1. U.S. reenters the nuclear fuel game
Total comment counts : 15
Summary
Centrus Energy has delivered the first batch of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel made at its Piketon, Ohio plant to the U.S. Department of Energy. This marks the first commercial domestic nuclear fuel production in the United States in 70 years. HALEU fuel is critical for advanced reactors, which are expected to play a role in achieving the country’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035. The DOE is investing $600 million in next-generation reactors, and most of these reactors use HALEU fuel. HALEU has a higher concentration of U-235, allowing for more efficient and smaller reactors with longer core lives and less fuel waste. Centrus currently operates one cascade of 16 centrifuge machines to produce HALEU. The DOE is also monitoring laser enrichment technology as a potential method for producing HALEU in the future.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The Megatons to Megawatts program disrupted the market for nuclear fuel for ten years, although it successfully resulted in the disarmament of 20,008 warheads. Centrus, the US-based company mentioned in the article, was involved in this program. The program caused the market to plummet by dumping excess fuel and driving centrifuge operators out.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article states that the idea that the US has been out of the “nuclear fuel game” is false, as there are commercial separation plants, such as URENCO in Nevada, that continue to produce nuclear fuel for existing reactors and new designs like the AP-1000. The article mentions that the press release being discussed is about “high-assay, low-enriched uranium,” which is not widely used by many reactors yet. The NuScale project, which was planning to use this type of fuel, has been canceled due to high costs. The article questions if there are any advanced reactors that currently require this fuel, suggesting that there might be a demand for it outside the US. The article also provides information from the NRC, stating that natural uranium contains about 0.7% U-235, while traditional reactor fuel is enriched to between 3% and 5% U-235. High-assay, low-enriched uranium, as defined by the NRC, contains 5% - 20% U-235, while weapons-grade uranium is around 90%.
2. Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
Total comment counts : 80
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests a simple hack to improve focus and productivity while working. The hack involves placing a blinking LED light near your computer monitor or on the screen corner. The LED should blink initially at a fast rate and gradually slow down to a slower pace. The author recommends a slope of 20 to 60 minutes. By syncing with the light, the brain becomes calmer and enhances focus on the task at hand. The author claims that this hack works like hypnosis and can be created using a cheap ESP32 and heart-rate sensor for better synchronization. The hack is a personal solution without scientific backing.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author used to believe they had symptoms of ADHD due to their habits of procrastination, intense focus on last-minute projects, and past drug issues. However, after meeting someone who actually has ADHD and observed their struggles without medication, the author realized their own experiences were not comparable. As a result, they are now more cautious about self-diagnosing problems and do not believe they would personally be able to handle prescribed psychoactive drugs.
3. ARRL hails FCC action to remove symbol rate restrictions
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
The FCC unanimously voted to amend the Amateur Radio Service rules, replacing the baud rate limit on the Amateur HF bands with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit to allow for greater flexibility in data communications. The new rules incentivize innovation and experimentation in the amateur radio bands by removing outdated restrictions and providing licensees with the ability to use modern digital emissions. The ARRL (National Association for Amateur Radio) requested this change, and they are pleased with the FCC’s decision. The amended rules will replace the current HF restrictions with the 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit, which will facilitate public service communications and allow for more spectrum-efficient protocols. The FCC also proposes to eliminate similar baud rate limitations in other bands and will seek comment on appropriate bandwidth limitations for those bands. ARRL supports the removal of symbol rate limits in favor of bandwidth limits and suggests reviewing the bandwidth limits themselves in light of technological advancements. The FCC will announce a public comment period for the proposed changes.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the potential limitation of amateur radio access to the 60-meter band, which is shared with commercial interests. The deadline for comments on this issue has been extended to November 28, 2023.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article is excited to announce that they can finally carry out CW (Continuous Writing) at their full speed.
4. Why do people still use VBA?
Total comment counts : 77
Summary
The article discusses a video by YouTuber ThePrimeTime, who talks about the frustrations of a software developer with business culture. The developer criticizes the use of spreadsheets and VBA in controlling infrastructure, suggesting that people use VBA because they have no other choice. The article also mentions various technologies and databases used in the author’s organization, highlighting the limitations of Power BI compared to VBA. Cybersecurity has rejected requests for high-level programming languages in favor of PowerAutomate and PowerApps. The author emphasizes the versatility of Powershell and VBA and mentions open-source VBA libraries that enhance its capabilities.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Many professional developers use Excel/VBA as a secondary tool, even those who excel in Python. One data analyst at a hedge fund impressed others with an Excel model that included VBA code for pulling data from a database, building formulas, and formatting. Despite teasing, the analyst praised Excel and VBA for their ability to easily show the dependency structure of computations, which could save time spent answering questions in Python.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how corporations can utilize Excel as a development environment for non-stock software without needing special approvals. The recommended technology stack includes Excel and Sharepoint for a networked data store with a web interface. The article suggests that solutions can be created using VBA from an end-user perspective.
