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SVC16: The Simplest Virtual Computer Challenges Programmers

2024-12-15

SVC16 is a minimalist 16-bit virtual computer designed for ultimate simplicity. It features no CPU registers, performing all operations within a single memory chunk. The instruction set is extremely streamlined, lacking bells and whistles like sound or variable screen size. Programmers are challenged to write machine code and compilers themselves, creating amazing feats with the simplest of tools. The project provides an emulator to run user-created programs and even games. This is a perfect project for learning low-level computer principles and honing programming skills.

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(github.com)
Development virtual computer 16-bit programming challenge

BioNTech's Bispecific Antibody Shows Promise in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

2024-12-15

BioNTech presented early clinical trial data for its novel bispecific antibody, BNT-327, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Targeting PD-1/PD-L1 and VEGF, the antibody showed positive results in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Building on the discovery of checkpoint inhibitors, this research represents a potential breakthrough in next-generation immunotherapy, offering hope for new treatments in triple-negative breast cancer and potentially other cancers.

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(www.statnews.com)
Tech bispecific antibody immunotherapy triple-negative breast cancer

Coder's Million-Dollar Mistake: A Bug with a Dramatic Twist

2024-12-16

Trey, a programmer working for a 3G telecom startup, wrote an automated payment testing program intended for small test transactions. Three bugs in the code, however, caused the program to credit his test account with $100 every five minutes. A lack of liveness check meant that when one gateway failed, the program continued running for hours, accumulating a substantial sum. The next morning, Trey faced questioning from the security team until his department head explained the situation, but the test account balance was reset to zero.

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(www.theregister.com)
Development programmer error automated payments

The Green Fairy's Fall: Absinthe From Muse to Moral Panic

2024-12-16

In late 19th-century France, absinthe, once celebrated as the 'Green Fairy' and muse to artists and poets, fell from grace due to its high alcohol content and societal biases. Medical experts linked absinthe to violent crime, fueling the 'absinthe-induced violence' narrative. Sensationalized media reports, such as those detailing 'absinthe murders,' furthered the negative perception. While it's now understood that absinthe's dangers stem primarily from its alcohol content, not its essential oils, the ensuing panic led to its prohibition in Switzerland (1908) and France (1915). The widening consumption of absinthe, from the bourgeoisie to the working class, fueled its association with crime. The absinthe ban also reveals complex attitudes toward alcohol and societal prejudices. Although absinthe is now legal in some countries, its negative reputation persists.

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(www.historytoday.com)
Misc absinthe prohibition social history

OpenAI Outage: Unexpected Load from New Telemetry Service Causes Major Disruption

2024-12-16

OpenAI experienced a major service disruption on December 11th, stemming from a newly deployed telemetry service. Intended to improve reliability, this service unexpectedly generated massive Kubernetes API server load, saturating the servers and causing the Kubernetes control plane to fail in most large clusters. This led to the breakdown of DNS-based service discovery. The incident highlights the unpredictable interactions within complex systems and the challenges of testing for failure modes that only appear under full load. OpenAI restored service by scaling down clusters, blocking network access to Kubernetes admin APIs, and scaling up API servers.

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(surfingcomplexity.blog)
Development API server saturation service disruption

Python Dependency Management: A Raging Inferno

2024-12-15

This article delves into the complexities of Python dependency management, likening it to building a bonfire in a dry forest. The author argues that Python dependencies aren't simply a matter of `pip install`; they encompass project packages, system packages, the operating system, hardware, and the environment itself. Good dependency management is crucial for reproducibility—ensuring consistent results across different environments. The article details version control, environment isolation, definition files, lock files, and other key concepts. It then provides a comprehensive comparison of numerous tools, including pip, venv, virtualenv, pip-tools, Pipenv, Poetry, PDM, pyenv, pipx, uv, Conda, Mamba, conda-lock, and Pixi, analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and use cases. Finally, the author offers tool recommendations based on different scenarios (administrative privileges, dependency types, operating systems, etc.) and looks ahead to future trends in Python dependency management.

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(nielscautaerts.xyz)
Development Python dependency management reproducibility Python tools

Wikipedia's Fundraising: A Closer Look at the Millions

2024-12-16

Wikipedia, known for its free information, conducts aggressive fundraising campaigns. This article reveals the Wikimedia Foundation has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars, far exceeding the site's operational needs. The vast sums aren't used to compensate volunteer editors but instead fund a large staff (550 employees) and high executive salaries, leading to discontent among volunteers. The article urges readers to reconsider donating, questioning the efficiency and transparency of funds and highlighting potential political biases.

