A recent study from the Oxford Internet Institute and other organizations reveals that many AI benchmark tests used to showcase the performance of language models are flawed. Out of 445 benchmarks analyzed, only 16% employed rigorous scientific methods. Additionally, about half of these tests measure vague concepts like reasoning and harmlessness without clear definitions or metrics.

The study's lead author, Andrew Bean, emphasizes that without proper definitions and measurement methods, it is difficult to determine if AI models are genuinely improving. For instance, when OpenAI released GPT-5, it highlighted its benchmark scores, but the study found that many benchmarks relied on convenience sampling, which may not accurately reflect model performance.

Researchers have proposed eight recommendations to enhance benchmark quality, such as clearly defining what is being measured and using better statistical methods. Previous studies have also criticized current benchmarking practices for systemic flaws, including misaligned incentives and issues with result manipulation.

Overall, the findings suggest that AI companies may be overestimating their models' advancements based on questionable benchmarks, which could mislead both the market and consumers.

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Classical protocols like Paxos use a single leader to order commands, which can lead to issues like a single point of failure and increased latency for clients. To address these issues, Egalitarian Paxos was developed, allowing processes to work together without a leader, maintaining throughput even when some processes fail. It allows commands to be executed quickly under certain conditions, commonly met in practice.

However, Egalitarian Paxos is complex, poorly specified, and prone to bugs. This paper introduces EPaxos*, a simpler and more reliable version of Egalitarian Paxos. The key improvement is a straightforward failure-recovery method that has been proven correct. EPaxos* also broadens the range of failure thresholds it can handle, optimizing the number of processes involved.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has committed to spending an astonishing $1.4 trillion on data centers through partnerships with major tech companies like Oracle, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon. This spending far exceeds OpenAI's projected annual revenue of $20 billion for this year, raising concerns about the company's ability to fulfill these financial commitments.

If OpenAI struggles to pay its debts, Altman has indicated that the market, not the government, will address the consequences. Experts suggest that OpenAI may only use part of its contracted compute resources, potentially leading to renegotiated contracts with suppliers. The complex nature of these agreements allows for flexibility, such as extending timelines or terminating contracts due to delays.

Despite the enormous financial commitments, Altman has no personal stake in OpenAI, which raises questions about accountability if things go wrong. Analysts note that Altman can make large commitments without facing financial consequences. If OpenAI were to go bankrupt, the most likely scenario would involve a cash-rich company buying it at a reduced price.

OpenAI's financial future hinges on its ability to generate significant revenue growth, particularly from upcoming enterprise products. However, it remains uncertain how the company will meet its obligations, as it has only secured a $4 billion credit line so far. The situation is precarious, with potential risks and rewards for Altman and the companies involved in these massive deals.

Summary of "An Algebraic Language for the Manipulation of Symbolic Expressions" by John McCarthy

This document outlines a new algebraic language designed for manipulating symbolic expressions. While the language is not fully complete, it is believed to be more efficient and user-friendly than previous languages for similar tasks. Here are the key points:

1. Purpose and Applications:

   • The language is suitable for manipulating formal sentences, performing mathematical operations like algebraic simplification and differentiation, and writing compilers.
   • It can accommodate heuristic programs and is particularly good for handling expressions whose size and structure may vary.

2. Language Features:

   • Expressions are organized in lists, where each element is stored in a computer word, containing both data and a pointer to the next element.
   • It allows recursive definitions, enabling subroutines to call themselves while safely managing temporary results.
   • Conditional expressions and propositional quantities (true/false values) are integral, allowing for more dynamic programming without extensive branching.

3. Quantities and Statements:

   • The language supports various types of quantities, including arithmetic values, locational references, and functional parameters.
   • A variety of statement types are available for arithmetic operations, control transfers, subroutine calls, and declaring variables.

4. List Structure Representation:

   • The language uses list structures to represent formal expressions, closely mirroring mathematical sequence representations.
   • There are specific conventions for managing how lists and their components are treated in memory, including rules for data retention and deletion.

Overall, McCarthy's proposed language emphasizes flexibility, efficiency, and the ability to handle complex symbolic manipulations, making it a valuable tool for programmers and mathematicians.

Friendly Attributes Pattern Summary

The Friendly Attributes Pattern simplifies how subscription plans are created in the RailsBilling gem, which integrates Stripe for billing. Initially, the process was cumbersome, requiring a lot of repetitive code. The author transformed it into a more concise and user-friendly format:

Old Method: Creating plans for different intervals (monthly and yearly) involved lengthy code snippets.

New Method:

Billing::Plan.find_or_create_all_by_attrs!(
  1.month => {standard: 10, pro: 50, enterprise: 100},
  1.year => {standard: 100, pro: 500, enterprise: 1000}
)

This new approach is shorter, easier to read, and eliminates unnecessary attribute keys.

Key Benefits:

• The new format models a pricing page intuitively.
• It enhances usability for developers, making it easier to create, fetch, and manage billing plans.
• It allows flexibility in input formats and can handle different languages easily.

Implementation Details:

• The Friendly Attributes convert various input structures into standard attributes.
• It supports mixing traditional and new attributes for added flexibility.
• It maintains backward compatibility with existing methods.

Use Cases:

• Fetching plans in tests and using them in assertions became simpler.
• The implementation can be adapted for different domains, like managing access in an IoT application.

Conclusion: The Friendly Attributes Pattern enhances code readability and usability, making it easier for developers to work with attributes in a human-friendly way. It encourages writing elegant, joyful code.

No summary available.

This document provides an overview of the computational challenges involved in air travel planning, aimed at individuals with a basic computer science background. It introduces the complexities of finding flights, prices, and seat availability, highlighting why air travel planning is a difficult problem.

Key points include:

• Air Travel Queries: Travelers typically search for flights through agents or websites, which use search engines like those developed by ITA Software to find suitable options based on user queries.

• Flight Data: Airlines provide data about flights, prices, and availability, which is updated frequently. This data is often restricted and not publicly accessible.

• Flight Network Statistics: There are over 4,000 airports in North America, with a complex hub-and-spoke system where major airports handle a large percentage of flights. The number of potential flight combinations grows exponentially with travel length.

• Path Planning Complexity: Finding all possible flight paths for a trip is impractical due to the sheer number of options. Even for simple routes, the number of combinations can reach into the billions.

• Price Complexity: The main difficulty in air travel planning arises from the complexity of airline pricing. Fares come with specific rules, and each flight must be covered by a fare, making it challenging to find the cheapest route.

Overall, the document underscores the intricate nature of air travel planning, focusing on the challenges posed by the vast number of flight options and the complex pricing structures in the airline industry.

The article discusses the concept of automatically switching between light and dark modes on websites based on the user's local sunlight conditions. Here are the key points:

1. Automatic Theme Switching: Websites can automatically enable dark mode when it is dark outside, using the user's location to determine sunlight levels.

2. User Location: To find a user's location, developers can use the Geolocation API or a backend service like geolocation-db.com to get latitude and longitude.

3. Calculating Sun Times: Using a tool called SunCalc, developers can find local sunrise and sunset times based on the user's location and the current date.

4. Theme Timetable: The article explains how to set light or dark mode based on the time of day relative to sunrise and sunset.

5. Twilight Mode: A "twilight" theme can also be added for times around sunrise and sunset, enhancing the user experience.

6. Accessibility Considerations: It's important to respect user preferences, particularly for those with visual impairments. Developers can check for user color scheme preferences through CSS and JavaScript.

7. User Control: While automatic switching is convenient, providing users with a manual switch for themes is recommended for better accessibility.

Overall, the aim is to enhance user comfort by aligning website themes with natural lighting conditions.

Cekura is rapidly expanding and is starting its Customer Success team from scratch. If you're passionate about achieving results, helping customers succeed, and creating new strategies, this opportunity is for you. The company is experiencing significant growth, with recent achievements surpassing previous months. They have job openings in their offices in San Francisco and Bengaluru. Join them to help shape the future of their services!

Myna is a new monospace font designed to improve how symbols are displayed alongside letters and numbers, particularly for programming. It focuses on making symbols look good and clear, addressing common frustrations with existing fonts.

Key Features of Myna:

• Symbol-First Design: Highlights ASCII symbols that are common in programming.
• Near-Perfect Alignment: Ensures multi-character symbols align well.
• Balanced Weight: Symbols have the right visual weight compared to text.
• Minimalist Forms: Uses simple geometric shapes for punctuation.
• Clear Distinction: Avoids confusion between similar-looking characters like 1, l, and I.
• Language-Aware Design: Supports clean symbols for various programming languages like Perl, Haskell, and C.

