Illya Starikov - STAR🌻KOV (Page 3)

Blackwell // 2025

Home is where memories eclipse photographs.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting my parent’s home. Ever since I can remember, their place has been a lush, green sanctuary. Quiet—save for the birds, cicadas, and the occasional train rumbling past. No matter how many times I visit, I never feel like I capture enough photos.

One evening, lightning bugs began their dance just as the sun was setting. I tried my best to capture them, but photographs never quite do the moment justice.

I've always admired the clouds here, but this time they were particularly... monumental. The kind that make you stop mid-step and crane your neck back like a kid.

I made sure to walk the property and revisit all the nooks and crannies I'd discovered growing up. It's remarkable how different everything feels as you grow—the trees seem smaller, the distances shorter, but somehow the memories feel bigger.

I found myself thinking about all the animals that have come and gone through our property over the years. Beyond our rotating cast of pets, this land has always been a haven for creatures great and small: cats stalking through tall grass, dogs chasing their tails in circles, chickens pecking at invisible treasures, ducks waddling with important purpose, snakes sunning themselves on warm rocks, spiders spinning architectural marvels between fence posts, turtles making their prehistoric pilgrimages across the yard, birds of every feather, and hummingbirds—those tiny, furious miracles—hovering at the feeders my mother faithfully fills.

I visited the familiar landmarks scattered around our property too. The old shed, the creek bend, that one perfect climbing tree. They all look exactly the same, yet entirely different—like running into someone you knew in high school. You recognize them instantly, but time has added layers you're still trying to read.
Standing there, camera in hand, I realized I'll probably always feel like I haven't taken enough photos of this place. But maybe that's the point. Some things are meant to be felt more than captured—like lightning bugs at dusk, or the way home looks when you're finally old enough to see it clearly.

Sunday, 25 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Travel

Ukrainian Alphabet

33 letters, one language, one millennium.

🇺🇦	🇺🇸	Recommended pronunciation (approx.)
А а	A	a as in father
Б б	B	b as in bat
В в	V	v as in vine (labio‑dental)
Г г	H	voiced h, like the Ukrainian “h” in Могила—between English h and German g in Tag
Ґ ґ	G	hard g as in go
Д д	D	d as in dog
Е е	E	e as in met
Є є	Ye / Ie	ye as in Yes at the start of a word; after a consonant = soft e
Ж ж	Zh	zh as in pleasure
З з	Z	z as in zoo
И и	Y	short i as in myth (central, unrounded)
І і	I	ee as in see
Ї ї	Yi / Ï	yee as in yeast at the start of a word; inside words like naïve ï
Й й	Y / J	consonantal y in boy; a quick “y‑glide”
К к	K	k as in skill (unaspirated)
Л л	L	light l as in lamp
М м	M	m as in man
Н н	N	n as in no
О о	O	pure o as in more (monophthong)
П п	P	p as in spin (unaspirated)
Р р	R	trilled r, like Spanish rápido
С с	S	s as in sun
Т т	T	t as in stop (unaspirated)
У у	U	oo as in boot
Ф ф	F	f as in fun
Х х	Kh	guttural ch as in German Bach
Ц ц	Ts	ts as in bits
Ч ч	Ch	ch as in church
Ш ш	Sh	sh as in ship
Щ щ	Shch	blended shch (say “fresh‑cheese” quickly)
Ь ь	soft sign	no sound; indicates preceding consonant is soft/palatalised
Ю ю	Yu / Iu	yoo as in union at word start; after a consonant = softened u
Я я	Ya / Ia	ya as in yard at word start; after a consonant = softened a

The Story of the Ukrainian Alphabet

The story of Ukrainian letters begins in the 9th century with two enterprising brothers from Thessalonica. Saints Cyril and Methodius created the Glagolitic script to write Old Church Slavonic, bringing the gospel to Slavic pagans in their own tongue. This script—full of curious looped characters—quickly spread to Kievan Rus' after Prince Vladimir's conversion in 988. (The famous Ostromir Gospels of 1056 remain the oldest East Slavic book written in Cyrillic.) Soon a new Early Cyrillic alphabet, adapted by Bulgarian scribes from Greek letters with Glagolitic influences, took root in Eastern Slavic lands. Ukraine's ancestors thus inherited the general shape of Cyrillic letters from Byzantium, even as their spoken language was already diverging from Church Slavonic. While Glagolitic script persisted in some western South Slavic regions, it gradually faded in the East, yielding completely to Cyrillic for both liturgy and secular writing.

Under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which ruled much of Ukraine from the 14th to 18th centuries, diverse spelling traditions flourished. Scholars like Meletii Smotrytskyi (early 17th century) codified Church Slavonic letters, adding new characters like Я, Е, and even Ґ while establishing formal grammar rules. Peter the Great's 1708 Civil Script reform in Russia inevitably influenced Ukrainian literacy as well: it eliminated archaic letters (Ѯ, Ѱ, Ѡ, Ѧ) and westernized letter shapes, spurring Ukrainian intellectuals to develop their own alphabetic responses. Throughout the 1800s, many Ukrainian writers advocated for phonemic spelling—following the example of Serbian reformer Vuk Karadžić—but conservatives (the so-called "Old Ruthenians" and Russophiles) resisted anything that smacked of "vulgar" vernacular. This period earned the nickname "War of the Alphabets," as newspapers and grammar texts battled between Russian-influenced orthographies and emerging Ukrainian systems.

