<p><strong><a href="https://lucumr.pocoo.org/2026/7/4/better-models-worse-tools/">Better Models: Worse Tools</a></strong></p> Armin reports on a weird problem he ran into while hacking on Pi:</p> <blockquote> <p>The short version is that newer Claude models sometimes call Pi’s edit tool with extra, invented fields in the nested <code>edits[]</code> array. And not Haiku or some small model: Opus 4.8. The edit itself is usually correct but the arguments do not match the schema as the model invents made-up keys and Pi thus rejects the tool call and asks to try again.</p> <p>That alone is not too surprising as models emit malformed tool calls sometimes. Particularly small ones. What surprised me is that this is getting worse with newer Anthropic models as both Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 5 show it but none of the older models. In other words, the SOTA models of the family are worse at this specific tool schema than their older siblings.</p> </blockquote> <p>Armin theorizes that this is because more recent Anthropic models have been specifically trained (presumably via Reinforcement Learning) to better use the edit tools that are baked into Claude Code. This has the unfortunate effect that other coding harnesses, such as Pi, may find that their own custom edit tools are more likely to be used incorrectly.</p> <p>Claude's edit tool <a href="https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/text-editor-tool#str-replace">uses search and replace</a>. OpenAI's Codex <a href="https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/tools-apply-patch">uses an apply_patch mechanism instead</a>, and OpenAI have talked in the past about how their models are trained to use that tool effectively.</p> <p>Does this mean third-party coding harnesses like Pi should implement multiple edit tools just so they can use the one with the best performance for the underlying model the user has selected? <p>Tags: <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/armin-ronacher">armin-ronacher</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/ai">ai</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/openai">openai</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/generative-ai">generative-ai</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/llms">llms</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/anthropic">anthropic</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/llm-tool-use">llm-tool-use</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/coding-agents">coding-agents</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/pi">pi</a></p>

Marcel Thee / Nikkei Asia: Indonesia's enforcement of social media restrictions for under-16s has been patchy, with tech companies ignoring the rules and youth still accessing platforms  —  JAKARTA — Andreas Humala, a multimedia lecturer at the London School of Public Relations in Jakarta, recently overheard …

Two hundred and fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a new commercial asks: What if the Founding Fathers had access to Google Workspace?

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information. Trump Accounts, investment accounts for American children under 18, officially launched on July 4. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Trump Accounts officially launched on July 4. The investment accounts are for American children under 18. Michael Dell said he'll deposit $250 in the accounts of the first 25 million children who sign up. The Trump administration wants American parents to open federally-backed investment accounts for their children, and billionaire CEO Michael Dell plans to sweeten the deal. Dell said he and his wife, Susan Dell, will gift $250 to the first 25 million qualifying American children who sign up for Trump Accounts. "This makes every child a shareholder in the greatest prosperity-creating engine the world has ever known — American capitalism," Dell wrote in an X post. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump Accounts app is outfitted with a "full suite" of capabilities. "You can start funding your child's account, exploring financial education modules, and more," Bessent wrote on X. To register, parents must sign in to or create an Internal Revenue Service account. They can then submit Form 4547 to elect their child. The form can be submitted in the Trump Accounts app, when filing taxes, or on the IRS website. 📱 Welcome to Trump Accounts pic.twitter.com/CnFSuhrLEH — Trump Accounts (@TrumpAccounts) May 28, 2026 Trump Accounts, established under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, are tax-deferred investment savings accounts for US children under 18. Families can contribute up to $5,000 each year to the accounts, which will function like a traditional IRA once a child reaches adulthood, the White House says. Parents with a child born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, who have a valid Social Security number, can also opt in to receive a one-time $1,000 desposit from the US Treasury Department into their child's account. The initiative has drawn support from over a dozen philanthropists and companies in addition to the Dell family. BlackRock, Chipotle, MasterCard, Block, Robinhood, and Chime were among those on the list. Trump on Friday urged more American businesses to help fund the accounts. "The Department of Treasury will now accept philanthropic contributions of readily tradable Publicly Traded Stock to help fund TRUMP ACCOUNTS for eligible American children," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "This opens the door for GREAT American Businesses, Philanthropists, and Job Creators to invest directly in the future of our children, and help build a Generation of Savers, Investors, and Owners." Read the original article on Business Insider

