Tootfinder

A large banner featuring Donald Trump’s face was hung on the exterior of justice department headquarters on Thursday
in a physical display of the president’s efforts to exert power over the law enforcement agency that once investigated him.
While Trump banners have been hung outside other agencies across Washington,
the decision to place one on the storied justice department building amounted to a striking symbol of the erosion of the department’s tradition of independence …

Great post on the power of simplicity, when developing: https://terriblesoftware.org/2026/03/03/nobody-gets-promoted-for-simplicity/

Nobody Gets Promoted for Simplicity
We reward complexity and ignore simplicity. In interviews, design reviews, and promotions. Here’s how to fix it.

🔊 #NowPlaying on #BBCRadio3:
#TheEssay
- The Death and Life of Christopher Marlowe
The first episode opens with the infamous murder of Christopher 'Kit' Marlowe in 1593. Was he murdered by design, or simply the victim of a dispute over the bill, or ‘reckoning’?
Relisten now 👇
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002v6z8

> Parts of Asset Hub are still in beta, Yona said, because SimpleClosure removes all personally-identifiable information from the internal company data, a sensitive and technically difficult process that they want to make sure is “rock solid” before rolling it out more widely.
Can't help but suspect that anonymising HR discussions is going to be difficult when the ability to find who held what position at what time can be derived elsewhere. (eg Linked In)

AI’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
AI’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails

So I finally (what, a decade behind popular trends??) am having reason to experiment with actual use of Docker in production, and…I’m surprised at how disappointing it is.
The configuration is clumsy, a dangerous mix of boilerplate and footgun customization points. The dockerfile / compose division of labor is nonsensical; it apparently grew by accretion instead of design. There are lots of loose ends left for hosting services to tie up, and the product thus fails in what would seem to be a primary goal of avoiding hosting vendor lock-in.
Am I simply Not Getting It Yet™, or is the state of the art actually like this?

Basics of RF Electronics
Amos Christopher Dexter
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15205 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.15205 https://arxiv.org/html/2602.15205
arXiv:2602.15205v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The focus of this educational text is selected examples of high-frequency electronic circuits and their components employed for the accurate phasing and synchronisation of accelerator cavities. Examples have been chosen to describe the basics of RF electronics. The starting point is transmission lines, connectors, discontinuities, and the handling of reflection. The application of simple surface mount components is discussed. The use of the Kuroda identities for converting lumped circuit designs to printed circuit designs is demonstrated. The accelerator example used to demonstrate the use of components is a circuit designed for the synchronisation of the CLIC crab cavities. This example employs co-planar waveguide, SMA connectors, Wilkinson splitters, and surface-mount double-balanced mixers. For the control of cavity phase and amplitude, the benefit of I&Q controllers will be explained. The text will then discuss the operation and use of I&Q modulators and VCOs.
toXiv_bot_toot

Finally, Volkswagen is launching a V2G tariff in Germany. It is now scheduled for launch in Q4 2026.
Although Volkswagen was the first German car manufacturer to release bidirectional charging functionality in their vehicles, they are now behind BMW, Mercedes and Ford (whose EVs use VW technology) in terms of announcing an actual charger and tariff bundle.

Apple sends invites for a "special Apple Experience" event on March 4 in New York City; rumors suggest an M5 MacBook Pro, entry-level iPad Air, and iPhone 17e (Hartley Charlton/MacRumors)
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/16/apple-announces-special-e…

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design composed of yellow, green, and blue discs.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #DriveTime
Simple Minds:
🎵 Alive and Kicking
#SimpleMinds
https://discosanctuary.bandcamp.com/track/simple-minds-alive-kicking-sanctuary-edit
https://open.spotify.com/track/471SXWs7Ko4d2rkKOk7oPF

This positive review of Apple's MacBook Neo has lots to consider in mechanical design
"The trackpad mechanism is simple, but still magic. Two flexures let the trackpad move, and a central screw sets how much force it takes to actuate the membrane switch underneath. It’s easier to understand than Force Touch, easier to access, and almost certainly cheaper to produce."

MacBook Neo Is the Most Repairable MacBook in 14 Years
Is Apple’s most affordable laptop ever also one of its most repairable? We’re loving the screwed-in battery.