Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Why Does So Much New Technology Feel Inspired by Dystopian Sci-Fi Movies?

  The industry keeps echoing ideas from bleak satires and cyberpunk stories as if they were exciting possibilities, not grim warnings.

• Ruben Schade ☛ When a clear film wasn’t

  We’re looking at ways to reduce the UV and heat coming from the windows in our study, on account of the harsh light that comes in for an hour or so a day in the Australian summer. We put the effort into displaying our various anime trinkets and old computers behind glass cupboard doors to prevent dust, so the last thing I’d want is stuff prematurely fading or yellowing.

  People in houses can put up awnings for physical shade, but apartment dwellers either don’t have that luxury, or you have to go through building management to authorise their installation. Otherwise, you can install tinting films that can cut most UV and infrared heat from passing through windows. I’d always wanted to install some, but I was always living in rentals until recently.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ How to See Tonight's Beaver Supermoon – The Biggest And Brightest Since 2019

    It's just so magical.

  • Science Alert ☛ Most Powerful Black-Hole Flare Ever Recorded Shone Like 10 Trillion Suns

    "Very far away and very bright."

  • Science Alert ☛ A Simple Eye Scan Could Flag Heart Risks – And How Fast You're Aging

    New treatments could follow.

  • Science Alert ☛ The World's Oldest Known Cave Art Wasn't Made by Our Species

    Here's the evidence.

  • Science Alert ☛ Oldest Known Maya Monument Could Be a Map of The Universe

    It's mind-blowing.

• Career/Education

  • Low Tech Mag ☛ Thematic Book Series: Too Much Combustion, Too Little Fire

    <

    For most of history, the multifunctional fire was the only source of energy in the household. It served as a cookstove, toaster, heating device, lighting source, hot water boiler, clothes dryer, and refrigerator, among other functions. During the twentieth century, the fire was replaced by a wide range of appliances plugged into central infrastructures.

    In this series of articles, LOW←TECH MAGAZINE critically examines the efficiency, sustainability, health, and safety of the fire and its flame- and smoke-free modern alternatives. What are we saying when we argue that electrical appliances are “better” than a traditional fire?

• Hardware

  • New York Times ☛ How Trade Tensions Sent Automakers Scrambling for Chips

    Carmakers and their suppliers are piecing together new supply chains after a Chinese-owned company in the Netherlands was caught in the middle of the trade war, revealing European vulnerabilities.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Congressional leaders want an executive branch strategy on China 6G, tech supply chain

    In an exclusive, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., told CyberScoop that policymakers must learn from past mistakes around 5G. 

  • Hackaday ☛ 2025 Component Abuse Challenge: The Ever-Versatile Transistor As A Temperature Sensor

    One of the joys of writing up the entries for the 2025 Component Abuse Challenge has come in finding all the different alternative uses for the humble transistor. This building block of all modern electronics does a lot more than simply performing as a switch, for as [Aleksei Tertychnyi] tells us, it can also function as a temperature sensor.

  • Hackaday ☛ Better 3D-Printed Bridges Are Possible, With The Right Settings

    The header image above shows a completely unsupported 3D-printed bridge, believe it or not. You’re looking at the bottom of the print. [Make Wonderful Things] wondered whether unsightly unsupported bridges could be improved, and has been busy nailing down remarkably high-quality results by exhaustive testing of different settings.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Pentium In Your Hand

    Handheld computers have become very much part of the hardware hacker scene, as the advent of single board computers long on processor power but short on power consumption has given us the tools we need to build them ourselves. Handheld retrocomputers face something of an uphill struggle though, as many of the components are over-sized, and use a lot of power. [Changliang Li] has taken on the task though, putting an industrial Pentium PC in a rather well-designed SLA printed case.

  • Hackaday ☛ Spectravideo Computers Get A Big Upgrade

    Spectravideo is not exactly the most well-known microcomputer company, but they were nevertheless somewhat active in the US market from 1981 to 1988. Their computers still have a fanbase of users and modders. Now, as demonstrated by [electricadventures], you can actually upgrade your ancient Spectravideo machine with some modern hardware.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Custom defective chip maker Intel motherboards with a whopping 36 USB ports spotted online — extravagant connectivity offering fuels bot farm speculation

    A user on Reddit has shared a collection of customized LGA 1151 motherboards with 36 USB ports stacked atop and next to each other. Even the most overkill models from the factory usually only support up to 20, and they're meant for special applications. A commenter suggests bot farming as the use for this odd motherboard.

