If your giftee is interested in growing their own mushrooms, they can grow just about anything they want in North Spore’s automated Boomr Bin monotub. The kit comprises a tub with a lid, filters, a hygrometer, a humidifier, and a fan to maintain airflow, though no instructions are provided. Because of this, it will take some extensive YouTube-ing to set up, as assembly isn’t exactly intuitive. Once the tub was going, however, I was able to grow nearly endless amounts of blue, pink, and yellow oyster mushrooms, as well as lion’s mane, and maintenance was a breeze. (Just refill the humidifier as needed and make sure its tube is free of water plugs; I highly recommend siting the humidifier below the tub to prevent this.)
You can use sterilized substrate and liquid mycelium culture to grow anything from reishi and turkey tail to morels, or opt for an easy-mode pre-inoculated fruiting block. (North Spore even offers a fruiting block subscription option.) If you opt for the blocks, though, make sure you choose a mushroom variety you really like, as they are quite fecund—my current blocks are on their fourth round of fruiting, with no signs of slowing down.—Kat Merck
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#Mushrooms #Galore #Gifts #Fungi #Friend
The bill (AB 105) would’ve required sites with more than one-third of their total content deemed harmful to minors to impose a “reasonable” form of age verification, such as asking users to show their government-issued ID. More than two dozen states have already passed similar age check requirements for access to adult content, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. As a result, Pornhub has blocked its site in these locations.
Last month, the Wisconsin American Civil Liberties Union testified that AB 105 “raises significant concerns around privacy, surveillance, and the First Amendment,” and it seems like Evers agreed. “I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this bill’s intrusion into the personal privacy of Wisconsin residents,” Evers writes, adding that he’s “concerned about data security and the potential for misuse of personally identifiable information” obtained as a result of the age verification process.
An early version of Wisconsin’s age verification bill also included a ban on virtual private networks (VPN), which people have been using to circumvent online age checks. Lawmakers dropped this provision in February, though VPNs are becoming a target for regulators around the globe.
Despite vetoing this bill, Evers is leaving the door open for other kinds of age verification solutions, such as “device-based” methods that would verify the age of users on their phone or computer.
The bill (AB 105) would’ve required sites with more than one-third of their total content deemed harmful to minors to impose a “reasonable” form of age verification, such as asking users to show their government-issued ID. More than two dozen states have already passed similar age check requirements for access to adult content, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. As a result, Pornhub has blocked its site in these locations.
Last month, the Wisconsin American Civil Liberties Union testified that AB 105 “raises significant concerns around privacy, surveillance, and the First Amendment,” and it seems like Evers agreed. “I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this bill’s intrusion into the personal privacy of Wisconsin residents,” Evers writes, adding that he’s “concerned about data security and the potential for misuse of personally identifiable information” obtained as a result of the age verification process.
An early version of Wisconsin’s age verification bill also included a ban on virtual private networks (VPN), which people have been using to circumvent online age checks. Lawmakers dropped this provision in February, though VPNs are becoming a target for regulators around the globe.
Despite vetoing this bill, Evers is leaving the door open for other kinds of age verification solutions, such as “device-based” methods that would verify the age of users on their phone or computer.
#Wisconsin #governor #age #checks #pornNews,Policy,Politics,Speech">Wisconsin governor says ‘no’ to age checks for porn
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill that would’ve required residents to verify their age before accessing porn sites, as reported earlier by 404 Media. In a letter to the members of the assembly last week, Evers writes that the bill “imposes an intrusive burden on adults who are trying to access constitutionally protected materials.”
The bill (AB 105) would’ve required sites with more than one-third of their total content deemed harmful to minors to impose a “reasonable” form of age verification, such as asking users to show their government-issued ID. More than two dozen states have already passed similar age check requirements for access to adult content, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. As a result, Pornhub has blocked its site in these locations.
