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Apple and Google Use Hardware Attestation to Enforce Monopoly ControlApple and Google are aggressively expanding their use of hardware-based attestation to convince more services to adopt their standards. With tools like Google's Play Integrity API and Apple's App Attest API, both companies are creating a similar ecosystem that restricts competition. This strategy is now extending to the web through initiatives like Privacy Pass, effectively locking out alternative operating systems and reinforcing their market dominance.
"Apple and Google are gradually expanding their use of hardware-based attestation to convince a growing number of services to adopt it."
Why Local AI Must Become the Standard for Modern Software DevelopmentI argue that relying on cloud APIs for AI features creates fragile, privacy-invasive software. With powerful Neural Engines now in our pockets, we should process data locally. My Brutalist Report app proves on-device summarization is fast, private, and trustworthy. We must stop building distributed systems for simple features and use local models to transform user-owned data directly on the device.
"Local AI shines when the model's job is transforming user-owned data, not acting as a search engine for the universe."
Louis Rossmann Tells Bambu Lab to Go to Hell Over OrcaSlicer LawsuitI am offering to cover the legal fees for the OrcaSlicer developer threatened by Bambu Lab. This aggressive move by the 3D printer manufacturer against an enthusiast developer is unacceptable. As a Right to Repair advocate, I stand firmly with the community against corporate overreach and intimidation tactics that stifle innovation and user freedom.
"Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself' over its threatened lawsuit against enthusiast."
Incident Report: How a Cryptocurrency Worm Accidentally Saved 4 Million DevelopersI recount a chaotic supply chain attack where a compromised JavaScript package triggered a cascade of credential theft across the Rust and Python ecosystems. Despite infecting millions of machines, the malware was inadvertently neutralized by an unrelated cryptocurrency mining worm that forced a dependency update. This satirical report highlights the absurdity of modern software security, where a dog eating a YubiKey and a confused co-maintainer played pivotal roles in resolving a catastrophic incident.
"Total machines compromised: estimated 4.2 million. Total machines saved by a cryptocurrency worm: also estimated 4.2 million. Net security posture change: uncomfortable."
Relive the Nostalgia: Playing Space Cadet Pinball on LinuxI discovered how to run the beloved Windows XP game Space Cadet Pinball on Linux using a Flatpak. Beyond simple installation, I explain how to upgrade the graphics using Full Tilt Pinball data files for a higher resolution experience. While enjoying this nostalgic trip, I also reflect on the importance of software preservation and the ethical balance between respecting copyright and keeping classic games alive through source code escrow.
"Ideally, I'd like to see a world where proprietary software like this could be placed into some sort of source code escrow."
YC's Biggest Scandals: Fraud, Copycats, and $23B IncineratedI've compiled an unofficial record of Y Combinator's most notorious failures, exposing $23 billion in wasted capital across 39 exhibits. From Delve's fabricated audit reports to Central stealing Warp's playbook and Naive violating MIT licenses, this archive reveals a pattern of fraud, copycats, and grifts. These stories highlight how the circular trust network was weaponized and how YC's reputation suffered under recent leadership.
"Investor Adam Cochran called it proof that YC has 'no technical acumen to evaluate claims' under Garry Tan's leadership."
Running Local AI Models on an M4 Mac with 24GB MemoryI've finally found a setup to run local models on my M4 Mac with 24GB of memory, offering privacy and independence from big tech. While Qwen 3.5-9B isn't as powerful as SOTA models, it handles coding tasks and research well when guided step-by-step. This interactive workflow keeps me engaged and reduces cognitive offloading, proving that local AI is a viable, fun alternative despite its limitations.
"The downside to working with SOTA models is that they make it too easy to offload all cognitive effort, even where you're trying to actively prevent that from happening."
GitHub Is Sinking: Why Developers Are Fleeing Microsoft's Failing PlatformGitHub has transformed from a cool developer hub into a Microsoft-owned liability plagued by poor uptime and AI slop. With major projects like Ghostty leaving and the platform drowning in bots, I argue it is time to abandon this sinking ship. Whether you choose alternatives like Codeberg, GitLab, or self-hosted Forgejo, the network effect is no longer worth the reliability risks.
"It’s long past time to get off this sinking ship!"
I struggle with task paralysis, often unable to start projects despite having clear plans. AI tools like Claude help me overcome this mental block and generate code quickly, but the instant dopamine rush creates a risky addiction. While I avoid AI for artistic work due to ethical concerns, I find myself spending money on tokens just to keep the creative momentum going.
