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Do You Really Own Your Website? The Illusion of Control

2025-05-03

During the 2020 lockdown, a restaurant's website became its lifeline. The owner outsourced website maintenance, but the 'maintainer' disappeared for months, leaving the site un-updatable. This sparked a discussion about website control: from simply contacting the maintainer to directly modifying server files, DNS records, or even replacing the server—the methods escalate in complexity. The article highlights that true control hinges on ownership of relevant accounts and permissions, such as registrar accounts, DNS management, and server access. This serves as a reminder to understand the risks of outsourcing and ensure you retain necessary control.

(rachelbythebay.com)

Development website control domain management

Website Cookie Policy Explained

2025-05-03

Website Cookie Policy Explained

This website uses technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information to provide the best user experience. Consenting allows us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs. Withdrawing consent may affect certain features. Technical storage or access is strictly necessary for enabling explicitly requested services or transmitting communications. It's also used for storing preferences (not user-requested), statistical purposes (anonymous), and creating user profiles for advertising or cross-site tracking for marketing.

(opensource.org)

Misc

PostgreSQL Multi-AZ Cluster Transaction Visibility Issue: A Jepsen Report Deep Dive

2025-05-03

PostgreSQL Multi-AZ Cluster Transaction Visibility Issue: A Jepsen Report Deep Dive

A recent Jepsen report highlights a long-standing transaction visibility issue in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Multi-AZ clusters: the order in which transactions become visible differs between the primary and replicas. This doesn't cause data loss or corruption, and doesn't affect single-AZ deployments or Aurora databases. The issue relates to the 'Long Fork' anomaly, violating Snapshot Isolation. The post details the root cause (asynchronous updates to ProcArray and WAL), illustrating how it leads to inconsistent results (e.g., Alice and Bob observing different rankings of a Hacker News article). While rarely impacting application correctness, fixing it is crucial for enterprise-grade PostgreSQL clusters. AWS is collaborating with the PostgreSQL community to resolve this, offering workarounds like reviewing application assumptions about transaction ordering and using explicit synchronization.

(aws.amazon.com)

Development Transaction Visibility Database Consistency

Indie Game Dev Neal Agarwal: In the Age of Slop, Craft is Rebellion

2025-05-03

Indie Game Dev Neal Agarwal: In the Age of Slop, Craft is Rebellion

Neal Agarwal, the creator behind the cult-favorite website Neal.fun, is a legend in the indie game world. Starting at age 10, he's crafted over 100 games, achieving viral fame with titles like The Password Game and Infinite Craft. This interview delves into his independent development journey, his perspective on AI, and his secrets to maintaining creative energy. He views masterful craftsmanship as a rebellion against the abundance of low-quality content in the digital age. AI tools, he argues, aren't just about speed but expand creative possibilities. His metric for success is longevity; he hopes his games will still be played 50 years from now.

(www.workingtheorys.com)

Game

A Teenage Encounter with Andy Warhol: A Factory Dream

2025-05-03

A Teenage Encounter with Andy Warhol: A Factory Dream

At sixteen, my obsession with Andy Warhol led to a meeting with the legendary artist. Our first encounter was at a fancy restaurant, where he was accompanied by Bianca Jagger. I sensed a distance beneath his friendly demeanor. Later, I was invited to write for his Interview magazine, an experience that revealed the loneliness and anxiety behind his glamorous facade, and a resonance with my own divided self: a yearning for belonging and a preference for solitude that struggle to reconcile.

(granta.com)

Misc Andy Warhol The Factory

Bethesda Officially Blesses Skyblivion, the Oblivion Skyrim Fan Remake

2025-05-03

Bethesda Officially Blesses Skyblivion, the Oblivion Skyrim Fan Remake

Bethesda's recent release of the Oblivion remaster has been overshadowed by the excitement surrounding Skyblivion, a fan-made mod aiming to recreate Oblivion in Skyrim's engine. Instead of legal action, Bethesda has publicly endorsed the project, showcasing gameplay footage in a developer spotlight video and expressing enthusiasm for its release later this year. This act of support highlights Bethesda's positive relationship with its modding community and sets a commendable example for other publishers.

(kotaku.com)

Game Fan Mod

Why I Once Wrote Clojure

2025-05-03

The author professionally used Clojure for five years, initially loving it, but ultimately hating it for the same reason: boredom. The author couldn't force themselves to write generic enterprise code for soulless corporations, but could if it was fun. Clojure, Go, Rust, Zig, and other new technologies helped maintain interest. The author speculates that Clojure's creation and high adoption in fintech stem from the boredom of highly intelligent engineers. High-paying jobs require highly intelligent engineers, but they get bored easily and need intellectual stimulation. Enterprise code writing is relatively boring, so fintechs allow engineers to use 'toys' in the codebase to lower turnover.