The death blow nearly came in 1876 when Tsar Alexander II issued the infamous Ems Ukaz. This decree banned printing in Ukrainian (Latin script was already forbidden) and forced Ukrainian texts to adopt Russian spelling conventions—the lifeless "Yaryzhka" orthography. Publications using the phonetic Kulishivka orthography were driven underground, and Ukrainian letters teetered on the brink of extinction until the 1905 Revolution loosened restrictions. Meanwhile, in Austrian-controlled Galicia, a more nationally conscious script called the Zhelekhivka (1893) thrived. When Ukraine briefly gained independence during the chaos of 1917–1919 (through the Central Rada, Hetmanate, and other short-lived governments), the nation finally proclaimed its own official Ukrainian orthography.

Soviet power initially brought an unexpected gift: the policy of "Ukrainization." In 1927–28, a major conference in Kharkiv, led by Education Commissar Mykola Skrypnyk, crafted a unified Ukrainian orthography. This Skrypnykivka of 1928 masterfully balanced eastern and western spelling traditions, winning acceptance from both Soviet authorities and the diaspora. For one brief, shining moment, Ukrainian had a spelling system tuned to its own phonetics rather than Russian etymology.

But Stalin had other plans. By 1933, Ukrainization was denounced as a "nationalist deviation," and the alphabet was wrenched back toward Russian norms. The distinctive letter ґ (Ukrainian "ge") was purged, replaced by the Russian-style "г"; native combinations like льо and ля were altered; and older etymological spellings were resurrected. A new official orthography (dubbed the Postyshevka) appeared in 1936, with minor tweaks in 1945 and 1960, systematically erasing Skrypnyk's reforms. (Skrypnyk himself tragically took his own life in 1933 rather than face Stalin's show trials for "alphabet nationalism.") In Western Ukraine and among the global diaspora, however, the 1928 orthography lived on for decades as a symbol of resistance.

During Khrushchev's Thaw and especially under Gorbachev's Perestroika (1986–91), Ukrainian scholars began reclaiming their native letters and rules. In 1990, a new orthography triumphantly reinstated ґ and even reshuffled the alphabetical order (moving the soft sign Ь before Ю). By the time Ukraine declared full independence in 1991, the alphabet had assumed its essentially modern form. Today it contains 33 letters—10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 signs—including the distinctive Є, І, Ї, and Ґ that neither Russian nor Belarusian possess.

After 1991, the Ukrainian alphabet transformed from a mere writing system into a powerful symbol of nationhood. Schools and media standardized the post-1990 script, and in 2019 a new round of reforms restored several features from the 1928 Kharkiv orthography. Ukraine's National Orthography Commission explicitly stated that the 2019 edition "brought back" elements discarded during the 1933 Russification. While the practical changes mainly affected foreign name transliterations and pronunciation rules, the reform carried deep cultural significance: Ukraine was reclaiming a heritage long suppressed.

Walk through any Ukrainian classroom today and you'll see children learning their alphabet (called "азбука" or "абетка") with special emphasis on uniquely Ukrainian letters like Ґ and Ї. Every passport, every banknote, every street sign uses this Cyrillic script, asserting continuity with a thousand-year tradition. The alphabet appears everywhere in popular culture—from editions of Taras Shevchenko's immortal "Кобзар" (originally penned in 19th-century orthography) to modern street art celebrating individual letters. The Ukrainian script has become both tool and totem: it has outlived emperors and commissars, bent but never broken, and now stands proudly at the heart of national identity.

Saturday, 24 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Ukraine

Ukrainian Anthem

Ukraine’s glory has not yet perished, nor her freedom.

Ще не вмерла України, і слава, і воля,	Ukraine’s glory has not yet perished, nor her freedom,
Ще нам, браття молодії, усміхнеться доля.	Upon us, young brothers, fate shall smile once more.
Згинуть наші вороженьки, як роса на сонці,	Our enemies will vanish, like dew before the sun,
Запануєм і ми, браття, у своїй сторонці.	And we too shall reign, brothers, in our own land.
Душу й тіло ми положим за нашу свободу,	We’ll lay down our soul and body for our freedom,
І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду.	And we’ll show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack line.

The Story Behind the Anthem

Ukraine's national anthem began as a poem written in 1862 by Pavlo Chubynsky, a young Ukrainian ethnographer in Kyiv. Its stirring first line – "Ukraine has not yet died" – expressed defiant hope for the nation's future. Legend has it that Chubynsky found inspiration at a student gathering after hearing a Serbian patriotic song. Even Polish patriots note similarities between Ukraine's anthem and their own "Poland Is Not Yet Lost." The poem's powerful message alarmed Tsarist authorities, who exiled Chubynsky as a "dangerous influence" shortly after he penned these verses. In 1863, his poem first appeared in print in the newspaper Meta in Lviv (then part of the Austrian Empire), where people began singing it as a hymn of Ukrainian spirit.

