nyc

+1! Even though we have a full-on smart home network, we still use these mechanical timers sometimes since they are totally foolproof.

I think it’s useful to see how this is possible using only consumer products and software!

An alternative solution that’s less roundabout could be to use a uhubctl (https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl) compatible USB hub and directly switch the power of the usb port.

This blog article gives a rundown of all of the ways this has been implemented. https://makecode.com/blog/one-chip-to-flash-them-all

The 4th paragraph in the Nobel Prize press release suggests that it's because mRNA based vaccines are easier to scale up and mass produce in response to a pandemic:

"Producing whole virus-, protein- and vector-based vaccines requires large-scale cell culture. This resource-intensive process limits the possibilities for rapid vaccine production in response to outbreaks and pandemics."

Planet Money/Pricenomics had a fascinating story about California's trial of a streamlined system that was incredibly well-received. However, Intuit's lobbyists teamed up with the small-government movement to sink it. https://priceonomics.com/the-stanford-professor-who-fought-t...

The principle behind why the writing glows (i.e., totally internally reflected light from the LEDs in the plexiglass getting scattered by the ink) is also how some of the earlier multi-touch systems worked (like the one in Jeff Han's 2006 TED talk). So, with the right software, it might be possible to convert one of these DIY lightboards to support input (maybe to change slides or something).

I was surprised to learn that 99% of the shiny parts in the photo belongs to the dilution refrigerator (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilution_refrigerator) needed to get the machine down close to absolute zero. The actual computer is a tiny chip at the bottom of the apparatus!

Andrew, that lecture you gave was fantastic. The Deutsch oracle example in the lecture was especially helpful -- I'm surprised it doesn't get used more frequently in other explanations of QC. I think one of the most interesting moments in the video was when the audience (me included) jumped to the conclusion that the QC was more powerful than it actually was and you helpfully brought everyone back to reality.

I know very little about finance but I did notice that the author specifically notes that the insurance is the same as an European put option (ie can only be exercised at expiry), to which Black-Scholes can be applied.

Typically those wiggles are for length matching on parallel busses. Since the signals are clocked at a high speed, ensuring all the bits arrive at the same time is crucial.

When I have some time, I plan to implement it myself for fun & learning. It's a cool effect and the linked paper provides enough detail for others to build something similar. I think building it would be a good exercise for learning about camera APIs, projection mapping (i.e. pre-distorting things so that when they are projected they look undistorted) and writing fragment shaders. When the code gets posted, I think it'll be even more educational.

If you prefer not to install an external program (e.g. wsltty), this gist https://gist.github.com/P4/4245793 has some registry presets for prettifying the built in console.

Recognizing that people like their existing watches is a great idea. The hardware looks really slick too.

The big problem, one that afflicts pretty much every smartwatch, is one of battery life. One of the great things about non-smart watches is that they run for years, not days. Chronos doesn't bypass this limitation (although one nice thing w/ Chronos is that if one forgets to charge, the main watch will continue to work).

A recent article in the Economist explains why comparing to others makes us unhappy. In short, we keep comparing ourselves to people who are better off: http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21677223...

That said, I think there are concrete things you could do to improve your current situation. First, it sounds like you now know what to do. That's excellent! At 22, you are not far behind at all.

Early in grad school, things weren't going well and I felt like I was falling behind my peers. I ended up finding a lot of comfort knowing there was a CS professor in my department who had trained as a doctor but then decided his passion was in CS. He basically had to start over in school. To know that one could get a later start and still achieve success was incredibly reassuring.

That said, I think you might also benefit from having a mentor. I have found it useful to have someone experienced and successful from which to learn and model myself after. They have given me the confidence to go and tackle larger problems and helped me move forward when things are looking pretty bleak.