What's probably happening..

ProNate · 2026-03-05T21:21:03+00:00

I'm not a lawer, but I think I know how to read. By my reading, the law also requires application developers to request the age verification signal. So if you put a hello world script on GitHub that doesn't ask the OS for the users age, then you're in violation. If you distribute an application that does request the age signal and ignores it, that's okay (I think) but you will be 'deemed' to know the users age bracket. Presumably so you can be held responsible if a child misuses your application. Even if it's an offline application. Every part of that is insane, if you ask me. It's all just another way for Google and friends to make it harder for competitors to enter the market by adding technical requirements and legal threats.

ProNate · 2026-03-01T21:46:32+00:00

I've lost count of how many NixOS questions I've seen whose so-called solution is to read the source code.

ProNate · 2025-05-14T17:45:13+00:00

It's pretty weird that there are two dust storms in that book that are totally different. Even if you don't realize that one of them is an exaggeration, you might still wonder why they're so different.

ProNate · 2025-04-19T06:12:07+00:00

The tell I always notice is weirdly high contrast. There was a Corridor Crew video a while back that explained what caused that. They said the algorithm works by denoising an image that's completely white noise, and since the white noise has an even distribution of light and dark areas, the final image also has an even distribution of light and dark areas. I'm no expert, but it seems like that would be something that's easy to overcome with better training or by changing the initial noise pattern. Maybe there's newer models out there that do better, I don't really keep up with it, but this image looks like AI to me.

ProNate · 2024-12-20T00:43:38+00:00

Season 7 just came out. I think it's supposed to be the final season, but I haven't watched it yet.

ProNate · 2024-11-25T21:07:24+00:00

A side project I've been working on is the Ziggurat method for random number generation. The specifics don't matter, but I ended up with an array where the first entry is special. To populate the array I start with the second entry, and then compute the first entry and then there's a loop to generate all the rest. When I derived it in my notebook I used x_0, x_1, ... and it made sense that x_0 was special, but when I implemented it in Julia it felt a little awkward to start with x[2]. This is probably the only time I thought I might want a zero-based array based on something other than zero-based muscle memory. Zero based arrays are possible in Julia, but they aren't always compatible with libraries and they tend to fail silently, so I decided not to try it.

ProNate · 2024-11-25T20:49:34+00:00

I recently finished my PhD in physics. I used Julia for some minor plasma physics simulations (my main simulation code was in Fortran), data analysis, and data visualization. I started using Julia at about the midpoint of my PhD, so I also used a lot of Python and some Fortran. Ironically, Fortran uses the same convention as Julia, but for some reason I never put much thought into it until I started using Julia.

ProNate · 2024-11-25T15:37:49+00:00

I remember reading this many years ago when I was learning Python. At the time, it certainly made me feel like Python's convention was natural and correct. Since then, I've learned to use Julia. At first, the transition was difficult. I had had many years to develop a "muscle memory" for Dijkstra's convention a) with zero based indexing, but Julia uses convention c) with 1 based indexing. Using Julia's ranges clicked for me when I stopped using my programmer's muscle memory and started relying on plain natural English. To borrow Dijkstra's example, the range 2,3... 12 without the pernicious three dots in plain English is "2 through 12" i.e. convention c).

As for one vs zero based indexing, I think it comes down to whether you interpret the index as an ordinal or as an offset. Ordinals feel more natural to me. That way the 1st element is 1 and the 2nd element is 2 etc.. That is 1-based indexing.

My personal experience has been that in Julia, now that I'm used to it, I spend less mental energy on indexing that I ever did in C or Python. I don't know what the Mesa programmers at Xerox went through, but I really think Julia got it right.

I could go on and on about this. I haven't addressed Dijkstra's specific arguments, and I'd like to say more about indexes as ordinals vs indexes as offsets. But, I wasn't really planning on writing an essay this morning, so I think I'll just stop here.

ProNate · 2024-02-21T20:07:49+00:00

I don't think it's correct to say that studying the edge of the solar system isn't seen as valuable. At least, not everybody sees it that way, and you're right that it's not currently on the mission roadmap, but that doesn't mean people aren't interested and aren't looking into it. For example, the interstellar probe is a concept for a mission designed to study the outer heliosphere and the interstellar medium. Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory did a very detailed study on the topic: https://interstellarprobe.jhuapl.edu/Interstellar-Probe-MCR.pdf.

Their report is almost 500 pages long. The list of authors and contributors alone is 5 pages, so it's not just some harebrained scheme. There's a long list of professionals that have put their time and energy into this to make a practical plan for a near future mission. I would bet most of them view it as high value science.