The transformation from poem to song happened quickly. In 1863, Mykhailo Verbytsky, a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic priest and composer from Galicia, created a melody for Chubynsky's words. By 1864, choirs in Lviv were performing the song, and it rapidly spread throughout Western Ukraine. One particularly significant performance occurred on March 10, 1865, during a memorial service for Taras Shevchenko in Przemyśl (now in Poland). This date would later be chosen as Ukraine's annual Anthem Day. The timing was deeply symbolic – Shevchenko, Ukraine's most beloved poet and sometimes called "the Ukrainian Shakespeare," had died in 1861. By featuring the new anthem at his memorial, Ukrainians connected it forever to their cultural revival. From then on, "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished") became the song of choice at patriotic gatherings, spreading among all who dreamed of self-rule.

The anthem's political significance grew during the turbulent years of World War I and its aftermath. Between 1917 and 1919, as Ukraine briefly tasted independence, various Ukrainian states adopted "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" as their national anthem – including the Ukrainian People's Republic in central Ukraine and the West Ukrainian People's Republic in Galicia. Even tiny Carpatho-Ukraine chose it during its single week of independence in 1939. Under Soviet rule after World War II, the anthem was banned, but Ukrainian partisans sang it in secret while exiles kept it alive abroad.

When Ukraine finally gained independence from the USSR in 1991, reviving this historic anthem was one of the first acts of national renewal. In January 1992, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) officially adopted Verbytsky's music and Chubynsky's words as the State Anthem of Ukraine. Some Ukrainians, however, found the original opening line too somber for a newly independent nation. In 2003, parliament approved a slight revision: "Ukraine's glory and freedom have not yet perished" replaced "Ukraine has not yet died." The modern version uses only the first verse and chorus of Chubynsky's longer poem, but the proud spirit remains unchanged.

Today, Ukraine's anthem stands as a powerful symbol of resilience and national identity. Its words and melody remind listeners that despite centuries of foreign domination, Ukraine's spirit endured. The anthem rings out at government ceremonies, international sporting events, and wherever Ukrainians gather to celebrate their nation. March 10 remains National Anthem Day, commemorating that historic 1865 performance. Ukrainian communities worldwide continue to sing it, testament to its enduring emotional power. At its heart, the anthem tells a story of survival – its opening lines boldly assert that Ukraine as a nation has not perished, a fitting motto for a people who preserved their identity through centuries of struggle. Understanding this history reveals why Ukrainians hold their anthem so dear: it's not just a song, but a declaration of their unbreakable will to exist.

Saturday, 24 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Ukraine

Project Starline takes a cosmic leap forward as Google Beam

Google's AI-first 3D video communication platform.

NOTE 📜 This is a page that talks about my work, please review my Disclosures.

It’s Google I/O time, which means time for product announcements! I was happy to see Starline make the cut within the first ten minutes.

Or should I say, Google Beam? ✨

Instead of a flat webcam view, Beam uses AI with a special curved “light-field” screen and multiple cameras to recreate each person as a life-sized, 3D image. The effect is like talking through a clear window: your remote friend or colleague looks as if they’re really sitting right across from you, not just appearing flat on a screen.

Behind the scenes, an array of six cameras captures you from different angles. And with AI, we can merge these video streams together and render you on a 3D light field display with near-perfect headtracking down to the millimeter and at 60 frames per second, all in real time.

If you would like to know more, here’s the official Blog posts from today’s announcements.

Roundup

when you're using Beam the best part of it is that you don't have to wear anything it's not like AR glasses or VR headsets it's just a giant TV with a bunch of custom cameras and sensors that Google has developed and the end experience is that you're looking at a 3D hologram of someone. — The Verge

Wednesday, 21 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Google

The Zero-Width Space-Place

Nothing to see here.

Zero‑Width Space

Click the translucent pill (blue dot marks it) or the big Copy button.

What’s Zero-Width Space?

The zero‑width space (U+200B) is a Unicode glyph that renders nothing and occupies zero width. In the right hands, this “invisible ink” changes how software treats text.

Example

Below are seven tricks I actually use, each with a quick demo.

Anchor an Alphabetical List
Prefix one or more ZWS characters to push an item ahead of "A".

Newsletter  ← with ZWS
Apple
Zucchini

Break Auto‑Linking
Drop a ZWS into a URL or email to foil scrapers while leaving it human‑readable.

hello@starikov.co
https://starikov.co

Duplicate C++ Identifiers
ZWS is a valid identifier char in many compilers.

int total = 1;     // normal
int total = 2;     // looks the same, compiles fine
std::cout << total + total; // prints 3

Python Indentation Gremlins
Slip a ZWS into leading spaces; code looks aligned but crashes.

def hello():
    print("ok")   # four spaces
    print("boom") # four + ZWS → IndentationError

Hide Easter‑Egg Text
Insert a binary watermark every 100 chars; humans never see it, diff tools do.
Zero‑Length Social Forms
Some platforms allow a username, bios, and other forms that is literally just ZWS. Pure minimalism.
Control word‑wrapping
Add ZWS inside a super‑long URL to let browsers break the line without inserting a visible hyphen.

<span style="word-break:break-all">
    https://example.com/superlongpaththatneverends
</span>

Sunday, 18 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Technology, Easter Egg

RSS: RSS Starter Set 📰

My recommended RSS feeds—thoughtfully curated over a decade of reading.

