Tootfinder

A Sports Frenzy for the Most Valuable Influencers https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/arts/sports-influencers-content-creators-nfl-nba.html

The Dutch coast paying tribute to Ukraine.

🔱 The Accidental Discovery of the Most Valuable Shipwreck in History
#ocean

The Accidental Discovery of the Most Valuable Shipwreck in History
Roger Dooley’s quest, the one that would come to consume him and indeed to define his life, began in Seville, on a typically torrid day in July 1984. The thirty-nine-year-old archaeologist left his…

The human race is not very good at maintaining peace.

How will the chaotic political three body problem (Trump, Putin, Xi) develop in 2026?
Happy New Year everyone!

"When LLMs learn to take shortcuts, they become evil."
(Article in The Econimist)
Lousy Language Models?

The "trickle down effect" does exist. No, not with regard to economics or wealth, but when it comes to anger, hate, violence, racism, and mendacity, there is no doubt that they trickle down.

Het is niet alleen het vuurwerk met Oud en Nieuw. De beschaving is op zulke dagen simpelweg opgeschort. Het verbieden van vuurwerk doet weinig met de 'traditie' van vandalisme, brandstichting, agressie tegen hulpverleners en ander geweld, vrees ik.

Living under the scourge of state-sponsored domestic terrorism – such as ICE or the Revolutionary Guard – seems an inescapable fate in autocracies and pseudo-democracies (if there is indeed a difference between those). It appears infectious and appealing to populists.

Like financial transactions, barter transactions are treated as taxable supplies for VAT purposes as well in the EU.
Italy has considered that handing over personal details in exchange for services, as e.g. in the case of Facebook, is barter, and therefore VAT-able. If they succeed in making that work, other EU member states are bound to follow. Big tech platforms are worried, especially as the EU Commission agrees with the Italian stance. Interesting.