Raising a baby giraffe

@tanganyikawildlifepark Milani Update #babygiraffe #giraffe #milani #kansas ♬ original sound - TanganyikaWildlifePark

@tanganyikawildlifepark Early on, the lights being off was unsettling for her. Now she’s learning it’s a safe place to rest. 🦒 #babygiraffe #giraffe #kansas ♬ original sound - TanganyikaWildlifePark

@tanganyikawildlifepark “I am super slimy and slobbery and I don’t like it.” #blackandwhite #easteregg #babygiraffe #giraffe ♬ original sound - TanganyikaWildlifePark

@tanganyikawildlifepark Nights. Mornings. Weekends. Meetings. Around-the-clock care for Milani. 💜 Every milestone she’s reached has been possible because of a team that shows up every single day, before the sun comes up, long after it goes down, on weekends, and in between meetings. Caring for Milani isn’t limited to a shift. It’s a 24/7 commitment fueled by dedication, teamwork, and a whole lot of love. note: These videos were taken before Milani had her IV removed. She is still proudly scarf-free and continues to get stronger every day. Thank you for cheering her on through every step of her journey. #babygiraffe #giraffe #kansas ♬ original sound - TanganyikaWildlifePark

@tanganyikawildlifepark We were not emotionally prepared for Milani’s first zoomies 🥹 #giraffe #babygiraffe #zoomies #kansas ♬ original sound - TanganyikaWildlifePark

The Minnesota Lynx embraced quickie Microsoft Paint portraits

For those interested: the @nba_paint-ified Lynx starting lineup pic.twitter.com/RoDhVz9PCw

— Cassidy Hettesheimer (@cassidyhett) August 2, 2026

Drawing walk ins is my favorite part of paint takeovers 🥹 https://t.co/VIPHkITnp8

— nba paint (@nba_paint) August 2, 2026

🥽🥽🥽🥽🥽 pic.twitter.com/K5BF79ALnT

— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 2, 2026

a sneak peek into Liv’s goggles. pic.twitter.com/kUFtq878wt

— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 2, 2026

cooled down the Fever. pic.twitter.com/d5M4bC2TPr

— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 2, 2026

Wonderful mascot for the Women's Pro Baseball League based on a woman who pitched in 1948

Maybelle!!! 🥹 #WPBL pic.twitter.com/itOdCyhpcv

— Katie | GO FLEET ⚓️💚 (@ukulele_katie) August 1, 2026

THEY MADE THE WPBL MASCOT MAYBELLE BLAIR 😭 https://t.co/7dLUjxdTHe pic.twitter.com/whgnfCDChW

— chloe (@puckinghell_) August 2, 2026

More Mascot Maybelle ⚾️ #WPBL pic.twitter.com/G7DkqNdRAP

— Katie | GO FLEET ⚓️💚 (@ukulele_katie) August 2, 2026

Here's a great stretch:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Women’s Pro Baseball League (@wpbl_official)

Today's news and jokes

The wait is over. Meet the #DEFCON34 badge! It’s the creation of hardware superstar Bunnie Huang, and it features his open-source, fully inspectable #baochip. What will you make with yours? www.wired.com/story/defcon... #defcon #badgelife

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— DEF CON (@defcon.bsky.social) July 31, 2026 at 10:04 AM

Some of the AI companies still have a little shame (AI roundup)

UPDATE: After the publication of this piece, Google sent 404 Media a statement saying it was “rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.” www.404media.co/google-earth...

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— 404 Media (@404media.co) July 31, 2026 at 11:21 AM

NEW: after our coverage of this company's little scheme to use printed books to train AI, it calls it a "test of the market" and walked the entire thing back: www.404media.co/ai-company-t...

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— Sam Cole (@samleecole.bsky.social) July 31, 2026 at 7:05 AM

The audiobook for "The King of Attolia" is great all-ages fun

Fun book, well-performed by Steve West. 

Roughly, what if Columbo was playing the Game of Thrones, and had a ninja's skillset* (not even a regular ninja, a ninja seemingly blessed by the god of ninjas). (The third in a series of 7 by Megan Whalen Turner, but the first I've read.) 

Here's the Amazon link, although I enjoyed it in Libby.

*Now that I think about it, we see in the series that Columbo's an adept climber with great dart skills and knowledgeable about arcane poisons

Kate Beaton posted a wonderful comic about a summer job (and The Lord of the Rings)

At her Patreon.


And speaking of The Lord of the Rings (there's more in the thread):

If you’re a Gondorian soldier your experience with hobbits is a tiny guy shows up with a wizard and is immediately taken in the Steward’s counsel. He saves Faramir when the Steward goes mad. A second tiny guy arrives with the Rohirrim and kills the Witch King. The first one then goes on campaign …

— Vituperative Erb (@vituperativeerb.bsky.social) August 1, 2026 at 9:44 AM

…where he slays a troll. A giant eagle then brings two more tiny guys, who as far as you can tell personally defeated the Dark Lord. All four on on nickname-basis with the long-prophesied king who arrived around the same time as the first one

— Vituperative Erb (@vituperativeerb.bsky.social) August 1, 2026 at 9:46 AM

I’m having just done a rereading: (1) he shows up with Gandalf (2) they know he’s from way up North, so he’s like insanely well-traveled (3) the Westron in the Shire has dropped what was essentially a tu/usted distinction so he is speaking to Denethor the way like Prince Imrahil does

— Vituperative Erb (@vituperativeerb.bsky.social) August 1, 2026 at 12:01 PM