Flea markets in East Germany even now are fascinating for classic tech, classic tech books, and many other things. Even as simple as going to one at Mauerpark or the Karlshorst race track, you will see working examples of classic DDR tech that you can buy and explore. Just like people explore classic macs, it's as interesting to see.
There is some validity to a marketplace selling items from a larger range of retailers, however the quality is so poor for many items that it simply is no good for society in any way.
> the quality is so poor for many items that it simply is no good for society in any way.
There are some that are genuinely dangerous and bad for society, but there are tons of goods that are "the same thing but half the price because it lasts a quarter the time" that have genuine utility.
Harbor Freight has basically made a drop-shipping business out of it. I often have tools that I need but will probably use 4 times in my life, and the Harbor Freight stuff is crap but will probably work 4 times.
Copy that over a bunch of verticals and it starts to make sense. Clothing for a costume I'll wear maybe twice, niche cooking gadgets for very specific things, tools to do a one-time repair on a car, a flash drive to turn over photos to family members, yada yada.
I think the dirty secret is that a lot of it is not "1/2 the price that lasts 1/4 the time" but "1/4 the price that lasts 9/10 the time" or "1/2 the price for the exact same product without half of the budget going to marketing".
It's not all of it. Some things are seriously worse quality. But really a ton of the "better quality" is just better marketing.
> some that are genuinely dangerous ... tools that I need but will probably use 4 times in my life, and the Harbor Freight stuff is crap but will probably work 4 times
Forehead hit hood, but I caught myself so it was a "gentle" reminder instead of a concussion. I should have splurged that time I broke a socket tightening an axle bolt. 150 ft-lbs + 180 degrees is a fair bit of torque.
They have replicated a neuromorphic algorithm (brain like) on a FPGA, but this implementation at this scale is doubtful to have any improvement over a brute force effort. Quite a few companies feel this is the way forward, although the end goal would be potentially better using photonic chips than qubits and obviously better than an fpga.
The title is especially buzzword based with minimal meaning for the actual paper.
This is not especially related to quantum computing. Neuromorphic computing uses an algorithm that tries to replicate how the brain works and then in this case implements it and runs it on an FPGA. There are quite a range of papers on this concept and multiple companies are doing just this to show their work. It is often used as it should theoretically avoid such a brute force approach.
Working in academic research, I can say clearly that it can be hard to self motivate at times. Especially whereby everything is focused on IP and hence a profit. We have gone beyond the stage of science to widen our knowledge and we are moving closer to industry. On the whole we avoid letting each other get too far ahead by sharing enough to show off and get more funding but not enough that others can replicate it.
In my view, you need to have two projects going on; one that satisfies funders and pays the bills, possibly the latest buzzword. Then alongside that a more theoretical project in an area that you are passionate about. Plod along in the background with the latter to make the former easier.
Satisfying the task masters who are often very stuck in their ways and risk adverse is the hard part. Pushing the boundaries to give out a little more than they would like is essential.
you can read(translations) of Davinci's note books where notes in the margins are to make more convex mirrors, which he sold for proffit to wealthy household, and to give money to his housekeeper and pay employees and buy all the things needed for his research, and all kinds of trials and tribulations involved in what was a wholely
self funded operation.
Yes, he had patrons, but many of them were fickle and didn't follow through,while taking up a lot of time, and then as now, the bills keep comming, and more than once he barely avoided destitution.
I have started to try and always develop Gopher versions of my sites for my research work. I try and promote that version especially to those who live in countries where internet access is costly relative to income or internet access is limited. Usually the key differences are diagrams become ASCII based.
Jack Kerouac has always felt like a gateway for early 20 year old guys looking to be seen as literary explorers. Similar to how Orwell seems to be commonly found around your mid teens (15-17) and many are seem reading 1984. I guess it's almost a right of passage.
I know many will say those are stereotypes or tropes but having worked with people from 15-28 over the course of many years in a range of roles, it's very much an observation at this point. Orwell especially I suspect comes from required reading.
Orwell is an absolute master of both fiction and non-fiction. This dude lived and got dirty on purpose just to be able to report about it: far-away colonies, lower-class slums, foreign wars against fascists; in the end it even cost him his life.
I am SO happy he is an obligatory lecture in many schools and countries; it's probably the best thing kids could be reading. He's been my hero ever since I've read him, and still is now even as I am approaching 40. And I've read many other good things too, but rarely something comes close to Orwell's dedication and authenticity. The man speaks universal truths in a way that sticks. If you only know 1984 and Animal Farm, do yourself a favor and check out The Road to Wigan Pier, for example.
"Of the five pay-checks I mentioned above, no less than three are rubber-stamped with the words 'death stoppage'. When a miner is killed at work it is usual for the other miners to make up a subscription, generally of a shilling each, for his widow, and this is collected by the colliery company and automatically deducted from their wages. The significant detail here is the rubber stamp."
I've read all his works and I was a big fan. But I do still believe it does attract a specific age. Orwell had some excellent work, and I didn't insult him. However I am wary of romanticising a way of life. His early works were based on his real experiences but I can't promote essays or books based on a brief entrance into that life for research as it's not quite the same. I believe all forms of media are best when they are based on your real lived experience and not roleplayed. Especially music and literature. Oasis are a particularly great example of this; you can't really write songs about a life of poverty and hope when you no longer live that.
In Down and Out in Paris and London he is very clear that he comes from some privilege and also that he actually lived the experiences he wrote about. He can't write it from the pov of somebody doing it for decades with no other option but he is explicit that he can't do that.
OTR is also required reading in the US. I remember a lot of my peers being very inspired by living that sort of beat life, although none of them actualized on that
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