Hasty Briefsbeta

Bilingual

EU to delay anti-deforestation law. Again
3 hours ago
- The European Union delays its anti-deforestation law by a year, pushing implementation to December 2026.
- The decision follows backlash from member countries and right-wing lawmakers, leading to a review of the rules early next year.
- This marks the second delay for the law, reflecting a broader trend of weakening EU environmental policies due to pressure from businesses, trading partners, and far-right politicians.
Tech Independence
2 hours ago
- Tech independence involves not relying on any particular company or software, using open-source tools to run your own private server.
- Steps to achieve tech independence include registering a domain, setting up DNS nameservers, creating encrypted storage, and generating an SSH key.
- Setting up a server involves choosing OpenBSD and a hosting provider like Vultr, then deploying an instance with specific configurations.
- After server setup, users can SSH into the server, customize instructions, and use encrypted storage for file uploads via rsync or FreeFileSync.
- Creating a simple website involves making an 'htdocs' directory, editing HTML and CSS files, and uploading them to the server.
- File sharing is facilitated through a '/pub/' directory on the server, allowing public access to shared files.
- Email setup includes configuring an IMAP server (Dovecot) for receiving emails and using SMTP2GO for sending emails to bypass hosting restrictions.
- Contacts and calendar synchronization is possible with CardDAV and CalDAV servers, allowing integration with Android and iPhone devices.
- Additional tips for tech independence include using Firefox with privacy settings, replacing Google Authenticator with 2FAS, and considering Ubuntu Linux over Windows.
- For more storage, Hetzner’s 'Storage Box' is recommended for large files, while Vultr’s encrypted storage is suggested for sensitive data.
- Server upkeep involves periodic updates using commands like 'syspatch', 'fw_update', and 'pkg_add -u', with instructions for handling certificate renewals.
- In case of issues, users can destroy and recreate their server instance without losing encrypted storage, ensuring a fresh start.
Attention Media ≠ Social Media
3 hours ago
- Early social media was genuinely social, focusing on updates from people you knew or liked.
- The shift from Web 2.0 optimism to attention media occurred between 2012 and 2016.
- Infinite scroll and bogus notifications disrupted user experience and sense of control.
- Notifications became manipulative, serving the platform rather than the user.
- Timelines filled with content from strangers made social media feel impersonal and overwhelming.
- Mastodon revived the original social media experience with user-controlled updates and no manipulative notifications.
- Mastodon's timeline is calm, predictable, and based solely on user choices, reminiscent of early Twitter.
Re-Identification Risk vs. K-Anonymity
3 hours ago
- The post explores the trade-off between k-anonymity and re-identification risk through an experimental walkthrough.
- A synthetic dataset of 2000 individuals was created with fields like age, zip3, sex, and lab_glucose as quasi-identifiers (QIs).
- k-anonymity was varied from 1 to 20, with anonymization techniques including age binning, top-coding, and rare ZIP suppression.
- A simulated attacker with partial knowledge (age, zip3, sex) attempts re-identification using a global optimization strategy.
- Re-identification success (Hit@1) drops sharply as k increases, especially beyond k=5–7, indicating stronger anonymity.
- Data utility (e.g., ZIP Utility, Mean Age Drift) degrades non-linearly with higher k, with significant loss beyond k=8.
- The privacy–utility frontier shows diminishing returns: high k yields minimal extra privacy at major utility cost.
- Non-QI attributes (e.g., lab_glucose) remain unchanged, preserving analytical value while QIs are anonymized.
- The attacker model is basic; real-world risks could be higher with additional knowledge or advanced techniques.
- Key takeaway: Moderate k (e.g., 5–7) offers strong privacy with reasonable utility, while higher k may render data unusable.
Credentials for Linux: Bringing Passkeys to the Linux Desktop
4 hours ago
- Passkeys are now standard on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, but Linux lacks standard FIDO2 platform APIs.
- Credentials for Linux is a cross-desktop effort to bring Passkeys and other credentials to Linux, supporting sandboxed apps and browsers.
- The talk includes a refresher on passkeys, platform authenticators, and their current state on Linux.