(thesoftwarephilosopher.com)

Development engineer burnout

Vuntra City: Immersive City Exploration Game

2025-05-03

Vuntra City is an immersive city exploration game where every building is explorable. Explore a vast procedurally generated city, meet its inhabitants, and uncover its secrets. Climb the social ladder to access exclusive locations and make them your own. Alternatively, relax on public transport, enjoy virtual drinks at various bars and cafes, or unwind in a verdant park. Combat is minimal, and there's no pressure; the city is yours to explore at your own pace.

(vuntracity.com)

Game city exploration open world

LWN Faces Economic Headwinds: Subscription Drop and Future Challenges

2025-05-03

LWN.net, a news site focused on Linux and free software, is experiencing economic headwinds. Since March, they've seen a significant drop in new subscriptions and renewals, correlating with the US administration's attacks on the global trade system and the resulting economic downturn. While not yet an existential threat, this is a serious concern. LWN is responding by tightening its belt and appealing to readers to subscribe or encourage their employers to establish group subscriptions to ensure continued operation. Inflation and anti-US sentiment pose further potential challenges. Despite these difficulties, LWN remains committed to providing high-quality content and expresses gratitude for its readers' long-standing support.

(lwn.net)

Tech economic downturn

ProofyBubble: Social Proof Boosts Course Launches and Business Growth

2025-05-03

ProofyBubble: Social Proof Boosts Course Launches and Business Growth

My partner and I built ProofyBubble for my Next.js course launch. We saw a significant revenue increase after adding ProofyBubble to showcase website traffic, waitlist signups, upcoming sales, and past sales. I've since used it across all my products – boosting newsletter subscribers, sales, and providing strong social proof for my course launch. I highly recommend ProofyBubble to indie creators and small businesses; it's affordably priced.

(proofybubble.com)

Startup social proof course launch

Vibe Coding: Hype or the Future of Software Development?

2025-05-03

Vibe Coding: Hype or the Future of Software Development?

Vibe coding, popularized by Andrej Karpathy, involves using AI assistants like Cursor to code via voice commands. While it lowers the barrier to entry for software creation and enables rapid prototyping, it's not a replacement for traditional coding skills. The article argues that while vibe coding democratizes prototyping, building robust software still requires deep understanding of programming languages and computer science. It's more of a tool to accelerate development for experienced programmers, not a silver bullet for replacing software engineers.

(transitions.substack.com)

Development

ANEMLL: Accelerating LLMs on Apple's Neural Engine

2025-05-03

ANEMLL: Accelerating LLMs on Apple's Neural Engine

ANEMLL is an open-source project focused on accelerating Large Language Models (LLMs) to tensor processors, starting with Apple's Neural Engine (ANE). It provides a complete open-source pipeline from model conversion (from Hugging Face) to inference on ANE, enabling seamless on-device inference for low-power edge applications, maximizing privacy and security. Currently supporting models like LLaMA 3.1, ANEMLL offers Swift and Python sample code, along with iOS/macOS applications. This is an alpha release, so expect improvements in quantization.

(github.com)

Development Apple Neural Engine

Source Code Release: QModem 4.51, a Classic MS-DOS Communications Program

2025-05-03

Source Code Release: QModem 4.51, a Classic MS-DOS Communications Program

The source code for QModem 4.51, an MS-DOS telecommunications program by John Friel III (1960-2024), has been released. This 1992 'Test-Drive' edition boasts features like support for various modem protocols, scripting, customization, auto-configuration, and even a Host Mode. A valuable historical artifact for telecom enthusiasts, retrocomputing hobbyists, and anyone interested in classic DOS software. However, compiling requires Turbo Pascal 5.x/6.0 and various dependencies, along with tackling overlay management – a challenging undertaking.

(github.com)

Development

AI's Impact on Science and Math: Experts Predict the Next Decade

2025-05-03

AI's Impact on Science and Math: Experts Predict the Next Decade

Quanta Magazine interviewed nearly 100 scientists and mathematicians about the impact of artificial intelligence on their fields. Almost everyone reported feeling AI's disruptive effects, whether directly involved in its development or indirectly influenced by its potential. Many are adapting their approaches to experiments, seeking new collaborations, or formulating entirely new research questions. The article concludes with a challenging question: Where will all this lead in the next 5-10 years? Experts agree that AI's rapid advancement makes accurate predictions difficult, and its impact will continue for years to come.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

AI

A Ghostly Rendezvous: The 1997 British Museum Mystery

2025-05-03

On June 3rd, 1997, at 2:10 PM, the author, fulfilling a decades-old assignment from his eccentric teacher, waited in the British Museum's Round Reading Room for the arrival of Enoch Soames, a fictional poet from a Max Beerbohm short story. Soames, having made a pact with the Devil, traveled to the future to check his literary legacy. The author recounts a surreal experience, witnessing mysterious notes, peculiar onlookers, and the appearance of a man remarkably matching Soames's description. The man's eventual disappearance leaves the author and readers pondering the intersection of time travel, fictional narratives, and reality.

