Good point. I wasn't sure from the given examples that overuse of classes in this way was all that harmful, e.g. the performance penalty hopefully shouldn't be all that significant. But then I remembered all the Python code I've seen that was obviously written by capable and experienced C++ programmers.
For a real-world use case, maybe cruise ships? Internet service on the ships is expensive if it works at all, but that's not necessarily what people need - they just need to be able to exchange whatsapp style messages with people already on the same ship, especially if they can't find each other. Music festivals, mentioned elsewhere in this thread, might face a similar issue as they can be in remote locations.
The McGurk effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k8fHR9jKVM is another example, which might be described as people learning to lip read without them being aware that they have done so.
Yeah, I don't understand what I was supposed to be seeing or hearing in that clip, and they never bothered to explain it.
The guy says "Baa" and we see his lips move accordingly. Then we hear him say "Baa" again, but this time he's obviously pronouncing something else, judging by his lip movements. We don't know what he's saying (or at least those of us without lip-reading skills don't), but nothing unusual or tricky seems to be happening.
From making the same motions with my mouth I was able to figure out that the other thing he's saying is "faa", so I'm guessing some people literally hear "faa" even though the audio is "baa"?
Any way? There are left-leaning social positions that would be entirely expected from a modern tech-focused VC company. I support those causes and positions to various extents (if not always their approach to advocacy and addressing other viewpoints), but they're still left leaning.
+1 for also looking for a tool like this (online or otherwise) before, and being disappointed with what I found previously. Two projects immediately spring to mind: firstly, we have a theodolite to align some lab equipment, which I'd like to add a live digital camera to, and secondly we're designing a material heating system based on halogen tubes, for which we need to optimise the shapes of reflectors around the bulbs, subject to some geometry constraints.
I'd not seen the sharedigm.com platform before either, possibly itself also interesting for other things.
I've heard this can happen where money laundering is suspected. Apparently the banks aren't allowed to tip off the account owner that they're being investigated, with the result that the account owner's subsequent interactions with the bank become kafkaesque.
AML rules are sadly very Kafkaesque. Having worked in finance for over a decade I've done enough compliance training to know that, yes, if money laundering is suspected you literally are not allowed to help the customer. You're not even allowed to tell them WHY you're unable to help. Failing to do so can make you, personally (the worker), criminally liable.
Telling the client "I'm sorry, your account is frozen pending an investigation" might land you in jail. You literally MUST lie to them and feed them a bunch of bullshit.
It's a shitty system, but interestingly, one that was developed by the EU, not specifically the UK.
Your options are; wait until some nameless government agency realises they've made a mistake, and releases your funds, or start a lawsuit and spend lots of time and money fighting to get your money back.
Punishment as part of a secret investigation, that you're not notified of or have a chance to defend yourself against in court, sounds rather undemocratic*.
*This word is sadly misused to mean "any unjust system of government". E.g. it is perfectly possible to have a constitutional monarchy, the antithesis of democracy, that respects the right to a fair trial and to face your accuser. Conversely, things people vote for are routinely dismissed as "undemocratic" - in that case, it gets called "populism". As far as I can tell, the words, as (ab)used, have nothing to do with the method of government, and everything to do with the outcome.
>It's a shitty system, but interestingly, one that was developed by the EU...
Ahem. As with most of these things. AML and KYC actually originated in the US. And [as ever] was then adopted by other countries. The present setup was a G7 creation. Not specifically EU. I'll let my learned colleague ChatGPT elaborate:
The first country to propose anti-money laundering (AML) rules is difficult to pinpoint with certainty as different countries developed their AML laws at different times and for different reasons. However, one of the earliest examples of an AML law is the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970...
The "Know Your Customer" (KYC) rules originated in the United States in the 1970s, along with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970....
Other countries began developing their own AML laws in the 1980s and 1990s, with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) established in 1989 to coordinate international efforts to combat money laundering...
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global standard-setting body for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) policies. It was established in 1989 by the G7 countries, and its recommendations have been widely adopted by countries around the world....
On the other hand, US didn't get contactless payments until much later than everyone else and as far as I know still does that thing where a credit card is pressed against some paper to capture the number; I haven't even _seen_ this done in person (I've never been to the US).
> It's a shitty system, but interestingly, one that was developed by the EU, not specifically the UK
As much as, for the dismay of the average hacker news Joe, don't pray to the holy EU altar, I suspect sure those guidelines were sketched by FATF, an American institution at heart, ironically where such measures are not applied.
The AML framework is xenophobic and goes against things we consider basic rights like being innocent until proven guilty. However, it is not only ignored but applauded by the most progressive crowds that think its defending their countries from barbaric $place_from_the_east_or_south.
If a bank takes your money and won't tell you why, that lawsuit should be to get your money back and treble damages. As long as you can get in front of a jury, the jury will be very sympathetic....
Hopefully that's what happened, then perhaps there's a small chance I can find out what did happen and maybe even see that money again. But it was more than 10 years ago, I think.
>Well it's possible someone tried to make me look suspicious.
You don't need to have done anything suspicious. I've been a victim of this myself. Several years ago, I had a Shares ISA [0] account, into which I invested a couple of hundred £££ every month out of my wages.
After about 5 years I was out of work and needed to cash it in. But, when I tried to withdraw the money, I got hit with an "Unexplained Wealth Order" [or somesuch term], telling me that under AML I needed to fill in some disgustingly intrusive form explaining where I'd got this sum of money from [it was only a few thousand £££, not a fortune]. And, as I said, this was from the savings company which already knew exactly where the money had come from. As they'd watched it build up in small amounts over the previous 5 years or so.
I refused to comply with their AML/KYC. It then took me at least a few months and several letters, threatening them with legal action before they finally agreed to just close my account and return my money.
I also closed my eBay account when they started asking for people to upload scans of their passports to verify their identity.
These companies can fuck right off, as far as I'm concerned. AML/KYC is disgusting and I just wish more people would make a stand and refuse to comply with it.
It was a long time ago, but I think I remember something about an Unexplained Wealth Order. It could be that my explanation wasn't good enough for them. I need to chase this up again.
I worked as a consultant (permanent position) and had expenses that frequently needed to be refunded by the company. Perhaps they thought this was money laundering??
The drug in the article is roflumilast, which seems to share some structure with the nootropic ampakine CX-546. I've never consumed that, but I've had some experience with IDRA-21 doing something like what the article describes, such as having vivid dreams of minor chart hits from decades ago that I'd previously gone a long time without being reminded of.
I've heard of a Russian medication that can be used in low doses that gives old memories back. It starts with"bro" and it has something to do with dopamine.
Unauthorised third-party modifications and add-ons may end up being part of the solution here. It's already established that this can be a viable business model with e.g. car accessories, games consoles and printer inks. I can see a market for one-off DIY modifications to various things that unlock what was intended to be a subscription feature.
A related issue is the increasing possiblity of devices being effectively bricked because some cloud service or online system has ceased support. Could there be a niche for a company selling improved after-market firmware for other companies' devices?
