Rafael Ferreira
@rff.bsky.social
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
There were actually some fairly serious mistakes in the barcode standard
The size was calculated to be the minimum necessary for a previous barcode called Delta C with the tech at that time
But the final version is so different that the math was incorrect! The barcode should have been much larger
The size was calculated to be the minimum necessary for a previous barcode called Delta C with the tech at that time
But the final version is so different that the math was incorrect! The barcode should have been much larger
there were seven finalists that made it to the standards committee
3 of the 7 were round, so the scanner could scan from any angle
but IBM proposed the boring square barcode and they were so huge that they won the selection process
3 of the 7 were round, so the scanner could scan from any angle
but IBM proposed the boring square barcode and they were so huge that they won the selection process
November 24, 2025 at 3:03 PM
There were actually some fairly serious mistakes in the barcode standard
The size was calculated to be the minimum necessary for a previous barcode called Delta C with the tech at that time
But the final version is so different that the math was incorrect! The barcode should have been much larger
The size was calculated to be the minimum necessary for a previous barcode called Delta C with the tech at that time
But the final version is so different that the math was incorrect! The barcode should have been much larger
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
November 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
the duality of me:
I mean that's the two genders right? "Configuration can be Turing complete as a treat" versus "it certainly shan't"
November 24, 2025 at 11:28 AM
the duality of me:
I wonder if my ad-viewing habits are common: I don't use adblockers but I always skip promoted search results in Amazon and Google (I also always deny tracking cookies).
November 24, 2025 at 11:32 AM
I wonder if my ad-viewing habits are common: I don't use adblockers but I always skip promoted search results in Amazon and Google (I also always deny tracking cookies).
A movie that takes place where you're from.
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 AM
A movie that takes place where you're from.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
It remains insane to me that DOGE was treated at the time as an impressive shock and awe accomplishment - “you can’t deny he’s getting stuff done!” - and then instantly memory holed by the press once if became clear it was a total failure by every possible standard including Musk’s own
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It remains insane to me that DOGE was treated at the time as an impressive shock and awe accomplishment - “you can’t deny he’s getting stuff done!” - and then instantly memory holed by the press once if became clear it was a total failure by every possible standard including Musk’s own
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Overdiscussed: TikTok
Underdiscussed: YouTube
Underdiscussed: YouTube
UPDATE: Americans who use
YouTube 84%
Facebook 71%
Instagram 50%
TikTok 37%
WhatsApp 32%
Reddit 26%
Snapchat 25%
X (Twitter) 21%
Threads 8%
Bluesky 4%
Truth Social 3%
Full Pew Research Center report: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025/
YouTube 84%
Facebook 71%
Instagram 50%
TikTok 37%
WhatsApp 32%
Reddit 26%
Snapchat 25%
X (Twitter) 21%
Threads 8%
Bluesky 4%
Truth Social 3%
Full Pew Research Center report: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025/
November 23, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Overdiscussed: TikTok
Underdiscussed: YouTube
Underdiscussed: YouTube
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
1/2. “The COP of Truth cannot ignore science. 75% of carbon emissions come from fossil fuels. Today we are not even allowed to discuss pathways for a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.” Colombia at the close of #COP30.
November 22, 2025 at 5:49 PM
1/2. “The COP of Truth cannot ignore science. 75% of carbon emissions come from fossil fuels. Today we are not even allowed to discuss pathways for a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.” Colombia at the close of #COP30.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Eu tava com meus mano
Lá na minha quebrada
Chegou o Vanderlei
E veio dar ideia errada
Lá na minha quebrada
Chegou o Vanderlei
E veio dar ideia errada
All white top, all white belt
And all white jeans, body looking like milk
And all white jeans, body looking like milk
November 23, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Eu tava com meus mano
Lá na minha quebrada
Chegou o Vanderlei
E veio dar ideia errada
Lá na minha quebrada
Chegou o Vanderlei
E veio dar ideia errada
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
nano banana prompt: “Create a super annoying linkedin profile”
November 23, 2025 at 12:13 AM
nano banana prompt: “Create a super annoying linkedin profile”
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
thomas nagel failed to consider bruce wayne
November 23, 2025 at 6:42 AM
thomas nagel failed to consider bruce wayne
Bluesky today is so weird, us Brazilians celebrating Bolsonaro's arrest while Americans are reacting to RFKjr's nighttime habits.
November 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Bluesky today is so weird, us Brazilians celebrating Bolsonaro's arrest while Americans are reacting to RFKjr's nighttime habits.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
a "versão extendida" tem um toque especial bsky.app/profile/brux...
November 22, 2025 at 12:44 PM
a "versão extendida" tem um toque especial bsky.app/profile/brux...
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Edição de colecionador
November 22, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Edição de colecionador
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
One remarkable thing is that three of his sons were each responsible for worsening the situation for Jair at different moments.
November 22, 2025 at 12:22 PM
One remarkable thing is that three of his sons were each responsible for worsening the situation for Jair at different moments.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
habemus vídeo do nosso trompetista começando os trabalhos
November 22, 2025 at 12:25 PM
habemus vídeo do nosso trompetista começando os trabalhos
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Keys are hard. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/w...
Cryptographers Held an Election. They Can’t Decrypt the Results.
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Keys are hard. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/w...
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
It was a huge honor to work with Evan and turn one of my blog posts into an IEEE spectrum article! I feel like almost a real writer now. spectrum.ieee.org/robots-foldi...
November 21, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It was a huge honor to work with Evan and turn one of my blog posts into an IEEE spectrum article! I feel like almost a real writer now. spectrum.ieee.org/robots-foldi...
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
When they say Trump calling a reporter "piggy" is "just being honest," they are revealing a key feature of the reactionary mind: it believes, at a deep brainstem level, that *everyone* is awful & selfish & ugly on the inside. Everyone just suppresses it out of fear of social disapproval. Not Trump!
November 20, 2025 at 9:04 PM
When they say Trump calling a reporter "piggy" is "just being honest," they are revealing a key feature of the reactionary mind: it believes, at a deep brainstem level, that *everyone* is awful & selfish & ugly on the inside. Everyone just suppresses it out of fear of social disapproval. Not Trump!
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Breaking character: I am open to the idea the media's coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity was fair or perhaps not even tough enough. But the fact that it was so much tougher than the coverage of Trump's (more severe) mental decline is damning and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise.
NYT isn’t worth reading because they are in the bag for Trump
November 21, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Breaking character: I am open to the idea the media's coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity was fair or perhaps not even tough enough. But the fact that it was so much tougher than the coverage of Trump's (more severe) mental decline is damning and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
Reposted by Rafael Ferreira
There's a deep irony that the personal computing "revolution", which arose to challenge the authority and centralization of the corporate mainframe of the 50s and 60s, ended up creating and distributing the office desktop metaphor of computing to the world.
Been grappling with the paradox that any "liberatory" computing movement either dies a subculture or grows big enough that it becomes co-opted (through enclosure, commodification, and extraction) that it loses any sense of liberation.
November 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
There's a deep irony that the personal computing "revolution", which arose to challenge the authority and centralization of the corporate mainframe of the 50s and 60s, ended up creating and distributing the office desktop metaphor of computing to the world.