Tootfinder

UMG and Stability AI announce a partnership to develop music creation tools powered by "responsibly" trained AI (Marc Schneider/Billboard)
https://www.billboard.com/pro/umg-stability-ai-partnership-develop-music-creation-tools/

UMG Partners With Stability AI to Develop Music Creation Tools for Artists, Producers
Following its Udio settlement, UMG teams up with Stability AI to build responsibly trained AI tools that empower artists and protect copyrights.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke
Rollins gave a candid message to Americans about the continued impasse and concerns that millions of people could soon miss out on food benefits.
“My message to America is, first, the fact that your government is failing you, right now,”
said Rollins, whose department oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Mike Johnson Steps In After Trump Official Tells Americans: 'We Have Failed You'
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins gave a candid message to Americans about the shutdown – a little too candid for the House speaker.

Nature is healing..
https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/no-rap-songs-hot-100-top-40-first-time-since-1990-1236100625/

No Rap Songs Are in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 40 for the First Time Since 1990
No rap songs have ranked in the top 40 on the last two Billboard Hot 100 charts, following Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "Luther" dropping off the chart.

UMG and Stability AI announce a partnership to develop music creation tools powered by "responsibly" trained AI (Marc Schneider/Billboard)
https://www.billboard.com/pro/umg-stability-ai-partnership-develop-music-creation-tools/

UMG Partners With Stability AI to Develop Music Creation Tools for Artists, Producers
Following its Udio settlement, UMG teams up with Stability AI to build responsibly trained AI tools that empower artists and protect copyrights.

For any of my comrades who are using SNAP, I wish I had something better to say than "if you crush 4 buckeyes with a hammer and tie the pulp in a sock you can wash a good sized load of laundry." English Ivy also has saponins, but I've never been able to make soap from it myself.
Ivy is everywhere. Buckeyes (Horse Chestnuts) are common in city parks (there are a ton in Seattle).
Yucca is also a good source of saponins, but it also has silica. That makes it a good scrubby soap. You can find these plants all over they're pretty common to find in yards.
If you can find acorns still (it's a bit late, but who knows), acorn grits are great and something you can survive on for a bit. Acorns need processing (it's easy to look up, but feel free to ask or check out one or Black Forager's videos on it).
If you've been following me for a bit, you probably already know all this. But if you don't, I hope it helps.
Any other forager folks are welcome to drop hints here that might be useful to folks in the city.
#Foraging

Edge-On Disk Study (EODS) III: Molecular Stratification in the Flying Saucer Disk
A. Dutrey, O. Denis-Alpizar, S. Guilloteau, C. Foucher, S. Gavino, D. Semenov, V. Pietu, E. Chapillon, L. Testi, E. Dartois, E. DiFolco, K. Furuya, U. Gorti, N. Grosso, Th. Henning, J. M. Hur\'e, \'A. K\'osp\'al, F. Le Petit, L. Majumdar, R. Meshaka, H. Nomura, N. T. Phuong, M. Ruaud, Y. W. Tang, S. Wolf

Edge-On Disk Study (EODS) III: Molecular Stratification in the Flying Saucer Disk
Context: Investigating the vertical distribution of molecular content in protoplanetary disks remains difficult in most disks mildly inclined along the line of sight. In contrast, edge-on disks provide a direct (tomographic) view of the 2D molecular brightness. Aims: We study the radial and vertical molecular distribution as well as the gas temperature and density by observing the Keplerian edge-on disk surrounding the Flying Saucer, a Class II object located in Ophiuchus. Methods: We use new a…

Day 9: Eniko Fox
Edit: added a store link for Kitsune Tails.
We're back to videogames, and with another author who's on the fediverse: @…
Fox has developed a few games, but the one that I've played and love is Kitsune Tails. It's a sapphic romance take on Super Mario Bros. 3, and (critically for a platformer) it's got very crisp controls and runs smoothly. I think one thing a lot of indie platforms devs struggle with is getting those fundamentals right, because on the technical side they require very challenging things like optimization of your code and extremely careful input handling that go beyond the basic skills necessary to put together a game. From following her on Twitter and now the Fediverse, it's clear that Fox is a deeply competent programmer, and her games reflect that. Beyond the fundamentals, Kitsune Tails has a very sweet plot with a very cool twist in the middle, and without spoilers, that twist made both the levels and gameplay very difficult to design, but Fox rose to that challenge and put together a wonderful game. Particularly past the plot twist (but in subtle ways before it) Fox is able to build beyond SMB3 mechanics in ways that gracefully complement the original, and the movement in the game ends up being difficult but extremely satisfying, with an excellent skill/speed response allowing for both slower, easier approaches that work for a range of players and high-skill extremely-fast options for those who want to push themselves.
There have been plenty of people I follow with indie game projects that are kinda meh in the end, and I'll still boost them without much comment if they're decent. Fox' work is actually amazing, which is why if you've followed me for a while you'll know I tend to mention it periodically, and which is why she makes this list of authors I respect.
You can buy Kitsune Tails here: #20AuthorsNoMen

"People notice that while AI can now write programs, design websites, etc, it still often makes mistakes or goes in a wrong direction, and then they somehow jump to the conclusion that AI will never be able to do these tasks at human levels, or will only have a minor impact. When just a few years ago, having AI do these things was complete science fiction!"

Review of Honor Magic V5, the world's thinnest foldable phone at 8.8mm thick when folded, as it launches in Europe for €1,999, following a July launch in China (Dominic Preston/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/phone-review/766712/honor-magic…

Honor’s Magic V5 is the thinnest foldable yet, but that’s not why it matters
Thin is in, but the big battery is the Honor Magic V5’s real magic trick.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis on Oct. 9 ordered “visible identification” that is “prominently displayed.”
But dozens of photographs of uniformed immigration agents shot by Chicago Sun-Times photojournalists in four separate locations since the court order show how the feds have fallen short.
The 80-plus photos show that not all officers are displaying a visible identification code that mixes numbers and letters during some of the most contentious recent immigration actions that…

IDs are mismatched, illegible — or still missing three weeks after judge’s order to immigration officers
In dozens of photographs at four locations, Chicago Sun-Times photojournalists documented federal officers failing to wear the “visible identification” needed to hold individuals accountable during the ongoing immigration “blitz.”