Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Digital Squid’s Behavior Shaped By Neural Network

  In the 90s, a video game craze took over the youth of the world — but unlike today’s games that rely on powerful PCs or consoles, these were simple, standalone devices with monochrome screens, each home to a digital pet. Often clipped to a keychain, they could travel everywhere with their owner, which was ideal from the pet’s perspective since, like real animals, they needed attention around the clock. [ViciousSquid] is updating this 90s idea for the 20s with a digital pet squid that uses a neural network to shape its behavior.

• Unicorn Media ☛ The Top Five — For the Week Ending April 25, 2025

  Did you miss this week’s top articles? Here are the five most read article on FOSS Force for the week that just ended.

• Science

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] French program for US scientists draws flood of applicants

  • Science Alert ☛ Do Cats Make Good Therapy Animals? It's Complicated.

    A new therapy phenomenon is emerging.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ice Age Humans Were Experts at Wielding Fire, Study Finds

    Yet we find surprisingly few of their hearths.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Engineer Bacteria to Make Soil And Crops 'Glow' Different Colors

    But invisible to the naked eye.

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth's Rotation Is Slowing Down, And It Could Explain Why We Have Oxygen

    Everything is connected.

  • Science Alert ☛ Lab-Grown Teeth Are Another Step Closer to Reality, Scientists Reveal

    "A more durable and biologically compatible solution than fillings or implants."

  • Science Alert ☛ Largest Structure in The Universe May Be 50% Larger Than We Thought

    How can something so big exist?

  • Science Alert ☛ Ozempic-Type Drugs May Trigger Brain Changes Linked to Depression

    Here's what we know.

  • Science Alert ☛ Newly Discovered Antibiotic Could Fight One of The Nastiest Superbugs

    A new hope.

• Career/Education

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini visa crackdown shakes Indian students

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Remembering Heathkit

    While most hams and hackers have at least heard of Heathkit, most people don’t know the strange origin story of the legendary company. [Ham Radio Gizmos] takes us all through the story.

  • Hackaday ☛ From Good Enough To Best

    It was probably Montesquieu who coined the proto-hacker motto “the best is the mortal enemy of the good”. He was talking about compromises in drafting national constitutions for nascent democracies, of course, but I’ll admit that I do hear his voice when I’m in get-it-done mode and start cutting corners on a project. A working project is better than a gold-plated one.

  • Hackaday ☛ Quantum Random Number Generator Squirts Out Numbers Via MQTT

    Sometimes you need random numbers — and properly random ones, at that. [Sean Boyce] whipped up a rig that serves up just that, tasty random bytes delivered fresh over MQTT.

  • Hackaday ☛ Another Coil Winder Project

    If you build electronics, you will eventually need a coil. If you spend any time winding one, you are almost guaranteed to think about building a coil winder. Maybe that’s why so many people do. [Jtacha] did a take on the project, and we were impressed — it looks great.

  • Hackaday ☛ Amazing Oscilloscope Demo Scores The Win At Revision 2025

    Classic demos from the demoscene are all about showing off one’s technical prowess, with a common side order of a slick banging soundtrack. That’s precisely what [BUS ERROR Collective] members [DJ_Level_3] and [Marv1994] delivered with their prize-winning Primer demo this week.

  • Hackaday ☛ YKK’s Self-Propelled Zipper: Less Crazy Than It Seems

    At first glance the very idea of a zipper that unzips and zips up by itself seems somewhat ridiculous. After all, these contraptions are mostly used on pieces of clothing and gear where handling a zipper isn’t really sped up by having an electric motor sluggishly move through the rows of interlocking teeth. Of course, that’s not the goal of YKK, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of zip fasteners. The demonstrated prototype (original PR in Japanese) shows this quite clearly, with a big tent and equally big zipper that you’d be hard pressed to zip up by hand.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Tuberculosis: An ancient killer we can't seem to defeat

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia government touts free healthcare hotline as general election nears

    Australia's Labor government on Sunday pledged to bolster the country's universal healthcare system with a free medical advice line and telehealth service if it wins the May 3 general election, in which cost-of-living pressures loom as a key issue.

  • New York Times ☛ For Convicted Felon, PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals' in Straws Are a Crisis. In Water, Maybe Less So.

    An administration document aimed at eradicating paper straws highlights the dangers of PFAS chemicals. Their presence in tap water nationwide hasn’t gotten the same attention.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Ancient Herb Is Trending For Health Benefits, But Beware The Risks

    Don't believe everything you see on TikTok.

