Claude is not a real guy. Claude is a character in the stories that an LLM has been programmed to write. Just to give it a distinct name, let's call the LLM "the Shoggoth". When you have a conversation with Claude, what's really happening is you're coauthoring a fictional convers … | Continue reading
Today we are doing a melted snowman craft! This snowman craft was inspired by Frosty the Snowman. Kids of all… The post Silly Salt Dough Melted Snowman Craft appeared first on Kids Activities Blog. | Continue reading
A groundbreaking step in quantum technology has been achieved with the demonstration of an integrated spin-wave quantum memory, overcoming challenges of photon transmission loss and noise suppression. Quantum memories play a crucial role in creating large-scale quantum networks b … | Continue reading
O2 unveils Daisy, the AI granny wasting scammers’ time Bit of a surprising press release here from 14th November 2024: Virgin Media O2 (the UK companies merged in 2021) announced their entrance into the scambaiting game: Daisy combines various AI models which work together to lis … | Continue reading
Spotify is for me the embodiment of everything that’s wrong with the “growth at all costs” mindset applied to a tech product. I’ve been a user for I don’t even remember how long, has to be at least a decade at this point. And over these years I don’t think they added a single fea … | Continue reading
Republican’s War on Science takes a dark new turn. Sure, let’s destroy the foundation of US technological leadership over the last century. That’s a plan. E&E News: Every few years, the federal government publishes a comprehensive report that chronicles how climate change is tran … | Continue reading
Outdated systems and weak regulations have allowed untreated sewage to spill into waterways. Government department could soon face lawsuit for serious misconduct with sewage spills: 'We will decide next steps' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
The last Dragon Ball movie before Akira Toriyama's passing had one mission: give Piccolo, one of the franchise's best characters, his due. | Continue reading
The Army football team was on the periphery of the college football playoff mix in 2024. I noted that the Army-Navy game was played after the playoff field was finalized. This led to a research project. | Continue reading
On Nov. 19, a bomb cyclone hit the Pacific Northwest, with the majority of the damage affecting the state of Washington. Scientists shed light on unfortunate frequency of bomb cyclones — here's what you need to know first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Using LLMs and Cursor to become a finisher Zohaib Rauf describes a pattern I've seen quite a few examples of now: engineers who moved into management but now find themselves able to ship working code again (at least for their side projects) thanks to the productivity boost they g … | Continue reading
I've had some interesting bathing experiences in my life. In 1986, I spent a month in the Mojave Desert at Ft. Irwin while in the Army. I got one hot shower during the entire month and most of the cleaning I did was by pouring canteens of water over my head with its GI haircut. S … | Continue reading
What we learned copying all the best code assistants Steve Krouse describes Val Town's experience so far building features that use LLMs, starting with completions (powered by Codeium and Val Town's own codemirror-codeium extension) and then rolling through several versions of th … | Continue reading
New research reveals the potential of circadian nutrition, particularly time-restricted feeding, to alleviate fatigue. The study indicates that aligning food intake with the body’s natural clock can enhance muscle endurance and cognitive function, offering a promising lifestyle c … | Continue reading
"We’re getting red, beautiful tomatoes late going into fall, which is exactly what we want." Gardening expert shares why you should be trimming back your tomatoes: 'I'm having great results' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Seems notable that the CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Council would take time on New Year’s Eve to record a message of warning to all electric generators and utilities, especially in the US Southeast. He brings up the specter of disastrous storms Uri and Elliot in … | Continue reading
This finding suggests that the air we breathe plays a larger role in skin conditions than we previously thought. Yale study uncovers concerning link between air pollution and common skin condition: 'Important health implications' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Hypnosis is safe and can work as both a standalone or a complementary treatment with other therapies. | Continue reading
That strange (and funny) Rhino scream you've seen from the Kraven movie wasn't intentional, at least on the actor's end. | Continue reading
One way to introduce people to the joys of electric cars is to start them out with plug-in hybrids that are the next best thing. The post “Super Hybrids” Like The Mercedes GLC 350e Are Coming appeared first on CleanTechnica. | Continue reading
An interesting twist of logic is taking place at the highest levels of global governments. You’d think that the need to address the climate issues would stand alone, right? After all, the effects of a warming planet are destroying ecosystems, threatening critical infrastructure, … | Continue reading
Learn key facts about the Moon: from its significant distance and relative size compared to Earth to its distinctive color changes and geological features like the lunar mare, formed from ancient volcanic activity. Looking to impress your friends during a moonlit night? Here are … | Continue reading
Google is adding the Text Fragment feature to its PDF reader to make it easier to share specific parts of long PDFs. [...] | Continue reading
It was probably my most productive first week of January so far. Big progress in the apartment: lots of furniture (and a large wall unit) dismantled, two rooms painted and much more. Tomorrow maybe a bit more relaxed program, so that I don’t need a vacation from vacation straight … | Continue reading
