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Voyage Around My Cell

Mathier / Adobe Stock.

When I was eight my views on literature were precise and unshakable and my confidence in myself much greater than it is now.

I had decided O. Henry was the world’s best author.

During Prohibition, the folks who bought one of Andy’s two-dollar canes and had the wit to unscrew the head of the cane by two full turns to the right and hold it to their mouth had, as a reward for their acumen, a half pint of smuggled whisky trickle down their throat.

If the man who wrote this wasn’t the world’s best author, then who was?

And how about the decision the three grifters made when things got messy, wasn’t that wonderful?

Things had come to such a fine pass that honesty was the best policy.

One day at a tea garden, I shared my judgment of O. Henry with my uncle’s fiancée.

A smile of such kindliness appeared on the young woman’s face that, along with the large parasol right behind her, the tablecloth in front of her, and the pebble-stone pathway on the ground, it became stamped onto my memory like a photograph.

Even at that age I could sense that if someone smiles at you with such kindliness something has to be wrong.

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Learning to Simulate

An example image from GTA V (Grand Theft Auto V)This is expensive. Both in time and in money. Using random simulated scenes we might not do much better. This means important edge cases might be severely undersampled and our classifier might not learn how to detect them correctly. Let us imagine we are trying to train a classifier which detects dangerous scenes. In the real world we will run into dangerous scenes like the one below with very low frequency, yet they are very important. If we generate a large number of random scenes, we will have very few dangerous scenes like the one below as well. A dataset which undersamples these important cases might yield a classifier which fails on them.

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DuckDuckGo Search Improvements

we’ve made several improvements recently that we’re excited to share with you. They should make your searching not only more effective, but also a more pleasant experience, and still of course with our same strict commitment to privacy: no personal information is associated with your searches, such that you have no search history and therefore no search profiling or ads following you around based on your searches.

Drum roll…

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Raising severity to serious for some Python 2 leaf packages with no Python 3

If you get here, it is already too late, there have already been enough warnings. Upgrade the bug to RC and get the package auto-removed from testing.Step and repeat to get to the next packages in the dependency chain.No special pleading. No whining. No excuses.No buts and no exceptions. No “middle ground”.Get the packages which have done the work into Debian testing to get usa clean Python3 package list ready for the next release.Volunteer time is our most precious resource and it cannot be wasted onpackages which fail to meet release criteria. Requiring Python2 is RCbuggy – simple as that. The only manageable way to implement that is tomake all leaf packages RC, step and repeat down the chain until thisenormous task is complete.Python2 removal is a huge task and I’m only too aware that I don’t havethe free time now to do much to actually help it. This is the only wayto get the removal done and get to the next Debian release – whichafter all, is the purpose of the testing suite in Debian.I’m aware of the history of calibre but I really don’t care about whathappens to calibre per se. I just care that calibre is not a specialcase that ends up blocking fixes to it’s dependencies. For example, ifany one of the current Python2 dependencies of calibre is able to dropPython2 support and calibre is the only reverse dependency thennothing about the upload removing Python2 support from the dependencyshould be prevented just because it’s used by calibre as opposed to anyother random Python2 leaf package. To do that, calibre should beremoved from testing as soon as it is clear that a Python3 version ofcalibre is not available and BEFORE a Python3 version of any one ofit’s dependencies gets delayed.None of the arguments about users going to other sources apply. Thisisn’t about removing calibre from unstable – only from testing. That’swhat raising the severity means – autoremoval, not RM. Even if thepackage was removed from unstable, it’s still in Buster and can beinstalled from there. If that’s not good enough then, sorry – I reallydon’t care.The calibre package – as it exists currently in Debian testing – is notof sufficient quality to remain in Debian testing and should beremoved as soon as is practical. As it is a leaf package, that shouldbe now, there is no benefit to Debian in any further delay.Precisely the same applies to tftpy and vland and a range of otherswhich I personally care about much more than I care about calibre. Manyof those other packages have already been removed from testing and thatwas the correct step to take for all the right reasons.None of the above relates specifically to calibre either. Any otherpackage in the same position can be substituted without any change inthe correctness of the result.> > And in particular: https://bugs.launchpad.net/calibre/

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Amazon’s Consumer Business Turned Off Final Oracle Database

Over my 17 years at Amazon, I have seen that my colleagues on the engineering team are never content to leave good-enough alone. They routinely re-evaluate every internal system to make sure that it is as scalable, efficient, performant, and secure as possible. When they find an avenue for improvement, they will use what they have learned to thoroughly modernize our architectures and implementations, often going so far as to rip apart existing systems and rebuild them from the ground up if necessary.

