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4 votes
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The why of the world
2 votes -
Outlaw Country - Klamath County, Oregon, Is The Perfect Place To Go If You Don’t Want To Be Found—And The Worst Place To Be If Someone Threatens Your Life.
7 votes -
In 2002, still reeling from the dot-com crash, Google realized they’d been harvesting a very valuable raw material — your behavior
9 votes -
Jeremy Renner’s app is shutting down because of trolls
13 votes -
A web and popular mobile app based manga reading service, Mangarock is shutting down its service
4 votes -
SpaceX refused to move their Starlink satellite when they were alerted to the risk of collision with ESA's Aeolus satellite
16 votes -
Developers and industry legends on the games that defined the last 20 years
2 votes -
SpaceX acquires new photos of Starship landing sites with Mars-orbiting NASA satellite
8 votes -
Sally Floyd, who helped things run smoothly online, dies at 69
7 votes -
Andrew Yang gets media cold shoulder
19 votes -
Dolly Parton's ‘Books From Birth’ has now delivered one million free children's books to DC kids
8 votes -
How do people learn to cook a poisonous plant safely?
13 votes -
IKEA has committed to becoming a circular business by 2030 – by eliminating waste and reusing resources
8 votes -
Making new elements doesn’t pay. Just ask this Berkeley scientist
5 votes -
Former Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner has joined Danish champions FC Köpenhamn until the end of December
4 votes -
Stockholm to stage Avicii tribute concert to benefit mental health awareness
4 votes -
Inside New York City’s underground gun club
4 votes -
The race to create a perfect lie detector – and the dangers of succeeding
5 votes -
Steam Library overhaul coming to open beta on September 17, will focus on organization and events
9 votes -
Finland's 'Housing First' policy proves that homelessness is avoidable
6 votes -
Tesla’s autopilot found partly to blame for 2018 Los Angeles Freeway crash
7 votes -
Programming Challenge: Convert between units
Hi everyone! It's been a long time since last programming challenge list, and here's a nice one I've encountered. If you search for something like 7km to AU, you'll get your answer. But how is it...
Hi everyone! It's been a long time since last programming challenge list, and here's a nice one I've encountered.
If you search for something like 7km to AU, you'll get your answer. But how is it done? I don't think they hardcoded all 23 units of distance and every conversion factor between them.
If you were programming a conversion system - how would you do it?
First of all, you have input in format that you can specify, for example something like this:
meter kilometer 1000 mile kilometer 1.609344 second minute 60 ...
Then you should be able answer queries. For example
7 mile meter
should convert 7 miles to meters, which is11265.41
.Can you design an algorithm that will convert any unit into any other unit?
Edit: Some conversion rates I extracted from wikipedia:
ångström 0.1nm astronomical unit 149597870700m attometre 0.000000000000000001m barleycorn 8.4m bohr 0.00846 cable length (imperial) 185.3184m cable length 185.2m cable length (US) 219.456m chain (Gunters) 20.11684m cubit 0.5m ell 1.143m fathom 1.8288m femtometre 0.00000000000001m fermi 0.00000000000001m finger 0.022225m finger (cloth) 0.1143m foot (Benoit) 0.304799735m foot (Cape) (H) 0.314858m foot (Clarke's) (H) 0.3047972654m foot (Indian) (H) 0.304799514m foot,metric 0.31622776602m foot,metric (long) 0.3m foot,metric (short) 0.30m foot (International) 0.3048m foot (Sear's) (H) 0.30479947m foot (US Survey) 0.304800610 french 0.0003m furlong 201.168m hand 0.1016m inch 0.0254m league 4828m light-day 25902068371200m light-hour 107925284880m light-minute 17987547480 light-second 299792458m light-year 31557600light-second line 0.002116m link (Gunter's) 0.2011684m link (Ramsden's; Engineer's) 0.3048m metre 1m m 1metre km 1000m mickey 0.000127 micrometre 0.000001 mil; thou 0.0000254 mil 10km mile (geographical) 6082foot (International) quarter 0.2286m rod 5.0292m rope 6.096m shaku 0.303 0303m span (H) 0.2286m stick (H) 0.0508m toise 1.949 0363m twip 1.76310 yard 0.9144m
17 votes -
New Zealand streams teeming with pesticides
3 votes -
Boulet - Flash-Back
7 votes -
Dan Tepfer (Human - Computer Duet) - NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Video Link I decided to post this as a text topic since IMO the video description is really important to understanding this performance: Aug. 29, 2019 | Colin Marshall -- Dan Tepfer has...