• Health/Nutri tion/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Radiation May Be Unnecessary for Many Breast Cancer Patients

    Doctors have already begun reducing radiation treatment for women at low risk of recurrence or spread of the disease. A new study finds that some women at greater risk can safely avoid radiation.

  • New York Times ☛ Can Melatonin Cause Heart Failure? What to Know About Claims of Health Risks.

    Headlines this week have raised alarms about the popular sleep supplement.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group raises concern over cholera outbreak in Haiti

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised alarm on Wednesday over a spike in cholera cases in Haiti’s West department. The statement emphasized “the urgent need for coordinated, long-term action to restore basic water and sanitation systems.”

  • France24 ☛ 'Health is the face of climate change': how can cities mitigate the impact of global warming

    A Lancet report released last week found that since the 1990s, heat-related deaths have increased 23% to 546,000 annually as global temperatures rise. We speak with Emilia Carrera, Director of the Health Initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation, about how urban areas can mitigate the impact of global warming in cities and protect residents in urban areas.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan food stamp payments to resume Saturday – but be cut in half

    Michiganders who missed food stamp payments are expected to get reduced payments Saturday. Halved benefits from the federal government will be ‘a disappointment,’ a health official acknowledged.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia still tries to switch to electronic prescriptions, referrals

    The Government on Tuesday, 5 November, approved amendments to the regulation on the unified electronic information system for the health sector, setting 4 May as the deadline for the full transition to e-referrals.

  • The Straits Times ☛ 4 Malaysians arrested for trying to smuggle 86kg cannabis buds worth $2.5m into Britain

    They are said to have packed the drugs in their luggage.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Making noodles in a cave, our China writer gets a slice of country life

    Deep in rural China, a Monitor writer learns to cook authentic handmade noodles, gaining a new understanding of country life in the process.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Powerful Typhoon Kalmaegi poised to drench Vietnam’s key coffee region

    Kalmaegi is gathering strength in the South China Sea and is set to reach top sustained winds of 204kmh.

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Gut's Methane-Making Microbes Could Secretly Turn Fiber Into Extra Calories

    This could explain why the same diet works differently for some of us.

  • Science Alert ☛ Hundreds of Genes Act Differently in Male vs Female Brains, Scientists Discover

    Some may be linked to sex-biased brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

  • Science Alert ☛ 21-Year Study Links Gum Disease And Cavities to Higher Stroke Risk

    Just keep brushing.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ When ‘made in America’ becomes a warning label: food safety in the US vs. Mexico

    The food you buy in Mexico and the U.S. are subject to very different labeling laws and regulations regarding pesticides. Writer Monica Belot looks at why these differences matter.

• Proprietary

  • Scoop News Group ☛ With each cloud outage, calls for government action grow louder

    Public interest groups want the feds to investigate the systemic risk from market consolidation, while tech and security experts worry about single points of failure.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Andrew Cuomo’s Extensive Use of Hey Hi (AI) Made His Campaign a Toxic Joke

      Andrew Cuomo's campaign embraced Hey Hi (AI) — and it made him a toxic laughingstock, while Zohran Mamdani cruised to victory.

    • Futurism ☛ Coke’s New AI-Generated Ad Required 100 Staff and 70,000 AI-Generated Clips, and It Still Looks Like Garbage

      Where's your holiday cheer?

    • Futurism ☛ The Big Short Guy Just Bet $1 Billion That the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble Pops

      "Sometimes, we see bubbles."

    • Futurism ☛ Professors Aghast as Class Caught Cheating “Sincerely” Apologizes in the Worst Possible Way

      This was ill advised.

    • Futurism ☛ Newsmax Gets Fooled by Hey Hi (AI) Video, Broadcasts Entire Segment as If It Was Real

      This is egregious.

  • Social Control Media

    • New Yorker ☛ It’s Cool to Have No Followers Now

      As social control media has become older, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence, flouting online popularity has gained a new cachet.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan detains 25, seizes over $190 million tied to suspected scam-centre operator Prince Group

      The assets include 26 high-end cars, properties as well as bank accounts.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong police freeze HK$2.75 billion of assets linked to Cambodia scam syndicate

      Hong Kong police have frozen approximately HK$2.75 billion of assets belonging to a suspected international fraud syndicate reportedly linked to a Cambodian conglomerate run by a China-born tycoon. In response to HKFP’s enquiry, police said on Wednesday that they had initiated an investigation into the group “based on intelligence and information gathered from multiple sources.”

