The majority of technologies that power the internet were developed in the 80s and refined in the 90s. Everything since then is built as a layer of abstraction on top of those core technologies.

If you value your privacy and you have a choice between using a browser to access a service vs installing their app, use the browser.

Online services can get much more information about you through an app vs the browser. Browsers are generally locked down more. Apps in general have access to much more information from your device.

The interview is a vibe check first and foremost. If you vibe with the team we will overlook other things in your application. If you made it to interview, we already think you're good enough so don't stress trying to impress or apologize.

Managers are mostly people who get tired of watching other people do things badly and decide to try to do better. You don't need a special degree or any magic to be a good manager, you should like people though.

Everyone is faking it to some degree.

Former process engineer in an aluminum factory. Aluminum foil is only shiny on one side and duller on the other for process reasons, not for any "turn this part towards baking, etc" reasons.

It's just easier to double it on itself and machine it to double thickness than it is to hit single thickness precision, especially given how much more tensile strength it gives it.

Also, our QA lab did all kinds of tests on it to settle arguments. The amount of heat reflected/absorbed between the two sides is trivially small. But if you like one side better you should wrap it that way, for sure!

There is no financial motive for software to work well. The people who sign the check for it almost never have to use it.

The cost of digital advertising cannot be justified by its effectiveness (or rather lack there of). We've collectively spent hundreds of billions of dollars creating the infrastructure for invasive hyper targeted ads that do not get better results than simple billboards and terrestrial TV ads even now. We've created a global economy of marketing, media, advertising and sales solely reliant on technofeudalist overlords who've provided very little actual improvement of anything.

The use of chatgpt for writing is so widespread in higher ed, it will cause serious problems to those students when entering the workforce.

Lots of fancy stuff is written about how we just have to change the way we teach!, and how we can use chatgpt in lessons! blablabla, but it's all ignorant of the fact that some things need to be learnt by doing them, and students can't understand how they hurt their own learning, because they don't know what they don't know.

Chocolate production is infested with slave labor, child labor and child slave labor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwHMDjc7qJ8

The world is littered with fake empty buildings used to obscure phone line junctions and internet provider stuff.

Almost every neighbourhood has one. But they look like normal houses, so you can never tell unless you know where to look for.

Building HVAC engineering (equipment sizing, ducting design, etc.) has been largely handwavy bullshit for a very long time and only recently has moved towards any sort of precision. Not uncommon to find boiler plants that are 3-4 times the maximum heating load in the winter, or fans running at 100% 24/7 when code only requires half of that.

Costs just get passed on to tenants so there was never much motivation to do better, the only reason building owners are moving now is because of government regulation and incentive programs.

Most of hacking is done by mass effort with maybe a couple percent of people that aren't doing basic things to protect themselves being affected. That couple of percent is enough to keep the hackers flush. (So please, follow basic cybersecurity steps, people.)

The plain truth of the matter, though, is that if a hacker or group of hackers is targeting someone individually for reasons, that person is in real trouble.

This has been a PSA for everyone chasing fame and clout.

The quality of education at college and university is in free fall.

Most problems are being solved by turning it off and on again.

These aren't secrets, but may not be well known (unless you watch LPL):

Sentry Safes aren't safes, they are fire boxes with a fancy lock.

High security locks are not high security because of the lock design, but because the keys are very difficult to have duplicated.

No one (except maybe intelligence agencies) breaks in to a house by picking a lock, especially in the US. Windows, weak door frames, and, in a pinch, making a hole in the wall are all faster ways of getting in.

Car keys are so expensive because many manufacturers charge a subscription or per-use fee to access and program the keys to the ignition. These costs are passed on to consumers

No one is picking your locks just to move things around or steal small, insignificant items. You are either suffering from a mental disorder or a trusted member of the household is gaslighting you (it's not gaslighting though, ~~you're~~ your grasp of reality is slipping. Don't call me for a pick proof lock, just get help please)

Some manufacturers (you know, in China) will put any sticker you want on the products they produce, including UL and ANSI stickers. Before buying a product that is supposedly fire-rated, such as a fire safe, check the UL website to verify the item is actually listed with them.

"Grade 1" door hardware sold in stores like Lowe's or Home Depot is, at best, Grade 2, and is likely Grade 3 (residential grade). These grades are really just about how durable the product is over time, and how much abuse they will endure by the public.

And just a little practical advice. Find a qualified, honest locksmith before you need one. We're like plumbers. If you wait until you have an emergency to find one, the quality will be questionable. There are a lot of scammers out there. If you don't have a resource for locksmiths beyond Google, look on the ALOA website for members in your area. The good ones will know who the other good ones are, and won't be shy about sharing that info if they are unavailable or too far away

A lot of the "generic" or "store brand" packaged foods are literally the same exact product as the name brands, only in different boxes/bags

In the UK, slot machines fall into 4 main categories. Of particular interest are category C machines, as these can remember a fixed number of previous games. I.e. the "myth" that a machine is "about to pay out" because "someone lost a lot to it" can hold for these games.