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(unherd.com)
Misc fundraising financial transparency

Literary Review: The Achievements and Limitations of the 20th-Century Novel

2024-12-15

Edwin Frank's new book, *Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel*, explores the accomplishments of the 20th-century novel. Frank argues that novels, through formal innovations like Kafka's rambling sentences and Stein's repetitions, guide readers to slow down and savor the nuances of language. He praises novelists' efforts in expressing collective experiences, particularly the horrors of war and the awakening of self-awareness, but also points out the book's Eurocentric perspective, its insufficient attention to novels from other cultural backgrounds, and its somewhat superficial exploration of war and self-awareness.

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(thebaffler.com)
Misc 20th-century novel literary review self-awareness

UK's Illegal Cybertruck Faces Uphill Battle for Legalization

2024-12-15

Yianni Charalambous, a UK car customizer, is attempting to register a Tesla Cybertruck for road use in the UK, following a similar success in the Czech Republic. However, the Cybertruck's sharp design clashes with UK and EU pedestrian safety regulations, posing significant challenges. Its unique steer-by-wire system, reliance on OTA updates unavailable in the UK, and incompatibility with EU recall systems further complicate matters. Experts deem its chances of passing the UK's IVA test extremely slim.

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(www.wired.com)
Tech Tesla Cybertruck Car Modification Safety Regulations

Unveiling the Deep Connection Between Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Loss Functions

2024-12-15

This article delves into the intrinsic relationship between Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and commonly used loss functions. Starting with the fundamentals of MLE, the author meticulously explains its close connection to KL divergence. The article then uses Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Cross-Entropy as examples, demonstrating how these functions are naturally derived from MLE rather than being arbitrarily chosen. By assuming data distributions (e.g., Gaussian for linear regression, Bernoulli for logistic regression), maximizing the likelihood function via MLE directly leads to MSE and Cross-Entropy loss functions. This provides a clear path to understanding the theoretical underpinnings of loss functions, moving beyond mere intuition.

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(rish-01.github.io)
AI Maximum Likelihood Estimation Loss Functions

Fractional Jobs: The Rise of the Fractional Workforce

2024-12-15

Fractional Jobs is a job board specializing in fractional work, connecting companies with expert part-time talent. Offering a flexible alternative to full-time hires, the platform features a wide range of roles across various functions, from engineering and marketing to design and finance. Companies benefit from access to specialized skills on a monthly retainer basis, while professionals can build their careers and earn supplemental income. The platform boasts a large network of pre-screened candidates and promises quick matches between companies and talent.

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(www.fractionaljobs.io)
Startup fractional work part-time jobs freelance

US Fighter Jets Depicted on Russian School Wall Spark Controversy

2024-12-14

A new school in the Russian border town of Pechenga sparked controversy after images of F-16 fighter jets were painted on its walls. The images were quickly removed and replaced with Russian Su-57 jets. The school explained that the original drawings were of Su-27s, but the ambiguity led to the change. The incident, near the border with NATO members Norway and Finland, highlights regional tensions. A similar incident occurred at a naval base in Gadzhievo, where a US Los Angeles-class submarine was painted on a building before being replaced by a Russian submarine.

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(www.thebarentsobserver.com)
Misc Russia military United States

Antimatter Propulsion: The Future of Space Exploration?

2024-12-14

A groundbreaking technology, antimatter propulsion, holds the potential to revolutionize space exploration. Antimatter annihilation offers the highest known energy density, with 100% efficiency, theoretically enabling voyages across the solar system in mere weeks or even days. However, significant challenges remain in producing, storing, and controlling antimatter, keeping the technology firmly in the theoretical realm for now. Further research and development are crucial to unlock its immense potential.

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(www.sciencedirect.com)
Tech antimatter space exploration propulsion technology

AI and Sensor Networks Challenge Submarine Stealth

2024-12-16

The ability of submarines to remain undetected is facing a significant challenge due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, drones, and sensor networks. This article explores the AUKUS agreement between the US, UK, and Australia to build nuclear submarines and the modernization of China's naval submarine capabilities. Advanced sensor networks and AI algorithms can detect subtle traces of submarine activity, weakening the effectiveness of traditional submarine stealth technology. The article analyzes strategies to counter this challenge, including using noise to disrupt AI systems, deploying unmanned underwater vehicles, and employing strategic maneuvers. However, the AUKUS agreement also faces challenges such as high costs, uranium shortages, and the rapid development of China's submarine capabilities, making its future uncertain.

