Cycling for History: A Book and An Unexpected Glimpse into 1930s Migration Trends | August 24 2025, 18:27

I couldn’t resist and bought the book Great Depression in Perceville, VA, where I arrived by bike. I still don’t know how to carry it back for an hour in cycling clothing without a backpack. Interesting note on a random page

Translation:

AMTORG RECEIVES 100,000 APPLICATIONS FOR 6,000 QUALIFIED JOBS IN RUSSIA

(Business Week, October 7, 1931, pp. 32–33)

NEW YORKERS make up the bulk of Americans who have decided, at least for now, to tie their fates with the Russians. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Illinois contribute the highest number of applications for the new call for “6,000 qualified workers,” with Michigan, Ohio, California, and Massachusetts also being well represented.

The “Amtorg” office in New York received over 100,000 applications for these 6,000 job slots. Just one morning alone saw 280 applications. All states except ten were represented. Alaska and Panama also contributed one applicant each, and 18 Canadians wanted “to try their luck in Russia.”

Industrial states, naturally, provided the largest number of applications, but others were represented as well. Iowa, Texas, and Idaho also contributed some number of qualified workers.

Since it is widely known that Russia is “industrializing,” most applicants are skilled workers in machinery, railroads, metallurgy, automotive manufacturing, or the construction industry. A look at the qualifications of 280 applicants from one “typical” morning showed that specialists of all professions were looking for work, even if it meant moving to Russia and being paid in rubles. Among them were: 2 hairdressers, 1 funeral director, 2 plumbers, 5 painters, 2 cooks, 36 “clerical” workers, 1 lathe operator, 9 carpenters, 1 aviator, 58 engineers, 14 electricians, 5 salespeople, 2 printers, 2 chemists, 1 shoemaker, 1 librarian, 2 teachers, 1 cleaner and dyer, 11 auto mechanics, 1 dentist.

About 85% of the applicants are U.S. citizens, only 40% of whom were born in the country. 60% of the foreigners primarily come from Eastern Europe. A few African Americans applied, but their numbers are small, as most of them are unskilled workers.

Women constitute only a small portion of applicants, although many wives decided to accompany their husbands in this endeavor. Most workers applying are married and have children.

Three main reasons for wanting to get a placement are named: (1) unemployment; (2) dissatisfaction with conditions here; (3) interest in the Soviet experiment. Almost all foreign workers declare that they do not intend to stay in the USSR. Among engineers, only 10-20% plan to stay.

——

This is 1931, one of the most challenging years of that period. Somewhere in the mid-thirties, it started to improve, and it must be said, WWII ultimately defeated it.

Inside Apple AirPods: Design, Battery, and Antenna Secrets Revealed | August 23 2025, 01:52

Very interesting video about how Apple Airpods headphones work (in the comments). You can read about it, or you can just like this post and go check out the original video in the comments. It has pictures!

Battery. 6 hours of operation, but the capacity is only 2% of the iPhone battery capacity. “Dead zones” in the battery, which lead to reduced operating time, can occur due to sudden temperature changes or even just dropping the headphones on the floor. There is a very dense “layered cake” made from a couple dozen layers of anode-cathode. Batteries of fake AirPods or cheap analogs are much worse. Physics: Poor packaging means less active material and fewer lithium ions moving with each cycle => reduced energy density and increased internal resistance => more energy is lost as heat => battery wears out faster.

Antenna. It is located in the stem because the human head significantly dampens the signal. But there is little space in the stem. Metal strip antenna, size 2 mm by 10 microns(!). That’s thinner than human hair. At such size, it cannot maintain shape on its own. In other consumer electronics, antennas can be etched on the printed circuit board, but this limits them to two dimensions. For the AirPod stem, there isn’t enough space. Therefore, Apple uses a clever solution. They embedded the antenna in the surface of a molded plastic cylindrical part. There, clever conductive plastic is used, with added metal. A laser engraves the exact shape of the antenna in the form of small channels with a rough surface. Then, this groove is subjected to electroplating, first with copper, then covered with gold to protect against corrosion. As a result, a durable conductive track is formed, which matches the 3D geometry of the molded part, which would be impossible to create using traditional machining methods. The plastic not only structurally supports the antenna. Other components are attached to it, such as the cable wrapping around the stem to connect the antenna to the Bluetooth chip, the pressure sensor in the stem.

