Month: September 2025

Charming Mini-EVs of Europe: A Street-Side Review in Amsterdam | September 21 2025, 17:41

I found such little cars in Europe very charming. All from Amsterdam, there are many of them there. It seems there are none in the USA, not even on college campuses. I think if they ventured onto our highways, first, everyone would crane their necks, and second, they would be blown away by the wind. Among those shown, the most interesting is the Microlino, a little green one. It has a door literally at the front. Electric. 15-18K euros. Among the rest, Opel, FIAT, and Citroen also have nice designs.

Living in the Valley of Data Centers: The NSA’s Gigantic Utah Facility | September 20 2025, 20:06

I live right in the valley of data centers, like 80% of internet traffic goes through us (a dangerous place!). I drove by one of them today, and later at home, while Googling stuff about data centers, stumbled upon the NSA’s data center in Bluffdale, Utah.

It serves as a data repository for the U.S. intelligence community. Capacity — something like 5 trillion terabytes. 5,000,000,000,000,000 gigabytes. Back in 2013, it was 100-1000 times less, but 12 years have passed, Moore’s Law and all that. Hard drives in data centers usually have a lifespan of 3-5 years. Meaning, since the launch of the data center, they have all been replaced several times with obviously greater capacity.

It is expected that the data center will be able to process “all types of communications, including the full content of private emails, mobile phone conversations, internet browsing, as well as all types of personal data: parking receipts, travel itineraries, purchases in bookstores, and data of other transactions made using digital technologies.”

The amount of data this facility is able to store is, of course, classified, but estimates “several yottabytes”. Yottabyte = 1000 zettabytes = 1,000,000 exabytes = 1 trillion terabytes. To store all the books ever written in any language would require just 400 terabytes.

In 2013 it consumed no less than 65 MW with a potential of 100 MW. Water — ~1.5–1.7 million gallons (5.7–6.4 million liters) per day for cooling servers. The water is treated with chemicals (to prevent corrosion) and discharged, leading to criticism in arid Utah — especially amid the record heat from 2022–2025 and the shortage of fresh water. There’s no closed-loop system, and it remains a “hot” topic in local discussions.

The Maunder Minimum’s Impact on Stradivari’s Unique Violins | September 18 2025, 21:20

I stumbled upon an interesting scientific hypothesis from 2003 regarding why Stradivari violins (and those of his contemporaries) are so unique. Traditional hypotheses—about the secrets of the varnish or the aging of the wood—prove insufficient. According to this hypothesis, the entire blame lies with the Maunder Minimum, a period of reduced solar activity occurring from 1645–1715, during which the tree growth rate slowed down due to the climate, meaning the wood was denser. The hypothesis suggests that amidst the perfect combination of altitude, humidity, and temperature, this environmental shift provided material with unique properties, ideal for resonant soundboards.

Stradivari was born a year before the Maunder Minimum began. His “Amati Period” (1666–1690), “Experimentation Period” (1690–1700), and “Golden Period” (1700–1720), during which he perfected and produced his best instruments (see Henley 1961), all coincided with the Maunder Minimum. Cremona’s craftsmen during this period used the only wood available to them, i.e., from trees growing during the Maunder Minimum. Neither before nor after this period was such wood available. And, probably, it is nowhere to be found in the world even now.

But really, modern violins are also quite something. Two-three hundred years ago, musicians extracted the maximum from an instrument through trial and error, whereas now it is done through meticulous calculation of sound. It is almost impossible to differentiate violins by their sound anymore, and the difference lies in the realm of individual preferences, rather than an undisputed objective worse-better.

Classic Art with a Twist: Discovering Humor in “Рживопись” | September 16 2025, 19:12

Judging by the likes and shares, the previous collection was a hit, so here’s more! Context: Found a group on Telegram called “Pun Painting,” which was very delightful. Spent an hour during vacation using a script to download the paintings and apply their custom titles from their channel.

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Revisiting Antalya: 25 Years Later and Family Bonds | September 15 2025, 15:56

I’m back from Antalya. I was there last time 25 years ago. This time I met up with my mom (she’s from Russia) and showed her Turkey №2. Turkey №1 was last year (Istanbul). Here are some photos from this trip. All taken on an iPhone (I brought a camera too, but was too lazy to carry it around).

