Links für 2024 KW 11
Zusammengefasst von LlongOrca.
LocalSend: Open-source, cross-platform file sharing to nearby devices:
LocalSend is a cross-platform file transfer app that allows users to send files between devices within the same local network without requiring internet access. It uses Bluetooth and WiFi Direct for discovery and transmission, eliminating the need to be in one specific network type. The application supports laptop-to-smartphone transfers and also allows creating an ad-hoc WiFi network for large file transfers. LocalSend is available on multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says:
A new study estimates that exposure to leaded gasoline lowered the IQ of about half the population of the United States. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on people born before 1996 when the U.S. banned gas containing lead. The researchers from Florida State University and Duke University found that childhood lead exposure cost America an estimated 824 million points, or 2.6 points per person on average. People born in the 1960s and 1970s experienced IQ loss up to 6 points and more than 7 points for some. The study suggests that exposure primarily came from inhaling auto exhaust.
The Case Against Homework - Alfie Kohn:
This article by Alfie Kohn discusses the negative effects of homework on children, arguing that there are no real benefits and only pain associated with it. The author states that there is no statistical relationship between homework and achievement in elementary school, while in high school the correlation is small. He also debunks the idea that homework teaches good work habits or develops positive character traits. Kohn believes that „no homework“ should be the default arrangement for students, as most homework cannot be justified and may even cause harm to children's attitudes towards learning.
Microplastics Linked to Heart Attack, Stroke and Death:
A study involving over 200 people undergoing surgery found that nearly 60% had microplastics or nanoplastics in a main artery. These participants were 4.5 times more likely to experience heart attack, stroke, or death within approximately 34 months after the surgery compared to those without plastic particles in their arteries. Although this study does not definitively show that microplastics cause poor health, it raises concerns and could lead to further research into the risks associated with micro- and nanoplastics.
The author, a seasoned software developer with extensive experience in testing, shares their doubts about the relationship between software quality and test coverage. Despite having written hundreds of pages of TDD (Test-Driven Development), the author has begun to question whether tests are a direct measure of software quality or simply a symptom of something else. The author cites examples from projects Ghostty and Zed, both with high-quality codebases but fewer tests than expected, as evidence that testing may not directly correlate with product quality. Ultimately, the author suggests that focusing on writing just enough tests to achieve a given level of confidence is more important than extensive test coverage.
What really happens to our memory as we age?:
This article discusses the effects of aging on memory with Stanford neurologist Sharon Sha as a source. She explains that while the brain is in decline from its peak performance around age 25, the decline is gradual and not as severe as previously thought. Healthy aging may cause subtle changes in cognitive functions such as processing speed and working memory. However, dementia is not an inevitable part of growing older. To maintain brain health, Sha recommends exercise, social interaction, a balanced diet, and good sleep.
Integer tokenization is insane:
The article discusses the issue of integer tokenization in language models like GPT2 (also used for GPT3). It highlights that the GPT2 tokenizer does not represent integers coherently, using unique tokens instead of a decimal system. This affects mathematical capabilities built on this foundation and requires memorization for addition and subtraction problems involving numbers. The inconsistent chunking of large numbers into tokens also complicates simple numerical algorithms like multi-digit addition.
How to Win Friends and Hustle People:
Ashwin Deshmukh, the managing partner of Superiority Burger, one of New York's most acclaimed restaurants, has faced legal issues with June Kwan, owner of Spicy Moon restaurant in the East Village. Kwan sued Deshmukh twice for refusing to provide proof of her equity and failing to repay a $200,000 loan. The lawsuits shed light on the tensions between the two entrepreneurs and their businesses.
TODO
In 2013, a patient with acute liver failure received a transplant at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham. Simon Bramhall, the hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgeon on call that evening, performed the surgery and burned his initials „SB“ onto the patient's liver. This incident raised questions about pride in the medical profession, the culture of operating theatres, and whether Bramhall should have been struck off the medical register. The case highlights the delicate balance between professionalism and humility within surgical theatres and the importance of maintaining patient trust.
What part of Rust compilation is the bottleneck?:
The article discusses the ongoing topic of Rust compilation times, breaking down the time spent in three individual high-level sections: Frontend, Backend, and Linker. These sections help to identify where optimization efforts should be focused based on data from a fun experiment and visualization added to the Rust compiler benchmark suite. The article uses various examples of binaries and libraries to demonstrate how the bottleneck can vary between compilation cases.
Ad agency boss had two Ferraris but wouldn’t buy a server:
The article narrates the experience of a managed services provider employee, Aaron, who worked with an ad agency in Australia that had an all-Apple environment except for a SharePoint server. This server was hosting uncompressed video and audio files, which frequently caused it to choke. To address this issue, Aaron's team built a file server using a Mac Mini and external USB drives, but the arrangement proved unstable due to Apple OS updates causing downtime. Despite multiple recommendations for purchasing a real file server, the agency refused. When they finally agreed to buy one, the ad agency did not pay for it. Aaron eventually quit his job as a result of this situation and left the server unpaid for.
Delusions shape our reality | Lisa Bortolotti:
The article discusses how delusional beliefs may not be entirely invalid as they demonstrate active meaning-making, an aspect of human agency. By labeling these beliefs as delusional and denying the agency of those who hold them, we risk disengaging from further exchange of ideas and collaboration with individuals holding such beliefs. Instead, remaining curious about their perspectives and understanding how their beliefs emerged can be beneficial in fostering a more inclusive approach to communication and interaction.
Strontium aluminate is an aluminate compound powder that is non-toxic, non-flammable, and has various compositions. It is the most superior material in terms of longest glow times and commercial availability. Strontium aluminates are used in glow-in-the-dark products like rings, which require UV exposure to activate their luminescence. They come in various colors and can be infused with resin to create solid lume rings. These rings have a long lifespan and require minimal maintenance.
