Ethereums creator, Vitalik Buterin, envisioned the cryptocurrency and blockchain as an extension of Bitcoin. Therefore, Ethereum is more than a store of value; it is a peer-to-peer network that supports the expansion of its blockchain ecosystem, where users develop their own Dapps, DAOs, and NFTs.

The smart contract function gives a prominent feature of Ethereum, a revolutionary technology enhancing collaborations in online environments. The process makes asset exchanges more efficient by automating transactions based on predetermined terms and conditions. Once the two parties complete their roles, the smart contract is executed and cannot be reversed or altered.

However, Ethereum smart contracts pose several security challenges, considering front-running attacks and logical errors are common. Besides, attackers take advantage of timestamps and manipulate them.

Thats why Ethereums competitors developed their unique smart contracts functions to mitigate these challenges. But are they really that efficient and safe?

Besides the security issue, smart contracts on Ethereum are praised for their numerous advantages for users. Theyre cost-efficient, based on decentralization and automated. Therefore, they can provide conditional payments and programmable money through the use of a flexible language that supports multiple computational instructions.

Hence, Ethereum smart contracts can be used in industries like decentralized finance, supply chain management, real estate and even healthcare. Still, institutions might choose smart contracts offered by competitors.

Solana is a Web3 infrastructure system launched later than Ethereum in 2022, so its not as popular. However, its considered by many as a better alternative to Ethereum due to its low cost and fast transaction processing.

Solanas smart contracts support building decentralized applications more efficiently and leverage a superior consensus mechanism. The Proof of History technology ensures security is prioritized during transaction processing, which is a plus compared to Ethereum. Moreover, Solanas smart contract tools, such as Solana CLI and Serum DEX, enhance the blockchains development.

Cardano was released in 2017 and it provides better scalability compared to Ethereum due to its layered architecture. Cardanos blockchain is a productive environment for smart contract development, as it was designed through unique methods on a research-driven approach, making it stable and secure.

One of the best things about Cardano is its energy efficiency features that ensure low gas fees and high transaction speeds. Hence, Cardano is great for creating smart contracts because its native language is designed to allow versatility among multiple industries, supporting the growing demand for the blockchain to be used for smart contracts.

Ethereums smart contract function is based on the Turing system that includes the Solidity programming language and the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). While most blockchains work similarly, Stellar is different.

The blockchain uses numerous programming languages, such as Python or PHP, through which transactions are executed with constraints. Smart contracts are powered by a multi-signature feature that the two parties have to sign, while Atomicity technology combines multiple operations in a single transaction. Hence, if one operation fails to complete, the other smart contracts will be triggered anyway.

The distributed ledger technology can be leveraged for smart contracts through the Docker container, a system that defines application services. It may be more challenging to run smart contracts on the Hyperledger Fabric network because the technology is more complex.

However, its an intricate project because it supports smart contracts while running on top of the operating system. At the same time, it enhances high-level programming features through the Turing complete system and uses the key-value pair data model. The blockchain network is private, so it requires approval from certificate authorities (CA).

Considering the multiple competitors to Ethereum, were wondering if the technology behind it will ever evolve. The main problem of Ethereum is the rising costs and lack of scalability, so new blockchains can always appear and deliver better services.

Still, Ethereum has a great potential of becoming the best blockchain and smart contract support. Using Solidity, smart contract gas costs can become efficient through the following functions:

Caching storage in memory to avoid storage loads;

Using calldata to enhance runtime execution;

Making some variables immutable to avoid storage-writing operations;

Leveraging private constants instead of public;

At the same time, smart contracts can be upgraded to fix vulnerabilities and add new features. However, improvement may add a new level of complexity that can increase flaws in the system. Moreover, centralization risks may appear due to individuals performing unauthorized updates, which is why users must trust developers in this process.

Recently, Ethereums team provided a development roadmap for the blockchain that would solve its prominent issues. There are currently six stages of improvement, starting with the Merge, which has already been deployed, and ending with the Splurge, which will handle minor fixtures. In between the two, Ethereum plans to increase the number of transactions per second, mitigate risks and make block verification more efficient.

Among these updates, an additional set of EIPs, or Ethereum Improvement Proposals, will contribute to reduced end-user costs, efficient networks, and handling of complex operations. Still, a primary interest is given to improving smart contract execution. For instance, the EIP-5656 operation will deal with copying data in memory that will optimize smart contracts. At the same time, the EIP-6780 will allow smart contracts to be deleted automatically from the blockchain to free up storage space. EIP-1153 will ensure smart contracts are more flexible and gas will be consumed more efficiently. Therefore, the upcoming years will constitute a better and stronger smart contract function for Ethereum.

Ethereum is mainly known for a diverse blockchain, where Dapps, DAOs and NFTs emerged and increased in popularity. But none of these features would see light without the smart contract technology, which enhances automatization and fairness in the exchange between two parties. The technology is revolutionizing and is already introduced in real-life use cases in industries like healthcare and finance.