"When Analysis Paralysis kicks, my brain will run in circles. When Task Paralysis kicks, my brain doesn't run at all."
Maryland Ratepayers Face $2B Bill for Out-of-State AI Data CentersMaryland residents are being hit with a staggering $2 billion power grid upgrade bill to support out-of-state AI data centers. The state has formally complained to federal energy regulators, arguing that these unexpected costs violate previous ratepayer protection pledges. This dispute highlights the growing tension between the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure and the financial burden placed on local communities.
"The additional cost breaks 'ratepayer protection pledge' promises."
Why I'm Abandoning AI-Generated Code to Write Everything by HandAfter seven months of rapidly building a Kubernetes dashboard with Claude, I am rewriting everything from scratch. While AI delivered features at incredible speed, the resulting architecture collapsed into an unmanageable mess of tangled state and god objects. I learned that AI excels at writing features but fails at designing systems, proving that human oversight is essential for sustainable software.
"AI writes features, not architecture. The longer you let it drive without constraints, the worse the wreckage gets."
I created Think Linear Algebra to help you master essential concepts through hands-on coding rather than abstract theory. Using Python and libraries like NumPy and SciPy, we tackle real-world challenges from web traffic modeling to structural engineering. This approach builds intuition by letting you visualize results and run simulations immediately, making linear algebra an accessible tool for machine learning and data science.
"Rather than beginning with mathematical formalism, Think Linear Algebra starts with meaningful applications and builds up the theory when it's needed."
How I Shrank a 3 GB SQLite Database to 10 MB Using FSTI replaced a massive 3 GB SQLite database for my Finnish-English dictionary with a tiny 10 MB Finite State Transducer binary. By switching to Rust and leveraging Andrew Gallant's fst crate, I achieved a 300x memory reduction. This optimization allows the entire application to run efficiently on older laptops while handling the complex agglutinative nature of the Finnish language.
"You need to reinvent a couple of wheels to get to the edge of what we know about wheel-making, not a thousand wheels, and not zero."
I worry that without the genius of Gauss or Euler, I have nothing new to contribute to mathematics. However, the community reminds me that true value lies not just in revolutionary discoveries, but in the collective pursuit of clarity and understanding. Mathematics thrives as a living social endeavor where sharing ideas and preventing the decay of knowledge are vital contributions for everyone.
"The product of mathematics is clarity and understanding, not theorems by themselves."
Scientists Warn Atlantic Current AMOC Faces Imminent Collapse RiskI am increasingly alarmed that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, is nearing a dangerous tipping point. Once considered a low-probability event, the risk of this vital ocean current shutting down now feels like a fifty-fifty chance. This collapse could trigger catastrophic climate shifts, drying out Europe and disrupting global monsoons, a threat so severe that Iceland has recently declared it a national security emergency.
"For the first 30 years we considered this a low likelihood event — I would have said a 5 percent chance of occurring. It’s more like 50/50 now. I would even say more likely than not."
How Spain Became Europe's Cheapest Power Market by Ditching GasSpain has transformed from an expensive energy market to Europe's cheapest wholesale power hub by aggressively substituting fossil fuels with wind and solar. Since 2022, renewables have overtaken fossil generation, drastically reducing the hours gas sets the price. While this decoupling from volatile gas markets drives down wholesale costs, high taxes and system charges mean retail bills for households remain above the EU average.
"Spain is now a working demonstration that you can take an electricity system that was 33% coal a generation ago, 30%-plus gas a decade ago, and run it on roughly 44% wind-and-solar with the resulting wholesale prices among the lowest in Europe."
I uncovered a sophisticated social engineering campaign targeting finance professionals using Obsidian. Attackers lure victims into shared vaults to trick them into enabling malicious plugins, which deploy the PHANTOMPULSE RAT. This new malware uses the Ethereum blockchain to hide its command-and-control servers, making it incredibly resilient and dangerous for cryptocurrency users.
"PHANTOMPULSE uses a novel C2 mechanism where it queries the Ethereum blockchain for the latest transaction from a hard-coded wallet address to dynamically resolve its command-and-control server."
Joanna Rutkowska Returns: Balancing Rationality and Humanism After Seven YearsAfter a seven-year silence, I am returning with a new blog to explore the tension between my past focus on Truth and Freedom and my current appreciation for Humanism. As the former lead of Qubes OS, I now seek to navigate the complex struggle between Rationality and Humanism, Pragmatism and Beauty, hoping to find a more fulfilling path than my earlier, purely technical existence.
