381–390 of 831 posts
I'm trying to replace SQL by building a language that compiles to SQL. It has first-class functions, nicer syntax, better type-system, introspection, and other things you would expect from a modern language. But in the end, you still get SQL's performance, and the ability to use it with dozens of database engines.
I hope this counts as weird enough ... PROBLEM: If time travelers from the future were to visit you, it would be difficult for them to quickly prove their authenticity. SOLUTION: Temporal passwords. At the start of each year, you devise a new password. You commit the password to memory, but you never write it down or divulge it to anyone until Dec. 31, when you submit it to the Temporal Password Registry, which publi…
I would instead tap into blockchain technology. For instance, to generate blocks for each passing seconds/minutes which randomly ties your UID to a random user. A decryption will be provided to you in 1 years period, i.e. in 2021, you will receive a hash key that will help you decrypt your blocks in 2020. You will get the exact time now if you decrypt the block. That way, by the time you get the keys, the locks will already be deprecated, unless of course you time traveled.
I’m trying to figure out how to ship DNA effectively. It’s really inefficient right now, so I’m genetically engineering bacterial spores to make it a lot better. Not sure if people will adopt, but at least it’ll be 10x better than what is currently available!
Not tried yet but I’d love to make a JS front end library to “bring your own storage” so that if I provide you with an app online (think SPA) it can then save the data to where he used wants (s3, Dropbox, local disk using extension, etc.) Another similar idea is a very simple rest protocol so that you can save to server and then make it easy to self host it. I like the idea of people building apps as web pages withou…
Namely I don’t want to pay Dropbox a markup over S3 and develop a dependency on them. What I prefer is to purchase the software from Dropbox and self host/store it wherever I want. Same goes for email, office suite, photos, etc.
Dreams. I've been journaling my dreams for years and I'm working on an app that makes it easier to (visually) map them out & find patterns: https://oneironotes.com/ I like the idea of accessing other (inner) dimensions during sleep, like an explorer (an "oneironaut"). The problems to overcome are related to capturing and recollecting experiences that only take place in the mind. You asked about the weird stuff...
I'm working on an fully open source Physical Vapor Deposition System which is capable of producing thin flim solar cells, Ex(CIGS,CDTE) at efficiencies in the range of 15- 20%. The system is designed to produce one 10 watt cell for every 45 minutes. I could go into further depth here but for obvious reasons It would take me a while to explain everything.
Well if you're waiting for an invitation, it sounds very interesting!
What we're basically doing is using thermal evaporation to lay down thin films of metal on top of each other in a high vacuum environment. We're then patterning the cell with a fiber laser to produce the cell traces and patterns needed to cell size.
Here's an example of system that does what i've just described in the context of creating CDTE cells. Note that it doesn't use a laser to create the cell divisions but rather uses a conductive ink and sand blasting.
https://avs.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1116/1.4941071?journalC....
I thoroughly analyzed their design and I have copied some aspects of their design while avoiding many of the flaws that significantly limited it's practically and efficiency. Here's a quick summary of the design changes and flaws that I found.
For one, the design specified in the paper can barely reach high vacuum which is a requirement for producing cells of reasonable efficiency.
One major improvement I'm working on is a system that allows for automatic changing depostion powder inside that chamber instead having multiple chambers for each layer of depostion powder.
The advantage of this approach is that miniaturizes the chamber size significantly, making closer to the size of something that could fit in the back of your car then something that needs a dedicated room or floor for.
I've also looked carefully at how im going to achieve high and maybe even ultra high vacuum. And in that regard I think I've made some significant strides.
My design achieves high vacuum in three stages, the first is through a simple ventri pump and the second is a sorption pump which has been redesigned based on a old paper I found here(). The last stage uses something called a non-evaporable getter pump.
Experienced vacuum engineers might initially be baffled of choice of pumps I am using. As they are normally considered too slow for the type of operation that the chamber is being put through.
However, the downsides of the speed of these pumps can be mitigated by three measures. (1)Building a chamber that can go through bakeout(which removes contaminates and reduces pump down time) (2)Designing a chamber with metal-to metal seals and low leak rate. Lastly the obvious principal of making the chamber volume and surface as small as possible while making the size of the pumps large.
I've barely scratched the surface here but I think this should give you a rough idea of what I'm doing. I really dont think this stuff is hard as how it's made out to be.
Here some resources that really have really helped out so far.
-Building Scientific Apparatus a book that should give you a broad overview of things you need to know
-vacuum sealing techniques alexander roth Extremely exhaustive in the amount of information of about, valves, and just general construction of the chamber. The book is really old but everything still stands and it's honestly better than most of the stuff i've found online.
Blogs by this guy https://www.normandale.edu/departments/stem-and-education/va....
Really good introduction to basic stuff you need to know and decisions you need to make.
If anyone has any questions further I would be happy to answer them.
A positive streak can easily turn into a negative streak.
At the moment I’m brainstorming with a google sheet and a few manual tweaks. I believe there’s a way to help people/myself build a better life by removing the nasty things (like smoking) and grow the nicer things like healthy eating or exercise. But our desire for instant gratification and our lofty goals get in the way.
Online learning, particularly personalised learning aimed for self education and continuous learning. I'm trying to model the knowledge space as a graph, index learning material (free online resources right now then user generated content) on this graph and then provide different ways to navigate this space. I'm trying to address the "best way" for someone to learn a specific concept, and to help people identify the…
Anyway, good luck with your project it is very interesting and I'm sure you'll learn a lot!
Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of infantilizing in and around the ADHD sphere. Either we're treated like helpless children or we are encouraged to lower our expectations/goals.
It's hard to explain unless you've been open about having ADHD, or have been part of the community. The zeitgeist revolves around accepting and maintaining a status quo. The problem I'm trying to solve is how to build a growth/thriving lifestyle despite an ADHD diagnosis.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The story about Wadi from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/stop-firin... is pretty horrible. I mean they all are, but maybe it’s the most clear permanent damage.
So that story shows the potential for long term damage (his store hasn't closed yet), but I agree that if it does, it would be the best example I've yet seen. However even if we assume the worst outcome in that situation, the negative impacts of cancel culture are tame compared to a lot of other systems. If we're calling for an end to cancel culture due to the one case of permanent damage, why aren't we calling for a…
Cancel culture is mob justice. There’s no mechanism to change it, and it’s totally irrational. In the example, blaming one person for the actions of a family member goes totally against the philosophies I believe in.
Finally, I don’t think we can trivialize the impact of tossing the idea of free speech out the window. Human history is full of particularly nasty examples of what can happen if everybody feels forced to obey a mob.