> You’ll find that pikas run and jump very quickly, so they can be difficult to capture on camera when moving! It may take some practice to be able to find them within your frame when they’re moving at this speed.

While I won't be going out to do wildlife photography myself, I thought it was nicely detailed + lots of great photos in the article body

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/33597552

> Summary from the 404 media newsletter > > > Heart cockles, a group of marine molluscs, contain little communities of algae in their shells as part of a symbiotic relationship; the algae get shelter and protection, and the cockles get algae-processed nutrients. > > > > Now, scientists have discovered that cockle shells have a host of mind-boggling adaptations to keep these algae happy, including windows that offer “the first example of fiber optic cable bundles in a living creature.” > > > > “We show that the fibrous prismatic crystals act like parallel bundles of fiber optic cables in the shell windows, not just transmitting light but projecting high-resolution images through the window,” that have “a resolution of >100 lines/mm,” said researchers led by Dakota McCoy of the University of Chicago. > > From the article in the link above: > > ! > > Fig. 1: Heart cockles (Corculum cardissa and Corculum spp.) are asymmetrical, photosymbiotic bivalves. > > > ! > > Fig. 2: Transparent windows allow heart cockle shells to transmit 11–62% of photosynthetically active radiation (mean = 31%) and significantly screen out UV radiation (mean = 14%, range = 5–28%).

Summary from the 404 media newsletter

> Heart cockles, a group of marine molluscs, contain little communities of algae in their shells as part of a symbiotic relationship; the algae get shelter and protection, and the cockles get algae-processed nutrients. > > Now, scientists have discovered that cockle shells have a host of mind-boggling adaptations to keep these algae happy, including windows that offer “the first example of fiber optic cable bundles in a living creature.” > > “We show that the fibrous prismatic crystals act like parallel bundles of fiber optic cables in the shell windows, not just transmitting light but projecting high-resolution images through the window,” that have “a resolution of >100 lines/mm,” said researchers led by Dakota McCoy of the University of Chicago.

From the article in the link above:

! > Fig. 1: Heart cockles (Corculum cardissa and Corculum spp.) are asymmetrical, photosymbiotic bivalves.

! > Fig. 2: Transparent windows allow heart cockle shells to transmit 11–62% of photosynthetically active radiation (mean = 31%) and significantly screen out UV radiation (mean = 14%, range = 5–28%).

> Scientists have broken the record for the world’s thinnest pasta with a new “nanopasta” that measures just 372 nanometers, which is 200 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Britton, Beatrice et al. > > “By dissolving 17 wheat flour in warm formic acid and cooling, a dope can be created which can be electrospun into porous mats of 372 nm fibers of pasta,” said researchers led by Beatrice Britton of University College London. “The pasta was made by applying an electric charge to a starch solution which is ejected towards a grounded substrate while drying during flight.”

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/63506

Image source, credits, and about the animal:

• https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/80100795
• © Matt K
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_cottontail

> EML is thrilled to welcome Pierre Friquet, artist and award-winning digital experience designer. Tested at the Paris 2024 Olympics, his latest project, Captain Nemo, aims to use VR to increase ocean literacy, using stunning visuals, immersive soundscapes, and captivating interaction mechanics to illustrate the interdependence of our environment. > > Join us in the Pena Room (IKB 301) on November 27th, from 3-4:30, to learn more about this incredible educational resource, as well as Pierre's internationally recognized artistic work!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22298719

Image credit in original post :)

See !loops@midwest.social

It's a fediverse short video sharing platform, and direct support would be nice to have :)

I'm hoping it will also be easy enough to implement?

We're dealing with some stormy weather here (Vancouver for me, but it covers a wider area) and so a patchwork of homes across the region are having power outages. Crews are working to restore it

So on that note, what do you like to do?

• ways to prepare, what to buy, a favourite flashlight from !flashlight@lemmy.world?
• how you pass the time
• any stories that come to mind?

I got a copy of the text from the email, and added it below, with personal information and link trackers removed.

> Hello [receiver's name], > > I’ve long dreamed about working for Mozilla. I learned how to send encrypted e-mail using Mozilla Thunderbird, and I’ve been a Firefox user since almost as long as I can remember. In more recent years, I’ve been an avid follower of Mozilla’s advocacy work, and was lucky enough to partner with Mozilla on investigative journalism in my last job. > > In many ways, Mozilla was the dream – and now, as the leader of the Foundation, my job is to make my dreams for Mozilla come true. What that means, though, is making your dreams come true – for a trustworthy and open future of technology; for tech that is a tool for liberation, not limitation; and for tech that values people over profit. > > So I’m reaching out to technologists, activists, researchers, engineers, policy experts, and, most importantly, to you – the people who make up the Mozilla community – to ask a simple question. > > [receiver's name]. What is your dream for Mozilla? I invite you to take a moment to share your thoughts by completing this brief survey. > > Let’s start with this question: > > > > Question 1: What is most important to you right now about technology and the internet? > > > > - Protecting my privacy online > > - Avoiding scams > > - Choosing products, apps, technology, and services that I can trust > > - Keeping children safe online > > - Responsible use of AI > > - Keeping the internet is open and free > > - Knowing how to spot misinformation > > - Other (please specify) > > Take the survey now → > > > > With your help, together we can imagine and create the Internet we want. Thank you for being a part of this. > > Always yours, > > Nabiha Syed > Executive Director > Mozilla Foundation

