Tootfinder

Good news for anyone working on their proposals for the next Fantastic Futures conference - the deadline is extended to April 16! #FF2026

Q&A with Bryan Jacobs, creator of TomWikiAssist, a NanoClaw Clawbot built to edit and write for Wikipedia, on the mostly negative reactions of human editors (Bill Adair/Nieman Lab)
https://www.niemanlab.org/2026…

“I was surprised how upset some people got”: A conversation with the creator of TomWikiAssist, the bot that edited Wikipedia
"It's almost like people were really quite disoriented and terrified by it. And to some extent I get it and I'm trying to empathize with how they're feeling."

🚒 'A personal embarrassment': Why fire agencies keep failing to put out blazes that later turn disastrous
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-01/holdover-fires
🆓

Why fire agencies fail to put out blazes that later turn disastrous
Rekindled blazes are raising questions about whether agencies need to rethink how they ensure fires are truly extinguished.

So here’s a little JavaScript initialisation order quiz.
Take the following code:
```js
class A {
constructor (parameters = {}) {
Object.assign(this, parameters)
}
}
class B extends A {
foo
constructor (parameters) {
super(parameters)
this.foo ??= ‘no’
}
}
const b1 = new B()
const b2 = new B({ foo: ‘ok’ })
console.info(`${b1.foo}, ${b2.foo}`)
```
What output would you s…

End Cover for Initial Value Problem: Complete Validated Algorithms with Complexity Analysis
Bingwei Zhang, Chee Yap
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00162 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.00162 https://arxiv.org/html/2602.00162
arXiv:2602.00162v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: We consider the first-order autonomous ordinary differential equation \[ \mathbf{x}' = \mathbf{f}(\mathbf{x}), \] where $\mathbf{f} : \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^n$ is locally Lipschitz. For a box $B_0 \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$ and $h > 0$, we denote by $\mathrm{IVP}_{\mathbf{f}}(B_0,h)$ the set of solutions $\mathbf{x} : [0,h] \to \mathbb{R}^n$ satisfying \[ \mathbf{x}'(t) = \mathbf{f}(\mathbf{x}(t)), \qquad \mathbf{x}(0) \in B_0 . \]
We present a complete validated algorithm for the following \emph{End Cover Problem}: given $(\mathbf{f}, B_0, \varepsilon, h)$, compute a finite set $\mathcal{C}$ of boxes such that \[ \mathrm{End}_{\mathbf{f}}(B_0,h) \;\subseteq\; \bigcup_{B \in \mathcal{C}} B \;\subseteq\; \mathrm{End}_{\mathbf{f}}(B_0,h) \oplus [-\varepsilon,\varepsilon]^n , \] where \[ \mathrm{End}_{\mathbf{f}}(B_0,h) = \left\{ \mathbf{x}(h) : \mathbf{x} \in \mathrm{IVP}_{\mathbf{f}}(B_0,h) \right\}. \]
Moreover, we provide a complexity analysis of our algorithm and introduce a novel technique for computing the end cover $\mathcal{C}$ based on covering the boundary of $\mathrm{End}_{\mathbf{f}}(B_0,h)$. Finally, we present experimental results demonstrating the practicality of our approach.
toXiv_bot_toot

Large eddy simulation of turbulent swirl-stabilized flames using the front propagation formulation: impact of the resolved flame thickness
Ruochen Guo, Yunde Su, Yuewen Jiang
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.21940 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.21940 https://arxiv.org/html/2602.21940
arXiv:2602.21940v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: This work extends the front propagation formulation (FPF) combustion model to large eddy simulation (LES) of swirl-stabilized turbulent premixed flames and investigates the effects of resolved flame thickness on the predicted flame dynamics. The FPF method is designed to mitigate the spurious propagation of under-resolved flames while preserving the reaction characteristics of filtered flame fronts. In this study, the model is extended to account for non-adiabatic effects and is coupled with an improved sub-filter flame speed estimation that resolves the inconsistency arising from heat-release effects on local sub-filter turbulence. The performance of the extended FPF method is validated by LES of the TECFLAM swirl-stabilized burner, where the results agree well with experimental measurements. The simulations reveal that the stretching of vortical structures in the outer shear layer leads to the formation of trapped flame pockets, which are identified as the physical mechanism responsible for the secondary temperature peaks observed in the experiment. The prediction of this phenomenon is shown to be strongly dependent on the resolved flame thickness, when the filter size is used for modeling sub-filter flame wrinklings. Without proper modeling of the chemical steepening effects, the thickness of the resolved flame brush is over-predicted, causing the flame consumption rate to be under-estimated. Consequently, the flame brush detaches from the outer shear layer, resulting in a failure to capture the flame pockets and the associated secondary temperature peaks.
toXiv_bot_toot

People who felt more connected to nature also reported higher well-being.
Researchers who study people’s relationship with the natural world often use the term
“nature connectedness.”
This phrase doesn’t simply mean going hiking or visiting a park.
Nature connectedness refers to the extent to which people see nature as part of who they are
– whether they feel an emotional bond with the natural world and experience a sense of oneness with it.
Someone who has…

A connection to nature fuels well-being worldwide, according to a study of 38,000 people
Feeling part of something larger than yourself may make it easier to cope with stress and uncertainty.

Filing: Paramount extends the deadline for WBD shareholders to vote on its $30-per-share offer to February 20 (Dade Hayes/Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2026/01/paramount-extends-deadline-warner-bros-discovery-netflix-1236692082/

Paramount Extends Deadline For Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders To Back Hostile Bid
Paramount has extended the deadline for Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to throw their support behind the company’s hostile takeover bid. The initial deadline of Wednesday has now been pushed to February 20. Paramount CEO David Ellison, along with his senior exec team and financial backers, have been meeting with WBD investors in recent weeks in […]

Chilean president declares state of catastrophe as wildfires kill at least 15. Fires blaze through 8,500 hectares, forcing 50,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggle to extinguish flames in scorching heat: temperatures up to 38°C (100F)
https://www.thegu…

Packers' Matt LaFleur feels fortunate to have Jordan Love: Teams are only as good as 'guy pulling the trigger' https://www.nfl.com/news/packers-matt-lafleur-feels-fortunate-to-have-jordan-love-teams-are…