# function (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 470 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover function. Page: Feed: --- ## [Chapter 1: Introduction](https://programminggroundup.blogspot.com/2007/01/chapter-1-introduction.html) _2099-01-31 · Admin · Programming from the Ground Up_ Welcome to Programming I love programming. I enjoy the challenge to not only make a working program, but to do so with style. Programming is like poetry. It conveys a message, not only to the computer, but to those who modify and use your program. With a program, you build your own world with your own rules. You create your world according to your conception of both the problem and the solution.… ## [Utility Types Part 2: Readonly and Record](https://joshlehman.ca/blog/utility-types-readonly-and-record) _2026-08-23 · Joshua R. Lehman · Joshua R. Lehman's Blog - Software Development Insights_ TypeScript's Readonly utility type creates immutable object types at compile time, while Record constructs typed dictionaries from a key set and value type. ## [The difference orbit inclination makes](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/22/inclination/) _2026-08-23 · John · John D. Cook_ Suppose you wanted to find the distance between Earth and Mars over time. To first approximation, both planets orbit the sun in elliptic orbits in the same plane. If you wanted to be more accurate, you’d need to take into account the fact that the orbit of Mars is tilted about 1.85° relative to the \[…\] The post The difference orbit inclination makes first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [Coming soon](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/22/coming-soon/) _2026-08-22 · John · John D. Cook_ There’s a pizza shop near my home with a sign out front that says “Coming Soon.” When I drove by it this morning I thought about how you would model the time until an event happens that is “coming soon.” Suppose I look at the sign one day and guess how many days until the \[…\] The post Coming soon first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [Coming soon](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/22/coming-soon/) _2026-08-22 · John · John D. Cook_ There’s a pizza shop near my home with a sign out front that says “Coming Soon.” When I drove by it this morning I thought about how you would model the time until an event happens that is “coming soon.” Suppose I look at the sign one day and guess how many days until the \[…\] The post Coming soon first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [TIMP2 Protein Therapy Favorable Adjusts the Behavior of Microglia in the Aging Brain](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/timp2-protein-therapy-favorable-adjusts-the-behavior-of-microglia-in-the-aging-brain/) _2026-08-21 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ The central nervous system is relatively isolated from the rest of the body; the blood-brain barrier ensures that only certain cells and molecules are permitted to pass between the body and brain. Many cell populations are specific to the brain, and even the immune systems in brain and body are relatively isolated and different from one another. Microglia are innate immune cells of the central… ## [How would you know whether an ancient culture had zero?](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/21/ancient-number-system/) _2026-08-21 · John · John D. Cook_ A few weeks ago I wrote about the number system used in labeling spreadsheet columns. Labels run from A through Z, then AA through AZ, etc. This looks a lot like base 26, but it’s not quite the same. It has no analog of zero. If Z were like zero, Y would be followed by \[…\] The post How would you know whether an ancient culture had zero? first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [The NLRP3 Inflammasome in Age-Related Macular Degeneration](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/the-nlrp3-inflammasome-in-age-related-macular-degeneration/) _2026-08-21 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ The retina is a part of the central nervous system, and as such is subject to a variety of forms of age-related neurodegeneration, culminating in conditions such as macular degeneration. The chronic inflammation characteristic of old age is just as important to neurodegeneration in the retina just as it is in the brain. Inflammatory signaling, necessary and useful in the short term, becomes… ## [A Histological Aging Clock](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/a-histological-aging-clock/) _2026-08-21 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ Histological studies investigate the fine structure of tissues, usually thinly sliced and mounted on slides, stained in ways that emphasis specific features, and imaged via a microscope. Here, researchers demonstrate that the characteristic age-related changes in the cell and tissue features present in histological images can form the basis for development of aging clocks for research use. Any… ## [Length Was Never the Problem — Why My 'Concise' Output Style Failed](https://nohzafk.github.io/posts/2026-08-19-length-was-never-the-problem/) _2026-08-20 · Home on Away From Keyboard_ Three months ago I wrote a Claude Code output style called Ops Room. The motivation was plain: the default voice talks too much. Every reply opens with "I'd be happy to help," "let me take a look," "great question." None of it moves me forward, and I skip all of it. So I asked for brevity. I did know, even then, that pure brevity has a failure of its own. The agent moves faster than I read, and if… ## [Find it on Amazon (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/eUfUzDdXzWTa) _2026-08-20 · **Sponsored**_ Open the Amazon product