Last month, the Wisconsin American Civil Liberties Union testified that AB 105 “raises significant concerns around privacy, surveillance, and the First Amendment,” and it seems like Evers agreed. “I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this bill’s intrusion into the personal privacy of Wisconsin residents,” Evers writes, adding that he’s “concerned about data security and the potential for misuse of personally identifiable information” obtained as a result of the age verification process.
An early version of Wisconsin’s age verification bill also included a ban on virtual private networks (VPN), which people have been using to circumvent online age checks. Lawmakers dropped this provision in February, though VPNs are becoming a target for regulators around the globe.
Despite vetoing this bill, Evers is leaving the door open for other kinds of age verification solutions, such as “device-based” methods that would verify the age of users on their phone or computer.
Indian startup Rocket is betting that the next big opportunity is the part before vibe coding: having AI help people decide what to build. It has launched a platform that produces consulting-style product strategies.
The startup, based in Surat, India, on Tuesday launched its platform, Rocket 1.0, which connects research, product building, and competitive intelligence in a single workflow. The platform generates detailed product strategy documents — including pricing, unit economics, and go-to-market recommendations.
As AI-powered coding tools proliferate — from platforms like Cursor, Replit, and Lovable to features such as Claude Code and Codex — writing code has become significantly easier and faster. “Everyone can generate the code now… it has become a commodity. But what to build is something which everyone is missing,” said Rocket co-founder and CEO Vishal Virani (pictured above), adding that “running a business and just building a codebase are two different things.”
TechCrunch briefly tested Rocket’s platform ahead of its launch and found that it generated product requirement documents in PDF format from simple prompts. These documents resemble consulting-style reports rather than vibe coding tools or chatbots, which largely focus on features and execution.
However, some of the analysis appeared to be synthesized from existing data — combining known pricing models, user behavior patterns, and competitive insights — rather than based on independently verifiable information. This suggests users may still need to validate outputs before making business decisions. Virani said the platform can offer human support when users encounter issues.
Rocket’s platform generates consulting-style reports Based on text prompts given by usersImage Credits:Rocket
The product can also track competitors, including changes to their websites and traffic trends. Rocket draws on more than 1,000 data sources for its analysis, including Meta’s ad libraries, Similarweb’s API, and its own crawlers, Virani said.
Rocket’s subscription plans range from $25 per month for building applications to $250 for strategy and research capabilities, and up to $350 for the full platform, including competitive intelligence.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA|October 13-15, 2026
The $250 plan can generate two to three “McKinsey-grade” research reports alongside product builds, Virani told TechCrunch, positioning its higher-tier offerings as a lower-cost alternative to traditional consulting, which often costs thousands of dollars for similar strategy work.
Rocket raised a $15 million seed round in September from Accel, Salesforce Ventures, and Together Fund. Since then, the startup says it has grown from 400,000 to over 1.5 million users across 180 countries. It also reported an annualized average revenue per user in the ~$4,000 range, though it did not disclose detailed paying customer numbers. The startup said it operates at gross margins of over 50%, with 20–30% of its customers being small- and medium-sized businesses.
Rocket has a team of 57 employees and is headquartered in Surat, with operations in Palo Alto.
Indian startup Rocket is betting that the next big opportunity is the part before vibe coding: having AI help people decide what to build. It has launched a platform that produces consulting-style product strategies.
The startup, based in Surat, India, on Tuesday launched its platform, Rocket 1.0, which connects research, product building, and competitive intelligence in a single workflow. The platform generates detailed product strategy documents — including pricing, unit economics, and go-to-market recommendations.
As AI-powered coding tools proliferate — from platforms like Cursor, Replit, and Lovable to features such as Claude Code and Codex — writing code has become significantly easier and faster. “Everyone can generate the code now… it has become a commodity. But what to build is something which everyone is missing,” said Rocket co-founder and CEO Vishal Virani (pictured above), adding that “running a business and just building a codebase are two different things.”