Today I would like to tell you about an internal database migration effort of this type that just wrapped up after several years of work. Over the years we realized that we were spending too much time managing and scaling thousands of legacy Oracle databases. Instead of focusing on high-value differentiated work, our database administrators (DBAs) spent a lot of time simply keeping the lights on while transaction rates climbed and the overall amount of stored data mounted. This included time spent dealing with complex & inefficient hardware provisioning, license management, and many other issues that are now best handled by modern, managed database services.

More than 100 teams in Amazon’s Consumer business participated in the migration effort. This includes well-known customer-facing brands and sites such as Alexa, Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Fresh, Kindle, Amazon Music, Audible, Shopbop, Twitch, and Zappos, as well as internal teams such as AdTech, Amazon Fulfillment Technology, Consumer Payments, Customer Returns, Catalog Systems, Deliver Experience, Digital Devices, External Payments, Finance, InfoSec, Marketplace, Ordering, and Retail Systems.

Migration Complete
I am happy to report that this database migration effort is now complete. Amazon’s Consumer business just turned off its final Oracle database (some third-party applications are tightly bound to Oracle and were not migrated).

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HamWAN: A modern, multi-megabit, IP-based, digital network for amateur radio use

import url(“/index/map.css”)

Red “coverage areas” indicate a signal level of -70 dBm or better when using the 30 dBi recommended client antenna at 30 ft above ground. A signal level of -70 dBm or stronger will support full speed, about 10 Mbps in areas with clear line of sight and no interference. Non-red areas with line of sight may have weak signal and decreased speeds.

Click on any of the nodes on the map for detail about that node.

The

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Credit Suisse scandal shakes Zurich’s elite

Keystone / Gaetan Bally) At the opening gala of the Zurich Film Festival a week ago, over champagne served to the city’s social elite, the small talk centred not on the dramas of the big screen but a much more local affair: the corporate spying tale at Credit Suisse. 

It was just a short distance from the festival’s venue on Bellevueplatz, that, days earlier, Iqbal Khan, a young, unashamedly ambitious former executive at the bank, had spotted a man trailing him. 

The confrontation that followed on a quiet, manicured street just behind the polished facades of the Bahnhofstrasse set in motion two of the most tumultuous weeks of the past decade in Swiss finance. Mr Khan’s shadow, it emerged, was an agent hired by Credit Suisse. 

FT FT logo

div.edged

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Making Instagram.com faster: Part 3 – cache first

we’ve launched stories, filters, creation tools, notifications, and direct messaging as well as a myriad of other features and enhancements. However, as the product grew, a side effect was that our web performance began to slow. Over the last year we made a conscious effort to improve this. This ongoing effort has thus far resulted in almost 50% cumulative improvement to our feed page load time. This series of blog posts will outline some of the work we’ve done that led to these improvements. In part 1 we talked about prefetching data and in part 2 we talked about improving performance by pushing data directly to the client rather than waiting for the client to request the data.

Cache firstSince we’re already pushing data to the client at the earliest possible time in the page load

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Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

And we have core values that apply here: Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters, encouraging everybody to share their point of view. The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain.

Our esports programs are an expression of our vision and our values. Esports exist to create opportunities for players from around the world, from different cultures, and from different backgrounds, to come together to compete and share their passion for gaming. It is extremely important to us to protect these channels and the purpose they serve: to bring the world together through epic entertainment, celebrate our players, and build diverse and inclusive communities.

As to how those values apply in this case:

First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.

We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.

Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong

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The Crash of Air Moorea Flight 1121: Analysis

An Air Moorea Twin Otter, and the route of flight 1121. Image sources: Paul Spijkers and GoogleAir Moorea was a small air carrier based on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. It specialized in short commuter flights between the scattered islands of the archipelago using its fleet of four de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter propeller planes, which could carry 19 passengers and one pilot. Flight 1121 was Air Moorea’s busiest route, from Moorea to Faa’a on the neighbouring island of Tahiti. This flight lasted just seven minutes and Air Moorea ran it more than 40 times per day.

