Technology

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According to the Associated Press, Japan's government decided it will start releasing treated radioactive water accumulated at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. From the report: Under the basic plan adopted Tuesday by the ministers, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, also known as TEPCO, will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility and compiling release plans adhering to safety requirements. It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely. TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around fall of 2022. Also, the area now filled with storage tanks will have to be freed up for building new facilities needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors and for other decommissioning work that's expected to start in coming years. In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel. Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water. Those tanks that occupy a large space at the plant interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said. The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said. Releasing the water to the ocean was described as the most realistic method by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water. The report it prepared last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option. About 70% of the water in the tanks is contaminated beyond discharge limits but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says. According to a preliminary estimate, gradual releases of water will take more than 30 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned. Japan will abide by international rules for a release, obtain support from the International Atomic Energy Agency and others, and ensure disclosure of data and transparency to gain understanding of the international community, the report said. China blasted the Japanese government for being "extremely irresponsible," and warned that it might take action. "The Japanese side has yet to exhaust all avenues of measures, disregarded domestic and external opposition, has decided to unilaterally release the Fukushima plant's nuclear waste water without full consultation with its neighboring countries and the international community," the foreign ministry statement said. "This action is extremely irresponsible and will pose serious harm to the health and safety of the people in neighboring countries and the international community." South Korea also isn't happy with Japan's decision. "The government expresses strong regret over the Japanese government's decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean," said Koo Yoon-cheol, head of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Writing code that is reusable is an important part of software development. In a way, we're not simply solving the problem at hand, but we're building tools we can use to solve similar problems in the future. Now, that's also a risk: premature abstraction is its own source of WTFs.

Daniel's peer wrote some JavaScript which is used for manipulating form inputs on customer contact forms. You know the sorts of forms: give us your full name, phone number, company name, email, and someone from our team will be in touch. This developer wrote the script, and offered it to clients to enhance their forms. Well, there was one problem: this script would get embedded in customer contact forms, but not all customer contact forms use the same conventions for how they name their fields.

There's an easy solution for that, involving parameterizing the code or adding a configuration step. There's a hard solution, where you build a heuristic that works for most forms. Then there's this solution, which… well…. Let me present the logic for handling just one field type, unredacted or elided.

