robryk @robryk@qoto.org
I enjoy things around information theory (and data compression), complexity theory (and cryptography), read hard scifi, currently work on weird ML (we'll see how it goes), am somewhat literal minded and have approximate knowledge of random things. I like when statements have truth values, and when things can be described simply (which is not exactly the same as shortly) and yet have interesting properties.
I live in the largest city of Switzerland (and yet have cow and sheep pastures and a swimmable lake within a few hundred meters of my place :)). I speak Polish, English, German, and can understand simple Swiss German and French.
If in doubt, please err on the side of being direct with me. I very much appreciate when people tell me that I'm being inaccurate. I think that satisfying people's curiosity is the most important thing I could be doing (and usually enjoy doing it). I am normally terse in my writing and would appreciate requests to verbosify.
I appreciate it if my grammar or style is corrected (in any of the languages I use here).
Joined Nov 2020
I wonder how much time will pass until I get the rest of the setup for problem 17 from https://www.iypt.org/problems/problems-iypt-2024/
Why do x-ray emitters present typical lamp current as an important metric? (E.g. on faceplate) Its relation to luminosity depends greatly on emitter geometry, so is emitter-specific.
robryk
boosted
You ever wonder if toothpaste is more of a lapping compound or is it more of a soap?
I'm really surprised that E27 lightbulb sockets are considered fine for multi-kV voltages (there are sodium vapor bulbs without an internal igniter that have that base and require upward from 1.5kV to ignite).
> One of the meters, which was located north of Grindavík, went under lava, but over 20 GPS meters are in the area that are being used.
Hm~ I would be surprised if it actually went _under_.
Some guys reviving a scanning electron microscope from early 90s that was being scrapped: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1OWIgy9S0sOFNL3VpJq7UkqUR78M9EEU (commentary in Polish)
And there's one more eruption near Grindavik (this time closer to the town).
Source of the image: https://en.vedur.is/media/uncategorized/Kort_StadsetningGoss2.jpg
> The use of the system resembled its name, which had been intended to be spurious.
Why do pressurized cans warn against puncturing them "even if empty"?
MPK w Krakowie używa openstreetmap do pokazywania pozycji pojazdu w środku. Wszystko byłoby dobrze, tylko używają wersji sprzed budowy trasy łagiewnickiej, więc tramwaje radośnie jeżdżą poza torami.
robryk
boosted
The I in LLM stands for intelligence
On how people now use AI to submit security reports on #curl.
https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/01/02/the-i-in-llm-stands-for-intelligence/
robryk
boosted
MORPHOTROPHIC, a new novel in 2024.
In a world where the cells that make up our bodies are not committed to any one organism, Marla is confronted by the fickleness of her cytes, and resolves to understand them with help from a centuries-old Flourisher. Swappers like Ruth embrace fluidity, and meet with others to exchange cytes, seeking the perfect mix. But Ruth faces her own crisis, and as the technology to manipulate cytes advances, all three are drawn into a struggle to shape the future of life.
Coming in March 2024.
#physics riddle
My parents have a garden ornament that contains a "vertical spiral thingy" that can freely[^] rotate. When wine blows, it sometimes rotates clockwise and sometimes counterclockwise. What gives? When it has rotated by 180 deg it should be in the same position as if the wind was blowing in the opposite direction (the cage around it nonwithstanding), so I'd expect it to always rotate in the same direction, or to oscillate.
Some videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CQWvBBggW4jXQPKZ9
[^] there might be some weird hysteresis there, because it's basically a wire that slips in a hole
very silly
Which end of the polar bear is positively charged?
robryk
boosted
robryk
boosted
I can finally reveal some research I've been involved with over the past year or so.
We (@redford, @mrtick and I) have reverse engineered the PLC code of NEWAG Impuls EMUs. These trains were locking up for arbitrary reasons after being serviced at third-party workshops. The manufacturer argued that this was because of malpractice by these workshops, and that they should be serviced by them instead of third parties.
1/4
Note that https://sensors-eawag.ch/sars/overview.html has recently had very large (positive) derivatives (so much that I'm somewhat surprised not to see anything that looks to my eye as timing variation across different regions).
robryk
boosted
I enjoy things around information theory (and data compression), complexity theory (and cryptography), read hard scifi, currently work on weird ML (we'll see how it goes), am somewhat literal minded and have approximate knowledge of random things. I like when statements have truth values, and when things can be described simply (which is not exactly the same as shortly) and yet have interesting properties.
I live in the largest city of Switzerland (and yet have cow and sheep pastures and a swimmable lake within a few hundred meters of my place :)). I speak Polish, English, German, and can understand simple Swiss German and French.
If in doubt, please err on the side of being direct with me. I very much appreciate when people tell me that I'm being inaccurate. I think that satisfying people's curiosity is the most important thing I could be doing (and usually enjoy doing it). I am normally terse in my writing and would appreciate requests to verbosify.
I appreciate it if my grammar or style is corrected (in any of the languages I use here).
Joined Nov 2020
