2024-12-20 TIL: Photos Privacy, Duffy the Disney Bear, Osborne Effect, and BMJ’s Christmas Issue

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They See Your Photos

Your photos reveal a lot of private information.

• “They See Your Photos” is a privacy research experiment that uses generative AI to describe uploaded images.

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Duffy Bear and His Friends

Duffy Bear(达菲熊) is a popular Disney character introduced in 2002 at Walt Disney World, Orlando. Initially called “Disney Bear,” he was later renamed Duffy at Tokyo DisneySea in 2005. Duffy’s Friends:

• ShellieMay (雪莉玫): A teddy bear made by Minnie for Duffy, adventurous and crafty.
• Gelatoni (傑拉多尼): An artistic cat from Italy who paints with his tail.
• StellaLou (星黛露): A lavender rabbit who dreams of being a Broadway dancer.
• CookieAnn (可琦安): A yellow dog who loves inventing new foods, optimistic and passionate.
• Olu Mel (奧樂米拉): A Hawaiian turtle skilled in music, playing the ukulele.
• LinaBell (玲娜貝兒): A curious fox who loves puzzles and nature.
• Tippy Blue: A clumsy seagull and Duffy’s mailman friend.

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Osborne Effect

The Osborne effect is a social phenomenon where customers cancel or defer orders for the current, soon-to-be-obsolete product due to a company announcing a future product prematurely. It is an example of cannibalization.

BMJ’s Christmas Issue

Each year, The BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, publishes a special Christmas issue. The edition spans a wide array of topics and formats that are unlikely to be published any other time of year.

• What started in 1982 as an experimental roundup of fun research for the holidays has since grown into one of The BMJ’s most highly anticipated issues each year.

2024-12-19 TIL: Nullable Reference Types, ArcGIS Survey123, Bozo Flag, Parenting Advice, and Slang Insights

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Enabling Nullable Reference Types

The ability to enable Nullable Reference Types was introduced in C# 8. There are two ways to enable it: via file-based declaration or a project-level flag.

• To use file declarations: #nullable enable
• To enable at the project level: <Nullable>enable</Nullable>

Installed ArcGIS Survey123 Website

Organizations may sometimes need to work in completely disconnected environments or be required to host the ArcGIS Survey123 website and/or Survey123 REST API on their own infrastructure. The Survey123 REST API is used to convert survey configurations into forms for use in the Survey123 apps. The website provides functionality to create and manage surveys and to view and analyze the collected data. Both components are separate but work together to offer the functionality seen in the ArcGIS Survey123 website.

feed.bozo

In the context of feed parsing with Python’s “feedparser” library, “bozo” refers to a flag that indicates whether an RSS or Atom feed is not well-formed XML. Feedparser automatically sets the “bozo” flag to “True” when it encounters a non-well-formed XML feed during parsing.

• Why the name “bozo”? Informally, “bozo” is a slang term for a silly or clumsy person, making it a fitting analogy for a poorly structured or non-standard feed.

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Should You Let Your Kid Quit Something?

The advice given in the show was to first reflect on your own intentions, consider your child’s personality, ask how they feel, create a non-binary action plan together, and, finally, have a reflective conversation with your child.

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Tough It Out

To deal with a difficult period or situation without becoming less certain or determined in your plans or opinions.

Body Count

Slang. Refers to how many people you’ve had sex with.

• A “high body count conversation” typically refers to a discussion where someone mentions or boasts about having many romantic or sexual partners.

2024-12-16 TIL: iOS Launch Screen

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iOS Launch Screen

• All iOS apps must include a launch screen storyboard, even if the rest of the app is built without storyboards. Without it, the app defaults to supporting only older 3.5" (or possibly 4") iOS device sizes, resulting in black bars (letterboxing) on larger devices. Including a launch screen storyboard ensures the app can accommodate all screen sizes.
• For SwiftUI, simply adding an empty image name to Info.plist should also work.

2024-12-15 TIL: A Map Rap

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A Map Rap

This rap is absolutely brilliant for GIS day! For the list of Inspiration From Other Famous Mappa Rappas, each name combines rap artists with GIS terms for a fun crossover:

1. Mapplemoore: Based on Macklemore, with a mapping twist.
2. Way-Z: A play on Jay-Z, referencing way (map data term).
3. Lil’ Pane: Refers to Lil’ Wayne, with “Pane” for map window.
4. Cardi-(graphic)-I: Based on Cardi B, adding “graphic” for mapping interfaces.
5. Post ma-layer: A play on Post Malone, with “layer” for map layers.
6. Known Bugz ‘N’ Symbology: A twist on The Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls, referencing bugs and map symbology.
7. Fat Geo: Based on Fat Joe, with “Geo” for geography or GIS.
8. The Notorious G.D.B.: A play on The Notorious B.I.G., with G.D.B. for Geospatial Data Base.
9. Ludaclips: Refers to Ludacris, with “clips” for map sections.
10. Snoop Catalogg: A twist on Snoop Dogg, with “Catalogg” for map data catalogs.
11. MXD: A reference to Max B, with a nod to the MXD file format in ArcGIS.