listing to see details and availability ## [RANKL Inhibition Slows Aging in Progeroid Mice](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/rankl-inhibition-slows-aging-in-progeroid-mice/) _2026-08-20 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ RANKL is best studied in the context of bone remodeling. Its activity, binding to the cell surface receptor RANK, is necessary for the function of the osteoclast cells that break down bone extracellular matrix. Bone tissue is in a constant state of remodeling, built up by osteoblast cells and broken down by osteoclast cells. The loss of bone mineral density that leads to osteoporosis arises from a… ## [AI-generated ASCII diagrams](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/20/ai-generated-ascii-diagrams/) _2026-08-20 · John · John D. Cook_ I like AI-generated ASCII diagrams. Because nobody would ask AI to generate ASCII diagrams, and so, it’s congruous. I like incongruity \[1\]. Aside from the incongruity of using a gazillion-parameter neural network to make 1970’s style ASCII art, ASCII diagrams have some uses. They’re absolutely tiny compared to image files. But more importantly they can \[…\] The post AI-generated ASCII diagrams… ## [Age-Related Changes in Metabolism that Contribute to Inflammatory Microglia in the Brain](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/age-related-changes-in-metabolism-that-contribute-to-inflammatory-microglia-in-the-brain/) _2026-08-20 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ In recent years, an increasing level of attention has been given to microglia as an important contribution to neurodegeneration in the aging brain. Microglia are innate immune cells resident in the central nervous system, analogous to the macrophages found elsewhere in the body. They are deeply involved in the complex processes of normal tissue function and maintenance, not just a defense against… ## [A Review of the Present State of Data for Metformin as a Geroprotective Drug](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/a-review-of-the-present-state-of-data-for-metformin-as-a-geroprotective-drug/) _2026-08-20 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ Researchers here review the present state of research and use of metformin as a geroprotective drug, intended to modestly slow aging. They are largely on point, if somewhat too accepting of the quality of the existing human data. While effective as a treatment for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, metformin is nowhere near as good a choice as rapamycin if forced to pick a geroprotective drug… ## [Mechanisms by Which Air Pollution Contributes to Parkinson's Disease](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/mechanisms-by-which-air-pollution-contributes-to-parkinsons-disease/) _2026-08-19 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ Most forms of air pollution (with a particular focus on fine particles) are now well established to contribute to age-related conditions at the level of exposure that is experienced in much of the industrialized world. Typically matters are worse in less wealthy regions, particularly those using solid fuel for domestic cooking and heating. Nonetheless, there is enough of a contribution even in… ## [cf-indexnow: Submit URLs to search engines from ColdFusion](https://www.mycfml.com/articles/cf-indexnow-submit-urls-to-search-engines-from-coldfusion/) _2026-08-19 · myCFML Developer Blog - Articles_ cf-indexnow is a ColdFusion CFC that implements the protocol for Adobe ColdFusion 2016+ and Lucee 5+ to notify search engines the moment a URL is added, changed, or removed instead of waiting for the next crawl. ## [Greater Vascular Health in Mid-Life Reduces Later Risk of Dementia](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/greater-vascular-health-in-mid-life-reduces-later-risk-of-dementia/) _2026-08-19 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ The state of the cardiovascular system has a strong impact on the aging of the brain. The brain requires an sizable supply of energy, delivered via the bloodflow, and suffers when that supply is reduced. With age, the vascular system loses smaller vessels, while larger vessels become damaged. Loss of physical fitness also reduces blood supply. Additionally, damaged blood vessels allow leakage of… ## [XPRIZE Healthspan Finalist Teams Announced](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/xprize-healthspan-finalist-teams-announced/) _2026-08-19 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ From one perspective, the XPRIZE Healthspan research prize is a way to encourage what should be happening to a far greater extent in the development of means to treat aging as a medical condition, which is to assess which approaches are better than others. The field spends too much time on approaches that cannot improve on lifestyle choices, for example. Ideally this competitive assessment… ## [Rendering Mermaid Without a Browser: mmdc vs mermaidx vs merman](https://nohzafk.github.io/posts/2026-08-19-mermaid-without-a-browser/) _2026-08-19 · Home on Away From Keyboard_ I went looking for why a diagram-rendering tool on my machine depended on Google Chrome, and came out with three renderers benchmarked and two assumptions broken. The setup: I have a small tool that turns conversation context into a Mermaid diagram and renders it as a PNG. It called mmdc , the official Mermaid CLI. mmdc drives a headless Chromium through Puppeteer, so it needs a… ## [Big little hexagon](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/18/big-little-hexagon/) _2026-08-19 · John · John D. Cook_ A new paper just came out, The Maximum-Area Small Polygon Problem. The paper solves the problem of finding, for each n, the n-gon with