Links für 2024 KW 6
Zusammengefasst von LlongOrca.
Digitopia is ruining our lives:
Digitopia is a term coined by the author to describe the negative effects of excessive digital interaction on mental health, leading to symptoms such as anxiety, lack of focus, and depression. The article suggests that escaping Digitopia involves being more present in the moment through meditation, regular exercise, and other daily habits like showering and maintaining personal hygiene. The author plans to expand on this topic by writing articles focused on specific symptoms and their possible solutions.
Why Gödel, Escher, Bach is the most influential book in my life.:
„Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid,“ written by Douglas Hofstadter in 1978, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book that explores the connections between complex systems and their simpler components. The book contains mental models such as epistemic limits, self-reference, and isomorphism. It also discusses Kurt Gdel's Incompleteness Theorems, which demonstrate the limitations of mathematics and the existence of undecidable statements within it. Other topics covered include M.C. Escher's art, Johann Sebastian Bach's music, and the importance of bottom-up solutions in complex systems.
Is Open Source a diversion from what users really want?:
When working on Ardour, the creator never considered using any other licensing method than the GNU Public License (GPL). The decision was based on a combination of passion for free/libre software and the belief that open source would make it possible to collaborate with others. However, the author has recently started questioning the open-source model, especially when it comes to scripting capabilities versus having direct access to source code. The author also discusses the differences between users' desired freedoms in terms of scripting and source code availability.
This article is about an elaborate puzzle posted on Reddit, which involves hidden messages, riddles and various online techniques like hexadecimal conversion and pixel analysis. The user had to follow clues, decode messages, and use different online tools to progress through the levels of this complex game. After several challenges were overcome, they finally reached the last puzzle, expressed their admiration for the creator, and hoped there would be more parts developed in the future.
The pain points of building a copilot:
The article discusses the challenges faced by software engineers when building copilots powered by large language models (LLMs). The process involves exploration, implementation, evaluation, and productization, but it is non-linear and iterative due to LLMs' nondeterministic nature. Six pain points were identified: prompt engineering, orchestration of multiple data sources, testing, lack of best practices, safety, privacy, and compliance concerns, and developer experience. The article suggests that there are opportunities for tools, processes, and techniques to address these challenges, such as authoring, validation, debugging support for prompts, better transparency and control, automated evaluation methods, and a one-stop shop for integrating AI into projects.
Thinking about High-Quality Human Data:
This article discusses the importance of high-quality data in modern data deep learning model training, with a focus on human-annotated data collection and quality assurance techniques. It highlights the need for attention to detail and careful execution in collecting human data and emphasizes the value of high-quality data in improving model performance. The article also covers various methods to identify and exclude mislabeled data, including influence functions, Data Maps, Prediction Changes during Training, AUM, Noisy Cross-Validation, and INCV (Iterative Noisy Cross-Validation). These methods aim to help improve data quality, model performance, and overall efficiency in deep learning applications.
Building the DirectX shader compiler better than Microsoft?:
The article discusses the challenges faced by game developers in working with Microsoft's DirectX Shader Compiler (DXC) due to its dependency on proprietary code signing blobs and its inability to be built as a static library. It highlights the author's efforts in rewriting parts of the CMake build system for DXC using Zig build system and building pre-built static binaries for various platforms without requiring the proprietary dxil.dll blob. The author also mentions plans to use Zig itself as the shading language for Mach engine, rather than HLSL, in order to avoid some issues with DXC.
Getting rid of bed bugs: Trickier than ever:
Bed bugs have resurged in 50 countries since the late 1990s, with the appearance of two types of bed bugs - the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) and the tropical bed bug (Cimex hemipterus). The latter has grown resistant to standard pesticides, making it difficult to control infestations. The fight against bed bugs costs the United States alone $1 billion annually. Scientists are developing new strategies, including microfabrications to trap the insects, fungal spores to kill them, and physical insecticides, while researchers continue to explore the bed bug's biology for potential weaknesses.
Is the Media Prepared for an Extinction-Level Event?:
This article discusses the challenges faced by the journalism industry due to declining revenue from advertisements and a shift to digital platforms. The New York Times has been successful with its diversified offerings, including cooking apps and games. However, most news outlets struggle to maintain subscribers and generate revenue, with layoffs and closures becoming more common. Media companies like BuzzFeed and Gawker have folded or significantly downsized their operations due to financial difficulties. A possible solution for the industry is to focus on improving user experience and exploring new revenue streams like e-commerce and events. Additionally, news outlets may consider adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to automate content creation and generate more revenue from licensing content to tech companies like OpenAI and Microsoft.
No data? No problem! Undisclosed tinkering in Excel behind economics paper:
A recent study on green innovations and patents faced criticism after it was discovered that the researchers used Excel's autofill function to fill in missing data without proper acknowledgement or explanation, potentially invalidating their statistics. The authors have been accused of cheating due to their lack of transparency regarding this method.
