Futurology Today

Summary

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of 67 onboard, with 29 survivors.

The plane was diverted due to fog en route to Grozny, Chechnya, before crashing 1.9 miles from the runway.

Speculation suggests a Russian air defense missile may have caused the crash amid heightened regional tensions.

Aviation analysts cite shrapnel patterns as evidence of a missile strike.

‼️ "Notes of Private Jong." Part 2: "Using Live Bait"

In the notebook of a North Korean special forces operative neutralized in the Kursk region, he detailed a method for luring Ukrainian drones using live bait.

Before his encounter with Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) operators, Private Gyeong Hong Jong outlined tactics for downing UAVs and evading Ukrainian artillery in his notebook.

It is unclear whether this strategy originates from authentic North Korean military doctrine or was taught to them by Russians. However, the tactic relies on using live bait.

Here is the full transcription of another entry from the captured notebook, secured in the Kursk region by SOF operators. The entry is accompanied by illustrations drawn by the North Korean SOF soldier:

"How to neutralize a drone."

Upon spotting a drone, form a trio (3 people). The person baiting the drone maintains a distance of 7 meters, while the shooters position themselves 10-12 meters away.

If the bait person remains stationary, the drone will also stop its movement. At this moment, the shooter should eliminate the drone.

"How to avoid artillery fire."

If caught in an artillery strike zone, designate a regrouping point for the team, then scatter into small groups and exit the strike zone.

Another method: since artillery rarely hits the same location twice, hide in a previously targeted spot before moving out of the strike zone.

The Ukrainian SOF continues to eliminate North Korean special forces operatives in Russia's Kursk region.

While we continue to decode the captured notes of Private Jong, you can read the first part of his notebook here. Stay tuned for more.

https://t.me/ukr_sof/1326

I've got a clogged sink, and have been reading the labels on a bunch of different products lately. I'd always assumed that they were a strong acid of sorts, which would dissolve whatever sort of material was built up in the pipes. But I've noticed that a lot of these products specify that they're non-corrosive, so I'm not sure what other sort of mechanism may be at play here.

Art by swordcomic https://bsky.app/profile/swordscomic.bsky.social

I finished Control today. I have to say that i'm incredibly disappointed in myself for sleeping on it for so long. The game is awesome and i can't conceive a reason why i had ever put it down. I love the amazing gameplay with all the OOP. They're the kind of originality i love Remedy for. I started the foundation DLC today and hope to finish it up tomorrow before starting AWE.

The story was also really good. it feels very large and messy, but in like a good way. Theirs a lot of things that we don't get answers for that i feel like it mimics real life. We'll never have all the answers to life; similarly (at least in this game) we'll never have answers to what the Hiss's goal is, what the Board is, etc. Sure we'll get bits and pieces (such as the suggestion about Alan writing the Hiss) but the lack of a full answer i love. Remedy did the same kind of thing with Alan Wake II which i adore.

Then there's the graphics. In the foundation DLC especially there's all this red sand everywhere and i love it. The particle effects are well done and everything:

Here's another example from The Foundation where the Hiss's fog prettily kind of wraps around them and everything:

Overall i really loved this game. I'm excited to beat the last few DLCs.

It took German industry an eyebrow-raising 19 months to refurbish and deliver the first 58 of at least 155 Leopard 1A5 tanks a German-led consortium has pledged to Ukraine. But the three-country consortium—Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium—has apparently resolved parts shortages and is finally picking up the pace.

Since those first 58 Leopard 1A5s arrived through early September, an additional 45 of the 1980s-vintage tanks have shipped.

Summary

Low-income voters who supported Donald Trump are expressing concerns over potential cuts to government benefits as his administration pushes for aggressive spending reductions.

Trump’s newly announced “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is tasked with cutting programs, raising fears about impacts on social safety nets.

Trump also plans to shut down the Education Department, impose tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, and has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health Secretary, signaling a focus on controversial health policies.

Voter anxieties about these shifts are growing.

Non-paywall link

What makes this your car?

Summary

Brazilian labor authorities have accused Chinese EV producer BYD and its contractor, Jinjiang Group, of human trafficking and “slavery-like conditions” for 163 Chinese workers at a factory construction site in Bahia.

Workers reportedly faced degrading living conditions and excessive hours.

BYD and Jinjiang have agreed to house workers in hotels until contracts are resolved.

The case has sparked scrutiny in both Brazil and China, with potential impacts on China-Brazil relations and BYD’s global expansion.

BYD denies wrongdoing, blaming misunderstandings and “foreign forces” for tarnishing its image.

Since the election I've kinda buried my head in the sand to try and stay sane, so I'm not sure what projections are looking like for the real estate market. Unfortunately I need to move pretty ASAP and I'm having the worst luck with rentals.

So, anyone have any advice or an idea of the outlook in the next few months?

Say, some alien just wanted to mess with us, but doesn't invade, or even care enough to want to kill us, but seeing how everyone is on their phone all the time, they decided to just jam all our radios to watch us suffer. Their transmitting power they use is so powerful, its jamming signals are 1000 times stronger than the strongest radios we have, so there's no way we can overpower the jamming.

What does the immediate aftermath look like?

What does it look like in the long term?

(Please don't say "kill the aliens" they have tech so advanced, its impossible to do it)

inb4 “it’s actually 14 kb 🤓” it’s the joy that is 1kb in size, here’s an image that’s 1kb:

I, personally, like to take the opportunity to express aspirations: not just trying to stop doing things I feel are harmful, but also to try new things or practice positive things more. A couple from me:

• Avoid sarcasm when dealing with people, especially strangers, it does not go over well when they don't get the joke
• Do something positive, helpful, and non-criminal to counter the right wing political trend. (granted, this one needs more detail)

How about you?

I just heard that Apple has effectively killed iTunes for windows. They will no longer supply updates of any sort. Which means if I have MP3 music there’s no realistic way for me to put that onto my iPhone.

Now what I’m trying to figure out is if I got a new computer right now and I needed to install a piece of software to move my MP3’s onto my phone (on the basis I got a new phone) Could I download the iTunes software.?

Is iTunes even still downloadable?

If iTunes is not downloadable, how would I move music which I legally own onto my phone?

I would prefer to stay with an iPhone. So I guess the questions are about the iPhone.

My understanding is I could use Apple Music and sync my music archive from my computer onto my phone through Apple Music. But the problem is then have to keep paying Apple Music subscription, which is stupid since I already own the music.

seized from here

After a recent update to ESPHome, my ATOM Echos no longer show a wake word in Home Assistant and the wake word field isn't even editable:

And indeed they aren't responding to me speaking the wake word.

Has anyone encountered this? Does anyone know of a fix or has a suggestion?

Is it about popularity? The publisher of the game? Or maybe the quality?