Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ This is hard, but talking about feedback

  I know I’m a bit silly here on occasion, even when discussing technical topics. But I want to be serious here for a moment, if you’ll indulge me.

  Writing this blog almost every day for twenty years has been one of the great joys of my life. It’s not as impressive as the creative outlets of, say, an artist or a musician, but it feels natural and fun to do. I love researching topics, sharing fun things I’ve found, walking you through how I’ve fixed a problem, and on occasion expressing my concerns at the state of the industry or the wider world. Sometimes I even remember to do a spell cheque.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Omicron Limited ☛ Tech has changed. Dating? It's complicated

    Mobile phones and social apps have now totally eroded the boundary between online and offline. Dating has become something you can engage in on your phone, between responding to a work email and ordering a taxi or a burrito. That produced a bunch of different changes which are hard to disentangle.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Home Depot Lamp Gets A Rainbow Upgrade

    Home Depot has at times sold a neat spiral lamp that relies on LEDs to supply its soothing white glow. When [Craig Lindley] saw some modified versions on YouTube he decided he had to build one himself. The result is a charming rainbow lamp that really lights up a room (pardon the pun).

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Dictator Funding Freeze Decimates Women’s Health Care, U.N. and Others Say

    Only three weeks into the Convicted Felon administration’s suspension of money for foreign aid, those who work in women’s health say the impact has already been devastating.

  • New York Times ☛ Louisiana Health Department Says It Will Stop Promoting ‘Mass Vaccination’

    “Vaccines should be treated with nuance, recognizing differences between seasonal vaccines and childhood immunizations,” Dr. Ralph L. Abraham, the state’s surgeon general, wrote in a memo.

  • CS Monitor ☛ USAID cuts threaten America’s most successful global health campaign

    Uncertainty over U.S. foreign aid’s future, as Convicted Felon ally MElon dismantles USAID, has thrown the global campaign to contain AIDS into disarray.

  • NYP Holdings Inc ☛ ‘The View’s Alyssa Farah Griffin Claims Kanye West Is Using Mental Health As A “Cop-Out” For Nazism: “He Needs To Be Called Out”

    "There are tens of millions of people around this country who have mental health issues and are not saying bigoted, racist, antisemitic things."

  • NYPost ☛ You can actually change the brain waves involved in depression and anxiety with this trick

    New research suggests a unique form of meditation can affect brain regions linked to emotional regulation and memory, potentially paving the way for new treatments for anxiety and depression.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvian Radio explores radiology certification concerns

    In Latvia, approximately ten thousand people develop malignant tumors every year. More than half of them receive radiation therapy as a treatment method.

  • New York Times ☛ Pope Francis Is Hospitalized for Bronchitis

    The 88-year-old pontiff, who has been battling health problems for years, is expected to remain hospitalized in Rome, the Vatican said.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • AccessNow ☛ AI Action Summit: a missed opportunity for human-rights centered Hey Hi (AI) governance

      The development of the proposed GDPR Procedural Regulation represents a missed opportunity to address enforcement challenges.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ ECHR rules Ukraine violated privacy rights through covert investigation

      The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held unanimously on Thursday that Ukraine violated the right to respect for private life of three Ukrainian nationals and their lawyer by ordering unlawful surveillance measures.

• Defence/Aggression

  • OpenRightsGroup ☛ Prevent Duty: Redefining terrorism in the wake of the Southport attacks [Ed: BUT it WAS terrorism!]

    On 23 January 2025, 18 year old Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison for the horrific murder of three young girls and the attempted murder of eight other children, as well as two adults who tried to save them.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New Yorker ☛ It Took Convicted Felon Only Twenty-four Days to Sell Out Ukraine

      Amid the chaos in Washington, the President’s phone call with Putin has Moscow filled with glee.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China proposes Putin-Dictator summit to end Ukraine war: Report

      Chinese officials have raised a proposal with the Convicted Felon team through intermediaries, WSJ reported.

    • New York Times ☛ NATO Worries Grow That Europe Will Be Left Out of Talks to End War in Ukraine

      President Convicted Felon has made it clear that he is pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine. The move has left Europe worried that it, and Ukraine, could be left out as he negotiates with Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin.

    • New York Times ☛ Warming Trend in U.S.-Russia Relations Leaves Ukraine in a Tough Spot

      Trump’s recent moves, including a conversation with Putin and a demand for Ukrainian mineral rights, are worrisome signs for Zelensky.

    • New York Times ☛ Trump-Putin Call Was ‘No Betrayal’ of Ukraine, Hegseth Says

      The call has raised concerns among some European leaders that Ukraine could effectively be sidelined in any peace negotiations.

