Tootfinder

Because I constantly hear myths about the good old compact cassette here's a longer post dispelling them:
1. They can sound as good as CDs
2. They don't wear out
3. You can't use a pencil to wind them
4. You can go to specific tracks automatically
5. You don't need to carry around extra batteries
I will elaborate below:
1. Sound Quality
Many higher-end decks can record cassettes on metal tape with various Dolby noise reduction settings; especially the combination of metal tape and Dolby S will make tapes that are pretty much indistinguishable from listening to a CD.
Even normal or chrome tape with Dolby B (around since the 1970s) will give great results; likely indistinguishable from a CD when played in a car or while out and about with a personal player.
Some extremely high-end tape decks produce better than CD results in some regards (for example some Nakamichi models go to 26KHz with frequency response, while CD are inherently limited to top out at 22KHz).
It's true that the dynamic range of CDs is much better than either vinyl records or tapes. However, unless you're super into classical music there's likely not much music for which this truly matters, as 99% is mastered to use much less dynamic range than provided by any audio media format. (If you're super into classical music you probably want SACD or other high-res lossless sources anyway, not CDs.)
2. Yes, it will wear out mechanically but you will wear out mechanically before it does. Please watch VWestlife's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dgJ4hRHBiw
3. European and American pencils are too thin to engage the cassette reel cogs. (You'd need to get a Japanese pencil. People mostly used BIC pens for this purpose which have the right thickness.)
4. Most (nice) decks and personal players from the early-to-mid nineties onwards have track skip features (e.g. Sony has AMS, Automatic Music Sensor), which allow precise winding to a specific track.
Some decks even did this in the early 80s!
5. My late-90s Walkman has seventy-eight (78) hours of playback on one (1) single AA battery.
Anyway, the main reason why I like them is they're fun to use and recording them is very deliberate instead of algorithms selecting music for me. :)

Five years ago today,
Donald Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol in a last-ditch effort to cling to power
after losing a free and fair election.
January 6 was not a protest that got out of hand
— it was an attempted coup, carried out in plain sight.
https://bsky.app/profi…

Indivisible ❌👑 (@indivisible.org)
Five years ago today, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol in a last-ditch effort to cling to power after losing a free and fair election. January 6 was not a protest that got out of hand — it was an attempted coup, carried out in plain sight.

Who's on first, what's on second for Venezuela ... from a Venezuelan viewpoint.
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2026/01/04/maduros-out-whos-next-in-line/

Before you head out for the weekend, don't miss today's Metcurity for the crucial cybersecurity developments you should know, including
--US, Canada warn of Chinese-linked Brickstorm malware that gains long-term access,
--Intellexa had access to personal data of Predator spyware targets,
--Int'l partners release AI security guide for OT orgs,
--Phreeli cellco doesn't ask for identifying info,
--Taiwan suspends Rednote over fraud cases,
--Alb…

US, Canada warn of Chinese-linked Brickstorm malware that gains long-term access
Intellexa had access to personal data of Predator spyware targets, Int'l partners release AI security guide for OT orgs, Phreeli cellco doesn't ask for identifying info, Taiwan suspends Rednote over fraud cases, Albiriox Android malware evolves quickly, NCSC debuts proactive notifications, much more

If you set limits for a scale (e.g. x-axis) in ggplot, how would you like data outside of that range be handled? There is the oob parameter for that and a set of functions to use with it: https://scales.r-lib.org/reference/oob.html

Raiders vs. Broncos Week 10 inactives: Players ruled out for Thursday's game https://www.nfl.com/news/raiders-vs-broncos-week-10-inactives-players-ruled-out-for-thursday-s-game

Bandcamp I love you but damn you make it difficult. I added stuff to my cart, but went to another device to check out and... I can't find the cart on the mobile app. Where is it!?
Went to a computer and got to the cart and... it's empty. None of the stuff I added is there. Re-add it all and check out.
I've tried multiple times to check out, the all fail. I mean, maybe so many of you are making purchases the system is overloaded? Argh.

Dallas Cowboys finding out what Pittsburgh Steelers already knew about George Pickens https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/news/dallas-cowboys-finding-out-pittsburgh-steelers…

Five years ago today,
Donald Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol
in a last-ditch effort to cling to power after losing a free and fair election.
January 6 was not a protest that got out of hand
— it was an attempted coup, carried out in plain sight.
https://bsky.app/profi…

Indivisible ❌👑 (@indivisible.org)
Five years ago today, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol in a last-ditch effort to cling to power after losing a free and fair election. January 6 was not a protest that got out of hand — it was an attempted coup, carried out in plain sight.

EFF is proud to support the
“ICE Out of Our Faces Act.”
This new federal bill would ban ICE and CBP agents, and some local police working with them,
from acquiring or using biometric surveillance systems,
including face recognition technology, or information derived from such systems by another entity.
This bill would be enforceable, among other ways, by a strong private right of action.
The bill’s lead author is Senator Ed Markey.
We thank him for…

Yes to the “ICE Out of My Face Act”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have descended into utter lawlessness, most recently in Minnesota. The violence is shocking. So are the intrusions on digital rights and civil liberties. For example, immigration agents are routinely scanning faces of...