The skeleton is automatically generated by this script. Import the following OPML into any reader to pull everything at once.

rss_starter_set_2025_5_12

All the feeds, categorized in respective sections.

rss_starter_set_2025_5_12.opml

30 KB

Apple🍎

Apple | Developer — _RSS
Official notes on software releases, tooling updates and policy changes inside Apple’s developer ecosystem.
Apple | Newsroom — _RSS
Corporate statements covering product launches, financial results and wider initiatives.
Daring Fireball — _RSS
Commentary and link aggregation focused on Apple and the technology industry.
MacStories — _RSS
In‑depth reviews, workflows and analysis for advanced iOS and macOS users.
Marco.org — _RSS
Occasional essays on software development, podcasting and independent publishing.
Six Colors — _RSS
Reporting and analysis on Apple’s hardware, software and services, aimed at enthusiasts and professionals.
The Sweet Setup — _RSS
Recommendations and workflows that enhance productivity across Apple platforms.

Companies🏢

Android Developers — _RSS
Technical updates and best practices for building, testing and distributing Android applications.
Apple | ML Research — _RSS
Peer‑review‑style summaries of Apple’s research in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
AWS Machine Learning Blog — _RSS
Case studies, tutorials and announcements on applying AI services within Amazon’s cloud.
Chromium — _RSS
Progress reports from the open‑source browser project that underpins Chrome and Edge.
Facebook | Engineering — _RSS
Technical deep dives into infrastructure, data systems and product engineering at Meta.
Garmin — _RSS
Product news and usage guidance for navigation, fitness and outdoor devices.
GitHub | Engineering — _RSS
Insights into scaling and securing the world’s largest code‑hosting platform.
Instagram | Engineering — _RSS
Engineering narratives on delivering social‑media features to a global audience.
LinkedIn | Engineering — _RSS
Articles on large‑scale data processing, relevance ranking and platform reliability.
Meta — _RSS
Corporate news spanning product releases, policy positions and financial updates.
Meta | Research — _RSS
Academic‑style papers exploring computer vision, natural‑language processing and related fields.
Microsoft Research — _RSS
Peer‑reviewed research and technology transfers from Microsoft’s global labs.
Netflix TechBlog — _RSS
Engineering case studies on content delivery, cloud reliability and data analysis.
NVIDIA — _RSS
Updates on graphics, high‑performance computing and AI initiatives.
OpenAI — _RSS
Announcements and research summaries related to language models and AI safety.
OpenAI News — _RSS
Headline feed distilling OpenAI’s key product and policy updates.
Signal — _RSS
Technical and policy discussions on end‑to‑end encryption and secure messaging.
Stack Overflow — _RSS
Reflections on software‑developer culture, community trends and platform improvements.
TensorFlow — _RSS
Release notes, tutorials and ecosystem news for Google’s deep‑learning framework.
Wolfram — _RSS
Essays on computational science, applied mathematics and software innovation.

Computer Science🐛

AI Impacts — _RSS
Research exploring the economic and societal consequences of advanced AI systems.
AI Weirdness — _RSS
Experiments illustrating both the creativity and the limitations of neural‑network models.
And now it’s all this — _RSS
Practical scripting advice and observations on engineering workflows.
Andrej Karpathy — _RSS
Essays on deep learning, vision models and large‑scale training techniques.
arg min — _RSS
Technical commentary on optimisation, machine learning and data science.
Berkeley | AI — _RSS
Accessible summaries of recent artificial‑intelligence research from UC Berkeley.
ByteByteGo — _RSS
Illustrated guides to system design, scalable architecture and distributed computing.
C++ Stories — _RSS
Modern‑C++ features, guidelines and best practices.
CodeProject Latest Articles — _RSS
Community‑authored tutorials covering a broad spectrum of software topics.
Coding Horror — _RSS
Essays on software craftsmanship, usability and developer culture.
Columbia | Statistical Modeling — _RSS
Discussions on Bayesian statistics, social‑science methods and data communication.
Eric Jang — _RSS
Research notes on robotics, reinforcement learning and applied AI.
fast.ai — _RSS
Practical deep‑learning instruction aimed at software developers.
Hacker News — _RSS
Daily aggregation of technology news, startup announcements and research papers.
IEEE Spectrum — _RSS
Engineering‑centric reporting on emerging technologies and industry trends.
It Runs Doom! — _RSS
Showcases unconventional devices capable of running the classic video game Doom.
James Stanley — _RSS
Personal projects and commentary on security, electronics and software.
Joel on Software — _RSS
Classic essays on software management, product design and programming practice.
John D. Cook — _RSS
Short, accessible reflections linking mathematics, statistics and software development.
Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research — _RSS
Peer‑reviewed papers presenting state‑of‑the‑art advances across all branches of AI.
Julia Evans — _RSS
Illustrated tutorials demystifying Linux, networking and debugging techniques for practitioners.
Keet — _RSS
Research notes on knowledge representation, ontologies and semantic web technologies.
Krebs on Security — _RSS
Investigative reporting on cyber‑crime, data breaches and digital‑fraud trends.
learnbyexample — _RSS
Concise command‑line and text‑processing guides for developers honing Unix skills.
Lenny's Newsletter — _RSS
Product‑management insights distilled from industry data and operator interviews.
linusakesson.net — _RSS
Technical explorations of low‑level electronics, music synthesis and retro computing.
Luke Salamone — _RSS
Essays on graphics programming, game‑engine design and related tooling.
Machine Intelligence Research Institute — _RSS
Analyses of AI alignment challenges and strategies to mitigate long‑term risks.
ML Mastery — _RSS
Hands‑on machine‑learning tutorials emphasising clear code and practical results.
Newest Python PEPs — _RSS
Live feed of proposals shaping the future syntax and semantics of Python.
sidebits — _RSS
Brief technical notes on performance optimisation, systems programming and Rust.
Simon Willison's Weblog — _RSS
Frequent posts on open data, web tooling and practical large‑language‑model experiments.
Simplify C++! — _RSS
Guidelines for writing clearer, safer and more maintainable modern‑C++ code.
Slashdot — _RSS
User‑moderated headlines covering technology policy, hardware and open‑source news.
Swift.org — _RSS
Release notes and evolution proposals for Apple’s open‑source programming language.
The Gradient — _RSS
Editorial essays unpacking recent machine‑learning research for a broad technical audience.
The Old New Thing — _RSS
Historical and technical commentary on Windows APIs and system design.
The Pragmatic Engineer — _RSS
Operational advice on scaling software organisations and engineering careers.
The Register — _RSS
Independent technology journalism tracking industry moves, hardware and cybersecurity.
Unixmen — _RSS
How‑to articles and reviews focused on Linux administration and open‑source tools.
VimGolf — _RSS
Micro‑challenges showcasing efficient command sequences in the Vim editor.