Myna is currently a simple font without ligatures but may receive updates based on user interest. It's available for installation on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

The font is under the SIL Open Font License and has evolved from a previous font called Hera. Feedback and contributions from users are encouraged for improvements and new features.

Summary of "Immutable Software Deploys Using ZFS Jails on FreeBSD"

This article discusses how to utilize FreeBSD’s ZFS snapshots and jails for creating immutable software deployments, which allow for easy rollbacks and zero-downtime upgrades. The key steps involved in this process are:

1. Prerequisites: Use FreeBSD 14+ with ZFS enabled for quick cloning. The Caddy v2 server will manage TLS and health checks.

2. Architecture: Caddy acts as a reverse proxy, directing traffic to healthy jails, which are created from ZFS snapshots.

3. Jails Setup:

   • Create a loopback network for the jails.
   • Enable jails and configure settings in a jail configuration file.
   • Set up ZFS datasets for jails and templates.

4. Base Image Template:

   • Download and unpack a FreeBSD base image.
   • Update the template and create a ZFS snapshot for future jails.

5. Creating a New Jail:

   • Assign an IP address and clone the base image to create a new jail.
   • Configure the jail with necessary permissions and startup commands.

6. Service Creation:

   • Develop a simple Go application and set it up as a service within the jail.
   • Enable the service and ensure it's running correctly.

7. Caddy Configuration:

   • Set up Caddy to manage incoming traffic and health checks for the jails.
   • Configure Caddy to route requests based on the health status of the applications.

8. Deploying a New Jail:

   • Follow similar steps to create and start a new jail with updated configurations.
   • Update Caddy to point to the new jail for traffic routing.

9. Conclusion: The combination of ZFS, FreeBSD jails, and Caddy enables seamless upgrades, instant rollbacks, and a consistent deployment environment, promoting a robust infrastructure.

This guide encourages users to adapt the scripts for their specific needs, fostering confidence in immutable deployments.

No summary available.

The author expresses their love for OCaml, a programming language they believe should be more popular. They appreciate OCaml for its strong static guarantees, fast compile times, and good documentation. Their programming journey began with functional programming, particularly Haskell, which they found useful but complex and slow. They also explored Go, which they liked for its simplicity and performance but disliked for its verbosity and fragility.

From their experiences, the author identifies key features they value in programming languages: fast compile times, fewer abstractions, strong static guarantees, functional programming constructs, good performance, and good documentation. OCaml meets many of these criteria, offering a simpler runtime, fast compilation, and tools for browsing documentation and exploring code. While OCaml has some quirks and could improve in certain areas, the author believes it strikes a good balance between simplicity and expressiveness, making it a great language overall.

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Summary of the Initial Ideal Customer Profile (IICP) Worksheet

Michael Bernstein's post emphasizes the importance of starting with one buyer persona for effective marketing. To choose the right persona, consider three key factors:

1. Product Strength: Assess how well your product meets the needs of the potential audience.
2. Market Size: Determine if the persona represents a suitable market—neither too niche nor too broad.
3. Distribution Strategy: Plan how to authentically reach and communicate with this persona.

Begin by listing up to three distinct personas, and then complete a questionnaire for each, possibly involving your team for broader input. Score each persona using a confidence scale from -2 (zero confidence) to +2 (nearly certain) to help make a data-driven decision.

It's advisable to choose a persona you know well to ensure effective communication and messaging. Avoid targeting unfamiliar segments, as this may hinder your success.

Additional tips include aligning your persona with your marketing strategy and being honest about your knowledge gaps. After selecting a persona, focus on crafting your Value Story to connect with them effectively.

Leta, our search proxy, will be shut down on November 27, 2025. It provided privacy for users by pooling and caching search requests. However, due to changes in the search industry, it is becoming less effective. Users can achieve similar privacy using a VPN and a privacy-focused browser. We have decided to discontinue Leta and will focus on improving VPNs and browser privacy through our own efforts and partnerships.

The text consists of translations of songs related to nostalgia and love, specifically focusing on a character named Nabra. Key points include:

1. Themes of Memory and Love: The songs repeatedly ask if Nabra is remembered and express feelings of love and longing.

2. Nostalgic Childhood: There are reflections on childhood memories, such as playing under date palms and gathering dates, along with memories of the Nile River.

3. Emotional Expressions: The lyrics convey emotions of sadness, beauty, and the joy of past experiences, emphasizing the connection to the past.

4. Cultural Significance: The songs highlight aspects of Nubian culture, including references to local landscapes and traditions.

Overall, the text captures a deep sense of remembrance and emotional connection to a loved one and childhood experiences.

Cerebras has upgraded to GLM 4.6, an advanced model for code generation that operates at an impressive speed of over 1,000 tokens per second. It is recognized as one of the best coding models available, excelling in tool calling and web development tasks.

Users can integrate GLM 4.6 with their preferred AI code editors, such as Cline and RooCode, using an API key for seamless coding without switching tools.

Cerebras offers three access plans:

1. Free: Limited access for trying out the service, suitable for small demos.
2. Pro ($50): Enhanced access with fast completions, allowing up to 24 million tokens per day, ideal for indie developers and simple projects.
3. Max ($200): Full access for extensive coding needs, supporting up to 120 million tokens daily, perfect for professional development and complex workflows.

Summary:

Joe Masilotti hosts monthly Zoom sessions called Hotwire Native Office Hours for developers using Ruby on Rails and Hotwire Native. These sessions cover a wide range of topics, from beginner questions to advanced discussions. Recently, a participant suggested using the built-in Ruby class Gem::Version for version comparison instead of Joe's custom AppVersion class. Joe found this class more effective and plans to use it in his apps.

He emphasizes the importance of community learning, stating that he often discovers valuable insights at events and workshops. To foster community in Portland, OR, he has started organizing monthly Coffee and Code sessions where local developers can connect and collaborate. Joe encourages others to build community ties, even in small ways.

For those interested in joining future office hours, he invites them to subscribe to his newsletter.

Big Tech platforms, like YouTube and Facebook, sometimes remove content related to Linux and homelabs without clear explanations. Recently, a tech YouTuber named CyberCPU Tech had their entire channel threatened after two videos were taken down by YouTube. The first video showed how to install Windows 11 with a local account, and the second demonstrated bypassing hardware requirements for unsupported systems. YouTube claimed these videos promoted dangerous activities, but Rich, the YouTuber, suspected that automated moderation or even Microsoft might be involved.

After Rich appealed the takedowns, YouTube eventually restored the videos, stating that the initial removals were not due to automation. This raised questions about how human reviewers could label harmless tutorials as life-threatening. The incident illustrates the struggles of automated moderation systems, which often misidentify safe content as harmful while letting actual spam slip through. It highlights the need for more human oversight in content moderation.

The article discusses how Apple, under Tim Cook's leadership, is straying from the principles established by Steve Jobs. Jobs prioritized a strong customer experience and was known for rejecting ideas that would compromise it, such as incorporating ads into Apple products. Recently, reports indicate that Apple plans to introduce ads in Apple Maps, which many see as a negative shift away from Jobs' vision. This change is viewed as a move for profit, raising concerns among loyal users who feel Apple is sacrificing its integrity for financial gain. The author reflects on a past situation where Jobs rejected the idea of ad-supported software to maintain the purity of the user experience, highlighting that Cook's Apple is now more willing to cross that "red line."

This project involves modifications to the ROM of Macintosh Quadra 650/800 and Centris 650 computers to make them function with a 68060 processor installed. Currently, it can boot an unmodified System 7.1, but many features do not work, and significant work is needed to make it fully functional. This project is experimental and not ready for regular use, so only attempt it if you understand the risks.

To build it, use the Retro68 or m68K GCC toolchain, create the image, and flash it onto a compatible ROM SIMM.

The creator does not claim ownership of the materials and encourages others to use them while crediting original sources.

No summary available.

Summary:

The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to reduce the power of tech giants like Apple and increase choices for developers and users. However, Apple's "notarisation" process for mobile apps is seen as a way to maintain control over app distribution, which contradicts the goals of the DMA.

A complaint has been filed against Apple, highlighting several illegal practices under the DMA, including:

1. Blocking Sideloading: Apple doesn't allow users to install third-party software freely.
2. Preventing Third-Party App Stores: Apple sets high financial barriers that make it difficult for alternative app stores to operate on iOS.
3. Interoperability Issues: Apple restricts access to its features, hindering the ability of different apps to work together.

