Tootfinder

Exoplanet Atmospheric Refraction Effects in the #Kepler Sample: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.02126 -> "We present an analysis on the detection viability of refraction effects in Kepler's exoplanet atmospheres using binning techniques for their light curves in order to compare against simulated refraction effects. We split the Kepler exoplanets into sub-populations according to orbital period and planetary radius, then search for out-of-transit changes in the relative flux associated with atmospheric refraction of starlight. The presence of refraction effects - or lack thereof - may be used to measure and set limits on the bulk properties of an atmosphere, including mean molecular weight or the presence of hazes.
In this work, we use the presence of refraction effects to test whether exoplanets above the period-radius valley have H/He atmospheres, which high levels of stellar radiation could evaporate away, in turn leaving rocky cores below the valley. We find strong observational evidence of refraction effects for exoplanets above the period-radius valley based on Kepler photometry, however those related to optically thin H/He atmospheres are not common in the observed planetary population. This result may be attributed to signal dampening caused by clouds and hazes, consistent with the optically thick and intrinsically hotter atmospheres of Kepler exoplanets caused by relatively close host star proximity."

OpenStore is scaling back its e-commerce aggregation efforts, closing nearly all of its 40 Shopify stores and rebranding under its Jack Archer menswear label (Annie Palmer/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/08/openstore-demise-endga…

OpenStore’s demise marks endgame for once-booming e-commerce aggregator market
OpenStore is rebranding under its Jack Archer menswear label after shuttering many of the Shopify storefronts it acquired and laying off staffers.

49ers TE Kittle bemoans NFL's smelling salts ban https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45909854/49ers-george-kittle-bemoans-nfl-new-ban-smelling-salts

Tradeoff Between the Number of Transmitted Molecules and the BER Performance in Molecular Communication between Bionanosensors
Dongliang Jing, Linjuan Li, Lin Lin, Andrew W. Eckford
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.04466

Tradeoff Between the Number of Transmitted Molecules and the BER Performance in Molecular Communication between Bionanosensors
In the domain of molecular communication (MC), information is conveyed through the characteristics of molecules transmitted between the transmitter and the receiver bionanosensors via propagation. The constrained size of the transmitter imposes limitations on its storage capacity, constraining the number of available molecules for transmission, with a resulting effect on communication reliability. This paper primarily focuses on achieving an equilibrium between the number of transmitted molecul…

oBrien spending at least two hours doing a retrospective about 20 year old bomb and has spent zero hours talking about the banning of a peaceful campaign group under terrorism legislation.
I turned it off. 🥱

Commissievoorzitter Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten: ‘Wilders ondermijnt het lokaal bestuur’
Sinds het aantreden van het kabinet-Schoof is er alles aan gedaan de spreidingswet onderuit te schoffelen, zegt de voorzitter van de commissie asielzaken van de Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten. „De PVV heeft belang bij chaos, dus wordt die gecreëerd. Dit maakt mensen onnodig ongerust en hitst groepen tegen elkaar op.”

Commissievoorzitter Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten: ‘Wilders ondermijnt het lokale bestuur’
Mark Boumans | burgemeester van Doetinchem: Sinds het aantreden van het kabinet-Schoof is er alles aan gedaan de spreidingswet onderuit te schoffelen, zegt de voorzitter van de commissie asielzaken van de Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten. „De PVV heeft belang bij chaos, dus wordt die gecreëerd. Dit maakt mensen onnodig ongerust en hitst groepen tegen elkaar op.”

The current stage of #AI writing: use AI to humanize AI to trick AI detection.
Or how “semiconductor” turns into a “0.5 conductor.” Brilliant.
Time to rethink the university
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"Instead of calculators, we could sit at exams with certain books on our desks, filled with logarithm and trigonometry tables, featuring formulae for algebra, calculus, and geometry. French-speaking Swiss students might remember the ubiquitous “Formulaire et Tables” of the “Commissions romandes de mathématiques, de physique et de chimie”, published by the Éditions du Tricorne, that many generations of Swiss students used during their exams."

Banning, Adopting, Reckoning
Last month, OpenAI, the company (in)famous for their ChatGPT product, released a course called "ChatGPT Foundations for K-12 Educators", an event that has raised more than a few eyebrows, and even some outrage. We must have a serious conversation about the value of a bullshit generator in the context of teaching programming skills to new generations.

Meta’s banning of two anti-Zionist comedians from Instagram is the latest example of Big Tech’s deep anti-Palestinian bias
#meta #facebook #instagram

49ers TE Kittle bemoans NFL's smelling salts ban https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45909854/49ers-george-kittle-bemoans-nfl-new-ban-smelling-salts