I decided to post this as a text topic since IMO the video description is really important to understanding this performance:
Aug. 29, 2019 | Colin Marshall -- Dan Tepfer has transformed the acoustic piano entirely with his new project, Natural Machines. Watch the keys and you'll see this Disklavier — a player piano — plucking notes on its own. But it's not a prerecorded script.
Here's how it works: Tepfer plays a note, and a computer program he authored reads those notes and tells the piano what to play in response. Tepfer can load different algorithms into the program that determine the pattern of playback, like one that returns the same note, only an octave higher. Another will play the inverted note based on the center of the piano keys. These rules create interesting restrictions that Tepfer says make room for thoughtful improvisation. In his words, he's not writing these songs, so much as writing the way they work. To better communicate what's happening between him and the piano, Tepfer converted these audio-impulse data into visualizations on the screen behind him, displaying in real time the notes he plays followed by the piano's feedback. We dive even deeper into this project in a recent Jazz Night in America video piece.
Perhaps the trickiest part here, unlike a human-to-human duo, is that the computer plays along with 100 percent accuracy based solely on Tepfer's moves. He compares it to dancing with a robot that never misses a beat. Tepfer has to play in kind to keep the train on the tracks, but if he falls out of step, so does the computer. On the other hand, Tepfer has unlocked a new frontier of music available to acoustic piano players: He's essentially given himself more limbs to play the piano at once, and at times we see more than 10 keys pressed at a time or a sequence of notes played at seemingly superhuman speeds. It's a central idea to what innovative technology enables for us — that which is impossible for us to achieve on our own.
edit: Nice related video from Jazz Night in America with Dan explaining some of how it works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L6tzG3FkcU7 votes -
Why is there cardboard in Dracula?
5 votes -
Norway's bold plan to tackle overtourism and climate change at the same time
9 votes -
Denmark to ban all PFAS in paper and board food packaging
5 votes -
Girls’ comparative advantage in reading can largely explain the gender gap in math-related fields
16 votes -
UK MPs vote against general election dealing another blow to Boris Johnson
16 votes -
Ren - Jenny's Tale (2019)
2 votes -
"Satori" Internet-of-Things botnet operator Kenneth Currin Schuchman pleads guilty
5 votes -
Google and YouTube will pay record $170 million for alleged violations of US children’s privacy law
6 votes -
The Legend of Bum-bo (Binding of Isaac prequel) | Release date trailer (November 12th, 2019)
5 votes -
The infamous, vertically sliced St. Louis bagel is not an abomination—it’s a brand-new playing field
18 votes -
Brexit: Boris Johnson defeated as MPs take control
32 votes -
Movie Monday Free Talk
Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any movies that you'd like to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here! Spoilers are okay, just give fair warning...
Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any movies that you'd like to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here!
Spoilers are okay, just give fair warning so people who care about them can participate too.
13 votes -
GEARS 5 Gears Forever | Launch trailer
5 votes -
Alec Holowka, one of the creators of Night in the Woods, has committed suicide after accusations of past abuse were made against him last week
This was posted on Twitter by Alec's sister. She's protected her account now (probably because of how disgusting the replies to it were), but I've re-typed the statement here: Alec Holowka, my...
This was posted on Twitter by Alec's sister. She's protected her account now (probably because of how disgusting the replies to it were), but I've re-typed the statement here:
Alec Holowka, my brother and best friend, passed away this morning.
Those who know me will know that I believe survivors and I have always done everything I can to support survivors, those suffering from mental illnesses, and those with chronic illnesses. Alec was a victim of abuse and he also spent a lifetime battling mood and personality disorders. I will not pretend that he was not also responsible for causing harm, but deep down he was a person who wanted only to offer people care and kindness. It took him a while to figure out how.
Over the last few years, with therapy and medication, Alec became a new person—the same person he'd always been but without any of the darkness. He was calm and happy, positive and loving. Obviously, change is a slow process and it wasn't perfect, but he was working towards rehabilitation and a better life.
In the last few days, he was supported by many Manitoba crisis services, and I want to thank everyone there for their support. I want to thank Adam Saltsman for staying up late talking with us and reminding Alec that there was a future.
My family has and always will be the most important thing to me. Please give us time to heal. We tried our best to support Alec, but in the end he felt he had lost too much.
I currently do not see a place for myself in games or on Twitter. I will not be looking at the responses to this post. I appreciate everyone who has reached out to me over the last few days. For anyone who is in a time of darkness, I encourage you to reach out for support. There are always people who will be there for you.
As backstory, he was accused of abuse (and sexual abuse) last week by Zoe Quinn with several others corroborating past abusive behavior (a bit more detail in this article). As a result, the other Night in the Woods creators cut ties with him. I'm going to re-post their statements below inside a collapsed block since they're fairly long, but you can expand it if you want to read them:
Statements from Scott Benson
From Scott Benson's personal account:
Allegations of past abuse have come to light this week regarding Alec Holowka, who we have worked with in the past. We take such allegations seriously, and applaud those speaking out about their experiences with abuse in the industry and elsewhere.
