Dubious Quality
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
A Message
I sent this in in text form to Eli 23.3 today:
I had a crazy idea to write a book called "Embrace the Pain: the New Science of Stretching" and fill it with pseudoscience and speculations about cavemen and become an international fitness phenomenon but I don't have the energy to go on Oprah.
The scary thing is I think this would probably work.
C has a better idea, though: a small volume of "curmudgeon haiku."
Monday, November 18, 2024
An Exam Nightmare, or Not
Eli 23.3 took the GRE online this morning.Thursday, November 14, 2024
Friday Links!
Leading off this week, a terrific read: How a stubborn computer scientist accidentally launched the deep learning boom.
This is so outstanding: The Onion wins Alex Jones' Infowars in bankruptcy auction.
Amazingly talented: Jon Batiste Hears Green Day for the First Time.
No surprise: Nearly three years since launch, Webb is a hit among astronomers.
An excellent read: 'You mean I have to stop my experiment?' Not all Nobel laureates react the way you might expect.
From C. Lee, and it's terrific: Who Invented These Everyday Items. This is thoughtful: A day to reflect on life, aging and our own mortality. A brilliant innovation: Japanese team makes concrete in different way to cut CO2 to zero. This is helpful: Location tracking of phones is out of control. Here’s how to fight back. Good grief: Hospitals adopt error-prone AI transcription tools despite warnings. This is pathetic: Big Tech Is Going to Take Ass-Kissing to New Heights.
From Wally, and it's a great idea: Space stations are loud — that's why NASA is making a quiet fan. This is an utterly fantastic read: I … Am Herman Melville!: Sam Weller details the tempestuous collaboration of Ray Bradbury and John Huston on the production of the 1956 movie “Moby Dick.”
Historical Oddities
Adjacent to our neighborhood, I see multiple bowling alleys with signs looking something like this:Wednesday, November 13, 2024
To No One's Surprise
Did I mention Eli 23.3 is running a marathon two days after Thanksgiving? It's hard to keep up.
He called me three weeks ago and said his friend was going to run the Hamburg marathon in September/October but didn't because of illness. So they're going back together, have plotted a course accurate to the meter, and will run it in the very early hours of the 30th. He doesn't care about a t-shirt or a finisher's medal; he just wants the experience.
His training base is going to be low--maybe 25 miles a week--but I have decades of experience running low-mileage marathons (or used to), so we talked for a while about strategies. Marathons are all about making good decisions during the race.
If anyone can make good decisions in the moment, it's him, so he should be fine. He ran a half-marathon this morning at an easy pace and said it felt great, so he's adapting quickly to longer runs.
I told him I'll be thrilled when there's another member of the family marathon club.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Engines
As part of a longer article I read today, this phrase stood out (I know, it's from LL Cool J, but it still works): a dream isn't a target, it's an engine.Monday, November 11, 2024
We May Be On To Something
It's a small sample size so far, but for everyone who has responded, the theory about time perception for early/late people has held. People who are always on time perceive a minute as lasting less than a minute (kudos to John Harwood, who lasted all of 24 seconds. I think this means he attends events before they're even conceived).What I need now, in addition to more respondents in general, is an additional sample from people who are always late. I doubt that any of you fall into that category, but if you know someone who's always late, please cajole them into testing this. Thanks.
I Did Not Expect This
I called my orthopedist a few weeks ago about my sciatica and was referred to a "spine and pain management" specialist.Thursday, November 07, 2024
Friday Links!
Leading off this week, it's mud: Special mud rubbed on all MLB baseballs has unique, 'magical' properties, study finds.
From Chris M., and it's an incredible story: Seem like peanut allergies were once rare and now everyone has them?
From Wally, and I only heard about it when it was going away: Amazon to shut down Kindle Vella serial book platform, saying it ‘hasn’t caught on as we’d hoped’. Allegedly: Scientists Just Named This 2024 Indie Horror Movie One of the Scariest Films Ever Made. They mention the Jaws theme: What makes music scary? Instrumentation, composition and your imagination. This was unfortunately inevitable: AI Is Fueling a Science Fiction Scam That Hurts Publishers, Writers, and Even Some of the Scammers. From the Midwest: Pasties, Our Regional Comfort Food.
From C. Lee, and it shouldn't be a surprise: Can video games improve your cognitive performance? Western-led study says yes. A fantastic essay: Why play a fascist? Unpacking the hideousness of the Space Marine. Alarming: Lawsuit: Chatbot that allegedly caused teen’s suicide is now more dangerous for kids. A wild story: Woman stuck upside-down between 2 boulders trying to retrieve her phone freed after 7 hours. Insane: The American Dream Now Costs $4.4 Million. Incredible: Scurvy Is Making a Surprising Comeback. The Chicago Manual of Style: A Venerable and Time-Tested Guide. A fraud, of course: The Inconvenient Scholarship of Kevin Roberts: Samuel G. Freedman traces the long and contradictory intellectual journey of the man behind Project 2025. Bizarre: Factorio has Silicon Valley tycoons like Elon Musk under its spell, and one $7 billion CEO is letting employees expense the game. Everything is bad for you, or isn't: Standing desks are bad for your health – new study. A fascinating possibility: Can walls of oysters protect shores against hurricanes? Darpa wants to know.
A Theory
Wednesday, November 06, 2024
Vampires
We could all use some entertainment about now.
I saw Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person last weekend and it was fantastic. Vampires have turned into such interesting subjects for film treatment, particularly because no one is too worried about following canon. All these films seem to diverge in their own interesting way.
Another brilliant (and hilarious) film is El Conde, which depicts Pinochet as a centuries-old vampire. It's very dark and incredibly funny.
Either one of these are excellent distractions from anything you'd like to be distracted from.
A Day to Feel Sick Inside
Well, America made it's choice. It's a dark day for us, and for the world.
In my lifetime, I've often overestimated the intelligence and character of the American public.
Never again.
Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Good Luck, Everybody
I've been saying this about the election since July, when I discussed it with Eli 23.3. I still believe it.
Woman will vote in unprecedented numbers in this election. They are angry that their reproductive rights are being taken away (and men should be angry as well). So many women will vote that they will determine the election.
This election is not close, and let's hope I'm right.
Please do not vote for the party who wants to take your rights away.
Good luck and I hope you have short lines today if you haven't already voted. C volunteered as an election worker, which means she'll be working from 6 a.m.-9 p.m. tomorrow. I have utter respect for what she's doing, and I'm also relieved I'm not pulling that shift.