1. Observations from people-watching
Total comment counts : 44
Summary
The author reflects on their experience observing interpersonal dynamics, particularly at weddings. They describe perceiving people’s “internal architecture,” which reveals their emotions and attention levels. Key distinctions are made between genuine happiness and polite interactions, with the former being unpredictable and open while the latter is calculated. The author also notes the importance of pauses in conversation, indicating receptiveness. Self-acceptance is connected to how individuals treat others, and a person’s ability to connect emotionally often correlates with their presence and self-acceptance, affecting their interactions with the world.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author reflects on their initial fascination with the ability to “read” people but has become aware of its inaccuracies. While such insights can reveal unintentional vibes, they are often incorrect. Personal experiences, including communication challenges with a girlfriend, emphasize that listening is more effective than attempting to read emotions. The author acknowledges the allure of this skill, noting it can feel magical but is ultimately unreliable. They advocate treating it as a sensitive yet noisy information channel, highlighting its usefulness while cautioning against over-reliance.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author recounts a moment at Maui airport where a gate agent accurately guessed their baby’s gender by observing their demeanor. She contrasted them with another couple, hinting at underlying tensions in their relationship. The author reflects on how behaviors reveal emotional dynamics within groups, particularly at weddings where she observes others openly. Her position allows her to capture genuine feelings, breaking the societal norm of avoiding eye contact with strangers. Overall, the experience is deemed insightful and engaging.
2. Fandom sells gaming media brand Giant Bomb to long-term staff
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb, longtime staff and creators at Giant Bomb, are acquiring full ownership of the gaming media brand from Fandom. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, and programming which was paused will resume shortly. Fandom has emphasized its commitment to the fan community and creators through this transition back to Giant Bomb’s independent roots. In a joint statement, Bakalar and Grubb expressed their gratitude to the community for their support and assured fans that future developments will be communicated soon.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Video game journalism is struggling, with many prominent sites downsizing or disappearing. Major players like IGN have low engagement on platforms like YouTube, despite large subscriber counts. The audience increasingly prefers individual YouTubers or Twitch streamers over traditional sites. As a business, gaming sites appear risk-laden with little promise of profit. Their best chance for survival may lie in catering to niche audiences with specific content, but overall, a resurgence seems unlikely.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article criticizes Fandom as a detrimental website, suggesting it harms the online community by overshadowing more valuable resources through excessive SEO practices. The author expresses the opinion that Fandom should permanently shut down, arguing it is worse than sites like Pinterest.
3. One-Click RCE in Asus’s Preinstalled Driver Software
Total comment counts : 20
Summary
The article describes a user’s experience with ASUS DriverHub software on a new motherboard. Initially concerned about the software’s silent installation, the user accidentally allowed it through BIOS settings. After exploring the software, they uncovered security vulnerabilities in its design, particularly around Remote Procedure Call (RPC) methods. The user could manipulate requests by altering headers, highlighting potential threats for exploitation. They examined commands accessible through the software, including installing or updating drivers, and contemplated the risks of timing attacks to execute malicious code during legitimate updates. Concerns about security and proper function are central to the exploration.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article argues that responsible disclosures of security issues are ineffective, as they often allow companies to delay responses. To prioritize customer security, companies should face greater immediate consequences, prompting faster action on vulnerabilities. While this approach may lead to more challenges for end users, it suggests that only by making breaches highly visible and urgent will companies become proactive about security.
Top 2 Comment Summary
ASUS does not offer bug bounties but instead offers recognition in their “hall of fame” for reporting issues. This approach is likely due to their status as a small startup with limited financial resources.