for(llelementlooper=0; llelementlooper<document.forms[llformlooper2].elements.length; llelementlooper++) { var llelementphone = (document.forms[llformlooper2].elements[llelementlooper].name) if ( llformphone == '' && ((llelementphone=='phone') || (llelementphone=='Phone') || (llelementphone=='phone') || (llelementphone=='mobilephone') || (llelementphone=='PHONE') || (llelementphone=='sPhone') || (llelementphone=='strPhone') || (llelementphone=='Telephone') || (llelementphone=='telephone') || (llelementphone=='tel') || (llelementphone=='si_contact_ex_field6') || (llelementphone=='phonenumber') || (llelementphone=='phone_number') || (llelementphone=='phoneTextBox') || (llelementphone=='PhoneNumber_num_25_1') || (llelementphone=='Telefone') || (llelementphone=='Contact Phone') || (llelementphone=='submitted[row_3][phone]') || (llelementphone=='edit-profile-phone') || (llelementphone=='contactTelephone') || (llelementphone=='f4') || (llelementphone=='Contact-Phone') || (llelementphone=='formItem_239') || (llelementphone=='phone_r') || (llelementphone=='PhoneNo') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_98494_m0:Phone') || (llelementphone=='telefono') || (llelementphone=='ntelephone') || (llelementphone=='wtelephone') || (llelementphone=='watelephone') || (llelementphone=='form[telefoon]') || (llelementphone=='phone_work') || (llelementphone=='telephone-number') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$HeaderText$ctl00$PhoneText') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$cphMain$cphInsideMain$widget1$ctl00$viewBiz$ctl00$phone$textbox') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolderBase$ContentPlaceHolderSideMenu$TextBoxPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$SPWebPartManager1$g_c8bd31c3_e338_41df_bdbe_021242ca01c8$ctl01$ctl06$txtTextbox') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolderDefault$MasterContentPlaceHolder$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='curftelephone') || (llelementphone=='form[Telephone]') || (llelementphone=='tx_pilmailform_pi1[text][phone]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$templateMainContent$homeBanners$HomeBannerList$ctrLeads$txt_5_1') || (llelementphone=='ac_daytimeNumber') || (llelementphone=='daytime_phone') || (llelementphone=='r4') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolderBody$Phone') || (llelementphone=='Fld10_label') || (llelementphone=='field333') || (llelementphone=='txtMobile') || (llelementphone=='form_nominator_phonenumber') || (llelementphone=='submitted[phone_no]') || (llelementphone=='submitted[phone]') || (llelementphone=='submitted[5]') || (llelementphone=='submitted[telephone_no]') || (llelementphone=='fields[Contact Phone]') || (llelementphone=='cf2_field_5') || (llelementphone=='a23786') || (llelementphone=='rpr_phone') || (llelementphone=='phone-number') || (llelementphone=='txt_homePhone') || (llelementphone=='your-number') || (llelementphone=='Contact_Phone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$CPH_body$txtContactnumber') || (llelementphone=='profile_telephone') || (llelementphone=='item_meta[90]' && llfrmid==11823) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[181]' && llfrmid==26416) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==21452) || (llelementphone=='EditableTextField100' && llfrmid==13948) || (llelementphone=='EditableTextField205' && llfrmid==13948) || (llelementphone=='EditableTextField100' && llfrmid==13948) || (llelementphone=='EditableTextField166' && llfrmid==13948) || (llelementphone=='EditableTextField104' && llfrmid==13948) || (llelementphone=='cf2_field_4' && llfrmid==23878) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==24017) || (llelementphone=='cf_field_4' && llfrmid==15876) || (llelementphone=='cf5_field_5' && llfrmid==15876) || (llelementphone=='input_9' && llfrmid==17254) || (llelementphone=='input_2' && llfrmid==22954) || (llelementphone=='input_8' && llfrmid==23756) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==18793) || (llelementphone=='input_6' && llfrmid==24811) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==19880) || (llelementphone=='input_6' && llfrmid==19230) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==24747) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==25897) || (llelementphone=='text-481' && llfrmid==14451) || (llelementphone=='Form7111$formField_7576') || (llelementphone=='Form7168$formField_7673') || (llelementphone=='Form7116$formField_7592') || (llelementphone=='Form7150$formField_7645') || (llelementphone=='Form7153$formField_7655') || (llelementphone=='Form7119$formField_7600') || (llelementphone=='Form7123$formField_7608') || (llelementphone=='Form7161$formField_7665') || (llelementphone=='Form7176$formField_7690') || (llelementphone=='Form7172$formField_7681') || (llelementphone=='Form7113$formField_7584') || (llelementphone=='Form7106$formField_7568') || (llelementphone=='Form7111$formField_7576') || (llelementphone=='Form7136$formField_7628') || (llelementphone=='Form6482$formField_7621') || (llelementphone=='Form6548$formField_6988') || (llelementphone=='submitted[business_phone]') || (llelementphone=='tfa_3' && llfrmid==23388) || (llelementphone=='ContentObjectAttribute_ezsurvey_answer_4455_3633') || (llelementphone=='838ae21c-1f95-488f-a511-135a588a50fb_Phone') || (llelementphone=='plc$lt$zoneContent$pageplaceholder$pageplaceholder$lt$zoneRightContent$contentText$BizFormControl1$Bizform1$ctl00$Telephone$txt1st') || (llelementphone=='plc$lt$zoneContent$pageplaceholder$pageplaceholder$lt$zoneRightContent$contentText$BizFormControl1$Bizform1$ctl00$Telephone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolderDefault$ContentAreaPlaceholderMain$ctl02$ContactForm_3$TextBoxTelephone') || (llelementphone=='plc$lt$Content2$pageplaceholder1$pageplaceholder1$lt$Content$BizForm$viewBiz$ctl00$Phone_Number') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$cphMainContent$C002$tbTelephone') || (llelementphone=='contact$tbPhoneNumber') || (llelementphone=='crMain$ctl00$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$PrimaryContent$tbPhone') || (llelementphone=='ff_nm_phone[]') || (llelementphone=='q5_phoneNumber5[phone]') || (llelementphone=='TechContactPhone') || (llelementphone=='referral_phone_number') || (llelementphone=='field8418998') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Content$ctl00$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$PlaceHolderMain$ucContactUs$