Continue reading here:

Are Ethereums smart contracts better than its competitors? - Tucson Weekly

Researchers developed a modular fabrication process to produce a quantum-system-on-chip that integrates an array of artificial atom qubits onto a semiconductor chip. Credit: Sampson Wilcox and Linsen Li, RLE, edited

A new quantum-system-on-chip enables the efficient control of a large array of qubits, advancing toward practical quantum computing.

Researchers at MIT and MITRE have developed a scalable, modular quantum hardware platform, incorporating thousands of qubits on a single chip, promising enhanced control and scalability. Utilizing diamond color centers, this new architecture supports extensive quantum communication networks and introduces an innovative lock-and-release fabrication process to efficiently integrate these qubits with existing semiconductor technologies.

Imagine being able to quickly solve extremely complex problems that might take the worlds most powerful supercomputer decades to crack. This is the promise of quantum computers.

However, realizing this capability requires constructing a system with millions of interconnected building blocks called qubits. Making and controlling so many qubits in a hardware architecture is an enormous challenge that scientists around the world are striving to meet.

Toward this goal, researchers at MIT and MITRE have demonstrated a scalable, modular hardware platform that integrates thousands of interconnected qubits onto a customized integrated circuit. This quantum-system-on-chip (QSoC) architecture enables the researchers to precisely tune and control a dense array of qubits. Multiple chips could be connected using optical networking to create a large-scale quantum communication network.

By tuning qubits across 11 frequency channels, this QSoC architecture allows for a new proposed protocol of entanglement multiplexing for large-scale quantum computing.

The team spent years perfecting an intricate process for manufacturing two-dimensional arrays of atom-sized qubit microchiplets and transferring thousands of them onto a carefully prepared complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip. This transfer can be performed in a single step.

We will need a large number of qubits, and great control over them, to really leverage the power of a quantum system and make it useful. We are proposing a brand new architecture and a fabrication technology that can support the scalability requirements of a hardware system for a quantum computer, says Linsen Li, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student and lead author of a paper on this architecture.

Lis co-authors include Ruonan Han, an associate professor in EECS, leader of the Terahertz Integrated Electronics Group, and member of the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE); senior author Dirk Englund, professor of EECS, principal investigator of the Quantum Photonics and Artificial Intelligence Group and of RLE; as well as others at MIT, Cornell University, the Delft Institute of Technology, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, and the MITRE Corporation. The paper was published recently in Nature.

While there are many types of qubits, the researchers chose to use diamond color centers because of their scalability advantages. They previously used such qubits to produce integrated quantum chips with photonic circuitry.

Qubits made from diamond color centers are artificial atoms that carry quantum information. Because diamond color centers are solid-state systems, the qubit manufacturing is compatible with modern semiconductor fabrication processes. They are also compact and have relatively long coherence times, which refers to the amount of time a qubits state remains stable, due to the clean environment provided by the diamond material.

In addition, diamond color centers have photonic interfaces which allows them to be remotely entangled, or connected, with other qubits that arent adjacent to them.

The conventional assumption in the field is that the inhomogeneity of the diamond color center is a drawback compared to identical quantum memory like ions and neutral atoms. However, we turn this challenge into an advantage by embracing the diversity of the artificial atoms: Each atom has its own spectral frequency. This allows us to communicate with individual atoms by voltage tuning them into resonance with a laser, much like tuning the dial on a tiny radio, says Englund.

This is especially difficult because the researchers must achieve this at a large scale to compensate for the qubit inhomogeneity in a large system.

To communicate across qubits, they need to have multiple such quantum radios dialed into the same channel. Achieving this condition becomes near-certain when scaling to thousands of qubits. To this end, the researchers surmounted that challenge by integrating a large array of diamond color center qubits onto a CMOS chip which provides the control dials. The chip can be incorporated with built-in digital logic that rapidly and automatically reconfigures the voltages, enabling the qubits to reach full connectivity.

This compensates for the in-homogenous nature of the system. With the CMOS platform, we can quickly and dynamically tune all the qubit frequencies, Li explains.

To build this QSoC, the researchers developed a fabrication process to transfer diamond color center microchiplets onto a CMOS backplane at a large scale.

They started by fabricating an array of diamond color center microchiplets from a solid block of diamond. They also designed and fabricated nanoscale optical antennas that enable more efficient collection of the photons emitted by these color center qubits in free space.

Then, they designed and mapped out the chip from the semiconductor foundry. Working in the MIT.nano cleanroom, they post-processed a CMOS chip to add microscale sockets that match up with the diamond microchiplet array.