The notarisation process requires all apps to be reviewed by Apple, giving the company control over what software is available to users, even if it’s distributed outside its App Store. This process is costly and burdensome for smaller developers and non-profit projects, limiting competition and software freedom.

The complaint calls for the European Commission to enforce compliance with the DMA and support decentralized software distribution models, like those used by F-Droid, which promote transparency and user choice. The goal is to ensure users have the freedom to install, share, and verify software without excessive control from Apple.

Regulators must recognize Apple's notarisation as a form of gatekeeping that undermines the principles of the DMA and work towards creating an open and fair digital market.

The article discusses the author's experiences with angel investors while building their startup, Akita. Here are the key points:

1. Importance of Angel Investors: The author highlights how angel investors can provide essential support, funding, and valuable connections for startup founders.

2. Personal Experience: The author had notable angel investors, including mentor Jason Hong and NBA player Kevin Durant. Their investments and guidance were crucial during the early stages of Akita.

3. Types of Angels:

   • Strategic Angels: These investors offer expertise and connections that complement the founder's network and can be actively involved in the business.
   • Vanity Angels: Celebrity investors who may not be as actively engaged in helping the startup.
   • Friends and Family: The author chose not to involve friends and family as investors to avoid mixing personal relationships with business.

4. Leveraging Angel Support: Founders should regularly communicate with their angel investors, providing updates and specific requests for help, which can lead to valuable support.

5. Contrasting Angels and VCs: Angel investors can help in ways that venture capitalists often cannot, as they are not competing for a large share of the next funding round and are more willing to introduce founders to other investors.

6. Advice for Founders: The author advises founders to choose angel investors carefully and to build strong relationships with them for maximum benefit.

In conclusion, the article emphasizes that having the right angel investors can significantly enhance a founder's chances of success in the startup world.

No summary available.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is hosting a global online hackathon from November 21 to 23, 2025, to celebrate its 40th anniversary. This event aims to improve important libre software projects and bring the free software community together.

Key details:

• When: November 21-23, 2025
• Where: Online
• Contact: Greg Farough

Participants can work individually or in teams of up to four on various projects, including tools for tracking software discussions, a free software directory, and educational platforms.

No programming skills are necessary to join, as there are tasks for all levels of experience. However, skills in JavaScript, Python, or Emacs Lisp can be helpful for certain projects.

Registration is free, but donations to support FSF and GNU are encouraged. Participants can win prizes for impactful contributions and for being new contributors. A certificate will be provided for work done during the hackathon.

Volunteers are needed to help moderate the event, and companies can sponsor it to gain visibility.

Spread the word about the hackathon using #HackFSF40. More information about the celebration can be found on the FSF website.

Summary of Local First HTMX

Overview:
The article discusses the concept of "Local First" design for web apps, which prioritizes keeping the user interface (UI) and data close together to improve performance. It highlights the issues with current web experiences, such as slow loading times and annoying ads, and suggests that local first apps can feel faster because they reduce reliance on network interactions.

Local First Apps:
Local first design allows apps to operate quickly by syncing data with a remote server without needing constant network communication. The author recommends trying out linear.app to see how a local first app feels. They compare it to slower apps like Jira and GitHub, emphasizing the performance benefits of local first architecture.

Meme Driven Development (MDD):
The author introduces a light-hearted approach called Meme Driven Development, focusing on the HTMX framework, which simplifies frontend development. They propose combining HTMX with local first principles to create a unique todo app, though they acknowledge that HTMX may not be the best option for all scenarios.

HTMX and Local First:
HTMX allows for server-side rendering of HTML but can create sluggish experiences if not implemented well. The article suggests a way to compile server-side code to WebAssembly (WASM) to run it in the browser, making it snappier without relying heavily on JavaScript.

Architecture Overview:
The app involves using a service worker to intercept requests and return HTML directly, allowing for local data storage and background syncing with a server. Future posts will detail the implementation and challenges faced.

Overall, the article promotes a forward-thinking approach to web app design that prioritizes speed and user experience through local-first principles.

Ribir - A GUI Framework for Rust

Ribir is a framework that allows you to create beautiful, native applications for multiple platforms using Rust, all from a single codebase.

Key Features:

• Declarative UI Development: Ribir uses Rust macros to simplify UI design, enabling you to focus on your data structures. Changes in data automatically update the UI.
• Widgets and Composition: It offers a variety of widget types and allows you to create custom widgets.
• Non-Intrusive State Management: It listens for data changes and updates the UI accordingly without interfering with the logic.
• Layout and Event Systems: Inspired by Flutter, it features a flexible layout system and supports event handling.
• Theming and Rendering: You can use different themes and modify them at runtime. It includes GPU rendering capabilities.
• Basic Widgets Library: Ribir provides over 20 basic widgets, though they are still in development.

Supported Platforms:

• Fully Supported: Linux, Windows, macOS, Web
• Partially Supported: iOS and Android (not fully tested yet)

Getting Involved:

• You can contribute by improving documentation, reporting bugs, or suggesting features. Feedback and encouragement are welcome!

License:

Ribir is licensed under MIT.

For more information, visit the Ribir website or check out their documentation and community discussions.

Rona Wang shares her journey of becoming a compiler engineer after months of job hunting. She started her new role in the San Francisco Bay Area and explains that a compiler translates code from one programming language to another. Rona graduated from MIT with degrees in math and computer science and worked in a compilers lab.

She discusses the limited job opportunities in compiler engineering, noting that there are far fewer positions compared to general software engineering. Startups are more likely to hire new grads, while larger tech and automotive companies also have compiler roles. Referrals are crucial for getting noticed by employers, and Rona emphasizes the importance of networking.

Rona details her interview experiences, which included technical questions about data structures, programming languages, and compiler fundamentals. She advises others on preparation strategies, highlighting helpful MIT classes and resources.

Despite the competitive job market, Rona encourages aspiring engineers to be resourceful and get involved in open-source projects and communities. After many challenges, she finally secured her role, where she focuses on optimizing programming languages. She also mentions her debut novel, set to be released soon, which is a young adult romance centered around a hackathon.

The article discusses whether using images instead of text can save on LLM (Large Language Model) tokens when using the OpenAI API, and concludes that it can, but not significantly enough to justify the effort.

Key Points:

1. Token Consumption: Prompts with images consume nearly the same number of tokens as text prompts, even if images are much larger in size.

2. Experiment Setup: The author tested this by asking ChatGPT to summarize hygiene tips from a blog post using both text and images.

3. Image Conversion: The author converted the text into images with the correct dimensions (768x768) to ensure the API could read them properly.

4. Results: Using images showed over a 40% reduction in prompt tokens with the gpt-5 model. However, using images often resulted in higher completion tokens, which can negate any savings, especially for models other than gpt-5-chat.

5. Conclusion: While there can be some savings by using images, the overall effort and potential increase in completion token costs may make it not worthwhile.

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The author shares their experience of leaving a job after seven years and highlights key professional habits that made the transition smoother. They are starting a new role as a senior software engineer at a different company.

Key points include:

1. Open Communication: The author communicated their frustrations with their supervisor and HR rather than complaining to colleagues. This honest dialogue helped build relationships and avoid drama at departure.

2. Documentation: They emphasized the importance of documenting work processes regularly, not just before leaving. Good documentation aids in clarity, reduces stress, and helps new team members onboard faster.

3. Strategic Energy Management: The author learned to prioritize responsibilities that contribute to their professional growth instead of getting bogged down by less meaningful tasks.

4. Being Ready to Leave: Practicing these habits improved their work situation, showing that being prepared to leave can lead to a more fulfilling experience at work, rather than feeling trapped.

5. Leaving Gracefully: When leaving, it’s vital to follow proper protocols, remain helpful until the last day, and express gratitude for the experiences gained.

6. Applying Lessons to New Roles: The author plans to carry these habits into their new job, emphasizing that these practices are beneficial regardless of how long one stays at a company.

The overall lesson is that by establishing good work habits now, whether you plan to stay or leave, you will enhance your professional life and make any future transitions smoother.

Jean-Baptiste Kempf has been awarded the European SFS Award 2025 by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and the Linux User Group Bolzano-Bozen (LUGBZ) for his significant contributions to the VLC media player project and the Free Software movement. VLC, which started as a student initiative in 1996, has grown into a widely used media player with billions of users globally.

Kempf joined the project as a student and took over when it was at risk of fading away. With his leadership and the support of other developers, VLC became a powerful and essential media player. He has also founded the VideoLAN non-profit and VideoLabs, promoting software freedom and community engagement.