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='m_field_id_4' && llfrmid==15091) || (llelementphone=='Field7' && llfrmid==23387) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==22578) || (llelementphone=='input_2' && llfrmid==11241) || (llelementphone=='input_7' && llfrmid==23633) || (llelementphone=='input_7' && llfrmid==22114) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && (llformalyzerURL.indexOf('demo') != -1) && llfrmid==17544) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && (llformalyzerURL.indexOf('contact') != -1) && llfrmid==17544) || (llelementphone=='field_4' && llfrmid==24654) || (llelementphone=='input_6' && llfrmid==24782) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && (llformalyzerURL.indexOf('contact-us') != -1) && llfrmid==16794) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && (llformalyzerURL.indexOf('try-and-buy') != -1) && llfrmid==16794) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && (llformalyzerURL.indexOf('contact-us') != -1) && llfrmid==23842) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==25451) || (llelementphone=='input_5' && llfrmid==24911) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==13417) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==23813) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==21483) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==25396) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==16175) || (llelementphone=='input_7' && llfrmid==25797) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==15650) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==22025) || (llelementphone=='input_3' && llfrmid==14534) || (llelementphone=='input_4' && llfrmid==25216) || (llelementphone=='input_5' && llfrmid==22884) || (llelementphone=='input_6' && llfrmid==25783) || (llelementphone=='text-747' && llfrmid==16324) || (llelementphone=='vfb-42' && llfrmid==24468) || (llelementphone=='vfb-33' && llfrmid==24468) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[57]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[78]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[85]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[154]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[220]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[240]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='item_meta[286]' && llfrmid==25268) || (llelementphone=='fieldname5' && llfrmid==12535) || (llelementphone=='Question12' && llfrmid==24639) || (llelementphone=='ninja_forms_field_4' && llfrmid==19321) || (llelementphone=='EditableTextField' && llfrmid==15064) || (llelementphone=='form_fields[27]' && llfrmid==22688) || (llelementphone=='ctl00$body$phone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$MainContent$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='FreeTrialForm$Phone') || (llelementphone=='text-521ada035aa46') || (llelementphone=='C_BusPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$templateMainContent$pageContent$ctrLeads$txt_5_1') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Modules$ctl00$rptFields$ctl06$1204') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Modules$ctl00$rptFields$ctl06$1320') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Modules$ctl00$rptFields$ctl07$1242') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Modules$ctl00$rptFields$ctl07$1202') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Modules$ctl00$rptFields$ctl08$1242') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$MainColumnPlaceHolder$uxPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$MainContent$DropZoneTop$columnDisplay$ctl04$controlcolumn$ctl00$WidgetHost$WidgetHost_widget$IDPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl05$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Modules$ctl00$rptFields$ctl07$1219') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_33872_m419365:Phone') || (llelementphone=='F02220803') || (llelementphone=='h2c0f') || (llelementphone=='your_phone_number') || (llelementphone=='Question7') || (llelementphone=='Question51') || (llelementphone=='Question59') || (llelementphone=='Question35') || (llelementphone=='Question67') || (llelementphone=='field9740823') || (llelementphone=='message[phone]') || (llelementphone=='dnn$ctr1266$ViewKamakuraRegister$Phone') || (llelementphone=='phone1') || (llelementphone=='inf_field_Phone1') || (llelementphone=='hscontact_phone') || (llelementphone=='data[Contact][phone]') || (llelementphone=='fields[Phone]') || (llelementphone=='contact[PhoneNumber]') || (llelementphone=='phonename3') || (llelementphone=='UserPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$MainBody$txtPhoneTech') || (llelementphone=='Telephone1') || (llelementphone=='PhoneNumber') || (llelementphone=='work_phone') || (llelementphone=='jform[contact_telephone]') || (llelementphone=='form[phone]') || (llelementphone=='RequestAQuote1$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='06_Phone') || (llelementphone=='txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='field_location[und][0][phone]') || (llelementphone=='your-phone') || (llelementphone=='cmsForms_phone') || (llelementphone=='Txt_phonenumber') || (llelementphone=='businessPhone') || (llelementphone=='boxHomePhone') || (llelementphone=='HomePhone') || (llelementphone=='request-phone') || (llelementphone=='user[phone]') || (llelementphone=='DATA[PHONE]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$cphContent$cphContent$cphContent$Phone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$MainBody$Form1$obj11') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_90888_m1467651:Phone') || (llelementphone=='Users[work]') || (llelementphone=='Question43') || (llelementphone=='aics_phone') || (llelementphone=='form[workphone]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$cphMainContent$C006$tbTelephone') || (llelementphone=='cntnt01fbrp__47') || (llelementphone=='submitted[phone_number]') || (llelementphone=='flipform_phone') || (llelementphone=='txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder2$txtPhnno') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$ContentPlaceHolder1$mainContentRegion$BizFormControl1$Bizform1$ctl00$Phone') || (llelementphone=='inpPhone') || (llelementphone=='j_phone') || (llelementphone=='m6e81afbrp__53') || (llelementphone=='item_meta[119]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder_Content$dataPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