- Architecture details: libwebauthn (Rust FIDO2/U2F library) and credentialsd (D-Bus service for credential management).
- Demo of sandboxed Firefox using credentialsd with hardware security keys and phones.
- Roadmap includes TPM-backed platform authenticators, origin binding, and collaboration with GNOME, KDE, Flatpak, and distributions.
- Target audience: browser/desktop maintainers, distribution engineers, security practitioners, and those interested in Linux identity management.
A Community-Curated Nancy Drew Collection
6 days ago
- Volunteer Open Librarians organized the Nancy Drew book series into a collection on Open Library.
- Emily, an Open Library volunteer, proposed and led the project with a collaborative approach.
- A detailed Google Document and initial Zoom call helped coordinate international volunteers.
- Manual tagging of books' subject fields with a collectionid was chosen over automation due to technical limitations.
- Metadata cleanup revealed challenges like incorrect ghostwriter attributions and verifying book editions.
- Volunteers contributed for various reasons, including nostalgia, learning opportunities, and love for library work.
- Future projects could benefit from live demonstrations of metadata editing to streamline the process.
- The project highlights the importance of human connection and collaboration in volunteer efforts.
- Opportunities to contribute to the ongoing collection and metadata cleanup remain open.
Experts Have World Models. LLMs Have Word Models
3 hours ago
- Experts possess world models, while LLMs (Large Language Models) have word models, focusing on next token prediction rather than next state prediction.
- Three types of world models are discussed: 3D video world models, Meta's JEPA and related models, and multiagent world models for adversarial reasoning.
- The essay highlights the difference between evaluating text in isolation versus simulating how it will be received in a real-world context with other agents.
- Examples illustrate how domain experts anticipate adversarial reactions and hidden incentives, which LLMs currently fail to model effectively.
- Perfect-information games like chess differ from imperfect-information games like poker, where hidden state and adversarial adaptation are crucial.
- LLMs are optimized for producing coherent outputs but lack the ability to simulate multiagent environments where other parties adapt and counter.
- The core issue is not raw intelligence but the training loop—LLMs need to be graded on outcomes in adversarial settings rather than static outputs.
- Experts judge artifacts by their robustness under pressure, while outsiders focus on surface-level qualities like coherence and professionalism.
- The poker vs. chess analogy underscores the challenge of hidden state and adversarial dynamics in real-world applications.
- Future solutions may require multi-agent training environments where LLMs learn from outcomes and adapt to being modeled by others.
Federal statement on Jeffrey Epstein's death dated day before he was found dead
2 hours ago
- Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell on August 10, 2019, but a federal statement announcing his death was dated August 9, 2019.
- Epstein's death was ruled a suicide by hanging, but anomalies in prison records and malfunctioning cameras have fueled speculation.
- Guards failed to conduct routine checks, and two cameras outside Epstein’s cell malfunctioned, leaving gaps in surveillance.
- Epstein faced charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy, with potential decades in prison if convicted.
- His death ended criminal charges against him but not investigations into his alleged accomplices.
The Little Bool of Doom
3 hours ago
- The article discusses a compilation error encountered during a Fedora Linux mass rebuild related to the game DOOM.
- The error was due to a clash between custom boolean type definitions in the game's code and new C23 standard keywords.
- Three potential solutions were considered: downgrading the C standard, modifying the code to use built-in boolean types, or renaming enum values.
- The chosen solution involved modifying the code to use built-in boolean types when in C23 mode, which initially seemed successful.
- Further investigation revealed that using _Bool type led to unexpected behavior due to undefined behavior when handling invalid boolean values.
- The issue was traced back to memory initialization with -1, which is not a valid _Bool value, causing both true and false conditions to pass.
- The article concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding undefined behavior in C programming.
Roundcube Webmail: SVG feImage bypasses image blocking to track email opens