2024-12-12 TIL: Web-to-App Linking and Situational Awareness

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Web-to-App Linking

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Situational Awareness

2024-12-11 TIL: Snapdrop, Sora Technology & Driving Instructors

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Snapdrop

A local file-sharing tool in your browser, inspired by Apple’s AirDrop.

• Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript
• P2P connection: WebRTC/WebSockets
• Backend: NodeJS
• Clients: Progressive Web App

中学生能看懂：Sora 原理解读

Key steps and technology behind Sora video generation:

1. Input Data Processing: Using a video compression network to compress images or videos into low-dimensional representations, simplifying processing while retaining rich visual data.
2. Spatiotemporal Patch Generation: Sora breaks down the compressed data into spatiotemporal patches, capturing both spatial and temporal information for complex video content.
3. Text-conditioned Diffusion Model: Sora uses text prompts to guide a Diffusion model that progressively denoises and generates visual content matching the text description.

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Driving Instructors

• 易通行汽车陪练
• 雷厉风行汽车陪练
• 手把手汽车陪练

2024-12-10 TIL: Interview Success Strategies & Top Podcasts of 2024

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Interview Success in SV

I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days, and stumbled into six job offers

• Structured Preparation: Focus on coding problems, system design, and company-specific technologies. Use resources like LeetCode and HackerRank to practice.
• Daily Consistency: Dedicate regular time to solve problems and review core concepts.
• Mock Interviews: Simulate interviews to build confidence and refine communication.

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Top Charts of 2024

• Apple shares the most popular podcasts of 2024
• The above list of podcasts is available as an OPML file for your podcast player

2024-12-09 TIL: Genie 2, Conventional Commits, and Playful Tech Terms

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Genie 2

• A revolutionary foundation world model by DeepMind that transforms single images into fully interactive 3D environments.
• Enables unlimited training scenarios for AI agents by generating diverse virtual worlds.

Large-Scale Foundation World Models vs. Large Language Models (LLMs)

• Purpose: Generate and simulate 3D environments vs. Understand and produce human-like text
• Training Data: Visual data like images and videos vs. Extensive text data
• Applications: Gaming, simulations, AI agent training vs. Chatbots, translation, content generation

Genie 2 vs. World Labs’ AI System

• Functionality: Transforms text or images into interactive 3D environments vs. Creates editable 3D scenes in a web browser.
• Technology: Latent diffusion model simulating physics and interactions vs. AI estimating 3D geometry for coherent, plausible scenes.
• Use Cases: AI training and rapid game prototyping vs. Immersive environment design for gaming and film.

Conventional Commits

A commit message standard that integrates seamlessly with SemVer.

• Types:
  • fix: Bug fix → triggers a PATCH version bump.
  • feat: New feature → triggers a MINOR version bump.
• Footer:
  • BREAKING CHANGE: API incompatibility → triggers a MAJOR version bump.

Cursor AI Review (Beta)

• The AI Review feature has transitioned to a “Bug Finder” tab, designed to identify potential bugs in your codebase.
• No longer included in subscriptions; costs may be high.

Mintlify

• A modern standard for creating beautiful, user-friendly public-facing documentation.
• Built to convert users while being easy to maintain.

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h-api

• A playful alteration of “happy” with a focus on APIs, expressing joy or enthusiasm about API development. Example: “I’m feeling h-api today!”

Fayre

• Fayre: An old English term for a fun gathering featuring local goods, akin to a fair or bazaar.

2024-12-08 TIL: Notre Dame and Bullpen

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Notre Dame

巴黎圣母院

• “Each day we have 20 difficulties. But it’s different when you work on a building that has a soul. Beauty makes everything easier.”

Bullpen

牛棚

• In baseball, the bullpen refers to the area where pitchers warm up before entering the game. It also symbolizes the team’s group of relief pitchers.
• Origin: The term comes from Major League Baseball, where a Bull Durham tobacco advertisement hung near the pitcher’s practice area.

2024-12-07 TIL: Dental Health and Baseball Basics

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How do you make a great recruiting video?

Dia

• Your personal insertion cursor

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「六龄齿」

The first permanent molar, also known as the six-year molar, is the earliest permanent tooth to erupt, usually around age six.

• Located as the sixth tooth from the midline, it grows behind the last baby tooth.
• Importance of the First Permanent Molar: Longest-lasting tooth in life. Takes on the majority of chewing functions. Plays a key role in aligning the upper and lower dental arches and guiding other permanent teeth. Requires early protection through fissure sealant application to prevent damage.

Fissure Sealants

A highly effective method to prevent decay in the grooves of young permanent teeth.

• Involves applying a sealing material on the biting surface and grooves of molars to protect against bacteria and food buildup.
• Non-invasive, painless, and preserves natural tooth structure.
• The material hardens to form a protective barrier over deep grooves, preventing decay.

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A Pro Player Explains The Rules Of Baseball

The count matters

• Hitters don’t want to strike out
• Pitchers don’t want to walk hitters

Baseball Rules for Beginners

strike, ball, hit, foul ball, and fair ball

• 3 strike = out
• 4 ball = walk (batter advances to first base)
• 1 hit = walk
• foul ball, 0 or 1 strike counts as a strike, 2 strikes do not count as a strike.
• 1st base loaded fair play: Caught (Runner must return) or Dropped (Runner advances)