They built an in-house transfer setup in the lab and applied a lock-and-release process to integrate the two layers by locking the diamond microchiplets into the sockets on the CMOS chip. Since the diamond microchiplets are weakly bonded to the diamond surface, when they release the bulk diamond horizontally, the microchiplets stay in the sockets.

Because we can control the fabrication of both the diamond and the CMOS chip, we can make a complementary pattern. In this way, we can transfer thousands of diamond chiplets into their corresponding sockets all at the same time, Li says.

The researchers demonstrated a 500-micron by 500-micron area transfer for an array with 1,024 diamond nanoantennas, but they could use larger diamond arrays and a larger CMOS chip to further scale up the system. In fact, they found that with more qubits, tuning the frequencies actually requires less voltage for this architecture.

In this case, if you have more qubits, our architecture will work even better, Li says.

The team tested many nanostructures before they determined the ideal microchiplet array for the lock-and-release process. However, making quantum microchiplets is no easy task, and the process took years to perfect.

We have iterated and developed the recipe to fabricate these diamond nanostructures in MIT cleanroom, but it is a very complicated process. It took 19 steps of nanofabrication to get the diamond quantum microchiplets, and the steps were not straightforward, he adds.

Alongside their QSoC, the researchers developed an approach to characterize the system and measure its performance on a large scale. To do this, they built a custom cryo-optical metrology setup.

Using this technique, they demonstrated an entire chip with over 4,000 qubits that could be tuned to the same frequency while maintaining their spin and optical properties. They also built a digital twin simulation that connects the experiment with digitized modeling, which helps them understand the root causes of the observed phenomenon and determine how to efficiently implement the architecture.

In the future, the researchers could boost the performance of their system by refining the materials they used to make qubits or developing more precise control processes. They could also apply this architecture to other solid-state quantum systems.

Reference: Heterogeneous integration of spinphoton interfaces with a CMOS platform by Linsen Li, Lorenzo De Santis, Isaac B. W. Harris, Kevin C. Chen, Yihuai Gao, Ian Christen, Hyeongrak Choi, Matthew Trusheim, Yixuan Song, Carlos Errando-Herranz, Jiahui Du, Yong Hu, Genevieve Clark, Mohamed I. Ibrahim, Gerald Gilbert, Ruonan Han and Dirk Englund, 29 May 2024, Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07371-7

This work was supported by the MITRE Corporation Quantum Moonshot Program, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Research Office, the Center for Quantum Networks, and the European Unions Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.

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MIT's Diamond Qubits Redefine the Future of Quantum Computing - SciTechDaily

Quantum computing is now at its early stage, and its evolution is a new epoch that will bring about changes across the domains of life. Quantum computers, however, do not operate like classical computers, which use binary cycles of 0 and 1, known as bits. Still, they use the principles of quantum mechanics to solve very complex computations.

Quantum computers have quantum bits or qubits. In quantum computing, quantum bits can be in multiple states at the same time through superposition. These principles allow quantum computers to solve problems beyond the capacity of other compact computing systems today.

Given below are some ways, in which quantum computers are revolutionizing scientific research:

Just like quantum chemistry is expected to revolutionize chemical science by simulating the interaction between molecules and atoms, quantum computing is expected to do the same. Quantum Computers will help advance the search for materials optimized for certain functions or characteristics, like superconductors, though with a B2B use case.

The possibility of perfectly imitating the specimens of chemical reactions can lead to groundbreaking discoveries across numerous industries, such as the medical field and farming.

By utilizing quantum bits, quantum computers can simulate the interactions at the quantum state and get results that cannot be acquired using conventional computers. They can also elicit novel drugs and more effective catalytic agents for some chemical reactions.

Quantum computing holds the potential to revolutionize healthcare and medicine in several profound ways:

In traditional drug discovery, it takes considerable time and money to develop a drug that may take years. Considering issues related to the simulation of chemical compounds and molecular structures, it is possible to solve problems concerning the creation of new drugs millions of times faster and more efficiently than traditional computers.

It is through quantum computing, that can relate large amounts of genetic data to facilitate accurate medical treatments. These could include advancements in the investigation of viral and genetic disorders and the development of new gene therapies for various types of genetic mutations.

Despite its distinct advantages, quantum computing poses serious threats to modern approaches to cybersecurity. Cryptographic algorithms that are currently applied on a large scale can be easily opposed by quantum computers because factoring large numbers is only difficult for todays classical computers. At the same time, quantum algorithms can solve the same task exponentially faster.

In a bid to counter these risks, scientists are developing quantum-resistant encryption techniques. These new cryptographic techniques will help ward off those who attempt to breach the security measures in place by using state-of-the-art quantum machines, safeguarding information from being compromised in a post-quantum era.

QKD works on the foundation of Quantum mechanics by designing secure links. If an effort is made to run a wire and listen into the communication, the quantum state is changed, thus notifying the owners and making sure the information exchanged is safe. It may not be far off statement to describe this technology as potentially bringing secure communication as close to becoming virtually inviolable as would be possible.