Katherine Bindley / Wall Street Journal: How some high-income families use AI-powered private schools and tutors, such as Alpha School, to teach their children life skills and tailor their curriculum  —  People who can afford to send their grade-school kids anywhere are choosing new alternative education

Marta Milans is getting ready to go through IVF for a second time. Courtesy of Marta Milans Marta Milans is an actor currently starring in Peacock's new series, "M.I.A." She gave birth to her first daughter at 42 via IVF. Here, she shares what it's like on her journey to baby number two. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marta Milans. It has been edited for length and clarity. I got married in 2021. I got pregnant naturally shortly after, but sadly, it was an ectopic pregnancy. My doctors found out I had some uterine problems that needed to be addressed. I didn't want to waste more time, so I jumped right into an IVF journey. I went to my native Spain to receive IVF treatments. It was successful, but it was a ride. My baby was born when I was 42 There's a clinic in Valencia called Equipo Juana Crespo. Dr. Crespo is a legend. She clocked the problem, and I had some surgeries to prep myself. I then did a bunch of IVF cycles back-to-back to try to get a healthy embryo. We put in two and hoped one would stick. We had my baby daughter when I was 42. She is now 18 months and is perfect, everything I could hope for. No one prepared me for how lonely the IVF process is, and how hard it is on your body and mind. Everyone reacts differently, but hormones, at least for me, changed what I thought was real. It took me into a darkness, and it was hard for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. At one point, I had vertigo, lack of sleep, lost a lot of weight, and had suicidal thoughts. It changed my personality completely. No matter how amazing your partner is, it's on you to share these things with them. They won't understand what your mind is going through. I called my doctors and said sorry, I don't want to die to become a mother. We have to do IVF again I only had two embryos, and we implanted both. That meant that if I wanted to have another child down the road, it would require more IVF. I lost my grandmother, but before she passed, she told me, "Don't worry, when I get to heaven, I'll send you a baby girl." I decided to have faith that it would work. I now want baby number two, and we have to go through it all over again. I'm more prepared this time. Biology is biology, and our ovarian reserves go down, and our eggs get worse. It's harder to become a mother later in life, but it shouldn't be something we don't talk about. We shouldn't have to suffer in silence and pretend like it's not happening. I want people to know that you can do it all — have a career and have a baby later in life There's so much stigma around fertility later in life. I chose to have my career, and I shouldn't be punished for that later in life just because I want to become a mother. I booked an amazing job on Peacock's "M.I.A.," but I was three and a half months postpartum when we started filming. I had also just evacuated our home in Malibu from the fires. I had to fly back to LA to test for the job, then move my family to Miami, and began shooting two weeks after we moved. I was pumping in my trailer and putting milk in the fridge for my 4-month-old baby. Call times were 4:45 a.m. My daughter was waking up once or twice a night. I navigated that with my husband. I'm glad I have my support system of women, friends, my mother, and my grandmother in heaven. I've been very lucky, because I could not have done this alone. I think once you become a mother, you realize you can do anything. I've birthed a human. I am unstoppable. Read the original article on Business Insider