• Defence/Aggression

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong top court denies Portuguese citizen final chance to appeal for shorter nat. security sentence

    A Portuguese citizen jailed under the Beijing-imposed national security law has been denied a final chance to appeal for a shorter sentence at the city’s apex court.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US tightens sanctions on North Korea after Convicted Felon-Kim summit snub

    Sanctions were announced on two financial institutions and eight individuals for helping the regime launder funds.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea condemns ‘wicked nature’ of latest US sanctions

    Washington sanctioned eight individuals and two entities linked to North Korean money-laundering schemes.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian rapper Namewee remanded for 6 days over Taiwanese influencer’s death: Police

    The police earlier said the singer had gone missing, shortly after Ms Iris Hsieh’s death was reclassified as murder.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia high court orders government, police to pay $9.6m to family of kidnapped pastor

    Pastor Raymond Koh had been abducted by a group of armed men in 2017.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan must be allowed equal participation when China hosts Apec, US says

    This comes after Taipei complained that Beijing had "added a lot of conditions" to its attendance.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says senior Fijian UN diplomat visited, despite Fiji’s formal ties with China

    Fiji’s permanent representative to the UN Filipo Tarakinikini met Taiwan's Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says China ignoring requests for information on new Xiamen airport safety concerns

    China’s new Xiamen airport is slated to open in 2026.

  • France24 ☛ Nigeria facing 'multiplicity of security challenges': Communal clashes, separatists, insurgencies

    The Nigerian government said it does not tolerate religious persecution, responding to US President The Insurrectionist's threats of military intervention over the killing of Christians by jihadists in the country. Convicted Felon said on social control media that he had asked the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Africa's most populous nation because radical Islamists are "killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers". But Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar insisted that the country's constitution did not allow religious persecution, in the first comment by a senior Nigerian government official following Convicted Felon's weekend threats. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, François Picard welcomes Najim Animashaun, Nonresident Research Fellow at the African Policy Research Institute.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ With Convicted Felon’s threats of military intervention in Nigeria, Tinubu faces a delicate balancing act

    With Nigeria on the brink of a diplomatic crisis with the United States, President Bola Tinubu must confront extremist violence without inflaming sectarian divides and rebuild diplomatic ties with Washington.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Military Draws Up Nigeria Plans, With Limited Options to Quell Violence

    American forces are unlikely to be able to end a decades-long insurgency in Africa’s most populous country, despite Hell Toupée’s order, officials said.

  • New York Times ☛ What to Know About Kataib Hezbollah, the Iraqi Militia That Held Tsurkov Captive

    Kataib Hezbollah, a hard-line Iraqi militia linked to Iran, held Elizabeth Tsurkov, a citizen of Israel and Russia, hostage for more than two years.

  • New York Times ☛ Elizabeth Tsurkov Recounts 2 1/2 Years of Captivity

    Elizabeth Tsurkov, a citizen of Israel and Russia, recounts a harrowing story of cruelty, survival, U.S. diplomatic pressure and, finally, release from the grip of a group backed by Iran.

  • New York Times ☛ How Venezuela’s Military Might Respond to U.S. Attacks

    Venezuela has an arsenal of Russian weapons and armed civilian cells that could mount a guerrilla war. But a coup against President Nicolás Maduro? Don’t count on it.

  • JURIST ☛ UN rights experts call US strikes on vessels potential war crimes

    UN human rights experts raised concerns on Tuesday over “repeated and systematic lethal attacks” directed by the US against vessels in the “Caribbean and Eastern Pacific,” which could constitute war crimes under international maritime law.

  • New York Times ☛ Democrats Raise Concerns After Convicted Felon Officials Give Boat Strikes Briefing

    The classified meeting did not relieve mounting unease among lawmakers over Hell Toupée’s expanding campaign of lethal strikes against drug cartels.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Judge Fast-Tracks Diddy’s Appeal After Pardon Push Falls Through

    A federal appeals judge grants Diddy’s team’s request to expedite his appeal process, which could see him out of prison before his sentence is up. Just days after Sean “Diddy” Combs was moved to a low-security facility in New Jersey, a federal appeals judge granted his legal team’s request to expedite the process.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania should reopen Belarus border once smuggling balloons stop – Seimas speaker

      Lithuania’s border with Belarus should be reopened once the issue of smuggling balloons is brought under control, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said Wednesday.

