Tootfinder

Finally some #NoctilucentClouds over Bochum, Germany, again Thursday evening: extended but pretty faint, so I had to crank up the contrast a lot here. See also webcam views at https://webcam.wetternetz-hagen.de/webcam/Sternwarte-ERT/#/2026/07/16/2308 and https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/ettelsberg/2026/07/16/2320 and https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/flensburg/2026/07/16/2320 (and forward the frames to enjoy more timesteps).

A new study by #FlindersUniversity estimates a #population of ~2.2 million #IndigenousAustralians prior to 1788. Some 93% of the pre-

Indigenous Australian population was much larger than previously thought and decimated after First Fleet's arrival
Australia had a much larger Indigenous population before the arrival of Europeans than previously thought, according to new research. The research also demonstrates much larger population losses resulting from colonization than previously believed, with an estimated 93% of the pre-European population lost in less than 80 years following the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet.

TSMC reports Q2 revenue up 36% YoY to ~$39.45B, net income up 77.4% YoY to ~$21.9B, both above est., and says chips 7nm or smaller were 77% of its wafer revenue (Jenny Lee/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/16/tsmc-second-quarter-profit-.html

TSMC second-quarter profit jumps 23%, beating estimates, on high-end chip boom
TSMC announced a second-quarter profit, following its June revenue figures released earlier this week.

AWS is facing a lawsuit in the US alleging it misled the public about the water consumption and environmental impact of its datacentres in Northern Virginia.
The legal complaint claims AWS overstated progress towards its water sustainability goals while failing to disclose the full extent of its regional water use.

Tyrice Knight: "We Always Have The Next Man Up Mentality" https://www.seahawks.com/video/tyrice-knight-we-always-have-the-next-man-up-mentality-press-conference-august-15-2026

From Sputnik to Starship - estimating the experience curve of #SpaceLaunch technology: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/7/pgag217/8732400?login=false -> For more than 60 years, the cost of transporting payload into space has been falling: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Transport-of-payload-into-space-SpaceX-as-the-East-India-Company-of-our-time-11365594.html - according to an analysis, there is no comparable development in history.

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...

Just finished reading "The Beast Player" by Nahoko Uehashi. I had already watched the anime, but it had been so king I didn't remember all the details. While the anime was great, the book is even better, and it's going to be high on my list of things to recommend to my children when they're old enough to read for fun.
The neurodivergent representation is cool, as is the deep central question of interspecies bonds and the political possibilities and dangers they entail. Uehashi handles the exploration of that question well in my judgment, including appropriate ambiguity without muddying moral clarity. Elin is a truly fantastic protagonist, not without flaws but nevertheless a excellent role model and a very sympathetic figure without being pitiful.
One thing I really love about Uehashi's writing is that she's not shy about using interior narration to tell the reader directly what a variety of characters are feeling, but when she does this she focuses on human contradictions, quirks, and weaknesses that make those characters feel much richer, and that remind the reader of all the ways our weird and sometimes contradictory or inexplicable quirks guide our actions just as much as both logical thought and predictable/expected feelings. None of the characters is an unerring source of wisdom, with every grand principle presented shown to have its weaknesses and biases, and even the wisest characters making mistakes and learning from them.
Overall, a wonderful book, and having also seen the "Seirei no Moribito" anime but not read the books, I'm excited to dig into more of Uehashi's extensive catalog.
#AmReading #ReadingNow #Bookstodon

Microsoft plans to end support for Manifest V2 extensions in Edge starting this month, following Google Chrome, and for enterprise users in early 2027 (Stevie Bonifield/The Verge)

Microsoft Edge is about to lock out older ad blockers, just like Chrome did
Microsoft Edge is ending support for Manifest V2 extensions like uBlock Origin starting this month.

3 Running Backs Dallas Cowboys Should Target Following Malik Davis Injury https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/3-running-backs-dallas-cowboys-should-target-malik-davis-injury