I recently got a small keychain device for free as a cheap promotional item. It looks like one of these: https://powerstick.com/powertag/

It asks that you install this app: Spot 2.0 Bluetooth Finder

Some concerns right away:

• It requires an account
• It said that my password was too long
• It seems that these apps will need 24/7 access to location in order to work properly, so I'm not comfortable making an account on some app I've never heard of

So my questions:

Q1: If someone is given a similar device, is there a FOSS app that they can use it with? So far I've found:

• BLE Radar (FDroid, GitHub). It looks promising and I haven't played with all the custom profiles yet. While I was able to connect the device and see it on a map, I don't see an option to ring the device from the app. Since it's a key ring, I imagine most people would use it to find their keys in their home, for which the speaker would be helpful.

• iTracing2 (FDroid, GitHub). This one is very minimalistic, and while I could get it connected, it seems to only work in the device > phone direction, where you can press a button on the keychain to initiate an action on the phone (ex. ring the phone)

Q2: If someone wanted to get a good quality version of this, which brands do you recommend? Ideally it would be accurate and be compatible with some FOSS app(s).

I remember seeing Chipolo mentioned in some other thread here, but I don't know if they meet those requirements

Smaller communities have trouble growing when they are scattered and competing with one another. Focusing on one community can help a lot with growth (a few people posting to a few small communities vs. all of them posting to the same larger community).

User @threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works made a post here to discuss consolidating the Electric Vehicle communities: https://lemm.ee/post/46935805

Since this community hasn't had a post in a year and the mod hasn't been active, it was proposed that we lock the community and pin a post directing users to the chosen community (currently it looks to be !electricvehicles@slrpnk.net ). Then, if at any point people don't like how that community is being run, there is always the option of unlocking these other communities.

I'm in favour of locking and redirecting, but I wanted to get feedback first :)

> As Synology explains in security advisories published two days after the flaws were demoed at Pwn2Own Ireland 2024 to hijack a Synology BeeStation BST150-4T device, the security flaws enable remote attackers to gain remote code execution as root on vulnerable NAS appliances exposed online. > > "The vulnerability was initially discovered, within just a few hours, as a replacement for another Pwn2Own submission. The issue was disclosed to Synology immediately after demonstration, and within 48 hours a patch was made available which resolves the vulnerability," Midnight Blue said.

From a different source:

> Synology proactively sponsors and works with security researchers as part of product security initiatives. At this year's Pwn2Own Ireland 2024 event, which took place in late October, we successfully discovered and resolved multiple security vulnerabilities. > > While these vulnerabilities are not being exploited, we recommend all Synology device administrators immediately take action to secure their systems by updating due to the scope and severity of specific issues.

There are downsides with downloading their app just to input bad data, but it's a fun thought.

---

edit: While we're at it we might as well offer an alternative app to people.

I posted in !opensource@programming.dev to collect recommendations for better apps

The post: https://lemmy.ca/post/32877620

Leading Recommendation from the comments

The leading recommendation seems to be Drip (bloodyhealth.gitlab.io)

Summarizing what people shared:

• accessible: it is on F-droid, Google Play, & iOS App Store
• does not allow any third-party tracking
• the project got support from "PrototypeFund & Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Superrr Lab and Mozilla"
• Listed features:
  • "Your data, your choice: Everything you enter stays on your device"
  • "Not another cute, pink app: drip is designed with gender inclusivity in mind."
  • "Your body is not a black box: drip is transparent in its calculations and encourages you to think for yourself."
  • "Track what you like: Just your period, or detect your fertility using the symptothermal method."

Their Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@dripapp

A friend was asking, and it would be nice to have one or two to recommend.

Bonus if it's on Google Play in addition to Fdroid, but not necessary.

Some recommendations in these threads:

• https://lemmy.ca/comment/12756204
• https://lemmy.ca/post/32878118

Some discussion on apps (including non-FOSS) here:

• https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/categories/reproductive-health/

---

Leading Recommendation from the comments

The leading recommendation seems to be Drip (bloodyhealth.gitlab.io)

Summarizing what people shared:

• accessible: it is on F-droid, Google Play, & iOS App Store
• does not allow any third-party tracking
• the project got support from "PrototypeFund & Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Superrr Lab and Mozilla"
• Listed features:
  • "Your data, your choice: Everything you enter stays on your device"
  • "Not another cute, pink app: drip is designed with gender inclusivity in mind."
  • "Your body is not a black box: drip is transparent in its calculations and encourages you to think for yourself."
  • "Track what you like: Just your period, or detect your fertility using the symptothermal method."

Their Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@dripapp