    • LRT ☛ airBaltic changes Vilnius flight times amid smuggling balloon disruptions

      The Latvian airline airBaltic will move up the departure times of its two flights from Vilnius Airport starting November 20, citing recent disruptions caused by smuggling balloons crossing from Belarus.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania will ask Belarus to let stranded trucks return home – PM

      Lithuania will request that Belarus allow about 5,000 Lithuanian trucks and semi-trailers stranded in the country to return home, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Wednesday.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian defense minister proposes preparations for full-scale nuclear tests — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Living here is impossible’: Across Russia, people who ask officials for help with flooded roads and housing problems face retribution instead — Meduza

• Environment

  • France24 ☛ Philippine president declares state of emergency in the wake of Typhoon Kalmaegi

    Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead and hundreds missing in the country’s central provinces, marking the deadliest natural disaster to strike the Philippines this year.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ China’s Shenzhou-20 return mission delayed due to space debris impact

      The delay highlights the danger to space travel posed by increasing amounts of space debris.

    • Science Alert ☛ Space Junk Likely Struck China's Shenzhou-20, Delaying Crew's Return

      "Impact analysis and risk assessment are under way."

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Suspected debris strike delays Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-20’s return

      A suspected strike by “tiny space debris” has delayed the return of the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-20 and three astronauts, Beijing’s space agency said on Wednesday. “

    • Futurism ☛ Chinese Astronauts Stuck in Space After Suspected Damage to Return Craft

      It's a serious issue.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Why China is here to stay in Iraq’s energy sector

      Regardless of the specific makeup of the next Iraqi government, it is likely that Chinese firms will continue to enjoy an advantage.

    • Hackaday ☛ The Deadliest US Nuclear Accident Is Not What You Think

      When you think of a US Nuclear accident, you probably think of Three Mile Island. However, there have been over 50 accidents of varying severity in the US, with few direct casualties. (No one died directly from the Three Mile Island incident, although there are some studies that show increased cancer rates in the area.)

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ China extends suspension of extra tariffs on US goods

    The pause will take effect on Nov 10.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Toyota, Honda turn India into car production hub in pivot away from China

    India’s low costs, vast labour pool, improved quality of manufactured goods, and incentives attract manufacturers.

  • New York Times ☛ Elections Show Convicted Felon’s Edge on the Economy Slipping

    Democrats harnessed worries about the cost of living, with polls showing that Republicans’ longtime advantage on the economy has evaporated.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Five reasons health insurance rates are rising so much in Michigan

    From increasing hospital costs, insurance provider consolidation and inflationary pressures, the answer is as complex as the health care system itself.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Pam Bondi’s DOJ Gets Admonished a Second Time for Indict[ing] First, Investigat[ing] Second

    When William Fitzpatrick scolded loaner AUSA Tyler Lemons about charging Jim Comey and investigating afterwards, he echoed the comments another Magistrate Judge, André Espinonsa, made months ago when dismissing the charge against Ras Baraka.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Tyler Lemons Narcs out Pam Bondi: She Couldn’t Have Ratified Lindsey Halligan’s Actions

    According to a new filing from Loaner AUSA Tyler Lemons, Pam Bondi couldn't have ratified the things Lindsey Halligan did in the Jim Comey grand jury on September 25, because the only transcript that existed at that point excluded all Halligan's actions.

  • The Strategist ☛ Under Takaichi, Tokyo becomes a partner of conviction for Washington

    Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s firm and ideological leadership style marks a new phase in Japan’s foreign policy: outward-looking and prepared to defend a rules-based order that directly serves its interests.

  • New Yorker ☛ California Strikes Back in the Redistricting War

    As the midterms approach, Republicans are trying to gerrymander new seats, and Democrats are responding in kind. Can either side win?

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ In Russia, Bookstores Offer a Shrinking Refuge as Censorship Tightens

    Restrictions on publishers and sellers have grown more severe. Volumes are being pulled from shelves or redacted like secret documents, but bookstores remain important sources of community.

  • It's FOSS ☛ YouTube Goes Bonkers, Removes backdoored Windows 11 Bypass Tutorials, Claims 'Risk of Physical Harm'

    When will these Big Tech platforms learn?