Ollama now supports AMD graphics cards:
The article announces that the software „Ollama“ now supports AMD graphics cards in preview mode on both Windows and Linux operating systems. This means that all features of Ollama can be accelerated by AMD graphics card users, specifically for Linux and Windows platforms. Supported cards include models from Radeon, Radeon Pro, and Instinct families. The article also mentions that support for more AMD graphics cards is forthcoming, with instructions on how to get started using Ollama with the new feature available at the end of the text.
Title:OpenVPN is Open to VPN Fingerprinting:
The adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) has grown significantly due to increased privacy and surveillance concerns. In response, some governments are attempting to restrict VPN access by identifying connections using „dual use“ Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology. This article discusses the development of mechanisms for accurately fingerprinting VPN connections using OpenVPN, the most popular protocol for commercial VPN services. A two-phase framework was designed to perform passive fingerprinting and active probing in sequence. The evaluation with a million-user ISP found that over 85% of OpenVPN flows could be identified with minimal false positives. Although some commercial VPNs have implemented countermeasures, the article highlights the importance for commercial VPN providers to adopt more principled detection countermeasures and be transparent about their obfuscation approaches.
how the wrong side won at Boeing:
The Ricardian Fallacy is a concept identified by Joseph Schumpeter, which refers to economists building theoretical models and acting as if the model has solved real-world problems. This tendency interacts with data collection, as gathering and classifying data takes place within a theoretical framework that can skew results in favor of the model. In the case of Boeing's 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, financial accounts became the dominant decision-making system over engineering culture, leading to disastrous decisions without any identifiable person being responsible for them. This issue highlights the importance of understanding businesses from a holistic perspective rather than solely relying on numbers.
The End of the Dark Universe?:
Physicists have found a new approach to solving the problem of combining quantum physics with gravity, called „Post-Quantum Gravity.“ This idea comes from Jonathan Oppenheim, a professor at University College London, who believes that his theory can explain dark matter and dark energy without the need for them. Post-Quantum Gravity leaves gravity as a non-quantum theory but gives it a random element. It combines the mathematics of both types of randomness into one framework, allowing particles to remain quantum while still influencing gravity. The new approach may also change the law of gravity and do away with the need for dark matter and dark energy.
Titanosaurs were the biggest land animals Earth's ever seen, combining reptile and mammal traits:
Titanosaurs, a lesser known group of sauropod dinosaurs, flourished long after other dinosaur species went extinct. Their secret to success may lie in how they merged reptile and mammal characteristics to form a unique way of life. Titanosaurs originated around 126 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period, with nearly 100 species making up more than 30% of known sauropod dinosaurs. They varied in size from small African elephant-sized animals to massive creatures weighing over 60 tons. Titanosaur growth rates were faster than any living reptile, with some reaching their enormous adult sizes in just a few decades. Their rapid growth was fueled by their high body temperatures and prodigious appetites for plants.
Brain Waves Appear to Wash Out Waste During Sleep:
The article discusses a recent study published in Nature that sheds light on how brain waves play a crucial role in the self-cleansing process during sleep. Researchers observed neurons firing electrical signals, which produced rhythmic waves that facilitated the movement of cerebrospinal fluid through brain tissue, helping to remove waste and toxins. This newfound understanding may have potential implications for treating neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease by targeting the buildup of metabolic waste and junk proteins in the brain.
Trump's new "Honest Don" nickname can't distract from his obvious decline:
This article discusses Donald Trump's nicknaming habits, which have become an expected part of his branding expertise since he began using it on various people and rivals. It highlights how Trump has lost touch with his original nicknames and has resorted to recycling old ones like „Crooked Joe.“ The article also delves into the numerous lies that have been attributed to Trump throughout his presidency, including false claims about his apartment size and success as president. Additionally, it mentions the legal issues he is currently facing, such as 91 felony indictments. The author suggests that we are entering a new phase in dishonesty and corruption for „Honest Don,“ with Trump potentially using AI to avoid any appearance of cognitive challenges or mistakes in the future.
Jitsi Meet Docker Instanz anpassen - adminForge:
The article provides a series of edits and modifications to the Jitsi Meet configuration files (.jitsi-meet-cfg) in order to disable various features such as watermarks, third party requests, resolution settings, layer suspension, video recording, and live streaming. These changes can be applied by modifying specific lines within the configuration files mentioned above.
This article is a firsthand account by the author detailing how they managed to complete their college education in just three semesters instead of the typical four years. The author shares various time management techniques that helped them achieve this feat, including setting clear goals, being flexible with plans, embracing failure as a learning experience, practicing single handling (focusing on one task at a time), making decisions promptly, and triaging ruthlessly to eliminate time-wasting activities.
The author also emphasizes the importance of understanding and applying the 80-20 rule, guarding sacred blocks of uninterrupted work time, multitasking when possible, experimenting with new productivity methods, cultivating enthusiasm for their work, maintaining optimal energy levels through diet and exercise, and striving to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
The article concludes by encouraging readers to use these techniques not just to achieve greater productivity but also to create a more fulfilling life overall.
Microsoft is stuffing pop-up ads into Google Chrome on Windows again:
Microsoft has reintroduced malware-like pop-up ads in Google Chrome on Windows 10 and 11, aiming to encourage users to switch to Bing as their default search engine. The pop-ups advertise Bing AI and the Microsoft Bing search engine, and clicking „yes“ sets Bing as the default search engine for Chrome. These ads are similar to those used by Microsoft last year but are intended to be a one-time notification. While Microsoft claims it values providing choice, some users have grown frustrated with the company's aggressive attempts to promote its services and may wish for more control over these pop-ups in the future.