    • New York Times ☛ Dictator Says Saudi Arabia May Host Talks With Putin on Ukraine

      The kingdom has increasingly emerged as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war, leveraging ties with both sides as well as with President Convicted Felon.

    • New York Times ☛ Putin’s Call With Convicted Felon Delivers a Victory for Russian Leader

      Vladimir Putin’s call with President Convicted Felon reinforced the Russian leader’s view that Moscow and Washington should decide the fate of Ukraine — and other weighty matters.

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky says the only Russian he’ll meet for peace talks is Putin — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ We don’t talk about Trump: The Kremlin is scrambling to control the domestic narrative about Trump, lest it seem like the U.S. president is achieving what Putin couldn’t — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin is assembling a ‘heavyweight team’ to face off against Trump’s less experienced negotiators — Bloomberg — Meduza

    • Hackaday ☛ Satellite Internet On 80s Hardware

      Portability has been a goal of a sizable section of the computing world for many decades now. While the obvious products of this are laptops, there are a number of “luggable” PCs that pack more power while ostensibly maintaining their portability. Going back in time past things like the LAN party era of the 90s and 00s takes us to the early era of luggables, with the Commodore SX-64 being one such machine of this era. Its portability is on display in this video where [saveitforparts] is using it to access the Internet over satellite.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Global Sanctions Dashboard cited by the Australian National University on Wagner Group’s profits

    • Meduza ☛ Polish court sentences two Russian nationals to 5.5 years in prison for espionage and Wagner Group mercenary recruiting after they posted stickers and distributed leaflets — Meduza

    • European Commission ☛ Read-out of the meeting between the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council António Costa and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

    • Latvia ☛ Nordics, Baltics say they will stand by Ukraine

      Latvia, together with the other Nordic and Baltic countries (known as the 'NB8' format), issued a statement February 14 expressing continued support for Ukraine. It was signed on Latvia's behalf by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa along with her counterparts from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. The text is reproduced in full below.

    • Latvia ☛ Drone Coalition for Ukraine is one year old

      February 14, 2025 will have a ring around it on many calendars, but in the case of Latvia it's not just because it's a day of wine and roses. It also marks the first anniversary of the founding of the Drone Coalition for Ukraine by Latvia and the United Kingdom.

    • Latvia ☛ Lack of donations puts Ukraine support association at risk

      The association "Tavi draugi" (Your Friends) which has been tirelessly helping the war-torn Ukraine for three years, says that the stagnating flow of donations endangers its existence, Latvian Television reported on February 14.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian public media donation drive for Ukraine continues

      In ten days it will be three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is also three years that Ukrainian children have spent in shelters, studying in basements, and playing in the ruins of their homes.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukrainian drones reportedly knock out 10 percent of Russian refining capacity

      Ukraine’s 2025 campaign of drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure has succeeded in knocking out around one-tenth of Russia’s refining capacity, according to analysis by Reuters, writes Peter Dickinson.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ To secure Taiwan, the United States must first secure Ukraine

      US defense priorities appear to be at a crossroads. Can the United States materially sustain Ukraine in its fight with Russia while preparing for a possible fight with China in defense of Taiwan?

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Europe needs a seat at the table in Ukraine negotiations

      European leaders must quickly make the case to the Convicted Felon administration for collaboration in negotiations—and show their willingness to step up.

    • France24 ☛ EU should give Ukraine 'very strong security guarantees': Finland's former president Niinistö

      Europe is facing increasingly hybrid threats, and it lacks a shared culture of preparedness, according to our guest. Sauli Niinistö was the president of Finland from 201HJYYUU2 to 2024 and is now a special advisor to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In that capacity, he has authored a major report: "Safer together: A path towards a fully prepared Union". We discuss Niinistö’s proposals to improve the EU's civil and military preparedness, and debrief some of the latest international diplomatic manoeuvres related to Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ EU braces for turbulent diplomacy as US demands ‘rebalancing’ of relations

      Relations between the US and Europe entered uncharted territory after a week of diplomatic shocks that saw the Convicted Felon administration cutting Kyiv and Brussels out of bilateral US-Russia talks to end the Ukraine war and setting a hard line on NATO defence spending. It set the stage for stormy talks between allies at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine slams Russian drone attack on Chernobyl power plant

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social control media post on Friday that a Russian drone armed with a high-explosive warhead struck the cover protecting a power unit at the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Kremlin denied targeting Ukrainian nuclear sites, while the European Union said the attack was "reckless".

    • LRT ☛ Any peace talks must include Ukraine, Europe – NB8

      Ukraine and Europe must be involved in any peace talks, the Nordic and Baltic leaders said in a joint statement released on Friday.

