Tootfinder

Speaking of cursed USB...
What's the most cursed USB thing you have personally had a hand in creating (whether as an actual product or a one-off personal project or prototype)?
For me, it's probably this 4-port hub with male mini-B connectors (yes mini, not micro or C), intended to mate backplane-style directly to small devkits without using a cable.
The connector was incredibly hard to source because ~nobody ever made USB devices with PCB mount (rather than cable m…

I frequently talk against the rush of transitioning to electric battery-powered buses. The technology is just not there yet, and we risk making public transit worse and reduce actual bus service if we don't slow down.
This article based on a TTC report makes a good case as to why.
The TTC had announced they would no longer buy hybrid bus, now they are considering buying 200 because electric isn't ready.

That's nice...
I already have machines that I need an antique SSH client to log into because they run antique bespoke ssh implementations. Now I'll have another set causing a whiny client.
https://bsd.network/@jggimi/115038801591528303

Josh Grosse (@jggimi@bsd.network)
Cryptography tells us we are already living in a post-quantum world. We need to be cognizant of a new form of attack. I get warned about it when I connect to github.com with SSH, because Microsoft isn't keeping up: --- ** WARNING: connection is not using a post-quantum key exchange algorithm. ** This session may be vulnerable to "store now, decrypt later" attacks. ** The server may need to be upgraded. See https://openssh.com/pq.html

On the equivalent p-th von Neumann-Jordan constant associated with isosceles orthogonality in Banach spaces
Yuxin Wang, Qi Liu, Yongmo Hu, Jinyu Xia, Mengmeng Bao
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.13142

On the equivalent p-th von Neumann-Jordan constant associated with isosceles orthogonality in Banach spaces
In this paper, we define a new geometric constant based on isosceles orthogonality, denoted by . Through research, we find that this constant is the equivalent p-th von Neumann Jordan constant in the sense of isosceles orthogonality. First, we obtain some basic properties of the constant. Then, we calculate the upper and lower bounds of the constant. Through three examples, it is found that the upper bound of the constant is attainable. We also compare the relationship between this constant and…

🧵 https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffield/114864376228330562

Coherent State Path Integral Reveals Unexpected Vacuum Structure in Thermal Field Theory
Rens Roosenstein, Maximilian Attems, W. A. Horowitz
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11608

Coherent State Path Integral Reveals Unexpected Vacuum Structure in Thermal Field Theory
We construct the path integral formulation of the partition function for a free scalar thermal field theory using coherent states, first in the ladder operator basis and then in the field operator basis. In so doing, we provide for the first time a mapping in quantum field theory between the field-basis coherent states and ladder-basis coherent states. Using either basis, one finds terms missed in the usual path integral derivation, which we identify as the vacuum energy contribution to the par…

We are starting to prepare Xogot for iPhone, and while the basics work, we would love for interested folks to try it out and give us feedback.
If you want to take this for a spin, sign up here:
https://beta.xogot.com

Signup for TestFlight
Over the next few weeks, we will begin inviting people to TestFlight to try early builds of Godot for iPad. Use this form to be considered for inclusion during the private beta period. Please provide the email address associated with your Apple / TestFlight account.

Standard posets and integral weight bases for symmetric powers of minuscule representations
Michael C. Strayer
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.13572 https://

Standard posets and integral weight bases for symmetric powers of minuscule representations
This paper extends our earlier work where we constructed ``minuscule'' representations of Kac--Moody algebras from colored posets in a way that maintains key properties of the well-known minuscule representations of simple Lie algebras. In this paper we work only with finite posets. We define standard posets here as ones that can be used to construct weight bases of $m^\text{th}$ symmetric powers ($m \ge 1$) of these minuscule Kac--Moody representations over the integers in a certain fashion. O…

SIC-Free Rate-Splitting Multiple Access: Constellation-Constrained Optimization and Application to Large-Scale Systems
Sibo Zhang, Bruno Clerckx, David Vargas
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12668

SIC-Free Rate-Splitting Multiple Access: Constellation-Constrained Optimization and Application to Large-Scale Systems
Rate-Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA) has been recognized as a promising multiple access technique for future wireless communication systems. Recent research demonstrates that RSMA can maintain its superiority without relying on Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) receivers. In practical systems, SIC-free receivers are more attractive than SIC receivers because of their low complexity and latency. This paper evaluates the theoretical limits of RSMA with and without SIC receivers under fi…

1/2 Thanks to @… for this interesting article. It speaks to me. :)
I’ve been weather blogging @… since 2005. It is interesting how it has changed, and how I have changed.
My website used to be just data from the (expensive) station I bought when I moved back to Port Alberni. It was a hobby and a side project to practice web/coding skills I use at work. My focus was on creating useful data for people that was more local/relevant than the official EC station outside of the city.
Then I put up a webcam and learned how to make timelapses. This got the attention of local media… because pictures. :)
Then I added a blog and started to write about the weather almost daily. This was before Facebook. There was a popular local online forum where I would post things. The media would also follow my website and they started to call me when there was extreme weather (usually very hot or very wet/stormy).
Then Facebook started to get big and I made a page that eventually had a few thousand followers. I would blog often. Lots of traffic from Facebook… this was 2010 and on. I blogged about climate and weather pretty equally.
Like anyone in Port Alberni, I was/am obsessed with the Martin Mars and got wrapped up in that issue along with others which combined with the weather following probably gave me just enough exposure to have me elected as a councillor in 2014.
I continued through that 4 years, blogging often in addition to councillor duties and work, heavily on facebook, then it all went sideways on my own poor judgement (go ahead and google it, it’s ok :)) and I was not reelected, but Facebook by 2018 had also changed. Cambridge Analytica, etc.
….Continued…
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-weather-apps-data-wildfires-storms-preparation-obsession-social-media/