diameter 1 and maximum area. For odd n, the solution is what you might expect: a regular n-gon. I would expect this to be the solution for even n as well, \[…\] The post Big little hexagon first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [Non-Custodial Crypto Gateway (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/hgeBti5JaW8V) _2026-08-19 · **Sponsored**_ Accept multi-chain crypto, automated fee handling, and trustless escrow with real-time settlement. ## [Big little hexagon](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/18/big-little-hexagon/) _2026-08-19 · John · John D. Cook_ A new paper just came out, The Maximum-Area Small Polygon Problem. The paper solves the problem of finding, for each n, the n-gon with diameter 1 and maximum area. For odd n, the solution is what you might expect: a regular n-gon. I would expect this to be the solution for even n as well, \[…\] The post Big little hexagon first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [Pre-launch toolbar and the Powered by Netlify badge](https://www.netlify.com/changelog/2026-08-19-pre-launch-toolbar-and-powered-by-netlify-badge/) _2026-08-19 · Netlify Changelog_ Private projects on Netlify will now show a pre-launch toolbar so you can share your project for review and run audits using AI checks before you make your project public. Private projects and agent runs require a Credit pricing plan. If you're on a Legacy pricing plan, you will not have access to the pre-launch toolbar. Audits consume credits like any other agent run. For public projects, new… ## [Agent Runners can now ask clarifying questions](https://www.netlify.com/changelog/2026-08-19-agent-runners-clarifying-questions/) _2026-08-19 · Netlify Changelog_ Agent Runners can now ask you clarifying questions before they start building. When a few details could significantly improve the result, the agent pauses and asks instead of guessing. The clarifying questions UI in an Agent Runners session, asking: What should the tracker dashboard keep track of? How clarifying questions work Say you start with something broad, like “Build a tracker dashboard.”… ## [Humans are Becoming Simple Megaphones](https://patrickdesjardins.com/blog/humans-are-becoming-simple-megaphones) _2026-08-19 · Patrick Desjardins Blog_ AI has not just entered the workforce. It has begun speaking for it. Over the past two years, the rise of large language models has transformed how we work, far beyond coding. People now turn a few lines into pages of documentation, which others then use AI to summarize, critique, and challenge. The… ## [A Conjecture That Was False by One Exponential](https://monogate.org/blog/false-by-one-exponential) _2026-08-19 · Monogate — Research Blog_ We named a proof obligation about how fast a shallow exp–log expression can approach zero. It fit the lower-depth results and it looked right. It was false — and false at exactly one scale. Replacing a linear term by an exponential one yields a statement that is machine-checked, and the implication between the two is machine-checked as well. So the correction is not 'whatever the prover would… ## [Eight Circles, Except When There Are Seven](https://monogate.org/blog/eight-circles-except-when-seven) _2026-08-19 · Monogate — Research Blog_ Apollonius' problem has eight solutions in generic position. While formalizing it in MachLib we assumed the obvious general-position condition — three equal circles, comfortably separated. That assumption is false. At the exact locus d² = 8ρ² one of the four solution classes loses its leading coefficient, its quadratic becomes linear, and the count drops to seven. Nothing in the picture… ## [Reviewing the Aging of the Gut Microbiome and Interventions Known to Improve Its Composition](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/reviewing-the-aging-of-the-gut-microbiome-and-interventions-known-to-improve-its-composition/) _2026-08-18 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ The composition of the gut microbiome is influential on long term health and the progression of aging. Unfortunately, this composition changes with age for a range of reasons yet to be fully explored, but which include the decline of the immune system and growing leakage of the intestinal barrier. With age, populations of inflammatory microbial species grow at the expense of microbial species that… ## [The imbalance theorem](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/18/the-imbalance-theorem/) _2026-08-18 · John · John D. Cook_ The imbalance conjecture is now a theorem. James Alexander Schreib and Yousof Yavari posted a proof last week. What does the conjecture theorem say? Start with a graph G with no edge between two nodes of the same degree. Then for every edge, calculate the absolute value of the difference of the degree of each end. \[…\] The post The imbalance theorem first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [The imbalance theorem](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/18/the-imbalance-theorem/) _2026-08-18 · John · John D. Cook_ The imbalance conjecture is now a theorem. James Alexander Schreib and Yousof Yavari posted a proof last week. What does the conjecture theorem say? Start with a graph G with no edge between two nodes of the same degree. Then for every edge, calculate the absolute value of the difference of the degree of each end. \[…\] The post The imbalance theorem first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [Mean distance to the sun](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/18/mean-distance-to-the-sun/) _2026-08-18 · John · John D. Cook_ Suppose you have a planet in an elliptical orbit around a star. The math is identical for any light object orbiting a heavy object, such as a moon or satellite orbiting