"I suspect the struggle, the uncertainty, and the incompleteness might be the central theme of humanism, perhaps even its very essence."
RPCS3 Developers Beg Users to Stop Submitting AI Slop Code Pull RequestsThe team behind the popular RPCS3 PlayStation 3 emulator has issued a firm plea for users to stop flooding their GitHub with low-quality, AI-generated code. Instead of submitting 'slop' that they don't understand, developers are urged to learn how to debug and code properly. The maintainers warned they will begin banning offenders without notice, highlighting a growing frustration within the open-source community over the influx of automated, useless contributions.
"There are plenty of resources online to learn how to debug and code instead of generating slop that you don't understand and that doesn't work."
Stop trying to live like a local on your vacation, because their daily routine is often mundane and unexciting. While locals might spend their days watching reality TV, ordering New American food on Doordash, or playing Slay the Spire 2 indoors, you have the freedom to explore museums, take cheesy photos, or embark on weird crazy adventures. Embrace your status as a tourist to create memorable experiences rather than mimicking the jaded comfort of daily life in the city.
"I looked at the local making a face, and I looked at the tourist couple in the boat nearest to us smiling at each other and paddling out into the lake towards the sunset, and I wondered: which one of us is trapped?"
Rotten Dot Com: A Child's Journey into the Early Internet's Darkest CornersAt eleven, my brother gifted me a desktop PC, leading my friend Milo and me to discover Rotten.com, a shocking site cataloging grotesque images. We navigated this digital underworld via dial-up AOL, consuming content that felt illegal and raw. The site stood as a defiant monument against the 1996 Communications Decency Act, testing the boundaries of free speech while exposing young minds to horrors never meant for them.
"Rotten was a key you turned that locked a door behind you."
AI Coding Agents Must Slash Maintenance Costs to Deliver Real ValueI argue that AI coding agents must reduce maintenance costs proportionally to their output gains, or they will trap teams in permanent indenture. Doubling code speed without halving maintenance costs leads to a rapid decline in long-term productivity. Even if AI-generated code is as maintainable as human code, the sheer volume of new code eventually erases all short-term benefits, leaving you worse off than before.
"You're trading a temporary speed boost for permanent indenture."
Chrome's AI Features May Be Secretly Hogging 4GB of Your StorageI discovered that Google Chrome is automatically downloading a massive 4GB file for its Gemini Nano AI model, silently eating up your hard drive space. This on-device model powers features like scam detection and writing assistance but offers little warning about its storage footprint. To reclaim that space, you must manually disable the On-Device AI option in your browser settings, or the file will keep re-downloading.
"If Google had made the storage requirements clearer to users — or provided an option to power Chrome AI features with cloud-based models — this confusion could have been avoided."
Gen Z Resentment Toward AI Grows as Adoption Stagnates and Workplace Fears MountA new Gallup survey reveals that Gen Z is increasingly angry about AI, with adoption slowing and workplace fears rising. While many still use the technology, excitement has dropped sharply, and nearly half now believe AI's risks outweigh its benefits. Young people worry that relying on AI hinders learning and prefer human-led services over automated efficiency.
"Gen Z isn't rejecting AI outright, but they are reassessing its role in their lives."
Why Modern Parents Feel More Sleep Deprived Than Our Ancestors DidI explore why modern parents feel more exhausted than our ancestors despite getting similar sleep amounts. The difference lies in our obsession with consolidated sleep and the loss of community support. Ancient foraging societies, like the Hadza, sleep in integrated family groups, making night wakings less disruptive. By shifting our mindset and embracing co-sleeping practices, we might find we are less tired than we believe.
"There really isn't just infant sleep or maternal sleep, or breastfeeding or not breastfeeding. It is all highly integrated. The mother's body becomes the baby's habitat."
I built a comprehensive suite of skills for Claude Code to streamline academic research from initial inquiry to final publication. This tool handles the tedious grunt work like hunting references and formatting citations, allowing you to focus on defining questions and interpreting data. Unlike full automation, it keeps you in the loop to avoid hallucinations, ensuring AI acts as a true copilot rather than a replacement for your critical thinking.
"AI is your copilot, not the pilot. This tool won't write your paper for you. It handles the grunt work so you can focus on the parts that actually require your brain: defining the question, choosing the method, interpreting what the data means, and writing the sentence after 'I argue that.'"
