h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

Final report on last year's Iberian blackout has been released, including this very interesting diagram showing the contributing factors

https://eepublicdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/public-cdn-container/clean-documents/Publications/2025/iberian-blackout/Final%20Report%20on%20the%20Grid%20Incident%20in%20Spain%20and%20Portugal%20on%2028%20April%202025.pdf

Whoa: <https://terathon.com/blog/decade-slug.html>

> What is now known as the Slug Algorithm for rendering fonts directly from Bézier curves on the GPU was developed in the Fall of 2016, so this year marks a full decade since its inception.
…
> Therefore, effective today, I am permanently and irrevocably dedicating the Slug patent to the public domain.

One of my proudest moments in the field of #eyebombing

I just managed to make another watchface, this time (pun intended) it's always 11 AM, but the timezone changes every hour to where it's 11 AM in the world.

The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society https://improbable.com/2026/03/17/the-telephone-appreciation-society/

Flightradar24 is doing a really good job of aviation/logistics documentaries these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d2uN7XCc4g

Nice piece by Sarah Wride on May Day traditions and UK elections (which typically happen in May).

https://historyofparliament.com/2026/03/10/re-membering-the-medieval-parliament-1769-1886/

#mayday

👓 NEW THING 🧽
Using advanced simulation technology, we’ve accurately reproduced what every glasses wearer experiences
https://vole.wtf/glasses-cleaning/

TIL. In April 1974, in the middle of the night, a small group of conspirators secretly installed a large tensegrity icosahedron made from discarded telephone poles on the campus of Twente University in the Netherlands.

It’s still there. People call it Het Ding (“the thing”).

https://www.utwente.nl/en/alumni/inspiring-alumni/ut-canon/stories/het-ding/

Weird symbol news: the mystery of the Unicode symbol ⍼ has been solved: it represents azimuth.

(via Oscar Cunningham)

The Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony Is Moving to Europe (after 35 years in the USA) https://improbable.com/2026/03/10/the-ig-nobel-prize-ceremony-is-moving-to-europe-after-35-years-in-the-usa/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Miikka/116200071803458084

Now this is what computers are actually for!

🆕 blog! “How many hours do you need to work to afford a pint of beer?”

I dropped into a pub in central London and ordered two pints of draught beer. Obviously the price of everything is nuts these days - and doubly so in London - so I only winced a little bit when the cost came to about twelve quid. Shocking, obviously. But as we supped on our pints and…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/03/how-many-hours-do-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-pint-of-beer/
⸻
#beer #statistics

How Many Slices Does a Mandarin Have? https://improbable.com/2026/03/04/how-many-slices-does-a-mandarin-have/

Yesterday the government announced that it 'will repeal in full the power for Government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission.'

This will meaningfully increase the independence of the UK's elections watchdog. The Commission itself has been calling for repeal since it was introduced in 2022.

This change of policy was announced during the second reading of the Representation of the People Bill: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-03-02/debates/702183A9-7B57-487C-9634-BF459DB65DB2/RepresentationOfThePeopleBill#main-content

LINUX IN SPACE
Linux has become the most popular operating system in the known universe. It may be ready to take off — again. In a big way.

(This is a really cool article that IMO deserves attention. Boosts welcome.)
https://www.windriver.com/blog/Linux-Flies-into-Space