Tootfinder

From Translink
Westham Island Bridge Repair Update
🧵1/9
TransLink is moving urgently to restore the Westham Island Bridge following a marine vessel strike on January 20. Engineering inspections have confirmed significant structural damage and, while repairs are complex, work is starting to minimize disruptions and safely reopen the bridge to vehicles as soon as possible.
Detailed inspections show that Pier 5, one of the bridge’s primary support structures, was severely…

Wat leuk, mijn video op het Amsterdams Buurtfilmfestival 2026. Op dat tweedaagse evenement zijn buurtgebonden documentaires, fictie, animatie en kunstfilm te zien.
Mijn video is AdamTok®, want kort en opgenomen met de telefoon. Onderwerp: optreden dansgroep van mijn geliefde voor Amsterdam 750 op de Nieuwmarkt. Eenmalig op het filmdoek OBA Oosterdok, 14 februari in Filmcocktail 2 (15 tot 16.30 uur). Kaartjes op https://abff.nl/abff2026/ ook voor al die andere fraaie films van Amsterdammers.

Series C, Episode 07 - Children of Auron
AVON: So. Those little monsters give us a breather.
TARRANT: Not that it'll do us much good without bracelets to get us up to the Liberator.
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/307/535 B7B4

I'm not ok. The world seems not ok. But community is important and there is still value in doing things just because. Blinky lights are fun, so last weekend I helped wire some controller boxes for an upcoming Burning Man project (maybe unscruz too?)
(and I've just realized that I don't know the project's name or if it has one...)

„Nach einem Bericht der „Bild"–Zeitung ist für Weimer aber nicht nur die Preisverleihung ein Problem. Die 56-jährige Tuttle habe mit der Filmcrew eine Woche zuvor bereits mit Palästinenserfahne und -tüchern posiert.“
Ah ja. Und?
https://www.de…

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

State Representative James Talarico, and his recent interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert:
CBS said it did not block the interview from airing, but provided legal guidance that broadcasting it could trigger the Federal Communications Commission’s equal-time rule.
Colbert’s show instead posted the interview on YouTube.
When CBS Austin asked about Talarico announcing he's raised $2.5 million in the 24 hours following the interview, Jasmine Crockett said,
“I …

Jasmine Crockett brings Senate campaign to UT Austin as primary enters final weeks
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett spoke at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday night as her campaign for the U.S. Senate heads into its final weeks. Her

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.

AI companies are raising at valuations that require them to grow at rates that are only achievable by chasing the broadest possible market with the most generic possible product.
A company that raises at a $500M valuation needs to show a path to billions in revenue,
which means it can't afford to be a niche tool that does one thing brilliantly for a specific audience.
It has to be a platform, horizontal, aimed at enterprise, built for no one in particular.
Ever…

Everyone in AI is building the wrong thing for the same reason
Every AI founder I talk to is on an accelerating treadmill, burdened by a nagging suspicion that the entire industry is moving too fast in a direction that doesn't quite make sense, with no idea about how to get off. There is an overwhelming feeling that if everyone stopped and