The award recognizes individuals who have made a lasting impact on Free Software in Europe. Previous winners include Frank Karlitschek and Bram Moolenaar. Kempf expressed gratitude for the recognition and emphasized the importance of the community behind VLC, which has worked hard to ensure multimedia content remains accessible without restrictions.

The VLC media player is known for its versatility, being able to play almost any media format, and is celebrated for its grassroots origins and commitment to user freedom.

Summary: Transducer: Composition, Abstraction, Performance

In functional programming, higher-order functions like map, fold, and filter are crucial for manipulating collections. This article focuses on "transducers" in Clojure, which enhance performance and reusability by abstracting these operations beyond traditional collections.

Key Concepts:

1. Everything is a Fold: The article explains how traditional functions like map and filter can be defined using the reduce function. This allows for more flexible data processing.

2. From Collections to Processes: By abstracting the operations to work with a generic "step" function instead of specific collections, mapping and filtering can process various data types, not just lists.

3. Process Modifiers: The author introduces a method for composing multiple processing steps into one. This is done through a new function called reduce-with, which applies a series of transformations efficiently without creating intermediate lists.

4. Performance Benefits: The transducer approach significantly speeds up data processing by avoiding the overhead of generating new lists for each operation. This is demonstrated through examples comparing traditional methods with transducer-based methods, showcasing faster execution times.

5. Versatility Across Data Structures: The transducer functions can also be applied to other data structures, such as channels in asynchronous programming, demonstrating their flexibility.

Conclusion: Transducers provide a powerful tool for transforming data through function composition, improving both the performance and versatility of data processing in Clojure.

The Danish government plans to ban social media access for children under 15 years old. This decision, led by the Ministry of Digitalization, aims to protect children from harmful content online. Parents may allow their children to use social media starting at age 13 with proper assessment.

This move is significant as it follows Australia's recent law setting the minimum age for social media use at 16. Denmark's initiative reflects concerns about children's well-being in a digital environment filled with risks and commercial pressures. The government emphasizes that children should not navigate this digital world alone, citing issues like disrupted sleep and increased pressure from online relationships.

The deployment is currently on hold.

No summary available.

No summary available.

Larry the Cat is a well-known resident of 10 Downing Street, the UK Prime Minister's official residence. He has lived there since 2011, making him the longest-serving cat in this role as the chief mouser. Adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Larry was brought in to help with a rodent problem.

Larry has become a beloved figure in British politics, having met numerous world leaders and often appearing in the media. His calm demeanor and consistent presence bring a sense of stability, which many find comforting amidst political changes. He enjoys greeting guests and inspecting the premises, though he sometimes annoys staff by using the garden as a litter box.

Despite some criticism for being lazy and overweight, Larry is not funded by public money; his care is covered by Downing Street staff. He enjoys a dedicated fan base, including social media followers and even receives fan mail and treats from around the world. Larry’s popularity is a testament to his charm and the joy he brings to both the public and the political scene.

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OpenAI has released its new GPT OSS 120B model on the Cerebras platform, which is designed for fast reasoning tasks. This model performs similarly to the popular o4-mini but operates much faster, processing up to 3,000 tokens per second. Tasks that usually take a minute on GPUs can be completed in just one second using Cerebras.

The GPT OSS 120B is a 120 billion parameter model that excels in tasks like coding, math, and health queries, offering high accuracy and efficiency. It is available for public use, allowing for transparency and customization, and can be run in the cloud or on-premises.

Cerebras reports that their system is significantly faster than leading GPU clouds, providing a strong combination of speed and low latency. The model's performance is also cost-effective, delivering a high speed-to-price ratio compared to other options.

Overall, GPT OSS 120B is a powerful tool for reasoning applications, available now on the Cerebras Cloud and through partners like HuggingFace and OpenRouter.

Summary of Understanding Traffic

The author prefers biking over driving in Boston due to heavy traffic and parking challenges. Many drivers complain about traffic, but understanding its causes is essential for finding effective solutions.

Key points include:

1. Throughput vs. Speed: Road speed is how fast a car can travel without obstacles, while throughput refers to how many cars can pass a point on the road. Traffic congestion occurs when the number of cars exceeds road capacity, causing delays.

2. Car Efficiency: Cars take up a lot of space and have limited throughput, with a single lane able to handle a maximum of about 1800 cars per hour. Other forms of transport, like bicycles and public transit, can move people more efficiently.

3. Bottlenecks: Intersections often create significant traffic delays, and simply widening roads doesn’t solve these issues. Improvements must focus on the most constricted points.

4. Driver Behavior: Traffic levels are influenced by "marginal drivers" who choose to drive despite congestion, and "latent demand" from those who would drive if traffic were better. Changes in traffic conditions can attract more drivers.

5. Through Traffic: Many vehicles are just passing through a town. If local traffic decreases, through traffic may actually increase as drivers seek better routes.

6. Flow Competition: Different routes can affect each other's traffic flow, leading to surprising congestion patterns, known as Braess' Paradox.

7. Alternatives to Driving: To reduce traffic, it’s important to provide attractive transportation alternatives, such as:

   • Better public transit with frequent, well-connected service.
   • Dedicated lanes for buses to avoid car traffic delays.
   • Safe and accessible bike routes and parking.
   • Options for electric bikes and scooters.

In conclusion, addressing traffic issues requires understanding its complexities and promoting alternatives to driving.

The Windows Bridge for iOS (WinObjC) is a Microsoft open-source project that allows developers to use Objective-C to create Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps in Visual Studio. This means you can reuse your existing iOS code and APIs alongside Windows features like Cortana and notifications.

Key Points:

• Requirements:

  • Windows 10 (build 10586 or higher)
  • Visual Studio 2017 with specific tools and SDKs installed.

• Getting Started:

  • To convert an Xcode project to Visual Studio, use the vsimporter tool in PowerShell to generate a Visual Studio solution.
  • Build and run sample apps like WOCCatalog to learn how to use the bridge.

• Resources:

  • Various guides and documentation are available, including a wiki, development roadmap, and sample apps repository.

• Contributing:

  • Users can contribute by reporting bugs, reviewing changes, or submitting code fixes.

Installation Notes:

• Avoid downloading the project as a ZIP file from GitHub to prevent build issues.

For more detailed guidance and troubleshooting, refer to the project’s documentation and FAQ.

The Farmers' Almanac is announcing its final publication after more than 200 years. The last edition will be the 2026 Farmers' Almanac. This decision is met with sadness, as many readers have cherished the Almanac for its weather forecasts and helpful tips over the years. The staff expresses gratitude to loyal readers and contributors, encouraging them to keep the spirit of the Almanac alive by sharing memories and traditions. While the Almanac will no longer be available, readers can still access it until December 2025.

In 1973, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) published a game called WORD, which is an early version of Wordle. Unlike Wordle, WORD uses a text interface and only recognizes 12 words, but it informs players about which letters are in the mystery word and which are in the correct position. Charles Reid created this game, which became popular through books like "101 Computer Games."

The concept of guessing games, like WORD, is simple: players guess hidden information, receiving clues after each guess. One of the earliest guessing games, GUESS, inspired many others and was initially written in a programming language called FOCAL. Other notable guessing games include HI-LO, NUMBER, STARS, TRAP, BAGELS, and HURKLE, each with unique twists on the guessing mechanics.

There were also games where the computer tries to guess what the player is thinking, such as ANIMAL and NICOMA. Many of these classic BASIC games can now be played online, offering a nostalgic look at early computer gaming.

The article discusses how changing the case of text affects the size of QR codes. Using Python's qrcode library, two QR codes are created from the same sentence—one in mixed case and one in upper case.

The mixed case QR code is treated as binary data, while the upper case one is seen as alphanumeric data, which can be encoded more efficiently. Alphanumeric data uses a specific set of 45 characters, allowing for more data to be stored in fewer bits. This results in the upper case QR code being smaller, requiring about 30% fewer pixels.

The article also mentions that in the context of Bitcoin addresses, Bech32 encoding (which uses a single case alphabet) requires fewer QR code pixels than Base58 encoding (which allows both cases) for the same data.

In summary, using upper case text for QR codes makes them smaller and more efficient than using mixed case text.

The author recently left their startup job to take a break and decided to create a bytebeat player as a fun project using the Zig programming language. They found Zig enjoyable to work with, as it is similar to C but with more user-friendly features.

Bytebeat is a type of music generated from short programs that create audio based on a time variable. The author explains that bytebeat works by evaluating simple expressions to produce sound, and they provide a demo for others to try.

