’d finally found my copy when there was a re-release a few years back, but that paperback copy is the TV dinner to this 25th anniversary edition’s three-course meal. Can a home cook use any of these recipes? Maybe. The recipes are French. They’re complicated. And the ingredients include things like caviar, lobster, and pig trotter. But, the mistake is to think of this as a straight-up cookbook. You wouldn’t flip through a book on Picasso and expect to learn how to paint. This book is evidence in the argument that food can be art.
While you might not find a recipe for something to cook on a Tuesday night, you will find: Beautiful, gritty, black and white photography that makes you feel like you’re in the kitchen with this lunatic. A chef doing what chefs do, smoke. The word “fuck” on more than one page. A fresh-faced Gordon Ramsey before he started calling people “donkeys.” And a handful of recipes for dishes that allowed White to become the youngest chef to hold three Michelin Stars. White Heat 25 is fitting for any bookshelf, coffee table, or kitchen counter. – JP LeRoux
Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.
Europe Must Rethink Security As Big Tech Power Grows, EU Says [Slashdot]
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The European Union must rethink security to take into account challenges and risks posed by the growing power of major technology companies that go beyond traditional competition concerns, European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera said on Monday. "We need to review and to deepen our concept of security, including cybersecurity," Ribera told reporters in Lisbon, arguing that testing and monitoring devices connected to critical infrastructure was no longer sufficient and that security means also ensuring that the Big Tech companies are "governed by democratic and transparent patterns." "We need to be quite quick in the deployment of these new approaches ... This is one of the most critical topics for security, for democracy, and for (our) values," she said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
10:00 EST
Gas prices dip below $4 but inflation remains stubbornly high [NPR Topics: News]
Gasoline prices fell below $4 a gallon Tuesday for the first time in three months — but the overall cost of living remains stubbornly high.
(Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt)
'Like gods reigning over humans': Many defectors see daughter of North Korea's Kim as heir apparent [NPR Topics: News]
Little is known about her except that she's reportedly about 13 and named Kim Ju Ae, but Korea's spy agency says she's likely her father's heir.
(Image credit: 朝鮮通信社)
Indonesia's VP offers resignation as questions mount over his eligibility [NPR Topics: News]
His resignation offer comes amid a widening political rift between Prabowo and Widodo and a separate investigation into allegations that senior police officials wiretapped the president.
(Image credit: Dita Alangkara)
09:00 EST
The average cost for a new vehicle in the U.S. hits a record high: over $51,000 [NPR Topics: News]
Vehicle transaction prices are up to a new record high, according to the Kelley Blue Book — and some buyers are extending their car loans to finance them.
(Image credit: Brandon Bell)
08:00 EST
Ukraine’s fiber-optic drones get squeezed by AI data center demand [Ars Technica - All content]
Impervious to battlefield jamming, drones physically connected to human operators by miles of fiber-optic cables have become such a common weapon of war in Ukraine that trees and fields are strewn with tangled cables thinner than fishing lines. But importing such fiber-optic material from China has become more costly as drone warfare’s needs compete with global demand from AI data centers for the same limited supply—and so Ukrainian drone makers have been adapting.
Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Ukrainians have been forced out of necessity to continually develop battlefield innovations involving first-person view (FPV) quadcopter drones and other heavier types of drones. But it was the Russian military that first deployed unjammable fiber-optic drones to repel Ukrainian forces’ cross-border incursion into the Kursk Oblast in 2024. The Ukrainians quickly followed suit in developing their own fiber-optic drones, given the drones’ capability to shrug off electronic warfare jamming that could neutralize radio-controlled drones.
Russia and Ukraine have relied on Chinese suppliers for some off-the-shelf drones and a wide array of drone components, including bulk orders of fiber wound around very large spools or sometimes small finished spools ready for installation on drones. The finished spools can hold enough fiber-optic cable for drones to regularly operate at ranges of dozens of miles, and sometimes up to 62 miles (100 kilometers) in extreme cases, as reported by the independent Russian publication The Insider.