Chindogu: Weird and Useless Japanese Inventions That Many Secretly NeedI explore the quirky world of Chindogu, a Japanese art form dedicated to creating gadgets that solve real problems in impractical ways. From noodle splash guards to wearable floor mops, these inventions blend creativity with humor, challenging our definitions of useful tools. While some might seem silly, they offer a playful twist on everyday challenges and spark curiosity about how we approach problem-solving.
"Chindogu brings a mix of creativity and humor to how we deal with everyday stuff, challenging the idea of what's considered a valuable tool."
LLMorphism: When Humans Start Seeing Themselves as Language ModelsI argue that the rise of conversational LLMs is creating a dangerous bias called LLMorphism, where people mistakenly believe human cognition works like a language model. This flawed inference arises because similar linguistic output does not imply similar cognitive architecture. I explore how this bias spreads through cultural vocabulary and analogical transfer, threatening our understanding of work, creativity, and human dignity.
"The issue is not only whether we are attributing too much mind to machines, but also whether we are beginning to attribute too little mind to humans."
I created an interactive animation to demystify the Shunting-Yard algorithm, showing exactly how input tokens transform into output. By watching numbers, operators, and brackets move between stacks and outputs, you can finally grasp the logic behind converting infix expressions to postfix notation without getting lost in abstract code.
"While there is an operator at the top of the stack with greater precedence, push it to the output before adding the new one."
Tens of Millions May Get Tax Refunds If They Act by July 10Tens of millions of taxpayers could be entitled to refunds for penalties and interest assessed during the COVID-19 disaster period due to the Kwong court decision. However, this relief is not automatic; you must file a claim using Form 843 by July 10, 2026, to protect your rights. Many low-income taxpayers risk missing this opportunity without professional help, making it crucial to act quickly despite the IRS's reliance on paper filings.
"When relief exists but is difficult to access, taxpayers – especially those without representation – are at risk of losing benefits."
SpaceX's One Million Satellite Plan Threatens Atmosphere and Night SkyScientists are deeply concerned about SpaceX's proposal to launch one million satellites, fearing catastrophic impacts on our atmosphere and the loss of the natural night sky. While the company claims these orbital data centers will reduce Earth's environmental footprint, experts warn that the required rocket launches could deposit harmful pollutants directly into the air and create a dangerous debris field that blocks our view of the universe.
"It's daunting because we're doing this sort of experiment with the atmosphere when we don't really know what the result will be."
Exclusive: $7 Billion in Oil Bets Placed Before Iran War NewsI uncovered a staggering $7 billion in short positions on oil futures placed just minutes before major U.S. and Iranian policy announcements. These suspicious trades, spanning ICE and CME exchanges, triggered massive price drops and are now under investigation by the CFTC and the U.S. Justice Department for potential insider trading.
"Let's stay with the facts. The volumes were highly unusual. They were concentrated. They were ahead of key announcements."
Inside Israel's AI Targeting System: How Phone Data Becomes a Death SentenceI explore how the Israeli military leverages an advanced artificial intelligence system to track and eliminate Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon. By fusing data from smartphones, drones, and social media, this technology creates an almost omniscient kill chain. The report highlights the chilling reality where mere digital footprints can lead to targeted airstrikes, raising urgent concerns about civilian misidentification and the ethical boundaries of automated warfare.
"Ahmad, you want to die with those around you or alone?"
I share the fascinating history behind major tech domains, revealing that openai.com was once the personal homepage of a man named Glenn in 2001. Similarly, tiktok.com served as a shared digital space for a couple documenting their journey from dating to marriage and parenthood in 2000. These stories highlight how the internet's landscape has dramatically evolved from personal projects to global powerhouses.
"openai.com was once the personal homepage of a guy named glenn (2001), and tiktok.com was the quaint shared homepage of a couple as their relationship progressed from dating to married with a baby (2000)."
Plex's Price Hikes Prove Switching to Jellyfin Was the Right MoveI refuse to pay subscriptions to access my own media, especially when Plex now charges for remote viewing. While Plex Pass offers some value, the costs are steep for self-hosters. I highly recommend switching to Jellyfin, a free, open-source alternative with robust features like hardware transcoding and native clients for major platforms. With simple migration tools available, moving to Jellyfin saves money and avoids unnecessary paywalls.
"The very concept of being charged a subscription fee to access your own media rubs me the wrong way."
Elite Wall Street Lawyers Aided Insider Trading Ring, Say US ProsecutorsUS prosecutors allege that top-tier Wall Street lawyers actively facilitated a sophisticated insider trading ring. This shocking revelation suggests that legal experts, trusted to uphold market integrity, instead helped clients exploit confidential information for illicit gains, raising serious questions about regulatory oversight within the financial sector.