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(spectrum.ieee.org)
Tech submarine stealth sensor networks

Study: Video Games May Boost Kids' IQ

2024-12-16

A study of nearly 10,000 US children aged 9-10 revealed that kids who spent more time playing video games scored higher on IQ tests. Researchers controlled for genetics and socioeconomic background, finding that increased gaming correlated with better scores in reading comprehension, visual-spatial processing, and cognitive tasks, resulting in a 2.5-point IQ boost on average. While the study focused on US children and didn't differentiate game types, it offers valuable insights, challenging the long-held belief that gaming harms children. Further research is needed to establish causality and explore other contributing factors.

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(www.sciencealert.com)
AI video games children's IQ cognitive abilities

Visual Proof: a² – b² = (a + b)(a – b)

2024-12-15

Futility Closet's blog post presents a visual proof of the mathematical formula a² – b² = (a + b)(a – b), quoting Sophie Germain's insightful words: “It has been said that algebra is but written geometry and geometry is but diagrammatic algebra.” The post uses an easily understood diagram to demonstrate the formula, highlighting the elegance of mathematics and the strong relationship between algebra and geometry.

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(www.futilitycloset.com)
Misc mathematical proof geometry algebra

AI Revolutionizes Protein Design: New Tool Unveiled

2024-12-15

Scientists have developed a groundbreaking AI-powered tool, RoseTTAFold, for designing novel proteins. This tool predicts the amino acid sequence of a protein based on a user-specified target structure, generating stable and functional proteins. This breakthrough promises to accelerate advancements in drug discovery, materials science, and bioengineering, offering new possibilities for addressing various challenges facing humanity. The technology holds the potential to revolutionize biomedicine by creating proteins with specific functions for treating diseases or developing new materials.

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(artexplorer.ai)
AI Protein Design Biomedicine

Entropy: A Rethink of Disorder in the Universe

2024-12-14

Two hundred years ago, French engineer Sadi Carnot introduced the concept of entropy to quantify the universe's irreversible slide into decay. However, modern physics views entropy not simply as 'disorder,' but as a reflection of an observer's limited knowledge of a system. This new perspective illuminates the deep connection between information and energy, driving technological advancements at the nanoscale. From Carnot's steam engine to modern information engines, the concept of entropy continues to evolve, helping us understand the universe's workings and prompting us to rethink the purpose of science and our place within it.

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(www.quantamagazine.org)
AI entropy information thermodynamics

Unraveling the Mystery of the Antikythera Mechanism: A 254:19 Cosmic Code

2024-12-15

Discovered in the first century BCE, the Antikythera mechanism is a complex astronomical device capable of tracking the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. Its intricate gear system is astonishing. This article delves into a specific 254:19 gear ratio within the mechanism, revealing it's not arbitrary but a clever reflection of the sun and moon's movements over a 19-year Metonic cycle, demonstrating the remarkable understanding of astronomy possessed by ancient Greeks. The article corrects previous misunderstandings about the Saros and Metonic cycles and explains the mathematical principles behind this gear ratio, unveiling the profound insight of ancient Greeks into celestial mechanics.

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(leancrew.com)
Tech Antikythera Mechanism Metonic Cycle Astronomy

WASM Program Bypasses node:wasi Filesystem Sandbox

2024-12-15

This project demonstrates a proof-of-concept showcasing how a WASM program can bypass the preopens directory restriction in node:wasi to access files outside the sandbox. Normally, WASM programs are limited to accessing pre-opened directories. However, by cleverly using symbolic links to replace files at a precise moment and running an external process, this limitation can be circumvented. This is not a practical security vulnerability in node:wasi, but rather a potential edge case. The project highlights that one shouldn't rely on node:wasi to completely prevent malicious code from accessing external files.

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(github.com)
Development

Programmer Focus Indicator: The Birth of FlowLight

2024-12-15

Inspired by a research paper on the impact of work interruptions, programmer Shae Erisson DIYed a system called FlowLight to indicate whether a programmer is in a focused "flow" state. The system monitors idle time in the Emacs editor; when the programmer is inactive for a period, an Adafruit MagTag board's LED changes color (green for idle, red for busy). Erisson also wrote an HTTP server in CircuitPython to remotely control the LED color and display status. While the system has room for improvement, such as more granular idle time monitoring and a more visually appealing display, it effectively helps programmers avoid interruptions and improve productivity.

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(www.scannedinavian.com)
Development programmer focus flow

GNU Make's New --shuffle Mode: Uncovering Hidden Bugs in Parallel Builds

2024-12-16

For eleven years, elusive bugs plagued parallel builds in GNU Make. Inspired by this, a new `--shuffle` mode was developed to randomly reorder Makefile targets, simulating non-deterministic build order. This effectively revealed hidden bugs in over 30 packages, including gcc, vim, and ghc. Now part of GNU Make 4.4, this mode is accessible via `make --shuffle` or the `GNUMAKEFLAGS=--shuffle` environment variable. This powerful feature helps developers identify and resolve parallel build issues, highlighting the continuous improvement of software development tools.