As a result, we won't be working with Alec in the future. What this means for Night in the Woods going forward is something we will have to work out. These things take time, longer than a couple days at least.
Night in the Woods is a very personal game for Bethany and I. Our parts of the game - the writing, world, characters, art, etc - are pulled from our own lives, sometimes very directly.
We know it has connected with thousands of people in a very deep manner. And whatever your reaction is, that's valid. Know that we are just as heartbroken right now. We'll have more info in the future about how we're moving forward. Thanks.
On a more personal note, this has all been devastating. And people will ask for details that we as collaborators on a project simply do not have. They’ll want essays and interviews as if we have some secret info. But we don’t. We’re just very sad right now.
And on the Night in the Woods account
This week, allegations of past abuse have come to light regarding Alec Holowka, who was coder, composer, and co-designer on Night In The Woods. We take such allegations seriously as a team. As a result and after some agonizing consideration, we are cutting ties with Alec.
We are cancelling a current project and postponing the Limited Run physical release. The iOS port is being handled by an outside company and supervised by Finji and will remain in development.
We’ve received a lot of emails and messages in the past few days, often very hurt and angry. That’s also how we feel. This has been very, very tough.
I should say that I’m Scott. Hello. I run this account. I was the artist, lead animator, co-designer, co-writer, and the guy who wrote almost all of that dialogue in the game. Bethany’s here too, she was co-writer and researcher.
Much of Night In The Woods is pulled pretty directly from our lives. Bethany is from a tiny valley in central PA. I’ve lived out here in Western PA for about 20 years. The characters are us, and people we’ve known. The places are ones we know.
Thousands of people have connected with Night In The Woods in a very personal way. We can’t tell you how to feel about any of this. Whatever you’re feeling is valid. Your experience with art is yours. What it means to you is yours, regardless of anything else.
Going forward, Night In The Woods will be handled by Bethany and I. We’re not sure what that all means yet. This stuff takes time.
Thanks for your support over the years. We’re sorry to even have to say any of this. That’s all I can say at the moment. Thank you for your patience.
(Edit: since Zoe Quinn has deleted her Twitter account now, I'm going to re-type her statement as well)
Zoe Quinn's statement
I want to say upfront that I'm not saying this for anyone but me and the other people that I know have been hurt by him, and might in the future be hurt. I read Nathalie Lawhead's post about her rapist being an industry legend who took advantage of her and poisoned her career and it shook me to my core. Her waning health, her fear, the way she described all of it feeling like drowning... and my heart broke for her. Beyond that, I felt *ashamed*. So many of the little details, down to the timing, had been things I've gone through too, just a few months into my time as an indie game developer. And it's haunted me ever since. It's why I don't go to GDC anymore. I'm drowning too.
A few months into making games, I was sexually assaulted. My visa status was threatened if I told anyone, and he went out of his way to tell the community that I'd been falsely accusing him of rape when I hadn't said anything to anyone (but a third party who saw it happen firsthand confronted him about it the next day). This story isn't about him - after years of therapy and working on himself, he reached out and apologized for everything, and I've forgiven him. But that's the background to this story.
One month after the assault, I wanted to leave Toronto. I was scared, I couldn't sleep, and I almost killed myself over it. I had a suicide note and everything ready to go but I just didn't want to do that to my roommate.
Enter Alec Holowka. Yeah, the one from Aquaria and Night in the Woods. He was one person who I felt like, in my newly chosen field, had my back.
He talked about how great and cheap Winnipeg was and we flirted and talked on skype for hours. He knew I was in an incredibly vulnerable place and he asked me to come visit him in Winnipeg to see if I'd want to start an indie house there with the 3 friends I'd been talking about the idea with, and to see if the thing between us was as cool as it seemed at a distance. Two weeks. I'd buy the plane ticket there, he'd buy my plane ticket back. He knew i couldn't afford it otherwise so that was the deal.
I wouldn't get home for a month, and only then it was because my roommate used his miles to get me out of his apartment that he had physically confined me to.
While I was in Winnipeg he slowly isolated me from everyone else in my life while absolutely degrading me whenever we were alone. He convinced me to talk the 3 friends out of getting a shared place with me there. He convinced me to let him program my game instead of the friend I had been working with, despite many protests. He screamed at me for over an hour once because of the tone in my voice when I said hello. He wouldn't let me leave the apartment without him and refused to give me the code to get in.