Quantum computing will vastly improve data processing capabilities, offering solutions to problems currently beyond the reach of classical computers:

Every industry has challenging tasks and objectives to solve, varying from supply chain management to financial analysis and logistic scenarios. By using quantum computers, large amounts of data can be processed, and the best solutions to problems can be achieved rapidly as compared to classical methods, ultimately reducing cost.

Quantum computing will further improve AI through improved machine learning algorithms and, hence, better data analysis. This will culminate in the creation of better artificial intelligence systems for addressing complex issues and, as such, making better forecasts.

The financial sector stands to benefit enormously from quantum computing:

One of the significant benefits of quantum computing is pattern matching or pattern recognition, as it works on large datasets, while most classical computing might fail to do so. Therefore, if applied in modeling risk assessment, it will help financial institutions manage risks better through better decision-making.

Quantum algorithms can completely process and analyze market data, identify trading opportunities, and manage portfolios most efficiently. This could result in higher returns, which is the ultimate goal of investing, and more stability in financial markets.

Quantum computing will also play a pivotal role in advancing space exploration:

It is critical to note that managing a space missions efficiency means solving challenging multi-objective optimization issues. Another application is that quantum computers can also, for instance, design trajectories for actual spacecraft with less consumption of fuel or other resources, thus making the costs of the mission less.

Digital imitation of the behavior of astronomical objects and phenomena is a difficult process that demands a great deal of computational resources. Quantum computers are capable of providing more precise simulations than classical computers, so the world gains a clearer vision of the universe, and discoveries can be made.

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How Quantum Will Change Everything in Forthcoming Years - Analytics Insight

i just returned to my office after a morning turkey hunt. at the time i pen this column, i am five days into our five-week spring gobbler season. if you are looking for a grab-and-grin image of a hunter holding his prized trophy and 500-700 words of delicate prose about how he gobbled on the roost, answered my tree yelping, flew down, and proceeded to gobble all the way to my lap stop reading. I will disappoint you greatly as an outdoor writer, seasoned turkey hunter, and someone who is afflicted by the call of a wild turkey. But if you enjoy reading about how a game bird makes an accomplished hunter a fool, multiple times mind you, then prop your feet up and enjoy.

The tom turkey has roosted for the night in the same general area all week. The setting is a spine ridge, about 40 yards wide, high atop a large piece of hunting ground above the Gauley River. The ridge is the highest point around with a knoll in the middle of the ridge. Three steep hollows break from the ridge with two heading towards the river and one heading in the opposite direction. In short, he has three options to start his day in this big country.

I have started my mornings three times on the ridge and twice I gambled and started below the ridge. He likes to gobble in the pre-dawn minutes when the world is waking up. In fact, he often gobbles before the owls hoot or the songbirds begin their sunrise celebration by singing as loudly as possible. Locating him at first light is no problem.

Just as the suns rays begin to illuminate the forest floor below him and he can see well enough to land safely on the ground, he flies down. Therein lies my problem, he pitches down to different locations every morning. If I set up south of him, he flies north. If I set up east of him, he flies west. Why and how does he know where I am I havent the foggiest.

This morning, I set up before dawn on a flat he used to land and gobble the following morning. He flew down to where I was set up yesterday. The day before, the same scenario. He is making me a little wacky trying to outsmart this old bird.

One morning, I decided to wait him out just to see what his next move was going to be in the mid-morning sunshine. Because of the steep terrain, trying to get in front of him quietly and unseen is somewhat difficult with the fringes leaning towards impossible especially when you have no idea which way he is going to go.

After the morning fly-down and gobbling session had ended, I made a guess and circled off the ridge, and entered the hollow way below him. I called and walked slowly up towards the ridge. He gobbled twice back at me, which is rare after the first light that he gobbles, and seemed to be heading slowly in my direction. After a long spell of nothing being heard but whitewater rushing through one of the many major rapids of the Gauley River, he gobbled again and was maybe 10 yards closer than two hours before still a long way off.

He has found a perfect neck of the woods, and he is the king of the big hardwoods. I am wood-wise and old enough to know that I should leave him and find another gobbling turkey to play the game with. Then again, I would miss our morning chess matches too much and be left wondering what he did in my absence.

I will keep in pursuit of the old bird and maybe one day he will mess up. If not, I am perfectly fine with letting him win. I am starting to enjoy my morning nature walks with the sun rising beautifully above the river valley. The brisk walk and climb to the top of the mountain is good exercise at least that is what I keep telling myself. Tomorrow is a new day and if you need me, I will be watching the sunrise and listening for him to gobble.

Link:

Chris Ellis: Playing chess with the king of the big hardwoods - Beckley Register-Herald

You can quit work, but you can quit retirement?