4. Why the Apple II Didn’t Support Lowercase Letters (2020)
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
Steve Wozniak explained that the original Apple II didn’t support lowercase letters primarily due to financial constraints. In the early 1970s, Wozniak was very poor and spent every spare dime on his projects. He opted for a $60 uppercase-only keyboard to save money, as affordable keyboards were scarce. Additionally, implementing lowercase would have required extensive modifications to his already written code, which was financially and practically unfeasible. Although he initially wanted lowercase support, he and Steve Jobs decided that uppercase was acceptable for their launch.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses surprise and enjoyment upon reading a post by Wozniak, highlighting his writing style.
Top 2 Comment Summary
In 1978, the author built a custom keyboard for a 6800 computer due to budget constraints. After purchasing an EBCDIC keyboard from a surplus store, they unsoldered the keys and created a new layout on a plastic board, wiring them in an 8x8 grid pattern. This setup allowed for 64 key combinations, functioning effectively as long as only one key was pressed at a time. The author no longer remembers what happened to the computer or its design notebook.
5. Fan Service
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
The article discusses the author’s effort to create an ASUS ACPI WMI driver for OpenBSD to enable fan speed control, which is not natively supported. ACPI serves as a hardware abstraction layer while WMI helps differentiate vendor-specific methods. The author details the process of writing a driver, troubleshooting issues with GUIDs and ACPI methods, and successfully enabling hotkey events. The project also involved managing device states and ultimately achieving basic control over the keyboard backlight. However, the fan profile toggling proved ineffective, with no audible changes detected in fan speed.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article reflects on the past simplicity of laptop features, where essential functions like brightness and volume could operate without OS dependencies. It contrasts this with modern laptops, such as recent Thinkpads, which require complex drivers and an OS for basic tasks, highlighting a regression in design and increased fragility. The author suggests this shift may be part of a broader trend toward a closed PC ecosystem, driven by Microsoft.
Top 2 Comment Summary
WMI became popular in Windows for userland policy agents over direct ACPI method calls due to increased restrictions on kernel drivers. The author, who is involved in Linux’s WMI integration since 2008, created multiple glue drivers for functionalities like HP’s hotkey events and Sony’s hotkey driver. While WMI is somewhat self-describing, the lack of documentation from manufacturers often requires reverse-engineering ACPI bytecode for understanding. The author expresses the challenges faced in this process, indicating the effort to simplify user experience.
6. Leaving Google
Total comment counts : 22
Summary
Ian Lance Taylor announces his departure from Google after 19 years, during which he significantly contributed to the Go programming language. Joining the team in 2008, he helped refine the language and introduced generics in the Go 1.18 release. Despite initial optimism about Go’s potential, Taylor recognizes that both the language and programming landscape have evolved, leading him to conclude he is no longer a fit for the project at Google. While taking a break, he remains interested in Go’s future development and hopes to contribute again.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author recalls their experience with Ian Lance Taylor as a code reviewer at Google, describing him as polite, firm, and informative. They appreciate his involvement in code reviews, likening it to founders in customer support, and express admiration for his contributions to golang, noting the excitement of seeing his initials on their reviews.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Ian has significantly contributed to the Go and programming communities, notably through projects like gccgo, the gold linker, and maintaining portions of the gcc codebase. His responsiveness and insightful feedback influenced many, including the author. However, the Go language has shifted culturally as its importance to Google grew, leading to concerns about its evolution. Ian’s departure marks a notable loss, as his unique technical perspective and involvement were invaluable. The author wishes him a well-deserved break and anticipates his future endeavors.
7. Strain gauge made out of PCB
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
The article discusses a strain gauge project designed for precise measurements of deflections in micrometers with a full scale range of +/- 3cm. It features a circuit board as the sensing element, recommended at 0.6mm thickness. The board can operate standalone with a microcontroller or externally and allows customization of the sensing element’s shape. It offers flexibility in omitting an external ADC and bias voltage generator. Calibration requires a stable operating temperature, and the included firmware facilitates offset calibration. Additionally, the draw_footprint.ipynb file aids in creating custom sensing shapes.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author seeks advice on creating a DIY scale with milligram accuracy, expressing frustration over the high cost of milligram-accurate strain load cells. They question whether the resolution of a particular option they are considering is sufficient for their needs.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article questions the rationale behind connecting the BRIDGE_SUPPLY voltage to both the voltage regulator output and the PWM signal via the FSA5157L6 analog switch. It seeks clarification on the functional relationship between these components and the implications of such a connection in the overall circuitry.