Google asks me daily for my location to improve connectivity even if I say no:
The article discusses Google's continuous requests for personal information and considers whether or not users can say no to these requests. It suggests that people recognize Google as an organization that uses personal data for advertising purposes, rather than solely focusing on services like email, maps, search engines, or phone operating systems. The article also addresses the user interface issues related to consent requests and their persistence in different applications and platforms.
New York Disbars Infamous Copyright Troll - Above the Law:
Richard Liebowitz has been disbarred from practicing law in New York due to numerous high-profile missteps and federal judge ire in cases involving copyright trolling. Liebowitz sent threatening letters claiming companies had infringed on his clients' copyrights, demanding thousands of dollars for licensing fees. Many times, the photos were legally licensed through agencies like Getty Images but pulled by photographers after the licenses were granted. Liebowitz's disbarment also cites fundamental case management problems and instances where he lied to judges. This decision could discourage other copyright trolling outfits from pushing back against companies who challenge their demands.
Scientists Discovered a 'Fear Switch' in The Brain, And How to Turn It Off:
A study led by neurobiologist Hui-Quan Li from the University of California San Diego has found that understanding fear, an instinctive response to danger, can increase survival chances during dangerous situations. However, in cases such as anxiety and stress disorders, fear responses become disproportionate, negatively impacting mental health and quality of life. The researchers discovered that a severe fright flips a switch in neurons, changing neurotransmission mechanisms from glutamate (excites neurons) to GABA (inhibits neuronal activity), leading to generalized fear or anxiety disorders. To suppress the fear response, they injected mice with an adeno-associated virus that suppresses the gene responsible for making GABA and administered fluoxetine, a common antidepressant, immediately after receiving a fright. This research offers insights into the mechanisms of fear generalization and could lead to effective treatment interventions in the future.
Does intermittent fasting have benefits for our brain?:
Intermittent fasting has become popular for its potential benefits on weight management, metabolism, chronic disease control, slow aging, and overall health. Some research suggests that it may offer a different way for the brain to access energy, providing protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Intermittent fasting involves short periods of calorie restriction followed by regular food intake. It has been found to improve ketone production, circadian syncing, mitochondrial function, and gut-brain axis communication. However, the evidence on its effects in healthy adults is mixed, and there are risks associated with rapid weight loss and calorie restriction. Consultation from a health professional is recommended for safe and sustainable implementation of intermittent fasting.
Das Ende des Verbrennungsmotors: Kommt das Aus vom Aus?:
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promises that the CO2 limits will be reviewed in 2026, as it is part of the original legislation. However, there might be a softening of the 100% goal for 2035, but there's no revival of combustion engines expected under any circumstances. The current situation does not indicate an end to combustion engine bans; instead, it is more likely that there will only be a softening of the goals. Auto industry executives and politicians do not aim for a reversal or revival of internal combustion engines. The CO2 fleet mechanism requires electric vehicles due to their zero tailpipe emissions.
This article discusses emojis and their code, mentioning that it is stored locally in a browser's local storage. It also mentions the Download button as a way to backup data and includes information about PyKidos, Cyrille Rossant, and GitHub repo. The article ends without providing a clear conclusion or summary.
This article discusses the decline in quality of sofas and furniture manufacturing over the past 15 years due to factors such as changes in labor, manufacturing, transportation logistics, and middle-class American aesthetics. The author highlights that today's $1,000 sofa is not built with the same quality as a $299 Sears sofa from 1980 due to cost-cutting measures like using compressed wood instead of solid wood and employing cheaper labor in Asia. Direct-to-consumer business models have also contributed to this decline, as they focus on marketing and social media presence rather than the quality of products.
How Figma's Databases Team Lived to Tell the Scale | Figma Blog:
Figma, a design platform company, has been scaling its database stack by implementing vertical partitioning to buy runway for the business's expansion. As the database grew larger, it faced technical challenges that led to horizontal sharding as a solution. Vertical partitioning allowed them to make incremental scaling gains and maintain enough runway to stay ahead of their growth. However, they realized that vertical partitioning could only get them so far, prompting them to explore horizontal sharding. Horizontal sharding was an order of magnitude more complex than previous scaling efforts but provided nearly infinite database scalability by breaking up a single table or group of tables and splitting the data across multiple physical database instances. Figma managed this complex process with their DBProxy service that intercepts SQL queries generated by their application layer, dynamically routing them to various Postgres databases while maintaining strong data consistency and near-zero downtime. The company plans to remove all remaining scaling limits and truly take flight once they horizontally shard every table at Figma.
Why young men and women are drifting apart:
This article discusses the growing gap in political opinions between young men and women, particularly in Poland where young men tend to lean towards conservatism while women are more liberal. The issue seems to be rooted in education as well as experience, with many young men struggling in the current job market and feeling threatened by advances made by women. Social media may also play a role in polarizing opinions and creating echo chambers for people of similar views. Policymakers should consider implementing reforms that address the needs of underperforming boys in education and provide better vocational training to help young men adjust to the changing world.
Tracking und Cookies: Dieses Urteil könnte die Onlinewerbung verändern:
The European Court of Justice (EuGH) has ruled that certain data collected by the IAB Europe's Transparency & Consent String (TC-String), used for real-time online advertising, is considered personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This ruling could have significant implications for the online advertising industry as companies will now need to reconsider their ad systems to comply with privacy laws. IAB Europe has already updated its guidelines and made changes to the TC-String, but further adjustments may be required.
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 explained - AlexandreHTRB blog:
The article discusses the evolution of HTTP protocols from version 0.9 to 3. It highlights how each version refined and added features like HTTP/1.0, which introduced GET and POST methods, MIME types, status codes, and protocol versioning; HTTP/1.1, with persistent TCP connections and host header; and HTTP/2, based on Google's SPDY, providing multiplexing and binary format for messages. Lastly, it mentions HTTP/3, which uses the QUIC transport protocol to provide resilience against packet losses and head-of-line blocking while offering better performance in stable connections compared to HTTP/2.
