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News for nerds, stuff that matters

The Gold Plating of American Water

The price of water and sewer services for American households has more than doubled since the early 1980s after adjusting for inflation, even though per-capita water use has actually decreased over that period. Households in large cities now spend about $1,300 a year on water and sewer charges, approaching the roughly $1,600 they spend on electricity. The main driver is federal regulation.

Since the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, the U.S. has spent approximately $5 trillion in contemporary dollars fighting water pollution -- about 0.8% of annual GDP across that period. The EPA itself admits that surface water regulations are the one category of environmental rules where estimated costs exceed estimated benefits.

New York City was required to build a filtration plant to address two minor parasites in water from its Croton aqueduct. The project took a decade longer than expected and cost $3.2 billion, more than double the original estimate. After the plant opened in 2015, the city's Commissioner of Environmental Protection noted that the water would basically be "the same" to the public. Jefferson County, Alabama, meanwhile, descended into what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2011 after EPA-mandated sewer upgrades pushed its debt from $300 million to over $3 billion.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Adobe Acrobat Now Lets You Edit Files Using Prompts, Generate Podcast Summaries

Adobe has added a suite of AI-powered features to Acrobat that enable users to edit documents through natural language prompts, generate podcast-style audio summaries of their files, and create presentations by pulling content from multiple documents stored in a single workspace.

The prompt-based editing supports 12 distinct actions: removing pages, text, comments, and images; finding and replacing words and phrases; and adding e-signatures and passwords. The presentation feature builds on Adobe Spaces, a collaborative file and notes collection the company launched last year. Users can point Acrobat's AI assistant at files in a Space and have it generate an editable pitch deck, then style it using Adobe Express themes and stock imagery.

Shared files in Spaces now include AI-generated summaries that cite specific locations in the source document. Users can also choose from preset AI assistant personas -- "analyst," "entertainer," or "instructor" -- or create custom assistants using their own prompts.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AI Company Eightfold Sued For Helping Companies Secretly Score Job Seekers

Eightfold AI, a venture capital-backed AI hiring platform used by Microsoft, PayPal and many other Fortune 500 companies, is being sued in California for allegedly compiling reports used to screen job applicants without their knowledge. From a report: The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday accusing Eightfold of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act shows how consumer advocates are seeking to apply existing law to AI systems capable of drawing inferences about individuals based on vast amounts of data.

Santa Clara, California-based Eightfold provides tools that promise to speed up the hiring process by assessing job applicants and predicting whether they would be a good fit for a job using massive amounts of data from online resumes and job listings. But candidates who apply for jobs at companies that use those tools are not given notice and a chance to dispute errors, job applicants Erin Kistler and Sruti Bhaumik allege in their proposed class action. Because of that, they claim Eightfold violated the FCRA and a California law that gives consumers the right to view and challenge credit reports used in lending and hiring.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

VK: Voorpagina

Volkskrant.nl biedt het laatste nieuws, opinie en achtergronden

Trump zet streep door ‘Groenland-heffingen’ na gesprek met Rutte

Alleen de toezichthouder kan nog voorkomen dat Trump straks kan rondneuzen in DigiD

Kamer eist strengere aanpak relschoppers. De minister reageert afhoudend

De Tweede Kamer debatteerde over het toenemende geweld tegen agenten en hulpverleners. Vrijwel unaniem klonk het verlangen naar een strengere aanpak van relschoppers.


Anesthesio

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Anesthesio

3 Monkeys Pub

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

3 Monkeys Pub

Safer Skies

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Safer Skies

Michael's Eyes

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Michael's Eyes

Colossal

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

Playful, Enigmatic Narratives Shape Yuko Shimizu’s Action-Packed Illustrations

Playful, Enigmatic Narratives Shape Yuko Shimizu’s Action-Packed Illustrations

Playful idiosyncrasies and bouts of whimsy bubble up in the works of Yuko Shimizu. Depicting swimmers in vintage bathing suits as they dive after giant fish or diminutive figures wading through tulips twice as tall as they are, the Brooklyn-based artist’s playful illustrations evoke folktales and dreams, characterized by enigmatic narratives and determined action.

Shimizu has previously taught at Quarantine, a unique residency off the coast of Menorca, Spain, where artists are invited to disconnect from tech in order to reconnect with the creative process and one another. She’s currently working on a number of book illustration projects and preparing to return to Quarantine for another stint this spring. Find more on her Instagram.