Cooking🧑‍🍳

101 Cookbooks — _RSS
Seasonal, whole‑food recipes emphasising natural ingredients and vegetarian cuisine.
David Lebovitz — _RSS
Recipes and culinary observations from a pastry chef living in Paris.
Drinkhacker — _RSS
Spirits reviews, cocktail recipes and industry news for enthusiasts.
Love and Lemons — _RSS
Plant‑forward dishes presented with bright photography and concise instructions.
Pinch of Yum — _RSS
Accessible comfort‑food recipes paired with blogging and photography tips.
Serious Eats — _RSS
Evidence‑based cooking guides, equipment reviews and culinary science.
smitten kitchen — _RSS
Home‑kitchen recipes designed for reliable results and minimal fuss.
Tartelette — _RSS
Pastry and dessert recipes illustrated with professional‑quality photography.

Culture🦠

The Substack Post — _RSS
Platform news and commentary on the evolving newsletter ecosystem.
XXL — _RSS
Coverage of hip‑hop music, culture and industry developments.

Gaming👾

Nintendo Life — _RSS
News, reviews and community coverage centred on Nintendo hardware and software.
Nintendo UK — _RSS
Official announcements, release dates and promotional updates for UK audiences.
PlayStation — _RSS
Product news, developer interviews and firmware updates from Sony Interactive.
Pure Nintendo — _RSS
Independent reporting and opinion on Nintendo gaming and related culture.

Google

Google | DeepMind — _RSS
Research highlights and applications from Alphabet’s advanced‑AI division.
Google | Developers — _RSS
API changes, tooling updates and developer‑centric announcements across Google platforms.
Google | Security — _RSS
Security advisories, vulnerability research and best‑practice guidance from Google.
Google | Testing — _RSS
Methodologies and frameworks for building reliable, well‑tested software at scale.
Google | Workspace — _RSS
Release notes detailing new features and refinements in Google’s productivity suite.
The Keyword — _RSS
Company‑wide announcements spanning consumer, enterprise and research initiatives.

Health⚕️

Adjust Services — _RSS
Advice on ergonomics, musculoskeletal health and workplace well‑being.
Different Brains — _RSS
News and resources promoting understanding of neurodiversity.
Exceptional Individuals — _RSS
Career guidance and support services for neurodivergent professionals.
GoodTherapy — _RSS
Evidence‑informed articles on mental‑health practices and therapeutic approaches.
Stronger by Science — _RSS
Strength‑training research translated into practical coaching recommendations.
The Gottman Institute — _RSS
Relationship insights grounded in decades of psychological research.

Interest(ing)⌚️💼

Atlas Obscura — _RSS
Reports on unusual places, histories and cultural phenomena worldwide.
BOOOOOOOM! — _RSS
Contemporary art, illustration and photography features with international scope.
Europe By Rail — _RSS
Practical guidance and commentary on rail travel across the European continent.
Field Notes — _RSS
Dispatches on paper goods, analogue tools and design‑focused manufacturing.
I Love Typography — _RSS
Articles exploring type design, font history and typographic trends.
Naturally Ella — _RSS
Vegetarian recipes highlighting seasonal produce and whole foods.
Rands in Repose — _RSS
Essays on engineering leadership, organisational culture and personal productivity.
Wait But Why — _RSS
Long‑form explorations of technology, psychology and existential questions.
zen habits — _RSS
Minimalist practices aimed at simplifying work, health and daily routines.