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man pressed China’s Pooh-tin to release jailed HK media tycoon Jimmy Lai, say sources

    The US leader spoke broadly about concerns surrounding the 77-year-old publishing mogul's well-being.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain: Interviews shouldn’t be about ‘winning or losing’

    Husain says she is the same journalist she was at the BillBC despite leaving behind strict impartiality rules.

  • Press Gazette ☛ New police media guidance aims to reset post-Leveson culture of suspicion

    New guidance allows off-the-record briefings and encourages police openness.

  • BIA Net ☛ Journalists acquitted over protest against killing of Kurdish reporters in Syria airstrike

    Two Kurdish journalists were killed in a suspected Turkish drone strike in Syria in Dec 2024.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Portfolio Media Inc ☛ X Ends Sex Bias Suit Over Twitter Acquisition Layoffs

    X Corp. has ended a sex bias suit from a former employee who accused the company of enacting harsh working conditions after Elon Musk's takeover of social media company Twitter [...]

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ ‘I’m not a doll’: Miss Mexico speaks out after insults from Miss Universe official

    More than a dozen Miss Universe contestants walked out of a pre-pageant event after a top official unleashed a verbal tirade against Fátima Bosch of Tabasco, Miss Mexico.

  • JURIST ☛ Federal lawsuit challenges race-based redistricting in California’s Proposition 50

    A coalition of California voters and the state’s Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the legality of Proposition 50’s congressional redistricting maps. The lawsuit argues that Proposition 50 constitutes unlawful racial gerrymandering in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ 2025 Postel Awardee David Clark, an Architect and Implementer of the Internet

    We are proud to announce David Clark as the winner of the 2025 Jonathan B. Postel Service Award! This award recognizes his decades of leadership in developing the Internet’s technical community and core Internet architecture.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Silicon Angle ☛ Google to make major changes to its app store to settle Epic Games lawsuit

  “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games Inc. has reached a “comprehensive settlement” with Surveillance Giant Google LLC that ends a 5-year-old legal battle and will lead to reforms to Android and the Surveillance Giant Google Play Store.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Recommended Reading: A Legal Strategist's Guide to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Practice, Fifth Edition

    The American Bar Association has just published the Fifth Edition of "A Legal Strategist's Guide to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Practice," edited by the indefatigable Ted Davis. To quote myself from the back cover: "A must-have resource for both TTAB tyro and veteran, this book combines legal expertise with practical insights. Well-organized and plentifully annotated, it will make us all much better TTAB practitioners." The book may be purchased here for a very modest sum.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • 🖼️ xkcd — Metric Tip #3164

    • UPS2976 and the Future of the MD-11

      Two days ago, UPS Airlines flight 2976 crashed shortly after it took off from the UPS hub at Louisville Muhammed Ali International Airport. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F registered N259UP, was bound for Honolulu when it lost lift after only reaching an altitude of 175 feet. UPS2976 was fully loaded with fuel when it hit the ground, and it crashed into a petroleum recycling center, which combined to create an enormous fireball. All 3 crew members aboard the aircraft were killed, as were at least 9 people on the ground. Many are still being treated, and some people are still missing in the aftermath.

      The accident was recorded on several security cameras, as well as on at least one bystander's phone. At the time of writing, it's been established that the number 1 engine detached from the left wing of the aircraft for an unknown reason. As UPS2976 lifted off the runway, fire was seen billowing from the wing, and it quickly fell back to the ground.

  • Politics and World Events

    • Bye bye USA

      I haven't travelled to the US in many years. I made an exception a few years ago because my wife wanted to see Hawaii again. Before that, I hadn't travelled to the US in many years, too.

      Those were the Snowden years. The Home Security years. The Patriot Act years. Remember?

      These day's it's even worse.

      A friend wanted some advice about moving customer data from on-premise in Switzerland to a US cloud compute provider, nominally in Switzerland. We had a long chat about political pressure and authoritarian governments. I think she challenged her team that is in charge of the long project (you know those projects where you need to answer hundreds of questions in huge Excel sheets) with the question: Would you move this data to a Chinese cloud hosting provider? Of course not, that's different, they said. And the two of us wondered for how long.

      We talked about Microsoft saying in Paris that the US government would get access to customer data on Microsoft hosts if it really wanted to, even if hosted in Europe; about the International Criminal Court (ICC) ditching Microsoft Office because Microsoft had locked them out of all their services, because the credit card institutes had locked them all out of their services, all at the behest of the US president.