About the sexual assault, he blamed me. He said he was jealous of me, to be wanted like that. He'd bring it up during sex, where he'd regularly be mean and violent. He told me he loved me, in a way no one else would, because he could see that I was terrible and he loved me anyway. And I bought it, because that's how you feel when you're recovering from being sexually assaulted.
I spent a lot of that month hiding from him in the bathroom. His moods would shift and he'd throw things and hurt himself seemingly at random and blame me. He'd jam his fingers inside me and walk me around the house by them when I told him it hurt.
I was scared to leave. I was scared to tell anyone. He'd act normal when other people were around and lay into me as soon as we were alone, then apologize and say how much he needed and loved me. I got even more scared when the two weeks had passed and he kept putting off the agreed plane ticket home. I spent a lot of that time hiding in the bathroom from him. My roommate started to get scared and asked me if I needed help getting out. I said yes, and Alec barely looked at me as I left.
When I got home, I sent a cordial and friendly break up email. He lashed out and banned me from an indie games community he ran, banned himself, then went to other industry legends asking them to help him kill himself because I was such a bitch. He made sure to blacklist me at important industry events. He tried to ruin the career I'd barely started. To a degree it worked.
The night GG started I vaguebooked about it without specifying which ex and two other women in games immediately messaged me to ask if it was Alec. He'd done similar things to them. They knew he'd been fixated on me and were also too afraid to speak up about an industry legend.
It's been the better part of a decade and I'm still afraid of him. Too afraid to speak out, especially because I've gone through so much publicly, like people will just roll their eyes and ignore me as if there's some karmic limit on how much bad shit can happen to someone before people stop listening. I'm afraid that people will care more about their love of Night in the Woods than they will about the safety and truths of women and non-binary people in games.
I'm still afraid of him. I'm afraid of telling anyone about him. I'm afraid of how many indies have seen this behavior and given him a pass. I'm afraid of being in the same room as him because I'm afraid he'll hurt me again. I'm afraid of all the developers who watched this happen, and watched him scream abuse at another woman out front of Moscone during GDC.
But being silent for years has been worse than the fear. I skipped the last 2 GDCs because I couldn't risk being around him or seeing everyone clap for him on stage. Especially not people who know.
I don't wish any ill will on anyone. I know Alec is likely not well and I will always believe in rehabilitation over punishment. I don't want anything bad to come of this to his collaborators who may not know any of this. But I've watched enough of the big names in the indie community know about him - so much so that the reaction to his first meltdown about me was "oh well that's Alec what can you do" - and I've seen enough to know nothings going to happen about this particular broken stair unless someone says something. But we're all scared. I'm scared. A big childish part of me has been hoping people would somehow start caring or figure it out on their own.
But feeling like a coward in the face of Nathalie's strength, feeling like I have to hide from my own life because it's not safe and I can't tell anyone *why* I'm hiding, of knowing I wasn't the first or last, of drowning, that's too much for me to keep carrying with me. I just want the other boot to drop so I can breathe again. I don't want another new dev to get hurt and hear the same "oh that's just how he is" after the fact that I did. I want to breathe again.
30 votes -
The gut-wrenching predictions of Satoshi Kon’s masterpiece Perfect Blue came true
6 votes -
Brave uncovers Google’s GDPR workaround
13 votes -
Bad Boys For Life | Official trailer
5 votes -
US Senator says Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg should face ‘possibility of a prison term’
14 votes -
Hong Kong government withdraws extradition bill, a key demand of protesters
19 votes -
Android 10 has been released
13 votes -
Syl Johnson -- Thank You Baby
4 votes -
Senator Warren's climate change plan: 100% clean energy for America
11 votes -
What online services do you use to host and share photos?
Services like Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, iCloud Photo Sharing, Flickr, SmugMug, 500px, and more are available for hosting and sharing photos online. I'm curious what service, or set of...
Services like Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, iCloud Photo Sharing, Flickr, SmugMug, 500px, and more are available for hosting and sharing photos online. I'm curious what service, or set of services, you you use and how you decided. Do you cross post between them, and if so what strategy do you use?
I'm currently spread a bit and without much cross-posting between Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr. Not a strong conscious decision, though I've been wanting to do a bit more photography and would like to figure out a better strategy.
I think some key points to consider are cost (free vs pro, ease of upgrade/downgrade), storage space and restrictions (total space, max individual size, filetypes, enforced resizing/compression), ease and control of sharing publicly or privately, network audience and reach, and creative rights (who owns what rights on the content)
This Terms of Service; Didn't Read site can be helpful for at least determining what the general rights on these services are with some broad judgement.
14 votes -
A very German idea of freedom: Nude ping-pong, nude sledding, nude just about anything
16 votes