Microphone. In AirPods, not electret microphones, but MEMS: a microelectronic” version of the condenser type. Well, actually, this is not only Apple – any modern TWS headphones, unless they are the cheapest ones. That is to say, modern microphones are made using the same technology as types – photolithography, layer by layer, only in this case it’s a mechanical device, with calculated cavities and flexible layers. Separately interesting is how they make the cavities – they make holes through which etching solution penetrates inside and dissolves the sacrificial layers of silicon dioxide.

Because of such microscopic size, there are several microphones. But why more than one microphone is needed? At the bottom of the AirPods, you will see a small mesh that allows air to enter the second microphone. When you talk, your voice reaches both microphones, but not at the same time. With a difference of only a few millimeters, the chip can detect a delay of six microseconds between when your voice reaches each microphone. This is enough to determine where the sound is coming from and focus on it. Since it precisely knows the distance the microphones are from one another, the chip can compare each signal and amplify your voice during calls.

The third microphone is for noise cancellation. It is located right in front of the speaker, inside your ear.

The microphones consume about 130 mA, which would quickly drain the battery if they were always active. That’s why they are only turned on when you make a call or use noise cancellation. But AirPods are always waiting for a Siri request. How is this possible without constantly active microphones? Here’s a clever solution. Inside the part that is in your ear, there is a small sensor—an accelerometer. It’s the same type of sensor used in phones to determine orientation. But here it serves a different purpose. Instead of measuring orientation, it senses vibration. When you talk, your voice moves through your jawbone. And this vibration is detected by the accelerometer. This low-power consumption signal is enough to wake up the system and activate the microphones when it senses you want to activate Siri. Imagine that, eh?

The sound in AirPods is tuned not “by ear,” but based on a scientific model of the “ideal sound” (Harman curve), which describes the combination of frequencies most people find most pleasing. For this, there is a complicated system of calculated vents and meshes — to control the air flow, which prevents the occurrence of unpleasant “humming” or sharp sounds inside the ear canal. The larger the cells — more air passes through, smaller — less. Such is the mesh, visible as black things on the white earphone—I thought it was for beauty. No, this is exactly that mesh. But at the same time, some kind of moisture protection must be made, and here the mesh is porous. It is claimed that there is some sort of nano-coating that repels water.

Bluetooth. Why it is so immune to interference. Turns out, it uses frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology (Frequency Hopping). Bluetooth devices quickly switch between different channels many times a second and adapt accordingly.

Exploring a Conditional Investment-Based U.S. Visa Program | August 21 2025, 21:23

I wonder if a U.S. visa program would work where specially authorized American investing organizations collectively invest, say, $500,000 in each candidate who files a petition and is ready to pay a hypothetical $20-50K. The money goes to the government, but it returns it monthly with interest. Then, he moves to the U.S., gets a job, and pays back the “investors” from legally earned money, like a student loan. “Investors” help him find a job. If he loses his job, and can’t find another, he can pay from savings for some time, but afterward — he must return home. No savings — go back home. Violated the law (criminal) — go back home. But each such negative case affects whether the “investor” will have the opportunity to invest in new ones.

Investors help with job finding if needed, but there’s no coercion or serfdom, because it doesn’t matter what kind of job the person has, as long as it’s legitimate, and the debt is deducted from the salary. Until the debt is paid, a person’s profile affects the “investor’s” performance indicators, and in case of poor indicators, the investor loses their license or priority.

It’s assumed that, given existing quotas, the “investor” has an interest in finding the smartest and most hardworking people worldwide and subsequently placing them in the local market. If they perform poorly, they simply can’t operate.

After full repayment, he gets the right to citizenship. This could attract talented individuals, support the economy, and ensure responsibility. What do you think?

Uncovering Hidden Hotel Fees: A New York City Experience | August 21 2025, 14:33

Lived in New York on Manhattan for a couple of days recently. The hotel cost 370 USD per day (see photo). Out of which 284 USD is the cost for one day, and the remaining 86 USD are taxes + a mysterious Facility Fee of 35 USD (per day).

From the hotel’s website: “What is a Facility Fee? It’s a hotel service charge! $35 plus tax per day per room provides our guests access to all amenities at Freehand NY, including high-speed WiFi, complimentary 3x filtered water, 24-hour fitness center access, SMART TV connection, priority access to programs and events, and rooftop priority — Broken Shaker!”

Needless to say, these 35 USD were of course not included in the reservation system. It’s not practical to visit every hotel’s website to check for fees before pressing the book button. And yes, the confirmation does state FACILITY FEE TO BE PAID ON ARRIVAL, you can always read and cancel. But for the future, it’s always better to check.