Review: Apple's M6 MacBook Pro is good, but it's missing all the exciting stuff [Ars Technica - All content]
I've written more than once about the weird positioning of Apple's entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro, which has always occupied an uncomfortable perch between the MacBook Air and the higher-end MacBook Pros. The best versions of this laptop, like last year's M5 refresh, come with the same basic design and external features of the higher-end MacBook Pros, just with a more modest processor and a lower ceiling for specs like RAM and storage.
The lesser versions stick with older designs or other compromises, reserving Apple's most updated designs and screen technologies for the more expensive high-end models. Recall the 13-inch M1 and M2 MacBook Pros, which stuck with Apple's 2016-era MacBook Pro designs for everything, up to and including the now-abandoned Touch Bar. (If you're someone at Apple maintaining Touch Bar support into the 2030s for the sake of these two laptop models, I'd like to hear from you. Not for a story! I'd just like to know how you are.)
This year's entry-level MacBook Pro mostly falls into that latter category. It does get an Apple M6 chip, and the M6 is great—rumors suggest the M6 won't get Pro, Max, or Ultra configurations, so there are some fringe benefits here that you can't get in the top-tier MacBook Pros. But it uses the same MacBook Pro design Apple has been using since 2021. There's no touchscreen, no OLED panel, no Dynamic Island, no half-pound weight reduction, no glowing Apple logo on the lid.
Why did California's billionaire tax fail to surf the blue wave? [NPR Topics: News]
Two economists debate what California's vote on Prop 40 means for the wealth tax movement.
(Image credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Get in, loser: Broadway's newest 'Mean Girls' are ready to insult (and enlighten) you [NPR Topics: News]
School
Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play during opening night
curtain call for the play's Broadway run this fall. In this final
week of performances, livestreaming is available. Left to right:
Jordan Rice, Nia Otchere-Sarfo, Lucia Aremu, Denee Benton, Heather
Alicia Simms, Erin Morton, Jasmine Amy Rogers and Patina Miller.'
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"School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play," is ending a Broadway run this week and celebrating with livestream broadcasts. We interviewed the Tony-nominated playwright, Jocelyn Bioh.
(Image credit: Bruce Glikas)
Russia and Ukraine hold nearly 4 hours of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi [NPR Topics: News]
Hopes of progress in ending Europe's biggest conflict since World War II are tempered by the absence of any significant breakthroughs in three previous rounds of talks early this year.
(Image credit: Altaf Qadri)
House set to vote to impeach Hegseth. And, SCOTUS allows border wall work to proceed [NPR Topics: News]
The House could vote to impeach Hegseth, but removing him from office will be tough. And, SCOTUS ruled that a federal judge did not have the authority to halt border wall construction.
(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)
Seven days of chaos in the ER: How this country's healthcare system is unraveling [NPR Topics: News]
Renewed fighting has pushed Ethiopia's healthcare system close to collapse: "The whole emergency (room) was flooded with war trauma patients," one surgeon says of a brutal week in September.
(Image credit: AFP)
07:00 EST
Uber Is Launching Its Own Parking Reservation Service [Slashdot]
Uber is launching Uber Parking, integrating technology from its SpotHero acquisition to let users find and reserve parking garages and lots directly through the Uber app. "You can also filter your results based on criteria like whether you want to self-park or use a valet, or other specific amenities," adds Engadget. From the report: To book a spot, you'll need to provide the make and model of your car and a license plate number. Depending on your lot, Uber will then provide a QR code or you'll be able to enter the garage through license plate recognition. If you need to cancel, the company says the majority of parking options can be canceled for free up to the start time. Parking reservations can also be extended through the app. Uber One subscribers get 10 percent back in Uber credits on eligible reservations. When it announced its acquisition, Uber said SpotHero offered garages and lots across more than 400 cities in the US and Canada, but the company isn't offering all of them at launch. For now, Uber says Uber Parking will be available in Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle and Washington DC. The company also plans to experiment with using lots as a staging area for the autonomous vehicle fleets offered byÂUber's self-driving partners.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
06:00 EST
How word of mouth is helping an Amish community's fight against measles [NPR Topics: News]
In Pennsylvania, health officials use a quiet vaccination campaign designed to win the trust of the state's Amish community, which has been hit hard by the measles outbreak.