The launch of the Direct File pilot program in 13 U.S. states allows some taxpayers to file their taxes for free using government-run software, in response to decades of lobbying by commercial tax prep companies. Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, has increased its lobbying efforts against government-run tax filing, spending millions and setting a new company record for federal lobbying in 2023. The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $80 billion in funding for the IRS, which led to the development of the Direct File program. While some see the program as wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, others believe it will improve taxpayer services.
How do I fix overscan on my HDMI HDTV?:
This article discusses how new TVs may have an overscan feature, which can be resolved by adjusting either the video card driver's settings or the TV itself. It is recommended to first attempt to correct the issue in the video card driver setting before resorting to fixed display settings on the TV.
Has LA cracked the code for building affordable housing?:
The new program ED1 in Los Angeles has seen great success in mass producing unsubsidized affordable housing for the middle class without using additional subsidy. The program allows developers to build income-restricted projects, with some 75% of homes being built without public subsidies. This has led to a significant increase in LA's pipeline of affordable housing and has shown promising results in tackling the housing emergency. Although not a complete solution to end homelessness, ED1 demonstrates that scarce housing subsidies should be focused on those who need it most rather than the middle class.
A rent-stabilized 1 bedroom apartment for $1,100? In NYC? The broker's fee is $15K.:
This article discusses the issue of high broker fees in the New York City real estate market, which are making it more difficult for tenants to secure apartments. Brokers typically charge around 8% to 15% of the annual rent for their services, and there is no legal cap on these fees. The article highlights a case where a broker charged $15,000 for securing a $1,100-a-month rent-stabilized apartment, which many tenants find unaffordable. Brokers argue that their services are valuable and necessary due to the high demand in New York City's competitive real estate market.
GitHub - djanderson/aho: A git implementation in awk:
The article is about implementing Git in AWK, an open-source programming language commonly used for data processing and manipulation tasks. This project is designed as a toy project to explore the internals of Git and newer features of GNU AWK. It's not intended for practical use but rather for educational purposes. The article includes instructions on how to set up and run the program, along with potential future additions to the project.
This article discusses the often overlooked cost of data egress when using cloud services, highlighting how it works, why providers charge for it, and ways to keep costs down, such as content delivery networks, compression, and monitoring tools. The article also compares various cloud providers' pricing structures for 1 TB of egress overage usage beyond the free allowance.
How to import local modules with Python:
The article discusses importing files for local development in Python and provides several solutions, including using the -m option to run a script as a module, modifying PYTHONPATH or adding a .env file, and using relative imports.
This article discusses the importance of renewable energy sources for sustainable and economically viable power supply. It addresses the challenges posed by weather-dependent fluctuations in solar and wind power generation and emphasizes the need to balance these fluctuations with controllable power sources, such as thermal power plants and pump storage power plants. The article also highlights demand-side management (DSM) as a strategy to minimize the number of required controllable power sources, thereby reducing overall energy supply costs and CO2 emissions. Supergrün is an example of a system that provides a signal to guide comprehensive DSM by indicating when the actual renewable energy availability, or EE-availability, in Baden-Württemberg is particularly high. The calculation method for this Supergrün signal is also explained.
The article discusses the resurgence of personal blogs and the small web, with a newfound interest in open web standards like RSS. OPML is introduced as an outliner format that can store a list of feed subscriptions, making it easier to organize, migrate, and share feeds across different platforms and devices. The author believes that OPML could potentially improve the ecosystem of the small web by promoting conscious curation and transparency over algorithmic recommendations.
Germany's Days as an Industrial Superpower Are Coming to an End:
The article discusses Germany's strategy and how its reliance on higher-quality products at a high markup has been under pressure due to the auto industry's increased similarity between mass market vehicles and luxury vehicles. It also highlights how Anglophone economies embraced competing on novelty, while Germany focused on quality. The article suggests that Germany should consider its manufacturing strategy to preserve mid-skill jobs. Overall, Germany is facing challenges such as aging population, slow infrastructure development, and a shift towards renewable energy sources.
The Blood of Exceptionally Long-Lived People Reveals Key Differences:
The number of centenarians, people living to be over 100 years old, has been doubling every decade since the 1970s. A recent study published in GeroScience has discovered common biomarkers among those who live past 90, including lower levels of glucose and creatinine. Although the differences are small, they suggest a potential link between metabolic health, nutrition, and exceptional longevity. Further research is needed to determine which lifestyle factors or genes are responsible for these biomarker values.