TechCrunch briefly tested Rocket’s platform ahead of its launch and found that it generated product requirement documents in PDF format from simple prompts. These documents resemble consulting-style reports rather than vibe coding tools or chatbots, which largely focus on features and execution.
However, some of the analysis appeared to be synthesized from existing data — combining known pricing models, user behavior patterns, and competitive insights — rather than based on independently verifiable information. This suggests users may still need to validate outputs before making business decisions. Virani said the platform can offer human support when users encounter issues.
Rocket’s platform generates consulting-style reports Based on text prompts given by usersImage Credits:Rocket
The product can also track competitors, including changes to their websites and traffic trends. Rocket draws on more than 1,000 data sources for its analysis, including Meta’s ad libraries, Similarweb’s API, and its own crawlers, Virani said.
Rocket’s subscription plans range from $25 per month for building applications to $250 for strategy and research capabilities, and up to $350 for the full platform, including competitive intelligence.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA|October 13-15, 2026
The $250 plan can generate two to three “McKinsey-grade” research reports alongside product builds, Virani told TechCrunch, positioning its higher-tier offerings as a lower-cost alternative to traditional consulting, which often costs thousands of dollars for similar strategy work.
Rocket raised a $15 million seed round in September from Accel, Salesforce Ventures, and Together Fund. Since then, the startup says it has grown from 400,000 to over 1.5 million users across 180 countries. It also reported an annualized average revenue per user in the ~$4,000 range, though it did not disclose detailed paying customer numbers. The startup said it operates at gross margins of over 50%, with 20–30% of its customers being small- and medium-sized businesses.
Rocket has a team of 57 employees and is headquartered in Surat, with operations in Palo Alto.
#startup #Rocket #offers #vibe #McKinseystyle #reports #fraction #cost #TechCrunchrocket,vibe coding">AI startup Rocket offers vibe McKinsey-style reports at a fraction of the cost | TechCrunch
Indian startup Rocket is betting that the next big opportunity is the part before vibe coding: having AI help people decide what to build. It has launched a platform that produces consulting-style product strategies.
The startup, based in Surat, India, on Tuesday launched its platform, Rocket 1.0, which connects research, product building, and competitive intelligence in a single workflow. The platform generates detailed product strategy documents — including pricing, unit economics, and go-to-market recommendations.
As AI-powered coding tools proliferate — from platforms like Cursor, Replit, and Lovable to features such as Claude Code and Codex — writing code has become significantly easier and faster. “Everyone can generate the code now… it has become a commodity. But what to build is something which everyone is missing,” said Rocket co-founder and CEO Vishal Virani (pictured above), adding that “running a business and just building a codebase are two different things.”
TechCrunch briefly tested Rocket’s platform ahead of its launch and found that it generated product requirement documents in PDF format from simple prompts. These documents resemble consulting-style reports rather than vibe coding tools or chatbots, which largely focus on features and execution.
However, some of the analysis appeared to be synthesized from existing data — combining known pricing models, user behavior patterns, and competitive insights — rather than based on independently verifiable information. This suggests users may still need to validate outputs before making business decisions. Virani said the platform can offer human support when users encounter issues.
Rocket’s platform generates consulting-style reports Based on text prompts given by usersImage Credits:Rocket
The product can also track competitors, including changes to their websites and traffic trends. Rocket draws on more than 1,000 data sources for its analysis, including Meta’s ad libraries, Similarweb’s API, and its own crawlers, Virani said.
Rocket’s subscription plans range from $25 per month for building applications to $250 for strategy and research capabilities, and up to $350 for the full platform, including competitive intelligence.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA|October 13-15, 2026
The $250 plan can generate two to three “McKinsey-grade” research reports alongside product builds, Virani told TechCrunch, positioning its higher-tier offerings as a lower-cost alternative to traditional consulting, which often costs thousands of dollars for similar strategy work.