While developing the project, the author learned about memory management in Zig and encountered challenges with performance due to poor memory allocation. They implemented an Arena Allocator to improve efficiency and tackled various technical aspects, such as parsing expressions and audio playback.

Despite facing difficulties with the visual design, the author appreciated the learning experience and prefers building with Zig over JavaScript. They conclude that the project was rewarding and encourage others to explore bytebeat music.

Summary: Why I Love My Boox Palma E-Reader

The author enjoys reading and has rediscovered this hobby throughout life. They initially loved physical books but have come to prefer e-readers, particularly for their advantages such as backlighting for night reading, consistent font sizes, good contrast in sunlight, and the ability to carry numerous books easily.

After using a Kindle Paperwhite for almost six years, the author faced some issues, including its size, restrictive Amazon policies, difficulty importing non-Amazon books, and increasing ads. Despite these problems, they still appreciated the device.

In search of a more portable e-reader, the author purchased the Boox Palma 1, which is compact like a phone and lightweight. They love its features, including full Android functionality, high-quality adjustable screen, personalized wallpapers, and page-turn buttons. The lack of internet access is seen as a positive, as it minimizes distractions.

The author highlights the comfort of the device and its usefulness for reading in various situations. They recommend the Boox Palma for those who value portability and want an alternative to Kindle, though they also mention wishing for better software updates.

Overall, the Boox Palma enhances their reading experience, allowing them to enjoy books like "A Clash of Kings" more easily.

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Meta is projected to earn 10% of its revenue in 2024, about $16 billion, from scam ads and sales of banned goods, according to internal documents reported by Reuters. The company recognizes the risk of significant fines for failing to address fraud on its platforms and has focused its enforcement efforts in areas where penalties are highest. However, cuts to its moderation team have resulted in many user-reported violations being ignored. A Meta spokesperson stated that the documents present a limited view of their enforcement efforts, emphasizing that the company actively works against fraud because it is unwanted by users and advertisers alike.

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Summary: Using the Web Monetization API

Thomas Steiner discusses the Web Monetization API, which allows publishers to earn revenue while providing audiences ways to support their favorite content. This model enables one-time contributions or ongoing payments as users browse, with money flowing seamlessly.

To get started, users should install a browser extension that supports this API and connect a wallet (like GateHub, which works with Euros and US Dollars). It's important to note that only fiat currency transactions are supported; cryptocurrencies won't work.

As a user, when you visit a monetized page, you'll see a green checkmark from the extension. You can set how much to pay per hour or send one-time payments. Payments are processed every minute, allowing real-time contributions.

For publishers, adding a payment link to their pages enables them to receive funds. There's also a JavaScript API that lets publishers customize their content based on user payments, such as showing a thank-you message or unlocking content.

Steiner believes this technology could make the web financially sustainable for all publishers. He encourages others to try it out and share their experiences.

The article by Thomas Ptacek discusses the importance of understanding LLM (Large Language Model) agents in computing. Key points include:

1. Understanding Through Experience: While some concepts in computing are easily understood, others, like LLM agents, require hands-on experience to truly grasp.

2. Diverse Opinions on LLMs: There are mixed feelings about LLMs, but engaging with them is essential for forming informed opinions, whether positive or negative.

3. Simplicity of Building Agents: Creating an LLM agent is surprisingly easy and educational. The author provides code examples to demonstrate how to set up a simple agent using the OpenAI API.

4. Context Management: The article emphasizes the importance of managing context in conversations with LLMs. Each input and output consumes tokens, and maintaining an effective context is crucial for the agent's performance.

5. Real-World Applications: The examples provided show how LLM agents can be programmed to perform tasks like checking connectivity or running diagnostic commands, highlighting their practical uses.

6. Open Questions and Opportunities: The author discusses the ongoing challenges and engineering problems within LLM agent design, suggesting that many solutions can be developed quickly and easily.

7. Encouragement to Experiment: Ptacek encourages readers to try building their own agents to better understand the technology, suggesting that hands-on experience is the best way to learn.

The overall message is that engaging with LLM technology, despite skepticism, can yield valuable insights and understanding.

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Summary of Creating a Voxel Engine

This guide helps you build a voxel engine from scratch, starting with a single cube and expanding to a full 3D world. Here are the key steps:

1. Preparation:

   • Choose your programming language and rendering API. The code examples will be in pseudocode.

2. Basic Cube Rendering:

   • Create a function to draw a cube at specified coordinates. Use loops to place multiple cubes to form a flat surface.

3. World Structure:

   • Store voxel positions in a data structure called World using a HashSet. This allows for dynamic voxel manipulation.

4. Performance Optimization:

   • Instead of drawing each cube individually every frame, create a mesh for the entire world and render that.
   • Implement a system to invalidate and rebuild the mesh when voxels are modified.

5. Chunking:

   • Divide the world into smaller sections called chunks. This way, only the affected chunk is rebuilt when changes occur, improving performance.

6. World Generation:

   • Populate the world with a flat terrain and implement a render distance to generate chunks dynamically around the player.

7. Voxel Types:

   • Introduce different voxel types (e.g., dirt, stone) by using an enumeration. Modify the voxel storage from a HashSet to a HashMap to keep track of voxel types.

8. Raycasting:

   • Implement raycasting to allow players to interact with the world by placing or breaking blocks based on what they are looking at.

9. Collision Detection:

   • Use Axis-Aligned Bounding Box (AABB) collision detection to prevent the player from moving through solid voxels.

10. Improvement Suggestions:

    • Consider adding features like gravity, procedural terrain generation, frustum culling, texturing, and lighting to enhance the engine.

By following these steps, you will create a functional voxel engine capable of rendering a 3D world, allowing for interactions and optimizations for better performance.

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The article discusses the song "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, highlighting its significance in the grunge music scene of the 1990s. Released in 1994, the song became a defining anthem, showcasing the band's unique sound that combined melancholy with catchy melodies. Chris Cornell, the lead vocalist, used the song as a way to process his emotions, drawing inspiration from a television broadcast that included the phrase "black hole sun." He described the songwriting process as spontaneous, with most of the song coming together in about 15 minutes.

The lyrics reflect themes of despair and the desire for relief, making it relatable to listeners. Kim Thayil, the band's guitarist, noted that the song struck a balance between being accessible and true to Soundgarden's style. Overall, "Black Hole Sun" captures the essence of grunge, blending dark, honest themes with a sound that appeals to a wide audience.

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Due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has imposed indefinite restrictions on commercial rocket launches. Starting November 10, launches can only occur at night, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. EST, to reduce air traffic risks.

These restrictions will mainly impact SpaceX, which frequently launches satellites for its Starlink internet service. NASA's upcoming ESCAPADE mission to Mars is scheduled for November 9, just before the new rules take effect, and it may face challenges if it cannot launch on that date.

The government shutdown has led to about 15,000 NASA employees being furloughed, significantly affecting the space agency's operations. Meanwhile, essential employees, like those at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), continue to work without pay. The FAA's decision aims to manage air traffic safety amid staffing shortages caused by the shutdown.

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Summary: Why We Chose OCaml for Stategraph

Stategraph is a tool that manages Terraform states, where ensuring correctness is crucial. We selected OCaml for several reasons:

1. Type Safety: OCaml's strong type system catches errors during compilation, making it safer than other languages. This prevents issues like accessing non-existent fields and mismatched data types.

2. Concurrency Management: OCaml's immutability by default helps avoid race conditions, ensuring that concurrent operations do not corrupt each other's data. This, combined with PostgreSQL's row-level locking, maintains state integrity.

3. Typed SQL and JSON Serialization: OCaml allows for type-safe SQL queries, which helps manage database schema changes without runtime errors. Additionally, PPX generates JSON serialization code automatically, reducing the likelihood of data loss during transformations.

4. Error Handling Discipline: We use explicit error handling to ensure all potential issues are accounted for. This means that when new errors are introduced, the compiler helps us find where they need to be handled in the code.

5. Robustness in Production: OCaml is used in high-stakes environments, like finance, where correctness is critical. This makes it an ideal choice for managing Terraform state, as it minimizes the risk of state corruption.

6. Developer Experience: Although OCaml developers are rare, those with experience in type systems and distributed systems can learn it quickly. Its stable codebase allows engineers to focus on building features rather than fixing bugs.

In conclusion, OCaml's type system and features enable us to build a reliable infrastructure management tool where state corruption is not just unlikely, but impossible.

A recent report reveals that 2 billion email addresses have been exposed in data breaches. The website "Have I Been Pwned" has collected and organized this information, allowing users to check if their email addresses are among those compromised.