Sad Clown Paradox: Why You Should Check In On Your Funny Friends:
The Sad Clown Paradox refers to the association between exceptionally funny individuals, such as entertainers and comedians, with mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. This phenomenon can be traced back to childhood experiences and low socioeconomic backgrounds, where humor may have been used as a coping mechanism for overcoming stress and anxiety. The article highlights the importance of checking in on funny friends, as they might be facing mental health challenges despite their humorous persona
How To Be Someone People Love To Talk To - Barking Up The Wrong Tree:
The article provides advice on how to become a better conversationalist and make a good first impression. It suggests that expecting people to like you can positively impact your interactions, emphasizing the importance of smiling and speaking slowly and clearly. The article also highlights the value of encouraging others to talk about themselves, using open-ended questions, and discussing topics such as travel, compliments, and advice. Additionally, the article provides tips on avoiding awkward silences and ending conversations politely. It stresses the importance of making people feel good about themselves and listening attentively during interactions.
Are You Sure You Want to Use MMAP in Your DBMS?:
The article discusses a paper arguing against using mmap in database management systems (DBMSs), specifically focusing on LMDB, an open source embedded key-value DB engine. The author refutes the claims made in the paper and defends LMDB's correctness and performance, highlighting its advantages over traditional buffer pool management schemes. The article also touches upon the rivalry between OS and DBMS developers and emphasizes that only the OS can truly understand system resource usage and demands on a multiuser machine.
This article examines the relationship between 100% fruit juice consumption and body weight, based on available evidence from prospective cohort studies. Among children, each additional serving per day of fruit juice was associated with a higher BMI change. In adults, unadjusted studies showed greater body weight gain than adjusted ones, suggesting mediation by calories. Further trials are needed to clarify the association between fruit juice consumption and weight gain. The findings support limiting intake of fruit juice to prevent excess calorie consumption and weight gain.
This article discusses the concept of creepiness and how it relates to our emotional lives. Creepiness is part of human experience from an early age, whether through spiders or clown dolls. The emotional response elicited by creepiness lacks a standard name in English but is often referred to as „creeped out.“ The authors explore the nature of creepiness and being creeped out while advocating for a response-dependent account of creepiness that relies on the reaction and understanding of creepy phenomena. They also discuss the value of detecting creepiness, such as avoiding dangers or using it for social bonding purposes. The authors emphasize that creepiness can characterize a wide range of situations and objects, not just those that suggest danger or violation of social norms.
BirdLingo is an elearning game that helps develop bird song recognition skills by enabling players to build a virtual nature reserve through listening, recognizing, and attracting birds with unique songs.
Why we can’t build family-sized apartments in North America — Center for Building in North America:
This article discusses how North American zoning and building codes drive up the size of multi-bedroom apartments, making them financially out of reach for many parents raising children. The problem is fundamentally about space, with North American architects trying to add bedrooms, resulting in a larger and more costly apartment. The article compares floor plans of apartments built according to North American codes with those built following European or Asian designs, illustrating the difference in design and size. It highlights that building codes and zoning contribute significantly to this problem, making it difficult for developers to build more family-sized apartments within affordable budgets.
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Reddit beats film industry again, won’t have to reveal pirates’ IP addresses:
Movie companies Voltage Holdings and Screen Media Ventures have lost a third attempt to unmask Reddit users who posted comments discussing piracy. The US District Court for the Northern District of California rejected their demand for seven years' worth of „IP address log information“ on six Reddit users, citing First Amendment scrutiny. In previous cases, courts had denied similar attempts by movie companies to unmask Reddit users.
Palworld: Alle passiven Skills der Pals auf Deutsch:
In Palworld, every creature can have up to four (4) passive skills that can have both positive and negative effects, such as increasing attack or decreasing stamina. Passive skills are either inherited or gained through breeding, with a chance for positive and negative traits to be passed on. The best passive skills in Palworld include Handwerkskerl (50% work speed), Stummer Wuchs (20% defense boost), and more. Players can further increase their passive skill levels by improving certain stats, such as attack or stamina.
The “3 standup questions” are terrible and need to die:
The article discusses the prevalent daily standup meetings in software development teams and questions their usefulness, suggesting that they promote anti-agile behaviors. The author recommends reconsidering current collaboration practices and adopting more intentional approaches to daily communication. Instead of using standardized standup questions, such as „What did you do yesterday?“ and „What are you going to do today?“, teams should focus on learning about users' needs and working together in a more effective manner.
I don't care about memory safety:
The article discusses the importance of memory safety in computing and how it is essential for building secure systems. It highlights that a lack of memory safety can lead to serious security vulnerabilities, and talks about the potential of CHERI (Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions) technology to improve memory safety and enable sharing of untrusted code safely. The author emphasizes the need for memory safety just as much as other fundamental aspects like addition in programming.