(Image credit: Daniel Vasta for NPR)
The Democratic Party gained power across the country in the midterms. Now what? [NPR Topics: News]
Voters handed Democrats the keys to power across the country and expect them to drive in a different direction. Party leaders are now trying to figure out which way to go.
(Image credit: Win McNamee)
Is honesty always the best policy? When to speak up — or stay silent [NPR Topics: News]
Should you tell your boss she's got food on her face? Your partner you hate their outfit? Social psychologist Vanessa Bohns shares advice on when to tell someone the truth — or keep your mouth shut.
(Image credit: Abi Inman/NPR)
House Republicans to elect a new leader as they look to rebuild from midterm defeat [NPR Topics: News]
After sweeping losses in the midterm elections, the House GOP will vote on Tuesday to elect a successor to Mike Johnson, who says he's stepping down as the chamber's top Republican.
(Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite)
05:00 EST
One-Minute Daily AI News 11/9/2026 [AI Daily News by Bush Bush]
- Google DeepMind researchers discover algorithmic vulnerabilities in legacy 1024-bit RSA encryption keys, accelerating the transition toward post-quantum cryptography standards.[1]
- The German government commits €50 million to develop artificial intelligence systems that automate open-source intelligence analysis for national defense operations.[2]
- Sophos cybersecurity researchers present a framework at BSides Sydney utilizing compact language models to detect obfuscated malicious capabilities hidden within AI agent plugins.[3]
- Finland’s Left Alliance introduces a legislative policy framework mandating algorithmic impact audits and worker consultation rights prior to workplace AI automation.[4]
[1] AI Agents Directory — AI Agents Directory Daily Brief: November 7, 2026
[2] Militarnyi — Germany to Invest €50 Million in AI-Powered OSINT Intelligence
[3] Sophos — Killing Ill-Willed Skills: Sophos AI at BSides Sydney
[4] Emergent — Finland Left Alliance Launches Fair AI Policy Framework
Morning news brief [NPR Topics: News]
The House could vote this week to impeach Pete Hegseth, Trump's shares mixed messaging on next steps in Iran, the investigation continues into Nvidia CEO's alleged relationship with Chinese spy.
03:00 EST
Boston Dynamics Adds Wheels to Atlas Humanoid [Slashdot]
Boston Dynamics has equipped its Atlas humanoid with wheels, allowing the robot to rapidly roll across flat terrain while still using its articulated legs to navigate obstacles and uneven surfaces. "The 'experiment' combined classical model-based motor control with whole-body reinforcement learning to maintain dynamic stability across unstructured, real-world terrain," reports The Robot Report. From the report: In addition to learning how to move with wheels for feet, Atlas also performs pirouettes and various aggressive actuation maneuvers. This demonstrates that Atlas can smoothly switch between fast rolling on flat terrain and articulated legged motion over obstacles or irregular surfaces. [Andy Wu, controls engineer for Atlas at Boston Dynamics] trained the system in sim. The system learned all of the behaviors in sim and executed them in real life, with surprising accuracy, according to Wu. Wu said converting Atlas' locomotion style was "wonderfully simple." A single custom adapter mounts an off-the-shelf scooter rim onto Atlas' existing ankle actuator, and that's the only new part in the whole build. Because Atlas was designed from the start to be produced at high volume and to be easy to service, Wu said the retrofit was about as involved as swapping a wheel on a bicycle. The software side was just as straightforward, he said. Each wheel is modeled as an "ankle" that can spin continuously, so all Wu had to do was take the baseline robot model and swap the feet out for wheels. The next question that Wu intends to answer is the policy response to failed actuators. This is key to safety and to understanding how the system will respond to a system failure. The primary takeaway for Wu and the controls engineering team at Boston Dynamics is to understand control synergy. The video demonstrates that merging classical motor controls (for baseline stability) with whole-body RL (for reactive adaptation) yields superior real-world agility compared to using either method alone.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.