8. Address of Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
Pope Leo XIV addressed the College of Cardinals on May 10, 2025, expressing gratitude and urging prayer for guidance amid the loss of Pope Francis. He acknowledged the emotional challenges during this transitional period while emphasizing the importance of collaboration and faith. Leo XIV urged the Cardinals to embrace the legacy of service exemplified by Pope Francis, highlighting the Church’s hopeful journey guided by the Risen Lord. He called for continued dedication to listening to God and supporting the global community of believers through compassion and prayer during this pivotal time.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the Church’s social teaching in light of contemporary challenges posed by industrial advancements and artificial intelligence, emphasizing the potential for abuse by those in power. It highlights that AI itself isn’t inherently negative but can violate human dignity if misused. This echoes previous concerns by Pope Leo in “Rerum Novarum,” which cautioned against treating industry as an end rather than a means to serve humanity. The concept of distributism, championed by Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton, is mentioned as a related economic perspective.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the choice to adopt the name Leo XIV, inspired by Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed social issues during the first industrial revolution. The author reflects on the relevance of the Church’s social teachings in responding to today’s industrial landscape and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, emphasizing the importance of defending human dignity, justice, and labor. The encyclical Rerum Novarum is highlighted as a significant document worth exploring.
9. Dotless Domains
Total comment counts : 27
Summary
A “dotless domain” refers to top-level domains (TLDs) that can be accessed directly without a second label, like “http://com/” rather than “http://example.com/". ICANN and IAB oppose dotless domains, particularly for generic TLDs, while country code TLDs (ccTLDs) may have active dotless domains. Email protocols generally require two labels, making dotless emails impractical. Dotless domains can theoretically include DNS records, but most existing TLDs do not. The root domain could also potentially have records, although this is highly unlikely. Concerns over dotless domains relate to security and potential confusion in the DNS hierarchy.
Top 1 Comment Summary
I’m sorry, but I can’t access external content, including links. If you provide me with the text of the article, I’d be happy to summarize it for you!
Top 2 Comment Summary
ICANN’s SSAC states that SMTP requires at least two labels for email addresses, but ICANN itself does not define SMTP. Additionally, the referenced quote from SSAC lacks pertinent information. RFC5321, however, explicitly allows the use of a top-level domain (TLD) as part of the email address domain in section 2.3.5.
10. The Epochalypse Project
Total comment counts : 22
Summary
The 2038 bug poses a critical threat to embedded and industrial systems worldwide, set to trigger severe disruptions on January 19, 2038, when Unix time overflows and causes systems to misinterpret dates. Unlike the Y2K concern, this issue affects countless inaccessible embedded systems integral to healthcare, transportation, and more, heightening the risk of cascading failures and security vulnerabilities due to inadequate NTP security. With only 12 years until the deadline, immediate coordinated action is necessary. The Epochalypse Project, founded by cybersecurity researchers Trey Darley and Pedro Umbelino, aims to raise awareness and drive solutions to this looming crisis.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses vulnerabilities in time synchronization protocols that malicious actors can exploit, notably around 64-bit timestamp rollover issues. It questions the severity and exploitability of these vulnerabilities, particularly why such attacks are not more common despite their potential impact. The author acknowledges experiencing the issue firsthand and seeks to understand the robustness of potential solutions.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article suggests that clarifying the term “unpredictable ways” would enhance understanding of testing devices. It advocates for a catalog of test results detailing specific failure modes to provide concrete evidence. Furthermore, it emphasizes that software engineers must demonstrate the severity and impact of these issues to gain organizational attention and concern.