I saw a planet right next to the Moon today. Sorry for the abstract photography but this was the best I could do with my phone. Seconds later it was gone. No second shot. | Continue reading
Here are 25 easy Mediterranean Diet recipes all born out of Lebanese cuisine, food that defines this ultra-healthy diet in… The post 25 Easy Mediterranean Diet Recipes appeared first on Maureen Abood. | Continue reading
Incidents like this suggest inconsistent implementation of Amazon's initiatives. Amazon customer sparks fury with photo of package contents from recent online order: 'This is beyond ridiculous' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
A new study found that ants perform better at solving puzzles in a group than humans, especially when the humans are not allowed to speak with one another. Longhorn crazy ants can't move in a straight line but can beat humans at navigating a complex puzzle in a group. — Read the … | Continue reading
Today's xkcd: Mouseover title: "You may notice the first half of these instructions are similar to the instructions for a working nuclear fusion device. After the first few dozen steps, be sure to press down firmly and fold quickly to overcome fusion pressure." No doubt you've co … | Continue reading
Although I’m usually partial to including a short blockquote from articles I want to share, lately I’ve found myself inspired by Dave Winer’s link post style (site | follow). Probably because I click through on a lot of them. 😅 He simply shares the title (or writes a shor … | Continue reading
A Weizmann Institute experiment found that cooperation proved more effective for ants than for humans. Anyone who has dealt with ants in the kitchen knows that they are highly social creatures; it’s rare to see one on its own. Similarly, humans are social beings, even though some … | Continue reading
A federal judge's decision has paved the way for congestion pricing to take effect tomorrow (Sunday!), following the rejection of a last-minute challenge from the state of New Jersey. New Jersey's legal reps reportedly vowed to appeal. Per Gothamist: U.S. Senior Judge Leo Gordon … | Continue reading
"Make sure you take off the label before putting it back in the fridge." Dad shares ingenious cooking hack reusing empty ketchup bottles: 'It works amazing' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
While Stephen Hawking’s ashes were being interred during a memorial service at Westminster Cathedral in 2018, the European Space Agency (ESA) beamed into space an original piece of music by the Greek composer Vangelis that featured Hawking’s voice. The Cebreros station outside of … | Continue reading
Throughout the past couple of years, Overdrive went all in on Libby. This was their first mobile app that replaced the Overdrive Media Console. The app is only available for smartphones and tablets since that is where the users are. The company had a rare outage yesterday and tod … | Continue reading
Happy New Year again! Let’s look at the new prices for the new year in our inflation-free economy or, at worst, our 2 percent inflation economy. We have a United Healthcare policy for our family (two adults, two kids). The deductible/out-of-pocket limit for the family is $6,500/y … | Continue reading
I know these are real risks, and to be clear, when I say an AI “thinks,” “learns,” “understands,” “decides,” or “feels,” I’m speaking metaphorically. Current AI systems don’t have a consciousness, emotions, a sense of self, or physical sensations. So why take the risk? Because as … | Continue reading
The theater chain's celebrating January's National Popcorn Day with a Bring Your Own Bucket promo to get more butts in seats. | Continue reading
Unfamiliar Happy New Year, ! I hope you had a great holiday season. This is the third issue of the winter pause edition. The newsletter will be back in its full glory on January 12th. ⛄️❄️🌨️☀️ At the beginning of the new year, let me have one look back and another forth. … | Continue reading
The AirFly SE might not be the only way to enjoy in-flight entertainment with your own headphones, but it’s one of the most reliable. | Image: Twelve South The Twelve South AirFly SE is one of those gadgets that can make long flights go by just a little faster, allowing you to es … | Continue reading
A hilarious sketch from the classic British show "Hale and Pace" shows why cats aren't the best choice as guides for the visually impaired. | Continue reading
I often need to strip emoji from strings to prevent them from messing up other handling. I’ve been compiling regular expressions and I think I finally have all the bases covered. This example is in Ruby, but the regular expressions are easy to adapt to any language: strip_emoji.r … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2025 Gödel, Escher and Bosh: "What Can I Do For You?" Once again, it was one of Dylan's questions, during his Christian period. Three albums emerged from that era, including Saved, the 1980 album which included this heartfelt cut. We're not religious ourselve … | Continue reading
Scientists are exploring 2D materials — sheets just one atom thick — with unique and promising electronic properties. When two of these sheets are layered at specific angles, they can exhibit remarkable behaviors, such as superconductivity. Antonija Grubišić-Čabo, a materials sci … | Continue reading
Mysterious radio bursts from outer space first discovered in 2007, last only a millisecond but can carry an enormous amount of energy—enough to briefly outshine entire galaxies. Since that first fast radio burst, or FRB, astronomers have detected thousands more, whose locations r … | Continue reading
"We are excited to be among the first in our industry." Major beverage distributor is shaking up the industry by transforming its delivery process: 'This is a significant step' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Watch a dude ride a treadmill in a plastic container at increasing levels of speed. This experiment results in the container breaking apart each time it's taken for a ride, becoming comically smaller and smaller. Things start to go downhill after about 4 mph speed, but launching … | Continue reading