In other news, VAG group (VW, Seat, Cupra, Skoda, Audi) seems to be going into completely different direction. I placed my order for ID.Polo the moment the orders opened back at the end of April.

And others seem to agree - the MEB Entry family (Cupra Raval / ID.Polo for hatchback and ID.Cross/Skoda Epiq) have already 80000+ orders in a few months - many for people who have not even been able to test drive the car.

Reviewers seem to agree, and when I look at the car I'm absolutely certain I'm going to enjoy it when I get it this October.

For example, here's one. Fast forward to 5:30 to see interior stuff (including the darn buttons!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The other car in the family, Cupra Raval was also an option for me, but since VAG decided that temperature controls in those would still be sliders (even if other stuff still has buttons), I went with Polo.

Xylitol has been *very* much promoted at least here in Finland as being good for your teeth. They basically hand out Xylitol gums for kids at every dentist visit and even at school lunches sometimes. Effect is basically that it starves cavity-causing bacteria in your mouth.

So I guess...chew your Xylitol gum, but spit it out afterwards!

Pretty obvious conclusion really.

...so because his friends can no longer make bank by shorting/buying stocks or oil futures or whatever based on soon-to-be-posted tweet on Hormuz open/closed today, the new scheme is just skip all that and directly ask for cash. Same as with the crypto.

When I semi-frequently traveled to China (this was 10+ years ago), when coming in for landing the announcements in Mandarin *always* started with a bit about *not* standing up or unfastening seat belts until plane had come to a complete stop at the gate. They repeated that specific bit also the exact moment wheels touched the ground "Remain seated!". It never happened on flights to Hong Kong, though (or Taipei, for that matter), but did to Shanghai and Beijing. Tested with Finnair, BA and Cathay Pacific.

So yeah, I guess it's fun in trying to reach those bygone years of by 80's childhood.

let foo = bar;

Meaning that browsers are getting better at obscuring their OS. I mean, User-Agent string probably doesn't give anything meaningful these days anyway.

I'm still not certain what the "social media" definition is in this or other legislative definitions. Would Usenet count? Would Slashdot? Would some random Phpbb board for bird watchers set up in 2005?

Personally, I've drawn the limit at "algorithms", meaning you get some sort of "feed" pushed down your throat. Whatsapp is not social media - yes, they have channels where you can broadcast but I think the app doesn't try to lure you in. Youtube is kind of borderline - if you log in, it definitely pushes something into your feed, but on the other hand, you do not need to log in, and then you just get "trending" videos. Facebook, Linkedin, X etc definitely count.

In our family, the 10-year old gets access to Whatsapp because all friends have it too. I don't see what would be the point of removing that access. Most of those friendships have formed in school, and when some families have moved away that way they can still keep in touch. They also play Minecraft and Roblox and chat during gameplay. Minecraft is a no-brainer - it's just multiplayer Lego set. Of Roblox I'm not sure but I sure as hell will not be allowing Persona to take some age-verification picture if that ever becomes mandatory.

Also, I can't follow the "no smartphones for kids" train of thought. The smartphone is *easier* to lock down that a dumb (or "feature") phone even with standard Google Family Link tools. Just disable everything except a whitelist. And if child learns how to unlock bootloader and root the phone to get rid of the restrictions, I think I'd feel a bit proud - as long as it's not just done by a geek friend of a friend. Have to at least make some effort...

Yeah, that AMOC collapse might happen in a few decades (or centuries). Until then we are stuck with hotter weather.

Once the collapse happens then North America gets to keep all the hotness.

Sorry, wrong piece of legislation in progress - meant Digital Fairness Act, not Digital Services Act. https://digitalfairnessact.com...

As it says on the summary already - the fact that we got a non-answer from commission doesn't matter here. It would have been *nice* to get a legislation from there, but in the end they don't matter.

Ross Scott explains it better at https://youtu.be/CgoODQFrPgw?t... but the point is that SKG already has majority support in European Parliament, and the plan is basically that SKG gets tacked on by the parliament as an amendment to Digital Services Act (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act). The DSA is already supposed to do things like rein in lootboxes, so it's already addressing issues for video games.

Commission's stance ultimately does not matter here at all. No need to be discouraged.

What I have been seeing when talking to bunch of customers who are anxious about the quantum computers breaking ciphers is not so much encryption (as in transmission of data without eavesdropping learning the contents). If your credit card number leaks because you sent it over TLS session that someone captured and cracked with a quantum computer, that's an inconvenience to get a new card, but still minor.