$generalContentPlaceHolder$ctrlContactUs$tbPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolderDefault$ContentPlaceHolder1$Contact_6$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$MainContent$tel') || (llelementphone=='dynform_element_3') || (llelementphone=='telephone_1') || (llelementphone=='cf_phone') || (llelementphone=='Lead_PrimaryPhone') || (llelementphone=='p_lt_zoneContent_wP_wP_lt_zonePageWidgets_RevolabsMicrosoftDynamicsCRMContactForm_1_txtBusinessPhone') || (llelementphone=='si_contact_ex_field2') || (llelementphone=='dnn$ctr458$XModPro$ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$Telephone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl06$txtTelephone') || (llelementphone=='dnn$ctr458$XModPro$ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$Telephone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$mainCopy$CPHCenter$ctl00$QuickRegControl_2$TBPhone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_38163_m457931:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_29909_m371524:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_32343_m395611:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_31530_m388101:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_27072_m349818:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_28362_m354522:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_28759_m358745:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_32343_m395611:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_33631_m415978:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_30695_m380436:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_29958_m372138:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_31471_m387422:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_32514_m397613:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_29152_m362772:Phone') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_32540_m397908:Phone') || (llelementphone=='pNumber') || (llelementphone=='organizer_phone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$PlaceHolderMain$TrialDownloadForm$Phone') || (llelementphone=='ContactSubmission.Phone.Value') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$body$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='p$lt$ctl03$pageplaceholder$p$lt$zoneCentre$editabletext$ucEditableText$widget1$ctl00$viewBiz$ctl00$Telephone$textbox') || (llelementphone=='ctl01_ctl00_pbForm1_ctl_phone_61f3') || (llelementphone=='ctl01$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$ctl15$Phone') || (llelementphone=='p$lt$zoneContent$pageplaceholder$p$lt$zoneRightContent$contentText$ucEditableText$BizFormControl1$Bizform1$ctl00$Telephone$textbox') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder$ContentPlaceHolder$ctl00$fPhone') || (llelementphone=='pagecolumns_0$form_B502CC1EC1644B38B722523526D45F36$field_6BCFC01A782747DF8E785B5533850EEB') || (llelementphone=='cf3_field_10') || (llelementphone=='r_phone') || (llelementphone=='c_phone') || (llelementphone=='cf-1[]') || (llelementphone=='frm_phone') || (llelementphone=='Patient_Phone_Number') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$PageContent$ctl00$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='dnn$ctr398$FormMaster$ctl_6e49bedd138a4684a66b62dcb1a34658') || (llelementphone=='id_tel') || (llelementphone=='field_contact_tel[und][0][value]') || (llelementphone=='Phone:') || (llelementphone=='ContactPhone') || (llelementphone=='submitted[telephone]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$ctl04$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder_pageContent$contact_phone') || (llelementphone=='264') || (llelementphone=='form_phone_number') || (llelementphone=='field8418998') || (llelementphone=='phoneTBox') || (llelementphone=='pagecontent_1$content_0$contentbottom_0$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='application_0$PhoneTextBox') || (llelementphone=='submitted[phone_work]') || (llelementphone=='data[Lead][phone]') || (llelementphone=='a4475-telephone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$Form$txtPhoneNumber') || (llelementphone=='signup_form_data[Phone]') || (llelementphone=='WorkPhone') || (llelementphone=='lldPhone') || (llelementphone=='web_form_1[field_102]value') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_114694_m1832700:Phone') || (llelementphone=='phoneSalesForm') || (llelementphone=='fund_phone') || (llelementphone=='Phonepi_Phone') || (llelementphone=='field343') || (llelementphone=='cntnt01fbrp__48') || (llelementphone=='contact[phone]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctl01_contactTelephoneBox_text') || (llelementphone=='ctl01$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$ctl29$Phone') || (llelementphone=='plc$lt$content$pageplaceholder$pageplaceholder$lt$bodyColumnZone$LogilityContactUs$txtWorkPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$cphBody$cphMain$cphMain$FormBuilder1$FormBuilderListView$ctrl4$FieldControl_Telephone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$ctl00$ContentPlaceHolderDefault$cp_content$ctl02$RenderForm_1$rpFieldsets$ctl00$rpFields$ctl04$126d33a3_9f7f_4583_8c94_5820d58fc030') || (llelementphone=='tx_powermail_pi1[uid1266]') || (llelementphone=='si_contact_ex_field3') || (llelementphone=='inc_contact1$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='item2_tel_1') || (llelementphone=='LeadGen_ContactForm_15766_m0:Phone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='Default$Content$FormViewer$FieldsRepeater$ctl04$ctl00$ViewTextBox') || (llelementphone=='Default$Content$FormViewer$FieldsRepeater$ctl04$ctl00$ViewTextBox') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$SecondaryPageContent$C005$ctl00$ctl00$C002$ctl00$ctl00$textBox_write') || (llelementphone=='_u216318653597056311') || (llelementphone=='_u630018292785751084') || (llelementphone=='data[Contact][office_phone]') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ctl00$cphMainContent$Content$txtPhone') || (llelementphone=='ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$txtTel') || (llelementphone=='item_5') || (llelementphone=='ques_21432') || (llelementphone=='phoneNum') || (llelementphone=='CONTACT_PHONE') || (llelementphone=='ff_nm_cf_phonetext[]') || (llelementphone=='WorkPhone') ) ) { llformphone = (document.forms[llformlooper2].elements[llelementlooper].value); if (llfrmid == debugid ) {alert('llformphone:'+llformphone+' llemailfound:'+llemailfound);} }

