Tootfinder

Sources: Snowflake is in talks to buy app monitoring startup Observe for around $1B; Observe has raised more than $470M (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/snowflake-talks-buy-app-monitoring-startup-observe…

Snowflake in Talks to Buy App Monitoring Startup Observe Inc. For Around $1 Billion
Snowflake is in talks to buy app monitoring startup Observe Inc. for around $1 billion, which would likely be the biggest deal in Snowflake’s history, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Observe, based in San Mateo, Calif., sells so-called observability tools that help ...

Scientists Discover Building Blocks of Life in Ice Around a Forming Star (ST6) in Neighboring Galaxy (Large Magellanic Cloud).
https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/marta-sewilo-discovers-building-blocks-life-ice-around-forming-star…

Sinkholes around the world – in pictures | World news | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2024/dec/04/sinkholes-around-the-world-from-greenwich-to-guatemala-in-pictures

Spot the difference from yesterday? More framSpot the difference from yesterday? More framework over the top by the ceiling and around the windows ready for the mirrored door blinds.
Bought more wood struts. Had quite a comedy farce trying to get the things into the house now the build cupboards prevent them entering the room. Had to carry them around into the garden then in through the back door and up into the kitchen to get the angle to enter the bedroom.
The company sending the new paint had emailed saying that they don't do varnish in the colours they had allowed us to order, so asked for whatever blues they do have. That did not arrive today. Nor did the extra wood that was set for "early" this week.
Making all these doors is going to take ages and I suggested that seems like something that could be done working from home. He's probably got a proper workshop there even. Carpenter suggests his boss won't allow such things though. 🙄 Bosses eh? They do like their staff to be monitored even if only by the client.ework over the top by the ceiling and around the windows ready for the mirrored door blinds.
Bought more wood struts. Had quite a comedy farce trying to get the things into the house now the build cupboards prevent them entering the room. Had to carry them around into the garden then in through the back door and up into the kitchen to get the angle to enter the bedroom.
The company sending the new paint had emailed saying that they don't do varnish in the colours they had allowed us to order, so asked for whatever blues they do have. That did not arrive today. Nor did the extra wood that was set for "early" this week.
Making all these doors is going to take ages and I suggested that seems like something that could be done working from home. He's probably got a proper workshop there even. Carpenter suggests his boss won't allow such things though. 🙄 Bosses eh? They do like their staff to be monitored even if only by the client.

“We have archived around 86 million songs from Spotify, ordering by popularity descending. While this only represents 37% of songs, it represents around 99.6% of listens”
https://annas-archive.org/blog/backing-up-spotify.html

Backing up Spotify
We backed up Spotify (metadata and music files). It’s distributed in bulk torrents (~300TB). It’s the world’s first “preservation archive” for music which is fully open (meaning it can easily be mirrored by anyone with enough disk space), with 86 million music files, representing around 99.6% of listens.

"Deep Research, Shallow Agency: What Academic Deep Research Can and Can't Do"
https://aarontay.substack.com/p/how-agentic-are-academic-deep-research

Trump admin recalling around 30 ambassadors as part of State Dept realignment, official confirms (Fox News)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-recalling-around-30-ambassadors-part-state-dept-realignment
http://www.memeorandum.com/251222/p60#a251222p60

In the US, men who smoke are around 21 times more likely to die from lung cancer than men who have never smoked.
But the damage doesn’t stop there:
smoking also increases the risk of other cancers,
including mouth, throat, bladder and pancreatic cancer,
in addition to other health conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
heart disease, and diabetes.
Why does one habit harm so many organs?
Cigarettes carry a mixture of carcinoge…

Smoking increases the risk of death from many causes
Most of us have heard that smoking damages the lungs. The chart drives this home: in the US, men who smoke are around 21 times more likely to die from lung cancer than men who have never smoked.

iPhone 17 Pro teardown: the anodized aluminum scratches badly around the camera plateau edge, the screwed-in battery is a cool repairability upgrade, and more (Elizabeth Chamberlain/iFixit News)
https://www.ifixit.com/News/113388/iphone-17-pro-teardown

The Science Behind Scratchgate and What It Means for Repairing the iPhone 17 Pro
The anodized aluminum finish on the brand new iPhone 17 Pro is gorgeous, right up until it meets your keys or a stray coin bouncing around in your pocket.

Trump Dismisses Another Inspector General,
Fueling Oversight Concerns
With the firing of Parisa Salehi,
the Export-Import Bank’s inspector general,
the president has sidelined around two dozen of the watchdogs who seek out fraud and mismanagement in federal agencies.
Even among Republicans on Capitol Hill, Ms. Salehi’s firing is prompting some backlash.
Senator Charles E. Grassley,
Republican of Iowa, raised concerns that the termination was illegal, …

Trump Dismisses Another Inspector General, Fueling Oversight Concerns
With the firing of the Export-Import Bank’s inspector general, the president has sidelined around two dozen of the watchdogs who seek out fraud and mismanagement in federal agencies.