The author said she didn't take piano lessons as a child, but is enjoying learning alongside her own children now. Courtesy of Saba Khonsari. I didn't take piano lessons as a kid, but wanted my kids to learn an instrument. My oldest fell in love with the piano, and soon after, I started taking lessons, too. My grandmother is a pianist. As often happens, the pendulum swung the other way with my mom, who neither had an interest in taking piano lessons nor in making her kids do so. I vowed to throw the pendulum back the other way with my kids, enrolling them in piano lessons even though they showed no interest. As fate would have it, my eldest fell in love with the instrument. Soon after, I signed up for lessons, too. This fall I'll begin my 10th semester as an adult piano student at our local university's music education program. Over the years, I've learned to read notes and play chords. I performed an arrangement of Billy Joel's, "Piano Man," and Burgmüller's "L'Harmonie des Anges," for my recitals. The more I advance, the more I realize I am years away from the confident sight-reading necessary to fulfill my original vision of being able to plop down at the piano and play any pop song or carol in front of me. But that doesn't matter to me so much Sure, there are many reasons I could quit, but I find there are many more to continue. In total, I spent about $6,000 on piano lessons for our family last year, and about $2,400 of that was for me. The investment was worth every penny. Music is great for my brain Many parents know and understand the advantages of having our children learn how to play an instrument. No matter what our age, adults can benefit, too. A 2025 study found "playing an instrument was associated with a 35% reduced dementia risk." I saw the value firsthand when I attended 'Your Brain on Beethoven,' a public concert put on by the Music-in-Medicine Initiative. While the musicians performed the "Archduke Trio," a "Brain-Computer Interface and EEG brain dynamic data visualization" provided real-time feedback on how the music affected the pianist as a performer and the audience as listeners. Even without a Ph.D. in neuroscience, I can feel the positive impact of music each time I play. Oftentimes, my lessons feel like a literal mental workout. The concentration required to learn is meditative As a parent of two, time is difficult to come by, so getting myself to sit down at the piano is the hardest part. That resistance quickly dissipates as soon as my fingers strike the keys, when the concentration required to play each note is so all-encompassing I can only focus on the task at hand. Stepping away from a lesson, I often feel relaxed. My stress seems to melt away during the 45 dedicated minutes when I do not check my phone or email, or think about what I should do next. I get the same boost when I practice, as long as I take a minute to silence my phone. Courage begets more courage Learning something new is daunting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the more I tried and failed, the more courage I had to do it again. Successes are delightful, but making it through failures while sitting at the piano bench is truly thrilling. I might not free solo a mountain, but surviving my heart threatening to beat outside my chest while performing a piano recital is a wonderful reminder of aliveness, without any physical risk. At my last recital, my hands shook so visibly that it was noticeable from the back row. I played through the adrenaline, managing to hit the notes and extract some musicality despite my strong physical reaction. I gathered with the other adult students after our performance, and we congratulated each other. We all pointed out what went well. Instead of dwelling on mistakes, I took the compliments. Learning as an adult is not about being the best. It's about being the best version of yourself. It's a lesson I both learn and can pass along to my kids. Read the original article on Business Insider

As part of an ongoing legal dispute with three Hollywood studios, Midjourney is seeking to compel those studios to reveal how they use AI themselves.

The author uses Claude to navigate Spain. Courtesy of the author Moving abroad made AI a practical tool for navigating daily life. My children have watched me use AI to solve problems and answer questions. The experience has shaped how I think about raising kids in the AI era. I was writing the week's menu on the Miele fridge in our Spanish apartment when I noticed the freezer temperature indicator flashing two dotted lines. I had no idea what it meant. So I pulled out my phone, opened Claude, described what I was seeing, and within seconds, I was troubleshooting it. My 7-year-old watched me go from clueless to unstuck in under a minute. Nine months ago, I moved my family of four from Connecticut to Las Rozas de Madrid. We're all learning Spanish one day at a time. I knew there would be a lot of figuring things out on the fly. But operating daily life in a new language and culture is humbling in ways you can't fully anticipate until you're in it. So I've turned to AI when life throws something at me that I don't yet have the language or knowledge to handle. I use Claude all the time In just the last few weeks, I've used Claude to chat with a doctor via our insurance app when my son came home from school with a hematoma. And then to translate bloodwork results and research the right supplements to order. And again, to understand an audit letter from Agencia Tributaria (Spain's tax authority) about a package our neighbor had sent us months earlier. What I didn't anticipate was that my kids would be watching. Not passively, but quietly absorbing. My 7-year-old experiences Claude as a sort of magic answer machine. On the bus to school, when he wants to learn everything there is to know about diamonds, I open it up, and we go deep together. He asks questions, I read him answers, and they spark more questions. He has no idea what the technology is. He just knows he can get answers to all the things he's wondering about. I love that my not knowing doesn't mean he hits a dead end. I learn alongside him. My 10-year-old knows exactly what Claude is. He's been watching me use it for months — and recently, we used it together for the first time on something important to him. He wants to write a fantasy novel — he has the whole thing mapped out in his head. But he's a perfectionist, and the gap between big idea and completed 30,000-word book felt impossible to him. He could visualize it, but he couldn't see the steps — and was paralyzed by it. So I told him Claude could help. The author's 10-year-old used Claude to help him with his book. Courtesy of the author We sat down together, and he watched me write a detailed prompt. From that, Claude built a road map — and I watched my son go from stuck to gleeful as he read it. Every phase and milestone was broken down into small steps he could take to turn his dream into reality. For the first time, this thing he wanted so badly to do actually felt doable. I asked Claude to build him a printable workbook to work through character development, plot, setting, and scenes. With a goal of 250 words a day, he can have the first draft done in four months. While he nodded along to many of Claude's suggestions, he pushed back on others. He disagreed with the editing process. He had a better way. It might take longer, he said, but it would make the final product better. My kids also use Claude In that moment, I was so proud. He didn't blindly accept what came out of the tool. He thought critically, took what made sense to him, and discarded what didn't. The road map didn't write his novel. It just cleared the way so he could. Without it, a dream that might have been abandoned entirely became something he could start today. As a mom, I've thought about whether any of this is good for them. Whether I'm modeling curiosity and resilience, or just handing them an easy button to outsource the hard parts. Then I think about my older son on that bus. He didn't hand his thinking over. He used a tool to get out of his own way so he could start the thing — and then trusted himself to take it from there. And I think about my youngest, who's so full of questions all the time. The answers Claude gives don't dim his thinking; they just intensify it. Here's what I think they're absorbing: that not knowing doesn't have to be a dead end. Sometimes you just need to know the right question to ask. We're all still learning Spanish — figuring out this new life in Spain. Most of the time, I still don't know what I'm doing. But I open Claude, ask a question, and keep moving forward. My kids are learning to do the same. And honestly, I think that's one of the best things I can teach them. That everything really is figureoutable. Read the original article on Business Insider

