Category: Uncategorized
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Extremely positive signs from schools!
1. Enid High has an aviation class. They spent the last three years BUILDING THEIR OWN AIRPLANE! It has been certified as flightworthy by FAA. It’s a beautiful plane and a fantastic achievement. 2. On a much smaller scale, nice to see a school teaching math the RIGHT way! Cheney High, south of Spokane, is…
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Positive signs from the neighborhood
For 20 years a vacant apartment building was the worst thing in the neighborhood, constantly squatted and constantly visited by cops who weren’t allowed to do anything. This situation was NOT understandable. The property was owned by an LLC who could afford to fix things if they wanted to.** In 2017 the squatters burned the…
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More positive signs from mainstream
Via Columbia Journalism Review. A few larger TV stations are cutting loose from the networks and becoming truly local. Best of all, it’s not about Trump, it’s about MONEY. The stations decided that networks are charging too much for nothing meaningful except big league sports. Most people get their entertainment elsewhere now. The stations also…
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Hardass for hardass
It’s easy to tell when a new stronger batch of fentanyl comes along. The overdose deaths suddenly spike. I’m getting the same spiky feel from the AI addicts. They seem to be smoking a batch that tells them to go hardass, to smash the remaining skeptics and heretics. Altman’s distribution chain is much more instant…
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As instructed by a dream
Last night’s dream told me to think about chordal methods in adapting courseware for blind folks. I’m not sure what it wants, but let’s reprint this tribute to one remarkable woman as a start. = = = = = START 2020 REPRINT: Earlier I had wondered why chordal technology wasn’t more widespread. It seemed especially…
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More on cursive
Mentioned in previous item, also worth a reprint. = = = = = START 2016 REPRINT: Wandering through KSHS again, found this collection of documents left over from the founding of Bluemont College, which became K-State after Isaac Goodnow finagled a state purchase. Goodnow was an IPO man in modern terms, picking up capital by…
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Good question about learning
Quora sometimes has a question worth thinking about. Do people need to forget old things so they can learn new things (new knowledge)? First impulse: Yes, especially with skills. When you’ve mastered an inefficient process or poor word usage or poor posture, you need to abandon the old movements or shapes to get into the…
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Why Hank?
Thinking as usual about Henry Ford. A few very old friends were allowed to call him Hank. I’ve called him Hank in the Hank vs Frank comparison. Wait. How did Henry shorten to Hank? Harry is the more obvious phonetic elision, and the many King Henrys were often called King Harry in literature and song.…
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No Bud Light in spam
Big corporations weirdly assume that everyone is “non-binary”. They pitch all their advertising toward the 2%, not the 98%. Spammers are realistic. Most of the spam in my inbox is unrelated to sex because most of life is unrelated to sex. The “offers” range from insurance to roofing to supplements. When the spam is sex-connected,…
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MBS is the answer
Quick take on Polymarket by Ted Gioia, who knows the biz end of show biz: It’s getting harder to earn money in the entertainment business. But it’s getting easier to earn money gambling on the entertainment business—especially if you own the betting platform. The same is true of all industries. At one time the stock…
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Book didn’t disappoint 2
Continuing random observations on the wonderful Field Guide to American Houses. In the 70s when I worked as a typesetter, I noticed two unavoidable typos. These two words, Commerical and Sante Fe, are unambiguous. Unlike us[e]able or Pittsburg[h], these have only one possible spelling, but the incorrect version is irresistible. Even carefully edited history books…
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Raking record
Time to start the roof-raking record for this winter. As always, this should be in my private daily worklog, but I started doing it here, so I’ll continue the tradition. = = = = Last winter started late and needed only one raking. First raking this year Jan 8. Depth was 3″, not necessarily enough…
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Fusion is real!
This is interesting! Microsoft is building a new fusion reactor for its own purposes, in central Washington near Wenatchee. It will supposedly be turned on in 2028. I didn’t realize fusion was anywhere near practical or commercial, but Microsoft thinks it is. Every new reliable energy source is worth a few cheers, even if it’s…
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LemonADA 5
Basic rule for inventions, genomes and languages: The original version starts with all the needed features. Over time as it branches into different subtypes for different purposes, it simplifies and loses features. While grinding through my courseware data files to insert alt-text for screen readers, I’m bumping into a few vestigial leftovers of a MUCH…
Polistra's Mill 