You can quit work, but can you quit retirement? Many people are. Why? The answer is about more than money and may surprise many people who are working hard to plan their dream retirement.

Pulling out of the driveway, my chatty rideshare driver volunteered that he retired a few years ago from the hotel that I had just checked out of.

I just had to quit, he said. Somewhat confused, I ask, Quit what? Working at the hotel?

Looking back at me in his rearview mirror, eyes twinkling, he responded briskly, No, retirement! I just couldnt do it anymore.

While accelerating onto the highway, he explained, It was becoming the same ole same ole. I just had to quit.

You can certainly quit a job but you can also quit retirement, at least in the classic sense of retirement. Psychologists refer to what my driver describes as habituation, when people become accustomed to or no longer react to a situation or stimulus. In short, even retirement, like decades of work before it, can lose its excitement and become what my driver craftily refers to as the same ole, same ole.

In fact, after about a year, nearly 2 in 5 people retire from retirement, at least part time. Its not that people are unhappy in retirement; it is just that they do not anticipate how much time there is in retirement. In my previous Forbes article, I argued that for people in relatively decent health, retirement life might be 8,000 or more days a full one-third of adulthood. Moreover, the big and small things many believed would fill their retirement days either didnt, or their routines became as tedious as the morning and evening commute they toiled for decades and came to loathe when working.

My driver could tell I was somewhere between baffled and amused. He volunteered why he went back to work. He shared, I enjoyed my time away from work for a while but found that I fell into a boring routine. I missed talking to people, meeting new people, and having a reason to go out for other than buying groceries or going to the coffee shop to see the same faces every day.

MassMutual recently released its 2024 Retirement Happiness Study, which reports the perceptions and self-reported behaviors of pre-retirees age 40-plus and people already in retirement. According to Matt DiGangi, Head of MassMutual Strategic Distributors Annuity Distribution, MassMutuals research on retirement happiness underscores the importance of managing expectations and preparing for retirement both financially and emotionally. The happiest retirees invest not just in their financial futures but also in their social circles, pastimes, passions, and physical health long before retirement. MassMutuals data indicate that 77% of pre-retirees believe they will feel happier on any given day in retirement compared to 67% of current retirees who say they are happier.

And what do people anticipate doing in retirement? What activities do they think will make them feel happier? Most (55%) pre-retirees do not see retirement as the end of work. Instead, 38% of pre-retirees view retirement as shifting focus to a new type of work or fulfilling purpose, while another 17% see retirement as simply working less.

The study findings further report that while many retirees had a plan or developed activities to keep them engaged, many were like my driver; they began to suffer from the same ole, same ole. When asked if they experienced more or less boredom, 38% of retirees reported being about as bored as anticipated, and another 16% discovered they were more bored than expected. Of those who returned to work, 83% did so as a choice, not a financial necessity.

The most revealing findings are what people think they will do in retirement versus what they report doing as retirees.

Travel is always a big and stated goal in retirement planning. A full 79% of pre-retirees said that travel was how they planned to spend their free time; instead, 55% of retirees actually reported traveling.

Likewise, 61% of pre-retirees said they will spend more time pursuing hobbies. Retirees are a little less excited about their hobbies in retirement; 52% report they are painting, gardening, and more.

Half (50%) of pre-retirees anticipate getting outside and exploring nature as a pastime; the data show that only a quarter (27%) of retirees actually seek out flora and fauna retirement.

Even volunteering drops from relatively high anticipation to modest participation. Of pre-retirees, 44% expect to volunteer, but only 22% of retirees report volunteering to fill their free time.

So, what are people doing in retirement? In fairness, more than half (56%) of pre-retirees say they plan to watch movies and television. Clearly, the entertainment and advertising industry sees ratings when they see retirees. A full 8 in 10, or 83% of retirees, report spending their free time watching movies and television.

Retirement planning is focused primarily on ensuring financial security. In contrast, longevity planning is about financial security and overall well-being which demands a holistic approach to ensuring enough money and preparing for what to do with the vast wealth of free time found in retirement. Here are four steps to managing the chances of retirement years becoming the same ole, same ole. These steps should begin decades before when you believe your last day of work will be.

A decade or more before retirement, begin noting and discussing with your partner or significant other places and activities that spark your interest and curiosity or simply make you smile.

Years before retirement, translate inspirations collected over time into specific activities, places, and social groups you may wish to pursue. You can begin forging connections to grow your social circle and become familiar with organizations you find interesting for future part-time and even full-time work or volunteering.

As retirement approaches, revisit and review your shared interests with your significant other and how they have evolved over the years. Compare your shared aspirations, expectations, and hesitations.

It's not easy but take retirement out for a test drive. Find time to volunteer, even work part time, or try out a gig job on weekends. If you are thinking you might move in retirement, use some of your banked-up vacation time to experience where you might live. Dont choose a resort hotel but consider renting a home where you might live and do the daily, often boring, life tasks, for example, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Identify and visit where you might meet new people. Participate in activities that may confirm or negate what you believe today will contribute to a happy retirement tomorrow.