(web.archive.org)

Misc surreal

Reunion on a Frozen Peak: A Story of Discovery and Healing After 22 Years

2025-05-03

Reunion on a Frozen Peak: A Story of Discovery and Healing After 22 Years

Ryan Cooper, 44, unexpectedly discovered the frozen body of William Stampfl, a missing American mountaineer, during a climb of Peru's Huascarán. This discovery not only imbued Cooper's climb with profound meaning, but also led him to contact Stampfl's family, providing them with long-awaited closure after 22 years. The story highlights human kindness, resilience, and the possibility of finding healing after loss.

(www.espn.com)

Misc missing person mountaineering emotional journey

Rose Petal Growth: A Geometric Trick Revealed

2025-05-03

Rose Petal Growth: A Geometric Trick Revealed

Physicists have uncovered a previously unknown geometric trick employed in the growth of rose petals. Through theoretical analysis, computer simulations, and experiments with rubbery plastic sheets, they demonstrated that as petals curl outwards, mechanical feedback regulates their growth, resulting in rolled edges and pointed tips. This discovery could have future applications in engineering and architecture. The research highlights how geometric patterns influence developing organisms in nature, emphasizing the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic geometry in shaping biological forms.

(www.nature.com)

Tech natural patterns

Angel Investor Hits Pause After 15 Years: A Deep Dive into the Why and What's Next

2025-05-03

Angel Investor Hits Pause After 15 Years: A Deep Dive into the Why and What's Next

After 15 years and 54 investments, an angel investor decided to pause his angel investing activities. He found that over-diversification led to superficial founder relationships, limited learning opportunities, and returns that didn't justify the time commitment, risk, and opportunity cost. His future plans involve deeper founder engagement through board positions, learning through podcasting and teaching, and becoming an LP in VC funds. He concludes that sometimes, the best investment decision is not to invest at all.

(halletecco.substack.com)

Startup angel investing

Emulating Closures in Tcl: A Clever Hack

2025-05-03

This article explores implementing closure-like behavior in Tcl, a language lacking native closure support. The author cleverly leverages namespaces and the TclOO object system to create a class that mimics closures. This class captures external variables and maintains their validity outside their original scope, effectively achieving closure-like functionality. While differing slightly from C++ closures, this approach provides a practical solution for those needing closures in Tcl.

(world-playground-deceit.net)

Development

pipask: Secure Python Package Installation

2025-05-03

pipask: Secure Python Package Installation

pipask is a safer alternative to pip, adding security checks before installing Python packages. It prioritizes using PyPI metadata, avoiding downloading and executing code whenever possible. If third-party code execution is necessary, pipask asks for user consent. After performing checks, including repository popularity, package age, known vulnerabilities, PyPI download counts, and metadata verification, it presents a formatted report and requests approval. Upon approval, it hands off installation to standard pip.

(github.com)

Development

Why Can't HTML Import HTML?

2025-05-03

Why Can't HTML Import HTML?

The author is obsessed with a simple web development need: reusing the same header across multiple HTML pages. He finds many solutions, but none are purely HTML-based. This leads him to question why HTML can't directly import other HTML files like CSS or JavaScript can. He explores potential reasons, such as preload scanners, asynchronous loading issues, the complexity of nested includes, increased web requests, and more, and solicits reader input.

(frontendmasters.com)

Development

ChatGPT's Surprisingly Small Impact on the Danish Labor Market

2025-05-03

ChatGPT's Surprisingly Small Impact on the Danish Labor Market

A new study examining the Danish labor market in 2023-2024 reveals that generative AI models like ChatGPT have had a negligible impact on wages and employment, despite widespread adoption. Researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Copenhagen analyzed data from 25,000 workers and 7,000 workplaces across 11 occupations often considered vulnerable to automation. While company investment spurred AI tool adoption, leading to time savings for a significant portion of users, the overall economic impact was minimal. Interestingly, the study found that AI chatbots created new tasks for 8.4% of workers, offsetting potential time savings. This suggests that while AI may automate some tasks, it also generates new ones, mitigating its initial disruptive potential.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech AI impact labor market

Ten Years in New Orleans: Pace, Care, and Feeling It in Your Bones

2025-05-03

Ten Years in New Orleans: Pace, Care, and Feeling It in Your Bones

This deeply personal essay reflects on a decade spent living in New Orleans. The author explores themes of pace, care, and visceral feeling, contrasting the city's slower rhythm with the faster pace of the rest of the US. Through anecdotes of community life, political observations, and personal reflections, the author details how New Orleans shaped their understanding of life. Ultimately, the decision to leave is framed not as a rejection, but as a natural progression, carrying the lessons learned in the heart.

