Tootfinder

X updates Grok to prevent the "editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis" and geoblocks it for all users "where it's illegal" (Karissa Bell/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/x-says-grok-wi

X says Grok will no longer edit images of real people into bikinis
X says it is changing its policies around Grok’s image-editing abilities following a multi-week outcry over the chatbot repeatedly being accused of...

Feeling helpless? Don’t. All of this resistance makes a real and concrete difference. Honestly, the fact that this huge chunk of local residents is giving a visible, sustained “HELL NO” all the time is basically the •only• thing holding them back at this point — but it •is• making a difference.
If there were a sense of blanket permission, a sense that nobody is watching and nobody cares, a sense that there will never be consequences…we’d be in a whole different circle of hell right now.

I laughed for a second. Then I got very sad.
(link: https://bsky.app/profile/abstracttesseract.bsky.social/post/3mewrojqa422b )

Made new test prints on some off-cuts, using a slightly stronger developer solution than usual to see impact on max. depth. The main image (Eagle Creek, Oregon) is using 18% sodium acetate (curve corrected negative), the test strips are of 20% and 15% solutions (both uncorrected). The phone capture doesn't really show the differences too well, but I think I will go for the 18-20% from now on...
(Btw. The original image is here:

Big thanks to the Fediverse Friends who wished me well or even just commiserated at the pain I've been going through.
I am feeling a lot better today, but I don't want to forget that pain, because I need to be mindful of the pain people are in every day. It's a struggle, it's a battle, and I wish we could all live pain-free lives.

"Tree planting can combat urban heat, but some neighborhoods are falling behind"
#Trees #Environment
https://

Tree planting can combat urban heat, but some neighborhoods are falling behind
Sydney communities may be missing out on crucial tree planting projects intended to combat urban heat, leaving western and eastern parts of Greater Sydney with less protection from extreme heat, a University of Sydney-led study has revealed. In a surprising finding, the researchers found that while Greater Sydney's total tree canopy increased by 4.2% from 1.514 billion square meters to 1.578 billion square meters between 2016 and 2022, this growth was not evenly distributed.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omarhas warned that Donald Trump’s repeated personal attacks and dehumanising rhetoric
are fuelling a climate of political violence that could have dangerous consequences.
Speaking days after the president called for her to be thrown out of the country,
Omar said Trump’s incendiary language reaches “the worst humans possible” and encourages them to act.
“We’ve had people incarcerated for threatening to kill me,”
“We have people that are being…

Tributes to the ficus marked for felling at Steiner and Waller 💚

While preparing #ArtemisII for flight, NASA engineers are reviewing data after a confidence test Feb. 12, in which operators partially filled the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage liquid hydrogen tank to assess newly replaced seals in an area used to fill the rocket with propellant: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/13/following-confidence-test-nasa-continues-artemis-ii-data-review/ - during the test, "teams encountered an issue with ground support equipment that reduced the flow of liquid hydrogen into the rocket. [...] Engineers will examine findings before setting a timeline for the next test, a second wet dress rehearsal this month. March remains the earliest potential launch window for Artemis II."

Thanks to the new folks following me on PeerTube and Pixelfed!
I drop random nonsense on PeerTube while I share more personal updates and small stories on Pixelfed.
Thank you again!
Pixelfed: @…
PeerTube @…