The article discusses Germany's energy situation and debunks common misconceptions about the country's dependence on coal and nuclear power. It highlights that Germany is using less coal than in 1959, and the notion that the country would experience a „darkness“ due to power outages was an exaggeration from the energy mafia. The article also mentions that despite the decrease in coal usage, electricity prices are not significantly higher than they were at the beginning of 2021. The author questions why people continue to vote for the CDU and FDP parties responsible for these misleading narratives.
Winter ohne Atomkraft gut überstanden – und Strom ist billiger:
The meteorological winter passed without power shortages, and energy prices for electricity and natural gas have decreased. Germany has successfully managed its energy supply despite the exit from nuclear power. The production of renewable energy increased during the winter months due to expansion in wind and solar energy as well as favorable weather conditions. Germany exported more energy than it imported, showing a significant improvement in its climate balance compared to previous years. In 2024, gas prices have dropped significantly, leading to lower electricity costs for consumers.
Swedish data brokers claim journalists’ legal protection to evade EU law:
Sweden has a loophole in its national law that allows large data brokers like MrKoll to obtain a „media license,“ exempting their entire business from the EU's strict privacy laws, depriving millions of Swedes of their fundamental right to privacy. The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has an exception for journalism that allows member states to limit its application in this area. However, Sweden went beyond these limits by making it easy to obtain a „media license“ even if the company's activities are not related to journalism and focus on sharing and selling personal data. One of Sweden's largest data brokers, MrKoll, profits by selling people's personal information without any safeguards or restrictions. A complaint has been filed against MrKoll in Sweden challenging this practice. If the Swedish authority rejects the complaint, noyb is prepared to take it to court.
Reverse engineering a car key fob signal (Part 1) · 0x44.cc:
In this blog post, the author shares their experience in reverse engineering and replaying a car's key fob signal, starting from basic concepts of radio frequency. The goal is also to prove that most cars are not easy targets for replay attacks using an RTL-SDR dongle and Flipper Zero device. The article explains the hardware used (RTL-SDR and Flipper Zero), basic concepts of radio frequency, and how to analyze and reverse engineer car key fob signals. The author also shares their experience in integrating support for this signal format on the Flipper Zero.
The science behind why people hate Daylight Saving Time so much:
In the summer of 2017, communication professor Jeffery Gentry moved from Oklahoma to accept a position at Eastern New Mexico University and experienced better mornings due to early morning light. As the Earth rotates, sunrise and sunset occur progressively later as you move west. Researchers found that the rate of fatal motor-vehicle accidents was highest for people living in the far west of a time zone where the sun rises and sets at least an hour later than on the eastern side. The article suggests that permanent standard time could better align people's schedules with the sun year-round, as scientists generally advocate for it. However, some argue that such a move would be a grave mistake, as it may lead to negative health effects and worsen social jet lag.
EFF to Ninth Circuit: There’s No Software Exception to Traditional Copyright Limits:
The Oracle v. Rimini case has raised concerns about expanding copyright's reach through a dangerous precedent. A federal district court ruled that software developed by Rimini was a „derivative work“ because it intended to interoperate with Oracle's software, even though it didn't use any of Oracle's copyrightable code. This could lead to potential copyright claims on innovations made by other developers. EFF and various stakeholders have filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to argue that this ruling is not only bad policy but also bad law. The court's decision relied heavily on a misinterpretation of the 1998 Micro Star v. FormGen case, which could lead to rightsholders having a default veto right over add-on innovations, security, and repair.
AI reveals prostate cancer is not just one disease:
A Cancer Research UK-funded study has revealed that prostate cancer, affecting one in eight men in their lifetime, includes two different subtypes called evotypes. The discovery was made by an international team led by the University of Oxford and The University of Manchester who applied artificial intelligence (AI) on data from DNA to identify the two subtypes. The researchers hope that this finding could save thousands of lives in the future and revolutionize how prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated, potentially providing tailored treatments based on genetic tests delivered using AI.
Thebloke.Ai Ltd - Company Profile:
The Bloke.AI Ltd is an active company incorporated on December 19, 2023, with the registered office in Hove, East Sussex. It has been running for two months, and its first confirmation statement is due by January 1, 2025. There is currently one active director, Thomas Matthew Peter Jobbins. The company specializes in computer consultancy activities (62020). Endole offers comprehensive business reports on this company, including financial accounts, shareholders and group structure, contact data, and credit scores.
New Try: Where is the quantization god? - r/LocalLLaMA:
The article discusses the concern for TheBloke's well-being within the digital community, as they have been inactive on various platforms including Hugging Face and imatrix discussion on GitHub/llama.cpp. The author mentions that while it may not be their direct responsibility to know what's going on with TheBloke, there is a sense of community involvement and the potential for someone to face serious issues such as illness or accidents. The author expresses hope that TheBloke will provide some sign of life to confirm their well-being and whether they need any support from the community.
Kant's „What Is Enlightenment?“ discusses the concept of enlightenment as man's emergence from self-imposed nonage, which refers to inability to use one's own understanding without guidance. Nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies in indecision and lack of courage. The article emphasizes the importance of freedom for enlightenment, particularly in matters of religion, as it allows for progress and advancement. It also highlights the role of rulers in promoting a spirit of freedom, which can lead to public enlightenment and the emergence from nonage.
Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say:
The rates of more than a dozen cancers are increasing among adults under the age of 50, with early-onset cancer cases expected to increase by around 30% between 2019 and 2030, according to global data models. While some possible contributors, such as rising rates of obesity and early-cancer screening, do not fully account for the increase, researchers are looking into the gut microbiome or the genomes of tumours themselves for answers. Early-onset cancers often affect the digestive system, with some of the sharpest increases in colorectal, pancreatic and stomach cancer rates. Increasing early screening efforts have paid off somewhat but mortality from colorectal cancer has not decreased significantly, suggesting that other factors are at play such as genetic clues or disruptions in microbiome composition. Researchers believe to fully understand the rising trend of early-onset cancers, they will need 40-60 years of data collected from thousands of people.
Death by neti pot: Why you shouldn’t use tap water to clean your sinuses:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that using tap water to clean your sinuses, as with neti pots and squirt bottles, can lead to life-threatening amoeba infections. Although rare, these infections are particularly dangerous for those with immune-compromising conditions such as cancer or solid organ transplants. The CDC recommends using boiled, sterile, or distilled water for nasal rinsing and advises against the use of tap water due to the presence of microorganisms that can cause infections when flushed into the nasal passages or eyes.
This article discusses the difficulty some people face when trying to exit the vi text editor in UNIX. It provides two command sequences for exiting without saving changes (Control-Q Control-C ESC : q ! ENTER) and one for exiting with saving changes (Control-Q Control-C ESC Z Z). The article also encourages referring amnesiac vi users to this page to help them appreciate the editor's simplicity.
Prompt Fox | High Quality Midjourney Prompts:
The article describes a generative art piece with small white specks against a black background, creating an image resembling a starry night sky or a representation of a galaxy. The points of light form an arc and appear to swirl around an unseen center, possibly suggesting a cosmic event or gravitational pull. This effect is achieved through pixel manipulation and enhances the vastness and natural beauty of space.
New details emerge in case of Alaska Airlines plane where door plug blew out:
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still seeking information about who worked on the failed door plug on Alaska Airlines flight 1282, which blew out during a flight in January 2024. Boeing has informed the NTSB that it cannot find records documenting this work. The door crew manager was out on medical leave at the time, and subsequent attempts to obtain information have been unsuccessful. An investigative hearing will be held by the NTSB in August to gather information about the incident.
The article summarizes Extreme Programming (XP), an agile software development methodology that emphasizes customer collaboration and adaptability over following a formal process. The approach is designed to manage risks associated with software development by continuously iterating and using established best practices. It defines values such as communication, simplicity, feedback, courage, and respect; principles like humanity, economics, mutual benefit, self-similarity, improvement, diversity, reflection, flow, opportunity recognition, redundancy elimination, failure acceptance, quality, small steps, and assumed responsibility; and practices including pair programming, collective ownership, continuous integration, test-driven development, customer involvement, refactoring, no overtime, iterations, metaphor, coding standards, simple design, planning game, user stories, weekly cycles, quarterly cycles, 10-minute build, continuous testing, incremental design, and others. The article also discusses the challenges of applying XP in real-world scenarios, such as the need for a flexible customer, skilled developers, and limitations in terms of team size and distributed environments.
„Der Stellenabbau fällt uns aufgrund unserer Firmenkultur sehr schwer“:
The Bosch-CEO Stefan Hartung discusses the company's mass workforce reduction and his commitment to fulfilling consumer needs while preserving its corporate culture. He emphasizes that although they are cutting thousands of jobs, including many engineering positions, they will also be creating new roles in other areas within the company. The CEO acknowledges the challenges associated with this phase but remains optimistic about the future and is committed to maintaining a focus on long-term cost reduction and increased competitiveness as key goals.
New Unreal Engine pricing model:
The Unreal Subscription is an annual subscription offering fixed-user entitlements to Unreal Engine, Twinmotion, and RealityCapture, with all updates released during the subscription period. Seats are transferable between users within a company but cannot be split among different products. The Epic Developer Portal allows for seat management at any time. Existing UEP agreements will not be renewed; companies making over $1 million in annual revenue must purchase Unreal Subscription seats, while those under this threshold can use the engine for free if they are not developing applications licensed to third parties and incorporating Unreal Engine code at runtime. Twinmotion and RealityCapture will be included with the subscription without additional cost.
UC Irvine study: vehicle brakes produce charged particles that may harm public health:
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have discovered that up to 80% of aerosol particles emitted during light braking have an electric charge, which could potentially be exploited to help reduce air pollution from vehicles. This information could lead to strategies for reducing emissions from brake use, alongside tailpipe emissions, as electric cars become more common. The study highlights the issue of public health risks posed by brake emissions in high-traffic areas and suggests that these particles may induce oxidative stress, but further research is needed to understand their full impact on health.
DMCA Notices Took Down 20,517 GitHub Projects Last Year * TorrentFreak:
GitHub, the largest development platform with over 420 million code repositories, occasionally faces copyright infringement issues. Pirate Devs, which uses code without permission from creators or stores pirated books and music on the site, has led to takedown requests. The platform processed around 2,000 takedown notices in 2023, affecting 20,517 repositories. GitHub will continue its developer-first content moderation approach while protecting developer privacy. GitHub's transparency report highlights the increasing number of circumvention notices, which has prompted an investigation into why this is occurring.
