For Reading
I completed the rewrite of the first section of This Doesn't Feel Like the Future. 62 pages.
I'd like a few readers to have a look and let me know what they think. If you're interested, please drop me an e-mail.
I helped Eli 24.3 edit his personal statement for a grad school application last week, and did the same for C's daughter on Sunday (for a teaching position in academia). I didn't realize when I started editing The Man You Trust ten years ago that I would actually learn a useful skill that could help the people I'm close to as well. It makes me happy.
Friday Links!
From Chris M., and it's an annual favorite: Bad writing becomes an art form in annual contest for world's worst prose.
From Wally, and this is terrific: ‘If 1.5m Germans have them there must be something in it’: how balcony solar is taking off. These are wonderful (Calvin and Hobbes fan art): All the Bacon and Hobbes comics I could find! A deep dive into shark movies: Jumping the Shark, Part II. An excellent read: How Honeycrisp Apples Went From Marvel to Mediocre. For you grognards out there: Armchair Dragoons Digital Convention.
From C. Lee, and it could have tremendous implications: New 'Brain Atlas' Spurs Life-Changing Stimulation Therapy. This is incredibly tragic, and putting politicians who ooze toxic masculinity in charge is going to make it worse: Leading cause of death for pregnant women is likely not what you think. Also discouraging: The lowdown on the high-pitched tone adopted by Japanese women. Bizarre: Who Came Up With Those Rental Income Requirements Anyway? In the U.S., it's not surprising: What it’s like to sleep in prison: Moldy mattresses, bright lights, nonstop noise. A thoughtful interview: Nvidia's Unique History and Culture. A fabulous read: Electric Jewellery and the Forgotten Genius who Lit Up Paris. These are quite, um, special: A Collection of 25 Ugly and Wonderful Christmas Trees From the 1950s and 1960s. A phenomenal article title and you might hit a paywall: The Problem With Red Dead Redemption 2’s Horse Testicles.
The Punch (part three)
What was most discouraging about the entire incident was not the incident itself.
I made a post on the Grand Rapids subreddit, just mentioning Andrew's description and that people should watch out for him because he wasn't well and was clearly in need of some kind of intervention.
There were quite a few responses.
Half of them were extremely kind. They were sorry it happened to me, they hoped Andrew would get the help he needed, etc.
The other half were all along the lines of "this is why you always carry a gun."
It's a good example of how this country is almost evenly divided into sane people and crazy people, and right now, the crazy people are in charge.
Also, I listened to the new Kendrick Lamar album for the for the first time since this happened. It's a banger.
The Punch (part two)
I talked to Eli 23.4 after the incident.
I thought I'd done a textbook job of de-escalating, but he said, "I'm very concerned about one thing you said. It's dangerous."
"What?"
"You said you were in control once you got him calmed down. That's not true. When you're dealing with someone in that situation who has a mental illness, you never have control. And neither do they."
That set me correct right away. It's true, and I hadn't been thinking about it that way. He also said that the guy might have decided he liked me and punched me again anyway because there were no filters on their behavior. This is also true, because a white SUV honking enraged him instantly.
I've never had a problem with a homeless person before. They might be mildly persistent at times, but never threatening, and most of them are very polite. And it hasn't made me afraid of them. It's no different now.
I did call the police and said the guy needed help because he clearly wasn't okay. They have a homeless outreach team that they sent to do a wellness check. Hopefully he's willing to accept help, although I'm not confident he will.
The Punch
He looked like a normal guy.
It was cold. I was walking on a pedestrian bridge over the river, and because it was so cold, no one else was around.
He was loitering at the point where the bridge ended, wandering around in no particular pattern, as I walked toward him. In his late 20s, I'd guess. Black puffer jacket and knit cap. White jeans, which are unusual in any season up here. Boots.
It was his walking around aimlessly that seemed a little odd, and I made a note of it, but I walked past him with no incident. I had on earbuds and was listening to the new Kendrick Lamar album.
After I passed him, I heard a shout behind me. "Do you want to go back to the U.K.?" he asked. I didn't know why he asked it at the time, but I was wearing my Oxford knit cap and it has a U.K. flag on the front. I didn't take out my earbuds, because I really didn't want to engage, but I said, "No, but I wouldn't mind going to Canada."
He kept talking, his volume rising steadily, but I didn't quite understand him. Then he assumed an aggressive poster and I realized I was in a situation.
