Notices by Soh Kam Yung (sohkamyung@mstdn.io)

Yes, it can be addictive, but in a good way. 😉

"On Wednesday, a New York-based app developer named Isaac Gemal debuted a new site called WikiTok, where users can vertically swipe through an endless stream of Wikipedia article stubs in a manner similar to the interface for video-sharing app TikTok."

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/new-wikitok-web-app-allows-infinite-tiktok-style-scroll-of-wikipedia/

On [ https://wikitok.vercel.app/ ]

#Wikipedia #DoomScroll

"A new ecological haven is set to take shape in northern Singapore as the Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat Nature Park opens progressively from 2028.

Situated roughly 3km to the east of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the new park will provide a vital sanctuary for biodiversity and expand the Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network"

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mandai-mangrove-park-opens-bird-watching-mudflat-kranji-sungei-buloh-wetland-4886631

#Singapore #Nature #Parks #Biodiversity #Conservation

May have to try this if I ever go to Germany.

"Spaghettieis (German pronunciation: [ʃpaˈɡɛtiˌaɪs]), or spaghetti ice cream, is a German ice cream dish made to resemble a plate of spaghetti. In the dish, vanilla ice cream is extruded through a modified Spätzle press or potato ricer, giving it the appearance of spaghetti."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghettieis

#Food #Germany #IceCream

@david Long ago, I wrote a Perl script. One week later, I looked at it and I didn't understand what I wrote. 🙂

"A research team headed up at Seoul National University has pioneered an innovative metasurface-based folded lens system, paving the way for a new generation of slimline cameras for use in smartphones and augmented/virtual reality devices."

http://physicsworld.com/a/lens-breakthrough-paves-the-way-for-ultrathin-cameras

#Physics #Optics #Cameras #Metamaterials #Materials

@thomasfuchs I love the music in the series by Vangelis.

@adamsdesk

That's correct. My Kobo Clara HD can borrow ebooks directly from my local library via Overdrive.

@Tourma @dwarmstrong

"While working for four decades as a mathematician and computer programmer at the U.S. Naval Proving Ground (now the Naval Surface Warfare Center) in Dahlgren, Va., [Gladys West] prepared the way for a satellite constellation in the sky that became an indispensable part of modern life: the Global Positioning System, or GPS."

https://spectrum.ieee.org/gladys-west-hidden-figure-gps

#Engineers #Women #HiddenFigures #Technology #GPS #Satellites #History #Mathematician #Programmer #Computers

"Ursula K. Le Guin’s timeless classic A Wizard of Earthsea is reimagined in a richly expansive graphic novel by artist Fred Fordham, creator of stunning adaptations of To Kill a Mockingbird and Brave New World.

We’re thrilled to share the cover of A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel—publishing March 11, 2025 with Clarion Books."

https://reactormag.com/cover-reveal-a-wizard-of-earthsea-graphic-novel/

#Books #SFF #UrsulaKLeGuin #FredFordham #GraphicNovels #EarthSea

"One of the most persistent images of Vietnam is that of farmers bending over rice fields, wearing conical, woven hats as they work by hand. Yet, that mental image could use a digital-age update: along the lower Mekong River, rice fields are often empty of people. Instead, drones—sometimes the size of suitcases—fly over the fields."

https://hakaimagazine.com/videos-visuals/rice-farming-gets-an-ai-upgrade/

#Vietnam #Automation #Drones #Farming #Technology #Rice

"Far too heavy to be supported by surface tension, basilisk lizards and western grebes can sprint for short distances on water. To mark the 2024 Paris Olympics, Nicole Sharp examines the physics behind water-running and asks whether human athletes could ever accomplish the same feat"

https://physicsworld.com/a/could-athletes-mimic-basilisk-lizards-and-turn-water-running-into-an-olympic-sport/

#Physics #FluidDynamics #Water #Walking #Running

"Researchers have developed a chemical-processing technique that can break down fabrics into reusable molecules, even when they contain a mixture of materials.

The process, outlined in a Science Advances paper on 3 July, shows that chemical recycling can give old textiles a new lease of life. If scaled up, it could help to tackle the growing mountain of waste generated by the fashion industry"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02210-1

#Clothes #Fabrics #Recycling #Chemistry #Research

Woah. Cool.

"I've always been a fan of the Lego Technic series, especially those models that have gears and cranks and moving parts. But it seems that Lego is shifting the focus of the Technic series away from functional models, so I had to take matters into my own hands. I think an orrery is the perfect project to build out of Lego Technic parts as it makes for a cool display set and is functional at the same time."

https://marian42.de/article/orrery/

#LEGO #Orrery #Engineering

"Tourists to Japan from Singapore and seven other Asian countries will soon find it easier to pay for their purchases using their local QR code wallets under a new joint payment scheme.
[...]
The countries are Singapore (SGQR), Malaysia (DuitNow QR), Indonesia (QRIS), the Philippines (QRPh), Thailand (Thai QR Payment), Cambodia (KHQR), Vietnam (VietQR) and India (BharatQR)."

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-aims-to-launch-joint-qr-code-payment-system-with-asian-countries-including-s-pore-by-april-2025

#QRCodes #PaymentSystems #Japan #Singapore #Malaysia #SEAsia #India

@Suiseiseki The QR code is used for clearing immigration, instead of showing a passport (or passports for a group of people).

The information collected is the same as if the travellers showed their physical passports at the border checkpoint, only faster, as the information has already been entered in the immigration system and just needs verification via the presented QR code.

https://www.ica.gov.sg/enter-transit-depart/at-our-checkpoints/use-of-qr-code-for-immigration-clearance-at-woodlands-and-tuas-checkpoints

The Malaysia-Singapore land crossing is one of the busiest in the world, so any time saved crossing it is a plus.

"Calls for Malaysia to also implement QR code clearance at its land checkpoints with Singapore have grown louder in the wake of positive user feedback to Singapore’s rollout."

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-johor-qr-code-immigration-clearance-singapore-causeway-special-economic-zone-rts-link-4252221

#Malaysia #Singapore #Borders #Immigrations #Checkpoints #QRCodes

@liztai Triangular love letters! I'm not used to Singapore style rolled love letters. 🙂

@enobacon @glightly In Singapore (and Malaysia), trucks like these still deliver gas to houses that don't have piped gas. I tend to give them a wide berth too when possible.

@thomasfuchs @mwichary I noticed the "\" key on the keyboard of my Lenovo Yoga laptop has a cutout.

Maybe in some regions (or models), the "\" key is removed and replaced with the 'big ass' Enter key.

@RadicalEdward This dystopian scenario has come true. A school unable to turn off the lights because the proprietary software system that controls them is broken, and the original vendor no longer has access to the software.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/us-school-runs-lights-24-7-365-the-smart-lights-have-been-broken-since-2021/