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An Infinitely High Stack of Blocks? Impossible!

2025-08-20

This paper explores a counter-intuitive physics problem: the stability of an infinitely extending stack of blocks. By analyzing torque and center of mass, the author demonstrates that finite-height stacks of blocks can remain stable even when their tops extend far beyond the edge of a table—a result that defies intuition. However, when attempting to extrapolate this to an infinitely high stack, the author finds that regardless of the limiting procedure used, the end result is either no stack at all or a stack that doesn't lean. This reveals the subtleties of limit operations when dealing with infinity and the limitations of intuition.

(sites.pitt.edu)

Tech mechanics limits

Mojave Desert Ghosts: Yucca Man and Southern California's Cryptid Legends

2025-04-25

Mojave Desert Ghosts: Yucca Man and Southern California's Cryptid Legends

This article explores the enduring legend of Yucca Man in Southern California's Mojave Desert, alongside other similar cryptid sightings. Since the 1970s, reports of an eight-foot-tall, hairy, red-eyed creature have emerged from military bases, national parks, and remote areas. While Native populations viewed these beings as supernatural entities, modern accounts depict them as Bigfoot-like creatures. The article delves into historical parallels, including tales of a winged beast at Elizabeth Lake and the 'Cement Monster' of a nearby mine, weaving together geography, history, and folklore into a captivating narrative of mystery.

(longreads.com)

Misc Cryptids Bigfoot Southern California

Deep Dive into Kiki KaiKai's Hardware: Taito's Sprite-Based Arcade Gem

2025-05-21

Deep Dive into Kiki KaiKai's Hardware: Taito's Sprite-Based Arcade Gem

This post delves into the hardware architecture of the arcade game Kiki KaiKai. Released in 1986, this game uses a sprite-based rendering system, not a unique feature at the time. Key hardware components include a YM2203 FM synthesizer, a Taito-customized MCU (JPH1020P) based on the Motorola 6801, and a Z80 CPU. The author details the 12-bit RGB color display, PAL programmable array logic, and high-speed RAM. A unique visual artifact is analyzed, attributed to the switching between sprite and background rendering. The post concludes with details of the PCB, including interesting finds in the manual and stickers, such as a Taito seal featuring what appears to be a Prussian eagle.

(nicole.express)

Hardware hardware analysis

GNU Radio: Open-Source Software Defined Radio Toolkit

2025-04-13

GNU Radio is a free and open-source software development toolkit that provides signal processing blocks to implement software-defined radios (SDRs). It can be used with readily-available, low-cost external RF hardware or without hardware in a simulation environment. Its modular, flowgraph-based framework and extensive library of processing blocks make it suitable for creating complex signal processing applications in research, industry, and hobbyist settings. While not a solution for specific hardware or radio standards out-of-the-box, it's highly adaptable for developing implementations of various communication standards.

(wiki.gnuradio.org)

Development

Running a Minecraft Server Inside a FreeBSD Jail

2025-04-05

Running a Minecraft Server Inside a FreeBSD Jail

This tutorial walks you through setting up a secure Minecraft server within a FreeBSD Jail container, a more secure alternative to Docker or Podman on Linux. The author details the process of creating the jail, installing the FreeBSD base system, configuring network settings, building the Minecraft server from ports, and configuring crucial settings like memory allocation, EULA acceptance, and server properties. Finally, the guide demonstrates starting the server and connecting via a Minecraft client. This is a comprehensive guide for users comfortable with FreeBSD.

(vermaden.wordpress.com)

Development

College Board's Million-Dollar Salaries Don't Fix Their Broken Digital Exams

2025-05-23

College Board's Million-Dollar Salaries Don't Fix Their Broken Digital Exams

The College Board, administrator of the SAT and AP exams, boasts hefty executive compensation—$2.38 million for the CEO in 2023, and hundreds of thousands for senior VPs. Ironically, their transition to digital-only exams for 28 AP courses has been plagued with issues. A nationwide outage of the Bluebook testing app during the AP Psychology exam left thousands of students stranded, forced to wait in freezing gymnasiums for a fix. The incident sparked outrage on Reddit, highlighting a glaring disconnect between lavish executive pay and inadequate technical preparedness.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech Exam System Technical Failure

Challenging the CAP Theorem: A Partial Progress Conjecture Under Asynchrony

2025-01-08

A new paper challenges the well-known CAP theorem. The authors conjecture that partial progress is possible under network partitions, meaning the system can remain responsive to a subset of clients and achieve non-zero throughput during failures. They present the design of their CASSANDRA consensus protocol, allowing partitioned replicas to order client requests, potentially offering a path to systems that are both consistent and available to some degree, even during partitions. This research offers a novel approach to building more robust distributed systems.