2 hours ago
- Roundcube's rcube_washtml sanitizer failed to block external resources on <feImage> due to incorrect code path.
- Attackers could track email opens even with 'Block remote images' enabled by exploiting this vulnerability.
- Fixed in versions 1.5.13 and 1.6.13 by updating the is_image_attribute function to include <feImage>.
- The vulnerability allowed HTTP/HTTPS URLs to bypass intended restrictions via the wash_link function.
- Proof of concept involved an invisible SVG that triggered a GET request to an attacker's URL.
- Impact included potential IP logging and browser fingerprinting despite remote image blocking.
- Remediation involved collapsing checks into a single regex to properly handle SVG elements.
- Timeline shows the vulnerability was reported on 2026-01-04 and fixed by 2026-02-08.
Kagi Translate
a day ago
- Text input functionality available
- Proofreading option provided
- Dictionary access included
- Document handling feature
- Website interaction capability
- Login option for Kagi account
- Free trial available
- Language detection for input text
- Character limit of 20,000 for input
- English language setting with Standard/Best options
Canada, better the 28th EU member than the 51st US state
7 hours ago
- Donald Trump targets Venezuela, Greenland, and Canada, suggesting Canada become the '51st state' of the US.
- Trump's remarks and covert destabilization efforts, including meetings with Alberta separatists, have angered Canadians.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney criticizes the end of the postwar international order and the need for middle powers to unite.
- Trump responds by mocking Carney and asserting Canada's dependence on the US.
- Carney advocates for middle powers to unite, drawing parallels to the European Union's principles.
How to Be a Class Act
3 hours ago
- Act with class by showing dignity, respect, and warmth in social interactions.
- Class evolved from economic status to a measure of bearing and behavior.
- A classy person is magnanimous, self-possessed, and elevates situations.
- 25 small courtesies to be classy: initiating greetings, using names, holding doors, letting others merge in traffic, writing thank-you notes, avoiding gossip, complimenting others behind their backs, picking up trash, dressing appropriately, being punctual, being a generous conversationalist, returning borrowed items in better condition, saying 'excuse me' and 'sorry' sincerely, tipping generously, keeping phones away during conversations, keeping promises, not oversharing, giving credit, handling losses with dignity, giving people an out, acknowledging service workers, keeping complaints private, avoiding unnecessary corrections, not bragging, and acting like a host.
Bun v1.3.9
3 hours ago
- Installation methods for Bun include curl, npm, PowerShell, scoop, brew, and Docker.
- Bun can be upgraded using the command 'bun upgrade'.
- Run multiple package.json scripts concurrently or sequentially with 'bun run --parallel' or 'bun run --sequential'.
- HTTP/2 Connection Upgrades via net.Server now work correctly.
- Symbol.dispose support for mock() and spyOn() enables automatic restoration of mocks.
- NO_PROXY is now respected for explicit proxy options in fetch() and WebSocket.
- Bun supports the '--cpu-prof-interval' flag for CPU profiling.
- ESM bytecode in '--compile' is now supported.
- Fixed crashes on older ARM64 processors due to mimalloc emitting LSE atomic instructions.
- Faster Markdown-to-HTML rendering with SIMD-accelerated scanning.
- Faster Bun.markdown.react() with cached HTML tag strings.
- Faster AbortSignal.abort() when there are no listeners.
- JavaScriptCore upgrade includes RegExp SIMD acceleration and other optimizations.
- Bugfixes include Node.js compatibility improvements, Bun APIs, Web APIs, and TypeScript types.
Formally Verifying PBS Kids with Lean4
6 days ago
- Cyberchase is an educational TV show for children aged 8-12, airing on PBS Kids since 2002, focusing on math concepts.
- The show features the Cybersquad (Matt, Jackie, and Inez) who solve math-based puzzles to defeat the villain Hacker.
- Cyberchase teaches math by deriving principles from first principles, making it effective for learning fundamental math skills.
- Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP) languages like Lean help verify mathematical proofs and code correctness by formalizing proofs down to axioms.
- Lean is used to model a Cyberchase episode's puzzle involving a game with dragons, demonstrating formal proof techniques.
- The blog post details writing a Lean proof for a strategy game from Cyberchase, showcasing Lean's syntax and proof tactics.