Rocket raised a $15 million seed round in September from Accel, Salesforce Ventures, and Together Fund. Since then, the startup says it has grown from 400,000 to over 1.5 million users across 180 countries. It also reported an annualized average revenue per user in the ~$4,000 range, though it did not disclose detailed paying customer numbers. The startup said it operates at gross margins of over 50%, with 20–30% of its customers being small- and medium-sized businesses.
Rocket has a team of 57 employees and is headquartered in Surat, with operations in Palo Alto.
Though the death rate has declined slightly in recent years, gun violence remains an urgent public health threat in the U.S. About 44,000 Americans died from firearms in 2024, while more than 200 people on average every day visit an emergency room with firearm wounds.
While plenty of research has focused on the things that could predispose someone to gun violence, the researchers say there’s been little focus on quantifying how many people might consider using a gun in the first place. So they decided to analyze data from the National Firearms, Alcohol, Cannabis, and Suicide survey, which is run out of the University of Michigan. Between May and September 2025, the project polled roughly 7,000 adults from across the country about various gun and drug-related topics.
All in all, 3.3% of respondents said they had seriously thought about shooting someone else in the past year, while 7.3% admitted to having thought about it at some point in their lives. About 1.6% of people also thought about acquiring a gun for the purpose of shooting someone, while 0.6% reported having brought a gun to a specific location with the intent of shooting someone.
Of those who reported thinking about shooting someone else, the most likely potential target would have been “an enemy” (51%), followed by a complete stranger (24.6%). About 14% had wanted to shoot a government official; roughly 10% had thought about shooting a current or former romantic partner; and just under 7% a co-worker or boss.
What makes someone trigger-happy?
The survey data might also provide some insight into what makes people more likely to contemplate gun violence.
Risk factors associated with thinking about shooting someone else, for instance, included: being younger, being male, being Black, living in a city, living in the Midwest, and having less formal education. On the other hand, factors like income, gun ownership, and political party affiliation weren’t associated with any higher risk.
“The demographic correlates of these thoughts were consistent with those for firearm interpersonal violence, suggesting the existence a high-risk group even in the absence of gun ownership,” the authors noted.
And though it’s not clear how best to predict whether someone will go from thinking about gun violence to actually perpetuating it, there might yet be opportunities to intervene before it’s too late, the researchers say. Based on the survey data, about 1.5% of Americans have previously told others about their thoughts of shooting someone else, while 0.5% have gone as far as to have others store their guns for safekeeping during a crisis.
“This provides a point of intervention, especially in states with extreme risk protection order or red flag laws that allow for the temporary removal of firearms,” they wrote.
Also, for those of you wondering, yes, I was inspired to write about this study after recently seeing The Drama.
Though the death rate has declined slightly in recent years, gun violence remains an urgent public health threat in the U.S. About 44,000 Americans died from firearms in 2024, while more than 200 people on average every day visit an emergency room with firearm wounds.
While plenty of research has focused on the things that could predispose someone to gun violence, the researchers say there’s been little focus on quantifying how many people might consider using a gun in the first place. So they decided to analyze data from the National Firearms, Alcohol, Cannabis, and Suicide survey, which is run out of the University of Michigan. Between May and September 2025, the project polled roughly 7,000 adults from across the country about various gun and drug-related topics.
All in all, 3.3% of respondents said they had seriously thought about shooting someone else in the past year, while 7.3% admitted to having thought about it at some point in their lives. About 1.6% of people also thought about acquiring a gun for the purpose of shooting someone, while 0.6% reported having brought a gun to a specific location with the intent of shooting someone.
Of those who reported thinking about shooting someone else, the most likely potential target would have been “an enemy” (51%), followed by a complete stranger (24.6%). About 14% had wanted to shoot a government official; roughly 10% had thought about shooting a current or former romantic partner; and just under 7% a co-worker or boss.
What makes someone trigger-happy?
The survey data might also provide some insight into what makes people more likely to contemplate gun violence.
