Tootfinder

I have basically mildly positive feelings about Gemini Nano being available in Chrome. I don't use Chrome, but lots of stuff should be done on-device, not off. That's a win.
If "software shouldn't have features i don't like" is the argument you're actually making, that's not really a good argument. Even when the feature is an LLM model.
"Chrome is getting big and bloated and we can do better” is absolutely a good argument you can make.
And then the real kicker: Google pushing the web platform around through dominance is just the real ick here. It's the same sort of thing monopoly power enables. Companies that own verticals in the economy or a product market can dictate rather than negotiate. This is, in general, bad. Google does this, not because the ideas its employees put forward are good, but because they work out to be in Google's interests. And those interests can run counter to the rest of the world.
That's what we have to push back on.

This week, something broke.
Maybe Trump does not understand the link between the past and the present,
but other people do.
They can see that, as a result of decisions that Trump made but cannot explain,
the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iranian mines and drones.
They can see oil prices rising around the world and they understand that it is difficult and dangerous for the U.S. Navy to solve this problem.
They can also hear the president lashing out,

Everyone but Trump Understands What He’s Done
Allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing.

I had an interesting chat with a friend who mentioned a book called "The Living Company." Apparently Shell was one of the few companies that saw the 1970's oil crisis coming and was able to adapt. They did it by talking to a bunch of people randomly about the future, identifying patterns, and coming up with possible future scenarios. They then formed clear plans for these future scenarios, where those plans would cover as many related scenarios as possible.
This was actually really familiar to me, though I hadn't read the book, because that's very close to what the Seattle GDC disaster prep committee did. We identified possible disaster scenarios, then identified preparedness steps that served multiple purposes. We got boxes of n95 masks in 2018 and 2019 for wildfire smoke and did a bit of work building box-fan air purifiers. Over the years we handed out these masks to houseless folks who were most exposed to the smoke. When the pandemic hit, we were able to take some of those boxes to first responders just as manufacturing in China dropped because of their lockdowns and as others started PPE hoarding. We focused on N95 because that was one of the overlap points between the unexpected but catastrophic "flu pandemic" that we knew was possible, and the regular "wildfire smoke" problem we were just getting used to.
The book sounds like it's at least partially influenced by cybernetics. There's this Dutch cybernetics connection that I haven't quite figured out. Anyway, this guy talked about how a company needs to be sustainable and all that. My dude, you worked for an oil company. That is categorically not sustainable. All this aside, I think there are a lot of things we can and should take from capitalists (or take back, in some cases). This practice is one of them.
So maybe get together with friends and talk about what you think might happen. We live in a world of crisis, so I'll always recommend disaster preparedness. But there's more than that.
What do you think will happen in the next 5 years?
Assuming that happens, what actions would you take to push that towards the most positive outcome?
I'm listening to Revolutions and reminded of how much effort monarchies put in to preventing revolutions. Corporations can be even more advanced in their planning and preemption. What would it look like if we planned like that?

Trump’s venal persona and his war on Iran will do untold damage to America’s ability to make a positive difference in the world
Trump’s hardline authoritarianism is devastating to American soft power.
He is a one-man wrecking crew for values that presidents of each party tried to promote.
America the generous? He eviscerated USAID, America’s foreign aid agency.
America the democratic beacon? He pardoned the January 6 rioters and sent ICE to Minnesota.
America …

Some mornings are tough.
I want to share something positive with the world, but the only thing I can come up with is wishing for the end of Trump's reign of cruel stupidity.
The entire world is suffering because of our insane president.
I never dreamed I could be so disappointed in my fellow citizens.
#trump #shame

"Isaacman’s actions to date have [...] destabilized #NASA, damaged its most valued relationships, and jeopardized its future. As Isaacman speaks of NASA’s power to inspire the world, he has led the agency to strike out on its own, cancelling programs and advocating for historic budget cuts. If Isaacman wants to achieve lasting, positive change at NASA, his next step must be a major course correction": https://www.spacescout.info/2026/05/op-ed-isaacmans-actions-threaten-trust-and-stability-at-nasa/

Solar panels work better when they're cool, but active cooling has been impractical—until now.
Czech researchers built an IoT system that sprays water on panels to manage temperature. The result? A 7.38% boost in daily energy output with positive net energy balance.
The smart system uses sensors and cloud tech to decide when cooling is worth it, making this approach finally scalable for real-world use.

Internet-of-Things could bring solar module water cooling closer to commercial viability
A Czech team developed an IoT system using MQTT to autonomously cool PV panels, boosting daily energy yield by 7.38% with a positive net energy balance.

With the eight week improv course ending last week, I timed it well to start a new group with a new set of eight sessions this week.
The Free Association seem more serious than Hoopla. They have 50% longer classes for a start. Three hours rather than two.
More instruction and notes rather than just positive encouragement. Clearer aim even from the early levels. More like a classroom than a playground.
First couple of sets of eight at Hoopla are just aimed at getting you to lose your decorum and allow yourself to be free and spontaneous. All really short form games, lightning rounds. Parlor games rather than theater.
But the Free Association's aim from the start is to get you building scenes and then stories. Their first set of lessons is titled "intro to long form". This one "Scene work".
Not so much the one minute parlor games, more focus on acting and characters and drama.
In vague terms at early stages that is. I mean, they have more in common than different. Plenty of short games in warm-up at FA and I just finished a whole set on drama and story with Hoopla.
Three hours is pretty long though. Starts half an hour earlier, ends half an hour later. Good thing it's also much much closer for me. Ten minute walk instead of 40 minutes on the bus.
We did lots and lots of first-scene head-to-head, mostly concentrating on trying to get specific. Check that after two minutes the audience knows where you are and who you are and how you know each other and what you're doing and none of the players are unsure either. Make it all specific as soon as possible, ambiguity is the enemy.
And everyone got that and exercised it pretty much flawlessly right away. So good group.
#theFreeAssociation #improv #london