Leftovers

• Science

  • Hackaday ☛ Ore Formation Processes, Part Two: Hydrothermal Boogaloo

    There’s a saying in mine country, the kind that sometimes shows up on bumper stickers: “If it can’t be grown, it has to be mined.” Before mining can ever start, though, there has to be ore in the ground. In the last edition of this series, we learned what counts as ore (anything that can be economically mined) and talked about the ways magma can form ore bodies. The so-called magmatic processes are responsible for only a minority of the mines working today. Much more important, from an economic point of view, are the so-called “hydrothermal” processes.

  • Science Alert ☛ World First: Physicists Created a Time Crystal That We Can Actually See

    Stripetastic!

  • Science Alert ☛ Solar Flares May Be Far Hotter Than We Imagined, New Calculations Reveal

    This is actually good news though.

  • Science Alert ☛ Primordial Earth Was Missing Materials Critical For Life, Study Shows

    And yet here we are.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel could sell up to 49% of its foundry business to external investors, but a full IPO or spin-off is unlikely

    Intel CFO David Zinsner confirmed that defective chip maker Intel could theoretically sell up to 49% of defective chip maker Intel Foundry without violating U.S. government agreements. However, the company is unlikely to do so due to ownership restrictions, partial fab control, and limited investor interest in the money-bleeding unit, which makes a full spin-off or IPO financially unattractive for now.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Intel reshuffles its executive leadership team as its former co-CEO departs

    Intel Corp. Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan has made sweeping changes to his executive leadership team, waving goodbye to former interim co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus and announcing a series of new appointments. The changes come as Tan intensifies his efforts to transform the struggling chipmaker.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Incrediplotter: Voice Controlled Plotter From Repurposed Printer

    There’s something uniquely satisfying about a pen plotter. Though less speedy or precise than a modern printer, watching a pen glide across the page, mimicking human drawing, is mesmerizing. This project, submitted by [Jacob C], showcases the Incrediplotter, a brilliant repurposing of a 3D printer built by him and his brother.

  • Hackaday ☛ Retrotechtacular: The Noisy Home Computer From 1967

    [Rex Malik] didn’t need an alarm clock. That’s because he had one of two “home computer terminals” next to his bed and, as you can see in the video below, it made quite a racket. The terminal looks like an ASR33 with some modifications. In 1967, it was quite a novelty and, of course, it didn’t have any real processing power. It connected to an “invisible brain” ten miles away.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Deadly Kissing Bug Disease Is on The Rise Across The US, CDC Warns

    Neglected disease, growing problem.

  • Science Alert ☛ Massive Study Shows Where Gout Comes From, And It's Not What We Thought

    "The myth that gout is caused by lifestyle or diet needs to be busted."

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ 2025 Innovator of the Year: Sneha Goenka for developing an ultra-fast sequencing technology

    Sneha Goenka is one of MIT Technology Review’s 2025 Innovators Under 35. Meet the rest of this year’s honorees.  Up to a quarter of children entering intensive care have undiagnosed genetic conditions. To be treated properly, they must first get diagnoses—which means having their genomes sequenced. This process typically takes up to seven weeks.

• Proprietary

  • Windows Central ☛ Microsoft continues layoffs with 42 more roles cut for the fifth month in a row — with an $80B reason behind it [Ed: That's not the reason but a fat giant lie]

    It’s a new month, and unfortunately, that means even more layoffs at Microsoft. This time, it’s not thousands of employees, but just over 40 roles in Redmond (via Seattle Times). Even so, it marks the fifth consecutive month of job cuts in 2025, bringing the total to more than 15,000 employees since Microsoft announced its $80 billion AI investment commitment.

  • GeekWire ☛ Microsoft sets new RTO policy, requiring employees in the office 3 days per week [Ed: Microsoft funded site, smokescreen amid mass layoffs]

    Microsoft is updating its flexible work expectations with a revised return-to-office policy that requires employees to be on-site three days per week — a shift that comes at a sensitive moment for the company’s workforce amid widespread layoffs.

    The new requirement will begin in February for employees who live within 50 miles of the company’s Redmond, Wash., HQ. It will roll out to other U.S. and global locations later. Employees can ask for exceptions through mid-September.