a planet, but we’ll call the heavy object a star and the light object a planet. The center of the star is not quite \[…\] The post Mean distance to the sun first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [Ship software peacefully (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/dtNqLlO1IdGh) _2026-08-18 · **Sponsored**_ Connect your repo and deploy instantly — Railway handles config, scaling, and monitoring. ## [Mean distance to the sun](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/18/mean-distance-to-the-sun/) _2026-08-18 · John · John D. Cook_ Suppose you have a planet in an elliptical orbit around a star. The math is identical for any light object orbiting a heavy object, such as a moon or satellite orbiting a planet, but we’ll call the heavy object a star and the light object a planet. The center of the star is not quite \[…\] The post Mean distance to the sun first appeared on John D. Cook . ## [In Search of Robust Biomarkers to Connect Cellular Senescence to Age-Related Chronic Inflammation](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/in-search-of-robust-biomarkers-to-connect-cellular-senescence-to-age-related-chronic-inflammation/) _2026-08-18 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ Senescent cells accumulate with age, and actively secrete pro-inflammatory signals. The present understanding of senescent cell biochemistry and animal studies of senescent cell clearance strongly suggest that senescent cells in aged tissues provide a major contribution to the characteristic chronic inflammation of old age, disruptive to tissue structure and function. As researchers here note,… ## [Quantifying the Reduction in Mortality Risk that Accompanies Physical Fitness](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/quantifying-the-reduction-in-mortality-risk-that-accompanies-physical-fitness/) _2026-08-18 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ It is well established that physical fitness (and the level of activity and other lifestyle choices required to sustain it) correlate with a lower risk of mortality and longer life expectancy. Human data largely cannot provide evidence for causation, but that greater activity and fitness slow aging and extend life is robustly demonstrated in animal studies. Many large epidemiological studies have… ## [Lisp 早就能改自己了，可它从来不会撤销](https://nohzafk.github.io/posts/2026-08-18-lisp-could-always-mutate-itself/) _2026-08-17 · Home on Away From Keyboard_ Agent 跑起来需要一个环境：一组工具、一份记忆、一套上下文装配规则、一个控制循环、一层权限边界。这套东西现在叫 harness 。第一代 harness 是死的——工具在启动时注册，记忆结构由框架规定，控制循环写在代码里。现在大家在探索 meta-harness ：让 agent 在运行时修改自己的 harness ，自己写新工具、自己改 prompt 、自己调控制流。 看到这个的第一反应几乎是必然的： 这不就是 Lisp 吗 。 homoiconicity 、 macro 、 first-class environment 、 CLOS MOP 、 image-based 热更新——"程序在运行时改自己" 这件事， Lisp 在几十年前就做进了语言核心。所以问题似乎变成了：怎么把这两条线接上？ 我花了一整个晚上跟 Gemini… ## [Reprogramming of Corticospinal Neurons Improves Recovery of Function in Mice Following Stroke](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/reprogramming-of-corticospinal-neurons-improves-recovery-of-function-in-mice-following-stroke/) _2026-08-17 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ Rehabilitation following a stroke that causes significant loss of function is a slow, painful, and uncertain process. The concept underlying these efforts is that the brain will attempt to rebuild neural connections given sufficient efforts to use lost and diminished function. This does happen to some degree, but far less so in aged patients. Changes in brain circuitry require neuroplasticity: the… ## [The Aged Immune System Fails to Clear Senescent Cells](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/the-aged-immune-system-fails-to-clear-senescent-cells/) _2026-08-17 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ Cells become senescent constantly throughout life, in response to damage, stress, or reaching the Hayflick limit on replication. A senescent cell ceases to replicate, grows in size, and begins to secrete a potent mix of pro-inflammatory signals. In youth, the immune system efficiently clears senescent cells. Clearance falters in later life, however, and this failure of the immune system to keep up… ## [The State of Stem Cell Therapies](https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2026/08/the-state-of-stem-cell-therapies/) _2026-08-17 · Reason · Fight Aging!_ First generation stem cell therapies that use a variety of cell sources and protocols are widely used in the medical tourism industry. A more limited set of such therapies are used in more regulated medical systems. The aspirational goal in the field of stem cell medicine is to induce regeneration of aged and damaged tissues to improve function, but this outcome remains unreliable. Stem cell… ## [Proportion of 1s in a Hadamard matrix](https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/08/16/proportion-of-1s-in-a-hadamard-matrix/) _2026-08-17 · John · John D. Cook_ The first post in the recent series of posts on Hadamard matrices describes a way of constructing new Hadamard matrices from two other Hadamard matrices by taking their Kronecker product. Starting with a Hadamard matrix H0 and a Hadamard matrix G, you can construct a sequence of Hadamard matrices by Hn+1 = G ⊗ Hn for \[…\] The post Proportion of 1s in a Hadamard matrix first appeared on John D. Cook… ## [My HTML boilerplate in 2026](https://matuzo.at/blog/2026/html-boilerplate) _2026-08-17 · Manuel Matuzović - Blog_ Every element I use for the basic structure of a HTML document, with explanations why. Five years ago, I shared the HTML boilerplate I use for most of my projects. Since then, a lot has happened in HTML. It's time to give it an update. My boilerplate This is the final document. Scroll down for details. \ \ \ \ \