Slashdot

News for nerds, stuff that matters

South Korea Records Its Highest Ever Temperature

South Korea recorded its highest temperature since modern observations began in 1904, with the city of Yangsan reaching 42.5C as temperatures exceeded 40C for a fifth consecutive day. Authorities warned residents to "immediately stop all outdoor activities." The Guardian reports: More than 20 localities in South Korea were under emergency heatwave alerts on Sunday -- a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38C or an actual temperature of 39C for the day. Issuing a heat warning, the weather agency urged people to "immediately stop all outdoor activities," adding that "indoor spaces without air conditioning are dangerous."

"Move immediately to a cool place, such as a designated cooling centre or a shaded area, and stay hydrated while resting," it advised. Fearing for those people most vulnerable to heat, the prime minister, Han Seong-sook, ordered local officials to strengthen safety checks on residents and to ensure a stable power and water supply was maintained. [...] Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 in the past five years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Company Offering Printed Books To Train AI Stops After 404 Media Coverage

An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Following 404 Media's reporting that book database company ISBNdb claimed to source printed books to then sell to AI companies for AI training, the company deleted the part of its website offering the service and walked back claims that it would train AI models, and instead called it "a test of market interest."

On July 30, nine days after 404 Media's reporting, ISBNdb added a note to its homepage and an update on its news page about the change. "We've seen the recent coverage about a marketing landing page on our site, and we understand the concern it raised. The facts: ISBNdb has never purchased, scanned, or sold a book -- for AI training or anything else," ISBNdb wrote. "We don't train AI models, and we never have. The page was a test of market interest; no such service was ever brought to life. We've taken the page down. Our job is helping people find books. For more than two decades, ISBNdb has been the card catalog of the book world -- the data behind how bookstores, libraries, and reading apps connect readers with titles. Data about books, not the books themselves. That hasn't changed."

ISBNdb removed the landing page for "Printed Books Sourcing for Your AI LLMs Dataset Needs" on July 28. "It was part of exploring demand, and we've chosen to pivot away from that direction. Our main ISBNdb (book metadata API) services are unaffected and running as usual," the site says. According to 404 Media's previous report, ISBNdb had pitched pre-2022 printed books as premium AI training material because they contained curated human knowledge without contamination from AI-generated text or modern data-poisoning techniques. "The world's best AI training data is sitting on a shelf," the company had argued, while offering discreet bulk book acquisition under NDAs and acknowledging the potential backlash if AI firms were seen destroying millions of books for scanning.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Formula 1 News

Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website

Why Vowles is convinced ‘it will all come good’ at Williams

Williams were a squad many of their midfield rivals envied in 2025, having returned to the Grand Prix podium with new signing Carlos Sainz and risen to fifth position in the Teams’ Championship – their best classification since the 2017 season.

Antonelli opens up on impact of 2025 struggles

Kimi Antonelli has reflected back on the pressure he felt during his rookie season with Mercedes in 2025.

The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

Did you solve it? Are you a match for the world’s smartest teen?

The solution to today’s puzzle

Earlier today I set you the following puzzle, suggested by Briton Alex Chui, the most successful ever candidate at the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Last month Alex, who is a pupil at Tonbridge School in Kent, became the first person to win a medal at the olympiad for seven years in a row. Bravo!

Continue reading...

‘A rug helps anchor all the pieces’: how to start decorating your home

Designers share tips on creating a space you love, from mixing eras and colors to not getting in your head

Home is where you sleep. It’s also where you eat, work, cry, laugh, socialize and celebrate. It is a spatial extension of the self – which can make home decorating daunting to some.

“People get in their heads about decorating their space,” says Drew Michael Scott, interior designer and founder of the lifestyle and decor brand Lone Fox. It can be hard to know where to start, what you can afford or accomplish, or if you’re getting it wrong.

How to start meditating

How to start weightlifting

How to start budgeting

How to start running

How to start finding your personal style

Continue reading...