(arxiv.org)

Development CAP theorem consensus protocol

GTA San Andreas Skimmer Plane Vanishes: A 20-Year-Old Bug Triggered by Windows 11 24H2

2025-04-23

GTA San Andreas Skimmer Plane Vanishes: A 20-Year-Old Bug Triggered by Windows 11 24H2

A long-standing bug in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has resurfaced: the Skimmer plane disappears after upgrading to Windows 11 24H2. Investigation revealed the issue stems from uninitialized variables in the game's code and a change in stack space usage by the `LeaveCriticalSection` function in Windows 11 24H2. This caused the game to unexpectedly rely on undefined behavior for two decades, until the update broke this fragile balance. The author fixed the issue by modifying the game files or using a SilentPatch, exposing a long-standing flaw in the game's code and the unexpected compatibility issues that Windows system updates can introduce.

(cookieplmonster.github.io)

Game Game Bug Windows Compatibility

Python subprocess Default Behavior Change: Enhanced Performance, Balanced Security

2024-12-26

Python's subprocess module is changing its default behavior of closing all file descriptors. This change aims to improve performance, especially when dealing with a large number of file descriptors, avoiding performance bottlenecks caused by closing each descriptor individually. However, altering the default behavior could introduce security risks. Developers are advised to choose the `close_fds` parameter based on their specific needs and take appropriate security measures, such as ensuring all file descriptors are marked as non-inheritable. This change carefully balances performance and security, aiming to provide developers with a more flexible and efficient subprocess management solution.

(bugs.python.org)

Development

A 149-Byte Minimal PubSub Library

2025-04-01

A 149-Byte Minimal PubSub Library

This article introduces a minimalist PubSub library weighing in at a mere 149 bytes, with virtually no dependencies. It's compared to competitors like nano-pubsub (194 bytes) and tiny-pubsub (401 bytes), highlighting its incredibly small size. Built using EventTarget, the code is clear and concise, and includes TypeScript type definitions. The author encourages contributions to further reduce the library's size.

(github.com)

Development lightweight library

Quasar Alpha: OpenAI's Secret Weapon?

2025-04-10

Quasar Alpha: OpenAI's Secret Weapon?

A mysterious AI model called Quasar Alpha has emerged on the OpenRouter platform, quickly rising to become the number one AI model for programming. Strong evidence suggests a connection to OpenAI, possibly even being OpenAI's o4-mini-low model under a different name. While not state-of-the-art, its speed and cost-effectiveness could disrupt the AI coding model market. Quasar Alpha is now available on Kilo Code.

(blog.kilocode.ai)

AI

DJI Drops Geofencing: A Risky Gamble?

2025-01-15

DJI Drops Geofencing: A Risky Gamble?

DJI has removed its geofencing feature that previously prevented drones from flying over restricted areas like airports, wildfires, and the White House. This decision, made amidst growing US distrust of drones and following an incident where a DJI drone hampered wildfire fighting efforts, has sparked debate. While DJI argues it puts control back in the hands of operators and relies on Remote ID technology for enforcement, critics worry about increased safety risks and potential abuse. The move follows the FAA's lack of geofencing requirements and aligns with similar changes in the EU. The long-term impact on drone safety remains uncertain.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech geofencing

China's AI Playbook: Prioritizing Applications, Driven by the State

2025-08-03

China's AI Playbook: Prioritizing Applications, Driven by the State

In its AI competition with the US, China is aggressively pushing for widespread AI adoption, deploying the technology across factories, hospitals, and government offices. While facing chip restrictions, China is focusing on application rather than solely pursuing cutting-edge models. The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai showcased this strategy, attracting international figures. China announced an international AI regulatory organization and a 13-point plan for global cooperation, emphasizing public sector leadership and open-source models. However, economic slowdown and inherent limitations of AI technology, like 'hallucinations,' pose challenges to China's rapid AI development.