He shouted a few more questions I didn't understand, then walked forward, wound up, and punched me in the stomach. Hard.
I didn't fall over, even though I was shocked. "What are you doing?" I shouted back.
"You're a fucking Trumper! I know it!" Oh, the irony.
He was wound up, ready to go again. I looked at him and said, "Are you kidding me? I'm not a Trumper. I hate Trump. I'm stick about the election."
"Oh, no," he said. "I'm so sorry. You looked like a Trumper." He walked up to me and actually shook my hand and kept apologizing. And talking.
At this point, it was easy to tell that he had some kind of mental illness. He'd start sentences but not finished them, shifting midstream into other topics. He was amped up: his walk, his gestures, his words.
My stomach hurt, but it didn't feel serious. I just wanted to keep him as calm as I could until I could get away from him, so I started talking back, asking him questions. I told him it was a bad idea to punch strangers, because he was going to run into someone who was either armed or tougher than he was."
"I don't give a fuck," he said.
He kept talking, telling me about his life in the Upper Peninsula before he came down to Grand Rapids (less than a week ago, he said). He moved here to get away from Trumpers, but it seemed they were everywhere here, too. He was calm, telling me this, but angry at the same time.
This conversation kept going for almost twenty minutes as he continued to follow me. Most of the time, he had his phone in front of him, ostensibly filming himself, although I doubt his phone was even on.
For some reason, I kept to my original route, which passed right by a grocery store. When we got to the intersection, we crossed against the light, and a white SUV honked at us.
He stopped in the middle of the street and started screaming at the SUV, and when it stopped in front of him, he ran around to the driver's side and punched the window as hard as he could. "Everyone in a white SUV is a Trumper!" he shouted.
I kept walking. I was almost to the grocery store when he caught up to me. "Are you going to go to the police?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I just need to sit down, because my stomach hurts."
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Bill," I said. "What's yours?"
"Andrew," he said, shaking my hand again. We went into the grocery store, where he was distracted by the displays and started wandering around, and I walked out.
He didn't follow me this time.
Tomorrow: what I did wrong (per Eli 23.4, which could have been a critical error).
Enshittification and new website recommendations, please
I've read The Verge every day for years. It was a good combination of science, tech, and gaming, with a bit of public policy thrown in.
Now they're touting a subscription, and almost all the articles I'm interested in reading are behind the paywall. Also, and this is a serious point of contention with me, they don't label those subscription-only articles, so you don't know you've hit the paywall until you've already clicked on the article.
I was curious, so I checked out the annual subscription price. $50. Not terrible, until you see one of the bullet points: "fewer, better ads." Really? I'm paying $50 a year for "better" ads? What garbage.
Basically every website I genuinely enjoy has been enshittified in the last two years. I still read a few (RPS, for example), but the only site that's still peak is Blue's News, which has never changed and is still entirely wonderful.
If you have any ideas for a website that covers the same general territory as The Verge but isn't trashed beyond recognition, please let me know.
Friday Links!
Leading off this week, a few long, interesting reads.
A burgeoning poker scandal: The latest in poker cheats: Tiny cameras that can see cards as they’re dealt.
This is riveting (thanks Kotke.org): Racing's Deadliest Day.
This is from C. Lee, but it's so good I've separated it from his other links. It's an incredible read: Eat What You Kill: Hailed as a savior upon his arrival in Helena, Dr. Thomas C. Weiner became a favorite of patients and his hospital’s highest earner. As the myth surrounding the high-profile oncologist grew, so did the trail of patient harm and suspicious deaths.
From Wally, and it's a good read: How Disney’s Horrible Marketing Forever Changed Sci-Fi Movies. A fantastic read (board games and autism): ‘Playing games turns me into a person who makes sense’‘Playing games turns me into a person who makes sense’. They may have to: Artificial Intelligence wants to go nuclear. Will it work? Everything about this is amazing: Scientists Think a Skeleton Found in a Well Is the Same Man Described in an 800-Year-Old Norse Text.
From C. Lee, and this could be important: New powder that captures carbon could be ‘quantum leap’ for industry. Ugh: Here's why bird flu fears are intensifying. Also: Just one mutation can make H5N1 bird flu a threat to humans, California researchers say. And still more: With bird flu cases on the rise, staff at California lab say they are overworked and burned out. Damn it, Amazon: Amazon Deceived Black D.C. Neighborhoods With Slower Deliveries, City Alleges. Who ever thought this could happen? Australia is grappling with too much solar power as renewable growth outpaces grid capacity. Unbelievable: Japanese scientists were pioneers of AI, yet they’re being written out of its history. This is fascinating in a gross kind of way: Bad influence.
