Tootfinder

🍝 The 1957 “Spaghetti-Grows-on-Trees” Hoax: One of TV’s First April Fools’ Day Pranks
https://www.openculture.com/2025/11/the-1957-spaghetti-grows-on-trees-hoax.html

The 1957 “Spaghetti-Grows-on-Trees” Hoax: One of TV’s First April Fools’ Day Pranks
In 1957, the BBC program Panorama aired one of the first televised April Fools’ Day hoaxes. Above, you can watch a faux news report from Switzerland narrated by respected BBC journalist Richard Dimbleby. Here's the basic premise:

I don't think I'll ever tire of these magic moments when a print first appears almost out of nowhere when pouring developer over it...
(The image is another one of my ancient art pieces from 2010/11, a rendered detail of the skeleton of one of the generative characters made for a collection of 100 3D printed sculptures)
Thanks to @… for being m…

X replaces DMs with Chat, a new messaging system that it says is E2EE, supports file sharing, video calling, and more, rolling out first to iOS and the web (Karissa Bell/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is

X is finally rolling out Chat, its DM replacement with encryption and video calling
X has finally revealed its long-promised chat platform, which replaces the service's basic DM functionality with features more like the messaging...

Guardian: Face transplants promised hope. Patients were put through the unthinkable https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/nov/27/face-transplant-patients-results-outcomes "negative data is often buried, driven by funding battles and inst…

Climate action is finally moving from promises to practice. The Global Implementation Accelerator is bridging the gap between national climate plans and real-world results.
Here's what's working: Private capital restoring Brazilian forests. Unilever switching to renewables. H&M and IKEA modernizing Vietnam's grid. Companies in Taiwan pooling demand for clean energy.
The breakthrough? Aligning business needs with national climate goals creates wins on both sides.

From Plans to Progress: A Blueprint for Delivering 1.5°C Through the ‘Global Mutirão’
The Global Mutirão sent a clear message: delivering 1.5°C is only possible through shared effort.

Social opprobrium is not antithetical to free speech. It is a •pillar• of free speech. It is the premise upon which the First Amendment is built.

"Germany promises support for Brazil's tropical forest protection scheme at UN climate talks"
#Germany #Brazil #UN

Germany pledges support for Brazil's tropical forest protection scheme
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility seeks seeks to leverage investments into €108 billion that can be used to pay 74 developing countries for every hectare of forest they conserve.

The Surveillance Empire That Tracked World Leaders, a Vatican Enemy, and Maybe You (Mother Jones)
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/firstwap-altamides-phone-tracking-surveillance-secrets-assad-erik-prince-jared-leto-anne-wojcicki/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251014/p157#a251014p157

I completely disagree with the premise of this piece but I agree with it's overall conclusion… so this is awkward.
It's plain wrong for me to claim AGI is here and then only focus on LLMs being useful in a general sense.
Intelligence is only brought up as a segue to ask what technology ultimately should be used for.
Discuss the question at the end, for sure, but the first part is wholly unnecessary since the conclusion (here's the twist) is kinda general in its…

AGI is here (and I feel fine)
I propose to begin this year with an acknowledgment that is strategic but/and also sincere.

China just unveiled a game-changing energy storage breakthrough: the world's first 560°C "Carnot battery" that stores electricity as ultra-high-temperature heat and cold.
SPIC's pilot system has completed seven full cycles at 1 MW/4 MWh, offering a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries for long-duration storage.

World-first 560 C Carnot battery unveiled as SPIC launches ultra-high-temperature heat storage
Chinese state-owned power group SPIC has launched a 1 MW / 4 MWh pilot, showcasing a long-duration energy storage alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries and compressed air energy storage (CAES).