Financial Times: A look at the troubled rollout of the EU's automated biometric entry/exit border system, as airport operators warn of severe delays ahead of the summer holidays  —  Automated system first mooted in 2008 was meant to keep out criminals — instead, it is delaying travellers

It’s a pretty good movie, but it needed to be a great movie to thrive in an oversaturated superhero market.

Indianapolis, Kansas City, Des Moines. Getty Images Realtor.com ranked the 11 states where you can avoid spending more than 30% of your income on housing. The 30% rule is used as a benchmark to help households avoid becoming "house poor." The states are mostly located in the US's interior, including Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana. Most of us have heard the golden rule of housing: Don't spend more than 30% of your income on housing. Known as the 30% rule, it's a benchmark financial experts often cite to help households avoid becoming "house poor" — meaning you have little savings left after paying monthly housing costs. Unfortunately, for many Americans, that standard works better in theory than in practice. Realtor.com data shows that in most states, households earning the median income cannot comfortably afford a median-priced home without stretching their budgets too thin. It's a reality shaped by the same persistent strains on housing affordability: high mortgage rates, high home prices, and economic headwinds such as inflation, which continue to drive up the cost of everyday necessities like food and gas. The good news is that Realtor.com has identified 11 states where homebuyers can still afford homes without overburdening themselves financially. The majority are located in the Midwest, and surprisingly, not a single state in the South — a region often associated with lower living costs — made the cut. "Midwestern states tend to have stronger labor markets, which keep incomes high relative to home values," said Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com. They also "have less of a lower tail of household incomes than the Southern states, so more Midwesterners end up able to afford homes." Here are the 11 states where a household earning the median income can afford a typical home without spending more than 30% of its income, according to Realtor.com. 11. Minnesota Sean Pavone/Getty Images Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 29.9% Median household income: $88,572 Median home-list price: $388,212 10. Maryland Sean Pavone/Getty Images Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 29.8% Median household income: $99,340 Median home-list price: $434,302 9. Missouri Mihai_Andritoiu/Shutterstock Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 29.5% Median household income: $69,725 Median home-list price: $301,158 8. West Virginia Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 29.4% Median household income: $60,185 Median home-list price: $259,523 7. Pennsylvania RudyBalasko/Getty Images Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 28.5% Median household income: $74,855 Median home-list price: $312,487 6. Michigan Detroit. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 28.3% Median household income: $70,131 Median home-list price: $290,329 5. Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana. FilmRAW/Shutterstock Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 28.3% Median household income: $71,469 Median home-list price: $295,810 4. Kansas Topeka, Kansas. Mihai_Andritoiu/Shutterstock Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 27% Median household income: $74,030 Median home-list price: $292,632 3. Ohio Cincinnati. Rudy Balasko/Shutterstock Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 27% Median household income: $70,196 Median home-list price: $277,348 2. Illinois Chicago JaySi/Getty Images/iStockphoto Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 26% Median household income: $80,648 Median home-list price: $307,674 1. Iowa Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock Share of median income needed to afford a median-priced home: 25.4% Median household income: $75,991 Median home-list price: $282,886 Read the original article on Business Insider