Incoming
C came back from a visit to see her grandsons and contracted the Andromeda Strain/Black Death virus or something of that ilk. A week later, she's still fighting it off.
We've gone into biohazard laboratory lockdown mode. Masks on in all common areas, sleeping in separate rooms, etc. This is a bad virus, and I'm trying very hard not to get it because I have a colonoscopy tomorrow and a scan on Tuesday to see if an existing aneurysm grew in the last year.
C would never be this careful if the situation was reversed, but she's wearing a mask for me. I'm not used to someone being this kind.
I had to go on a low-fiber diet for three days, which is ass because my entire diet is basically some kind of fiber (fruit, cereal, brown rice, vegetables). At least I'm on the prep day now (starts at 5), because I'm ready to be done.
I'm doing the tablet prep instead of drinking gallons of disgusting liquid. This will just be taking pills at intervals and drinking entirely reasonable amounts of water (16 oz.) after each one. I'll let you know if it's better than the old method.
We're going mask-free after the procedure tomorrow and resuming commingling, thank goodness. It's been a challenging week, though.
Eli 23.4 returns to Colombia on Saturday. It will be his third trip, and he'll be doing more interviews as part of his field research.
This Doesn't Feel Like the Future (Update)
After scrapping a significant portion of the first 1/3 of the book, I've almost finished the rewrites and have a whole book again. I wouldn't have done this while writing the first book because I didn't have enough confidence in my own ability, but I'm on surer ground this time (still shaky, but surer). Lots of work to go, but now I have a stable foundation.
Writing a book is a strange combination of intentionality on both a conscious and subconscious level. I do many things on purpose, but many of the best connections in the story aren't immediately apparent until I see the threads that were already placed there. My subconscious is the unseen hand guiding characters around the world.
It's about 60 pages, and in another week or so, I'll be looking for a few readers. I'll let you know when it's ready.
Luigi
I have to confess that "We hate the healthcare system so let's kill a guy" isn't tracking with me.
The healthcare system in this country is despicable. A for-profit system incentivizes cruelty instead of service. And United Healthcare was, by far the worst, with a claim rejection almost three times the industry average (which is unacceptably high already). Monsters, really.
The way to fix the healthcare system, though, doesn't start with killing a CEO. It starts with electing people who want to do something about it. We didn't do that. We elected people at every level that will do nothing but encourage higher profits without any consideration at all for the patients.
This guy shouldn't be lionized. He wasn't Jason Bourne. He was so drunk on his fame that he strolled into a McDonald's hoping (I believe) that someone would recognize him. He fancied himself a folk hero instead of a murderer.
It's a sad story from every dimension. No one struck a blow for anything. Even if he gets a hung jury, which is a definite possibility, does anyone think the healthcare industry will somehow become more humane? Executives will just hire security details and remain as anonymous as possible.
Vote for people who will do something.
Welcome to the Holidays
Everything about this day, right from the start, was designed to annoy me.
I had to be at the doctor's office by 7:40 for a physical, which meant driving on the highway in the dark during rush hour.
Back at 8:45, start writing at 9. Work until 10:15, then straight to physical therapy (sciatica). Left at 11:30 and drove straight to the pool.
Wound up having breakfast at 1:30. Poor planning.
The physical therapy guy I'm working with is tremendous, with an assortment of impressive insights, but he whistles to the holiday music that's playing on loop. Sometimes he sings along in this faux Bing Crosby voice. How do you say "I really respect your knowledge, but if you don't stop that I'm going to strangle you" without being, um, offensive?
The guy really knows his stuff, though, and I'm seeing improvement. I'm hopeful he'll cure me, if he lives that long.
Rudolph
I told C that I'd always loved
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (particularly Hermey, who wants to be a dentist), and she scrunched up her face and said she didn't because she found the narrative problematic.
I laughed.
She then explained, quite succinctly, that Santa had no use for Rudolph when he found out he had a disability (the red nose). It was only when he turned out to be useful that Santa approved of him as a reindeer. The rest of the citizenry in Santa's village felt the same way.
Upon further reflection, I realized she was right.
It was a legendary curmudgeon take and also the correct one. As such, the feature has been renamed Workers With Disabilities and the Toxic Employer.