News🗞️

NATO — _RSS
Official statements, operational updates and policy briefings from the alliance.
ProPublica — _RSS
Investigative journalism focused on accountability in public and private sectors.
The White House — _RSS
Executive‑branch announcements, speeches and policy documents.
United Nations — _RSS
Global news and humanitarian updates from UN agencies and missions.
Economist
A weekly newspaper‑magazine renowned for its dry wit and data‑rich, liberal‑minded analysis of global politics, economics, business, science and culture.
- Economist | Asia — _RSS
- Economist | Briefing — _RSS
- Economist | Asia — _RSS
- Economist | Briefing — _RSS
- Economist | Asia — _RSS
- Economist | Briefing — _RSS
- Economist | Business — _RSS
- Economist | China — _RSS
- Economist | Economic & Financial Indicators —
  _RSS
- Economist | Europe — _RSS
- Economist | Explains — _RSS
- Economist | Finance & Economics — _RSS
- Economist | Graphic Detail — _RSS
- Economist | International — _RSS
- Economist | Leaders — _RSS
- Economist | Middle East & Africa — _RSS
- Economist | Science & Technology — _RSS
- Economist | The Americas — _RSS
- Economist | The World This Week — _RSS
- Economist | United States — _RSS

Nice🫶

Damn Interesting — _RSS
Narrative essays revealing overlooked episodes of scientific and historical importance.
FoxTrot — _RSS
Daily comic strip blending family humour with math and technology references.
Goodreads — _RSS
Book‑industry news, author interviews and reading‑list recommendations.
Longreads — _RSS
Curated selection of high‑quality long‑form journalism and essays.
NASA Image of the Day — _RSS
Daily space imagery accompanied by contextual scientific commentary.
Poorly Drawn Lines — _RSS
Single‑panel comics presenting dry humour and absurdist scenarios.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal — _RSS
Comics exploring science, philosophy and contemporary life through satire.
The Atlantic | In Focus — _RSS
Photo‑journalistic essays capturing global events and social issues.
The Oatmeal — _RSS
Humour, storytelling and occasional educational comics.
Three Panel Soul — _RSS
Webcomic art dealing with gaming culture and personal reflection.

ST̶EM🧬🧑‍🏫💊

Big Data, Plainly Spoken — _RSS
Statistical commentary translating complex data into everyday insights.
Construction Physics — _RSS
Analytical essays on the economics and engineering of the built environment.
FlowingData — _RSS
Data‑visualisation projects and tutorials illustrating societal trends.
Girls' Angle — _RSS
Mathematics outreach content aimed at encouraging young women in STEM.
In the Dark — _RSS
Commentary from an astrophysicist on cosmology, academia and science policy.
Infinity Plus One — _RSS
Expositions on advanced mathematics, including category theory and algebra.
Inframethodology — _RSS
Reflections on scholarly writing practices and research methodology.
Luca Marx — _RSS
Interdisciplinary essays bridging physics, technology and philosophy.
M‑Phi — _RSS
Academic posts on mathematical logic, philosophy of mathematics and related topics.
Math ∩ Programming — _RSS
In‑depth articles connecting theoretical mathematics with practical algorithms.
NASA — _RSS
Agency news covering missions, scientific discoveries and aerospace policy.
Quanta Magazine — _RSS
Explanatory journalism on fundamental research in physics, mathematics and biology.
Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction — _RSS
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Your Local Epidemiologist — _RSS
Public‑health analysis interpreting epidemiological data for a general readership.

San Francisco🌉

CalMatters — _RSS
Non‑profit journalism examining California policy, politics and social issues.
Eater SF — _RSS
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Mountain View Post — _RSS
Local news and community updates from the heart of Silicon Valley.
SF Funcheap — _RSS
Listings of free and low‑cost events across San Francisco.
SF Weekly — _RSS
Alternative weekly covering local politics, culture and entertainment.
SFGATE — _RSS
Regional news, culture and lifestyle reporting for the broader Bay Area.
SFist — _RSS
City‑focused news briefs spanning transit, weather and civic affairs.
The SF Standard — _RSS
Data‑driven journalism addressing urban change and local governance.

Tech📲

Have I Been Pwned — _RSS
Alerts on newly disclosed data breaches and compromised account details.
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Official Android Blog — _RSS
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The Waving Cat — _RSS
Commentary on the societal impact of connected devices and digital policy.

Україна🇺🇦

Euromaidan Press — _RSS
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The Kyiv Independent — _RSS
Startup newsroom delivering investigative reports and on‑the‑ground updates.
Thinking about... — _RSS
Historian Timothy Snyder’s essays on Eastern Europe and democratic resilience.
Ukrayinska Pravda — _RSS
National news outlet covering politics, corruption inquiries and social issues.
ukrinform — _RSS
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Saturday, 17 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Technology

Happy Mother's Day

Mothers are like buttons,
they hold everything together.

Happy Mother's Day.

Sunday, 11 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Wordleconomics

When in doubt, SLATE it out.

Over the past year, I've become quite invested in Wordle. Actually, Taylor and her family started playing first, and I quickly joined in. Soon enough, I even got my mom hooked on it!

If you're not familiar, Wordle is an engaging daily puzzle where you have six tries to guess a secret five-letter word, guided by helpful color-coded hints.

Throughout the year, I consistently chose the same starter: SLATE.

S L A T E

It felt safe and reliable—I always knew my next steps based on it. However, Taylor experimented with different starters and consistently crushed it.