I parted company with my driver at the airport. He smiled as he handed me my bag and said, I think I will find another ride or two, go home, see what the missus is up to, and maybe go back to work for an hour. I work and do what I want on my time now. Its better than being retired.

More here:
4 Steps To Take Decades Before Retirement To Keep It From Getting Old - Forbes

Uniquely Unlucky

In this article I'm sharing a selection of exceptional blunders. In the process of looking for great moves, while browsing through a huge database of games played online, there is an abundance of blunders to be found. Massive amounts of blunders are played all the time by millions of online players. Most blunders are as stupid as they are predictable. However, in this huge pile of stupid moves, occasionally youll find an unexpected move that is unbelievable as well as devastating.

In general, I dont feel sorry for people when they blunder, because that happens to every player often enough. Especially with common positions, I dont really care for players that blunder. But there is an exception.

One a kind blunders

When a move is terrible, unnecessary and also illogical, no sane person should play it, ever. Thats why I find it interesting whenever I discover such a crazy move being played anyway. Theres something fascinating about knowing that somewhere in the world exists an unlucky soul that had to live through the experience of playing that move. Thats why I save positions like this whenever I find one.

Practically, it just means that these blunders are only made by one player, according to openingtree.com. Its a tool that uses the Lichess games database for all games played at a 1600 rating or higher. When looking at all Lichess games and also including all games on chess.com, its likely there will be more players falling for the same traps, but as it stands, they are still unique.

The selection

# 1 Hillbilly Attack (Schaeffer Gambit)

Setup

The Hillbilly Attack is not a strong opening and this specific variation is fairly speculative, but it can be dangerous for players that aren't familiar with it. White is threatening mate very early in the game.

Key Moment

Black missed the threat and plays Nd7, blundering a mate in one. But that's not the part that interests me.

It's the one white player that lost the game from this position!

#2 Successful Pirc Trap

Setup

Thanks to my friend Kevin who shared this idea with me recently.

After blacks plays Nxf4 the game is over, white has a forced mate in 2 after Nxc7+ Kf8 Rd8#. In 7.6k games (99.3%) of all 7.7k games in the database white plays Nxc7+, only 57 players (0.7%) blunder and play Nxf4. After Nxc7+ around 1,000 black players resign and the other 6.7k players are forced to play Kf8.

Obviously, white's trick worked and the game is essentially over and black can safely resign, like the thousand players that did so on the previous move. But there's a reason people keep saying "never resign". And even in a desperate position like the one after Kf8, there's always hope. In this position 2.3% of players will not see the mate in one. Mostly because their greedy eyes are distracted by the free Rook. Only 13 white players (0.2%) are oblivious to both the checkmate and the free Rook, and will simply play a move like Nf3 or g3.

Key moment

My heart goes out to the player that played Rd7, arguably the worst possible move white can play, perhaps literally the worst move. Everything went according to plan, with finish in sight, all they had to do was drag the Rook a 7 square distance towards the enemy back rank. So close!

#3 Is this even Legall?

Setup

This one is not a mouse slip. This one is just a player being stupid.

It's hilarious that there are 825 players that go for the free Queen (5. Bxd1), but that's nothing special. Thousands of players have fallen for this trap or one of the many variations of the same tactic.

Key Moments

Again, there's one unlucky player that missed his opportunity to win and went on to lose the game even.

This one is worse. Playing Bxf7+ to force the King to e7, only to play Kxd1 anyway. This player was lucky enough to save some dignity and win the game.

#4 Caro-Kann Pawn Tactic

Setup

This a fairly common position in the Caro-Kann Botvinnik-Carls Defense. White makes a mistake in response to Qb6 and black can win the pawn on d4 after removing the defender.

Key moment

We can only speculate on what happened here, my money would be on a misclick.

That's All!

Thanks for reading.

Originally posted here:

One of a kind blunders - Chess.com

The cryptocurrency market has an equal number of tales to tell of the profits and losses that investors experience every day. During the bear market, the losses outnumber the profits and during the bull market, the vice versa occurs. While some make millions, the others turn pauper at the same period. Each shoe fits differently in the cryptocurrency market. However, meme coins have brought hope and luck to the cryptocurrency market as investors believe they can either make it or break it.

Also Read: BTC: Bitcoin Predicted To Reach $100,000 in September 2024

A cryptocurrency investor purchased the new meme coin DogWifHat (WIF) for $5,000 during its launch in mid-December 2023. WIF was trading at a nominal and affordable price of just $0.004 four months ago. However, the DogWifHat meme coin began to rally hard this year deleting all its zeroes and breaching the $3 mark.