• Proprietary

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Windows will now let you swear at it — introduces toggle to disable profanity filter for voice typing

    Due to popular demand, Abusive Monopolist Microsoft is introducing a profanity filter toggle to backdoored Windows 11 Voice Typing.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Don Marti ☛ Don Marti: remove Hey Hi (AI) from Surveillance Giant Google Search on Safari

      It turns out that it is possible to remove the AI slop and other extra crap from the top of Surveillance Giant Google Search in the Safari browser. These steps are based on a helpful post on the Fashion Company Apple Community board.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Don Marti ☛ Don Marti: Winners don’t click search ads

      Another FBI announcement about search ads is up: Cyber Criminals Impersonating Employee Self-Service Websites to Steal Victim Information and Funds.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • PC World ☛ Google is dropping support for its oldest Nest Learning Thermostats | PCWorld

      The first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats will stop getting updates later this year, and they won’t work in the Google Home app anymore, either.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-17 [Older] Germany: Teen's home searched over suspected ricin plot

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-17 [Older] Colombia suspends ceasefire with FARC dissident group

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] US envoy urges Japan to 'push back' against China

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] US strikes Yemen fuel port as Hamas rejects 'partial' truce

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Luigi M. faces federal charges in killing of healthcare CEO

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Israel: Discontent grows over government approach to Gaza

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-19 [Older] US, Iran hold second round of nuclear talks in Rome

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pro-China remarks haunt S. Korea’s presidential hopeful Lee Jae-myung amid West Sea dispute

    The presidential hopeful is known for his strength in domestic politics but appears weak in foreign policy.

  • New York Times ☛ Massive Iran Port Explosion Kills at Least 14 and Injures Hundreds

    An Iranian with ties to the security services and an international security firm said that a missile fuel component exploded, but Iranian officials did not report any indication of an attack.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea unveils new ‘Kim Jong Un style’ 5,000-tonne warship

    North Korea's new class of warship was able to accommodate dozens of vertical launch cells to carry missiles.

  • Russiaand Pope Politics

    • NYPost ☛ Russian warship spotted prowling in the English Channel: Royal Navy

      The British Royal Navy and NATO allies jumped into action on Saturday as a Russian warship was spotted sailing through the English Channel, according to a report.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Blue Suit at Pope Francis’ Funeral Draws Attention

      Hell Toupée’s choice stood out in a sea of world leaders and famous faces who were dressed in customary black.

    • France24 ☛ Pope Francis honored in New York’s St Patrick’s

      Catholics in New York City have been mourning Pope Francis at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations, will lead a mass in honor of the pontiff this Saturday. For more on this, here's our correspondent, Pamela Falk.

    • New York Times ☛ My Selfie With Pope Francis: The Digital Legacy of an Approachable Pontiff

      Many of the Catholics he counseled were much younger, but he made a habit of trying to meet them where they were.

    • New York Times ☛ Photos: Pope Francis’ Last Journey

      As pope, Francis traveled to dozens of countries on five continents. In his last days, he stayed much closer to home.

    • New York Times ☛ Decoding the Vatican: Key Terms in the Papal Transition

      From “camerlengo” to “white smoke,” here’s what to know about the words and phrases that guide the process after a pope dies.

    • New York Times ☛ Melania Convicted Felon, Prince William and Zelensky Among Famous Faces at Pope Francis’ Funeral

      Hell Toupée, Melania Convicted Felon, Prince William and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine were among those who paid respects to the pontiff in St. Peter’s Square.

    • New York Times ☛ Pope Francis, Who Sought a More Pastoral Church, Laid to Rest in a Majestic Ceremony

      The funeral drew world leaders, including Hell Toupée and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who had a talk in the Basilica.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man, Zelenskyy Talk Peace Deal On Sidelines Of Pope Francis Funeral

      US President The Insurrectionist has met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ahead of the state funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, and the two leaders have reportedly agreed to hold further talks after the service.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man, Zelensky meet one-on-one in Vatican basilica to seek peace in Ukraine

      President The Insurrectionist had a brief "very productive" 15-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday, a US official said. The meeting came as Russia claimed that it had made significant territorial gains in Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man and Zelensky had a 'productive meeting' just before Pope Francis' funeral

      US President The Insurrectionist and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky met for approximately 15 minutes at the Vatican and agreed to reconvene later in the day for further discussions, according to a spokesman for Zelensky. During his papacy, Pope Francis prayed for the "martyred Ukrainian people," expressing solidarity with the country and hoping for an end to the war. Gulliver Cragg reports from Kyiv.