Cat A and B machines are completely random, previous games can have no impact on probabilities of winning (though pots can climb).

Online games have different rules, not always fair ones!

Oh, and ALL games (in a physical location) must (by law) show "RTP" (return to player) somewhere. It usually gets stuck it in a block of text in the manual since no-one reads them. (If it's below 97.3% just go play roulette as it offers better returns).

Nice try Boeing, you're not going to get me that easily

A whole bunch of welds in nuclear reactors are visually inspected using cameras duct taped onto the end of incredibly long poles which also get duct taped together. This would be the inside of BWR plants near the fuel and jet pumps. There is also an "art" to moving the cameras and poles around to get the shots you need. And if you get stuck the talented people know how to get you unstuck. There are also cameras just duct taped to ropes that the camera handler "swims" to certain spots.

Don't get me wrong, we have cool ultrasonic inspecting robots as well, but I was absolutely blown away by what visual inspection looked like in practice.

PS: The high dose fields make the camera look like it is being blasted with colorful confetti because of the high energy particles bombarding the camera module.

Many game companies specifically target vulnerable people, who end up spending their entire pay check every month, and are called Whales.

I don't know how well known this is by now, but just in case, I'll add it.

The quality of your speakers is not affected by the cable from your amp.

The connectors are more important in terms of physical contact, but almost any new connector will do. The wire itself makes no difference. Pay as much as you want but the sound will not be any different than if you used metal coat hanger wire.

75% of American drinking water needs treatment to reduce particulate and parasites, and the treatment additive used to render the water safe is produced at a single chemical plant located in an area of severe flood risk -- which means that a flood could take it offline for a day or two, or damage it for weeks.

(Efforts to build a second site recently fell through due to ever-changing regulations. Of course they're stockpiling it in some mountain bunker, I'm sure)

The next Katrina could give us a brain-worms infestation via tap-water.

With the exception of at large buildings in dense city centers, just about everywhere else, utilities enter a building at just some point on the back, out in the open. This includes utilities that feed alarms and security cameras.

While some places will have systems in place for situations where these outside connections have been severed, like independently operated cameras on an intranet, cellular data backup for alarms, electrical generators, etc., most places don't, so successfully circumventing their security is just a matter of cutting all the cables on the back of their building at the same time, and then being gone before they notice

~Things people don’t want to know~

Putting a layer of tissue between your butt and the toilet seat doesnt provide enough of a barrier against microorganisms over the time it takes to shit or piss to prevent transmission.

Keeping the air dry reduces both the length of time microorganisms can live outside your body and the length of time that vapor particles can harbor them.

The n95 (and other) rating(s) are over time in free, circulating, open air. Derate safe exposure time sharply for use inside or in spaces with stagnant or unmoving air.

The ice in your drink at the bar is very very dirty.

The company that provides your banks phone system has full access to pretty much every piece of information your bank holds on you, including call recordings, phone numbers, addresses, debts, credits, and your phone password. We can trick our own systems into thinking it’s you on the phone.

Avoid calling your bank at all costs, and if they call you say “no thank you I’ll do that online or in branch”, as soon as you pass security the phone system is accessing all your data. If possible go into branch or do everything on a banking app which has far better security.

The NYPD does not internally call itself a "police force", its always "paramilitary organization" or similar.

Fractional-reserve banking. Most people have no idea what it is, probably a good thing. You could argue that it's not a "secret", but most people aren't aware of it regardless. I don't think most people would be fond of grinding for $15 an hour if they knew banks could just lend money they don't actually have. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional-reserve_banking

Nice try FBI

I feel like most people have a feeling one way or another on this topic because it has become quite political, but the facts are the facts. Most new electric vehicle plants in the US are only working at most 50% capacity due to lack of customer demand. People can blame lack of parts and lack of workers, but one thing I know about this industry is that if people want them then they are going to keep building them regardless of circumstance.

the oh so well kept secret of the software and services (surrounding it) industry that people seem to think is worth paying money for.

Yet time after time these paid software companies produce the most vile awful, dysfunctional, and garbage software (and services) that have ever been created. While somehow a group of people who aren't being paid, and aren't doing this for any sort of reason other than "why not" manage to create the most functional software ever, while also managing to somehow catch the single biggest potential software vulnerability in this decade (other than wannacry) purely because ssh has slightly sus behaviors when running the infected payload.

Please stop doing web dev, it isn't real.