Apple Is Lobbying Against Right to Repair Six Months After Supporting Right to Repair:
An Apple executive testified against a strong right-to-repair bill in Oregon, marking the first time the company has openly opposed such legislation. This stance shows that despite supporting a weaker right to repair law in California, Apple wants to maintain control over its repair ecosystem. The situation is interesting as Google supports the same legislation that Apple opposes.
Russian troops use Starlink licensed and imported from Dubai:
This article discusses the increasing use of Starlink by Russian forces on the front lines in Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers have reported that authorized accounts and terminals are arriving from Dubai, fully operational within contested regions. The Russian military has deployed electronic warfare systems to disrupt the Starlink satellite communication network, causing a total internet blackout in Avdiivka. This has significantly affected the communication chain between Ukrainian leadership and their field units.
Researchers shed light on mysterious, higher energy yields in vertical PV systems:
Scientists at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have found that vertical PV systems tend to provide unexpected yield gains compared to horizontal arrays due to their much lower operating temperatures. This results in a 2.5% higher annual energy yield and a slowing effect on degradation mechanisms, particularly in locations with high irradiance conditions. Researchers used digital twin technology to create virtual representations of real-world assets for modeling and analysis purposes.
What Turned Earth Into A Giant Snowball 700 Million Years Ago? - Astrobiology:
Australian geologists have used plate tectonic modelling to determine that an extreme ice-age climate around 700 million years ago was likely caused by historically low volcanic carbon dioxide emissions, combined with weathering of a large pile of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada. The study helps us understand the Earth's built-in thermostat and how sensitive global climate is to atmospheric carbon concentration.
These States Are Basically Begging You to Get a Heat Pump:
Nine US states have signed an agreement to promote heat pumps as the primary source of heating, air conditioning, and water-heating in residential buildings by 2030. By 2040, they aim for 90% of these systems to be heat pumps. The agreement aims to create standard policies and regulations for heat pump production, sales tracking, and workforce development. The coalition will collaborate on research, share information, and pursue federal funding to support the rollout of heat pumps.
Rust wont save us, but its ideas will:
The article „Rust Won't Save Us: An Analysis of 2023's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities“ discusses the limitations of Rust in solving memory-related vulnerabilities and its position among other known exploited vulnerabilities in 2023. It suggests that while Rust has some qualities that make it a safer language, it is not a complete solution to security issues. The article recommends improving developer knowledge, hardening frameworks, enabling logging, and researching for potential bugs in frameworks to enhance overall cybersecurity.
Unfälle möglich: Forscher demonstrieren Angriff auf Kfz-Radarsysteme:
Die Duke University in North Carolina entwickelte eine Radar-Spoofing-Technik namens Madradar, die sich auf moderne Fahrassistenzsysteme bezieht. Diese Technologie ermöglicht es, Radarsensoren gezielt zu stören und potenziell Unfälle provozieren zu lassen. Forscher erklärten, dass sie ohne viel Wissen über das Radarsystem des Zielfahrzeugs in realen Experimenten ein gefälschtes Fahrzeug aus dem Nichts auftauchen oder ein tatsächliches Fahrzeug verschwinden lassen könnten. Die Forscher empfehlen den Fahrzeugherstellern, Schutzmaßnahmen gegen Madradar-Angriffe zu ergreifen und die Verarbeitungsalgorithmen der Systeme um zusätzliche Sicherheitsfunktionen zu erweitern.
Fleischproduktion in Deutschland sinkt erneut:
According to the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), meat production in Germany decreased significantly last year with a 4% drop to 6.8 million tons, marking the seventh consecutive annual decline since 2016's peak of 8.25 million tons. In slaughterhouses, 47.9 million pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, and horses were slaughtered along with 702.2 million chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Pork production declined by 6.8%, while beef production remained stable, and poultry production increased by 1.4%. The significant drop in pig meat production is attributed to the decreasing pig herds in Germany.
Figure out who's leaving the company: dump, diff, repeat:
This article discusses an internal service called „epitaphs“ in a company, which records the departure of employees from the company. The author mentions how they created their own tool to periodically dump and compare lists of employee data, revealing interesting insights about departures and other changes within the company. They also provide tips on setting up such tools and discuss potential limitations.
The seedy underbelly of the life coaching industry:
Life coaching is a growing industry worth billions, with the International Coaching Federation estimating its worth at $4.56 billion. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of life coaches rose by 54%, making it one of the fastest-growing careers in the US. The pandemic contributed to an increase in people seeking guidance and self-improvement. However, concerns about unregulated practices have left individuals vulnerable to scams and fraudulent life coaches. While many clients find benefit from working with a life coach, it is essential for potential clients to exercise caution when choosing one.
Is Apple breaking PWAs out of malicious compliance?:
This article discusses the possibility that Apple is intentionally breaking Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in iOS 17.4 beta 2, due to its ongoing conflict with the European Union over the Digital Markets Act. The author questions whether Apple's actions are a sign of malicious compliance or simply an unintentional bug.