Vincent Pastore obituary

American actor best known for his role as Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero in the US TV crime drama series The Sopranos

The character actor Vincent Pastore, who has died aged 80, made Italian mobster roles his speciality, most notably playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, one of the capos in The Sopranos. Although the character’s nickname came from his early career as a cat burglar, in a recent interview Pastore said the Soprano’s creator, David Chase, had written the part “for an actor who could play a tough guy but also could be sensitive. I saw Big Pussy as a man with a big heart.”

In the show, Pastore’s Pussy balanced the violent intensity of Tony Sirico’s Paulie Walnuts. “It was like sharing the camera with an elephant,” Pastore joked about the much smaller but intense actor.

Continue reading...

Anti-war politician flees Russia amid pre-election crackdown on dissent

Boris Nadezhdin, who gained prominence after standing against Putin in 2024, says he is now in France

The prominent Russian anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin has fled to Paris as Moscow tightens its grip on dissent before parliamentary elections later this year.

Nadezhdin, a veteran liberal politician, gained international prominence during Russia’s 2024 presidential election when his long-shot campaign against Vladimir Putin unexpectedly gathered momentum before electoral authorities barred him from running.

Continue reading...

Newcastle reject first bid from Arsenal for captain Bruno Guimarães

  • Premier League champions have £70m offer turned down

  • Brazil midfielder has arrived at Newcastle training camp

Arsenal have stepped up their attempt to sign Bruno Guimarães by finally beginning formal transfer negotiations and making an opening offer, which Newcastle have rejected.

Guimarães met Newcastle’s incoming manager, Matthias Jaissle, for the first time on Monday at the team’s pre-season training camp at La Manga after a post-World Cup holiday in Brazil.

Continue reading...

July was driest month in southern England since records began

England and Wales provisionally record driest July in nearly 200 years, Met Office says

July 2026 was the driest month in southern England since records began nearly 200 years ago, the Met Office has said.

England and Wales also provisionally recorded their driest July since records began in 1836. Wales had its joint warmest July on record for mean temperature, and England recorded its second warmest July.

Continue reading...

How Ceuta migrant crisis exposes divisions within Europe - The Latest

At least 72 people have died attempting to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after an estimated 50,000 migrants crossed from Morocco last week. The incident has triggered a political crisis in Spain and criticism from EU countries. Lucy Hough speaks to European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam

Continue reading...

Vampire-obsessed man detained after dumping animal corpses outside churches in New Forest

Benjamin Lewis, who believed drinking blood would prolong life, will be kept in hospital for treatment

A man fascinated with vampires and graveyards who apparently believed he would live for ever if he drank blood has been detained in hospital after being caught dumping animal corpses outside churches in a British forest.

Benjamin Lewis, 48, left the bodies of sheep and deer on the doorsteps of churches in the New Forest in Hampshire, frightening parishioners and upsetting farmers whose livestock he stole and slaughtered.

Continue reading...

GROTE FIK in Limburg, defensie zet helikopters in

Social

Allemaal even NIET gaan wandelen in natuurgieden De Rosmolen en Boschhuizerbergen bij Oostrum in de gemeente Venray in Limburg, daar staat de boel namelijk finaal in de fik. De brand woedt sinds even voor het middaguur en is inmiddels zo groot dat het treinverkeer in de omgeving is stilgelegd en er een NL-Alert naar alle omwonenden is verstuurd. Defensie vliegt heen en weer met Chinooks en de brandweer vliegt heen en weer met drones want waarom ook niet. Het vuur breidt zich snel uit vanwege de wind en iets dat "kroonvuur" heet. Nou weten wij niet wat "kroonvuur" precies inhoudt (vermoedelijk iets met Marco Kroon, de koning dan wel gravin Eloise, red.) maar het klinkt geenszins gezellig. Gaat hoe dan ook nog ff duren dit. Stay strong Limbo's en hup voor de blushelden.

Oei

SocialSocialSocial

Colossal

The best of art, craft, and visual culture since 2010.

