@aral@mastodon.ar.al2026-02-28 09:08:17
One day, these sons of bitches are going to get what’s coming to them. That day, I will be shedding zero tears. I just hope they don’t take the rest of us down with them. And if we keep being complicit and allowing them to act with impunity, I’m afraid that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t…
@villavelius@mastodon.online2026-01-28 08:39:00
"Een Kamerlid dat opklimt
binnen de hiërarchie van een fractie kan doorgaans op bewondering en wellicht ook enige jaloezie rekenen van zijn directe collega's in Den Haag. Alleen bij de PVV komt er een andere emotie boven: medelijden."
https://www.
@cdarwin@c.im2026-01-21 03:57:27
Trump’s IRS chief reorganizes tax agency days before filing season
The Internal Revenue Service will reorganize its senior ranks
days before this year’s tax filing season opens
and try to use technology to become more efficient,
the Trump administration’s IRS leader Frank Bisignano told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Administration officials named Bisignano the IRS’s chief executive,
a role that does not formally exist in the agency’s governing structur…
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-03-25 00:26:17
Source: SpaceX is aiming to file its IPO prospectus with regulators later this week or next week, and could try to raise more than $75B (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/spacex-aims-file-ipo-soon-week
@jake4480@c.im2026-01-17 17:18:33
2026 is being celebrated by Toho as Mothra Year, as this year marks both 65 years since Mothra first appeared on screen, and also 30 years since the Heisei-era Mothra trilogy.
Mothra's my girl (my wife knows, and she's okay with it). 😍
https://godzilla.com/blogs/news…
@arXiv_physicsfludyn_bot@mastoxiv.page2026-02-26 09:23:30
A minimal wake-vortex model explains formation flight of flapping birds
Olivia Pomerenk, Kenneth S. Breuer
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22043 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.22043 https://arxiv.org/html/2602.22043
arXiv:2602.22043v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Collective patterns of motion emerge across biological taxa: insects swarm, fish school, and birds flock. In particular, large migratory birds form strikingly ordered V-shaped formations, which experiments and direct numerical simulations have demonstrated provide substantial energetic benefits during long-distance flight. However, the precise aerodynamic and morphological mechanisms underlying these benefits remain unclear. In this work, we develop a reduced-order model of the wake-vortex interactions between two flapping birds flying in tandem. The model retains essential unsteady flapping dynamics while remaining computationally tractable. By optimizing over a six-dimensional state space, which comprises the follower's three-dimensional relative position and three independent flapping parameters, we identify the energetically optimal leader-follower configuration of northern bald ibises. The predicted optimum agrees quantitatively with live-bird measurements. Because of its simplicity, the model allows for direct interrogation of the physical mechanisms responsible for this optimum. In particular, it isolates precisely how the follower's wing kinematics interact with the leader's wake to enhance aerodynamic efficiency. The model predicts an 11% reduction in total mechanical power for a follower in formation flight -- consistent with experimental estimates -- and shows that this saving arises from reductions in both induced and profile power, dominated by decreased profile power enabled primarily through reduced flapping amplitude and, secondarily, reduced upstroke flexion. These results provide a mechanistic explanation for the structure of V-formations and offer new insight into the aerodynamic principles governing collective flight.
toXiv_bot_toot
@jswright61@ruby.social2026-01-25 20:17:07
Just got an email from one of my Senators, Jon Ossoff, GA with some welcomed news:
Good afternoon,
On Sunday, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff demanded civil liberties protections before further funds are appropriated to ICE and announced he will oppose the measure scheduled for a vote this week.
(Full text of letter in the image alt-text)
#UsPol
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-01-22 06:25:56
A year after the DeepSeek shock following R1's release, US tech companies still lead in AI chips, model quality, and sales, with no change in investment trends (Chris Miller/Barron's Online)
https://www.barrons.com/articles/deepseek-…