How to (seriously) read a scientific paper:
he article discusses how various scientists approach reading scientific papers. It highlights the importance of understanding key terms, starting with the abstract, skimming the figures, and gradually digging deeper into the details as required. Reading online can make it easier to look up unfamiliar words or concepts in real-time, but sometimes a break is needed when feeling overwhelmed. Utilizing reference managers such as Mendeley can help organize literature, while seeking advice from experienced colleagues or even contacting the lead authors themselves may prove beneficial for understanding complex papers. Developing a unique writing and reading style is also crucial in effectively navigating scientific articles.
Sony is erasing digital libraries that were supposed to be accessible “forever”:
Funimation, a Sony-owned anime streaming service, has announced that its digital libraries will be unavailable after April 2nd. As a result, subscribers' access to previously purchased digital copies may be lost. The move comes after Sony bought rival anime streaming service Crunchyroll in 2021 and plans to merge their offerings. This highlights the potential risks of relying on streaming services as a permanent way to access shows or movies that have been paid for, as content can be removed from platforms due to licensing arrangements.
PR-007 - Why you don't need React:
The author shares their personal experience with refactoring an app in React and discusses some issues they believe have arisen within the front-end development industry due to overuse and overengineering of React. They argue that React has become too complex for many projects, is not as fast as it should be, dilutes the talent pool, tries to replace other tools unnecessarily, and suffers from constant churn in new approaches and libraries. The author suggests that the front-end community needs to reevaluate its use of React and consider simpler alternatives when appropriate.
The (history of) spice must flow:
The spice trade has played an even more significant role in world history than commonly thought. Goa stones, which were a compound of gold, crushed gemstones, herbs, bezoars, and other exotic substances popular between 1690-1750, were considered powerful protection against poisoning. The spice trade created long-lasting and significant long-distance trade links in human history, with cinnamon and cassia merchants pioneering the Indian Ocean trade routes linking Southeast Asia to the Red Sea. Spices and drugs have been at the center of global trade for thousands of years, and their pursuit has driven cultural shifts and the transmission of ideas.
The Rehbinder effect in physics is the reduction in the hardness and ductility of a material, particularly metals, by a surfactant film. This effect is named after Soviet scientist Piotr Aleksandrovich Rehbinder who discovered it in 1928. A proposed explanation for this effect is that surfactants disrupt surface oxide films, reducing the surface energy. The effect is particularly important in machining processes as lubricants help reduce cutting forces.
Fastest mounts in Palworld: Ground, Swimming, Flying & Gliding - Dexerto:
This article provides an overview of the fastest mounts for ground, water, and air travel in the survival and creature collection game Palworld. The fastest ground mount is Necromus, while Azurobe is the fastest swimming mount. Jetragon holds the title as the fastest flying mount, but Galeclaw is the most efficient gliding option. Players can also improve their Pals' speed by capturing them with specific movement-oriented Passive Abilities.
Simple Precision Time Protocol at Meta:
In deploying Precision Time Protocol (PTP) at Meta, Simple Precision Time Protocol (SPTP) has been developed as a simplified version that provides the same level of clock synchronization as unicast PTPv2 with more reliability and fewer resources. SPTP reduces network communication significantly, improving CPU, memory, and network utilization. It can provide higher reliability by comparing time sync from multiple sources at the end node. The source code for the SPTP client and server is available on GitHub.
$3 for a single McDonald’s hash brown? Customers are fed up and pushing back | CNN Business:
McDonald's is facing criticism from customers over high food prices. The company has acknowledged the issue and plans to cut prices on some menu items. Despite grocery prices rising by only 1.3% in 2023, dining out saw a significant surge of 5.2%. As a result, lower-income consumers are feeling the pressure. McDonald's has become a target for social media users complaining about price increases, with viral stories of expensive meals becoming common. In response to this issue, the company plans to double down on its „D123“ strategy, which prices some items between $1 and $3.
No, 3 million electric toothbrushes were not used in a DDoS attack:
The widely reported story about 3 million electric toothbrushes being hacked with malware for DDoS attacks is likely a hypothetical scenario rather than an actual attack, according to Fortinet. Swiss news site Aargauer Zeitung published the story stating that 3 million electric toothbrushes had been infected with Java malware for such attacks; however, there is no record of this event ever happening, and Fortinet has not confirmed or commented on it. This hypothetical situation highlights the potential risk of any internet-exposed devices being targeted by threat actors, emphasizing the importance of having strong passwords and security updates to prevent them from being recruited into DDoS botnets.