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Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift got married at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartRadio Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were married at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday. The AFL-CIO congratulated the couple, both of whom are union members. The couple donated $26 million to charities ahead of the ceremony. It's a union love story, baby. Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift officially tied the knot in an exclusive wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday. Fans from across the globe rushed to congratulate the couple on their high-profile nuptials, including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. The AFL-CIO is the largest federation of unions in the country. Swift is a member of the American Federation of Musicians and SAG-AFTRA, while Kelce is a member of the NFL Players Association. "It's better in a union," the AFL-CIO wrote on X. "Congrats to @The_AFM and @sagaftra member @taylorswift13 and @NFLPA member @tkelce on their marriage!" In a separate X post, the AFL-CIO said Madison Square Garden "is a completely union venue." Swift has shown support for unions in the past, including in 2023 during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike. While major studios and streamers resisted meeting union demands, Swift worked with SAG-AFTRA to secure an interim agreement for her concert film, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour." She's not exactly a stalwart, however. In July of that same year, Unite Here Local 11, which represents 32,000 hospitality workers, urged Swift to cancel her Los Angeles-based concerts in support of their labor strike. She did not. The high-profile nuptials drew hundreds of celebrities to New York City amid a sweltering heat wave. Paparazzi spotted Jason Sudeikis, Hugh Grant, Benson Boone, Ethan Hawke, Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Alba, and more entering the venue. Adam Sandler, a friend of the couple, officiated the wedding, the AP reported. Austin Swift served as his sister's Man of Honor, and Jason Kelce served as his brother's Best Man. While saying "I do," the couple donned outfits designed by Christian Dior's creative director, Jonathan Anderson, and jewelry from Cartier. While many of the event's details were kept secret, TMZ reported that more than 1,000 guests were expected to attend, and that the couple paid millions of dollars to rent Madison Square Garden for several days. A City Hall spokesperson told CBS News that a permit was filed to close the streets surrounding the venue from July 2 to July 4. The couple, who got engaged in August 2025 after two years of dating, donated $26 million to 20 local and national charities ahead of the ceremony. Swift's publicist said the donations were tied to places that have shaped their lives, including Rhode Island and New York City. One of the recipients, Harvesters — The Community Food Network, said Swift and Kelce donated $1 million to its food bank in an Instagram post. "We'd like to send a heartfelt thank you to @taylorswift and @killatrav for their very generous donation to our food bank just prior to their big wedding day," the nonprofit said. "The two of them have incredibly big hearts and have shown up to support not only us but many charities over the years." Read the original article on Business Insider

Nilesh Christopher / Los Angeles Times: How ByteDance is making Hollywood inroads with its Seedance video generator, thanks to low pricing, striking realism, and features like timeline-based prompting  —  - 8 min Click here to listen to this article … - A viral AI video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise sparked industry outrage …

Still a long way to go, but the future is promising The post Setting Up Your Own Large Language Model appeared first on Towards Data Science.

