Tootfinder

Random thought: humans view trees as vulnerable because they can't move out of the way of danger. But consider:
1. A single tree can produce tens of thousands of offspring.
2. Many of those seeds can remain dormant and viable for millennia.
3. Some living trees survive fit millennia themselves.
4. Trees vastly outnumber humans, maybe up to 100:1.
5. Many seeds die, but those that don't have found a niche that supplies them everything they need without having to move.
In contrast, humans:
1. Only produce a few dozen offspring at most. Barely replace their own population.
2. Cannot remain dormant once birthed.
3. Only survive for a century tops. Can only reproduce for maybe half that time.
4. So few of us. Individual humans live hundreds of feet apart, or at least dozens even in the densest cities.
5. Need to constantly burn energy moving around for their next meal. Could starve and die at any time in just a few days if they can't find water.
At a species level, the survival of humans begins to look much more perilous than the survival of many tree species.
Also I forgot to add:
6. Humans kill *each other* all the time. What the fuck humans?!? We have made ourselves our own biggest threat.
Trees do compete locally for water and sunlight and thus do kill each other, but only via circumstance, not intentionally.

Future Portrait Of A Billionaire's House...
Ozymandias, only an inscription and the views remain...
(From our snowy and icy morning walk yesterday... Hohenfreyberg, built & expanded between 1418-1608, burnt down (sacrificed) in 1646. Same fate for the other ruin on the neighboring hill (last image), which belonged to the father and also got destroyed previously (in 1525) by farmers of the surrounding villages...)

#Gentoo kann sich beim #Linux #Kernel auch nicht entscheiden, oder? >_>
"for your editing pleasure" − "Automatically generated file; DO NOT EDIT."

Multi-port programmable silicon photonics using low-loss phase change material Sb$_2$Se$_3$
Thomas W. Radford, Idris A Ajia, Latif Rozaqi, Priya Deoli, Xingzhao Yan, Mehdi Banakar, David J Thomson, Ioannis Zeimpekis, Alberto Politi, Otto L. Muskens
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.18205 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.18205 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.18205
arXiv:2511.18205v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Reconfigurable photonic devices are rapidly emerging as a cornerstone of next generation optical technologies, with wide ranging applications in quantum simulation, neuromorphic computing, and large-scale photonic processors. A central challenge in this field is identifying an optimal platform to enable compact, efficient, and scalable reconfigurability. Optical phase-change materials (PCMs) offer a compelling solution by enabling non-volatile, reversible tuning of optical properties, compatible with a wide range of device platforms and current CMOS technologies. In particular, antimony tri-selenide ($\text{Sb}_{2}\text{Se}_{3}$) stands out for its ultra low-loss characteristics at telecommunication wavelengths and its reversible switching. In this work, we present an experimental platform capable of encoding multi-port operations onto the transmission matrix of a compact multimode interferometer architecture on standard 220~nm silicon photonics using \textit{in-silico} designed digital patterns. The multi-port devices are clad with a thin film of $\text{Sb}_{2}\text{Se}_{3}$, which can be optically addressed using direct laser writing to provide local perturbations to the refractive index. A range of multi-port geometries from 2$\times$2 up to 5$\times$5 couplers are demonstrated, achieving simultaneous control of up to 25 matrix elements with programming accuracy of 90% relative to simulated patterns. Patterned devices remain stable with consistent optical performance across the C-band wavelengths. Our work establishes a pathway towards the development of large scale PCM-based reconfigurable multi-port devices which will allow implementing matrix operations on three orders of magnitude smaller areas than interferometer meshes.
toXiv_bot_toot

Impact of a transient neonatal visual deprivation on the development of the ventral occipito-temporal cortex in humans https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65468-7 "while EVC is permanently affected by early deprivation, categorical coding in VOTC shows resilience"; <…

Impact of a transient neonatal visual deprivation on the development of the ventral occipito-temporal cortex in humans - Nature Communications
This study shows that transient blindness at birth leaves lasting effects on early visual functions, while higher visual regions encoding categories remain unaffected, revealing different sensitive periods for different functions in vision.

Seems like the funeral industry in Korea has failed to meet its cybersecurity requirements. Gotta wonder if this is true everywhere. (not that most organizations aren't bad at cyber -- they are -- but haven't read much about the funeral industry).
Exclusive: Funeral Industry Faces Security Gaps as Top Firms Lack Key Certifications

Exclusive: Funeral Industry Faces Security Gaps as Top Firms Lack Key Certifications
Exclusive: Funeral Industry Faces Security Gaps as Top Firms Lack Key Certifications Despite managing sensitive data of millions, funeral companies remain exempt from information security regulations, raising concerns over data protection and ransomware risks

"Biodegradable wet wipes remain in rivers for more than five weeks"
#WetWipes #Environment
https://

Biodegradable wet wipes remain in rivers for more than five weeks
Scientists have tested, for the first time, how biodegradable wet wipes break down when flushed rather than composted, discovering that most wipes remain after five weeks—a finding the research team say challenges the marketing of these products.

"Every year, thousands of people across Europe fall ill after eating contaminated food, with eggs, meat and ready-to-eat (RTE) food products among the most frequent sources of infection. "
Serious Listeria infections rising in Europe, EU report warns https://www.efsa.…

Serious Listeria infections rising in Europe, EU report warns
Every year, thousands of people across Europe fall ill after eating contaminated food, with eggs, meat and ready-to-eat (RTE) food products among the most frequent sources of infection. The report shows that while food safety standards in Europe remain high, foodborne diseases continue to affect people across all age groups – especially those most vulnerable to severe illness – even though many of these diseases are preventable.Listeria: a rare but serious infectionIn 2024, Listeria caused …

"The last hit song of Belgian singer Stromae, called “Santé”, is a tribute to all those workers behind the scenes in our modern world; the ones growing or catching the food we eat; the ones transporting us; the ones building and cleaning our facilities; those who more often than not, we simply do not see.
How long until Stromae releases an update to this song including software workers among those groups? Not very long."

Divide Et Impera
Divide and Conquer is a common technique for algorithm design: quicksort, discrete Fourier transforms, and even MapReduce are common examples of such a technique. It consists in breaking down a problem into smaller parts, so as to solve the whole of the problem. It is also a common technique in politics, known and applied since before the times of the Roman Empire. It consists in breaking down society into smaller parts, so as to rule the whole of society.