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Tens of millions of Americans have criminal records that can be barriers to employment. An AI-powered app is helping those eligible to expunge their records at a pace not seen before.

(Image credit: Meredith Rizzo for NPR)

The latest in our ongoing series of writers picking their most beloved comfort films is a tribute to David Lynch’s gentlest movie

What was your gateway into the Lynchian empire? Maybe it was the elliptical horror of Mulholland Drive, with its labyrinth of dream and deceit. Perhaps it was the small-town banality of Twin Peaks or Blue Velvet, the gee-whiz vernacular and cherry-pie dispositions hiding a malice so pure behind those white picket fences. Or was it Wild at Heart, that nightmarish road movie where oddballs and deviants lurk at every bend, Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern tearing through America with unbridled passion and violence?

Weirdly, it was none of those for me. In fact, my introduction to David Lynch contained not one drop of sexual depravity or grisly malevolence. The film was The Straight Story and I was 15. Released in May 1999, it tells the real-life tale of Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old second world war vet who rode a lawnmower 300 miles across the midwest to reconcile with his ailing brother. While the title obviously names the main character, it also invites you to take Lynch at his word: that this is that fabled chronicler of the demented and the macabre playing it straight(ish). Think of it as Lynch does Disney: a family-friendly hymn to Americana, sparse and only a little bit strange, finding a gentle poetry in the everyday.

Meeting follows years of questions over wellbeing of detained former leader, who was ousted by coup in 2021

Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the aid organisation has confirmed.

The meeting on Monday ⁠followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021.

В данной статье будет подробно рассмотрен полный цикл деплоя сайта, используюшего Vite в качестве инструмента сборки. Мы напишем многоступенчатый Dockerfile, чтобы собрать образ с готовой статикой, и поднимем контейнер с сервером Caddy, который автоматически выдаст и будет обновлять сертификаты Let's Encrypt.

The £34m signing from Club Brugge says he is a more complete player now after an indifferent time at Norwich

For any Arsenal fan eager to know what Christos Tzolis might bring to the Premier League champions, the winger’s swiftly earned nickname at his new club might prove instructive. In the 2006 action film 300, the leading figure of King Leonidas guides a meagre bunch of Spartans against an overwhelmingly large invading army. Although doomed by the vast numerical disadvantage, Leonidas’s courage, determination and strength inspires his troops far beyond their means. It is his name that Arsenal’s fitness coaches have given their new Greek.

Within a week of his £34m move from Club Brugge, Tzolis had made himself conspicuous at Arsenal’s training ground by acing a host of pre-season tests, topping the charts in one particular fitness challenge that involves players running more than a kilometre over varying intervals. Modesty forbids him from revealing the remainder of his physical results but, with a smile, he concedes they were “good”.

It took a heatwave to get me to shed my shame and my sleeves, but now there’s no stopping me. Life is cooler in every way

‘Aren’t you hot in that?” was the question that plagued my summers as a teenager. I would never bare my arms; instead, I would cover up with a trusty black cardigan. Even T-shirts felt too revealing, too tight on the arm, too clinging to the body. I needed layers to feel comfortable. Well, comfortable isn’t the right word. I was never comfortable, despite telling everyone: “No, I’m not hot. I don’t really feel the heat.”

In my 20s and 30s, I collected a hot-weather capsule wardrobe of T-shirt dresses in various sizes, all baggy and sleeved. But why? I’m someone who should know better. I’ve read the books, I’ve shared the memes. I know, from body-positivity activists, that you don’t have to deny yourself the joy of being at the beach or pool just because a magazine tells you you have to get yourself “beach-body ready”: slimmer, hairless, perfect.

Pop and rock legend tells Sunday Times of drinking problem and ill health after final Genesis tour in 2021

Phil Collins has said that he suffered life-threatening alcoholism in recent years.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, the pop and rock legend, 75, said that his drinking began after he stopped taking Antabuse, a drug that causes illness if alcohol is consumed, which he had been using since an earlier period of alcoholism.

From the 47-year-old runner who needs a double hip replacement to the 27-year-old CrossFitter with a ruptured ACL, those who push their bodies too hard often regret it. What are the lessons for the rest of us?

Jonathan Price has always been active and exercise-focused. Growing up in south Wales, rugby was his first love. Through school, university and beyond, he also surfed, rowed, played squash and ran competitively – on track, in 10k races and cross-country. Career and family demands meant that much of this fell away in later years, but the running stuck. He found time for marathons, half marathons – “I’d run a half marathon every weekend just for fun,” he says – and, through the working week, regular 30- or 40-minute runs to manage stress and clear his head. “I travel a lot for work,” says Price, now 50, a company CEO. “With running, all you need is a pair of running shoes and you can do it anywhere.”

By his mid-40s, though, Price’s body was beginning to object. He wasn’t recovering so well. “I could run just fine but I’d be in pain for two or three days afterwards,” he says. On top of this, every six months or so, his lower back seemed to seize up completely. A physiotherapist thought it was “tight hip flexors” and pointed Price towards “hip opening” exercises, designed to reduce stiffness and increase range of motion. Someone else prescribed him muscle relaxants, but the pain only deepened, and his range of movement continued to dip. Finally, in the summer of 2023, a chance encounter with a hip surgeon led to the diagnosis of osteoarthritis and, at the end of that year, Price, then 47, had a double hip replacement.

• FA no longer endorses Fifa president for re-election

• Wales and Serbia join Finland in withdrawing backing

European countries began turning their backs on Gianni Infantino as moves intensified across the globe to end his crisis-hit tenure as Fifa president.

