Tootfinder

From TransLink
Westham Island Bridge reopens following successful repair work
Access restored to Westham Island after temporary closure caused by marine vessel strike
Some critical repair work will continue in the coming weeks to stabilize piles with rock protection, remove the temporary pier, and add more steel reinforcements. The navigation channel remains closed to marine traffic while this is an active construction site.
1/2

Series D, Episode 02 - Power
VILA: Oh yes. I just don't know what it's for.
PELLA: And they didn't teach this in, ah, Academy? [laughs] There's a switch. When the door is closed, every forty-eight hours Dorian must say a code word to reset the timing.
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/402/150

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

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/

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

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.