Curated web design inspiration catalog:
This article presents a curated web design inspiration catalog featuring various websites from different industries, such as culture, technology, and creativity. Users can subscribe to weekly updates, add their favorite sites to favorites, and visit the featured sites for design ideas and inspiration.
Demystifying GPU Compute Architectures:
The complexity of modern GPUs can often obscure the essence of how they work. This article discusses the need to understand GPU architectures better as they play an increasingly important role in machine learning and parallel computing outside of machine learning. The author highlights the challenges faced when trying to learn about GPUs, such as architectural variations, inconsistent terminology, legacy terminology, software abstraction, and CUDA's dominance. They provide a basic explanation of two recent architectures from Nvidia and AMD in an attempt to cut through the mystery surrounding these advanced technologies.
Child labour in cocoa production:
Boy collecting cocoa after the beans have been driedChild labour is a recurring issue in cocoa production. Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, together produce nearly 60% of the world's cocoa each year. During the 2018/19 cocoa-growing season, research commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in these two countries and found that 1.48 million children are engaged in hazardous work on cocoa farms including working with sharp tools and agricultural chemicals and carrying heavy loads. That number of children is significant, representing 43 percent of all children living in agricultural households in cocoa growing areas. During the same period cocoa production in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana increased 62 percent while the prevalence of child labour in cocoa production among all agricultural households increased 14 percentage points. Attention on this subject has focused on West Africa, which collectively supplies 69% of the world's cocoa, and Cte d'Ivoire, supplying 35%, in particular. The 2016 Global Estimates of Child Labour indicate that one-fifth of all African children are involved in child labour. Nine percent of African children are in hazardous work. It is estimated that more than 1.8 million children in West Africa are involved in growing cocoa. A 2013-2014 survey commissioned by the Department of Labor and conducted by Tulane University found that an estimated 1.4 million children aged 5 years old to 11 years old worked in agriculture in cocoa-growing areas, while approximately 800,000 of them were engaged in hazardous work including working with sharp tools and agricultural chemicals and carrying heavy loads. According to the NORC study, methodological differences between the 2018/9 survey and earlier ones, together with errors in the administration of the 2013/4 survey have made it challenging to document changes in the number of children engaged in child labour over the past five years. A major study of the issue, published in Fortune magazine in the U.S. in March 2016, concluded that approximately 2.1 million children in West Africa „still do the dangerous and physically taxing work of harvesting cocoa“. The report was doubtful as to whether the situation can be improved significantly. Child labour in cocoa production is a significant issue affecting many children in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, with hazardous work being widespread among this vulnerable population.
High coffee consumption, brain volume and risk of dementia and stroke:
The article discusses the relationship between coffee consumption, brain volume, and the risk of dementia and stroke. It reports that habitual coffee intake is inversely associated with total brain, grey matter, white matter, and hippocampal volumes but not with white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume. The association between coffee consumption and dementia was found to be non-linear, indicating higher odds for those who drink more than six cups a day compared to light coffee drinkers. Higher coffee intake also correlates with an increased risk of dementia but not stroke after full covariate adjustment.
The Perverse Policies That Fuel Wildfires:
This article discusses the increase in wildfires across Canada and Europe due to low winter snowfall and abnormally high spring temperatures, causing devastation and prompting health alerts across the United States. It highlights that fire prevention strategies have led to increased likelihood of fires and mentions the importance of returning to cultural burning practices once practiced by Indigenous peoples. The article also addresses the role of construction in wildland-urban interface areas, which is contributing to more dangerous wildfires and the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The Bottom 80% of U.S. Households Persistently Dissaves, Spending more than Income.:
The recently released data from the Bureau Economic Analysis reveals that the bottom 80% of U.S. households spend more than their income every year, while only the top 20% consistently saves. This situation was previously invisible in national accounts data. The explanation for this is that personal income does not take into account holding gains on assets and borrowing which are significant sources of household assets. These additional measures help shift many bottom quintiles from spending deficits to asset surpluses, primarily funded by holding gains.
My business card runs Linux (and Ultrix), yours can too:
The article discusses the process of creating a business card-sized device that runs Linux (and Ultrix). It details the selection of components for the project and explains how to build, use, and improve upon it. Additionally, there are updates on version 2 of the project which includes booting Ultrix and improving performance. The article serves as both a guide and an informative read about creating such devices.
The little ssh that (sometimes) couldn't:
This technical article chronicles the author's experience with solving a problem involving random ssh crons failing due to packet corruption. The corruption was found to be occurring on one specific hop between London and Montreal data centers, causing ssh connections to hang or fail. After changing outbound routes dramatically, the issue was resolved. The corruption was determined to be occurring on a first hop in upstream2, with an internal „management module failure“ affecting BGP and routing between two internal networks.
