Tootfinder

China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/11/china-co2-emissions-flat-or-falling-for-past-18-months-analysis-finds

China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity

China's CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds (Amy Hawkins/The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/11/china-co2-emissions-flat-or-falling-for-past-18-months-analysis-finds
http://www.memeorandum.com/251111/p84#a251111p84

How China stopped an NYC-based independent Chinese film festival, including pressuring directors and moderators, as it largely erases independent films in China (Vivian Wang/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/world/asia/china-film-festival-new-…

How China Reached Into New York to Stop a Tiny Film Festival
A showcase for independent Chinese films was scrapped after the Chinese authorities pressured directors, moderators and even a volunteer to pull out.

Finished “The Last Murder at the End of the World” by Stuart Turton.
Their island is a sanctuary against an apocalyptic fog which has enveloped the world. The villagers and the elders have lived in relative peace for decades until a murder flings everything into chaos. Solving it may be the only chance for survival.
4/5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
h…

The Last Murder at the End of the World
Solve the murder to save what's left of the world. Out…

Just finished "Beasts Made of Night" by Tochi Onyebuchi...
Indirect CW for fantasy police state violence.
So I very much enjoyed Onyebuchi's "Riot Baby," and when I grabbed this at the library, I was certain it would be excellent. But having finished it, I'm not sure I like it that much overall?
The first maybe third is excellent, including the world-building, which is fascinating. I feel like Onyebuchi must have played "Shadow of the Colossus" at some point. Onyebuchi certainly does know how to make me care for his characters.
Some spoilers from here on out...
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I felt like it stumbles towards the middle, with Bo's reactions neither making sense in the immediate context, nor in retrospect by the end when we've learned more. Things are a bit floaty in the middle with an unclear picture of what exactly is going on politics-wise and what the motivations are. Here I think there were some nuances that didn't make it to the page, or perhaps I'm just a bit thick and not getting stuff I should be? More is of course revealed by the end, but I still wasn't satisfied with the explanations of things. For example, (spoilers) I don't feel I understand clearly what kind of power the army of aki was supposed to represent within the city? Perhaps necessary to wield the threat of offensive inisisia use? In that case, a single scene somewhere of Izu's faction deploying that tactic would have been helpful I think.
Then towards the end, for me things really started to jumble, with unclear motivations, revelations that didn't feel well-paced or -structured, and a finale where both the action & collapsing concerns felt stilted and disjointed. Particularly the mechanics/ethics of the most important death that set the finale in motion bothered me, and the unexplained mechanism by which that led to what came next? I can read a couple of possible interesting morals into the whole denouement, but didn't feel that any of them were sufficiently explored. Especially if we're supposed to see some personal failing in the protagonist's actions, I don't think it's made clear enough what that is, since I feel his reasons to reject each faction are pretty solid, and if we're meant to either pity or abjure his indecision, I don't think the message lands clearly enough.
There *is* a sequel, which honestly I wasn't sure of after the last page, and which I now very interested in. Beasts is Onyebuchi's debut, which maybe makes sense of me feeling that Riot Baby didn't have the same plotting issues. It also maybe means that Onyebuchi couldn't be sure a sequel would make it to publication in terms of setting up the ending.
Overall I really enjoyed at least 80% of this, but was expecting even better (especially politically) given Onyebuchi's other work, and I didn't feel like I found it.
#AmReading

🍆 A Hermetic, Transparent Soft Growing Vine Robot System for Pipe Inspection
#robots #machine

A Hermetic, Transparent Soft Growing Vine Robot System for Pipe Inspection
Rehabilitation of aging pipes requires accurate condition assessment and mapping far into the pipe interiors. Soft growing vine robot systems are particularly promising for navigating confined, sinuous paths such as in pipes, but are currently limited by complex subsystems and a lack of validation in real-world industrial settings. In this paper, we introduce the concept and implementation of a hermetic and transparent vine robot system for visual condition assessment and mapping within non-bra…

„Aber China!”
China's CO2 Emissions Have Been Flat Or Falling For Past 18 Months, Analysis Finds - Slashdot https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/11/0119210/chinas-co2-emissions-have-been-flat-or-falling-fo…

Attention detectives: If the AI software you're using specifically tells you not to use it in court filings, then don't bloody use it in court filings. #WrongfulConvictions

Cleveland detective ‘misled’ judge about use of AI in murder investigation, ruling says
Judge Richard McMonagle reaffirmed a prior ruling tossing out evidence for a case in which a suspect was identified via artificial intelligence.

PSA if you live in Europe & have any tendency to feel like shit in winter AND known counter strategies for feeling less like shit ... start employing them NOW.
(I tend to do ok in winter but I am still ramping up my anti-depression tool use, and I am seeing a bunch of friends look like they are entering their winter holes of misery, and am generally a fan of less misery in the world.)

Kimi Onoda, Japan's new Minister of State for Economic Security, is a 43 year old half-Irish ex-game industry PR femcel with an extensive history of defending her exclusive attraction to anime boys on twitter