The big interest is in quantum-secure digital *signatures*. No, not the ones on website certificates. But stuff that you use to sign contracts and agreements (hell, even that Iran "deal" was apparently signed using DocuSign). Same for things like deeds, proofs of ownerships, any kinds of contracts that are signed with a cryptographic signature. If someone could fake that yes, they actually did purchase some stock ages ago, here's a completely valid and cryptographic hash, signed by the broker, it would break things. In fact, Bitcoin is supposedly not quantum-secure, so someone could potentially create quite a bit of money by injecting themselves into the blockchain.

So problem is not some transient encryption session cipher, the problem is digital signature that might have lifetime of decades or even longer. If I right now sign a contract to buy a plot of land, and contract uses EdDSA as signature algorithm and someone breaks it in 2040 showing that I have been squatting, and the land belonged to somebody else all along, it will become a problem...

I just pay with card. No need to bother with apps anymore.

You know, as it's now mandatory in EU to have all new fast charging stations to have card payment capability and old ones have to be retrofitted. The regular AC EVSE (up to 22 kW) are exempt and do not need a card reader.

Maybe in the future we can have plug'n'charge that is interoperable (CCS standard definitely allows for it), so you'd just enter the credit card info once into your car.

Haven't used an app to pay for fast charging for the past two years. I actively avoid charging stations that do not have card payment option. (And yes, if you absolutely want to use phone, you can always use Google wallet or whatever mobile payment option - but no need to bother with some charging network-specific app).

I recently bought a small spot-welder in addition to soldering iron. I have already used it to replace NiMH batteries for things like hair trimmer and those solar-powered garden lights. They use the pretty standard AA form factor, so cutting the wires, removing the old battery, soldering the wires to nickel strips and then soldering those to the battery are not too difficult.

Haven't tried to replace lithium battery cells yet, but should also be doable as long as the BMS stays intact and proper care is taken (be careful not to start a lithium fire...). I did replace a battery (that came with BMS included) on an old GPS navigator though (only needed solder), but that's of course a bit different.

Anyway, I've already encountered that even in those cheap lamps you can put in the garden there's clear difference (we have about a dozen of them, obtained at different times). The best one actually had a replaceable AA battery. The others I could replace with the procedure above. And some were just sunken in resin so that if you try to separate the components you are bound to break something.

In my opinion there's a big difference between "dump when battery dies" vs "can be fixed with not-too-costly tools at least if you take them to someone who knows what they are doing". Youtube is full of videos on how to fix your gear. And if you break it while learning then, well, the device was unusable anyway so it's not like you lost anything.

It's the "dump in resin" or similar crap that I hate to actively prevent DIY repairs.

Now, with that said, are you REALLY trying to tell me that nearly half of society is this way? That sounds like an extraordinary claim that will require extraordinary evidence. That's why I wonder if there are not other issues at hand here besides just hunger pains. I know we all tolerate pain differently as well.

This part is completely anecdotal and based only on formed opinion, but I also tried to think back on when the "hungry all the time" started, and my best guess is sometime between 20 and 25. What was I doing then? Well, living on a shoestring budget and studying at university. What do you eat when you live on a shoestring budget and need to study for exams and courses burning midnight oil? Ready-to-eat ultraprocessed crap, fast food, all that jazz.

Not a problem at that time, but my belief without anything really to back it up, is that that particular diet hardwired something in my brain to make my body demand stuff at unhealthily regular intervals stayed even after graduation and better living conditions. After starting a family, diet as in the ingredients in food got even better (you make more effort in cooking when you are no longer just doing it for yourself). However, in your 20s and early 30s, your metabolism can still keep up.

My weight started rising late 30s/early 40s, and ever since then - for the past 10 years, I've tried "everything". Bloodwork and treadmill tests show I'm in excellent health and physical shape apart from that BMI indicator.

Is this something you can generalize to the massive number of people in US (and first world in general really)? Maybe. Don't know. For me, seems plausible but I have nothing concrete to back it up with except the popularity of fast and "ultraprocessed" food in the US. And no, I do not even have a definition for ultraprocessed. This part about original causes for the hunger is all just personal opinion based on following news on the subject.

I made my bed in my early 20s and I'm glad now there's finally some *hope* for fixing it, even if it costs a bunch of money right now. The constant hunger *is* real. It's the same for my two friends I mentioned in GP - I wouldn't have started the medication without discussing with them at length about this - they specifically felt the same way. Now for first time ever I can hope to get rid of it. And no, there are studies that placebo effect (the hope itself) alone doesn't cut it - 20% weight loss with Mounjaro vs 3% with placebo, tops *if* you previously had an inactive lifestyle.