Month: October 2022

The little fox definitely knows how to keep himself busy. Suddenly remembered he has an imaginary friend in the corner (Watch with sound)

Started reading Brave New World. Well, reading as in what’s called close reading. Darn, it’s more complex than any 20th-century English books I’ve seen in the original before. Of course, the meaning is clear even without delving into bookish words, but I’m not only reading the book, but also trying to learn from it.

Take, for example, the first two pages with my comments. About a dozen unfamiliar words per page. So far, this is a record among the fiction books I’ve read in English.

Here is a list of words that seemed complex to me in the first chapters. Clearly, you wouldn’t hear these in everyday spoken language, and not even in work correspondence, but for broadening horizons, expanding vocabulary, and getting a feel for the language — why not.

soliloquize

callow

burgeon

prodigious

viviparous

largesse

solemn

predestined

caustic

posthumous

spasmodic

inculcate

aperture

maudlin

immoral

effusive

inscrutable

incongruous

axiomatic

renounce

simian

ruminate

incandescence

corporeal

mockery

asceticism

caste

cremate

imminent

satiety

abject

deplorable

repulsive

fulminate

What they mean — see the third picture in the post

Dog owners, share your experience, what to do when you need to work, but your dog brings a toy, places it nearby, sits down and waits. Waits. Looks at the toy. Looks at you. Back at the toy. Waits. Waits some more. And is very happy if you stand up and throw it to a far corner. But then he brings it back and it all starts again;) I could tell him I’m busy, but it seems that does not work. He still waits.

Educational

Unexpected windfall. 3 million taxpayers in Virginia received $250 each (or $500 per family) simply because the state had a good year and there were surplus funds from a program to support those affected by COVID. COVID is gone, but the money remained and they ended up earning better than expected

“Largely what has occurred is that the state over the last year was relatively swimming in money because of the combination of the fact that the economy did not suffer as much as some people thought during COVID and the state received very substantial dollars from the federal government as well,” said CBS 6 Political Analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth.

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/virginia-tax-rebate-2022?_amp=true

I’m thinking about upgrading my chair. When I was searching, I focused on two brands – Herman Miller Aeron Chair and Humanscale. But when I started checking the prices, I cooled off a bit. 1300-1600. Used ones in good condition are from $300 (offices often have clearance sales, almost new). But what surprised me — these chairs are literally everywhere. In our EPAM office, all chairs are by Herman Miller. Right now, I’m sitting in a hotel chair by Humanscale, and in the client’s office, all chairs are the same (no brand on them, but they are identical). It’s hard to believe that thousands of chairs for offices and hotels are bought at such prices, even with some reasonable volume discount.

Two questions — is it worth it? Are there better alternatives for three-digit prices? The idea is specifically to buy a comfortable chair for home, but one that wouldn’t have foam, padding, leather, but would have high-tech plastic and lots of adjustments. I really like the Herman Miller Aeron, but it feels a bit extravagant

This is a northern mockingbird. It is reported to have a repertoire of 50 to 200 songs. This bird is also mentioned in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It sings very beautifully, and unfortunately, I did not record the most interesting part. But in this video, the bird climbs onto a little stool (crossed out) branch to sit higher up.

Someone has reserved a spot for themselves

Today we “tested” the Amazon Wholefoods store without cash registers, built on the “just take what you need and confidently leave” (Just Walk Out) scheme.

At the entrance, you can authorize via a QR code from the Amazon app or simply by presenting your hand. To authorize with your hand, you must first visit a special kiosk, where biometrics are linked to your account.

We entered the store as a pair. I showed the code, and Nadya followed me. The main question was how the smart store would assign purchases to me when Nadya was the one taking items off the shelf? We periodically drifted to different ends of the store and met again. We tried to confuse the system by passing items from hand to hand, or we would take a kefir and then return to put it back on the shelf.

This particular store has been operational since February 23, but the technology itself has been around for many years, and in the USA, a whole network of Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh has already been opened. I am sure we were not the first to seek ways to befuddle the recognition system, and all trivial situations have long been accounted for in its logic. But deep inside, the tester in me was either singing. Or, I don’t know, crying.

It cannot be said that we completely failed to confuse it. Amazon still charged us for an extra portion of turkey mince. We took one, but it registered two. However, that was the only mistake, and the money was instantly refunded with a click in the app on the “there is an inaccuracy here” button.

The sensations are very interesting. Theoretically, all supermarkets should switch to such a system someday in the future. Because it is very natural and simple, and technologically, as we see, everything is ready. It is not clear what percentage of purchases still require manual processing due to the system’s uncertainty in recognition. One percent? Half a percent? Three? There is no information anywhere. But the direction is set. We shall wait.

Read more on the topic, including about the technology, here:

and https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/21/inside-amazons-surveillance-powered-no-checkout-convenience-store/