Also Read: Ripple: XRP Forecasted To Rise 15 Cents, Reach $0.79

The rally was prime to generate the investor millions of dollars in just four months. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency investor did not taste success and failed to turn into a millionaire as he sold the meme coin after its first rally.

Yes, right after the first rally, the cryptocurrency investor sold meme coin WIF for $2,000 in profits cashing out $7,000. While he considered it a genius move, what came next shocked the living life out of him.

Also Read: VeChain Cryptocurrency: Can VET Deliver Profits in April 2024?

Meme coin DogWifHat rallied hard and the same $5,000 investment could have been worth $12 million today. All these profits could have been attainted in just four months of investing but the investor sold early and missed earning $12 million.

I put $5k into WIF, sold for $7k thinking I was a genius. My bag would be worth $12 million + right now. I lost over $100k trying find the next WIF. I am ruined.

I put $5,000 into WIF (DogWifHat), sold for $7,000 thinking I was a genius. My bag would be worth $12 million right now. I lost over $100,000 trying find the next WIF. I am ruined, wrote the anonymous investor on the Coinfessions Twitter page.

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Cryptocurrency: Man Misses Earning $12 Million in Meme Coin - Watcher Guru

If it werent for potatoes, wed be hungrier people. While delicious in any form, fries hold a special place in our hearts; theyre carb-y, salty, deep-fried, and have saved us from having to settle for salads at many fast-food restaurants. But, sadly, not all fries are vegan. Were here to tell you which ones are.

Jump to the chains

All fries should be vegan, right? After all, theyre just fried, salted potatoes. While many fries are free from animal ingredients, sometimes they contain dairy or may be fried in lard.

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In most cases, the fries you order from a fast-food restaurant are cooked in the same oil thats used to fry meat and other animal products. Some vegans avoid ordering food that may be cross-contaminated, but others are okay with this as long as the fries themselves dont contain meat or dairy ingredients. Its a choice thats ultimately up to the individual.

While most fries are vegan, there are a few that actually contain animal ingredients:

McDonalds: These fries are cooked in oil with natural beef flavoring, which doesnt contain any actual meat, but it does contain dairy.

Checkers: Their fries are coated in milk powder and fried in animal lard, so theyre unambiguously not vegan.

Popeyes: Just like the majority of Popeyes menu, the fries are not vegan. In this case, theyre fried in beef tallow.

This isnt a definitive list of which fries contain animal products. Ask your server about the ingredients if youre visiting a smaller chain or a local fast-food establishment.

We dug through the top fast-food chains in the US to uncover which ones have vegan fries. In no particular order, here are 13 fast-food fries that are free from animal-derived ingredients.

Burger King

Unlike its competitor McDonalds, Burger King has vegan fries.

Served piping hot and salted, you wont have to eat them alone since the Impossible Whopper has been on Burger Kings menu since the summer of 2019.

Apart from a burger and fries, youll find a few other vegan options at Burger King that will ensure you dont have to endure hunger pangs.

KFC

It may be known for fried chicken, but KFC gets credit for putting vegan fries on the menu.

The Secret Recipe Fries are seasoned with a secret blend of herbs and spices, according to the website. But what that really means is that theyre tossed with onion, carrot, tomato powder, and a little bit of MSG. Beyond fries, the chains vegan options are rather sparse. Unless youre in a pinch, go elsewhere for sustenance; but if youre looking for a quick bite in between meals, check out our vegan guide to KFC for the low down on vegan-friendly options.

In the meantime, well also be waiting for Beyond Fried Chicken to return in some way, shape, or form.

Wendys

We may not know if Wendys black bean burger will ever make its debut, but we do know one thing: the fries are vegan.

Wendys fries differ from other fast-food fries in that they leave the skin on. Were about it.

There are a few other plant-based options on Wendys menu that can help you round out your meal. If you need more to your meal, you could get a baked potato and have a starch-filled meal of both fried and baked spuds. And there may not be a veggie burger, but the Premium Bun is vegan.

Taco Bell

Yes, Taco Bell has fries! The Nacho Fries are known to come and go, so give them a try the next time you spot them on the menu. Traditionally, vegans have had to omit the dairy cheese to make this menu item plant-based, but in October 2023, the chain launched Vegan Nacho Friescomplete with dairy-free quesonationwide. For even more oomph, gussy up your fries with pico de gallo and guacamole.

At the time of writing, Taco Bell has since removed the Vegan Nacho Fries and dairy Nacho Fries from its menu, but be sure to keep an eye out for their return. The chain has yet to confirm if the dairy-free queso will make a comeback, but were keeping our fingers crossed. In the meantime, learn how to order vegan at Taco Bell with our trusty guide.

