Month: June 2020

Today we went to look at rice cookers with the intention to buy one. We saw prices ranging from 75 bucks to 1000, with a lot of models in the upper half of that range. I got into researching and discovered a heap of interesting things.

It turns out that models above 100-150 bucks use Fuzzy Logic for cooking control. I dislike realizing that there’s something in the world that I can’t explain, so I went googling about Fuzzy Logic, apparently I missed this topic in Computer Science back in the day. The idea is that it’s a rule-based system, where the rule inputs and outputs aren’t just 1/0, but states described by a float number from 0 to 1. Each manufacturer has their own know-how on which curves (or segmented lines) are used for setting the rules, what sensors provide data, and which rules are applied. The rules, for example, determine when to turn on the heat, with what intensity, and when to turn it off. Everything is covered with sensors, and data from these sensors are used in the rules. You might find this interesting too – I found a rice cooker emulator on GitHub. https://github.com/illtemperedklavier/Virtual-Rice-Cooker. A lot can be understood from the code. And here’s more material, very clear –

Overall, I figured it out. And we didn’t buy a rice cooker after all.

Lenta knows how to select news

An example of correct marketing during the COVID hysteria (Restaurants have recently started reopening)

Here, one girl during the recent protests in Philly decided to set a police car on fire.

In order to avoid being identified, she covered her face in advance, however, her hands with tattoos and a shirt with a brilliant slogan: “Leave immigrants, deport racists” were still visible.

Such a shirt can’t be bought at H&M, and the search led the FBI to the Etsy website, where such a shirt was being sold.

And it just happened that among the multitude of reviews there was also a review from a girl in Philadelphia under her real name. Then, a search on LinkedIn led to a massage parlor where she worked, and her hands with tattoos were visible in the photos from there. Bingo.

The girl is now arrested and likely has many years ahead to reflect on her attempt to look original.

YouTube is lacking video responses – manually, automatically, or semi-automatically selected videos that cover the same topic.

For example, this could be done through tags. You’re watching “Baby Driver: What You Need to Know About Edgar Wright’s Style”, and right away you get tags “edgar wright,” “kinopoisk,” and a link to “Shaun of the Dead” on Youtube movies.

Even better, if these recommendations could change as you watch the video. You’re watching “Shaun of the Dead”, and immediately a link is adjusted. Of course, the video’s author could do this, but they’re almost always too lazy. It should be possible for everyone to do this, and either the author of the video approves it, or it’s approved by YouTube’s smart system, unless the author has specifically disabled it.

It seems like everyone praises YouTube’s recommendation system, but to me, it seems pretty ineffective. It could be much better. Probably, three things are interfering: optimizers, volumes, and clutter.

The power was turned off at home. The forecast says it will start raining in an hour and end next Wednesday. All cafes are closed. I’m completely puzzled about what to do and how to work.

It seems that “when in doubt, go to sleep” is quite appropriate here.

Leesburg-Purcellville-Leesburg, 32 km, 1:12, avg. speed 27.2 km/h. But the highest Strava recorded was as much as 76.7 km/h. Of course, it’s lying, or fishing for compliments to get a paid subscription

In the yard by the house, so that mothers with children are not bored

Table at the crossroads: Puzzle exchange. Bring your own puzzle, take any of these

McLean-Purcellville-McLean, 122 km, six hours of pedaling… Phew, a real dopamine storm! I just got a photo of me lying on the floor spread-eagle, not wanting to go anywhere, but I was told not to post it because I look weird in it.