Neue Studie zu "Nächtlicher Gehirnwäsche" schließt Forschungslücke:
During sleep, the brain cleans out waste products and toxins using rhythmic pulses from glial cells in a process similar to washing dishes. This prevents the development of diseases like Alzheimer's. In recent studies with mice conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, it has been discovered how the brain initiates this cleansing process. The findings were published in February in the scientific journal „Nature“. The brain needs many nutrients for its energy-intensive tasks such as thinking, planning and problem solving, which leads to a buildup of waste products like proteins and messenger substances. If these wastes are not removed, they can accumulate and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. It was previously unclear how the brain's waste removal process worked since it does not possess an equivalent of the body's lymphatic system that handles waste disposal. In 2013, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York discovered that the brain has its own unique waste disposal system which they named „glymphatic system“. This is derived from „Glia-dependent lymphatic transport“ because it involves specialized glial cells forming channels between neurons and around blood vessels. These channels are filled with cerebrospinal fluid, the same fluid that surrounds the brain externally. To initiate the cleaning process, glial cells send coordinated electrical signals which then create rhythmic waves in the brain's fluid. This study shows that these wave-like pulses actually facilitate waste transport. The researchers found that during sleep cycles, the pulsation pattern changes and higher brain waves with greater amplitude move the fluid more forcefully. It is thought that the brain cleansing process resembles dishwashing, starting with large, slow rhythmic movements to remove loose debris, followed by smaller areas with faster motions for stubborn residue. This study suggests that the brain may adjust the intensity of its cleaning based on the type and amount of waste materials present. Dr. Albrecht Vorster from the University Hospital in Bern praised the publication, stating that since the first description of the glymphatic system several research groups have found evidence supporting this theory, despite some details still being unclear. This study helps close one of those gaps by describing a possible mechanism for the brain's cleaning process and highlights the importance of regular, restful sleep in preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
The crowdfunding startup Kickstarter received a $100 million investment from venture firm Andreessen Horowitz in early 2021, as part of an attempt to pivot towards blockchain technology. However, the company's decision to explore blockchain led to a backlash from its community of creators and fans, resulting in a loss of major projects and significant reputational damage that Kickstarter has yet to recover from. The investment was intended to help the company return to relevance but ultimately proved disruptive instead, highlighting the challenges faced by startups attempting to maintain their do-gooder mission while operating under venture capital funding.
Someone in IT trolled me for over a decade. Have I any recourse?:
The author worked in a medium-sized firm and experienced constant mistakes from 2014 to January 2024, which impacted their professional life negatively. They felt like they were going crazy due to these errors. In February 2024, the IT guy, Bob, left the company after facing disciplinary action. A new IT guy later showed the author records of Bob sabotaging his work. Bob had been accessing and editing the author's system for a decade. The consequences faced by the author include not being allowed to work from home due to perceived unreliability, overlooking for promotion, and undergoing assessments for ADHD and early-onset Alzheimer's. After speaking with HR, the author was allowed to work from home again, had their PIP removed, and received an apology. The old IT guy has moved out of the UK, leaving the author wondering if there is any legal action that can be taken against him.
I no longer maintain my Emacs projects on SourceHut:
The author has decided to move their Emacs projects back to GitLab due to various issues they experienced with SourceHut, such as an unintuitive web interface, difficulties in coordinating work between repositories, and problems with mailing lists. They plan to delete the Git repositories on SourceHut and continue using GitLab and GitHub as primary sources for their code. The author also intends to eventually ask people to use other media for communication, but will still reply to messages sent via mailing lists.
The internet is slipping out of our reach:
The internet is becoming dominated by SEO-hacked content farms, leading to a shrinking diversity in online content and an increase in AI-generated spam. As search engines prioritize paid results, ads, and trackers over organic content, users are being directed away from meaningful discussions on specific websites. The article warns that as the internet becomes saturated with AI-generated content, human interaction will be limited to small, heavily moderated groups, further diminishing online diversity.
The concept of a lie-to-children is a simplified, technically incorrect explanation used as a teaching method in various fields such as biology, evolution, bioinformatics, and the social sciences. Educators who employ these lies do not intend to deceive but instead aim to make complex subjects easier for learners to understand initially before building upon their knowledge over time. The term was first discussed by scientist Jack Cohen and mathematician Ian Stewart in 1994 in the book „The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World.“ They elaborated on this concept in their subsequent work, stating that reducing complex concepts during education is inherently difficult. This technique has been widely incorporated by academics and educators to facilitate initial comprehension and foster learning capacity expansion among students.
Fefes Blog: C++ Under Fire: A Decade of Unresolved Issues and the Struggle for Renewal:
C++ has come under fire recently, with even the White House criticizing it. It is a huge mess of components, half deprecated and the other half smelling bad. C++ has attempted multiple renewal efforts that mostly ended in failure or made things worse. Templates were meant as a replacement for C preprocessors but became template-metaprogramming, which is not a joke but a serious issue. std::vector was supposed to replace C arrays with no range checking, making it worse than C arrays, and std::span was supposed to replace pointer arithmetics but ended up being worse due to its removal of range checking. Iterators were meant as a replacement for pointer arithmetic but do not have range checking or memory management. C++ has only recently addressed issues concerning memory models and type systems.
The author has tried using C++, but their published code is in C, despite the availability of dietlibc++ for C++. The documentation and reference implementation of exception handling are considered unhelpful. The C++ community is starting to understand that they need to address their problems. Herb Sutter, a respected Microsoft employee on the C++ committee, has tried to fix the issues, but ultimately, C++'s solutions only lead to more complexity and problems. If your solution needs hundreds of pages of description or is not fitting in a beer mat, it is not a solution but another problem.
The later we meet someone in a sequence, the more negatively we describe them:
The study found that people tend to view the first few candidates they interview positively, but as the process progresses, their descriptions become increasingly negative. This phenomenon, known as sequential anchoring, has implications for job interviews and other decision-making processes where order plays a role. To counteract this bias, it's crucial to approach each candidate with an open mind and consider their individual qualifications rather than making comparisons with previous candidates.
