Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Got Junk? Then Build This Scrappy TEA Laser

  A piece of glass, some bits of tinfoil, a sheet of plastic, a couple of razor blades, and a few assorted bits and bobs are all it takes to build this TEA nitrogen laser. Oh, and a 5,000-volt flyback supply with enough amperage to stop your heart. You’ll need that too.

• Standards/Consortia

  • Latvia ☛ People with a disability less likely to use the internet

    In 2024, the share of people in the European Union who had used the internet in the previous 12 months was 87.2% among people with a disability and 95.2% among those without.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Video: Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse: When and How to Watch

    Earth’s shadow will block most of the light that illuminates the lunar surface, creating what is known as a blood moon.

  • Science Alert ☛ Squids' Amazing Color Shifting Could Be Key to Hyper-Efficient Solar Tech

    "Really insane."

  • Science Alert ☛ World First: Physicists Create a Supersolid Out of Light

    A super solid achievement!

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Reports Sea Levels Rose by 'Unexpected' Amount in Earth's Hottest Year

    Caused primarily by two factors.

  • Science Alert ☛ En Route to Asteroid Collision, HERA Snaps Rare Images of Martian Moon

    It's tiny and mysterious.

  • Science Alert ☛ It's Pi Day. Here's Why This Special Number Gets a Global Celebration.

    We love pi.

• Career/Education

  • The Straits Times ☛ Private education spending in South Korea hits record $26.8b despite fall in student numbers

    A notable trend in the data is the steep rise in private education spending in rural areas.

  • Hong Kong teen’s death sparks concerns over mainland China study trips

    The government is tight-lipped, as students are increasingly pressured to take part in such trips.

  • Stanford University ☛ Strawser | Dear ASSU: Be the leaders the Convicted Felon era calls for

    Strawser argues that the ASSU, more than ever, must take its kiddy gloves off to be the leaders that students need in the Convicted Felon era.

  • Stanford University ☛ Stanford in the Media: ‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever’ depicts realistic college admissions

    Muller reflects on the 2021 rom-com, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever,” in which protagonist Lara Jean grapples with her Stanford rejection.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Thundercomm TurboX C6690 SoM runs Android 15 on Qualcomm DragonWing QCS6690 SoC for terminal equipment

    Unveiled at Embedded World 2025, Thundercomm’s TurboX C6690 is a SoM (System-on-Module) powered by a 4nm Qualcomm Dragonwing QCS6690 octa-core SoC, and designed for Android 15-based terminal equipment such as industrial handheld devices, industrial tablets, edge computing, and smart retail applications.

  • CNX Software ☛ Variscite VAR-SOM-AM62P SoM features Texas Instruments Sitara AM62P5 SoC for cost-effective multimedia applications

    Variscite VAR-SOM-AM62P is a system-on-module powered by Texas Instruments Sitara AM62P5 quad-core Cortex-A53 + Cortex-R5F SoC coupled with up to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, and designed for cost-effective multimedia applications.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Mysterious And Important Work Of Prop Design On Severance

    Have you seen Severance? Chances are good that you have; the TV series has become wildly popular in its second season, to the point where the fandom’s dedication is difficult to distinguish from the in-universe cult of [Kier]. Part of the show’s appeal comes from its overall aesthetic, which is captured in this description of the building of one of the show’s props.

  • Hackaday ☛ Hacking A Rotary Phone

    [Yaymukund] made an interesting observation. Old-style rotary phones were made to last and made for service. Why? Because you didn’t own them, the phone company did. There was no advantage for them for you to need a service call or a new phone. Of course, many of these old phones are still hanging around like the GPO 746 that appears in the post.

  • The Next Platform ☛ Lip-Bu Tan: Intel’s New – And Maybe Last – CEO

    In his letter to defective chip maker Intel employees, new chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan, who starts his new job next Tuesday, tells them that he is “never deterred by challenges.”