Scam Alert: The Bond Ring Energy Hoax Following My Oura Ring Purchase | August 20 2025, 20:01

I had just bought the Oura Ring 4 when Facebook started running scam ads about the first ring that saps your energy for its own survival. My precious!..

Exploring Shepherdstown: A Hidden Gem in West Virginia | August 20 2025, 13:00

From the trip to Shepherdstown, WV. A small town an hour’s drive from home, founded over 260 years ago. Hardly any tourists, but the few small restaurants and shops compete against each other for the attention and interest of passing travelers.

From the street, there’s an open window at the Lost Dog Coffee cafe. Inside works a very colorful bartender and owner, Garth Emmery Janssen. The coffee shop’s Facebook tagline reads “Founded in 1995 by two crazy punk rockers. We are not normal. We do things correctly. it’s ❤️”

Oat milk latte, please. Dear sir, Garth answers me, that wouldn’t exactly be a latte then. But if you insist, of course. Okay, I say, make it the right way, it doesn’t matter to me. The coffee turned out delicious.

Next, there was an art studio, which I have already written about in previous posts, a handmade cosmetics store where the owner eagerly shares her chemical experiments on the quest for perfect creams and soaps, and where she sells prints drawn by her daughter, who, unfortunately, has grown up and no longer wants to draw.

A very homely atmosphere everywhere. And a nice little town. It lacked modernity, and yes, our regions are all like that, with dust from the past, modernity is somewhat cumbersome.

Decoding “Carboy”: A Journey Through Language and Autobiography | August 20 2025, 04:02

Rereading Feynman’s autobiography, this time in English, and my eyes stuck on the word carboy. It turns out that it’s the same as lady jeanne, and the same as demijohn – essentially lady jeanne in French (dame joanne). In short, it’s just a bottle.

Misguided Lessons with Grok: A Bilingual Blunder | August 19 2025, 23:43

Today Grok blew my mind. I say, teach me French. He says, ok, how do you say “book”? I say “le livre”. He says “wrong! la livra”. 😳The car drives itself anyway, decided to record the dialogue. He’s not convinced. At all, insists on his point. La livra and that’s it. I’m afraid Grok will teach the bad stuff in his Language Tutor mode.

I remembered a story from “Memoirs of Pushkin” by M. E. Yuzefovich, dating to 1829:

he had several books with him, including Shakespeare. One day in our tent, he translated some scenes to me and my brother. I had once studied English, but having not fully learned it, I subsequently forgot it. However, I still recognized its sounds. In Pushkin’s reading, the English pronunciation was so distorted that I suspected his knowledge and decided to test it. The next day, I invited his relative, Zakhar Chernyshev, who knew English as his native language, warned him what was going on, and called over Pushkin with Shakespeare. He willingly started translating for us. Chernyshev burst into laughter at the first words read by Pushkin: “First tell me, in which language are you reading?” Pushkin laughed in turn, explaining that he had taught himself English, and therefore he reads English letters like Latin ones. But the fact is that Chernyshev found the translation completely correct and the language understanding impeccable.”

Anna Derevenitskaya

Exploring AI Search Agent: Revolutionizing Automated Browsing and Task Completion | August 19 2025, 01:21

In addition to the main product for search testing, I am developing an AI Search Agent in my leisure time. You only need to provide it with two pieces of information: a website to visit and a goal (described in a short paragraph). In other words, this thing is smart enough to function without any setup – just the site and the goal, and then it’s on its own.

How it works: This virtual agent generates search queries on its own, refines them based on the results obtained (for example, simplifies them), and analyzes how well they match the intended purpose. If suitable results are found, the agent can add items to the cart and place an order — if this is configured in the settings.

I’ve already written about this recently – today is just a slightly nicer demo. It will be even nicer as it is still being pulled from the middle of development, but you can already see how the page is analyzed, and there are initial results that can be used.

The agent can be used for several purposes. Firstly, it’s an excellent way to create ground truth—a set of queries with perfect results. These data can then be used for search testing without involving often slow and expensive large language models (LLM). Secondly, it helps to test the search functions before deploying them to users. Thirdly, the agent generates realistic usage data needed for training recommendation models that require authentic interactions.

The colorful rectangles in the video are the language of interaction of the agent with AI (or LLM). To understand where to click, the system annotates the page and sends a structured description of the page to AI—often along with a screenshot—so it can analyze everything and make a decision about the next action.