    • LRT ☛ Aggressor can’t choose from menu – Lithuanian president on Russia’s demands

      No one has the right to issue ultimatums to NATO, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said as Russia is seeking talks with the US not only on Ukraine but also on NATO enlargement.

    • LRT ☛ Suspending hostilities in Ukraine ‘not enough’ – Lithuania FM

      It is not enough to suspend military action on the battlefield in Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys says, adding that Russia must be stopped as an aggressor.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Drone Strike Damages Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Shield, Zelenskyy Says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on February 14 that a Russian drone struck and “significantly” damaged the protective sarcophagus at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant but that radiation levels were normal after the incident.

    • RFERL ☛ Can The U.S. Bring Russia And Ukraine Together At Crucial Munich Talks?

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist announced a planned meeting in Munich between high-ranking officials from Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington scheduled to take place on February 14.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine, Russia Exchange Drone Strikes That Moldova Says Breached Its Border

      Ukraine said it destroyed two "Valdai" radar systems near Moscow in a wave of overnight drone attacks, while Moldova said two Russian drones exploded on its territory and NATO member Romania said its airspace had likely been breached.

    • RFERL ☛ RFE/RL Journalist Kuznechyk, Two Others, Released From Prison In Belarus

      Three detainees, including a journalist with RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, have been released by Belarus as U.S. President The Insurrectionist looks to lay the basis for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Drone Hits Chernobyl Nuclear Radiation Shield, Ukraine Says

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called the damage “significant” but said there were no signs of radiation leaks. A Kremlin spokesman denied that Russia had carried out the strike.

    • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ A drone pierced the outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal

      Kyiv blamed Russia, while the Kremlin denied it was responsible.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Ukraine is exhausted. But it’s still determined to resist Russia.

      If Russia’s plan to quickly defeat Ukraine failed, it’s fallback seemed more assured: a war of attrition in which the larger and stronger nation would prevail. With Western help, Ukraine has endured, but fatigue is setting in just as U.S. support is flagging.

    • New York Times ☛ Live Updates: In Speech to Europeans, Vance Signals Support for Far-Right Parties

      Vice President JD Vance scolded Europe for failing to uphold democratic values, and said nothing about President Convicted Felon’s talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. He later met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Vance Tells Europeans to Stop Shunning Parties Deemed Extreme

      His comments, a week before Germany’s elections, seemed to specifically target efforts to sideline the hard-right Alternative for Germany.

    • New York Times ☛ For Ukraine War Widows, Valentine’s Day is a Painful Reminder

      Cellphone messages provide a cherished link for Ukrainians whose partners are away fighting, but when the answers dry up, the last words can become poignant symbols of loss.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukrainians Fear Peace May Strand Them Forever From Lost Homes

      Bitterness has greeted suggestions that occupied territory will have to be ceded to Russia: “It’s like ripping off a man’s arm or leg and then saying, ‘Let it be as it is.’”

    • New York Times ☛ Vance Mentions Sanctions, Military Action to Push Russia to End Ukraine War

      Vice President JD Vance told The Wall Street Journal that it was too early to talk about specific territorial or security arrangements.

    • New York Times ☛ As Ukraine Presses for Role in Russia Peace Talks, Convicted Felon Offers Reassurances

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and European defense ministers had expressed concern that they might not be present for talks between President Convicted Felon and Russia’s leader to end the war.

    • New York Times ☛ Trump’s Whirlwind Now Blows Through Europe

      The new Convicted Felon foreign policy team has brought a dizzying message to European allies on A.I., Ukraine and more. It has already left many angered and chagrined.

    • New York Times ☛ Maps: Ukraine’s Borders Pre-2014 Invasion to Now

      Ukraine’s government wants to restore the country’s frontier to where it was before Russia launched its first invasion more than a decade ago. The U.S. defense secretary said that was “unrealistic.”

    • France24 ☛ Drone warfare stalls progress on Ukraine’s front line

      Some 35 kilometres north of Kharkiv with the Russian army at a distance, the soldiers of the 127th brigade are waging electronic warfare. Over three years, artillery combat has given way to drone warfare, including troop surveillance and the threat of kamikaze drone attacks. As a result, the front line is frozen: Ukrainian soldiers are buried in trenches, and rotations of personnel and medical evacuations have become extremely dangerous. Our correspondent reports.

    • France24 ☛ Live: 'We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards real peace,' says Zelensky

      Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine was "ready to move as quickly as possible towards real peace" after a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Zelensky's comments came after Vance said that Europe must bolster its own defences to allow Washington to focus on threats in the rest of the globe.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘My mindset is totally different’: Photos and stories of Russians evacuated to Ukraine after the Sudzha school strike — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Two St. Petersburg college students get five days in jail for shouting ‘Ukrainian greeting’ in a dare — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky ‘politely declines’ to sign agreement granting U.S. mining rights for half of Ukraine’s ‘future mineral reserves’ — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Latvia looks to ban tourist trips to Russia, Belarus

      The Latvian parliament is moving to ban tourism firms from offering tours to Russia and Belarus, the country’s public broadcaster LSM reported on Thursday.