A new study finds that the later we meet someone in a sequence, the more negatively we describe them:
A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology on February 29, 2024 has found that individuals encountered later in a sequence are more likely to be described negatively due to unconscious bias. The researchers coined this phenomenon the „serial position-negativity effect“ and conducted studies with participants describing people based on their Facebook profiles or watching short video clips of women introducing themselves on TV show, The Bachelor. As the sequence progressed, descriptions became increasingly negative. The study suggests that this unconscious bias could disadvantage those who are evaluated later in a sequence, such as job applicants and contestants on reality shows.
Create More Than You Consume if You Want to Worry Less and Feel More Fulfilled — OMAR ITANI:
This article discusses the mental and emotional impact of living through a pandemic while emphasizing the importance of creative activities for stress relief and overall wellbeing. It highlights that consuming media is not the same as engaging in creativity, which can lead to personal growth and self-expression. The article provides three steps to help individuals begin incorporating more creativity into their lives: choose an activity they enjoy, block time for it and protect it from distractions, and practice self-compassion while allowing themselves to grow.
4: Nature Conformable to Herself — SFI Press:
The article discusses the self-similarity of fundamental physical laws that dictates the continued usefulness of mathematics. It argues that when we look at complex systems, astonishing power laws extend over many orders of magnitude, often with a consistent mechanism behind them. The renormalization group, which was initially developed for quantum field theory, has been found to apply to numerous other subjects. This self-similarity is present not only in scaling behavior but also in the occurrence of similar phenomenological laws across different areas. It suggests that there may be something important about the nature of mathematics itself and its role in understanding the world.
Cloning a laptop over NVME TCP:
The author recently got a new laptop and wanted to set it up efficiently. They discussed with their colleague the idea of copying an entire disk over USB, but had concerns about encryption and compatibility issues. The colleague suggested using NVME over TCP to expose the disk, connect it over the network, do a full disk copy, resize the partition, resizing LUKS container, and finally resizing the BTRFS root disk on the new laptop. The entire process saved time compared to setting up a new laptop from scratch.
An Introduction to Knowledge Graphs - TextMine:
Knowledge graphs are structured representations of knowledge that display connections and relationships between individual points of data. They are composed of nodes (entities), edges (connections), and triples (subject-predicate-object). Knowledge graphs can be used in various industries, including e-commerce, financial services, and document management, for applications such as personalized recommendations, inventory organization, risk management, fraud detection, and natural language processing.
In this article, the author discusses the issue of IT security in 205 municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and suggests that many municipalities are having their IT systems tested to improve protection against future attacks. The state government is paying for these tests. The author offers two suggestions for improvement: first, save money by not conducting the test if it has already been done; second, use a Linux-based solution with complete lockdown and read-only images that are automatically updated and distributed.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has found that the European Commission's use of Microsoft 365 infringes data protection laws for EU institutions and bodies. In its decision, the EDPS imposes corrective measures on the Commission, requiring it to suspend all data flows resulting from using Microsoft 365 outside the EU/EEA by December 2024 and bring these operations into compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. This follows an investigation opened in May 2021, following the Schrems II judgment, to verify the Commission's compliance with previous recommendations issued by the EDPS on using Microsoft products and services by EU institutions and bodies.
The Podlove Web Player WordPress plugin experienced a security concern that allowed unauthorized access to its settings via an API vulnerability. However, the report turned out not to be an actual issue; rather, it worked as intended. The author raises concerns over Patchstack's handling of security reports and emphasizes considering alternative solutions for managing WordPress plugins outside of the platform itself.
Breaking Down Tasks - Jacob Kaplan-Moss:
This article discusses the process of breaking down a software project into clearly defined tasks for better estimation and planning. The author provides an example of building a personal streak tracker, detailing each step in the development process and explaining how to break down tasks. They emphasize that there is no one-size-fits-all definition of „sufficiently defined“ but suggest using this definition: A task is sufficiently defined if the person working on the task can answer „yes“ to four questions about understanding what change is desired, knowing what „done“ looks like, defining all the steps needed to complete the task, and having all necessary information. The author also mentions that breaking down tasks is a skill that takes practice and should be practiced in safe learning environments for improvement.
This article is a comprehensive umbrella review that evaluates the evidence provided by meta-analyses of observational epidemiological studies exploring the associations between exposure to ultra-processed food and the risk of adverse health outcomes. The study aimed to provide insights into these associations, evaluate the credibility of the evidence, and inform public health policies and strategies.
The review identified 45 unique pooled analyses, including 13 dose-response associations and 32 non-dose-response associations, encompassing a total population of 9,888,373 participants across various health parameters related to mortality, cancer, and mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and metabolic health outcomes. The data were extracted from original research articles included in the pooled analyses, which primarily involved prospective cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional study designs.
The findings of the review indicate that greater exposure to ultra-processed foods is consistently associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes (71% of outcomes). The evidence classification criteria assessments graded 9% of pooled analyses as providing convincing evidence, including associations with cardiovascular disease related mortality, common mental disorder outcomes, and type 2 diabetes (dose-response). Additionally, 16% of pooled analyses were graded as highly suggestive evidence, encompassing risks such as all-cause mortality, heart disease related mortality, adverse sleep outcomes, wheezing, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
The review also highlighted the potential mechanisms linking ultra-processed dietary patterns to poor health and early death, including differences in nutrient profiles, displacement of non-ultra-processed foods from the diet, alterations to the food matrix during intensive processing, and the presence of additives and contaminants.
The study's policy implications emphasize the need for public health measures promoting a reduction or avoidance of ultra-processed products, such as taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods, marketing restrictions, and bans in schools. The authors recommend urgent mechanistic research and the development and evaluation of comprehensive population-based and public health strategies aimed at targeting and reducing dietary exposure to ultra-processed foods for improved human health.