(www.yahoo.com)

Tech government support

Hungary's Plan to Use Facial Recognition Against Pride Events Violates EU AI Act

2025-03-18

Hungary's Plan to Use Facial Recognition Against Pride Events Violates EU AI Act

Viktor Orbán's plan to use facial recognition to suppress pride events in Hungary violates the EU's AI Act. The Act largely prohibits real-time facial recognition for policing, with exceptions for national security or terrorism. Orbán's proposed amendment to the Child Protection Act bans pride events and allows police to use facial recognition to identify attendees. Dr. Laura Caroli, who negotiated the EU AI rules, confirms this use is explicitly prohibited. Even claiming national security wouldn't justify it. The ban, effective February 2nd, has drawn fierce criticism. MEP Daniel Freund called it reminiscent of Russia or China, urging the EU to halt funding to Orbán's regime. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee highlights violations of data protection rights. While enforcement rests with Hungarian authorities, other member states can oppose such measures. The practical application of the AI Act will take time, leaving room for such abuses in the interim.

(www.euractiv.com)

Tech EU AI Act Hungary

Google Cloud Outage: A Redpanda Cloud Survival Story

2025-06-21

Google Cloud Outage: A Redpanda Cloud Survival Story

On June 12th, 2025, a global Google Cloud Platform (GCP) outage, triggered by an automated quota update to their API management system, brought down a large swathe of the internet. Redpanda Cloud customers, however, remained unaffected. This post details Redpanda Cloud's response, highlighting how its cell-based architecture and SLA-focused design ensured stability. It analyzes the risks of the 'butterfly effect' in complex systems and stresses the importance of robust safety and reliability measures, such as closed-loop feedback control and phased rollouts. Redpanda Cloud's success stemmed from its decentralized architecture, high redundancy, and rigorous release process. While some luck was involved, this further underscores its resilience in the face of major cloud service failures.

(www.redpanda.com)

Tech

AI Learning Tools: Oreo Cookies or Effective Workouts?

2025-05-15

Fred Dixon, CEO of Blindside Networks and co-founder of BigBlueButton, explores the disruptive impact of generative AI on learning. He likens AI learning tools to "hyper-processed foods" (like Oreo cookies), offering short-term convenience but ultimately harming learning efficiency. Research shows over-reliance on AI hinders critical thinking skills. Dixon argues effective learning requires activating the brain's "System 2" thinking—slow, deliberate thought—which necessitates overcoming "frustration." He proposes three learning methods: "retrieving knowledge," "desirable difficulty," and "spaced repetition." He suggests using AI as a tool for creating personalized learning plans, not for directly answering questions. Finally, he emphasizes the importance of classroom learning and cultivating curiosity, a hunter's mindset, and flow states during learning.

(blindsidenetworks.com)

AI AI learning effective learning system thinking

Grid Computing Breaks World Record for Goldbach Conjecture Verification

2025-04-19

Grid Computing Breaks World Record for Goldbach Conjecture Verification

Japanese engineer @jay_gridbach has broken the world record for verifying the Goldbach Conjecture using his Gridbach distributed computing system. He extended the verification to 4×10¹⁸ + 7×10¹³, surpassing the previous record held by a Portuguese researcher. Gridbach is a cloud-based system leveraging WebAssembly, requiring no login and accessible from PCs and smartphones. The project aims to advance the verification of the Goldbach Conjecture and foster interest in mathematics and IT through open computational resources.

(medium.com)

Tech Goldbach Conjecture

Parity: AI-Powered SRE to Eliminate On-Call Hell

2025-04-10

Parity: AI-Powered SRE to Eliminate On-Call Hell

Tired of 2 AM pager duty and endless alerts? Parity uses AI to automate the investigation, root cause analysis, and remediation of infrastructure issues, making on-call a thing of the past. The product has seen strong adoption with early customers and has the potential to define a new category. Parity is backed by top-tier investors including Y Combinator, General Catalyst, and Sugar Free Capital, as well as angel investors from leading startups like Midjourney and Crusoe.