  • The New Stack ☛ Intel’s New CEO Will Make Changes to Reshape Software Strategy

    Software was a priority for the previous CEO Pat Gelsinger.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Keir Starmer Wants to Abolish NHS England: What to Know About His Plan

    The British prime minister said he would scrap an agency that was created in 2013 to help run the health service. He said the move would save money by avoiding duplication.

  • New York Times ☛ Dr. Oz’s Journey From Heart Doctor to Celebrity to Iconoclast

    A once-respected surgeon found fame and fortune as medicine’s biggest iconoclast. Now he’s on the cusp of power to help shape American public health.

  • PHR ☛ New Guide Helps U.S. Health Professionals Protect Patients from Immigration Enforcement

    Following the Convicted Felon administration’s decision to end guidance protecting “sensitive locations” such as health care facilities from immigration enforcement actions, a new guide published today provides information to health care workers about how to navigate the new enforcement landscape while upholding ethical duties. 

  • Latvia ☛ Hospitals outside Rīga say patient flow is too high

    Rīga's largest hospitals sometimes direct patients to hospitals outside Rīga to manage their patient flow. However, hospitals in cities close to Rīga also face high patient flows and are therefore not ready to take on many more patients, Latvian Radio reported on March 13.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Polam Kopitiam food poisoning deaths in Taiwan: Victims’ families to receive record govt payout

    Six people died after eating at the Malaysian restaurant in Taipei in 2024.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia gives green light to higher GP fees

    GPs said that costs had gone up over the years.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China restaurant chain Haidilao refunds thousands after diner urinates in hotpot [Ed: Social control media in action]

    One of China’s biggest restaurant chains has promised to refund thousands of customers after footage of a patron urinating into a simmering hotpot went viral online, triggering a public outcry.

  • Science Alert ☛ World-First: Man Leaves Hospital With Life-Saving Titanium Heart

    Enough to give a surgeon goosebumps.

  • Science Alert ☛ Just 5 Days of Junk Food Can Trigger Obesity's Hold on Your Brain

    Short-term diet has lasting effects.

  • Science Alert ☛ Energy Signals From Milky Way's Core Hint at New Type of Dark Matter

    This could explain other physics mysteries too.

  • New York Times ☛ Bumble Bee Foods Is Accused of Tolerating Forced Labor in Supply Chain

    In a lawsuit filed in California, the plaintiffs said that Bumble Bee Foods was aware of and benefited from abuse by suppliers. The company declined to comment.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man administration withdraws CDC director nomination just before Senate hearing

    The White House has withdrawn the nomination of David Weldon, a former Florida congressman, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Proprietary

  • New York Times ☛ How Generative Hey Hi (AI) Complements the MAGA Style

    Online Convicted Felon supporters have embraced a unique form of irony that is hard to parse — and easy to deploy with new technologies.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean IT workers forced into brutal workloads, surveilled 24/7: Report

      The workers typically work over 10 hours daily and live in cramped accommodations, the report said.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian police gun down 3 robbers behind spate of house break-ins

    The suspects attacked the police using machetes before they were shot.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Ahead of Yoon impeachment ruling, South Korea acting president says must accept any decision

    The court ruling is due to come within days.

  • Meduza ☛ Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on draft peace agreement — Meduza

  • New York Times ☛ Inside the Pakistan Train Hijacking Standoff

    Pakistani security forces declared an end to ethnic separatists’ seizure of a train carrying more than 400 people.

  • The Straits Times ☛ At least 25 bodies retrieved from Pakistan train siege

    Security forces freed more than 340 train passengers in a two-day rescue operation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan train hijack hostages end ordeal with arrival in Quetta, given first-aid

    Security forces killed all 33 attackers to end a day-long stand-off.

  • New York Times ☛ U.N. Accuses Israel of Targeting Reproductive Health Facilities in Gaza

    A report by a U.N. committee found that Israel has committed “genocidal acts” intended to prevent births. Israel quickly rejected the findings as biased.