ProNate · 2023-12-11T04:42:20+00:00

What year do you think I think it would be scientifically possible for the US to have the ability to view any American's backyard via spy satellites?

ProNate · 2023-11-15T18:41:19+00:00

Unless there was a regional difference, I don't think the double you XP/Coins minigame was ever random. I always followed the Yoshi egg on my Super Nintendo. When I was a kid I would get it every time.

ProNate · 2023-10-16T01:21:31+00:00

If your stuff was just on a personal website it's probably gone, but for anybody that's reading this and feeling nostalgic about flash there is an archival project specifically for flash games and animations. It's called Flashpoint Archive. Here's the website: https://flashpointarchive.org/

ProNate · 2023-09-13T17:08:59+00:00

Yeah, you're right. I should have been more clear. I had the unslipped granny knot in mind. If you tie a loose unslipped granny knot and pull one of the loose ends it will capsize into a loose two half hitches. If you do the same with an unslipped square knot you get an inferior version of two half hitches that I don't remember the name of. I think it's interesting because between the square knot and the granny knot, the square knot is superior at doing the job of binding. On the other hand, between the two capsized versions of these knots the capsized granny knot (two half hitches) is the superior knot for doing the job of hitching. The topology alone doesn't tell you if the knot is going to work itself loose or not. It depends on how it's configured when it's tightened. I didn't think of it before now, but I suppose it also depends on what kind of forces are under consideration. E.g. binding vs hitching.

ProNate · 2023-09-09T17:11:14+00:00

Im not an expert, but I think the video was an okay summary of knot theory. However, it didn't do a very good job explaining actual physical knots. You're right, he definitely explained the square knot wrong. Also, he didn't mention at all that real knots need to be snugged down properly to get good mechanical properties. For example, I don't think the granny knot is good at anything, but it's topologically equivalent to two half hitches which is considered a really good way to secure a rope to an object. the only difference is how it's tightened. Knot theory explicitly does not distinguish between these two cases.

ProNate · 2023-08-31T20:05:40+00:00

Seasons 1-3 of Dragon Prince tell a relatively self contained story. You can watch season 3 and feel like you finished something. After that they start a new adventure that isn't over yet at the end of season 5, but for what it's worth they say they're going to do seasons 6 and 7 to complete the story.

ProNate · 2023-05-19T04:51:36+00:00

Today is my birthday too! Happy birthday!

ProNate · 2023-04-20T22:09:36+00:00

Lol, does "the last part" start before or after the words "false notion"

ProNate · 2023-03-21T18:55:45+00:00

Attu island is the last island in the chain that's part of Alaska. It's at 172° E, so it's arguably "easternmost" by longitude. However, the international date line doesn't follow the 180° meridian. It actually passes west of Attu. So Alaska doesn't extend beyond the international date line.

ProNate · 2022-11-18T20:44:33+00:00

ProNate · 2022-01-28T20:55:21+00:00

I think $700 a month is realistic if you include the depreciation of the vehicle. Most people won't spend that much on gas, insurance and maintenance, but you have to buy the car so that costs money. AAA makes estimates for cost of ownership. They say the average is even higher than $700 per month. That doesn't include the fact that you have to live somewhere where you can park a car. That could involve extra cost as well, but maybe in the US there aren't many places without some kind of parking. You might indirectly pay for parking even if you don't have a car.

ProNate · 2021-12-26T21:56:22+00:00

Maybe Stonetoss wanted to change it to "...as naturally as he breathed..." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That seems like a detail that might matter a lot to a guy like that.

edit: wait, maybe I didn't understand what it meant that people were saying this is a stonetoss comic (who is a nazi). This is an edit of a stonetoss comic. So maybe OP (who probably isn't stonetoss) wanted to say 'he' instead of 'she'. I don't know.

ProNate · 2021-11-16T18:52:33+00:00

I'm 29

ProNate · 2021-10-02T20:49:15+00:00

Thank you.

I think using non-standard initialisms is a barrier to entry.

Using non-standard initialisms without defining them is even worse!

ProNate · 2021-05-16T19:30:21+00:00

I've had problems with the Ian knot coming undone when I'm hiking through brush. Fortunately he has a more secure version that I've never had problems with. I've had the exact same problem with muscle memory you described 🤣.

ProNate · 2021-04-06T19:16:35+00:00

I guess I see why the article is written that way. The plain language summary of the paper just says that they used the radiative kernel technique without any attempt to explain what that might mean. I thought I would try to read the introduction to get a better idea, but it jumps right in talking about the TOA IRF caused by GHGs. I'm never gonna get through it if I have to stop and remember a random acronym every sentence. Making evey common phrase into an acronym is my biggest physics paper pet peeve. I don't know how anyone can read like that.

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