(commonedge.org)

Misc personal essay New Orleans cultural reflection

Kotlin-powered Local LLM Proxy: A Boon for JetBrains AI Assistant

2025-05-03

Kotlin-powered Local LLM Proxy: A Boon for JetBrains AI Assistant

Limited by the free quota of JetBrains AI Assistant, the author developed a Kotlin/Ktor application that proxies multiple LLM APIs, such as OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini, as LM Studio and Ollama APIs, enabling their use within JetBrains IDEs. Leveraging reflection-free features, it's built as a GraalVM native image for cross-platform compatibility and fast startup. It supports streaming chat, features easy configuration, and hot reloading.

(github.com)

Development

Google Family Link to Allow Kids Access to Gemini AI

2025-05-03

Google Family Link to Allow Kids Access to Gemini AI

Google is rolling out access to its Gemini AI apps for children via its Family Link parental controls on Android devices. While Gemini can assist with homework and storytelling, Google cautions parents that the AI can make mistakes and children may encounter inappropriate content. Google assures that children's data won't be used for AI training. Parents are advised to discuss with their children that Gemini is not human and to avoid sharing sensitive information. Parents retain control via Family Link, receiving notifications upon their child's first Gemini access and retaining the ability to disable access entirely.

(www.theverge.com)

AI Child Privacy

Bats Learn to Discriminate Between Tasty and Toxic Frogs Through Experience

2025-05-03

Bats Learn to Discriminate Between Tasty and Toxic Frogs Through Experience

Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have discovered that fringe-lipped bats, known for eavesdropping on frog and toad mating calls to locate prey, learn to distinguish between palatable and unpalatable amphibians through experience. Adult bats effectively differentiate between edible and toxic frogs, a skill lacking in juveniles. Young bats need time and experience to hone this crucial ability. This study provides the first evidence that eavesdropping predators refine their hunting cues throughout development, highlighting the critical role of early life experiences in shaping predatory behaviors in the wild.

(phys.org)

Tech bats prey identification

Reverse Engineering The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer for Speedrunning Optimization

2025-05-03

To optimize their speedrun of The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, the author and his brother reverse-engineered and modded the GameCube game. They discovered debug features and out-of-bounds glitches, and statically reverse-engineered the combat system code using Ghidra. To experiment more easily, they created a mod that displays enemy health, applying it via Action Replay codes. This revealed interesting damage information, such as Mr. Incredible's punches doubling in damage with successive hits and higher damage against frozen enemies. They also explained why some known cheat codes were invalid, needing developer mode to work. Finally, the author shared some out-of-bounds glitches and developer mode features like flight and debug overlays.

(farlow.dev)

Game game modding

Disney Data Breach: 25-Year-Old Pleads Guilty to Stealing 1TB of Confidential Data

2025-05-03

Disney Data Breach: 25-Year-Old Pleads Guilty to Stealing 1TB of Confidential Data

A 25-year-old California man, Ryan Mitchell Kramer, pleaded guilty to hacking a Disney employee's computer and stealing over 1 terabyte of confidential data. He disguised malware as an AI art generator, gaining access to the victim's computer and subsequently stealing data from numerous Disney Slack channels. This included employee personal information, internal communications, and recruitment data. Kramer then threatened the victim and publicly released the stolen information. Disney and the FBI are investigating the incident.

(variety.com)

Tech

Amazon's Kuiper vs. SpaceX's Starlink: A Tale of Two Satellite Architectures

2025-05-03

Amazon's Kuiper vs. SpaceX's Starlink: A Tale of Two Satellite Architectures

Amazon's Kuiper project recently launched its first batch of satellites, showcasing a key architectural difference from SpaceX's Starlink. Starlink utilizes a simplified, flat-panel design maximizing payload and minimizing cost, while Kuiper employs a more conventional approach offering greater design flexibility. Though individual Kuiper satellite mass is comparable to Starlink, the launch architecture and design philosophy highlight contrasting deployment strategies. China's Qianfan constellation also mirrors Starlink's flat-panel design, indicating the industry impact of SpaceX's approach.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

A Simple Blog Builder Script

2025-05-03

This script builds a simple static blog. It reads Markdown files from a specified directory, converts them to HTML using the markdown2 library, and generates static blog pages based on an HTML template. It also creates an index page listing all blog posts with titles and links for easy navigation. The entire process is automated for efficiency and simplicity.

(ostwilkens.se)

Development blog generation

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