(www.ycombinator.com)

AI

Crap Towns: A Book From Another Age?

2025-04-26

Crap Towns: A Book From Another Age?

The author reflects on their 'Crap Towns' series, a satirical look at the worst places in the UK published around the turn of the millennium. The series, based on public nominations and the author's own research, poked fun at British social issues. Now, the author questions whether such a book could be published today. The rise of identity politics and reduced tolerance for humor lead to concerns that the series' satire might be controversial. This prompts reflection on the changing landscape of social humor. While some criticize the series as outdated or offensive, the author argues that humor is a lubricant for social progress, and critical humor can expose societal ills. Ultimately, the author concludes that despite the changing times, the essence of 'Crap Towns' persists, albeit requiring adaptation to a new context.

(samj.substack.com)

Misc identity politics

Nadella: AI to Revolutionize Knowledge Work, Like Lean Manufacturing Revolutionized Factories

2025-02-23

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella predicts AI will fundamentally transform white-collar work, making it more akin to factory assembly lines with end-to-end optimization. He likens the introduction of AI to knowledge work to the advent of PCs, email, and spreadsheets, which revolutionized forecasting processes. AI agents will handle much of the work, while knowledge workers will manage these agents, requiring new workflows and management approaches, akin to "Lean manufacturing for knowledge work." This will be a gradual process, requiring concerted effort from management teams and individuals.

(solmaz.io)

Tech Knowledge Work Process Automation

ThorVG: A Cross-Platform Vector Graphics Library Leading the WebGPU Revolution

2025-06-02

ThorVG: A Cross-Platform Vector Graphics Library Leading the WebGPU Revolution

ThorVG offers multiple raster engine implementations, letting you choose the best fit for your app and system. It's ahead of the curve, especially in web development. Leveraging WebGPU's compute shaders and low-overhead modern GPU access, ThorVG enables aggressive optimization and broader application. It fully supports vector rendering features on top of WebGPU and abstracts hardware acceleration (Metal, Vulkan, DirectX) for seamless cross-platform compatibility.

(www.thorvg.org)

Development

I'm Bored of It: The Ubiquitous Tech We Can't Escape

2025-04-04

The author expresses profound weariness with a pervasive technology, highlighting its dehumanizing effects and questioning its very existence. It's characterized by garbage in, garbage out, unwanted by the public yet championed by the brightest minds focused on user adoption. Shareholders and policymakers alike succumb to its pressure, its operation demanding immense energy and water resources. Media coverage swings wildly between glorification and condemnation, with endless conversations and personal usage anecdotes dominating discourse. The author subtly alludes to the technology, confessing a feeling of guilt associated with its use. The pervasiveness itself is the source of the author's exhaustion.

(paulrobertlloyd.com)

Tech Tech fatigue Ethical concerns Technology overuse

Open Source, Self-Hostable Bookmark Manager: Your Privacy, Your Choice

2025-05-01

This open-source, self-hostable bookmark manager prioritizes your privacy. It features a responsive design for all screen sizes, powerful search capabilities for easy content retrieval, a browser extension for seamless web page saving, and supports bulk actions, import/export, and dark/light mode toggling. Crucially, it promises never to sell your data to third parties and offers secure API integration for creating custom solutions. Experience this privacy-focused and powerful bookmark manager today!

(linkwarden.app)

Development bookmark manager

A Twain Revival? 175 Years of Harper's and the Enduring Legacy of Huckleberry Finn

2025-06-04

A Twain Revival? 175 Years of Harper's and the Enduring Legacy of Huckleberry Finn

Is a Mark Twain revival underway in the 175th-anniversary year of Harper’s Magazine, a publication that consistently featured Twain’s work? Percival Everett's National Book Award-winning novel, *James*, reimagines *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* from Jim's perspective, while Shelley Fisher Fishkin's new book on Jim adds to the renewed interest. Conan O'Brien's Mark Twain Prize acceptance speech subtly criticized the political climate. Ron Chernow's new Twain biography further fuels this resurgence. The author reflects on their personal, complex relationship with Twain's work, exploring the meaning of this revival and the ongoing search for hidden meanings within Twain's writing. Ultimately, the essay argues that Everett's *James* successfully adds Jim's inner life, offering a fresh perspective on the classic tale.