If the name property of the form element is equal to any one of the many many many items in this list, we can then extract the value and stuff it into a variable. And, since this will almost certainly break all the time, it's got a convenient "set the debugid and I'll spam alerts as I search the form".

Repeat this for every other field. It ends up being almost 2,000 lines of code, just to select the correct fields out of the forms.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScienceAlert: [T]here's been a longstanding question over whether heavy water tastes the same as regular drinking water -- or whether its subtle isotopic variation yields a different taste that people may be able to perceive. "There is anecdotal evidence from the 1930s that the taste of pure D2O is distinct from the neutral one of pure H2O, being described mostly as 'sweet,'" an international team of researchers led by first authors and biochemists Natalie Ben Abu and Philip E. Mason explains in a new study. [I]n their new research, Ben Abu, Mason, and their team can finally confirm that there really is something a bit different about the taste of heavy water. "Despite the fact that the two isotopes are nominally chemically identical, we have shown conclusively that humans can distinguish by taste (which is based on chemical sensing) between H2O and D2O, with the latter having a distinct sweet taste," explains senior author and physical chemist Pavel Jungwirth from the Czech Academy of Sciences. In a taste-testing experiment with 28 participants, most people were able to distinguish between H2O and D2O, and tests with mixed amounts of the waters revealed that greater proportions of heavy water were perceived as tasting sweeter. In tests with mice, however, the animals did not seem to prefer drinking heavy water over regular water, although they did show a preference for sugared water -- suggesting that in mice, D2O does not elicit the same sweet taste that people can perceive. Other taste tests conducted by the team suggest why this is so, indicating that human taste receptivity to D2O is mediated by the taste receptor TAS1R2/TAS1R3, which is known to respond to sweetness in both natural sugars and artificial sweeteners. Experiments in the lab with HEK 293 cells confirmed the same thing, showing robust responses in TAS1R2/TAS1R3 expressing cells when exposed to D2O. The findings are published in the journal Communications Biology.