Inspired by Fauna, Form Meets Function in Hilarious Pieces by Ceramika Matylda

Inspired by Fauna, Form Meets Function in Hilarious Pieces by Ceramika Matylda

After spending many years painting, Agata Iwaszkiewicz picked up a ball of clay for the first time at 41 and felt a change. “I knew I’d found what I had been looking for,” she tells Colossal. “Working with clay felt completely natural. Ideas came effortlessly, and I immediately had a clear vision for what I wanted to build with my new business.” Ceramika Matylda was born.

The Gdańsk, Poland-based artist is particularly drawn to animals, especially dogs. Their playful, quirky, cartoonish faces and spaghetti-like limbs are both relatable and slightly unfamiliar, tapping into a sense of sentimentality and curiosity. “My newest collection of poodles was inspired by my own dog, Rudolf, who passed away recently,” Iwaszkiewicz says. “These pieces are incredibly personal to me—they’re my way of saying goodbye to him and celebrating the joy he brought into my life.”

a ceramic sculptural jar in the form of a cartoonish small dog

For Ceramika Matylda, the artist focuses predominantly on pieces that are both sculptural and functional, such as jars, candleholders, and salt and pepper shakers. Increasingly, she’s branching out into pure sculpture, like the playful vignette of a horse leaping over a wave as it gives an octopus a lift.

“I like my work to be open to interpretation,” Iwaszkiewicz says. “There’s a lot of humor in it, a sense of playfulness, and I never take the world too seriously. At the same time, every piece reflects my own aesthetic and my personal idea of what beauty can be.”

See more on Instagram, and find originals in her Etsy shop.

a trio of ceramic sculptural salt and pepper shakers in the form of cartoonish small dogs
a ceramic sculptural jar in the form of a cartoonish small dog
a ceramic wall decoration of a cartoonish dog or rabbit-like animal with a little conical hat
a ceramic sculpture of a cartoonish horse leaping over a wave with an octopus along the ride
six ceramic mugs with goofy cartoonish animal faces
a cartoonish ceramic sculpture of a pudgy white dog that holds a pink candlestick
a ceramic mug filled with balls of yarn, with a cartoonish animal face
a cartoonish ceramic sculpture of a rabbit-like creature with a little blue bowl on its head
a ceramic sculptural jar in the form of a cartoonish small dog

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Inspired by Fauna, Form Meets Function in Hilarious Pieces by Ceramika Matylda appeared first on Colossal.

Compositions by Smoothdude

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Compositions by Smoothdude

Lincoln $ Saver

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Lincoln $ Saver

VK: Voorpagina

Volkskrant.nl biedt het laatste nieuws, opinie en achtergronden

VS grijpen in om zwakke Japanse yen te stutten. Welk belang hebben zij hierbij?

Limburgse natuurbrand breidt zich nog uit, NL-alert verstuurd

xiffy

Public posts from @xiffy@mastodon.nl

Bij een brocante zijn soms ook oude auto's op bezoek. De koplampen zijn niet origineel, maar gave auto.
-en absoluut niet mijn droom, heb weinig met auto's, ze motten het doen-


Wel.nl

Minder lezen, Meer weten.

Limburgse natuurbrand breidt zich verder uit

- Bij de brand in het natuurgebied De Rosmolen staat 21 hectare in brand. Dat is ongeveer een vijfde van het gebied, zegt een woordvoerder van de veiligheidsregio Noord-Limburg. De brand is nog niet onder controle.

De wind wakkert de brand aan in noordelijke richting. Bij de Maasheseweg, die door het natuurgebied loopt, legt de brandweer nu een stoplijn aan, in de hoop de brand zo een halt toe te roepen. Die weg is afgesloten, ziet een ANP-verslaggever. De geëvacueerde camping De Oude Barrier bevindt zich aan de weg.

Drie helikopters van Defensie helpen bij het blussen, volgens de woordvoerder.

De brand woedt aan beide kanten van de spoorlijn die door het gebied loopt. Volgens de NS is het treinverkeer tussen Nijmegen en Venray nog tot ten minste 23.00 uur gestremd.