An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of a diminutive figure with numerous braids standing amid tulips that are twice as tall as her
An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of hands reaching up toward the tail of a heron, which flies in front of a red orb
An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of swimmers in black-and-white striped suits diving after large magenta fish underwater
An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of a giant red octopus holding a bottle and swimmers in its tentacles
An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of swimmers in black-and-white striped suits and caps
An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of snowy woods with red birds flying around a Bigfoot-like figure seated on a stump
An illustration by Yuko Shimizu of determined swimmers in striped suits and caps walking with a bullhorn and noisemakers

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 Playful, Enigmatic Narratives Shape Yuko Shimizu’s Action-Packed Illustrations appeared first on Colossal.

Wel.nl

Minder lezen, Meer weten.

Ingelaste EU-top gaat door, ook nu Trump afziet van heffingen

BRUSSEL (ANP) - De ingelaste EU-top over de Groenland-crisis gaat door, laat een woordvoerder van de voorzitter van de EU-leiders António Costa weten. De EU-leiders komen donderdagavond alsnog bij elkaar, ook nu de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump afziet van importheffingen voor Europese landen die meededen aan een verkenningsmissie in Groenland.

Trump zegt de heffingen af te blazen omdat er een raamwerk zou zijn voor een Groenland-deal, zei hij na een gesprek met NAVO-chef Mark Rutte. Details over dat raamwerk zijn nog onbekend.


Trump ziet af van heffingen om Groenland na 'raamwerk voor deal'

Donald Trump zegt af te zien van importheffingen voor Europese landen die meededen aan een verkenningsmissie in Groenland. Volgens de Amerikaanse president is er een raamwerk gevormd voor een "toekomstige deal aangaande Groenland" na een gesprek met NAVO-chef Mark Rutte.


kottke.org

Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products

“The uncomfortable truth is that the president of the United States is...

“The uncomfortable truth is that the president of the United States is a man with the mind of a spoiled child. His debilitating solipsism is a threat to the stability of the entire world. A functional Congress would impeach and remove him.”

Rijnmond - Nieuws

Het laatste nieuws van vandaag over Rotterdam, Feyenoord, het verkeer en het weer in de regio Rijnmond

Vrienden verlossen reiger van stuk touw om snavel: 'Hij vloog al maanden zo rond'

Even op een reiger afstappen en hem redden van een stuk touw. Het klinkt misschien een stuk makkelijker dan het daadwerkelijk is. In Hoek van Holland vloog een reiger al maanden rond met touw om zijn snavel. Jelle en Rob spotten de vogel en gingen meteen tot actie over. Ze verlosten hem uit zijn lijden.

Excelsior houdt punt over aan het inhaalduel met AZ

Excelsior heeft een punt overgehouden aan de inhaalwedstrijd op bezoek bij AZ. Mede dankzij een uitblinkende Stijn van Gassel eindigde het duel in 1-1. Miliano Jonathans was de doelpuntenmaker aan de kant van de uitploeg.

Voetganger naar ziekenhuis na aanrijding op zebrapad

Op de Westlandseweg in Vlaardingen is woensdagavond een voetganger aangereden. Het slachtoffer, een man, werd geraakt door een auto toen hij op een zebrapad liep. Hij is met spoed naar het ziekenhuis gebracht.

Trump trekt extra importtarieven op Europese landen in na gesprek met Rutte, 'deal Groenland in de maak'

Kijk aan. Je moet Trump niet letterlijk nemen, maar wel serieus, maar ook weer niet al te serieus, want de goede man is knettergek en bedenkt zich bovendien doorgaans halverwege. Zo ook nu, na een bespreking met Mark Rutte in Davos. Die extra importtarieven op onder andere Nederland komen er: niet, laat hij op Truth Social weten. In plaats daarvan komt er een oplossing die goed is voor iedereen, Europa, de NAVO, Trump, Gidi Markuszower, Ferry Doedens, de appelmoesredactie van het AD. Deze situatie kent werkelijk alleen maar winnaars. Een gouden tijdperk, zo u wil. Dat hele gedoe rondom IJsland Groenland wordt ook snel opgelost. Hartstikke mooi!

Behance Featured Projects

The latest projects featured on the Behance

Delve And Seek


I was invited by Dice Up Games to illustrate a super fun search-and-find book, where readers embark on an adventure through multiple scenarios filled with heroes, monsters, unexpected moments, and of course, Dragons. Delve and Seek is a fully illustrated book with a lighthearted story made for the whole family.

Formula 1 News

Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website

Pin graduates to Mercedes development role

F1 ACADEMY champion Doriane Pin is increasing her duties with the Mercedes F1 team as she becomes one of their Development Drivers for 2026.