In conclusion, this umbrella review provides a systematic synthesis of the role of ultra-processed dietary patterns in chronic disease outcomes, suggesting that higher consumption of such foods within broader dietary patterns may have synergistic or compounded consequences compared with lower intakes. The findings support recommendations to consider overall diet quality in nutritional epidemiology and advocate for public health actions that seek to target and minimize ultra-processed food consumption for improved population health.
President Biden's 2024 State of the Union Address presented a vision of higher taxes for American businesses and high earners, combined with carveouts, credits, and more complex rules for taxpayers at all income levels. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 outlines how the White House would implement these tax hikes, amounting to a gross tax hike exceeding $5.1 trillion over 10 years. Rather than aiming for a simpler tax code that encourages investment, saving, and work in the United States, Biden's plan promises higher taxes that would decrease economic output and incomes, reduce US competitiveness, and further complicate the tax code. Critics argue that the president's tax policy proposals make the tax code more complicated, unstable, and anti-growth while expanding spending for various policies not related to revenue collection.
A Swimming Dinosaur? Maybe Not, Study Says:
A new paper challenges the idea that Spinosaurus, one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, dove after prey rather than wading and plucking it out of the water. The study, published in PLOS One, argues against earlier research suggesting that the dinosaur had dense bones like those of animals that spend much of their time in the water. Critics say the density analysis is „statistically absurd“ and the ungainly body shape would have made Spinosaurus a poor swimmer if it could swim at all. The debate among experts continues on whether this dinosaur was an exceptional swimmer or not.
The SELF framework is a tool to help individuals assess the potential impact of a specific job role. It considers four major factors: Significance of the problem, Efficacy of the method or intervention, Leverage of your specific role within the problem, and Fit of your strengths & interests for the job. By considering these factors, individuals can make more informed decisions about whether a job truly makes a difference in the world.
Webb & Hubble confirm Universe’s expansion rate:
The James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed that Hubble Space Telescope's measurements of the Universe's expansion rate are accurate, erasing any doubt about Hubble's observations. The Hubble and Webb telescopes have provided definitive measurements furthering the case that there may be something else influencing the expansion rate besides measurement errors. This ongoing mystery is known as the „Hubble Tension“ and could require new physics to resolve it.
This article discusses the implementation of a mechanism to disable the GIL (Global Interpreter Lock) using PYTHON_GIL=0 or -X gil=0 environment variables in free-threaded builds of Python, allowing for better performance and resource management in certain use cases. The feature is now merged into Python's main branch, but additional work may be needed to re-enable the GIL when loading an incompatible extension or by default if necessary.
Are We Watching The Internet Die?:
Reddit is going public at a valuation of $6.5bn, with select Redditors offered the chance to buy stock at the initial listing price, expected to be in the range of $31-34 per share. Despite its financial struggles and potential for shares to fall below the IPO price, Reddit's S1 claims that advertising on the site is rapidly evolving and still in the early phases of growth. The article highlights various issues with generative AI models, such as their dependence on constant training data, the risk of legal plagiarism, and potential harm to content creators. These issues may lead to a future where the internet is dominated by a few centralized platforms that control and monetize user-generated content.
Brits left baffled by Brexit’s ‘not for EU’ food labels:
The British government has introduced new labels for meat and some dairy products sold between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to ensure goods aren't moved into the Republic of Ireland, an EU member country. From October 2024, all meat and dairy products across the UK will also have to carry these labels, ensuring food sold in Great Britain can be sold in Northern Ireland. The requirement will apply to more products from July 2025. However, shoppers are confused by these labels as they do not denote a reduction in standards. Food policy experts argue that the labels could lead to additional regulatory burdens and costs for the industry, ultimately increasing costs and reducing consumer choice.
In 1936, an operation by the Iraqi State Railways Department unearthed a tomb containing numerous antiques dating from 248 BC to 225 AD. Among these was a peculiar pottery jar that Wilhelm Köning, a German archaeologist responsible for Baghdad's Antiquities Administration, concluded was an ancient battery capable of generating electricity. Due to corrosion traces on the metallic materials, Köning suggested that a calcium-based electrolyte or similar acid could be used to galvanize objects. To prove his theory, he connected the jar to a lamp and managed to produce a weak glow. The battery was not a single artifact but part of a larger series of jars containing copper cylinders, iron bars, and clay lids.
The process was rudimentary galvanization using the properties of electrolysis with the copper cavity. Köning claimed that these ancient batteries could create gold objects by depositing them on other metals to protect the metal beneath from oxidation. However, there are inconsistencies and controversy surrounding this theory, as some experts believe it is unlikely that such a process would have been carried out without any documented evidence or photographs.
Another theory suggests that these ancient jars could have been used in ritualistic practices to create electrical tricks in temples. Other theories state that the jars were roller pots containing sacred text rolls protected by copper cylinders. The lack of terminals and the need for constant electrolyte change make it difficult to use the jar as a battery. The mystery surrounding the Baghdad Battery remains unsolved, with some experts arguing that it may have been stolen during the Iraq invasion in 2003.
The Tale of the Mad Stone, the One-Time 'Cure' for Rabies:
The article tells a story of Adam Rarely, a farmer who was bitten by a rabid dog in 1923. He sought help from Reverend William Newton Sutton, who claimed to possess a mad stone that could cure rabies. The stone had been in the family for generations and was believed to have healing powers. Despite skepticism, Sutton used the stone on Rarely's wound according to an ancient ritual involving milk, green scum, and waiting. After several tries, the mad stone fell away, indicating that Rarely was cured of rabies. Before vaccines were invented in 1884, treatments for rabies included cauterization and the use of mad stones. Mad stones were believed to have come from animals such as deer or elk but were often just mineral formations that resembled an animal's organ. The belief in their efficacy was strong enough that they persisted until vaccines became widely available, although there is little evidence to support the idea that mad stones ever worked.