5. Writing a GPT-4 script to check Wikipedia for the first unused acronym
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
The article discusses the existence of unused three-letter acronyms (TLAs) and four-letter acronyms (FLAs). Using GPT-4, the author wrote a script to check English Wikipedia for unused acronyms. The first unused TLA found was ‘CQK’, with 2,684 TLAs and 392,884 FLAs remaining unused. The author also examined patterns in letter usage and frequency, finding that certain letters like ‘J’ and ‘Z’ had more unused TLAs. The article suggests that the definition of “used” should be based on notable uses, such as having a Wikipedia article or disambiguation page.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article argues that programmers should download a Wikipedia dump onto their machines due to its small size and the convenience it offers in basic and advanced processing tasks. It suggests that using a local dump eliminates the need to rely on slow and unreliable APIs and allows for cost-effective processing.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the frequency of letters in words. It notes that while the letter E is more common overall, the letter A is substantially more common as the first letter of words. The article provides a list of frequencies for different letters, both overall and as the first letter of words. It also suggests that the high frequency of S, P, C, M, and B can be explained by their occurrence as first letters.
6. I accidentally a scheme
Total comment counts : 20
Summary
The author of the article apologizes for creating another Scheme implementation called Whiffle. The purpose of Whiffle is to serve as a new garbage collector (GC) for Guile, which the author co-maintains. The author explains that switching GC implementations is a complex process and needs to be done carefully due to the potential impact on code. To test the new GC algorithm, the author struggled with finding suitable benchmarks and experimented with different approaches. Eventually, the author decided to create a compiler to a bytecode VM, initially in C and then in Scheme. This led to the accidental creation of Whiffle. The author promises to provide more information about Whiffle in a subsequent article.
Top 1 Comment Summary
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Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of accidentally creating a scheme or a programming language. It mentions that accidental schemes are often considered to be bad, but there are exceptions. The article also refers to Brendan Eich of Netscape and the debate around whether he accidentally created a scheme in JavaScript. It mentions a law called Greenspun’s tenth rule which is relevant to most Domain Specific Languages (DSLs). The author suggests that they have accidentally created a better scheme and highlights the importance of schemes being easy to implement yet powerful. The article concludes by stating that accidentally creating a scheme is relatively easy.
7. Detexify: LaTeX Handwriting Symbol Recognition
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
The article discusses the costs associated with hosting Detexify, a tool designed to help users find symbols in LaTeX. The author encourages users to consider helping to pay the hosting bill, as hosting Detexify requires money. The Mac app version of Detexify is now stable, and users can learn how it works on Vimeo and download the latest version. The unlicensed version of Detexify includes a reminder to purchase a license, which is copied to the clipboard when a symbol is selected. Users can purchase a license and obtain help by contacting the provided email address. Detexify aims to simplify the process of finding symbols by allowing users to draw the symbol in a designated area and see the results. If a symbol is not yet trained or not in the list of supported symbols, users can do the training themselves or contact the author. The author also mentions the option to donate or use a referral link to reduce hosting costs. The article concludes by mentioning that a modern browser is recommended for using Detexify and provides a reference to another website for Unicode symbols. The initial idea for Detexify came from Philipp Kühl, and Daniel Kirsch made it a reality.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the release of an open source PDF to markdown reader by Facebook Research. The reader is capable of effectively handling equations in LaTeX format.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights the importance of a tool in the field of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) that is considered crucial for obtaining a PhD. The tool is praised for its amazing capabilities.