    Microsoft’s current hybrid work policy allows most employees to work remotely up to half the time without approval.

  • KUOW TV ☛ Microsoft calls workers back to office 3 days a week

    Microsoft will expect its employees to work from the office three days a week, starting early next year.

    The return-to-office policy will be rolled out in phases, starting with workers in the Puget Sound area in February, according to an email from Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer, on Tuesday. Employees who live within 50 miles of Microsoft's corporate headquarters in Redmond will be expected to commute in three days a week at that time.

    The policy will then extend to Microsoft's U.S. offices beyond the Seattle region, and then launch at international locations.

  • Financial Express ☛ Ericsson announces job cuts as part of its cost-cutting strategy, follows Microsoft, TCS, Oracle, and others

    Ericsson has just announced layoffs in its Canadian division, just days after Oracle let go of thousands of its employees. The Swedish telecom company has initiated a new round of layoffs for its Canadian division, cutting approximately 100 technical jobs in Canada as part of a global restructuring effort. The layoff comes amid massive cost-cutting for the tech giant, especially since global investment in network technology has slowed down.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Slop adoption rate is declining among large companies — US Census Bureau claims fewer businesses are using Hey Hi Slop tools

      Despite continuing hype around AI, and companies scrambling to keep up with manufacturing, a recent survey says that large companies have started to use Hey Hi (AI) less. The latest U.S. Census Bureau BTOS reveals that Hey Hi (AI) use among firms with more than 250 employees has a declined since June.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Fat Joe Says Accuser’s Attorney Used Hey Hi (AI) to Draft Motions Rife with ‘Hallucinations’

      Fat Joe claims his accuser’s attorney used Hey Hi (AI) to write legal briefs citing “fictional” cases in the extortion lawsuit against him.

  • Social Control Media

    • Press Gazette ☛ Rise of the ‘news creators’ tracked by FT Strategies

      'News creators' on Tiktok, Youtube and elsewhere can have outsized level of influence.

• Security

  • Security Week ☛ Fintech Firm Wealthsimple Says Supply Chain Attack Resulted in Data Breach

    Canadian firm Wealthsimple says a data breach impacts the information of some customers, but accounts and funds remain secure.

  • Security Week ☛ Over 6,700 Private Repositories Made Public in Nx Supply Chain Attack

    The private repositories of hundreds of organizations were published publicly in the second phase of the Nx supply chain attack.

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ UN human rights chief condemns US sanctions on Palestine monitors, calls for withdrawal

    UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called Friday on the US to immediately lift sanctions it has imposed on three prominent Palestinian human rights groups, stating the measures are “completely unacceptable and should be withdrawn.” The sanctions target Al-Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights.

  • New York Times ☛ A Gruesome Murder in North Carolina Ignites a Firestorm on the Right

    Security footage capturing the unprovoked stabbing in Charlotte became an accelerant for conservative arguments about the perceived failings of Democratic policies.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pacific Islands leaders meet to discuss security, climate change

    SYDNEY - Pacific Islands leaders began a week-long summit on Monday in the Solomon Islands, where they are expected to endorse an \"Ocean of Peace\" declaration amid concern over rising tensions between the United States and China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia, Vanuatu security agreement to be delayed

    SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who departed for Vanuatu on Tuesday, said in a radio interview that a landmark security and development agreement with the Pacific island nation will not be signed as expected.

  • JURIST ☛ Israel Supreme Court rules government not giving Palestinian prisoners enough food

    Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Sunday that the government has failed to provide Palestinian security prisoners with adequate food for basic subsistence and ordered authorities to improve their nutrition.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea takes next UN step in Iran sanctions snapback process

    The UN Security Council must vote by late September on a resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Iran.

  • South Africa and Botswana carry out joint operation to combat cross-border crime

    A multi-disciplinary joint operation between South Africa and Botswana was conducted along the borderline of the two countries late last month to address cross-border crimes such as stock theft, human and drug trafficking, as well as the prevention of illegal migration.