This made me curious: what are actually the best starting words? After some digging, familiar contenders: CRANE, SLATE, TRACE, CRATE, CARET. I've compiled a comprehensive list below for (both of our) future reference.

C R A N E
S L A T E
T R A C E
C R A T E
C A R E T

Identifying the Optimal Starters

Rather than relying solely on intuition or AI, I wanted to see if a straightforward, "old-school" program could crack this puzzle. First, we needed a suitable dictionary of words. Unix and macOS provide the standard words library, but this includes obscure entries that Wordle may not recognize.

Next, we required an effective scoring method. A straightforward approach is to calculate letter frequency across all words—the more frequently a letter appears, the higher its score.

Quickly, some letters emerged as particularly common:

Most frequent: S, E, A
Moderately frequent: O, R, I

Interestingly, four of these letters are vowels: E, A, O, I.

Positional frequency matters too—letters are scored higher if they're common in specific positions within words.

Notably:

The {S, 4} combination (a trailing "S") dominates, suggesting many plurals.
- {S, 4}: ____S
Other frequent positional letters:
- {A, 1}: _A___
- {E, 1}: _E___
- {E, 3}: ___E_
- {I, 1}: _I___
- {O, 1}: _O___
- {S, 0}: S____
- {T, 0}: T____
- {U, 1}: _U___
- {Y, 4}: ____Y

Finally, by combining aggregate letter frequency and positional data, a hybrid scoring system emerged. This method offers a more balanced and nuanced approach, producing unique top words: AEROS, SOARE, REAIS, AROSE, and RAISE.

A E R O S
S O A R E
R E A I S
A R O S E
R A I S E

Even when you feed my script the same 2,309‑word official Wordle answer list that WordleBot uses, our rankings still diverge because of how we each value information: my hybrid metric simply adds up how frequently each letter—and, to a lesser degree (10 % blend), each letter‑in‑position—appears across all answers, then zeroes out any word with duplicate letters on turn one, so high‑coverage vowel‑heavy options like AEROS and SOARE dominate; WordleBot, by contrast, runs a full entropy simulation for every guess and keeps duplicate letters if they shrink the remaining solution space, which is why consonant‑balanced staples like CRANE and SLATE top its chart. In short, we share the same dictionary; the gulf comes from aggregate‑frequency math versus entropy‑driven feedback simulation, plus my harsh repeat‑letter penalty and modest positional weight.

Parting Thoughts

Choosing the ideal Wordle starter is about balancing letter frequency and positional insights. Popular starters like CRANE and SLATE remain consistently strong choices due to their strategic letter placement and high-frequency letters. Meanwhile, hybrid scoring systems, which blend multiple metrics, offer compelling alternatives like SOARE and AEROS, maximizing initial guess effectiveness.

Whether sticking with tried-and-true favorites or exploring data-driven options, the real fun of Wordle lies in its daily puzzle-solving and the friends and family your spend doing it with.

My Words

The words generated by my program rank first by a hybrid metric (10% blend), then positional, then aggregate letter frequencies. The metrics are calculated by a sum of the letter’s value, with the value equaling the number of letter occurrences / total words. Positional does the same over the individual positions.

Word	Hybrid #	Hybrid	Position #	Position	Aggregate #	Aggregate
AEROS	1	0.98841			1	1.89498
SOARE	2	0.98324			3	1.89498
REAIS	3	0.97544			7	1.86772
AROSE	4	0.97213			2	1.89498
RAISE	5	0.96532			6	1.86772
SERIA	6	0.96462			9	1.86772
SERAI	7	0.96366			8	1.86772
LARES	8	0.96129	19	0.77624	17	1.82195
RALES	9	0.96041			20	1.82195
TARES	10	0.95962	6	0.79354
ARISE	11	0.95871			5	1.86772
ALOES	12	0.95772			10	1.83063
AESIR	13	0.95761			4	1.86772
RATES	14	0.95669
TOEAS	15	0.95635			13	1.82518
ARLES	16	0.95380			14	1.82195
RANES	17	0.95379	23	0.77186	41	1.80754
NARES	18	0.95341	29	0.76567	40	1.80754
EARLS	19	0.95316			15	1.82195
LAERS	20	0.95265			16	1.82195
REALS	21	0.95174			21	1.82195
TERAS	22	0.95116			37	1.81649
LEARS	23	0.95079			19	1.82195
TEARS	24	0.94912			35	1.81649
AEONS	25	0.94816
PARES			1	0.81023
BARES			2	0.80168
CARES			3	0.79946
MARES			4	0.79818	90	1.74042
PANES			5	0.79441
PORES			7	0.79219
BANES			8	0.78586
PALES			9	0.78458
BORES			10	0.78364
CANES			11	0.78364
DARES			12	0.78364	60	1.75988
MANES			13	0.78236
CORES			14	0.78142
GARES			15	0.78028
MORES			16	0.78014
FARES			17	0.77765
PONES			18	0.77637
BALES			20	0.77604
TORES			21	0.77550
MALES			22	0.77253
HARES			24	0.76998
PATES			25	0.76856
ALOSE					11	1.83063
STOAE					12	1.82518
LASER					18	1.82195
SERAL					22	1.82195
ARETS					23	1.81649
ASTER					24	1.81649
EARST					25	1.81649

Top Words

Top recommended words based on expert analysis. Check mark ✓ applies to words that have been Wordle words before.