Russian pop music is no longer blasting from every speaker, but Modern Talking and similar genres are everywhere, until midnight. I was lucky to rent a hotel just 9 steps away from a night bar that quiets down at midnight, but no worries, we got used to it quickly and the music is decent. The city has many Russians, not only because it’s easy to get there, but also because Turkey offers citizenship for $400K — a sum many Russians can afford for a “passport”. But there’s really nothing to do there. You can tour all the natural sites within the first year or two, and then it’s just a very boring city. No museums, no cultural activities, except for more Modern Talking from the bars. So, at a minimum, you need not only to go there for the passport but also actively use it to live somewhere else.

My mom did great, handling all those hills and boats, and had a lot of impressions. Actually, she has only been abroad in Riga and twice in Turkey, last year in Istanbul and this year in Antalya. I really hope for her 80th birthday next year we’ll go somewhere else where Russians don’t need a visa.

Exploring Kal Gajoum’s Masterful Blend of Abstraction and Realism in Cityscapes | September 15 2025, 13:45

An interesting artist — Kal Gajoum (Canada, 1968). His works are amazing. Mostly cityscapes, but there are also a few still lifes. Judging by the number of works, Kal somehow manages to create these masterpieces almost like on a conveyor belt, yet you never feel like adding or removing anything from a single piece. For me, it’s the perfect balance of abstraction and realism. Enjoy 🙂

Exploring the Evolution of Inflight Entertainment: The Forgotten eXport Connector | September 14 2025, 13:24

We’re taking off. I’m wondering what kind of connector this is. Googling it. About 10 years ago, the Panasonic IFE multimedia system (which seems to have been used on B773ER and A333, I’m on a Boeing 777ER) featured a new port named eXport. It was a 9-pin mini-DIN connector for iPods. You could buy an adapter cable made by Griffin that essentially served as a bridge between the 9-pin mini-DIN and the 30-pin dock connector of iPods. Do you remember such connectors on iPods? And do you remember iPods at all? This cable allowed you to charge the iPod, control it via the IFE system, and transmit media from it to the IFE system. Time flies so fast. Looked up when the airplane was made – 14 years ago. That is, 14 years ago it still made sense to integrate a proprietary connector into the seats that essentially worked only with iPods.

I’m not even writing about RJ-45 above. White-orange orange, white-green blue, white-blue green, white-brown brown

Update from a page that has been gone for ten years, but the archive org remembers everything

And how does all this work? Here are some visual materials for clarity and facts from Panasonic (…about the biggest and highest-flying accessory for iPod in the world (as someone from Apple put it)

1. Allows audio and video signals to be transmitted from a passenger’s iPod to the IFE system, while also providing power and charging the iPod.

2. The eXport solution consists of two main components: the eXport connector (installed in the seat) and the eXport cable (connects the iPod to the eXport connector).

3. The crew will provide the eXport cable to passengers during the flight.

4. The solution is the world’s first Apple-certified Made for iPod” and Made for iPhone” solution, specifically designed for commercial airliners.

5. Natively supports Apple authentication technology.

6. In the near future, Panasonic will introduce additional functionality that will allow two-way communication between the iPod and the IFE system.

7. Supports both iPod and iPhone (in airplane mode”).

The reason a special cable is needed is that Apple does not allow video to be transmitted via USB. The only alternative would be to have three RCA connectors and an AC power socket onboard. But it’s expensive (installing an AC power system) and not worth the extra weight. Plus, it takes up legroom under the seat. Moreover, having three RCA connectors is a lot of ‘ports’ (red, yellow, white), which can confuse passengers (imagine a night flight in a darkened cabin). It only increases the workload on the crew, who are responsible for safety and comfort, not tech support.”

Creative Mashup: Exploring Telegram’s “Rzhivopis” Art Parodies | September 12 2025, 20:12

I discovered a hilariously wacky group on Telegram, “Rzhivopis.” I spent an hour on vacation using a script to download their paintings and overlay them with their custom titles from their channel. Then two more hours reviewing them all and picking out the best. Definitely subscribe, there are about 2000 paintings, I won’t post that many, but maybe next time there will be a second part of the funniest:)

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