8. Is the reversal curse in LLMs real?
Total comment counts : 41
Summary
The article discusses a paper that highlights a failure in large language models such as GPT-4 called the “Reversal Curse.” The paper argues that if a model is trained on the sentence structure “A is B,” it will not automatically be able to generalize to the reverse structure “B is A.” However, the author challenges this claim, suggesting that it is more about the model’s logical capabilities and limitations in the dataset rather than a failure of neural networks. The author argues that the example provided in the paper, about the son of Mary Lee Pfeiffer and Tom Cruise’s mother, is not a fair test for the model because of the limited presence of Mary Lee Pfeiffer in the training data. The author explains that neural networks are not equidistant grids of points but networks of nodes, and some information, like the name of Tom Cruise’s mother, may be treated as a detail rather than a separate node. The author concludes that the argument made in the paper about the Reversal Curse is not as significant as it seems and is more of a description of how neural networks function.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses skepticism towards the concept of logical linguistic metamodeling (LLM) and finds the argument that “A is B” implies “B is A” to be lacking force. They point out that in natural language, the statement “A is B” does not necessarily mean that “B is A” because the word “is” can denote various logical relationships. As an example, the author mentions that saying “The apple is red” does not imply that “red is the apple.”
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the performance of GPT-4, an AI model developed by OpenAI, in answering questions about the eighth Federal Chancellor of Germany. The author provides examples where GPT-4 incorrectly identifies the chancellor as Olaf Scholz, Helmut Kohl, and Gerhard Schröder, instead of Angela Merkel. The author also notes that using different verb tense in the question (is or was) affects the AI’s response. The article includes links to the chat conversations where GPT-4 gives the incorrect answers, as well as a link to the correct information on Wikipedia.
9. Inko Programming Language
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The article discusses the features and benefits of Inko, a programming language designed for building concurrent software. Some key features of Inko include deterministic automatic memory management, move semantics, static typing, type-safe concurrency, efficient error handling, and more. Inko avoids relying on garbage collection for memory management and instead uses single ownership and move semantics. This allows for multiple borrows and the ability to move borrowed values while borrows exist. Overall, using single ownership leads to more predictable behavior, better performance, and eliminates the need for adjusting garbage collection settings. Inko also provides an Option type for optional data and supports both mutable and immutable references. The language’s concurrency model is inspired by Erlang and Pony, utilizing lightweight processes that isolate communication through message passing. Inko ensures correctness through compiler type-checking, ensuring unique data between processes to avoid data races. Multi-producer multi-consumer channels are also supported. Error handling is facilitated by an algebraic type “Result” and syntax sugar for easy handling. Inko aims to be an efficient language, targeting a balance between fast compile times and good runtime performance. It utilizes a native code compiler with LLVM backend and a small Rust-based runtime library. Pattern matching is supported for various types, and the compiler ensures all patterns are covered.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses Inko, a programming language that uses lightweight processes for concurrency. The concurrency model of Inko is inspired by Erlang and Pony, where processes are isolated from each other and communicate through message passing. The compiler of Inko type-checks the classes and methods representing processes and messages to ensure correctness. Additionally, the compiler ensures that data sent between processes is unique, eliminating the need for copying data and preventing data races. Inko also supports multi-producer multi-consumer channels, enabling processes to communicate without explicit references to each other. The article also mentions that marking a class as “async” in Inko is similar to marking a function as an “actor.”
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the process of adding a package to Inko’s package manager, which involves creating a GitHub repository. The author expresses their dissatisfaction with the preference for GitHub repositories and implies that it may make users feel unsupported or inferior if they prefer a different version control system or forge.
10. The Small Website Discoverability Crisis (2021)
Total comment counts : 81
Summary
The article discusses the difficulty of finding small, interesting websites on the internet and proposes a solution of creating a decentralized bookmarking system. The author highlights the challenges faced by small websites in getting traffic and suggests that existing approaches like search engines and algorithmic recommendations are vulnerable to manipulation. They propose a simple federated bookmarking model where users create lists of bookmarks linking to websites they find interesting and publish them for others to see. The author emphasizes the importance of promoting each other’s websites to foster a healthy online community.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Neocities is a platform that aims to improve the discoverability of small personal websites with a social component. It is referred to as “the small web” and offers a search feature called Kagi. The article mentions that while people often associate personal websites with nostalgia or a resistance against social media, there is still a significant amount of web surfing happening. Having a website can provide more exposure for content compared to social media platforms, which often limit organic reach. The author argues that good content on a website can attract visitors through various channels, even if they don’t fully understand the mechanisms behind it. Neocities serves hundreds of millions of views per month and offers a curated selection of interesting websites.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how blogging has evolved over time. It mentions how in the past, bloggers used to have a “blog roll” which was a list of their favorite blogs. Being included in a famous blogger’s blog roll was considered a great honor. The article notes that although the era of blogs was eventually taken over by advertisements, there is now a resurgence of bloggers who are reinventing the old blogosphere by avoiding ads and actively preventing tracking. The article concludes by highlighting how this evolution is a beautiful example of how things change and adapt over time.