  • France24 ☛ UN report denounces Israel's 'genocidal' targeting of reproductive facilities in Gaza

    A new report by the United Nation's Human Rights Commission found that Israel's "systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare," including its targeting of fertility clinics, in Gaza amounts to "genocidal acts". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the report, which also cites the Israeli military's pervasive use of sexual violence against Palestinian women, men, girls, and boys, as "anti-Semitic" and "absurd".

  • New York Times ☛ In a Europe Adrift, Macron Seizes the Moment

    The French president’s prescriptions for “strategic autonomy” and a European force for Ukraine are suddenly timely in a world with a less dependable America.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel-Hamas Talks Deadlocked as Convicted Felon Envoy Turns to Ukraine

    The two sides are supposed to negotiate a second phase of the cease-fire agreement that would end the war, but they remain far apart on how to move forward.

  • Beijing tight-lipped on reports of collision between Chinese, North Korean ships

    The North Korean vessel was suspected of smuggling coal, a violation of UN sanctions.

  • New York Times ☛ Why China Is Worried About Convicted Felon’s Tariffs on Mexico

    China’s exports to developing markets have soared, opening indirect routes to the U.S. market that officials in Beijing worry may be closed under pressure from Hell Toupée.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China cools on MElon: ‘Two cars for the price of one Tesla’

    Chinese drivers who once flocked to Tesla are turning more and more to local brands.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan president warns of China’s ‘infiltration’ effort, vows countermeasures

    Taiwan has accused China of stepping up military drills.

  • Taiwan president slams China as ‘foreign hostile force’ in toughest rhetoric yet

    Beijing is carrying out activities such as division, destruction, and subversion, Lai Ching-te says.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia moves to arm troops with anti-ship missiles as China threat looms

    Australia is scrambling to deploy new long-range missiles as Chinese warships arrive off their coast.

  • European Parliament resolution condemns deporting 40 Uyghurs from Thailand to China

    Meanwhile, 2 Uyghurs who traveled south, but abandoned plans to escape in 2014 were sentenced to 9 years.

  • France24 ☛ Many European leaders ' desperately hoping US remains committed to NATO'

    FRANCE 24's Yinka Oyetade speaks to Dafydd Townley, from the University of Portsmouth's Professional Military Education Team, about the meeting between The Insurrectionist and NATO chief Mark Rutte. He says that for all the bluster coming from the White House, many European security experts, ministers and prime ministers 'are desperately hoping that the United States remains committed to NATO and the security of Europe'.

  • Defence Web ☛ Criminality will be ‘dealt with decisively’ says Eskom

    Eskom, in collaboration with the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) Energy Safety and Security Priority Committee, is continuing its crackdown on criminality within the organisation. This after the power utility and law enforcement executed several arrests related to theft and corruption over the past few months.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ US must prioritize cybersecurity training for the military’s engineers

    The Defense Department faces a startling capability gap.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Present without impact? How the Middle East perceives China’s diplomatic engagement

    In a new Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative issue brief, “Present without impact? How the Middle East perceives China’s diplomatic engagement,” Jonathan Fulton argues that despite economic advancements and high-profile diplomatic engagements, China’s influence remains largely economic rather than political.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ As Russia Tries to Push Ukraine Out of Kursk, Here’s What to Know

      Russia claimed to retake a key town in the area from Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s top military commander has said that its forces would continue to “hold the line.”

    • France24 ☛ Putin agrees in principle to Ukraine ceasefire proposal

      Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed in principle to the US-drafted proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but noted that the potential agreement in its current format needed revisions. Putin notably highlighted his objective to reclaim the Kursk region in southeastern Russia, which Ukrainian troops captured last summer, before agreeing to a truce. The Russian leader posited that Ukraine could use the pause as an opportunity to regroup.