"I worked 80 hour weeks to deliver a platform for a hedge fund. Then they fired me":
The author built an order management system for a hedge fund and exceeded expectations, leading to the company's first live trades. Despite working long hours and being highly effective at their job, they were terminated after only six months due to concerns about sustainability. The author has since struggled to find another job in the competitive employment market, with some potential employers citing the short duration of their previous role as a red flag.
Companies embracing SMS for account logins should be blamed for SIM-swap attacks – Key Discussions:
SIM-swap attacks are ongoing due to companies like Apple, Dropbox, PayPal, Block, and Google using SMS for password resets and account logins. A SIM-swap attack involves hackers convincing carriers to port a victim's phone number to their device, receiving account login information via SMS from these companies, and stealing money and sensitive data. To prevent SIM-swap attacks, companies should stop using SMS for password resets and logins and offer more secure options like Authy or Google Authenticator instead.
‘It’s insane’: New viruslike entities found in human gut microbes:
The article discusses the discovery of new viruslike entities called „obelisks“ by Stanford University researchers, which inhabit bacteria in human mouth and gut microbes. These obelisks have genomes composed of loops of RNA and have been found around the world. It is not yet known whether these obelisks affect human health but they could alter the genetic activity of their bacterial hosts, which in turn could impact human genes.
This case report describes the symptoms experienced by a 44-year-old man who consumed up to 4 L of Earl Grey tea per day over a period of 25 years, leading to muscle cramps and other neurological symptoms such as blurred vision. The patient stopped drinking Earl Grey after five months and reverted to pure black tea, with his symptoms disappearing within a week. Tests ruled out various diseases and conditions, but the correlation between the man's symptoms and his high tea consumption was established.
The road to hell is paved with asphalt:
This article highlights the problems associated with asphalt roads, such as its degradation rate, expensive maintenance costs, and negative environmental impact. It suggests that alternatives like brick, cobblestone, and pavers are more durable and environmentally friendly options for road construction. These alternative materials have fewer drawbacks like better drainage, reduced heat absorption, and longer lifespans compared to asphalt roads. However, the decision on choosing these materials often depends on short-term incentives and cashflow considerations, which may need to be reevaluated for long-term benefits.
Vesuvius Challenge 2023 Grand Prize awarded: we can read the scrolls!:
2000-year-old papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum have been virtually unrolled and read using computer vision and machine learning techniques, thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge 2023 Grand Prize competition. The winners, Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger, were awarded $700,000 for their efforts in unlocking hidden text from antiquity. In total, more than 95% of the scroll remains to be read, potentially revealing new insights into ancient Greek philosophy, music, food, and other aspects of life.
Tell me your most exotic selfhosted solution, the crazier, the better, no 0815 solutions!:
The article describes two examples of exotic self-hosted solutions. The first involves measuring snowfall using an USH-9 ultra sound device connected to Home Assistant for accurate measurement and reporting. The second example is creating a low-cost, high-speed firewall solution by utilizing servers, AMD Alveo U200 FPGA, and grovf for packet analysis. The author also proposes using AI image recognition on chicken cameras to track egg-laying patterns.
The New Work-Life Balance: Don't Have Kids:
This article discusses the personal choice of having children, weighing the pros and cons from various perspectives. It mentions that some people choose not to have kids because they are focused on their careers or because they believe they cannot give enough time to their children. The author also raises the point that humans are living in a finite world with limited resources, which is another factor influencing whether or not to have children. Overall, the article highlights the complexity and personal aspects of deciding to have or not have kids.
Parisians vote in favour of tripling parking costs for SUVs:
Parisians have voted in favor of tripling parking costs for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) to address air pollution and climate breakdown. The new parking tariffs could come into effect at the start of September, affecting vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes with a combustion engine or hybrid vehicles, and more than 2 tonnes for electric vehicles. This move follows Paris's efforts to raise pressure on drivers by increasing parking costs and gradually banning diesel vehicles while expanding the bicycle lane network in the city.
“Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” by Anthony Bourdain:
This article discusses various aspects of professional cooking, such as the challenges faced by chefs and kitchen staff, the prevalence of criminality in the industry, and the passion for food that drives many culinarians to continue working in difficult conditions. The author emphasizes the importance of fresh ingredients, skillful preparation, and understanding the dining public's preferences. Additionally, the article highlights the camaraderie within the kitchen and the dedication of chefs who strive to create delicious, satisfying meals for their customers.
Thinking about conanfile.py · Bincrafters Blog:
This article advises Conan packagers to avoid using class variables for state sharing as it can lead to pitfalls in the usage of different Conan commands. Instead, users should consider each method invocation as a separate instance and update their mental model accordingly. This will help avoid potential issues when working with various Conan commands.