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Marnix Hoekstra and Bart Bouwhuis, the co-creative directors of yacht design studio Vripack, design vessels for some of the world's wealthiest clientele. Courtesy of Vripack Vripack's co-creative directors, Marnix Hoekstra and Bart Bouwhuis, design luxury superyachts. Over their decades in the business, clients' priorities have shifted. From office spaces to gyms, these are what superyacht clients are requesting. A custom superyacht is among the most expensive assets anyone can own, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and taking years to build. So when it comes to its design, every square meter matters. For Bart Bouwhuis and Marnix Hoekstra, that often has less to do with the sleek profile or signature silhouettes one can see from a marina, and more to do with everyday practicalities. The pair are the co-creative directors of Vripack, a naval architecture and interiors firm that has designed superyachts for billionaires and members of the Saudi royal family. "Ultimately, the object needs to fulfill the requirements of the day, the evening, and the night," Bouwhuis told Business Insider. "It's a puzzle." Solving that puzzle means understanding how a particular client spends their day on the water. "The outside you could consider more or less a dress: you can dress up any layout with a modern dress or a classic dress," Bouwhuis said. Should the yacht prioritize an outdoor cinema or a sprawling beach club? How much space should be devoted to the crew without compromising guest areas? Other decisions, from stabilizers that reduce seasickness to insulation that dampens engine noise, are less visible, though equally important to a client's experience on board. While no two superyachts designed by Bouwhuis and Hoekstra are the same, they have noticed changing priorities — or new ways to address age-old ones — in recent years. No days off Health and fitness have become vital to the longevity-obsessed superrich, including Vripack's clients. While they used to be OK with a hotel-style gym — no windows, some free weights — "those days are gone," Hoekstra told Business Insider. The gym on the Al Waab, a 55-meter superyacht, was designed purposefully, unlike those of previous eras. Courtesy of Vripack Clients have requested Bikram-style hot yoga studios, kickboxing areas, and even a hyperbaric chamber for oxygen therapy, which antiaging gurus swear by. "You don't walk a lot on a boat," Hoekstra said. "A treadmill or bike, both of them are very nice pieces of equipment to keep your muscles going." Constructing a gym on a ship comes with challenges, be it finding a room with a high enough ceiling to accommodate large machines or properly enclosing and climate-controlling the space. WFY: Work from yacht The pandemic popularized the phrase "WFH," short for work from home. For the very wealthy, there's also WFY. "Life is blurring between private and business and between being on the boat and off the boat," Hoekstra said. Increased workplace flexibility has prompted clients to view their yachts as more than just places to unwind. Plus, as superyacht owners become younger — and less likely to be the stereotypical retiree — they are more likely to be working. Vripack's Project Milky Ways features two office spaces, for the owner and one for their spouse. Courtesy of Vripack There's also been a shift in what technology can support. Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet company, for example, has made Zoom calls at sea more common. Comfort at sea "Since the beginning of mankind, we want to be out at the sea, and we don't want to move," Hoekstra said. "It's a little bit of a paradox." Superyachts have long had stabilizers to prevent seasickness, and that technology has improved in recent years. On the design side, computers have become more capable of modeling the motion of various points on the boat. For Bouwhuis and Hoekstra, that means designing for specific sea states — a yacht that will only sail in the Mediterranean, for example, requires specific stabilizing systems. The designers also have to think about where to place the master cabin and bed to minimize seasickness. Consider the lobster('s habitat) One of Vripack's most famous works is Project Zero, an all-electric superyacht powered entirely by renewable energy that is set to launch later this year. While that yacht has a unique sense of purpose, other clients have been interested in adopting some of its advancements. Project Zero, which launches later this year, will be the first all-electric superyacht. Courtesy of Vripack Hoekstra said the project shifted clients' thinking from avoiding anything related to environmentalism to pursuing the "low-hanging fruit," such as skipping excessive engines. "Can I get a bigger engine?' That's just so 80s," Hoekstra said. "Why would you pick a heavy four-by-four Jeep to drive to a meeting in Manhattan?" They've been more intentional about equipping yachts with better insulation and heat reflective paint to reduce the need for energy-sucking air conditioning. Actual AC systems have been made more energy-efficient, for example, by turning off when someone leaves the room. Teak, once a popular decking material, has been phased out due to the deforestation it causes. With alternatives available, "it doesn't really make sense not to do it," Hoekstra said. Read the original article on Business Insider