The Twin Otter has fully manual flight controls that are directly connected to the pilot’s yoke via steel cables. The Twin Otter operating this flight had been acquired separately from Air Moorea’s other three aircraft, and there was a small, seemingly insignificant difference between them: whereas the other Twin Otters had carbon steel control cables, this Twin Otter had stainless steel control cables. According to the manufacturer, both types were to be treated identically, and the only indication that this aircraft had stainless steel cables was a single reference number in the mountains of documentation that came along with it. As a result, Air Moorea had no idea that this plane was any different.

However, there actually was a difference between the two types of cables. The original reason for using stainless steel was that it suffered much less corrosion than carbon steel. But there was a trade-off: the stainless steel cables suffered more frictional wear than the carbon steel ones. Every time a pilot moves the control surfaces, the cables rub against various pulleys and guide holes, causing them to wear down over time.

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Hiren’s BootCD Based on Windows 10 PE X64

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Hiren’s BootCD PE (Preinstallation Environment) is a restored edition of Hiren’s BootCD based on Windows 10 PE x64. Since there are no official updates after November 2012, PE version is being developed by Hiren’s BootCD fans. It includes the least, best and updated free tools used in Hiren’s BootCD. It is being developed for the new age computers, it supports UEFI booting and requires minimum 2 GB RAM.

With the useful tools inside of the ISO, you can solve many problems related with your computer. It does not contain any pirated software, it includes only free and legal software.

After boot, PE version tries to install drivers like graphics, sound, wireless and ethernet card for your hardware. So that you can connect to a WIFI or Ethernet network. Please Contact Us with your hardware model if your WIFI or Ethernet card is not recognized by the PE version. We will add the required drivers in the new releases.

The official releases still exists on our Old Versions page. Please check About page for more info.

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Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram Restricted in Southern Turkey

netblocks) October 11, 2019

Wartime social media restrictions now in effect

The blocking measure marks the reinstatement of wartime social media restrictions, as the Turkish Armed Forces and Free Syrian Army launch an expansive incursion into northern Syria targeting PKK/YPG and IS groups in the first phase of Operation Peace Spring.

A similar measure was previously invoked during the initial phase of Operation Euphrates Shield on Thursday, 25 August 2016 when social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram were blocked throughout Turkey for a period of seven hours:

Confirmed: Twitter, Facebook & YouTube blocked by throttling in #Turkey at 11:07PM – reason unknown pic.twitter.com/vEGSt0jvWU

— Turkey Blocks (

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Why are adult daughters missing from ancient German cemeteries?

through any one of these methodologies” alone, says historian Patrick Geary of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, who was not part of the team.

The researchers worked with remains and grave goods excavated more than 20 years ago, when land along the Lech River south of Augsburg was dug up to build a housing development. Radiocarbon dates showed the farmers lived between 4750 years ago and 3300 years ago. Mittnik was working in the lab of Johannes Krause at MPI, and she and her colleagues analyzed DNA across the genomes of 104 people buried on the farmsteads. The team sought clues to the farmers’ sex and how they were related to one another. The researchers recalibrated the radiocarbon dates, constraining them to within 200 years in some cases, and identifying four to five generations of ancestors and descendants who lived in that time window.

Some of the early farmers studied were part of the Neolithic Bell Beaker culture, named for the shape of their pots. Later generations of Bronze Age men who retained Bell Beaker DNA were high-ranking, buried with bronze and copper daggers, axes, and chisels. Those men carried a Y chromosome variant that is still common today in Europe. In contrast, low-ranking men without grave goods had different Y chromosomes, showing a different ancestry on their fathers’ side, and suggesting that men with Bell Beaker ancestry were richer and had more sons, whose genes persist to the present.

One-third of the women were also buried with great wealth

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What You Can't Say (2004)

Have you ever seen an old photo of yourself andbeen embarrassed at the way you looked? Did we actuallydress like that? We did. And we had no idea howsilly we looked.It’s the nature of fashion to be invisible, in thesame way the movement of the earth is invisible to allof us riding on it.

What scares me is that there are moral fashions too.They’re just as arbitrary, and just as invisible to most people.But they’re much more dangerous.Fashion is mistaken for good design; moral fashion is mistaken for good.Dressing oddly gets you laughed at. Violatingmoral fashions can get you fired, ostracized, imprisoned, oreven killed.