  • No sex workers will be prosecuted while court process plays out

    Sex workers will no longer be prosecuted, according to a new directive issued by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), pending the outcome of a court case launched by sex workers challenging the criminalisation of sex work in South Africa.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Members of Mexico’s Navy among 14 arrested in major fuel smuggling crackdown

    Attorney General Alejandro Gertz and Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced the apprehensions on Sunday, with Gertz adding that additional arrests were forthcoming, potentially including government officials.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian drones on show at London arms fair this week

      This year, at one of the world’s largest defence and security industry exhibitions, DSEI in London, England, Latvia will be represented with its largest-ever delegation of participants, with drone manufacturers especially to the fore, reports Labs of Latvia.

    • Meduza ☛ Kyiv region power plant targeted in overnight Russian drone attack — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, freed in 2024 prisoner swap, says Moscow has revoked his citizenship — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ French cyclist arrested in Russia while trying to break record for fastest Eurasia crossing — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Approaching zero growth’ Sberbank’s head says the Russian economy is in ‘technical stagnation.’ What exactly does that mean? — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ U.S. tells Europe it’s ending cooperation on combating foreign disinformation, including from Russia — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Russian antennas in Kaliningrad expand monitoring capacity but no direct threat – MoD

      A large antenna array under construction in Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave will expand Moscow’s ability to monitor distant targets but does not pose an immediate threat, Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said.

    • Latvia ☛ LTV: 841 Russians will have to leave Latvia within a month

      841 Russian citizens will have to leave Latvia by mid-October, Latvian Television's De Facto programme reported on 7 September.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘A deliberate crime’: Photos from the aftermath of Russia’s largest air attack on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ The Political Signals Russia Sends With Each Huge Barrage on Ukraine

      Analysts have linked major attacks to important geopolitical events as the Kremlin tries to strengthen its hand in talks.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Caring for the caregivers: How Ukraine’s medics get help

      Front-line medics work grueling hours to help Ukrainian soldiers defending their country. Behind them stands a scaffolding of support to help maintain their mental well-being.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Demands 'Strong' US Response To Latest Russian Air Assault On Kyiv

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded a "strong" US response to the latest massive drone strike by Russia on Kyiv, one in which a government building was hit for the first time since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

    • LRT ☛ Declared a security threat, Belarusian woman faces deportation from Lithuania

      A Belarusian woman who moved to Lithuania with her family at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been denied an extension of her residence permit after the authorities ruled she posed a threat to national security.

    • LRT ☛ Polish, Lithuanian presidents diverge on pushing Ukraine’s EU accession

      Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Monday in Vilnius that his view on Ukraine’s path to joining the European Union differs from that of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, who has called for setting a firm accession date.

    • JURIST ☛ UN responds to civilian harm following latest Russia strikes on Ukraine

      The UN on Sunday condemned Russia’s large-scale missile strikes on Ukraine that killed four people, including a baby, and injured 44. According to several news outlets, the attack is the largest since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and marked the first time a government building in Kyiv has been struck.

    • NYPost ☛ Madman charged with killing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was free on cashless bail — despite years of violence, mental illness

      "The dude was homeless. Where was he supposed to go from there? I feel like it's a major failure," he said. "He had nobody, his mom had given up on him because he was too violent."

    • NYPost ☛ Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska’s father couldn’t attend her funeral because of war with Russia: ‘He had to stay back’

      CHARLOTTE — The father of the Ukrainian refugee knifed to death on a Charlotte train had to miss her funeral in North Carolina because he is stuck at home due to Russia’s invasion — inflicting yet another scar on a family that fled the war for the comparative safety of the US.

    • Meduza ☛ Trump says he will speak with Putin in the coming days — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Ukraine issues arrest warrant for pro-Putin Russian rapper Timati — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Air Strikes Target Two Cities In Occupied Part Of Donetsk

      Ukrainian forces launched drone and missile attacks on two cities in occupied parts of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region as US and European officials met in Washington to discuss more economic sanctions on Russia to force it to negotiate an end to the war.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ Puerto Vallarta rides toward a healthier future with free public bicycle program

      The planned cycle program for the Bay of Banderas could transform more than just the city streets, explain healthcare experts and local residents.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ Nepal lifts social control media ban after protests leave 19 dead, minister says

    The decision came after 19 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the “Gen Z” protests.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Reach to cut editorial headcount by 186 in ‘biggest reorganisation’ yet

    Editorial restructure proposes 321 redundancies and 135 new roles.