(harpers.org)

Misc Mark Twain Literary Revival American Literature

Keyhive Sync Protocol: Architecture and Implementation of Beelay

2025-04-20

Keyhive Sync Protocol: Architecture and Implementation of Beelay

This article details Beelay, a new sync protocol for the Keyhive project. Beelay, an RPC-based protocol, addresses shortcomings in Automerge's existing sync protocol when handling numerous documents and encrypted data. It uses Ed25519 keys for authentication and employs the RIBLT algorithm for efficient synchronization of the Keyhive membership graph and document collection. To prevent man-in-the-middle and replay attacks, Beelay incorporates the recipient's public key and timestamps in messages. Furthermore, Beelay introduces the Sedimentree protocol for efficient synchronization of Automerge document content.

(www.inkandswitch.com)

Development Sync Protocol

Type-Driven Development: How Types Simplify Complex Programming

2024-12-19

Type-Driven Development: How Types Simplify Complex Programming

This article explores the concept of "Type-Driven Development," where the author, drawing from experience with the large-scale Heartbeat Typescript project (300k+ lines), demonstrates how Typescript's type system simplifies complex programming problems. The core idea is that by leveraging the type system effectively, allowing types to flow freely across all application layers, starting new features with type definitions, making illegal states unrepresentable, parsing instead of validating data, and maintaining code honesty and specificity, bugs are drastically reduced and development efficiency is improved. The author also shares techniques for using pure functions as type bridges and the type system as an introspection tool, while acknowledging the occasional need to bypass type system constraints.

(mayhul.com)

Development Type-Driven Development Software Development

The Egg Controller: A Son's Quest to Understand His Father's Legacy

2025-04-26

The author inherits his late father's 'Egg Controller,' a device for precisely controlling barbecue temperature. Initially baffling, the device reveals itself to be a sophisticated piece of engineering employing PID control. The author's journey of troubleshooting, from initial confusion to the discovery of a hidden switch, culminates in successfully using the controller, fulfilling his father's unfinished work and serving as a poignant tribute.

(www.pentadact.com)

Misc Memorial

Gertrude Stein: A Postmortem Literary Revelation

2025-05-05

Gertrude Stein: A Postmortem Literary Revelation

Francesca Wade's new biography delves into the posthumous life of Gertrude Stein, unveiling the complexities of this modernist pioneer's life and literary achievements. The book explores Stein's relationship with Alice B. Toklas, her interactions with other modernist artists, and—most significantly—reveals a hidden side of Stein through a secret notebook. This notebook exposes her inner world, creative motivations, and Toklas's crucial role. Wade's sensitive and compelling narrative humanizes Stein, exploring the emotions and creative processes behind her groundbreaking work.

(literaryreview.co.uk)

Misc Literary Biography Gertrude Stein

SF Startup Artie Hiring Founding Product Engineer

2025-04-12

SF Startup Artie Hiring Founding Product Engineer

Fast-growing San Francisco-based database replication startup Artie is seeking its third engineer, a Founding Product Engineer. You'll build real-time database replication solutions leveraging Kafka and CDC, directly interact with technical customers to improve UX, and build new features (e.g., column exclusion, encryption, schema change alerts). The tech stack includes Go, PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, Elasticsearch, Kubernetes, and Terraform. This challenging role requires 4+ years of web development experience in a startup environment; Go proficiency is a plus.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Startup

Boxie: An Offline Audio Player for Toddlers – Built from Scratch

2025-04-28

Boxie: An Offline Audio Player for Toddlers – Built from Scratch

Inspired by the Game Boy, a father embarked on a journey to build an offline audio player for his 3-year-old son, eliminating the shortcomings of commercial options. The project, named Boxie, uses an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, Micro SD card storage, and a custom-designed PCB and 3D-printed enclosure. The article details the entire process, from learning electronics to soldering SMD components, designing PCBs with EasyEDA, 3D modeling with Fusion 360, and writing the firmware. The result is a robust, offline, and child-friendly audio player showcasing impressive DIY skills and parental dedication.

(mariozechner.at)

Hardware

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