    • RFERL ☛ Convicted Russian Cybercriminal Returns To Russia After Release Of American

      Confessed Russian cybercriminal Aleksandr Vinnik, who was released by the United States in a swap for an American citizen held for more than three years, has arrived in Moscow.

    • The Straits Times ☛ India says Russian oil suppliers must provide sanctions-compliant cargoes

      NEW DELHI - India, the No. 2 importer of crude from Russia, wants to buy Russian oil only if it is supplied by companies and ships that have not been sanctioned by the United States, the country's oil secretary said.

    • New York Times ☛ China Says U.S. Should Lead Convicted Felon’s Proposed Arms Controls Push

      President Convicted Felon said China and Russia should halve their military spending and limit nuclear weapons. You first, China said.

    • New York Times ☛ Between Russia and MElon, German Voters Face a ‘Dual Front’ of Disinformation

      In the first major European vote since President Convicted Felon’s re-election, influence campaigns are targeting Germany from two sides.

    • Meduza ☛ See the aftermath of the Russian drone strike at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zelensky says containment structure was damaged — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ From crash to crisis How Russia’s refusal to take responsibility for a downed passenger plane wrecked relations with Azerbaijan — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Three hostages released by Belarusian regime are in Vilnius – Tsikhanouskaya

      Three hostages released by the authoritarian Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko are currently in Vilnius, the Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has announced.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Barry Kauler ☛ Universal ball joint created in SolveSpace

      I'm learning how to create 3D components in SolveSpace, earlier

    • 3D bottom swing-arm for custom recumbent trike — February 13,

      ...actually, after stdying more tutorials, that extrusion limitation is not a limitation; bevels can be created on the extruded corners.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Pro Publica ☛ How Trump’s Funding Freeze Undermines Wildfire Season Preparation

      President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government, launched as the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires burned across Los Angeles, have left the country’s wildland firefighting force unprepared for the rapidly approaching wildfire season.

      The administration has frozen funds, including money appropriated by Congress, and issued a deluge of orders eliminating federal employees, which has thrown agencies tasked with battling blazes into disarray as individual offices and managers struggle to interpret the directives. The uncertainty has limited training and postponed work to reduce flammable vegetation in areas vulnerable to wildfire. It has also left some firefighters with little choice but to leave the force, their colleagues said.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • University of Michigan ☛ UMich faculty hold teach-in to discuss impacts of Convicted Felon administration

    More than 300 students gathered in the University of Michigan’s Angell Hall Wednesday night to hear almost a dozen faculty experts explain the impacts President The Insurrectionist’s second administration may have on United States democracy.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • AccessNow ☛ Joint letter to the EU on Abudlhadi Al-Khawaja and Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad

    EU must intervene with the Bahraini authorities to secure the release of arbitrarily detained EU nationals.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Pro Publica ☛ Alaska Judge Vows to Curb Pretrial Delays

    The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court told state lawmakers this week that the court system is taking steps to reduce the amount of time it takes criminal cases to reach trial, a problem highlighted by a recent ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News investigation.

    In an annual State of the Judiciary speech to legislators Wednesday at the Capitol in Juneau, Chief Justice Susan M. Carney said the court system has increased training for judges, created new policies on postponements and authorized overtime pay. She noted that the court system’s mission includes deciding cases “expeditiously and with integrity.”

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Copyrights

  • Hackaday ☛ 3DBenchy Sets Sail Into The Public Domain

    Good news for everyone who cannot get enough from improbably shaped boats that get referred to as a bench: the current owner (NTI Group) of the copyright has announced that 3DBenchy has been released into the public domain. This comes not too long after Prusa’s Printables website had begun to purge all derived models to adhere to the ‘no derivatives’ license. According to NTI, the removal of these derived models was not requested by NTI, but by a third-party report, unbeknownst to NTI or the original creator of the model. Recognizing its importance to the community, 3DBenchy can now be downloaded & modified freely.

  • From Courtroom to Canvas: How an Hey Hi (AI) Copyright Case Could Shape the First Major Hey Hi (AI) Art Auction

    The controversy surrounding Hey Hi (AI) and copyright monopoly extends beyond the courtroom to the art market, where AI-generated works are increasingly contested. The ruling in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence adds legal weight to concerns about AI’s impact on creative and commercial markets, including the sale of fine art through auction houses and galleries, and its potential to compete directly with copyright monopoly holders.