"The defense of the accused relies on the very lawyers who allegedly helped them break the law."
I tested the Japanese Airec robot designed for elderly care and felt a chilling sense of the future. The experience revealed a stark reality where human touch is replaced by cold, mechanical efficiency. While the technology aims to solve staffing shortages, it raises profound ethical questions about dignity and the dehumanization of our aging population.
"The robot's unblinking gaze and rigid movements made me realize we are building a future where care is a transaction, not a connection."
36 Doctors Just Staged the Quietest Coup in American HistoryI explore how thirty-six physicians defied the Goldwater Rule to declare President Donald J. Trump mentally unfit, echoing James Schlesinger's 1974 nuclear coup. While the mainstream press ignores this bold move, the doctors have placed a clinical bill of particulars in the Congressional Record. Now, the question remains whether the military or cabinet will step in to save the republic before Chekhov's gun finally fires.
"Chekhov's gun, once placed on the mantelpiece, must go off. The doctors understood the rule when they placed it there. And when the gun fires — and it will fire — the people most damaged will be the ones who chose to load it."
Reflecting on my journey from struggling with physics to coding in Python and Ruby, I realized that true learning comes from wrestling with difficult problems. Now, with tools like ChatGPT and Claude, the struggle is vanishing. While AI can accelerate learning for the disciplined, most people will choose the easy shortcut, potentially undermining our ability to solve hard problems independently.
"Learning hard subjects ultimately requires struggling, and LLMs have made struggling obsolete."
The Hidden Chaos of BLAS, LAPACK, and OpenMP in Python PackagingI explore the complex challenges of managing BLAS, LAPACK, and OpenMP dependencies in the Python ecosystem. From conflicting implementations in NumPy and SciPy to threading issues in PyTorch, I explain why vendoring these libraries creates a fragmented environment. We examine how system package managers handle these conflicts and why the current PyPI approach often leads to performance bottlenecks and runtime errors.
"The performance improvements over the Netlib version are often in the 10x-100x range, and given how critical linear algebra is to scientific computing and deep learning, these libraries and their performance characteristics are of major importance."
Canada's unemployment rate climbed to 6.9% in April, driven by a loss of 18,000 jobs and a surge in job seekers rather than mass layoffs. Youth unemployment spiked above 14%, while full-time positions dropped significantly. Despite these figures, economists like Claire Fan from RBC Capital Markets suggest the broader economy remains resilient with positive GDP growth, attributing the stagnation to hiring freezes and uncertainty around energy prices and immigration trends.
"That is signalling that unemployment is more due to hiring freezes instead of layoffs."
Dark Star: John Carpenter's Cult Sci-Fi Debut and Its Enduring LegacyDark Star is a 1974 independent science fiction comedy directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Dan O'Bannon. The film follows the crew of a deteriorating starship on a twenty-year mission to destroy unstable planets, dealing with malfunctions, boredom, and a sentient bomb. Starting as a University of Southern California student project, it evolved into a feature film that achieved cult classic status through home video releases.
"The tedium of their mission has driven the crew of Sergeant Pinback, Boiler, and Talby around the bend, so they have created distractions for themselves."
I share essential notes for systems programmers working with the UCI LISP system on the PDP-10. This guide highlights critical compiler bugs, specific PPN handling requirements, and the absence of the BIGNUM package in reentrant versions. I also detail the updated DEC LOADER and provide step-by-step instructions for generating the various LISP system modules from the provided source files.
"If you have it and wish to use it, you will have to create either a non-reentrant system or load it into the basic system before it is saved."
I analyze the Department of Labor's 'Make America AI-Ready' SMS course, praising its accessibility and focus on human responsibility while critiquing its contradictory privacy advice and oversimplified quizzes. I recommend an 'AI 201' follow-up that addresses how AI reshapes work, deepens technical understanding, and offers adaptive learning to better equip workers for the future.
"The Department of Labor exists to protect workers, their wages, their safety, and their rights, yet the course largely skips over the ways AI is already reshaping hiring, performance monitoring, and layoffs of workers across many sectors."
A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry BarlowI speak from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind, to tell governments of the Industrial World that they have no sovereignty here. We did not invite you, and your laws based on matter cannot rule our world of thought and transactions. We are forming our own Social Contract based on ethics and the Golden Rule, creating a civilization where all may enter without privilege or prejudice.
"Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here."