The Skeena Indigenous font family is developed to support Indigenous languages of North America, prioritizing their orthographic and typographic norms over European languages. The design process began with earlier projects by Tiro Typeworks for Microsoft, leading to a versatile sans serif typeface suitable for both reading and display purposes.

Key points include:

• Indigenous-First Approach: The project focuses on the specific needs of Indigenous languages, facilitating better representation and engagement with these communities.

• Community Engagement: Discussions with language keepers helped identify the requirements for fonts, keyboard layouts, and other tools necessary for language revitalization.

• Unified Font Design: Skeena Indigenous aims to support multiple languages through a single character set, allowing for efficient use across various Indigenous alphabets.

• Diversity in Alphabets: Indigenous languages often have unique phonetic representations and varying orthographies, which the font accommodates, including specialized characters and diacritics.

• Unicode Compatibility: The fonts utilize Unicode encoding, addressing challenges related to text interchange and ensuring consistent representation across different platforms.

• Character Variants: The design includes alternative forms for certain characters to reflect local preferences and variations in Indigenous languages.

• Kerning and Spacing: Special attention is given to kerning to ensure proper spacing between glyphs, which is crucial for readability in Indigenous language texts.

• Future Development: The project is open for others to create derivative fonts tailored to specific languages or needs, promoting further support for Indigenous language typography.

Overall, the Skeena Indigenous font family serves as a resource for both typographic clarity and cultural engagement, helping to revitalize and support Indigenous languages through modern technology.

This text discusses how memorization is represented in transformer models, specifically language models (LMs) and vision transformers (ViTs). It reveals that memorization can be identified in the model's weights through a method based on the curvature of the loss landscape. Memorized data shows sharper curvature compared to non-memorized data, allowing researchers to rank weight components by curvature to distinguish between them without needing explicit labels.

The authors propose a weight editing technique that effectively reduces the model's reliance on memorized data more efficiently than a previous method called BalancedSubnet, while also keeping lower perplexity (a measure of uncertainty in language models). They thoroughly analyze how this editing affects various tasks in LMs, discovering that tasks like fact retrieval and arithmetic suffer in performance, while general logical reasoning remains unaffected. This suggests that certain tasks depend on specific weight structures rather than general mechanisms, and these structures are tied to the memorized data that was edited out.

Overall, the study improves the understanding of how memorization works in neural networks and offers practical methods to reduce it. It also highlights that some tasks rely on specialized weight directions that are affected by editing.

Recent data from the CDC reveals that a significant majority of mumps cases in the U.S. are occurring among vaccinated individuals, with up to 94% of those infected being vaccinated. Mumps, a highly contagious virus, saw a dramatic decline in cases after the vaccine was introduced in 1967, but reports of cases began to rise again in 2006, especially among vaccinated people.

Between 2007 and 2019, one-third of mumps cases were in children and adolescents. Experts are unsure why vaccinated individuals are contracting mumps, attributing it to factors like waning immunity and insufficient exposure to the virus. The vaccine, while effective (88% effectiveness), may not provide lifelong immunity.

Localized outbreaks have driven recent case numbers, with a peak in 2016-2017 when nearly 9,000 cases were reported. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many children to miss vaccinations, potentially leading to future outbreaks.

Epidemiologists suggest that while the current two-dose MMR vaccine is effective, a third dose may be beneficial during outbreaks. Changes to vaccination schedules could help control future mumps cases. Despite the rising cases, experts emphasize that the vaccine still provides strong protection against severe illness.

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Summary of Google Threat Intelligence Group Report on AI Threats (November 6, 2025)

The Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has identified a significant shift in how malicious actors use artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Instead of just enhancing productivity, they are deploying AI-enabled malware that can adapt its behavior in real-time during attacks. This report updates previous findings from January 2025 and highlights the integration of AI in various stages of cyber attacks by both state-sponsored and criminal actors.

Key Findings:

1. Dynamic AI Malware: New malware types, such as PROMPTFLUX and PROMPTSTEAL, utilize Large Language Models (LLMs) to create malicious code on the fly, making them harder to detect.

2. Social Engineering Tactics: Threat actors are using deceptive prompts to bypass AI safety measures. For instance, they pose as students in competitions to gain access to restricted information.

3. Mature Cyber Crime Marketplace: The underground market for AI tools has expanded, offering multifunctional tools that assist in phishing, malware development, and vulnerability research, making it easier for less skilled actors to launch attacks.

4. State-Sponsored Activities: Countries like North Korea, Iran, and China use AI to improve their cyber operations, including reconnaissance, phishing, and data theft.

5. Novel AI Capabilities: Some malware can now change its own code to avoid detection, indicating a trend toward more autonomous and sophisticated cyber threats.

Mitigation Efforts: Google is taking proactive measures to combat these threats, including disabling harmful accounts and continuously enhancing the AI models to prevent misuse. Their commitment to responsible AI development is reflected in their robust security measures and the introduction of frameworks like the Secure AI Framework (SAIF) to guide safe AI practices.

Overall, the report emphasizes the evolving landscape of cyber threats, driven by AI advancements, and highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen defenses against these emerging risks.

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When choosing between a-list and hashtable in Scheme, here are the key points to consider:

• A-list (Association List): Simple and easy to use, works well for small datasets. It operates like a linked list but can become slow as the data size increases due to linear search times.

• Hashtable: More efficient for larger datasets, providing faster lookups, insertions, and deletions with average constant time complexity.

• Performance Guidelines:

  • Use a-list if you have fewer than 50 elements for simplicity.
  • For 50 to 2000 elements, a-list is still acceptable, but consider switching to hashtable if performance becomes a concern.
  • If you have more than 2000 elements, switch to hashtable for better performance.

The author also created a benchmark to illustrate these points, available on GitHub.

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On October 31, 2025, a team at the Materials Characterization Facility is studying historical materials, specifically bricks from the Poenari Citadel, once ruled by Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula. This fortress, located in the Carpathian Mountains, has a rich history tied to Vlad, a controversial figure known for his brutal rule and infamous methods.

The recent project involves analyzing a medieval brick from the citadel using advanced techniques to understand its composition and construction methods. The analysis revealed that the bricks were made from local materials, primarily clay and sand, consistent with the geology of the area. Key elements found in the brick include silicon, aluminum, and iron, which indicate that they were crafted using traditional methods suitable for the time.

The findings show that the strength of Poenari's walls comes from the practical knowledge of its builders and the local materials used, rather than any mythical qualities. This research not only sheds light on historical construction techniques but also offers insights for modern sustainable building practices.

Immigration agents are using advanced technology to identify and monitor individuals, particularly focusing on noncitizens. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced tools like mobile facial recognition apps and iris scanners, allowing agents to quickly determine a person's immigration status in the field. They are also expanding their social media surveillance capabilities.

Some lawmakers and privacy advocates are raising concerns about these practices. They argue that such surveillance tools threaten civil liberties and the right to privacy, with fears that they could be used to unjustly target individuals, including U.S. citizens and protesters. A group of Democratic senators has called for ICE to stop using these technologies and provide more information about their usage.

ICE claims that these technologies help in law enforcement efforts, but critics warn that they may lead to mass surveillance and misuse of personal data. Additionally, ICE’s recent revival of a spyware contract raises further concerns about privacy violations.

Overall, the use of these surveillance technologies has sparked a heated debate about privacy rights, government overreach, and the implications for democracy.

The author is learning German and had a difficult experience with a German version of the NYT Spelling Bee, so they created their own game called "Three Emojis." This daily word game is designed for language learners and provides players with seven letters and a list of words to find. As players discover shorter words, they help fill in longer ones, similar to a crossword.

Each word is accompanied by three emojis as clues, generated by GPT-5, which usually work well. Players can also get text or audio hints if needed. The game supports both German and English, with new puzzles available daily. Users can suggest new words or report missing ones, including slang and chat-speak.

Every word found comes with its definition and pronunciation audio. There is an option to upgrade to a Pro version for extra features. The author welcomes feedback as this is their first game.

Summary of Helion Introduction

Helion is a tool designed to simplify the development of high-performance machine learning kernels. Traditionally, creating optimized kernels involves using low-level programming languages, which can be hard to maintain and adapt across different hardware. Helion addresses this by allowing developers to write kernels in a high-level, Python-like language, which it then converts into efficient Triton code. This means developers can focus on the algorithms rather than hardware specifics, making the process easier and faster.