    • France24 ☛ 'Putin is clearly not interested in stopping the war on any terms other than Ukraine's capitulation'

      Russian President Vladimir Putin expresses "serious" reservations about Washington's plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but Moscow was ready to discuss it with US President The Insurrectionist. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Erin Ogunkeye welcomes Peter Zalmayev, Director of the Eurasian Democracy Initiative.

    • France24 ☛ Putin says he supports ‘idea’ of Ukraine ceasefire, but that it needs ‘detailed work’

      President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his first public comments on a Washington-proposed 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, saying he supported the “idea” of a truce, but that the plan in its present form needed “more detailed work”. He also said the “root causes” of the conflict needed to be removed, but without mentioning what those might be.

    • France24 ☛ 🔴 Follow live: Putin 'in favour' of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but says it must lead to 'long-term peace'

    • RFERL ☛ ANALYSIS: Pressed On Cease-Fire, Putin Insists On Discussion Of ‘Root Causes’ Of Ukraine War

      Russian President Vladimir Putin buried the lead about whether he would agree to a US-brokered proposal for a 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Says Russia Agrees With US Cease-Fire Proposal But 'With Nuances'

      President Vladimir Putin says Russia agrees with a US proposal for a cease-fire with Ukraine, but that "there are nuances" and any agreement should lead to long-term peace.

    • RFERL ☛ Kremlin Aide Rejects Any Temporary Cease-Fire As US Negotiators Arrive In Moscow

      A senior aide to President Vladimir Putin has rejected any temporary cease-fire with Ukraine just hours before a US delegation arrived in Russia for talks with Moscow where they will urge the Kremlin to agree to a 30-day cease-fire proposal or face sanctions.

    • New York Times ☛ Putin, in No Hurry for 30-Day Truce, Seeks Ukrainian Concessions

      The remarks by the Russian leader suggested he wanted to draw out negotiations or make a truce impossible. Ukraine’s leader called the response to a cease-fire plan “manipulative.”

    • New York Times ☛ Putin Stops Far Short of Agreeing to a Cease-Fire, and Adds Tough Conditions

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the Russian leader had no desire to end the war, proposing conditions that made a truce unattainable.

    • New York Times ☛ Friday Briefing: Putin Speaks on Ukraine Cease-Fire

      Plus, Siberia’s bone hunters.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Negotiators Are en Route to Moscow, Kremlin Says

      President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is weighing a 30-day cease-fire proposal from the United States and Ukraine.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin says Russia supports a ceasefire, but there are ‘issues to discuss’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin endorses idea of a ceasefire — with ‘nuances’

    • RFERL ☛ Pressed On Cease-Fire, Putin Insists On Discussion Of ‘Root Causes’ Of Ukraine War

      Russian President Vladimir Putin buried the lead about whether he would agree to a US-brokered proposal for a 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Nordics and Baltics say U.S. meeting with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia is "a step in the right direction"

      The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) have issued a brief joint statement commenting on the meeting March 12 between American and Ukrainian officials in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine’s innovative defense tech sector is the country’s trump card

      From the Black Sea to deep inside Russia, Ukraine's innovative and rapidly expanding defense tech sector is proving to be the country's secret weapon as it fights for survival against one of the world's strongest military superpowers, writes David Kirichenko.

    • France24 ☛ NATO's 'Dihydroxyacetone Man whisperer' treads carefully on Greenland and defense

      He's been dubbed the "Dihydroxyacetone Man whisperer," but NATO chief Mark Rutte struggled to get a word in Thursday as the US president mused about annexing Greenland and criticized allies over defense spending. The former Dutch prime minister visited the White House seeking to convince a skeptical The Insurrectionist to maintain US commitment to the transatlantic alliance and to Ukraine. The Guardian Washington bureau chief David Smith reports from Washington.

    • JURIST ☛ Russia Supreme Court upholds 12-year imprisonment of transgender anti-war activist

      Russian Supreme Court upheld the 12-year imprisonment of a transgender anti-war activist Mark Kislitsyn, stated Amnesty International on Wednesday. The group said convicting the activist of high treason for sending US $10 to a Ukrainian bank account “defied common sense,” urging his immediate release.