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Apple has been a laggard in the smart-home space, but a versatile new device in early development could change that. From a Bloomberg report: The company is working on a product that would combine an Apple TV set-top box with a HomePod speaker and include a camera for video conferencing through a connected TV and other smart-home functions, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. The device's other capabilities would include standard Apple TV box functions like watching video and gaming plus smart speaker uses such as playing music and using Apple's Siri digital assistant. If launched, it would represent Apple's most ambitious smart-home hardware offering to date. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant is also mulling the launch of a high-end speaker with a touch screen to better compete with market leaders Google and Amazon.com, the people said. Such a device would combine an iPad with a HomePod speaker and also include a camera for video chat. Apple has explored connecting the iPad to the speaker with a robotic arm that can move to follow a user around a room, similar to Amazon's latest Echo Show gadget. Development of both Apple products is still in the early stages, and the company could decide to launch neither or change key features. The company often works on new concepts and devices without ultimately shipping them.

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That’s Self-Paced Online Training, says SANS Institute

Promo  Working in cybersecurity means always keeping your skills bang up to date. But what are your options when the challenges of blocking out time for traditional in person training are compounded by pandemic-related restrictions?…

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger called Monday for the U.S. to spend billions of dollars over the next few years as part of a "moonshot" designed to regain lost ground in semiconductor manufacturing. The goal, he said, is to see the U.S. again account for a third of global output, up from about 12% today. From a report: Investments made now will take several years to bear fruit, so they won't do much to ease the current semiconductor shortage, but are vital to America's long-term economic future and national security, Gelsinger told Axios on Monday. The White House met with tech leaders in a virtual summit on Monday discussing the need for investment in chip manufacturing. With demand for broad categories of chips exceeding supply, makers of everything from cars to computers and networking gear are having to slow factories and cut output. Automakers have been hit especially hard. At the very leading edge, the vast majority of chip production today is done in Taiwan, an island that remains imperiled by China's longstanding claims. "I would argue the most important building block for our economic livelihood and every aspect of human life is now increasingly not in our control," Gelsinger told Axios in an interview after the White House meeting.

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Tesla appears to have drastically increased the price of its Solar Roof tiles in an update to its configurator and quote estimates. Electrek reports: After years of delays, the Tesla Solar Roof is finally gaining momentum with a sharp rise in installations over the last few quarters. The increased deployment came after Tesla launched version 3 of its Solar Roof tiles, which brought a significant price decrease through optimization and faster installation process. Tesla kept refining the product and changed its online cost estimates a few times, decreasing the price again last summer. But now Tesla appears to have changed course and significantly increased the price of its solar roof in its online configurator. Several Electrek readers and prospective solar roof buyers reached out this weekend to let us know that they are seeing higher prices for the same quotes. Last summer, a quote for a 3,947-square-foot roof with a 12,3 kW solar roof tile system was $54,966 before incentives. Now the Tesla Solar Roof configurator shows prices between $79,938 and $100,621 for the same size roof. While this is a sharp increase in price, Tesla also appears to try to make its online quotes more accurate with a new "roof complexity" factor. [...] However, in this case, the least to the most complex options all result in higher prices than previously quoted for the same address with the same square footage.

