April 27, 2025

Sunday

Sunday News Review – Photos Thrive, Briefs Die, Hogwarts Resists

Our results indicate that the relative splashed volume has an almost invariant inflection point independent of We and Re under conditions of human urination (see Methods section). The model predicts that at ⁠, the splash is reduced by about 95% from maximum splash. This implies the possibility of designing a urinal geometry so that the impinging angle is always at or below this critical angle; consequently eliminating splash regardless of factors dependent on the user.

I’m surprised the bathroom fixture companies haven’t solved the splash-back problem before now. I also wonder if these researches applied for patents on their invention and the Cornucopia and Nautilus designs. If they really reduce splash-back to essentially zero, I can’t imagine they won’t be an immediate hit.

link published in /2025/04/27 at 1:54 PM

As for the interchangeable-lens camera market, in addition to sales promotion that started last year, among the younger generation, for whom smartphones are the norm, there is a growing need for cameras that allow them to enjoy taking photos and videos that are different from others.

As a result, the market is expected to grow to around 6.6 million units in 2025.

In the first quarter, in addition to increasing sales of full-frame cameras, especially the EOS R5 Mark II that was launched in the second half of last year, strong demand for entry-class cameras, which are popular among young people as a step up from smartphones, resulted in a significant increase in sales of 15.5%

This is interesting from a “future of photography” point of view, maybe even a “survival of photography as a craft” point of view.

Canon sees an ironic twist in the saga of smartphones killing interchangeable-lens cameras (DSLRs, Mirrorless) – a desire to have photos that are different from those of everyone else (i.e., smartphone photos) is actually increasing demand for interchangeable-lens cameras. And the company’s 2025 Q1 financial results back this up with actual data. Smartphones aren’t killing higher-end cameras. To the contrary, the omnipresent nature of smartphones is actually fueling growth in entry level full frame models. It’s not far-fetched to think that this will, eventually, lead to growth in higher end models as some of the new folks buying entry level models move on to bigger and better models, adding lenses that fit all models along the way.

Photography is not dying; it’s actually thriving and seeing a new generation of hobbyists and professionals enter the craft. They may have new reasons for showing up, with new and different goals, but that’s an evolution of the art and craft that everyone in the field should welcome. I do.

I wonder if the fear about AI killing photography will be turned on its head, too, in time.

link published in /2025/04/27 at 2:15 PM

Q: Please talk about the status of the price increase. If additional tariffs are passed on to product prices, how much of a price increase will we see in the end market?

A: We have notified major dealers that we will raise prices and are in the process of estimating the timing and amount of the increase.

This is a quote from the Q&A following Canon’s announcement of its 2025 Q1 financial results. I thought this particular question, and Canon’s answer, provides a succinct reminder of how tariffs actually work — producers raise prices to cover the tariff, and consumers pay more. Period.

But, hey, they protect the domestic camera manufacturers, right?

link published in /2025/04/27 at 2:40 PM

“I woke up with a little bit of a headache, because it was a long night last night. That first beer went down cold after the portal finally closed at midnight, I can tell you that,” Day said. “Holy smokes, what a world we’re living in right now.”

I can’t imagine being a college football head coach these days. They’re navigating uncharted territory on a daily basis. I admit to calling for Day’s firing after his loss to TTUN last year, but “[h]oly smokes” is he crushing it.

The state of Ohio State football is strong.

And we’ll get *ichigan this year.

link published in /2025/04/27 at 2:47 PM

“Not until this Court asked Mr. Kachouroff directly whether the Opposition was the product of generative artificial intelligence did Mr. Kachouroff admit that he did, in fact, use generative artificial intelligence,” the filing states. “After further questioning, Mr. Kachouroff admitted that he failed to cite check the authority in the Opposition after such use before filing it with the Court.”

We’ll there’s a surprise – the clown hired a clown lawyer.

link published in /2025/04/27 at 4:59 PM

We’re doing a little channel-surfing today and landed on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We jumped in at the scene where Professor Umbridge interjects her welcome speech at the feast on the first day of the term.

When asked what the speech means, Hermione Granger got right to the point:

“It means the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts.”

It’s easy to see, for most of us at least.

post published in /2025/04/27 at 5:19 PM

Some Was True is my corner of the web for publishing observations and commentary on various topics I find interesting. I use the process of creating and publishing content to learn about everything from history and tech to sports and culture. The About page has more information about the background of the site and details on how content is organized.

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