Key Features:

1. High-Level Abstraction: Helion uses a syntax similar to PyTorch, making it familiar for many developers. It automates complex tasks like memory management and optimization, allowing for quicker development.

2. Autotuning Engine: Helion includes a powerful autotuning feature that automatically finds the best configurations for kernel performance. This reduces the need for manual tuning and allows the exploration of various optimization strategies without extensive code rewrites.

3. Simplified Programming Model: Kernels in Helion are easier to write, with significantly less code needed compared to traditional methods. For example, a kernel that would take hundreds of lines in CUDA may only require 30 lines in Helion.

4. Performance: Helion demonstrates superior performance compared to both hand-written Triton and other frameworks, achieving significant speedups in various benchmarks on different GPUs.

5. Compiler Architecture: Helion’s compiler efficiently transforms Python code into optimized Triton code, allowing for a streamlined tuning process that saves time and computational resources.

In conclusion, Helion aims to bridge the gap between ease of use and high performance in kernel development, making it easier for developers to create efficient machine learning applications without needing extensive hardware knowledge. Helion is set to be released in Beta on October 22, 2025.

The author has created a website with two main features:

1. Book Recommendations: Users can enter a list of books and receive reading suggestions based on a model trained on over a billion reviews.
2. Finding Goodreads Users: Users can input a list of books to find other Goodreads users who have read all of them. There's an option to opt-out if you don't want to appear in the results.

Some technical details are available on the website.

Notes:

• If you input only one or two books, the recommendations may include unrelated popular books. For better suggestions from a single book, use the "Similar" button.
• Occasionally, a non-English book title might appear in the results, but it's likely because it has a popular English edition. The website displays the most popular version of the book.

Summary of Game Design Principles

1. Fun: Fun in games is about problem-solving and mastery, rather than just enjoyable experiences. It often comes after overcoming challenges.

2. Problems and Toys: Games present problems defined by rules and goals. A toy becomes a game when a goal is added to play with the rules.

3. Prediction and Uncertainty: Games thrive on uncertainty, turning unknown outcomes into known ones. Good problems in games should have evolving answers and depth.

4. Loops: Games consist of repeated problem-solving loops. There are operational loops (interacting with problems) and progression loops (advancing through challenges).

5. Feedback: Effective feedback is crucial for learning. Players need clear signals about their actions and outcomes to improve.

6. Variation and Escalation: Games should present increasingly complex situations to keep players engaged. Challenges should evolve over time.

7. Pacing and Balance: Players learn best through iterative practice, so games should vary in intensity and difficulty, providing moments for both challenge and rest.

8. Games are Made of Games: Most games consist of multiple interconnected loops and mechanics, creating a complex web of challenges.

9. Actual Systems Design: Designing problems involves understanding a wide range of potential game mechanics, which can be combined in unique ways.

10. Dressing and Experience: How a game presents its problems (story, art, audio) greatly affects player engagement and understanding.

11. Motivations: Different players are drawn to different types of problems and experiences. Understanding these motivations helps tailor games to specific audiences.

12. It’s Simple, But Not: While the principles of game design can be straightforward, mastering them requires deep knowledge and practice across multiple fields. Each element is interconnected, and neglecting any can lead to a poor game.

Overall, successful game design is about understanding and combining these elements to create engaging and fun experiences for players.

Large language models (LLMs) can solve tough problems but often struggle with simpler tasks. This study examines if LLMs understand problem difficulty in a way that matches human views and if this understanding helps them improve after training. Researchers tested 60 models on math and coding tasks, finding that human-assigned difficulty is closely related to model performance, while LLM-assigned difficulty is less reliable. By guiding models to focus on easier problems, their accuracy improves and errors decrease. During training on a specific model, the understanding of human-assigned difficulty improved and aligned with better test results, whereas the model's own difficulty assessment worsened as it improved. The findings indicate that human feedback is a consistent measure of difficulty that helps models learn, while models' self-assessments may lead to confusion. The researchers have made their tools available for others to use.

Summary of "Sixty Days with the AI Coding Decacorn" by Brie Wolfson

Brie Wolfson shares her insights from a two-month experience at Cursor, an AI coding startup based in San Francisco. Initially drawn to the company through informal conversations, she ended up joining as an employee to help shape its narrative, drawn by the innovative atmosphere reminiscent of early experiences at Stripe and Figma.

Key Points:

1. Unique Office Culture:

   • Cursor's office has a casual, unbranded environment that feels more like a college common room than a corporate space.
   • Collaboration thrives in person, with most employees working together rather than relying on digital communication.

2. Strong Team Dynamics:

   • The company emphasizes a culture of open communication and collaboration, with lunch and dinner discussions often centering around work-related topics.
   • Cursor’s recruitment strategy focuses on identifying talented individuals rather than filling specific job roles, leading to rapid growth.

3. High Talent Density:

   • Cursor has attracted a significant number of talented individuals, including many former founders and graduates from top universities.
   • The company aims to raise the bar for software development, focusing on producing high-quality products for skilled developers.

4. Innovative Work Practices:

   • Employees frequently use Cursor's product, leading to a unique internal feedback loop that informs product development.
   • Regular "Fuzz" sessions allow the team to rigorously test new features before release, fostering a culture of accountability.

5. Mission-Driven Focus:

   • The team is motivated by a strong sense of purpose, believing in the potential of their product to transform software development.
   • Unlike many startups, discussions about personal financial gain are minimal; the focus remains on creating impactful software.

Overall, Wolfson's experience at Cursor reflects a vibrant, collaborative, and mission-oriented culture that prioritizes innovation and high standards in software development.

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A new study reveals that even the largest and oldest trees in the Amazon are still growing and capturing carbon dioxide (CO2), contrary to the belief that they had reached their maximum size. Led by ecologist Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert from the University of Cambridge, the research analyzed 30 years of tree measurements from 188 forest plots across nine countries in the Amazon.

The findings show that tree sizes have increased by about 3.3% per decade, with larger trees growing even more quickly. This growth is attributed to the rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, which helps trees photosynthesize more efficiently. However, the study does not indicate that an increase in CO2 is beneficial for the forest overall; instead, it highlights the resilience of these trees in the face of climate change.

The largest trees, which store half of the forest's carbon, are not dying off faster than expected, which is a positive sign. However, researchers caution that while the trees are currently adapting, they face stress from heat, drought, and nutrient limitations. The overall carbon storage capacity of the Amazon is weakening due to various environmental changes.

The key takeaway is that while Amazonian trees have shown resilience and growth due to increased CO2, the long-term outlook remains uncertain. Protecting these old-growth forests is crucial for climate change mitigation, as they are irreplaceable and vital for carbon storage.

No summary available.

The article "The Silent Scientist: When Software Research Fails to Reach Its Audience" discusses the challenges faced by the software research community in communicating their findings effectively. The authors argue that many researchers feel their work is irrelevant or lacks impact, largely due to poor science communication. They emphasize that research can only have an impact if it reaches its intended audience, which requires active communication efforts.

Key points include:

1. Self-Reflection in Research: Researchers often question the significance of their work, especially in software research, where the impact is sometimes hard to measure.

2. The Role of Science Communication: Many researchers assume their work will naturally find its audience, but this is a misconception. Active communication is crucial for research to be impactful.

3. Diverse Research Topics: Software research encompasses both technical advancements and human-centered insights, leading to varying perceptions of relevance among different stakeholders.

4. Engagement with Practitioners: Researchers should engage with practitioners early in the research process to ensure their findings are relevant and useful.

5. Barriers to Communication: Systemic issues in academia often prioritize publication quantity over outreach, leading to a lack of effective communication efforts.

6. Call to Action: Researchers are encouraged to go beyond publishing papers and actively engage with their target audiences through various channels, fostering dialogue and collaboration.

In summary, the article emphasizes the importance of effective science communication in software research to ensure that findings are recognized and utilized by those who can benefit from them.