- The proof involves defining game strategies, simulating outcomes, and using induction to verify the strategy's correctness.
- Lean's tactics like `rw`, `simp`, and `omega` simplify and automate parts of the proof, ensuring correctness.
- The post highlights the importance of formal verification in math and software engineering, reducing cognitive burden in proofs.
The First Sodium-Ion Battery EV Is a Winter Range Monster
4 hours ago
- The Changan Nevo A06 is the world's first mass-produced car powered by a sodium-ion battery.
- It has a CLTC range of about 250 miles and performs well in extreme cold (-40°F) with minimal range loss.
- CATL's Naxtra sodium-ion battery is set to debut in the Changan Nevo A06 by mid-2026.
- Sodium-ion batteries are safer, less temperature-sensitive, and cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.
- The Naxtra battery offers 175 Wh/kg energy density, similar to LFP batteries, making it suitable for low-cost EVs and energy storage.
- Cold-weather performance is a standout feature, with over 90% range retention at -40°F and stable power delivery at -58°F.
- CATL expects future sodium-ion batteries to reach up to 373 miles of range as the technology matures.
- The launch marks the beginning of a 'dual-chemistry era' where sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries coexist to meet diverse needs.
I put a real-time 3D shader on the Game Boy Color
4 hours ago
- Created a real-time 3D shader for the Game Boy Color, allowing players to control an orbiting light and spin objects.
- Used Blender for early look development and normal map creation, employing cryptomattes for specific color control.
- Implemented a Lambert shader using dot products and spherical coordinates to optimize performance on the Game Boy.
- Overcame hardware limitations (no multiply instruction or floats) by using logarithms and lookup tables for calculations.
- Optimized performance with self-modifying code, reducing cycle counts significantly for pixel processing.
- Attempted to use AI for parts of the project but found it largely ineffective for Game Boy assembly, requiring manual rewrites.
- Disclosed AI usage transparently, emphasizing ethical considerations and the importance of human oversight in coding.
80386 Barrel Shifter
14 hours ago
- The 80386 uses a hybrid barrel shifter with two stages: a coarse shifter (32x8 crossbar) and a fine shifter, allowing shifts of 0-31 bits in one cycle.
- All shift and rotate instructions (ROL, ROR, SHL, SHR, SAR) share the same microcode sequence, reducing operations to right shifts by configuring the 64-bit input differently.
- Left shifts are implemented by placing the operand in the high half of the shifter input and right-shifting by (width - count).
- RCL and RCR (rotate through carry) require special handling: the carry flag is embedded into the shifter input, and counts are reduced modulo (width + 1) in microcode.
- Bit test instructions (BT, BTS, BTR, BTC) reuse the barrel shifter via a rotate-modify-rotate strategy, avoiding dedicated bit extraction hardware.
- The 386's design emphasizes hardware reuse and parameterized microcode, with dedicated logic handling EA calculation and stack addressing.
San Francisco's pro-billionaire march draws dozens
4 hours ago
- A march supporting California’s billionaires drew a small crowd of around three dozen attendees.
- Counter-protesters and journalists nearly outnumbered the demonstrators at the event.
- Marchers carried signs with humorous and supportive messages for billionaires like Jeff Bezos.
- The protest was against the Billionaire Tax Act, a proposed 5% wealth tax on billionaires in California.
- Governor Gavin Newsom stated he would veto the measure if it passes.
- Organizer Derik Kauffman, an AI startup founder, criticized California's health insurance for undocumented immigrants.
Exploiting signed bootloaders to circumvent UEFI Secure Boot
6 hours ago
- Modern PC motherboards follow UEFI specification since 2010.
- Secure Boot, introduced in 2013, prevents execution of unsigned or untrusted program code.
- Secure Boot can be disabled, but requires physical presence of the user.
- Most motherboards trust only Microsoft keys, forcing vendors to sign bootloaders with Microsoft.
- Linux distributions and other software must sign bootloaders with Microsoft to work with Secure Boot.
- PreLoader and shim are solutions to run untrusted code with Secure Boot enabled.
- Super UEFIinSecureBoot Disk allows booting any OS or .efi file without disabling Secure Boot.
- Silent UEFIinSecureBoot Disk uses signed Kaspersky bootloader to silently boot untrusted .efi files.
- ZeroNet is a decentralized web system used to distribute Silent UEFIinSecureBoot Disk.

