Tootfinder

Genealogy is one of those hobbies where one good discovery can keep you motivated for days.
This week I found an 1891 patent by one of my ancestors, uncovered a historic photo I'd never seen before, and ran across some wonderfully odd newspaper stories. I also wrote about digitizing family films, our anniversary, and The Last Ship.

When Genealogy Research Turns Up More Than You Expected – Bob Mueller
Genealogy research uncovered a family patent, historic photos, and surprising stories, plus thoughts on marriage, memories, and The Last Ship.

Sources: Meta is testing robots from ABB and others to handle data center tasks such as swapping cables and resetting servers as it seeks to lower labor costs (Paresh Dave/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-metas-experiments-with-data-center-robots/

Inside Meta’s Push to Put Robots to Work in Data Centers
The company is testing robots that can swap cables, reset servers, and take on other tasks performed by technicians, fueling concerns among some workers that their jobs could be at risk.

in awe at this sweepstakes form not going through because the server ran out of space

Who killed Codeberg?
@… @…
#codeberg

now that the client-server web is clearly failing in extremely predictable ways, can we finally take the idea of a #p2p web seriously? maybe?

Nothing in this article will be a surprise to those working in Scottish Higher Education, but it does make clear the scale of the challenge facing universities. The government crackdown on international students has been particularly hard hitting.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0lr8rp…

Scotland's universities face 'bleak' future as £200m funding gap revealed
A new report paints a 'bleak' picture of falling income from Scottish students and an over-reliance on international tuition fees.

Counting Dogs And Broken Films
Athena apparently knows exactly how many treats she’s supposed to get, while my dad’s old home movies proved a little less cooperative. Between updating my genealogy site and repairing a broken 8mm film, it was a surprisingly busy quiet week.
http://www.bobmuellerwriter…

Counting Dogs And Broken Films – Bob Mueller
Athena counts her treats, I update my genealogy site, and a broken 8mm film sends me searching for a way to repair Dad’s old home movies.

One click sends a command
from the Home Assistant app
on my mobile phone
via WiFi
to the WiFi Router
to a Satellite
to a ground station in Germany
to my VPN endpoint in Iceland
to London
to Amsterdam
to Frankfurt
to Zurich
to Winterthur
to my router
to my reverse proxy
to my Home Assistant server
to my access point
to the WiFi
to the WiFi-Bridge
to the door lock
*click* *motor whirring* *door…

Every Surprise Standout From Dallas Cowboys' Preseason Week 1 Win https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/every-surprise-standout-from-dallas-cowboys-preseason-week-1-win

Sources: the USPTO and US Copyright Office were surprised by the DOJ's brief supporting OpenAI and Microsoft in their dispute with the New York Times (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2026/09/19/justice-department-openai-new-york-times

Scoop: DOJ's copyright filing took key agencies by surprise
The department argues copyrighted works to train models should be considered fair use because that practice is new and transformative.