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The Studio That Forgot Its Face — and the Industry That Keeps Forgetting Its Own

By: Paco Campbell Published: Monday, December 8th, 2025 If you’ve ever worked in tech long enough to survive multiple re-orgs, shifting OKRs, vanishing roadmaps, or that one VP who insists “this quarter is foundational,” then the Warner Bros. saga should feel spiritually familiar. This week’s headline — Netflix

AI-Feral Youth: Idiocracy Wasn’t Supposed to Be a Documentary

By: Paco Campbell Published: Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 The first time I saw Idiocracy, I laughed at the scene with the half-built highway — those giant concrete columns arcing into the sky like the ribs of a dead colossus. A perfect visual gag: civilization had stalled mid-sentence. A society

The Ultimate Insider Threat: Being an A-word

By: Paco Campbell Published: Saturday, November 29th, 2025 There’s a moment in Office Space when Bill Lumbergh wanders into a cubicle with his coffee mug and his condescending little half-smile — and you can just feel the productivity leaving the building. No malware. No ransomware. Just a man whose

The Misfits Who Turn Out Alright

By: Paco Campbell Published: Monday, November 17th, 2025 I didn’t write last week. This newsletter is still new enough that skipping a week feels like I owe someone an explanation. So here it is: I needed time. Not because something dramatic happened — I just wanted to sit with what

The Self-Driving Car at the Gay Bar

By: Paco Campbell Published: Monday, November 3rd, 2025 Halloween in downtown Austin. The kind of night when the air hums with energy before you even step inside. Fog machines spilling into the street. Music leaking from doorways. Every few feet, a different universe of fabric and color. At Rain, the

Chernobyl.exe: When SharePoint Goes Nuclear

By: Paco Campbell Published: Friday, October 31st, 2025 Last week, reports surfaced that foreign hackers breached a U.S. nuclear weapons facility by exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft SharePoint. The details are still unfolding, but the image is seared in my mind: a critical system — part of the country’s nuclear

Her Was a Warning, Not a Roadmap

By: Paco Campbell Published: Tuesday, October 28th, 2025 ⚠️ Before You Read This piece touches on loneliness, mental health, and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out — you don’t have to go through it alone. * United States or Canada — Call or text 988. * Worldwide — Visit

Back to the Future and the Mainframe That Forgot Its Timeline

By: Paco Campbell Published: Friday, October 24th, 2025 It’s been forty years since Back to the Future hit theaters. I didn’t rewatch it this week — I didn’t have to. The movie’s baked in by now: the DeLorean doors, the lightning strike, the hoverboard I begged Santa

“We Spared No Expense”: The Real Security Failure of Jurassic Park

By: Paco Campbell Published: Monday, October 20th, 2025 There are movies that age beautifully — like fine wine, practical effects, or Jeff Goldblum. And then there are movies that age accurately — Jurassic Park manages to do both. That first reveal still gives me chills. Dr. Grant stands up in the Jeep,

Don’t Look Up: The Satellites Are Talking

Satellite communications — the backbone of global data, logistics, and internet connectivity — remain alarmingly insecure. Despite decades of advancement, many systems still rely on outdated protocols and unencrypted signals, leaving sensitive transmissions vulnerable to interception.