first prev0next

About Login

Bilingual

EU to delay anti-deforestation law. Again
3 hours ago
- The European Union delays its anti-deforestation law by a year, pushing implementation to December 2026.
- The decision follows backlash from member countries and right-wing lawmakers, leading to a review of the rules early next year.
- This marks the second delay for the law, reflecting a broader trend of weakening EU environmental policies due to pressure from businesses, trading partners, and far-right politicians.
Tech Independence
2 hours ago
- Tech independence involves not relying on any particular company or software, using open-source tools to run your own private server.
- Steps to achieve tech independence include registering a domain, setting up DNS nameservers, creating encrypted storage, and generating an SSH key.
- Setting up a server involves choosing OpenBSD and a hosting provider like Vultr, then deploying an instance with specific configurations.
- After server setup, users can SSH into the server, customize instructions, and use encrypted storage for file uploads via rsync or FreeFileSync.
- Creating a simple website involves making an 'htdocs' directory, editing HTML and CSS files, and uploading them to the server.
- File sharing is facilitated through a '/pub/' directory on the server, allowing public access to shared files.
- Email setup includes configuring an IMAP server (Dovecot) for receiving emails and using SMTP2GO for sending emails to bypass hosting restrictions.
- Contacts and calendar synchronization is possible with CardDAV and CalDAV servers, allowing integration with Android and iPhone devices.
- Additional tips for tech independence include using Firefox with privacy settings, replacing Google Authenticator with 2FAS, and considering Ubuntu Linux over Windows.
- For more storage, Hetzner’s 'Storage Box' is recommended for large files, while Vultr’s encrypted storage is suggested for sensitive data.
- Server upkeep involves periodic updates using commands like 'syspatch', 'fw_update', and 'pkg_add -u', with instructions for handling certificate renewals.
- In case of issues, users can destroy and recreate their server instance without losing encrypted storage, ensuring a fresh start.
Attention Media ≠ Social Media
3 hours ago
- Early social media was genuinely social, focusing on updates from people you knew or liked.
- The shift from Web 2.0 optimism to attention media occurred between 2012 and 2016.
- Infinite scroll and bogus notifications disrupted user experience and sense of control.
- Notifications became manipulative, serving the platform rather than the user.
- Timelines filled with content from strangers made social media feel impersonal and overwhelming.
- Mastodon revived the original social media experience with user-controlled updates and no manipulative notifications.
- Mastodon's timeline is calm, predictable, and based solely on user choices, reminiscent of early Twitter.
Re-Identification Risk vs. K-Anonymity
3 hours ago
- The post explores the trade-off between k-anonymity and re-identification risk through an experimental walkthrough.
- A synthetic dataset of 2000 individuals was created with fields like age, zip3, sex, and lab_glucose as quasi-identifiers (QIs).
- k-anonymity was varied from 1 to 20, with anonymization techniques including age binning, top-coding, and rare ZIP suppression.
- A simulated attacker with partial knowledge (age, zip3, sex) attempts re-identification using a global optimization strategy.
- Re-identification success (Hit@1) drops sharply as k increases, especially beyond k=5–7, indicating stronger anonymity.
- Data utility (e.g., ZIP Utility, Mean Age Drift) degrades non-linearly with higher k, with significant loss beyond k=8.
- The privacy–utility frontier shows diminishing returns: high k yields minimal extra privacy at major utility cost.
- Non-QI attributes (e.g., lab_glucose) remain unchanged, preserving analytical value while QIs are anonymized.
- The attacker model is basic; real-world risks could be higher with additional knowledge or advanced techniques.
- Key takeaway: Moderate k (e.g., 5–7) offers strong privacy with reasonable utility, while higher k may render data unusable.
Credentials for Linux: Bringing Passkeys to the Linux Desktop
4 hours ago
- Passkeys are now standard on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, but Linux lacks standard FIDO2 platform APIs.
- Credentials for Linux is a cross-desktop effort to bring Passkeys and other credentials to Linux, supporting sandboxed apps and browsers.
- The talk includes a refresher on passkeys, platform authenticators, and their current state on Linux.
- Architecture details: libwebauthn (Rust FIDO2/U2F library) and credentialsd (D-Bus service for credential management).
- Demo of sandboxed Firefox using credentialsd with hardware security keys and phones.
- Roadmap includes TPM-backed platform authenticators, origin binding, and collaboration with GNOME, KDE, Flatpak, and distributions.
- Target audience: browser/desktop maintainers, distribution engineers, security practitioners, and those interested in Linux identity management.
A Community-Curated Nancy Drew Collection
6 days ago
- Volunteer Open Librarians organized the Nancy Drew book series into a collection on Open Library.
- Emily, an Open Library volunteer, proposed and led the project with a collaborative approach.
- A detailed Google Document and initial Zoom call helped coordinate international volunteers.
- Manual tagging of books' subject fields with a collectionid was chosen over automation due to technical limitations.
- Metadata cleanup revealed challenges like incorrect ghostwriter attributions and verifying book editions.
- Volunteers contributed for various reasons, including nostalgia, learning opportunities, and love for library work.
- Future projects could benefit from live demonstrations of metadata editing to streamline the process.
- The project highlights the importance of human connection and collaboration in volunteer efforts.
- Opportunities to contribute to the ongoing collection and metadata cleanup remain open.
Experts Have World Models. LLMs Have Word Models
3 hours ago
