Category: Uncategorized
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LemonADA 3
Damn, this is turning out to be fun! Lemon: Last night I was thinking about other pointless expenditures caused by ADA, especially the curb cuts in places where there isn’t a sidewalk. Thought derailed to traffic lights with announcements on the Walk cycle. 20, 19, 18, 17, etc. LemonADA: Well, those lights turned out to…
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Random linguistic[s] question
Why are some traditional subjects plural in form? Most ic words are plural in form and singular in meaning. Physics, mathematics, electronics, linguistics, politics, statistics. And within physics, mechanics and statics and hydrodynamics. When those words are used as adjectives, they’re singular or add al. With al: physical, mathematical, political, statistical, mechanical. Without al: linguistic,…
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More LemonADA
Following on previous LemonADA item. Lemon: Had a moment of panic this morning. While running up ADA alt-texts for the second courseware package I noticed that the source files I’m using aren’t up to date, and I can’t find the latest ones. Back in 2023 the current publisher finally acquired the rights for some better…
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Tiring words
The most tiring word this year is AGENCY. All the fashionable “intellectuals” are using AGENCY in every sentence. It has no meaning. Substack’s news feed is cheap and predictable. Lots of big tech money supports Substack. They could afford better AI. Of course the news is pure DNC talking points, which is the sole meaning…
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Word we haven’t heard
I’m grinding along with ADA additions to two separate courseware packages. Got one package done, starting on the second. I can move forward a bit faster now, partly because my routine is established and partly because the intro material is similar. In the first few lessons I can just copy the description from the same…
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Year-end recharge
Trying to recharge my purpose batteries after a deep discharge this year. Reprinting the basic Foy Rebellion piece written in 2022 when the Bush-Trump torture chamber was still running full speed in the demon-owned states, including here. = = = = = START 2022 REPRINT: Yesterday I was discussing the cultural IMPERATIVE to re-employ ordinary…
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Year end shit for 2025
I guess I’ll turn this 2014 reprint into the annual Year End Shit. It’s a heartfelt piece expressing how I feel about the world, and has some up-to-date resonance. Normally I try to reprint or link my best tech history piece or my best blog writing. This year I’ve been tired and distracted by external…
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Imagination, not Intelligence part 2
The silliest point-missers think the I in AI stands for Intelligence, and bash it for “hallucinations” instead of logic. Nope, the I stands for Imagination. Altman knows what he’s doing and knows who he’s destroying. There’s no need for a new kind of intelligence. COMPUTERS BEAT RATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CENTURIES AGO. The first mechanical adders were…
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Self-shooting fish in barrels
“Science” articles about longevity and happiness ALWAYS miss the true cause. Latest stupid example: Playing tennis is the best way to stay healthy as you get older. To make it more obvious, the headline calls tennis “racquet sports”, whatever that means. Who plays tennis? Rich assholes play tennis. Assholes who have private doctors and private…
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Another “fair” source
I haven’t bothered with ANY news lately while I’m trying to push through a frustrating stage of courseware. Another “unbiased” source has popped up. Allsides News aggregates the news in three columns, from left, center and right sources. Previous attempts always revealed the standard journalistic viewpoint with hidden assumptions and loaded words, ESPECIALLY on “climate”…
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Carver and AI
Seen in the anti-AI department of Substack: = = = = = START QUOTE: When everyone has an advantage, it is no longer an advantage. When everyone can learn and create anything at the click of a button, your advantage comes from slowing down, focusing on your craft, doing the right things manually, and acquiring…
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Originalist interpretation
We’re back to the noble and idealistic purpose of our founders: PIRACY. So far we’ve boarded and stolen three oil tankers. Venezuela dares to export oil at a time when we don’t like Venezuela, so we are officially entitled to steal the ships and claim the oil. Gang logic. Our founders were pirates. They wrote…
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Almost up to TRS-80!
Windows 11 has achieved what previous tech predictors thought impossible: It matches the performance of a TRS-80 with cassette drive memory, or the first PC with 144k floppies. Fine work, Microsoft! Sardonic off. I’ve been using Win 11 for several weeks now, so I have a good idea of how various programs run. Absolutely everything…
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LemonADA
This month I’ve been grinding through the mostly annoying** task of adding ADA alt-text to courseware. It’s annoying (as abovementioned) because there are few if any blind students in speech and hearing, and because this material is intrinsically visual, not amenable to verbal description. The guidelines are vague, contradictory, and mandatory. You must obey but…
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