    • LRT ☛ Western, Ukrainian defence companies show interest in Lithuania – PM

      At least four defence industry companies from Germany and Ukraine want to cooperate with Lithuania, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Thursday.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian injured in Kursk: Russians focus all their effort here

      A Lithuanian volunteer, Osvaldas, was injured on March 10 while fighting on the Ukrainian side in Kursk. He tells LRT that his injuries are not life-threatening and shares what the moods are among Ukrainians occupying a piece of Russian land that has lately seen the most intense fighting.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Sees ‘Good Signals’ on Russia-Ukraine Cease-Fire. Zelensky Does Not.

      U.S. officials were in Moscow for talks, and the Russian leader said he was open to a cease-fire, but President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine expressed skepticism.

    • New York Times ☛ How Zelensky Can Help Ukraine

      Different sides of the war in Ukraine reach for different, simple narratives about Mr. Zelensky. The truth has always been more complicated.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Says It Has Retaken Key Kursk Town From Ukraine

      Ukrainian officials have not confirmed a retreat from the town in Russia’s Kursk region, parts of which were captured by Kyiv’s forces last summer.

    • Meduza ☛ Ukraine to hold Kursk defense ‘as long as necessary,’ top commander says

    • Meduza ☛ Ukraine has run out of ATACMS missiles

    • Meduza ☛ Ukraine tells U.S. that it will never agree to limit its armed forces or renounce NATO aspirations

    • Latvia ☛ Around 4,000 Russian citizens' Latvian residence permits expire this year

      For around 4000 Russian citizens in Latvia, their temporary residence permit expires at the end of the year. The authorities are already preparing for a busy year as these people will have to take a language test to get a permanent European Union residence permit, Latvian Radio reports on March 12.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian ex-politician Paleckis found guilty of contempt for partisans

      The Kaunas Regional Court on Thursday acquitted Algirdas Paleckis, a controversial former politician already serving a sentence for spying for Russia, of defaming MP Laurynas Kasčiūnas but found him guilty of denying international crimes by expressing contempt for partisans.

    • RFERL ☛ China Hosts Iran, Russia In Talks Over Tehran's Nuclear Standoff With West

      Beijing urged “calm” and “restraint” has it prepared to host three-party talks with Tehran and Moscow in pursuit of a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear issue.

    • Meduza ☛ German newspaper links CDU lawmaker’s employee to Russian FSB

    • Meduza ☛ Moscow court logs administrative case against Meduza journalist Lilia Yapparova — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia considers trials in absentia for ‘foreign agents’

    • Meduza ☛ Russia’s Defense Ministry announces control over Sudzha — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia opposes temporary ceasefire, Kremlin says — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia publishes images from retaken Kursk settlements

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Vladimir Putin does not want peace. He wants to subjugate Ukraine.

      Russian President Vladimir Putin's evasive response to US President The Insurrectionist's ceasefire proposal underlines his commitment to continue with an invasion that aims to extinguish Ukraine as a state and nation, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

    • The Strategist ☛ Europe can still prevent a Russian victory

      When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he knew that he was upending Europe’s security order.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Have Li-ion Batteries Gone Too Far?

      The proliferation of affordable lithium batteries has made modern life convenient in a way we could only imagine in the 80s when everything was powered by squadrons of AAs, or has it? [Ian Bogost] ponders whether sticking a lithium in every new device is really the best idea.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Air Busan fire likely caused by power bank with faulty insulation: South Korea

      170 passengers and six crew members were evacuated when the plane caught fire on Jan 28.

  • Overpopulation

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong proposes axing 10-year storage limit for frozen eggs and embryos amid declining fertility in city

      Hong Kong authorities have proposed scrapping a law that limits the storage duration for frozen eggs, sperm, and embryos to 10 years amid the city’s declining birth rate.