- Experts possess world models, while LLMs (Large Language Models) have word models, focusing on next token prediction rather than next state prediction.
- Three types of world models are discussed: 3D video world models, Meta's JEPA and related models, and multiagent world models for adversarial reasoning.
- The essay highlights the difference between evaluating text in isolation versus simulating how it will be received in a real-world context with other agents.
- Examples illustrate how domain experts anticipate adversarial reactions and hidden incentives, which LLMs currently fail to model effectively.
- Perfect-information games like chess differ from imperfect-information games like poker, where hidden state and adversarial adaptation are crucial.
- LLMs are optimized for producing coherent outputs but lack the ability to simulate multiagent environments where other parties adapt and counter.
- The core issue is not raw intelligence but the training loop—LLMs need to be graded on outcomes in adversarial settings rather than static outputs.
- Experts judge artifacts by their robustness under pressure, while outsiders focus on surface-level qualities like coherence and professionalism.
- The poker vs. chess analogy underscores the challenge of hidden state and adversarial dynamics in real-world applications.
- Future solutions may require multi-agent training environments where LLMs learn from outcomes and adapt to being modeled by others.
Federal statement on Jeffrey Epstein's death dated day before he was found dead
2 hours ago
- Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell on August 10, 2019, but a federal statement announcing his death was dated August 9, 2019.
- Epstein's death was ruled a suicide by hanging, but anomalies in prison records and malfunctioning cameras have fueled speculation.
- Guards failed to conduct routine checks, and two cameras outside Epstein’s cell malfunctioned, leaving gaps in surveillance.
- Epstein faced charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy, with potential decades in prison if convicted.
- His death ended criminal charges against him but not investigations into his alleged accomplices.
The Little Bool of Doom
3 hours ago
- The article discusses a compilation error encountered during a Fedora Linux mass rebuild related to the game DOOM.
- The error was due to a clash between custom boolean type definitions in the game's code and new C23 standard keywords.
- Three potential solutions were considered: downgrading the C standard, modifying the code to use built-in boolean types, or renaming enum values.
- The chosen solution involved modifying the code to use built-in boolean types when in C23 mode, which initially seemed successful.
- Further investigation revealed that using _Bool type led to unexpected behavior due to undefined behavior when handling invalid boolean values.
- The issue was traced back to memory initialization with -1, which is not a valid _Bool value, causing both true and false conditions to pass.
- The article concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding undefined behavior in C programming.
Roundcube Webmail: SVG feImage bypasses image blocking to track email opens
2 hours ago
- Roundcube's rcube_washtml sanitizer failed to block external resources on <feImage> due to incorrect code path.
- Attackers could track email opens even with 'Block remote images' enabled by exploiting this vulnerability.
- Fixed in versions 1.5.13 and 1.6.13 by updating the is_image_attribute function to include <feImage>.
- The vulnerability allowed HTTP/HTTPS URLs to bypass intended restrictions via the wash_link function.
- Proof of concept involved an invisible SVG that triggered a GET request to an attacker's URL.
- Impact included potential IP logging and browser fingerprinting despite remote image blocking.
- Remediation involved collapsing checks into a single regex to properly handle SVG elements.
- Timeline shows the vulnerability was reported on 2026-01-04 and fixed by 2026-02-08.
Kagi Translate
a day ago
- Text input functionality available
- Proofreading option provided
- Dictionary access included
- Document handling feature
- Website interaction capability
- Login option for Kagi account
- Free trial available
- Language detection for input text
- Character limit of 20,000 for input
- English language setting with Standard/Best options
Canada, better the 28th EU member than the 51st US state
7 hours ago
- Donald Trump targets Venezuela, Greenland, and Canada, suggesting Canada become the '51st state' of the US.
- Trump's remarks and covert destabilization efforts, including meetings with Alberta separatists, have angered Canadians.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney criticizes the end of the postwar international order and the need for middle powers to unite.
- Trump responds by mocking Carney and asserting Canada's dependence on the US.
- Carney advocates for middle powers to unite, drawing parallels to the European Union's principles.
How to Be a Class Act
3 hours ago
- Act with class by showing dignity, respect, and warmth in social interactions.
- Class evolved from economic status to a measure of bearing and behavior.
- A classy person is magnanimous, self-possessed, and elevates situations.
- 25 small courtesies to be classy: initiating greetings, using names, holding doors, letting others merge in traffic, writing thank-you notes, avoiding gossip, complimenting others behind their backs, picking up trash, dressing appropriately, being punctual, being a generous conversationalist, returning borrowed items in better condition, saying 'excuse me' and 'sorry' sincerely, tipping generously, keeping phones away during conversations, keeping promises, not oversharing, giving credit, handling losses with dignity, giving people an out, acknowledging service workers, keeping complaints private, avoiding unnecessary corrections, not bragging, and acting like a host.
Bun v1.3.9
3 hours ago
- Installation methods for Bun include curl, npm, PowerShell, scoop, brew, and Docker.
- Bun can be upgraded using the command 'bun upgrade'.
- Run multiple package.json scripts concurrently or sequentially with 'bun run --parallel' or 'bun run --sequential'.
- HTTP/2 Connection Upgrades via net.Server now work correctly.