Barclays predates the US by 86 years. Oli Scarff/Getty Images The US is celebrating a big birthday this year: the semiquincentennial. In other words, America is turning 250. While that might seem like a long time, there are plenty of things still in use that predate the US. Happy birthday, America! This July Fourth, the USA is commemorating the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the day when the US formally broke away from England in 1776. A lot has happened in the last two centuries: inventions, wars, pandemics, space travel, to name a few. But there are plenty of things still around today that predate the United States of America. If you got in a time machine and went back to 1776, all of these things, in some shape or form, would be waiting for you, like a cold glass of Stella, a hot mug of Twinings, and the latest edition of The Hartford Courant. Here are 10 things that are older than the USA. The Methuselah tree Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree in California White Mountains Inyo National Forest hlsnow/Getty Images/iStockphoto Methuselah, named for the Biblical figure who was said to have lived to be 969 years old, is a Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing in California's White Mountains. According to the National Park Service, the tree is 4,765 years old. Technically, Methusaleh is in a "secret location" to protect it, though if you know where to look on the internet, you may be able to figure out where that is. Taos Pueblo MAY 15, 2019: A tourist walks past the multi-story adobe residential complex at Taos Pueblo in Taos, New Mexico. The pueblo has been home to Native-Americans for more than one thousand years. Robert Alexander/Getty Images Taos Pueblo is "one of the oldest living and continuously inhabited communities in the United States," according to its tourism website. It is the home of a group of Tiwa-speaking Pueblo people, who have been in the area since 900 AD, and the main adobe structures there today were built between 1000 and 1450. You can visit Taos Pueblo, but not all areas are accessible to visitors, and you are asked to follow a set of rules to help protect the community's culture and traditions. The Hartford Courant The Hartford Courant building on Broad Street on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, in Hartford Jim Michaud/Connecticut Post/Getty Images The Hartford Courant's origins can be traced back to 1764, when it was a weekly paper called the Connecticut Courant. The paper advertises itself as "America's oldest continuously published newspaper," according to the University of Connecticut. During the colonial period, it kept readers informed about major events, such as the Stamp Act, becoming "the most widely circulated newspaper in the colonies," according to ConnecticutHistory.org. In July 1776, the newspaper published the Declaration of Independence in full. Barclays bank The signage of a branch of Barclays bank in central London on February 15, 2011 in London, England. Oli Scarff/Getty Images Barclays was founded in London in 1690 by two bankers, John Freame and Thomas Gould, though the bank didn't adopt the Barclays name until 1736, when Freame's son-in-law became a partner. His name? James Barclay. Now, Barclays is one of the 20 largest banks in the world and the second-largest British bank, behind only HSBC, according to a 2026 S&P Global Market Intelligence report. Oxford University General view of the All Souls College Library at Oxford University on November 14, 2025 in Oxford, United Kingdom. AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images In addition to being older than the United States of America, Oxford calls itself the "oldest university in the English-speaking world." According to its website, there was some form of teaching at Oxford as far back as 1096. After the University of Paris banned English pupils in 1167, Oxford grew quickly. Before the turn of the 17th century, it is believed that there were around 3,200 undergraduates at the university. Today, there are more than 12,000. Harvard University Harvard got its start in the 1600s. Bloomberg/Getty Images In the US, Harvard University also got its start before the United States of America. Then known simply as "the colledge," it was founded in Massachusetts in 1636 and moved to its current location (in what was soon to be named Cambridge) the following year, according to the university's timeline. Its first graduates — all nine of them — completed their studies in 1642. More than a century later, eight of its alumni would sign the Declaration of Independence. Stella Artois General view of Stella Artois during 2015 New York Taste Presented by Citi hosted by New York Magazine at The Waterfront Building on November 10, 2015 in New York City. Brian Ach/Getty Images for New York Magazine Stella Artois, the Belgian beer popular in the US and around the world, was founded in Leuven, Belgium, in 1366 — yes, Stella is 660 years old. It gets its name from the Latin word for "star," as the brewery originally developed it as a Christmas gift for locals. Centuries later, it was officially introduced to the US market in 1999, during owner Interbrew's global expansion. The pressure cooker Instant Pot pressure cooker on the counter of a domestic kitchen, Lafayette, California, February 27, 2024. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Of course, the modern pressure cooker today is a bit different than the one invented by French physicist Denis Papin in 1679, but an Instant Pot owes its basic design to Papin's "steam digester." Both rely on the same principle of trapping steam and raising pressure inside the cooker to achieve a higher boiling point, cooking food faster. A domestic version was popularized in the US in 1939, after Presto introduced its model at the New York World's Fair. The Greenland shark Bjarnarhoefn. a local museum dealing with the iconic local speciality Hakarl. fermented meat of the greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus). a protected species and the life on Snaefellsnes. Europe. northern Europe. Iceland. March. Martin Zwick/REDA/Universal Images Group/Getty Images The Greenland shark is estimated to live at least 250 years, and could live for as long as 500 years, per NOAA. This suggests there are some Greenland sharks in the depths of the North Atlantic that may be older than the US. It has a reputation as the longest-lived vertebrate and can measure up to 23 feet long, although most don't exceed 13 feet, according to Britannica. Twinings tea A variety of individual teabags in the the Twinings tea shop at 216 The Strand on January 19, 2012 in London, England. Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images Twinings has been serving the tea-lovers of London (and later, the world) since Thomas Twining opened Tom's Coffee House in 1706. Tea's popularity continued to skyrocket in the Western world after that, as did Twinings. In fact, when the Boston Tea Party happened in 1773, a local writer noted that "it was not Twinings tea the Boston rebels tossed into the sea." Read the original article on Business Insider

Jason Hiner / The Deep View: Q&A with Doug Brooks, senior product manager of Apple silicon, about Mac minis becoming preferred AI agent machines, future of on-device AI, and more  —  W  —  alk into any of the frontier AI labs, and you'll find wall-to-wall Macs.  —  Decisions Apple made years ago …