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Happy 2025!
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Performance of the StarFive VisionFive2 is underwhelming at this point: my kludged Python-based builds are about 6 times slower on it than my Pi5, at about the same price point. But it runs!
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Despite my preference for open technology (RISC-V), the ARM based Pi5 is still the best platform for a neo-retro connect-to-your-TV-and-start-coding computer.
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Digging into inferencing over first order logic, this paper looks like it could help stretch my formula simplification muscles.
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According to an article on The Guardian, a malicious pdf file could install aggressive spyware. Are Linux pdf tools and web browsers vulnerable?
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I'm moving Peter Smith's βBeginning Mathematical Logicβ upward in my TBR pile.
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AI trained on Internet content is being used to generate Internet content - a global AI feedback loop. Human generated content will dwindle, and the computers will mostly be talking to each
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other. What will AI gossip of the future look like, when nothing has been written by humans for some time?
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I had thought Linus Torvalds had a reputation for βmy way or the highwayβ but his handling of conflict over Rust additions to the Linux kernel turns that on its head. I figure it won't be
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long before humans don't write code anymore - except for fun - until then, this is good leadership.
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Otep has grown on me. Metal+Female Vocals has been my go-to for a couple of years now, but Otep had felt strained - maybe it's a sound for our times.
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Speaking of things growing on me, LITS puzzles are nice to work on. Full page puzzles can be found in a whale of a puzzle book that, sadly, appears to be out of print. Hopefully more Nikoli
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puzzles will become available in the US.
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A plethora of new puzzles is on the horizon from SmartGames, the hugely successful Belgian puzzle publisher. Raf Peeters, one of their prolific designers, shares details of his process on his
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website and gives us a preview of what's coming. I can't wait to add these to my collection: IQ-Hexagon IQ-Pentagon IQ-Square IQ-Circle IQ-Noodles IQ-Bubbles and Genius Connection
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Next up in the book of whale sized full-page Nikoli puzzles is a Shakashaka puzzle - I think it's going to be a real challenge!
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Edward Gorey should never be forgotten. AI generated books, movies and video games (I'm sure even AI generated reality-TV is coming) will end human work on commercial media (don't forget the
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news and the politicians: Trump might have a deepfake version in the works, just to keep his soul alive - you'll be able to see him shaking your hand even if you've never met!) But, for the
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love of it, we can still create.
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While I never knew Jim Keller, I did meet him once when I worked at AMD. Starting the effort on the Zen architecture, he made it a point to meet with everybody in engineering in small groups
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(even the GPU folks). From that brief encounter, I'd describe him as a βrock and rollβ kind of guy - unrestrained and ready to shake things up. That'll be good for RISC-V - ARM has been
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around for 40 years or so (I first worked with it on the 3DO; and x86 is more ancient than, although I have met actual dinosaurs) and the last few years have finally seen some really
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performant ARM cores. RISC-V, with it's more recent and academic heritage, hasn't been in the competition pressure cooker where an architecture has to deliver exceptional performance.
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Software maturity is less critical, but cycles of the multi-year feedback loop between compilers and hardware does make a difference - I saw features come and go in GPUs, and the compiler
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team was integral to generational improvements.
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The worlds remaining human coders seem to be transitioning to Rust, but a modern language that doesn't use whitespace to delimit blocks? When will the oppressive reign of curly braces come to
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an end! Oh well, I may just have to learn it anyway...
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I'm enjoying working through βPath Puzzlesβ by Roderick Kimball - highly recommended! Basic clues indicate how many path segments are in a row or column of the grid, but non-rectangular grids
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and other variations make for a unique logic puzzling experience.
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Procrastinated much of the day by learning to build the Linux Kernel in the hopes of running Debian Trixie (aka Debian 13, currently Debian Testing) on the StarFive VisionFive2 RISC-V Single
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Board Computer I've got. I upgraded an existing Micro-SD install to Trixie and everything but the GPU seems to work fine. I'll post updates if I get anywhere.
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The glorious Brookline Ma local puzzle shop, Eureka! got in copies of IQ-Noodles and IQ-Bubbles. Both combine traditional SmartGames IQ Puzzle challenges with unique design aesthetics, fun
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and colorful, each featuring 120 new puzzles to keep your brain happy!
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I don't know if it was the same for everybody, but on Netflix, watching βMonty Python's Flying Circusβ was always a bit frustrating - the seasons and episodes were indexed backwards and
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trying to binge the show was laborious. Turns out it's available on Prime Video in an amazing restoration: sequences shot on video have been cleaned up and upscaled brilliantly and the
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animations are clean and detailed - if not re-shot, re-scanned meticulously from film. While some may rightfully be offended by βoutdatedβ ideas, the show brilliantly pioneered absurdist
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humor.
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A path-tracing processor is an awesome thing - I love it, I want it, I need it. But, given Artificial Neural Networks can generate photorealistic renderings based on textual descriptions, a
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GPU for graphics is only for those of us who are interested in the math and algorithms behind simulating light transport to generate photorealistic imagery. The rest of the world is just
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going to tell their ChatGPT TV "I wanna see a new Batman movie" and a brand new, never before seen (nor again, probably) movie will flow from their TV into their eyeballs (and an original
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score to their ears, mind you). It'll be tuned based on their web browsing history: Batman may be a devout Christian, proselytizing with his fists and gadgets by night while Bruce Wayne is an
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organized crime boss during the day!
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I finished βPath Puzzlesβ (everything but the βhintβ ones at the end). Is there another volume?
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Based on my years in school and working in industry Logitech's program to improve the workspace in space for women is a good thing - sad it's still necessary, but the world is full of jerks.
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Faster Micro SD in RISC-V VisionFive 2: I haven't done any careful benchmarking to compare the StarFive VisionFive2 to the RPis, but a new, faster & larger micro SD card seems to have sped
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things up a bit!
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True Citrus products include unsweetened citrus extract and βadesβ with stevia and a little sugar. They use plant based ingredients for coloring, such as beta carotene (the orange stufff in
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carrots) and juice from beets and other vegetables. Perfect for those of us improving our hydration and getting away from sugar.
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I just started SmartGames' IQ Noodles and, so far, it's a perfect mix of logic and design! The material used for the pieces has a slightly soft-to-the-touch feel, similar to those found in IQ
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Waves and the colors go beyond primaries.
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Viola Davis for President! The Commander in Chief should be an action hero! I'm disappointed to learn that, while she was defending Cape Town from terrorists, Viola Davis didn't ask my wife
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and I to dinner: we were in her hometown in 2024, during filming, to visit her family. I'm sure it was a simple oversight, and she will have to have a chat with her people, and us our people,
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to find out what went wrong.