Sunday, August 9, 2026

Some fun highlights from this week's DARPA lift challenge

DARPA:

The DARPA Lift Challenge aims to shatter the heavy-lift bottleneck by seeking novel drone designs capable of carrying payloads more than four times their weight. This would revolutionize how we use drones across all sectors.

As military missions become more complicated, warfighters need more capable drones to use across diverse scenarios. The same applies to infrastructure inspection, package delivery, disaster response, and other civilian applications.

Current multirotor drones, also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), are simple, affordable, and easy to operate. But their payload-to-weight ratio is low, typically 1:1 or less.

Meet the Teams

This account has posted lots of highlight clips:









Labels: ,

Chris Gethard did a very funny follow-up episode to what's in the dumpster (with Scheer and Mantzoukas again)

The payoff's not as funny as the original, but otherwise it's great:

If you're not familiar with the original... The dumpster episode of The Chris Gethard Show from 2016 w/ Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas is one of the greatest 40-some minutes of television. If you haven't seen it, don't Google it, go in blind. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwi_...

[image or embed]

— Annie Wu (@anniewu.bsky.social) August 8, 2026 at 1:59 PM


In June there was a live follow-up to The Chris Gethard Show's dumpster episode for its 10th anniversary, and it's online NOW. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW9i...

[image or embed]

— Annie Wu (@anniewu.bsky.social) August 8, 2026 at 1:58 PM


Back in 2017.
Labels:

Baby monitor offering “A.I.-scheduled lullabies” (AI roundup)

i wrote about smart baby monitors and how an increasing number of products in the nursery are trying to dispense advice to millennial and Gen Z parents: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/b...

[image or embed]

— Sapna Maheshwari (@sapna.bsky.social) August 3, 2026 at 12:03 PM
(Owlet, Nanit’s biggest rival, offers a $300 pulse oximetry tracker that attaches to a baby’s foot through a sock. Huckleberry, a free app for tracking feedings and diaper changes, markets a $120 upgrade membership with “optimized nap predictions” and access to an artificial intelligence chatbot that, after logging your baby’s habits, can deliver personalized guidance and pep talks. CuboAi’s $359 Smart Baby Monitor 3 touts “A.I.-scheduled lullabies” and sends alerts when a baby’s face is covered.)

Read more »
Labels:

"Dream Date Skeletor" is back up for preorder if you want to avoid to scalpers

Entertainment Earth has the preorder. (the ebay listings from the first wave or orders are asking $150)
Labels:

Today's news and jokes



(The Bsky thread)



spoons bans the pervert glasses! share.google/mZkPIxfAaJ86...

[image or embed]

— Katie Martin (@katie0martin.ft.com) August 7, 2026 at 3:29 PM
(‘Meta glasses seem to breach this code, and common sense, by enabling surreptitious surveillance.’)



The ruling in New Mexico v. Meta is a landmark, argues Nathaniel Lubin, an expert witness in the case: for the first time, a social media platform was found to have caused a "public nuisance." The finding, he writes, establishes that platforms may be held responsible for their products' effects.

[image or embed]

— Tech Policy Press (@techpolicypress.bsky.social) August 7, 2026 at 1:24 PM
("The $567 million figure is on top of $375 million in civil penalties from a jury verdict in Phase 1 of the trial, which found Meta committed 75,000 violations of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act")

Read more »
Labels: ,

Sculpture of Dungeon Meshi's demonic winged lion




Labels: ,

Saturday, August 8, 2026

"Short Games Showcase" Humble Bundle

Starts at $6 for seven games, Steam scores displayed. 

There's also a new bundle featuring 3D-printable miniatures, "Grimdark Trench Warfare."
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)