How to generate realistic people in Stable Diffusion - Stable Diffusion Art:
This article provides a comprehensive guide on generating realistic people using Stable Diffusion. It covers the mechanics of prompts, models, and upscalers for creating photo-style portrait images with various ethnicities, hairstyles, outfits, activities, surroundings, and models such as F222, Realistic Vision v2, Hassan Blend v1.4, and URPM. The article also discusses the use of LoRA, hypernetworks, textual inversion, ControlNet for posing and composition control, AI upscalers, and image-to-image following upscaling to improve details and resolution.
How to generate realistic people in Stable Diffusion - Stable Diffusion Art:
This article discusses using Stable Diffusion to generate realistic people and how to control aspects such as poses, lighting, clothing, and ethnicity. The article explains prompts, models, negative prompts, and upscalers for generating photo-realistic portraits. It also provides tips on fixing defects, controlling faces, and using ControlNet for compositions.
The article discusses the CodeFormer model which focuses on robust blind face restoration using codebook lookup transformers. It provides instructions for installing dependencies, downloading pre-trained models, and testing or training the model. Additionally, it offers various applications such as whole image enhancement, video enhancement, face colorization, and face inpainting with cropped and aligned faces. The article also includes a citation to be used if the work is helpful for research purposes, along with acknowledgements of other projects that have contributed to this model's development.
How to use Stable Diffusion - Stable Diffusion Art:
This is a beginner's guide to Stable Diffusion AI, an open-source model for generating realistic and artistic images from textual descriptions or other input materials. The guide covers the basics of using Stable Diffusion, including how to build good prompts, fix common image defects, and create custom models. It also offers advice on controlling composition and generating specific subjects like animals and people.
Sleeping Our Way to Being Productive | naked capitalism:
This article discusses the importance of sleep in physical and mental health, as well as its effects on employment and productivity. The authors highlight that each additional hour of sleep per week increases the probability of employment by 1.6 percentage points and weekly earnings by 3.4%. They also explore how sleep is influenced by various social and economic drivers, such as exposure to light, noise, and technology usage. The study emphasizes the need for policy interventions that make the negative economic effects of not sleeping enough more salient to individuals.
2023 saw social networks like Twitter and Reddit change their terms to limit third-party experiences on these platforms, leading some developers to express mixed feelings about building around social networks. This has led to the rise of decentralized networks such as Mastodon, with some developers seeing incentives for new app development. Social networks are restricting APIs to better monetize their data and train AI models, leaving third-party apps struggling to survive amid these changes.
‘Baby Bust’: Why Fewer Young People Expect to Become Parents:
A Wharton study led by Stewart D. Friedman found that the number of graduates planning to become parents has dropped significantly over the past 20 years, with women and men now having more similar views on work and family life. The study suggests a shift in priorities among young people, who are focusing more on career opportunities rather than family life. Organizations and policymakers can contribute to change by promoting flexibility in the workplace and recognizing the importance of balancing personal and professional lives.
Did the ancient Greeks and Romans experience Alzheimer’s?:
An analysis of ancient Greek and Roman medical texts suggests that severe memory loss at epidemic levels today was extremely rare 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. This supports the idea that Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are diseases of modern environments and lifestyles, with sedentary behavior and exposure to air pollution largely to blame. The study also cites the Tsimane Amerindians in Bolivia as a model for ancient aging, as they have minimal dementia rates due to their physically active lifestyle.
It's time to break free from Corporate Agile:
The article discusses the shift in sentiment towards Agile working methods on Reddit communities, with many users expressing dissatisfaction and stating that „Agile is dead.“ The author introduces the concept of Corporate Agile as a way to label dark patterns driving this negativity. Instead, they advocate for a return to Basic Agile principles in order to prioritize adaptability over predictability.
To implement Basic Agile effectively, teams should focus on collaboration, working in small increments, and continually reflecting and improving from their experiences. The author shares the process used in their current team as an example of how a more Basic Agile approach can lead to better results with less emphasis on meetings and management.
The article discusses a case where Heshmati, an economist, admitted to using Excel's autofill function to fix data instead of conducting proper research. It also highlights the lack of scientific rigor in economic sciences and mentions the „Alfred-Nobel-Gedächtnispreis für Wirtschaftswissenschaften,“ a prize not supported by Alfred Nobel himself. The article shares a historical example from 1997 when Robert Carhart Merton and Myron S. Scholes won a prize for their new method in financial derivative valuation, which ultimately contributed to the near collapse of the international financial system in 1998 with Long-Term Capital Management.
FAQ:
This article discusses the reasons why Navidrome, a music server, does not support folder browsing. Implementing this feature would require significant changes to its internal structures and could make supporting other features more difficult. Instead, Navidrome focuses on tag-based organization for genres, albums, and artists. The article also explains that users who prefer folder browsing can explore alternative music servers with this functionality. Navidrome's security concerns prevent it from writing to the user's music folder or editing file tags directly.