• Finance

  • China’s exports to be hit hard by US tariffs: businesses

    The sector has been a bright spot amid economic gloom, but will struggle to make a profit as costs rise.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China and other US trading partners hit back on Convicted Felon’s steel, aluminium tariffs

    Major US trading partners announced countermeasures Wednesday after The Insurrectionist’s blanket tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect, prompting the president to vow a further response.

  • New York Times ☛ See How MElon’s Team Inflated, Deleted and Rewrote Its Savings Claims

    The cost-cutting group removed hundreds of contracts from its “wall of receipts,” added back many of them, and inflated savings values.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man hits ally Australia with tariffs, sparking alarm over security ties

    Some question whether the US will still honour the deal to acquire its nuclear-powered submarines.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • France24 ☛ Federal judge orders Convicted Felon to rehire agency workers laid off in mass firings

    In a show of resistance to US President The Insurrectionist's drastic efforts to reduce the federal workforce, a District Judge on Thursday ordered the Convicted Felon administration to rehire probationary workers it had laid off since coming into power. The White House swiftly appealed the ruling – a lawsuit jointly filed by numerous labor unions – labeling it an encroachment on executive powers.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • China pushes patriotic education in Tibet with propaganda movies and storytelling

    The campaign is to promote ‘ethnic unity’ and assimilate Tibetan and other ethnic groups into Han Chinese culture.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Meta says it’s almost ready to start testing Community Notes

    Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, announced today that it will begin testing its crowdsourced fact-checking program, Community Notes, on March 18.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian journalist charged in court for allegedly taking bribe

    He allegedly receiving $6,000 in exchange for retracting and not uploading articles about a foreign workers cartel. 

  • The Straits Times ☛ China amplifies newspaper’s attack on CK Hutchison over Panama ports deal

    The company agreed to sell a controlling stake in Panama ports that had become a political lightning rod.

  • Press Gazette ☛ As some publishers seek full return to office, most staff favour hybrid working

    Eight in ten respondents to a Press Gazette survey backed hybrid/flexible working.

  • Press Gazette ☛ News media staff share views in the great work from home debate

    Everyone from national news CEOs to local newspapers reporters share their views on office versus remote working.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic

    Exposing the lower half of the body in a public place is against the law in China.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

    • Android Police ☛ Google is changing how you answer calls with a major Phone app redesign

      Google's stock Phone app on Pixel smartphones is pretty minimal, focusing on the basics with an easy-to-use UI. While the Phone app still lacks some useful features found in competing dialer apps, it looks like Google is at least working on a redesigned call screen.

    • Android Authority ☛ Google could change the way you answer your phone calls

      With Phone v166.0.735169223 beta, Google is testing a new interface for answering incoming calls.

    • Andrea Contino ☛ Profiles - Andrea Contino - Go With The Flow

      I decided that to slow down at the end of the day, completely abandon the phone, and only reach for it in emergencies, I needed a drastic and clear action. And so I did. Now, as soon as my iPhone geolocates to home, it automatically activates the “Personal” profile, and what appears before my eyes is this: the bare essentials.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ CAFC Affirms TTAB's Dismissal of BULLSHINE FIREBULL Opposition Despite Commercial Strength of FIREBALL for Whisky

    In a precedential opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Ciruit affirmed the TTAB's decision (here) dismissing Sazerac Brand's opposition to registration of the mark BULLSHINE FIREBULL for "alcoholic beverages except beers." The Board found Sazerac's FIREBALL mark (for whiskey and liqueurs) to be commercially strong but conceptually weak, that the goods were purchased without great care, and that Bullshine Distillery did not act in bad faith in choosing its mark. But the Board concluded that confusion is unlikely because of the differences in the marks. The CAFC ruled that the Board did not err in its conclusion. Sazerac Brands, LLC v. Bullshine Distillery LLC, Appeals Nos. 2023-1682 and 2023-1900 (Fed. Cir. March 12, 2025) [precedential].