- Symbol.dispose support for mock() and spyOn() enables automatic restoration of mocks.
- NO_PROXY is now respected for explicit proxy options in fetch() and WebSocket.
- Bun supports the '--cpu-prof-interval' flag for CPU profiling.
- ESM bytecode in '--compile' is now supported.
- Fixed crashes on older ARM64 processors due to mimalloc emitting LSE atomic instructions.
- Faster Markdown-to-HTML rendering with SIMD-accelerated scanning.
- Faster Bun.markdown.react() with cached HTML tag strings.
- Faster AbortSignal.abort() when there are no listeners.
- JavaScriptCore upgrade includes RegExp SIMD acceleration and other optimizations.
- Bugfixes include Node.js compatibility improvements, Bun APIs, Web APIs, and TypeScript types.
Formally Verifying PBS Kids with Lean4
6 days ago
- Cyberchase is an educational TV show for children aged 8-12, airing on PBS Kids since 2002, focusing on math concepts.
- The show features the Cybersquad (Matt, Jackie, and Inez) who solve math-based puzzles to defeat the villain Hacker.
- Cyberchase teaches math by deriving principles from first principles, making it effective for learning fundamental math skills.
- Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP) languages like Lean help verify mathematical proofs and code correctness by formalizing proofs down to axioms.
- Lean is used to model a Cyberchase episode's puzzle involving a game with dragons, demonstrating formal proof techniques.
- The blog post details writing a Lean proof for a strategy game from Cyberchase, showcasing Lean's syntax and proof tactics.
- The proof involves defining game strategies, simulating outcomes, and using induction to verify the strategy's correctness.
- Lean's tactics like `rw`, `simp`, and `omega` simplify and automate parts of the proof, ensuring correctness.
- The post highlights the importance of formal verification in math and software engineering, reducing cognitive burden in proofs.
The First Sodium-Ion Battery EV Is a Winter Range Monster
4 hours ago
- The Changan Nevo A06 is the world's first mass-produced car powered by a sodium-ion battery.
- It has a CLTC range of about 250 miles and performs well in extreme cold (-40°F) with minimal range loss.
- CATL's Naxtra sodium-ion battery is set to debut in the Changan Nevo A06 by mid-2026.
- Sodium-ion batteries are safer, less temperature-sensitive, and cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.
- The Naxtra battery offers 175 Wh/kg energy density, similar to LFP batteries, making it suitable for low-cost EVs and energy storage.
- Cold-weather performance is a standout feature, with over 90% range retention at -40°F and stable power delivery at -58°F.
- CATL expects future sodium-ion batteries to reach up to 373 miles of range as the technology matures.
- The launch marks the beginning of a 'dual-chemistry era' where sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries coexist to meet diverse needs.
I put a real-time 3D shader on the Game Boy Color
4 hours ago
- Created a real-time 3D shader for the Game Boy Color, allowing players to control an orbiting light and spin objects.
- Used Blender for early look development and normal map creation, employing cryptomattes for specific color control.
- Implemented a Lambert shader using dot products and spherical coordinates to optimize performance on the Game Boy.
- Overcame hardware limitations (no multiply instruction or floats) by using logarithms and lookup tables for calculations.
- Optimized performance with self-modifying code, reducing cycle counts significantly for pixel processing.
- Attempted to use AI for parts of the project but found it largely ineffective for Game Boy assembly, requiring manual rewrites.
- Disclosed AI usage transparently, emphasizing ethical considerations and the importance of human oversight in coding.
80386 Barrel Shifter
14 hours ago
- The 80386 uses a hybrid barrel shifter with two stages: a coarse shifter (32x8 crossbar) and a fine shifter, allowing shifts of 0-31 bits in one cycle.
- All shift and rotate instructions (ROL, ROR, SHL, SHR, SAR) share the same microcode sequence, reducing operations to right shifts by configuring the 64-bit input differently.
- Left shifts are implemented by placing the operand in the high half of the shifter input and right-shifting by (width - count).
- RCL and RCR (rotate through carry) require special handling: the carry flag is embedded into the shifter input, and counts are reduced modulo (width + 1) in microcode.
- Bit test instructions (BT, BTS, BTR, BTC) reuse the barrel shifter via a rotate-modify-rotate strategy, avoiding dedicated bit extraction hardware.
- The 386's design emphasizes hardware reuse and parameterized microcode, with dedicated logic handling EA calculation and stack addressing.
San Francisco's pro-billionaire march draws dozens
4 hours ago
- A march supporting California’s billionaires drew a small crowd of around three dozen attendees.
- Counter-protesters and journalists nearly outnumbered the demonstrators at the event.
- Marchers carried signs with humorous and supportive messages for billionaires like Jeff Bezos.
- The protest was against the Billionaire Tax Act, a proposed 5% wealth tax on billionaires in California.
- Governor Gavin Newsom stated he would veto the measure if it passes.
- Organizer Derik Kauffman, an AI startup founder, criticized California's health insurance for undocumented immigrants.
Exploiting signed bootloaders to circumvent UEFI Secure Boot
6 hours ago
- Modern PC motherboards follow UEFI specification since 2010.
- Secure Boot, introduced in 2013, prevents execution of unsigned or untrusted program code.
- Secure Boot can be disabled, but requires physical presence of the user.
- Most motherboards trust only Microsoft keys, forcing vendors to sign bootloaders with Microsoft.
- Linux distributions and other software must sign bootloaders with Microsoft to work with Secure Boot.
- PreLoader and shim are solutions to run untrusted code with Secure Boot enabled.
- Super UEFIinSecureBoot Disk allows booting any OS or .efi file without disabling Secure Boot.
- Silent UEFIinSecureBoot Disk uses signed Kaspersky bootloader to silently boot untrusted .efi files.
- ZeroNet is a decentralized web system used to distribute Silent UEFIinSecureBoot Disk.

