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Medieval // REM
Not especially relevant, and I’ve said it before in a different context. When programmers add comments to code, we think we’re doing something new and modern. Here’s a piece of my C++ code from Audin, my all-purpose courseware engine. The active parts are on the left, and my explanations and reminders are on the right.…
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Pope gets it.
The old joke: Is the Pope Christian? was supposed to be a self-evident tautology. For too many years the pope was not a Christian. Now it’s a tautology again. From Prevost: = = = = = START QUOTE: Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility to stop the tragedy of war before…
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Reprint plus encouraging news
Linked in previous, worth a reprint as a more general look at currencies and standards. = = = = = START 2024 REPRINT: An 1880s British book on banking gave a simple statistic that altered my view of how money works. The statistic: Earlier I summarized an American book from the same era, which I…
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Cursed weight, sacred weight, part 2 of 2
= = = = = MEDIEVAL METROLOGY PART 4 = = = = = Why has gold been a standard** for so many centuries? Partly because it’s a suitable standard in a metrology sense. It doesn’t mix easily with other elements, it doesn’t degrade with time, and it can be purified and verified. But metrology…
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One more inevitability
Previous item is a perfect example of why the RIGHT kind of price controls are needed. Enid hasn’t been affected by the real estate bubble. When I compare rental and sale prices there with what I remember from the 70s, the current numbers are in line with overall inflation. A $100 apartment then is $700…
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Enid’s Fallingwater is for sale
It’s a fantastic Wrightish design, every part custom engineered and custom-made. It’s in The Woodlands, Enid’s best neighborhood for many years. Built in ’92, it wasn’t there when I lived in Enid in the ’70s. From the blurb: Upon completion the home was featured on the HGTV series “Extreme Homes”. When entering the walled courtyard…
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How a Sucker Filter works
Spam email says: Congrats! You’ve received a United Healthcare reward! You have been accepted! ONLY 1 DAY LEFT to avail this DEAL! Do they realize United Healthcare is so universally hated that most people want to REWARD the man who committed justice on UHC? I’m sure they do. This is exactly how a Sucker Filter…
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Dream helped to answer a question
A 1980s coal pollution project popped up in a dream recently. Thinking about this project led to an answer. At that time Penn State was eagerly hosting hundreds of Chinese grad students. Universities favor foreign students because they pay full price while most domestic students have discounts. They could afford full price because the Chinese…
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Random neighborhood note
SpokaneNews always shows a map when it reports a car crash or overdose or brush fire. They reported a crash at the corner next to the VA Hospital, a common crash spot. Cars on Wellesley often zoom right through the four-way stop. The map shows street names inside the VA Center. Independence, Liberty, Memorial, Freedom,…
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Pull or push
Following on previous item about writing vs thinking. A closely related theme seen in the same places: You need to consume lots of books before you can write. First: This axiom makes it too easy to defend AI. Sam’s machine consumes billions of books and other writings and mushes them all together to form its…
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What good is writing?
If you aren’t writing you aren’t thinking. Variations on this theme, allegedly quoted from the usual suspects, are common in substack and other literary places. It doesn’t make a lick of sense. Humans were thinking in constructive ways LONG before writing was established. They were thinking well enough to selectively breed plants and livestock, to…
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Work done.
Finished the current edition of courseware this morning, pending some checks and testing. I’ve been adding more value and beauty when possible, partly inspired by medieval history reading. The previous edition of this book was sort of rushed and hasty, with too many shortcuts. In a nap after finishing, the dream-scripter rewarded me with a…
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Red and black in daily life
The oldest principle in the ceremonial side of life is Say the black, do the red. Poets, politicians, priests, and publicists followed this rule. Churches formalized it with a series of actions (red) to be performed by the priest and the people, with standard TUNES (black) accompanying each action. Mainline churches and megachurches have abandoned…
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Excellent point.
Somebody on substack made a STRONG point about schools failing to prepare us for life. I hadn’t thought about this failure before. If art classes included drafting, they would have helped future architects and designers and engineers. I was inclined toward architecture. When I visited neighbors or friends, I didn’t waste time in boring old…
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Size = subject
A silly online poll asks how you arrange your bookshelf, and gives four illustrations. By size, by color, by author, or random. The poll didn’t include the way libraries do it, by subject. I arrange books by subject but not intentionally. I sort by size, which also sorts by subject. With only a few exceptions,…
Polistra's Mill
Be your own beacon.
Polistra's Mill 