Tootfinder

A species of spider which weaves a catapult-like silk trap to snare a single type of ant has been discovered.
The snare's "exceptionally high power" flings the ant into a bigger web at "15 times the most extreme g-forces experienced by jet pilots", said lead researcher Prof Ajay Narendra.
Though it is yet to be formally named, scientists have nicknamed the tiny spider "ballista", after the ancient weapon used to hurl stones in battle.
What …

Spider which uses spring trap to capture prey discovered in Australia
Researchers say their hunting method - which allows them to prey on dangerous ants - is unprecedented.

Good morning! I replaced the morning walk with a morning ride. 😊 I tried to push a bit harder today for training. Next time should be lighter again. But it felt really good!
#cycling #goodmorning

Pleasantly surprised I can measure this timing difference on my cheap scope; In both cases this is a chain of a pair of inverters in a 74LS04 package; the difference between the two captures is just the length of breadboard wire between the 1st and 2nd inverter; the first is about 1cm and the 2nd is about 20cm; so that's about 0.5ns difference measured which is reasonable - and surprisingly good for a 500MS/s scope.
(The yellow is input from a sig gen, blue is op of 2nd inverter).

Urban Ridicules ❌
都市的愚弄 ❌
📷 Pentax 6x7
🎞️ Ilford HP5 Plus 400 (6x7)
If you like my work, Support by buying me a coffee or a roll of film from PayPal https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ydcdingsite

The Trump administration ramps up its lawlessness on the seas

U.S. military strikes on suspected drug smugglers spike after a lull following Maduro’s capture.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/05/04/trump-bo…

The Trump administration ramps up its lawlessness on the seas
U.S. military strikes on suspected drug smugglers spike after a lull following Maduro's capture.

Solutocapillary instability in slipping falling films
Sanghasri Mukhopadhyay, S\'everine Millet, Bastien Di Pierro, Asim Mukhopadhyay
https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.17519 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.17519 https://arxiv.org/html/2605.17519
arXiv:2605.17519v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: We present a comprehensive framework for gravity-driven, surfactant-laden thin films flowing over slippery substrates, elucidating how wall slip modifies the coupled hydrodynamics and interfacial transport. A long-wave model is formulated with a conservative bulk-surface mass balance and a Navier slip condition. The Orr-Sommerfeld eigenvalue problem governs the linear regime, while a weighted-residual model captures the nonlinear evolution over a range of equilibrium surfactant coverages, Marangoni strengths, and adsorption kinetics. The analysis predicts a non-monotonic variation of the critical Reynolds number with equilibrium coverage, exhibiting a maximum at intermediate $\Gamma_e$, and a slip-induced transition from single- to double-hump solitary structures with increasing Marangoni number, accompanied by attenuated capillary ripples. Under fast adsorption kinetics, the surface field homogenizes, preserving the mean film shape and flux while flattening both the surface concentration $\Gamma$ and the bulk inventory $\chi h\phi$. A spurious interfacial mass growth reported by Pascal et al.(PRF, 2019) and D'Alessio et al.(JFM, 2020) is resolved through a revised surface balance ensuring strict conservation. Wall slip thus emerges as a key control parameter, reducing viscous resistance and mitigating Marangoni back-stress. The slip parameter $\beta$ is a useful control knob for surfactant-laden films. Slip prevents fragile multi-hump bound states, promoting a single broad crest or an almost flat, uniform sheet by carefully bonding $\beta$ to wave selection, ripple damping, and the bulk-surface surfactant balance.
toXiv_bot_toot

Just finished "Oksi" by Mari Ahokoivu. A wonderful example of a contemporary myth, and very beautifully drawn. Ahokoivu's ability to evoke feelings with abstract forms and mist-like flowing "panels" make this wonderfully unique, and her story captures all the whimsy and contradictions of an ancient creation myth perfectly.
#AmReading #ReadingNow #Bookstodon

#mountainMonday ! Unfortunately not a recent photo but one that's quite a while ago. Before my wife had 2 knee issues. But maybe we can go there again soon.
As you can see, the landscape there is A BLAST! I totally love the area
#mountains

Thousands of people remain missing or unaccounted for following the Rapid Support Forces' capture of El Fasher, according to new findings published by the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan.
Following the takeover in late October 2025,
the International Organization for Migration estimated that more than 127,000 people were displaced from the city and surrounding villages.
The mission noted that humanitarian organizations later described El Fasher as a "ghost town,&…

Thousands remain missing after El Fasher takeover in Sudan | News.az
The report states that before the city's fall, El Fasher had an estimated population of about 260,000 people, News.az reports, citing reports of the U...

During our vacation recently, I tried to practice more foreground and composition for .. not for documenting our vacation, but to capture more a feeling that I had at this moment.
This is one of the photos. Here it felt "better" to me to set the focus to the red poppies because at this moment, they just drew more attention as we were walking towards the gate.
More of this day: