coobird

Pine (パイン) is likely a contraction of pineapple (パイナップル), as the Japanese word for pine is matsu (松=まつ) and I don't think many Japanese are familiar with the English word for it.

Hi, author of Thumbnailator here.

Just FYI, Thumbnailator itself doesn't delegate processing to native processing -- it's just a wrapper around Java's Image I/O[1] functionality. In other words, it delegates the compression/decompression to loaded Image I/O plugins, hence, whether native processes are used depends on those plugins.

In terms of cross-platform support, the default Image I/O plugins that come with Java shouldn't be much of a concern. For 3rd party ones, IIRC there are some that will use native libraries, while others are pure Java. One good library on the Image I/O plugins front is TwelveMonkeys ImageIO[2], which provides plugins to support a wide variety of image formats.

1: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/image...

2: https://github.com/haraldk/TwelveMonkeys

(Shameless plug) With Brainfuccuccino[1], you can embed your brainfuck programs right into Java, so you get the "best" of both worlds ;-)

[1] https://github.com/coobird/brainfuccuccino

IIRC, the Athlon XP processors also had these contacts, but it required an additional step to fill a gap dug between the contacts with super glue. (Probably possible because previous processors used a ceramic package while the newer ones used organic plastic.)

> What is this obsession with the past and the early days of computing? The reason why people don't cherish these types of things is they are rational. Technology is about tomorrow. It's not about yesterday

This reply hanging off a thread about prior art is telling.

As surprising as it may be, the past can tell a lot about the future, as the past was present at a point, and the future is now.

Take an example about AI. This past couple of years isn't the first time that AI had been a hot topic. Look back to the late 80's -- there was a lot of research into it and lots of predictions about how the world would change -- but that didn't happen. It definitely didn't affect the general public as has today. So why is that? Looking at the different circumstances between the past and today (i.e., increase in computing power, availability of networks and broadband, general availability of computing devices, etc. etc.) could then be used to predict the future.

Looking back at the past can give hints about what the future may hold.

This.

If you want to see a world without fair use, check out the Japanese Wikipedia pages -- it's noticeably lacking in pictures and images than the English counterpart, likely because the latter was written by those in the U.S. It's especially ironic when there's more photos and images on the English language article for topics about Japan!

Same situation here in Japan -- all devices logged out of Facebook and cannot log back in.

Indeed.[1]

I recall using it as my main search engine at altavista.digital.com before they moved to get its own domain at altavista.com.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AltaVista

Note that the Hokuriku region is where the large earthquake struck on January 1st and at least some of the places listed has been affected.

One example is the "Royal Squid" on page 31 -- the website says that they're going to be closed indefinitely. While the building did not collapse but the tsunami flooded the building, and the parking lot is uneven.[1]

Seems like precautions would be necessary before visiting some of these sites, especially those in the Noto region of Ishikawa prefecture.

[1]: https://ikanoeki.com/blog/%e4%bb%a4%e5%92%8c6%e5%b9%b4%e5%b9...

Larger buildings tend to better withstand the large quakes. Building codes have been revamped after large quakes in Japan, so large commercial and public buildings tend to be the safest ones. They also are used for temporary shelter in natural disasters like quakes and heavy rain/typhoons.

Problem are with older wooden houses. There's quite a few photos and videos of older houses that have completely collapsed or their ground floors collapsing.

On a side note, since it's a public holiday, hospitals aren't able to cope with those who are injured because they're lightly staffed, and medical personnel can't reach them due to damaged roads, etc.

My thought as well.

If every project started to make their README filled with HTML (gah, why does Markdown allow arbitrary HTML...), I'd end up crying on the CLI as I frantically search for how to build the project in a sea of <p>, <a> and <br/>s...

This. Also doesn't help that many ordinary Japanese think that getting arrested basically equals they're guilty. So much for due process.

That said, the 99% conviction rate is a bit misleading in that the prosecution rate is pretty low (as low as 10%?). Seems as the prosecutors are picking and choosing slam dunk cases than sending cases through the courts to avoid not guilty verdicts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Jap...

Indeed. When someone says ワープロ, electronic typewriters are what come to mind, just like what the Japanese Wikipedia page[1] shows. The word ワープロ馬鹿 probably wouldn't make much sense to those under 30, as they're very unlikely to have ever used a ワープロ.

1: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3...

The United States also had something similar -- the Mark 18[1], designed as a very large fission bomb in case the first thermonuclear bomb failed, had four critical masses of uranium-235 in its core. Even one of the implosion lens detonating could have led to a kiloton-range explosion. To prevent such an accident, a chain of aluminum and boron (the latter being an especially good neutron absorber) was inserted in the core until it was ready to be used.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_18_nuclear_bomb

The warhead(s) and decoys[1] are deployed in outer space[2]. I believe missile defense systems in this phase will use ground-based equipment like radars, and interceptors themselves use optical and other sensors to discriminate the warhead from the decoys. That said, as the linked page mentions, the decoys can have similar temperature and radar signatures as the warhead, so it's not easy. Let's not forget this is happening as these are travelling at several kilometers per second, which is no easy feat.

It's best if the missile can be disabled during the boost phase before it ever deploys the warhead and decoys.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_aid [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_missile_flight_phase...

While plutonium is mildly radioactive than fission products like strontium-90 and cesium-137, you can't discount its chemical toxicity and will accumulate in the bone marrow if ingested. Also add that alpha decaying isotopes (like plutonium-239 used in bombs) elevates the risk for lung cancer when inhaled.[1]

Definitely a lot "better" than a nuclear explosion, but it's no picnic to have fragments of a destroyed nuclear warhead to be scattered around.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Precautions

Less than a couple months ago, Intel seemed to be very enthusiastic and showcasing a bunch of testimonials from partners:

https://riscv.org/blog/2022/12/intel-pathfinder-for-risc-v-n...

Note that the JPY lost about 30% of value this year, while rent (nor wages, nor cost of living) haven't caught up to those figures. For the past few years, the JPY/USD rate was around 110.

It's definitely a section on the Toden Arakawa Line, the last surviving streetcar line in Tokyo. The catenaries look like them, especially the 3rd one in with the tower-like structures. Those are likely the ones built over 100 years ago when the line opened.

My best guess is this crossing that's just a little bit south of the Shin-Koshinzuka station: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.740949,139.7302377,43m

I'm surprised that there are still new cases of people, especially children, who are getting cancer in the area.

High cancer rates surrounding the area has been reported for decades and I recall watching local TV news reports about it in the 2000s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Susana_Field_Laboratory#...

Actually, many city governments in Japan already get a redistribution from the national government in "local tax allocation" to the tune of over 100 billion USD every year, and cities like Tokyo with a large tax base or industry are excluded from this. Then there's "hometown tax" so local municipalities in Tokyo and the surrounding areas are losing local tax revenue.

I suspect a that many are not aware that taxes destined for the local government they live ("residence tax") in gets diverted to other cities, especially because many salaried workers don't do their own taxes, as was mentioned in the article. It's gotten to the point that some cities were running public service announcements saying that "donating through hometown tax leads to loss of local tax revenues" and saying funding for services like city-run daycare can be at risk.

In 2021, Tokyo "lost" about 400 million USD in tax revenue to this program, so it's not a trivial amount.

Well, seems like a Shinkansen derailed. It doesn't seem very serious as there's someone tweeting about it from inside that train...[1] There's also a tweet that the part of the overhead power line broke off and fell[2], so it may take a while to get back in service...

[1]: https://twitter.com/tokimemo1130/status/1504110997732139024

[2]: https://twitter.com/R19i90/status/1504112207746936832

It was two earthquakes -- one "small" one and another "big" one that followed about a minute later.

On TV, they were announcing the quake intensity of the first one and and there was a video feed of the Fukushima nuclear plant, as they usually do when there's a strong quake in that area. A moment later, the feed was shaking violently -- I thought it was a replay of what was taken earlier, but it must have been the "big" one.

In Tokyo, we felt the secondary wave of the first overlapping with the primary of the second, so it was disorienting and scary. Although the quake intensity itself wasn't serious in Tokyo.

From the article I read[1], the nuance was along the line of this -- a person who was previously exposed to the original COVID vaccine or the virus itself (and had an immune response) getting the updated version of the vaccine ends up having the immune response for the _original_ antigen[2], rather than the new one.

Since the immune response is for the older versions of the virus, getting the updated vaccine still ends up having the same effectiveness of the original vaccine.

[1]: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/monkey-study-casts-d...

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_antigenic_sin

This isn't anything new. That's always been Japan's position on the "Northern Territories" as it's commonly called here.

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/overvi...

It may be easy to dismiss Intel's move to SDSi by saying "just buy AMD instead," but if this model turns out to be lucrative enough, there's no guarantee that AMD wouldn't follow suit. We'll have to see how this plays out and how it will affect the x86 landscape.

Shinkansen rolling stock tend to be phased out much faster than commuter and local trains, to take advantage of the newest technologies that enable cost reductions and improved amenities. Tokaido Shinkansen, the busiest and most profitable of the network, replaces its rolling stock around the 14 year mark, since the useful life of electric rolling stock for depreciation is 13 years in Japan.

Commuter trains in urban areas tend to be used upwards of 40 years with one or two rehabilitation cycles. That said, the busiest lines generally get new shiny trains every 15-20 years with older ones being sent to less busy lines.

The recent trend (since the 90s) have been to build cheaper, lighter and less long lasting trains, so that trains around that 20-25 year mark can be replaced with ones using the latest technology. That said, I've seen those trains being fitted with the latest traction units (not cheap!) around the 15 year mark, so we'll see how long they intend to use them.

Definitely looked the same (TABLE layouts and all) back when I was browsing through it during the mid-90s on dial-up.

I recall it was a gray background rather than bright white, but maybe because Netscape's default background was gray back then...

Even here in Japan, I don't recall seeing any news outlets cover this as top story material; in fact, the first place I heard about this was from non-Japanese news sources...