The Football Association was the highest-profile of several Uefa member associations to drop its support for Infantino’s proposed re-election next year. It will write to Fifa confirming it no longer endorses Infantino for a fourth term in charge after the intense controversy surrounding his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

Календари – это сила. Без них никуда. Еще древние люди ставили зарубки, мастерили лунные и солнечные календари. За историю человечества чего только не придумали: григорианский, юлианский, эфиопский, коптский, ацтекский и пр. Существует даже несколько версий стабильных календарей, в которых дни недели лучше согласованы с месяцами, чтобы не печатать каждый год новую версию.

А еще календари нужны, чтобы лучше планировать свои дела и все успевать. Для фрилансеров, таких как я, это особенно актуально. Ранее я даже рассказывал про свой метод планирования на основе слотов (переизобретал календарь).

Ниже речь пойдет о профильных инструментах и сервисах, которые облегчают календарное планирование.

Environment minister says Australia has ‘long and difficult journey’ and says more mass mortality events likely

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Aerial surveillance has detected mass bird deaths in a second Australian state in another suspected escalation of the spread of deadly H5 bird flu.

The environment minister, Murray Watt, said on Monday Australia had begun “a long and difficult journey” as CSIRO analysis confirmed Australia’s first mass mortality event at Baudin Rocks off South Australia’s coast.

Around the world, these trains have boosted economies, development and prestige. The costs of missing out are high

• Christian Wolmar is the author of Fast Track: The Extraordinary Story of High-Speed Rail

With all our grumbling about trains – and it is close to a national pastime – it is easy to forget the successes. There is a tale to tell, for example, about high-speed trains, that goes beyond the endless wrangling over HS2.

If you look at the history around the globe, as I have, you find that high-speed trains saved the railways. An industry that was gradually sinking into oblivion, thanks to motorways and aeroplanes, has been revitalised by a technological revolution that means trains travel faster, more safely and more comfortably.

Первая часть этой статьи рассказала о том, почему архитектура x86 на протяжении почти полувека оставалась безальтернативным стандартом для серверов, мощных ноутбуков и персональных компьютеров, какие фундаментальные проблемы накопились за годы ее существования и каким образом Apple удалось сдвинуть стагнирующую индустрию с мертвой точки. 

В продолжении материала — о том, как свежий взгляд инженеров из Купертино подстегнул других крупных игроков рынка пересмотреть подходы к проектированию чипов и как это повлияло на мировую отрасль вычислений.

The primary to replace Rep. Dan Newhouse is a rare opportunity for Washington's Republicans to seek federal office. Candidates representing different wings of the party are testing Trump's influence.

(Image credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

SNAP, also known as food stamps, has seen a rapid and consistent participation decline since last July. The drop comes as the program faces historic cuts and changes.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

The Justice Department is using federal conspiracy charges to sweep up ICE protesters. Some legal experts worry the agency is casting too wide a net to prosecute political activists.

(Image credit: Jaida Grey Eagle for NPR)

Federal agencies are rushing to move hundreds of workers into new buildings. Employees say the moves are significantly disrupting their work.

(Image credit: Shuran Huang for NPR)

В предыдущей статье про таблицу Hive Systems я вскользь упомянул рекомендацию NIST: менять пароль при компрометации, а не по календарю. Этот пункт вызвал в комментариях дискуссию, которая оказалась содержательнее самой статьи.

Ни одно из этих возражений не снимается ссылкой на авторитет NIST. Разберём тему целиком — и начнём не с аргументов, а с того, как эти аргументы устроены.

В машинном обучении есть негласный договор. Если хочешь чтобы сеть работала - обучи все веса. Итеративно, через обратное распространение ошибки, тысячи шагов градиентного спуска. А вот к резервуарным вычислениям этот договор применяется с обратной логикой. Подавляющее большинство весов генерируются случайно и никогда не меняются. Обучается только один выходной слой. 

И это, как ни странно, работает.

Начнем, впрочем, говорить про проблему - иначе непонятно, зачем вообще идти на такой компромисс.

Рекуррентные нейросети придуманы для последовательных данных - временных рядов, речи, текста. В отличие от обычных сетей, у них есть интересное состояние. Выход на шаге t зависит не только от входа на шаге t, но и от всего что было до. Это делает их мощными - и одновременно очень неудобными в обучении.

Обучают РНС через BPTT - метод обратного распространения ошибки по времени. Собственно, алгоритм раскрывает сеть во времени. Берет все T шагов, строит граф вычислений и считает градиент через него. На каждом шаге градиент проходит через матрицу весов W. Если W перемножать саму на себя T раз подряд - при собственных значениях меньше 1 произведение стремится к нулю экспоненциально. При больше 1 - к бесконечности.

Первое называется затуханием градиента, второе - взрывом градиента. И это, кстати, нюанс.

RNN плохо запоминает то, что было давно. Градиент от событий на шаге t=1 до шага t=100 затухает настолько, что сеть его просто не видит. LSTM частично решает это через систему гейтов, которые контролируют поток информации. Но LSTM тяжелее, медленнее, и проблему не убирает - немного смягчает.

Публикуем перевод пятой части из серии статей (вот первая, вторая, третья и четвёртая), посвящённой информационным технологиям в авиаперевозках. Сегодня поговорим о задержанном стыковочном рейсе, об отстранённом от полётов Boeing 787-8, и о том, что сделала 60-летняя система после того, как в аэропорту Хитроу всё пошло наперекосяк.