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"Stockfish vs ChessBase, Round 1"
Stockfish is the current best generally available chess engine, and as a coincidence, it is open source. A for-profit company, Chessbase, released a chess engine called 'Fat Fritz 2' that was supposedly a unique piece of software, only to have it revealed that it was heavily built on the back of Stockfish. Stockfish is taking Chessbase to court in Germany and they finally had their first day in court.
I hate working on cars. I did a few things with my dad, but he also did not hold any deep love for working on cars. Today I'm just replacing a car battery and it's infuriating as I keep not having the right tools.
Edit: The process is greatly improved by having the right tools. My socket wrenchs were imperial and not metric. I went and got a Dewalt Wrench head set and then came home and finished replacing the car battery in minutes.
Four Biplanes
Working outside when I look up at the sound of approaching planes, only to see four biplanes in formation. Not something you see everday.
Panama Papers Whistleblower Grants Interview After Six Years
After six years, two reporters for Germany's Der Spiegel were able to interview the anonymous whistleblower who leaked the Panama Papers. Here are just a few excerpts, though I heavily encourage you to read the full interview.
Notably the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, which broke the story of the Panama Papers, was not the whistleblower's first outlet that they reached out to: "I corresponded with many journalists who were uninterested, including at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Wikileaks, for its part, did not even bother answering when I reached out to them later on."
Another notable longer excerpt which delves into why the whistleblower has remained quiet since the leak:
DER SPIEGEL: So, you have remained silent now for six years. Why do you want to speak up now?
Doe: There have been several occasions over the past six years where I have been tempted to speak up. At each one of those points, it has seemed like the world was careening closer and closer toward catastrophe, and so the need to attempt to intervene has always seemed increasingly urgent. At the same time, however, I have had to balance a few factors.
DER SPIEGEL: What exactly are you referring to?
Doe: First, of course, is my own physical safety, and that of my family. And second is the fact that the world is a big place with a cacophony of voices all trying to get their point across. I wanted my words to carry meaning, not to get lost before the next Donald Trump tweet. In 2016, I wrote (Eds: in a manifesto) of my fear based on what I was witnessing, "that severe instability could be just around the corner." I am afraid that instability has finally arrived.
A very good interview both about the realities of being a whistleblower, and also the larger realities of the Panama Papers' importance especially in light of Russia's economic sanctions.
Spain will issue season tickets and offer other discounts to help with the cost of living and promote sustainable travel
Following an announcement this week from the national government, Spain will offer season tickets for suburban and regional trains, which host roughly 48 million journeys per month. The program, which will run between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, seeks to promote rail travel as “a safer, more reliable, comfortable, economical and sustainable means of transport than the private car,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.