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(trofi.github.io)
Development parallel build bug fixing

Ruby Conference Roundup: A Global Overview

2024-12-16

Ruby Video Talks is a website that aggregates information on Ruby developer conferences worldwide. From major events like RubyConf 2024 (70 talks) and Rails World 2024 (46 talks) to smaller regional meetups, the site provides a comprehensive calendar. It highlights key speakers like Matz and offers search functionality by date, location, and topic, making it easy to find relevant events. Upcoming conferences in 2025, such as Balkan Ruby and Friendly.rb, are also listed, promising even more opportunities for the Ruby community.

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(www.rubyvideo.dev)
Development Ruby Conferences Developer Events Programming Language

Buzee: Open-Source Full-Text Search App Released

2024-12-14

Buzee is a cross-platform, full-text search application built with Rust and Svelte. It allows for fast searching of local files, folders, browser history, and more, even extracting text from PDFs and images using OCR. Developed over two years, this project showcases a robust architecture using Tauri for performance, SQLite and Tantivy for indexing, and a clean Svelte frontend. While feature-rich, it still has some areas for future development, and the author is releasing it open-source for others to contribute.

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(github.com)
Development full-text search

MacOS GPU Optimization: Wasting Resources for Speed

2024-12-15

Anukari's developer encountered a bottleneck while optimizing GPU performance on MacOS. Due to limited system control over GPU performance, Apple's GPU performance regulation mechanism performed poorly in Anukari's use case, resulting in audio glitches. The developer implemented a workaround: dedicating a GPU threadgroup warp to useless computation to 'trick' the system into increasing GPU clock speed, significantly reducing audio latency and improving performance. While crude, this method proved effective in resolving MacOS performance issues. However, performance improvements varied significantly between different DAWs (Ableton and GarageBand), requiring further optimization.

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(anukari.com)
Development GPU optimization performance bottleneck

Unraveling the PPG Wave 2.2 & 2.3: An 8-bit vs. 12-bit DAC Mystery

2024-12-15

This article delves into the subtle yet significant differences between the PPG Wave 2.2 and 2.3 synthesizers. While the 2.3 utilizes 12-bit DACs, wavetable playback remains 8-bit; only samples imported via external devices fully leverage the 12-bit precision. Oscilloscope measurements reveal a unique audio processing method: two oscillators send data interleaved, resulting in a DAC output frequency double the individual oscillator sample rate. This creates a distinctive timbre and high-frequency aliasing beyond human hearing. The article also notes the relatively slow CV update rate, yet the sound retains its character.

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(till-kopper.de)
Hardware synthesizer digital audio

macOS 15.2 Update Breaks System Replication: Users Face Data Backup Nightmare

2024-12-14

A critical bug in macOS 15.2 has broken the system replication feature, causing data backups to fail with a 'Resource Busy' error, specifically when attempting to copy Preboot or Recovery partitions. Developer Dave Nanian explains that the problem stems from Apple's own code and currently has no easy fix. Users are forced to rely on third-party backup solutions, utilizing a 'Backup - all files' method with a Smart Update to restore their data after a clean system install. This issue is causing significant user frustration, particularly as the holiday season approaches.

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(www.shirtpocket.com)
Development system failure data backup

Springfield Weekend Weather Forecast: Sunny and Warm

2024-12-16

Springfield weather today is sunny with a temperature of 72°F, humidity at 55%, dew point of 65°F, barometric pressure of 12 PPI, north wind at 6 mph, and visibility of 35 miles. July precipitation is 1 inch. The weekend forecast predicts sunny skies and warm temperatures throughout, along with moderate humidity. Clark St. pool is back open, come on down!

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(unworld.neocities.org)
Misc weather forecast Springfield weekend weather

Ada Lovelace's Program: A Legacy of Computing

2024-12-16

This article delves into Ada Lovelace's program for Babbage's Analytical Engine, designed to calculate Bernoulli numbers. It explains the mathematical background of Bernoulli numbers and the mechanics of Babbage's Analytical Engine. While never executed, Lovelace's program, with its rigorous approach, loops, and variable tracking, is considered the world's first complex program, foreshadowing many aspects of modern programming. The article analyzes bugs found within the program and discusses Lovelace's place in computing history, highlighting her contributions extending beyond mere calculation; she foresaw the computer's vast potential, surpassing her contemporaries.

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(twobithistory.org)
AI Ada Lovelace Babbage Analytical Engine Bernoulli Numbers
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