Risk factors associated with thinking about shooting someone else, for instance, included: being younger, being male, being Black, living in a city, living in the Midwest, and having less formal education. On the other hand, factors like income, gun ownership, and political party affiliation weren’t associated with any higher risk.
“The demographic correlates of these thoughts were consistent with those for firearm interpersonal violence, suggesting the existence a high-risk group even in the absence of gun ownership,” the authors noted.
And though it’s not clear how best to predict whether someone will go from thinking about gun violence to actually perpetuating it, there might yet be opportunities to intervene before it’s too late, the researchers say. Based on the survey data, about 1.5% of Americans have previously told others about their thoughts of shooting someone else, while 0.5% have gone as far as to have others store their guns for safekeeping during a crisis.
“This provides a point of intervention, especially in states with extreme risk protection order or red flag laws that allow for the temporary removal of firearms,” they wrote.
Also, for those of you wondering, yes, I was inspired to write about this study after recently seeing The Drama.
#Heres #Americans #Thought #Shootingfirearms,gun violence">Here’s How Many Americans Have Ever Thought About Shooting Someone Else
If you’re ever been morbidly curious about how many of us would ever give into our darkest impulses, you’re in luck. A recent sobering study shows that a sizable amount of people in the U.S. have seriously considered shooting someone else at least once in their lives.
Researchers in Michigan examined nationally representative survey data. They found that an estimated 7% of Americans—more than 19 million—had thought about shooting another person in their lifetime. Interestingly enough, factors like already owning a gun weren’t associated with an added risk of having these desires, though others like living in a city or being younger were.
“Prevention efforts are needed to address gun violence risk among those with and without access to firearms,” the authors wrote in their paper, published last month in JAMA Network Open.
Shooting impulses
Though the death rate has declined slightly in recent years, gun violence remains an urgent public health threat in the U.S. About 44,000 Americans died from firearms in 2024, while more than 200 people on average every day visit an emergency room with firearm wounds.
While plenty of research has focused on the things that could predispose someone to gun violence, the researchers say there’s been little focus on quantifying how many people might consider using a gun in the first place. So they decided to analyze data from the National Firearms, Alcohol, Cannabis, and Suicide survey, which is run out of the University of Michigan. Between May and September 2025, the project polled roughly 7,000 adults from across the country about various gun and drug-related topics.
All in all, 3.3% of respondents said they had seriously thought about shooting someone else in the past year, while 7.3% admitted to having thought about it at some point in their lives. About 1.6% of people also thought about acquiring a gun for the purpose of shooting someone, while 0.6% reported having brought a gun to a specific location with the intent of shooting someone.
Of those who reported thinking about shooting someone else, the most likely potential target would have been “an enemy” (51%), followed by a complete stranger (24.6%). About 14% had wanted to shoot a government official; roughly 10% had thought about shooting a current or former romantic partner; and just under 7% a co-worker or boss.
What makes someone trigger-happy?
The survey data might also provide some insight into what makes people more likely to contemplate gun violence.
Risk factors associated with thinking about shooting someone else, for instance, included: being younger, being male, being Black, living in a city, living in the Midwest, and having less formal education. On the other hand, factors like income, gun ownership, and political party affiliation weren’t associated with any higher risk.
“The demographic correlates of these thoughts were consistent with those for firearm interpersonal violence, suggesting the existence a high-risk group even in the absence of gun ownership,” the authors noted.
And though it’s not clear how best to predict whether someone will go from thinking about gun violence to actually perpetuating it, there might yet be opportunities to intervene before it’s too late, the researchers say. Based on the survey data, about 1.5% of Americans have previously told others about their thoughts of shooting someone else, while 0.5% have gone as far as to have others store their guns for safekeeping during a crisis.
“This provides a point of intervention, especially in states with extreme risk protection order or red flag laws that allow for the temporary removal of firearms,” they wrote.
Also, for those of you wondering, yes, I was inspired to write about this study after recently seeing The Drama.
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