If you could travel back in a time machine, one thingwould be true no matter where you went: you’d have to watchwhat you said. Opinions we consider harmless could have gotten you in big trouble.I’ve already said at least one thing that would have gotten me in bigtrouble in most of Europe in the seventeenth century,and did get Galileo in big trouble when he saidit—that the earth moves.

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The Modular PC: Intel’s New Element Brings Project Christine to Life

Way back at CES 2014, Razer’s CEO introduced a revolutionary concept design for a PC that had one main backplane and users could insert a CPU, GPU, power supply, storage, and anything else in a modular fashion. Fast forward to 2020, and Intel is aiming to make this idea a reality. Today at a fairly low-key event in London, Intel’s Ed Barkhuysen showcased a new product, known simply as an ‘Element’ – a CPU/DRAM/Storage on a dual-slot PCIe card, with Thunderbolt, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB, designed to slot into a backplane with multiple PCIe slots, and paired with GPUs or other accelerators. Behold, Christine is real, and it’s coming soon.

‘The Element’ from Intel

Truth be told, this new concept device doesn’t really have a name. When specifically asked what we should call this thing, we were told to simply call it ‘The Element’ – a product that acts as an extension of the Compute Element and Next Unit of Computing (NUC) family of devices. In actual fact, ‘The Element’ is a product of the same team inside Intel: the Systems Product Group responsible for the majority of Intel’s small form factor devices has developed this new ‘Element’ in order to break the iterative design cycle into something that is truly revolutionary.

(This is where a cynic might say that Razer got there first… Either way, everyone wins.)

What was presented on stage wasn’t much more than a working prototype of a small dual-slot PCIe card powered by a BGA Xeon processor. On the card was also two M.2 slots, two slots for SO-DIMM LPDDR4 memory, a cooler sufficient for all of that, and then additional controllers for Wi-Fi, two Ethernet ports, four USB ports, a HDMI video output from the Xeon integrated graphics, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

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What the Formula? Managing State on Android

an open-source state management library built in Kotlin. Formula provides a simple, declarative, and composable API for managing your app complexity. The goal is to express the essence of your program without much ceremony.

Building a simple appProbably the easiest way to show you how Formula works is to build a simple stopwatch application. It will show how long the stopwatch has been running and allow the user to start/stop or reset it.

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Why you should have a side project

Working on something you are passionate about or care about

The main reason I started a side project is to create something I am passionate, care about, or even better, could probably help others. Making your or someone else’s life easier by building something from scratch is really satisfying. I’m always glad to stumble upon total strangers that tells me they’ve used one of my projects!

My first side project, PartyInBeijing, was a mobile app to help non-speaking chinese persons in China to go to bars or night club. Chinese addresses are not the easiest to pronounce or remember and it takes quite a bit of time to master the tones. I can’t recall how many times the taxi drivers bring us to the incorrect venue because our pronunciations were not great. So I’ve decided to create with my friends an app that dictate the address of a venue. This app got few thousands users in Beijing, and we added later events and tickets sales!

My last one, Travel Hustlers, built with Thibault, started because we travel frequently, and we always faced the same issues when arriving in a new cities. We’ve started to build “Layover in”, a small tool to figure out what to do during long layovers and discover new or unexpected places. More tools are coming 😉

Joe Birch, Android developer at Buffer, built an amazing project called ChordAssist to help mute, deaf and blind to learn how to play guitar.

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Miscellaneous unsolicited (and possibly biased) career advice

Choosing a company

This roughly boils down into:

Pick the fastest growing company you can find. My own personal development was always highly correlated to the company growth. That’s really just an empirical observation, but here’s an attempt at explaining this relationship: Stagnant companies are zero sum. If your peer gets a promotion, that means the slot is taken and you don’t get the promotion. If you get to work on a cool project, someone else can’t. In contrast, fast growing companies have this Ponzi-schema quality that everyone gets promoted! everyone can work on interesting projects! On top of that, there’s this fundamental mismatch between labor supply and demand internally, where there’s a

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Timsort, the Python sorting algorithm

Image of Tim Peter from here

Timsort is a sorting algorithm that is efficient for real-world data and not created in an academic laboratory. Tim Peters created Timsort for the Python programming language in 2001. Timsort first analyses the list it is trying to sort and then chooses an approach based on the analysis of the list.

Since the algorithm has been invented it has been used as the default sorting algorithm in Python, Java, the Android Platform, and in GNU Octave.

Timsort’s big O notation is O(n log n). To learn about Big O notation, read this.

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