#	Word	Why it ranks
Tier A
1	CRANE (✓)	Highest WordleBot skill 99/99
2	SLATE (✓)	ditto 99/99 – classic S‑start, E‑end
3	TRACE (✓)	99 — covers C/R/T trio
4	CRATE (✓)	anagram of TRACE
5	CARET	99, never an answer yet
6	CARTE	same 99 rating
7	SLANT	WordleBot 99, "hard‑mode friendly"
8	PLATE (✓)	newest 98/99 pick after CRANE
9	STARE (✓)	long‑time player favorite, 97
10	SAINT (✓)	97, nice S‑start / NT ending
11	LEAST	WordleBot 97, duplicate‑safe
12	STALE (✓)	97, frequent solution ending
13	TASER	97, yet unused answer
14	PARSE	97, R/S/E trio
15	SNARE (✓)	96, hits S/A/R/E combo
16	TRADE (✓)	96, D tests mid‑freq cons
17	PLANE	96, vowel‑balanced
18	SANER	96, "anser" pattern
19	PLACE (✓)	96, common C/E ending
20	SLICE (✓)	96, tests C/I vowel
Tier B
21	TRICE (✓)	98 WordleBot
22	DEALT	top hard‑mode 99
23	LANCE	98 alt to SLANT
24	TRIPE	95 (hard‑mode)
25	SHALT	94 skill; avoids ‑S plural issue
26	TAILS	94; S‑ending test
27	PETAL	93; alternate to PLATE
28	ROAST	high 97 in WordsRated pair study
29	RAISE	Tyler Glaiel's top "answer‑valid" pick
30	SAUCY	Hi‑score 'future‑answer' word, Feb 2024
31	SAUCE	runner‑up to SAUCY
32	SOAPY	high vowel‑con repeat test
33	SEIZE	Z‑check without Q/J
34	CEASE	double‑E confirmation
35	BRINY	tests Y‑ending
36	CRIER	common bigram ‑ER
37	SALLY	WordleBot 92 but strong Y test
38	SADLY	similar Y test, avoids E
39	SOOTY	vowel+Y, covers double‑O
40	BRINE	#4 on WordsRated score list
Tier C
41	SALET	MIT "optimal" (avg 3.42 guesses)
42	SOARE	Glaiel/Fan #1 eliminator
43	SAINE	Hackernoon highest exact‑green probability
44	SLANE	MIT list #6
45	SAREE	Bertrand Fan entropy #2
46	SEARE	entropy #3
47	SAICE	WordPlay top‑10
48	REAST	MIT #2 overall
49	TRAPE	MIT #5
50	PRATE	MIT #7
51	TEALS	MIT tied #9
52	TRAIN	MIT tied #9 – introduces N
53	RANCE	3Blue1Brown "max‑4‑guess coverage"
54	RATED	same study – strong D check
55	RANTS	alt w/ S‑end
56	RONTE	high entropy variant
57	RAILE	WordPlay top‑10 (rare but allowed)
58	TRICE (✓)	already in Tier A — demonstrates overlap
59	LATER	Top TikTok/Reddit frequency‑ranked list pick
60	AROSE	Excel/YouTube statistical pick
Tier D
61	IRATE	linguist‑approved vowel+RT
62	ALTER	common ALT‑ pattern
63	ADIEU	4‑vowel classic
64	AUDIO	4‑vowel alt, tests U
65	ARISE	vowel/R/S spread
66	ROATE	best pure eliminator, not an answer
67	SAUTE	five high‑freq letters+U
68	POISE	balances mid vowels/cons
69	TEASE	vowel‑dense w/ common T/S/E
70	CAUSE	WordRated score #7
71	SHINE	fills H/N combo hole
72	NOTES	Wired letter‑freq starter
73	RESIN	≈ NOTES but R swap
74	TARES	Wired / Real‑Stats top 5
75	SENOR	same Wired set
76	ROAST	already Tier B — popular SmartLocal
77	TALES	Prof. Smyth simulator #1
78	CONES	simulator #2
79	HATES	97 % success in 3‑word strat
80	POUTY	vowel‑light follow‑up favorite
Tier E
81	CLINT	best second word for SOARE combo
82	ROUND	part of 3‑word meta
83	CLIMB	third word in same set
84	SALLY	WordRated list (tests double L/Y)
85	SADLY	Y‑ending + D check
86	SOOTY	digs into double‑O / Y
87	BRINY	rare B/Y test
88	SEIZE	Z‑probe after vowels
89	DEALT	already Tier B — hard‑mode default
90	LANCE	already Tier B
91	OUIJA	meme‑ish 4‑vowel+J probe
92	ABOUT	vowel‑heavy common pick
93	CANOE	community vowel test
94	STORE	SmartLocal "other good word"
95	COALS	best two‑word pair (COALS+NITER)
96	NITER	complement to COALS
97	SUITE	Tom's Guide demo of today's solve
98	PIQUE	tests rare Q/I pair
99	TARSE	Reddit pick beats SALET in 2024 tweaks
100	TILER	frequency‑based R‑ending probe (Real‑Stats)

Source Code

Want the source code? Find it here.

Saturday, 10 May 2025

, & Illya Starikov

Code, Technology