Hasty Briefsbeta

EU to delay anti-deforestation law. Again

Tech Independence

Attention Media ≠ Social Media

Re-Identification Risk vs. K-Anonymity

Credentials for Linux: Bringing Passkeys to the Linux Desktop

A Community-Curated Nancy Drew Collection

Experts Have World Models. LLMs Have Word Models

Federal statement on Jeffrey Epstein's death dated day before he was found dead

The Little Bool of Doom

Roundcube Webmail: SVG feImage bypasses image blocking to track email opens

Kagi Translate

Canada, better the 28th EU member than the 51st US state

How to Be a Class Act

Bun v1.3.9

Formally Verifying PBS Kids with Lean4

The First Sodium-Ion Battery EV Is a Winter Range Monster

I put a real-time 3D shader on the Game Boy Color

80386 Barrel Shifter

San Francisco's pro-billionaire march draws dozens

Exploiting signed bootloaders to circumvent UEFI Secure Boot

EU to delay anti-deforestation law. Again

Tech Independence

Attention Media ≠ Social Media

Re-Identification Risk vs. K-Anonymity

Credentials for Linux: Bringing Passkeys to the Linux Desktop

A Community-Curated Nancy Drew Collection

Experts Have World Models. LLMs Have Word Models

Federal statement on Jeffrey Epstein's death dated day before he was found dead

The Little Bool of Doom

Roundcube Webmail: SVG feImage bypasses image blocking to track email opens

Kagi Translate

Canada, better the 28th EU member than the 51st US state

How to Be a Class Act

Bun v1.3.9

Formally Verifying PBS Kids with Lean4

The First Sodium-Ion Battery EV Is a Winter Range Monster

I put a real-time 3D shader on the Game Boy Color

80386 Barrel Shifter

San Francisco's pro-billionaire march draws dozens

Exploiting signed bootloaders to circumvent UEFI Secure Boot