Tootfinder

Foreign correspondents at WaPo send a letter to Jeff Bezos raising alarm over impending layoffs, which are expected to "land hard" on international coverage (@erikwemple)
https://x.com/erikwemple/status/2015432558851301380

ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) on X
Update on turmoil at the Washington Post that I’ve been following w @BenMullin: Foreign correspondents at WaPo have sent a letter, a “collective plea,” to owner Jeff Bezos raising alarm over impending staff reductions, which are expected to land hard on international coverage.

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

Press freedom is further going down the drain in Trumpistan.
(Sorry, behind a paywall. But the first few sentences are the most important anyway.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/23/pentagon-press-annex-policy-defeat/

that bittersweet feeling of opening a used book & finding a sweet bookmark from a long-departed bookstore in a faraway place (closed in 1999, according to reddit) #books

From Translink
Westham Island Bridge Repair Update
January 22, 2026

Delta, BC – Earlier this week, a marine vessel hit the Westham Island Bridge, causing damage that required the bridge to be closed to vehicle traffic. TransLink owns and maintains the bridge, and crews moved quickly to assess the damage and pursue the fastest possible repair.

TransLink has now received an updated assessment from our structural engineer following today’s inspection work.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman clashed on X after Musk shared a post about a man who committed a murder-suicide following delusional conversations with ChatGPT (Theo Wayt/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/musk-altman-tussle-reports-…

Musk and Altman Tussle Over Reports of ChatGPT-Linked Deaths
Elon Musk and Sam Altman traded barbs on X this week over media reports of deaths linked to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI-related safety issues. On Monday, Musk shared a post about a man who committed a murder-suicide after a series of delusional conversations with ChatGPT, calling the story “diabolical” and saying that AI should “not pander to delusions.” On Tuesday, he followed up with

The Navy’s largest aircraft carrier’s toilets keep failing
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-carrier-ford-toilets-clogged/

Rosie McGee,
handcuffed to Bob Weir, front,
with other members of the 710 Ashbury collective being led out of the house after being arrested by police following a drug raid on the famous Grateful Dead house in Haight Ashbury on OCTOBER 2, 1967.
"By the time a paddy wagon arrived to take us down to the Hall of Justice, a crowd had gathered across the street.
Bob Weir and I were handcuffed together and as we came down the stairs, the crowd cheered.
A broad…

"#Gamification in #Libraries: A Bibliometric Study"
https://doi.org/10.18785/slis.1301.12

Oh happy task. #acadamicchatter