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Also, President Biden hosts meeting to mull over silicon shortage

Intel has offered to fabricate chips for cars within the next six to nine months to help automakers brought to their knees by the ongoing global semiconductor shortage.…

A judge has ordered Charter Communications to pay $19.2 million to Windstream for lying to customers in order to trick them into switching from Windstream to Charter's Spectrum Internet service. Charter also faces a $5,279 penalty for shutting off service to hundreds of Windstream's resale customers. Ars Technica reports: When Windstream filed for bankruptcy in early 2019, Charter began a "literally false and intentionally misleading advertising campaign intended to create the impression, using mailings designed to seem as if they were coming from the Debtors [Windstream], that the Debtors were going out of business," said an order issued Thursday by Judge Robert Drain of US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Charter's goal with the mailings "was to induce the Debtors' customers to terminate their contracts and switch to Charter by sending them literally false and intentionally misleading information about the Debtors' bankruptcy cases and financial wherewithal," the ruling said. Charter premised its ad campaign "on false assertions regarding the Debtors' bankruptcy cases," the ruling said. "We are gratified that Judge Drain's ruling means Charter will have to pay a significant price for its egregious false advertising," Windstream General Counsel Kristi Moody said, according to a FierceTelecom article. "Charter knew full well what it was doing when it embarked on a dishonest scare-tactic campaign to lure away our customers. At Windstream, we will always aggressively defend ourselves and our customers against predatory schemes and meritless allegations."

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An anonymous reader writes: If you're a frequent user of WhatsApp, you may want to keep an eye on a disturbing hole discovered in its security this weekend. It's possible for an attacker to completely suspend your WhatsApp account, without any recourse for the individual user, and all they need is your phone number. At the time of writing there's no solution for this issue. This newly-discovered flaw uses two separate vectors. The attacker installs WhatsApp on a new device and enters your number to activate the chat service. They can't verify it, because of course, the two-factor authentication system is sending the login prompts to your phone instead. After multiple repeated and failed attempts, your login is locked for 12 hours. Here's where the tricky part comes in: with your account locked, the attacker sends a support message to WhatsApp from their email address, claiming that their (your) phone has been lost or stolen, and that the account associated with your number needs to be deactivated. WhatsApp "verifies" this with a reply email, and suspends your account without any input on your end. The attacker can repeat the process several times in succession to create a semi-permanent lock on your account. The results are disturbing, but at the very least, this method can't be used to actually gain access to an account, merely to block access by its legitimate owner. Confidential text messages and contacts are not exposed. The proof-of-concept attack was first reported by Forbes from security researchers Luis Marquez Carpintero and Ernesto Canales Perena. There's no indication that it's being used in the wild.

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And we're so sorry for not warning staff or anyone else about his board reelection, adds foundation

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) on Monday apologized for mishandling the announcement last month that founder Richard Stallman, or RMS, had been reelected to its board of directors – and published a statement from RMS both justifying his behavior and apologizing for it.…

HSBC has banned customers of its online share-trading platform from buying or moving into their accounts MicroStrategy stock, calling it a "virtual currency product." Reuters reports: The bank will not facilitate the buying or exchange of products related to or referencing the performance of virtual currencies, the message to an HSBC InvestDirect client said. MicroStrategy declined to comment. The U.S. business software firm is led by bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor and owns bitcoin worth billions of dollars. While HSBC will allow the holding, sale and outgoing transfer of MicroStrategy shares, it will forbid new purchases or incoming transfers, said the message dated March 29. "HSBC has no appetite for direct exposure to virtual currencies and limited appetite to facilitate products or securities that derive their value from VCs (virtual currencies)," HSBC said in a statement. The bank said its policy towards cryptocurrencies had been in place since 2018 and is kept under review.

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