Five Guys

At Five Guys, there are two types of vegan fries to choose from. Theres the regular option, which is deep-fried in peanut oil before being salted. Then, there are the Cajun-style fries which are also fried in oil and then seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, paprika, oregano, white pepper, and red pepper powder. As for other vegan options, Five Guys is one of those fast-food chains where youll have to make do with just fries.

In-N-Out Burger

Although its only located in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Texas, In-N-Out Burger has earned a name for itself in the fast-food world. If you ever find yourself near one, unfortunately, you wont be able to get a burger, but the fries are vegan since theyre only fried in sunflower oil.

Arbys

This meat-centric establishment has a surprising number of vegan options, including fries! Both the crinkle-cut fries and the curly friesa rare white whale on fast-food menusare free from animal-based ingredients. Plus, depending on your location, you might find a third, regional option: the thick-cut homestyle fries.

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The regular fries at Sonic are vegan and primed for dipping into ketchup. But if youre seeking potatoes in another form, then youll be glad to know that the tater tots are also made with just plant-based ingredients.

Dairy Queen

No animal fat hereDairy Queens fries and hash browns are both vegan. You wont find many other animal-free options here, but surprisingly, Dairy Queen has a non-dairy version of its Dilly Bar, so you can indulge in a salty-and-sweet combination of French fries and ice cream.

Jack in the Box

Get ready, because Jack in the Box has a whopping three fries to choose from. The French fries, seasoned curly fries, and the potato wedges dont contain beef tallow or any other kind of animal-based ingredients, for that matter. Plus, the hash browns are vegan, too.

Whataburger

Fries are one of the few things on the Whataburger menu that are actually vegan. You can pair your spuds with a cheese-less garden salad and some apple slices, but not much else.

Hardees

Carls Jr. and Hardees both share incredibly similar menusboth chains happened to be owned by the same parent company, which has chosen to market them in practically the same way. Both have natural-cut fries but while Carls Jr. has waffle fries, Hardees has curly fries. All of them are vegan, but unfortunately, only Carls Jr. sells the Beyond Burger to help round out your meal.

Its not always fun eating just fries, but we appreciate how fries have been there to satiate our hunger in desperate times.

Shake Shack

In 2023, Shake Shacks menu additions made the fast-casual chain slightly more vegan friendly. The company unveiled two dairy-free dessert options (a rarity among mainstream chains): a non-dairy chocolate shake and non-dairy chocolate custard, both made in collaboration with NotCo, a Chilean food-tech company. For a sweet-and-salty combo, opt for the plain crinkle cut frieswhich are vegan as isand a non-dairy shake. If youre looking for a little more sustenance, with a few modifications, Shake Shacks vegetarian burgers can be ordered vegan. For more on how to order vegan, check our guide to Shake Shack here.

Kat Smith is a Queens, NY-based freelance writer and editor who loves cooking and discovering local vegan hidden gems.

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Actress Olivia Munn has shared her breast cancer diagnosis in a heartfelt post on social media and has asked her fans and well-wishers to find out about their - Breast Cancer Assessment scores, to keep themselves safe and carcinogen-free. Most ladies have a 12-14 % risk of getting this disease and for the ones who have a genetic predisposition, the risks go up to 60-80%.

More awareness about breast carcinoma is needed and Olivia is doing a great job, by sharing her story to make people aware of the growing risks and how a timely diagnosis can save your life.

Know About Olivia Munn!

Born on the 3rd of July, 1980 Olivia Munn is an American actress, who has played roles in blockbuster movies like Date Night, Iron Man 2, The Predator, and many more.

She became famous after playing a three-season-long portrayal of Sloan Sabbith in Aaron Sorkins political drama The Newsroom on HBO.

Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and has had four surgeries in the last 10 months, two of which were double mastectomies.

Women who are at a very high risk of getting breast carcinoma ( those with BRCA gene mutation), go through surgery, in which both bosoms are removed at the same time, to remove the carcinogens or reduce the risks. This surgery is called a bilateral or a double mastectomy. Olivia had to go through the same painful procedure, to minimize her cancer risks.

Lying on her hospital bed, she tried to inspire the world by sharing a photo of her post-surgery, in which she revealed more about her condition and said:

She took a genetic test last year in February, which checks for 90 different cancer genes - the test score came high and the test was negative for all the genes.

After this, she had several imaging tests and a biopsy too. Later it was found out that she has breast cancer on both her breasts. She went through a double mastectomy and has had multiple surgeries to date.

Olivia kept it private for some time before disclosing it to her fans and the world, stating:

While expressing her gratitude towards her family and friends who have supported her in this battle, Olivia also thanked her partner John Mulaney for supporting her through every surgery she underwent during this difficult time.

All over the world, her fans and well-wishers have appreciated her move of awareness and support, especially women who are victims of breast cancer.

Let us wish Olivia a speedy recovery and appreciate her bravery and resilience in her battle against breast cancer. Get well soon Olivia and may the odds always be in your favor.

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