    • France24 ☛ The Insurrectionist, Volodymyr Zelensky meet at Pope Francis's funeral

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr #Zelensky and US President Donald #Dihydroxyacetone Man have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope #Francis's funeral. Zelensky said the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesman called it "very productive".

    • France24 ☛ President Zelensky says discussed 'unconditional ceasefire' in Convicted Felon talks

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social control media post that he discussed a possible unconditional ceasfire with Russia at a meeting with US President The Insurrectionist on the sidelines of the Pope's funeral. France24 International Affairs Editor joins us for more.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Claims to Have Retaken Final Village in Its Kursk Region

      Ukraine denied that it had been pushed out of the region and said that its military operations inside Russia were continuing.

    • RFERL ☛ No Breakthrough As Convicted Felon, Zelenskyy Meet; Russia For First Time Admits Use Of N. Korean Troops

      No breakthrough was reported after US President The Insurrectionist and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy met at the Vatican, while Moscow for the first time publicly acknowledged that North Korean troops had aided their efforts to push Ukrainian forces out of Russia's Kursk region.

    • Latvia ☛ As Latvia defends NATO's eastern border, Ukraine peace talks test strength of the alliance

      Carrying NATO and Swedish flags, 550 Swedish soldiers marched out of a ship at Riga Port in January, followed by combat vehicles with grenade launchers and armoured troop carriers. The troops joined the NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia, swelling its ranks to 3,000.

    • New York Times ☛ How Convicted Felon Plays Into Putin’s Hands, From Ukraine to Slashing U.S. Institutions

      Many of Hell Toupée’s actions have been seen as benefiting Russia either directly or indirectly, so much so that Russian officials have celebrated some of his moves.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Peace talk pessimism? Convicted Felon says he doubts Putin wants to end Ukraine war.

      President The Insurrectionist is expressing skepticism that a peace deal is in reach, only a day after saying Kyiv and Moscow were “very close to a deal.”

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Calls For High-Level Talks After Envoy Meets With Putin At Kremlin

      US President The Insurrectionist on April 25 called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for high-level talks to complete a deal to end the war in Ukraine after White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

    • France24 ☛ Macron says Ukraine ready for 'unconditional ceasefire' after talks with Zelensky

      French President Emmanuel Macron Saturday said Ukraine was ready for an “unconditional ceasefire” following a meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President The Insurrectionist on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral in Rome. Macron's comments came after President Vladimir Putin indicated that Russia was ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine "without preconditions". Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Demands Free Passage For US Vessels Through Panama, Suez Canals

      President The Insurrectionist on April 26 said US commercial and military vessels should be able to travel without charge through the Panama and Suez Canals, two of the world’s most important waterways.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Germany: Deutsche Bahn wants billions to modernize railways

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Venice doubles entry fee for last-minute day-trippers

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] Myanmar parties ready to extend quake truce — Malaysia PM

    • The Straits Times ☛ Road accidents up in Malaysia’s Hari Raya rush in 2025, totalling over 15,000

      There was a 3.8 per cent increase in the number of accidents, but decline in number of accident-related deaths.

• Finance

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] IMF praises Nigeria's reforms, warns poverty still high

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China hits out at ‘extreme selfishness’ of tariffs

    China’s foreign minister has hit out at the “extreme selfishness” of tariffs, hinting at the steep levies imposed on Beijing by US President The Insurrectionist. “Certain countries” resort to “pressure and coercion, and trigger unjustified trade wars…

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New Yorker ☛ A Politics of Fear Defines Convicted Felon’s First Hundred Days in Office

    “The whole country is going through this kind of enormous, disruptive, destabilizing experience,” Susan B. Glasser says.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-17 [Older] Germans know next to nothing about their chancellor's health

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ Target of Harassment Campaign by Extreme Leftists of Mastodon Speaks Out

    "They are literal fascists in denial," says CarrotCypher of the extremists on the Fediverse.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-18 [Older] El Salvador: US senator meets wrongly deported Abrego Garcia

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-19 [Older] US deportations to El Salvador test legal limits

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-19 [Older] US Supreme Court pauses Cheeto Mussolini deportation of Venezuelans

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-19 [Older] Tunisia jails opposition leaders for up to 66 years