Pyramid of the Capitalist System (1911)
The working class undergirds everything in this cartoon of capitalist society.
From The Public Domain Review
Discover
Wander the web like a shoreline.
Something new washes up every time: pages from all kinds of people, made with all kinds of tools. Beachcomb shows you what it found, then gets out of the way.
Pick a few topics
TidyTuesday 2026/43
This week’s data joins starting salaries for 285 college majors with the AI Occupational Exposure index of Felten, Raj and Seamans. The index scores how much the abilities an occupation needs overlap with what AI can do. Each major gets the average score of the occupations its graduates tend to…
From Kagi Small Web
Is Car Brand Loyalty Still a Thing?
We used to know what our favourite car brands stood for. But when familiar showrooms stop offering the cars we love, what gives us a reason to stay? I examine the research, the changing industry and my own disappointment as a long-time Honda fan.
Something different
Family candy, niche switch
This story wouldn’t normally fit my range of interest but it mentions two of my favorite topics. Niche switches and the exceptional survival of family-run companies. John Carpenter, producer of many horror movies, recognized that movies are no longer mass media. Instead of trying to produce another…
From Kagi Small Web
Global Smartphone Shipments Down 20% in 3Q26, regressing to 2013 level
Samsung and Apple capture 50% Global smartphone shipments fell 20% year-on-year (YoY) to 254.7 million units in 3Q26, according to Omdia, marking the lowest third-quarter shipment volume since 2013. Rising smartphone prices continued to weigh on consumer demand, particularly in emerging markets.…
Something different
Samuel East writes about getting laid off from Plex, only 60 days in
I've just been laid off from Plex, roughly 60 days after starting, having already been made redundant from 3SS earlier this year. Some honest thoughts on AI-driven workflows, hire fast fire fast, and how we're treating the people who build the software.
From Waxy.org links
Sick of AI ads, a roofer hand-drew his own and was accused of being AI
How Anton from Southland Roof Repairs went viral for a terrible AI ad... that was never AI.
From Waxy.org links
Uruguay Residency Is Zero Tax for One Kind of Person
A friend from Brazil told me Uruguay residency is very interesting, especially for nomads. Zero tax, he said, plus access to South America’s EU-style free-movement agreements. I checked both claims against the law as it stands in October 2026. Uruguay is a good option for one profile: someone living…
Something different
Checking In
Before leaving for China, I looked at the numbers from both of my apps and decided to stop trying to sell them. RollScrub is going open source. Pura Letra stays, but I’m done trying to make money from it.
From Kagi Small Web
Anthropic Earned $16.8B in Q3. Why Call It 'Over'?
What comparison makes 45% quarterly growth look disappointing—and a slowdown cause I experienced firsthand.
Something different
Persistence Is a Numbers Game: 150 Startups, One Collapse, and the One That Worked
In The Founder, Ray Kroc lives by a famous line: nothing can take the place of persistence. I co-founded a startup studio that built more than 150 startups, and watched it collapse under its own weight. The research says persistence alone barely moves your odds. My experience says it is the only…
From Kagi Small Web
The IPO Perimeter Problem: What Are Investors Actually Buying in a Professional Services Firm?
On 1 October 2026, the Financial Times reported that RSM was exploring a possible initial public offering. The firm had been sounding out bankers and upgrading internal systems to preserve the option of a listing as private equity-backed competitors expanded. No decision had been taken. Public…
From Kagi Small Web
10 Years Old: Everything Decides to Expensively Break
This October has been an expensive one. First, our hot water heater went out. It was probably about 10 years old. Then, two days after our water heater went out, the refrigerator went out, and it was also about 10 years old. Fixing it would cost more than buying a new one. So off to Home Depot we…
Something different
The Fourcast: The System is Failing
This came out from Channel 4 this afternoon: The interview happened on Thursday afternoon, and publication was delayed as a result of technical problems with Read the full article...
From Kagi Small Web
10 Years Old: Everything Decides to Expensively Break
This October has been an expensive one. First, our hot water heater went out. It was probably about 10 years old. Then, two days after our water heater went out, the refrigerator went out, and it was also about 10 years old. Fixing it would cost more than buying a new one. So off to Home Depot we…
Something different
10 Hidden Costs of Cheap Software Development (And How to Avoid Them)
When businesses compare software development quotes, it's tempting to choose the cheapest option. On paper, saving thousands of dollars sounds like a smart decision. But in software, the cheapest quote often becomes the most expensive project. The real cost isn't what you pay upfront—it's what you…
From Kagi Small Web
What are my key issues to look for in today’s budget?
What are my key issues to look for in today’s budget? In no particular order and with some issues undoubtedly overlooked, start with these, none Read the full article...
From Kagi Small Web
Something Stinks And It Ain’t Us
What have you stopped buying because life got too expensive? I didn’t read a list. I read a mirror. A woman in Chicago said she used to send about 80 Christmas cards a year. She got about the same back. Now she sends a picture by text. The card and the stamp just cost too...
Something different
Inequality in Equal Land
Adam Nash has a good post on wealth inequality: …Every year, we pull the most recent data from the US Census on household wealth, cut by age. …invariably, the students’ initial response is a reaction to the apparent disparity in wealth between households based on age. For many students, it just…
From Kagi Small Web
The resource nationalism view of politics
Brazil, which is oil-rich and holds the world's second-largest reserves of rare earth minerals, is the only big country in South America not governed by a right-wing leader, with Lula largely seen as…
Something different
That's this stretch.
Walk on