Here's a simplified summary of the text:

1. Atuin: Replaces your shell history with a SQLite database for better command context.
2. Bandwhich: A command-line tool to show network usage by process and connection.
3. Binsider: Allows you to analyze binaries in the terminal.
4. Bottom: A customizable graphical system monitor for the terminal.
5. Codex: A coding assistant that can generate and run code directly in the terminal.
6. Crossword: Play crossword puzzles right in your terminal.
7. Csvlens: A viewer for CSV files in the command line, similar to less.
8. Dua: A fast tool for analyzing disk space and deleting unnecessary files.
9. Fzf-make: Executes make targets using a fuzzy finder.
10. Gitui: A terminal interface for Git.
11. Gpg-tui: A user interface for GnuPG in the terminal.
12. Joshuto: A terminal file manager that resembles Ranger.
13. Material: A color palette based on material design for the terminal.
14. Minesweep-rs: A mine sweeping game created in Rust.
15. Oatmeal: A chat application for interacting with language models in the terminal.
16. Oha: A lightweight tool for sending load to web applications and showing real-time data.
17. Oxker: A simple terminal interface for managing Docker containers.
18. Openapi-tui: View OpenAPI documentation easily in the terminal.
19. Rainfrog: A tool for interacting with databases from the terminal.
20. Rucola: Manage and compile markdown notes in the terminal.
21. Scope-tui: A basic oscilloscope for terminal use.
22. Slumber: A terminal client for making HTTP/REST requests.
23. Steer: An AI coding assistant for local development and automation.
24. Taskwarrior-tui: A terminal interface for managing tasks.
25. Television: A fuzzy finder for quickly searching through various data sources.
26. Trippy: A network diagnostic tool that combines traceroute and ping functions.
27. Xplr: A minimal and fast file explorer for the terminal.
28. Yazi: A fast terminal file manager based on asynchronous I/O.
29. Yozefu: Interactive tool for exploring Kafka cluster data with SQL-like queries.

This summary highlights the main features and purposes of each tool in a clear and straightforward manner.

No summary available.

Summary of "Dead Framework Theory" by Paul Kinlan

Paul Kinlan discusses the current state of web development, particularly focusing on the dominance of the React framework and how it affects new frameworks and tools. Key points include:

1. React's Dominance: React has become the primary platform for web development, making it hard for new frameworks to compete. Developers expect tools and libraries to default to React for maintainability.

2. Impact of LLMs: Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly outputting React code because they are trained on existing web data that favors React. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where more React sites lead to more React being used in LLM outputs.

3. Data Discrepancies: Different data sources show varying numbers of React sites, but trends indicate that while usage is growing, it may be stalling in certain areas.

4. Challenges for New Frameworks: New frameworks face significant hurdles, including not being included in LLM training data, which can take 12-18 months to update. Developers are unlikely to adopt new frameworks that lack robust ecosystems and familiarity.

5. User Experience vs. Developer Experience: The focus of web development tools and frameworks should shift from just developer experience to actual user outcomes, emphasizing the need for better user experiences rather than just improving development processes.

6. Future of Web Development: Kinlan suggests that unless frameworks innovate to integrate into the LLM training corpus and meet user needs effectively, they will struggle to gain traction. He advocates for focusing on fundamental capabilities that cannot be achieved through existing libraries.

Overall, Kinlan presents a nuanced take on the web development landscape, highlighting the challenges and opportunities associated with React's dominance and LLMs' influence on development practices.

Summary: Modal Notebooks Overview

Eric Zhang, a founding engineer at Modal, introduces Modal Notebooks, a new cloud-based Jupyter notebook that quickly boots GPUs and allows real-time collaboration. The goal was to create an interactive notebook experience without sacrificing speed.

Key Points:

1. Purpose: Modal Notebooks were developed to improve collaborative workflows in machine learning, enabling engineers to access cutting-edge models quickly.

2. Technical Foundations:

   • Kernels: Central to Jupyter Notebooks, kernels run code and return results. Modal uses "Sandboxes" for secure, isolated processing, allowing them to handle high-performance AI workloads.
   • Daemon: A component called "modal-kernelshim" helps manage communication between the kernel and the user interface, ensuring instant feedback.

3. Container Infrastructure:

   • Lazy-Loading: Instead of loading entire container images upfront, Modal uses a lazy-loading filesystem that fetches only necessary files as needed, improving startup times.
   • Efficient Scheduling: The system efficiently allocates resources, automatically pausing idle containers to save costs.

4. Storage: Modal Volumes provide global, fast, and mutable storage, ensuring data consistency for AI workflows.

5. Real-Time Collaboration: Using a library called Rushlight, Modal enables real-time editing where multiple users can collaborate seamlessly.

6. Editor Features: Modal Notebooks include modern features like code completions, inline documentation, and AI-assisted suggestions, enhancing the user experience.

7. Conclusion: Modal Notebooks represent a significant advancement in combining collaborative editing with powerful computing capabilities, built on years of infrastructure development.

Overall, Modal Notebooks aim to provide a high-performance, collaborative environment for machine learning and data science.

No summary available.

No summary available.

No summary available.

JermCAD Overview

JermCAD is a web-based tool for creating 3D models using YAML syntax. It allows users to define shapes, apply operations, and visualize designs in real-time, with options to export models for 3D printing.

Purpose of JermCAD The creator built JermCAD to simplify 3D design, finding traditional CAD software frustrating and complex. JermCAD lets users design with familiar coding concepts rather than complicated interfaces.

Key Features

• YAML-Based Modeling: Simple text-based format for defining models.
• Shape Types: Includes cuboids, cylinders, cones, spheres, and more.
• Boolean Operations: Combine shapes using union, difference, and intersection.
• Stamps: Reusable templates for complex designs.
• Real-time 3D Visualization: Instant feedback while editing.
• STL Export: Save models for 3D printing.

Getting Started

1. Requirements: Install Node.js and npm.
2. Installation: Clone the repository and run npm install.
3. Running: Start the server with npm start to view in a browser.

Basic Workflow

• Edit YAML in the editor.
• Render the model to see changes.
• Export as STL when finished.

Camera Controls

• Rotate, pan, and zoom using mouse controls.

Model Structure

• Define settings, parameters, materials, and solids in YAML format.
• Use parameters for consistent dimensions across shapes.

Materials

• Create reusable color and opacity settings for different shapes.

Boolean Operations

• Combine shapes through defined operations (e.g., cutting out shapes).

Stamps

• Define complex designs once and reuse them with variations.

Troubleshooting and Updates

• Debug mode available for logging issues.
• Future updates may include new modifiers and cloud features for saving and sharing models.

License JermCAD is open-source under the ISC License, allowing free use and modification.

Multi-objective optimization involves finding the best compromises between different goals using the same variables, known as the Pareto front. This process can be very resource-intensive, making it a good candidate for quantum optimization techniques. Recently, researchers used a method called the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) on an IBM quantum computer to tackle this problem. They compared the results from QAOA with those from quantum annealing on the same problems. The findings showed that quantum annealing performed significantly better than QAOA and all other classical and quantum approaches previously studied. For the more challenging problem, quantum annealing produced an improved Pareto front. This study highlights the potential of quantum annealing in solving multi-objective optimization tasks.

The concept of "time immemorial," which often means events that happened a long time ago, celebrates its 750th anniversary this year. It originated from the Statute of Westminster, passed in 1275 by King Edward I, which established that events occurring before September 3, 1189, are considered time immemorial.

This date marks the coronation of King Richard I, Edward's great-grandfather, and was chosen to signify a shift from oral to written legal evidence. Before this law, people could use oral history from their ancestors as proof in land disputes, but the Statute required official documentation for claims older than a person's grandfather. This change aimed to streamline legal processes and tax collection.

The term "time immemorial" was later formalized in 1832, but its roots trace back to this important law. So next time someone mentions something being true since "time immemorial," you can remind them it refers specifically to events before September 3, 1189.

Summary

The author describes their use of Emacs as their main computing environment, integrating it into almost every aspect of their workflow, except for heavy media tasks. They prefer using Hyprland as their window manager due to its ease of configuration and performance with Emacs on Wayland.

Motivation for Using Emacs:

• The author believes that using effective tools allows for greater creativity and productivity, similar to how athletes and artists work.
• They seek a seamless environment for creating and coding, minimizing friction.

Concerns About Using EXWM:

• The author has considered using EXWM (an Emacs window manager) but is hesitant due to Emacs's single-threaded nature, which could cause system-wide hangs.
• They note that most development is focused on Wayland, while EXWM operates on X11.

Current Setup Highlights:

• The author uses a Go script to quickly launch Emacs commands, significantly speeding up their workflow.
• Emacs is usually opened automatically upon starting their Hyprland session.
• They have configured keybindings for various tasks, such as:
  • Opening a terminal (vterm)
  • Capturing notes and tasks
  • Managing passwords, files, bookmarks, emails, and feeds all within Emacs.
• They have created a "Universal Launcher" to replicate app launching capabilities similar to other launchers.

Future Considerations:

• Although the author spends a lot of time in Emacs, they aren’t fully convinced that EXWM would be advantageous for their specific use case, but they remain open to it in the future.

The author invites others to share their Emacs integration experiences and ends with a call for support for their work.