Tag: NOW I SEE
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Wrong in opposite ways
A couple of online comments on the public school system got me thinking. The result of the thought surprised me. One of the criticisms is extremely old. Public schools prepare you for assembly line jobs. The other is a bit newer: Public school trains you to follow instructions, not to complete tasks on your own.…
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It’s mostly offshoring, not automation
Waymo has admitted that its “autonomous” vehicles are mostly remote control, only partly autonomous. The controllers are in low-wage Phillipines. Waymo claims that the controllers only intervene in extreme situations, but I’m sure we’ll get the usual gradual increments of the real truth. Remote controlled vehicles are WAY older than Waymo. Trains had some remote…
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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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From examining to incorporating
I’m always aware of the long history of computing, algorithms and data webs. I’ve made dozens of tech history pieces exploring the history and emphasizing that our “new innovations” are permanent parts of all such systems. This blog could be titled No, it’s not new. Here’s a not new I hadn’t noticed before! This 1977…
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It’s not an algorithm.
We constantly bitch about the obnoxious results of algorithms on the web. New thought: The most obnoxious shit happens when there ISN’T an algorithm. An intelligence, whether you call it a brain or an algorithm or a program, does three things: 1. Take input from the world. Different types of intelligence take input in different…
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Streetpecker
Last night’s big rain must have pushed some bugs and critters to the surface. Squirrels and birds are busy on the soil today. One bird seemed unusual. It was brown with a chevron marking on its chest, and its beak was long and straight. It was pecking FAST in the crack between the curb and…
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Almost sounded good
Normally I skip the Youtube ads for gimmicks like perpetual motion machines. Ended up listening to one when it interrupted a clip I was using as background noise while eating. This one was a miniature air conditioner. The action is unquestionably interesting. Instead of compressing and expanding Freon in a closed set of pipes, it…
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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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Elon = Jim Farley
Listening to old and new podcasts on the Post Office, I’m somewhat immersed in postal lore. The immersion led to a connection. Elon’s role as chief campaigner for Trump is NOT new. More broadly, the Tech Tyrants have replaced the Postmaster General, formerly a ‘patronage’ office. Presidents appointed their chief campaigner as Postmaster. The most…
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Latin note
Random language note while I’m thinking of it… Sherri Olson’s books on medieval England are full of quotes from village documents, always including both the actual text and the modern version. The court rolls were mostly in Latin, and church services were also in Latin. Villagers took part in the courts often, monthly in some…
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NonKarens need not apply
Why churches are mostly made up of Karens. Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, has issued new norms for the posture of the faithful during Mass. To guard against “confusion and disunity,” the archbishop said that the congregation should kneel from the Agnus Dei until after Communion. The archbishop said that the faithful should receive…
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Why I read Wolf
I always check Wolf Richter’s column. Often it’s “not in my department”, but sometimes he provides a huge SO THAT’S WHY! His latest AHA is a description of the Treasury General Account, which is exactly like a normal checking account. All regular income (taxes, fees, bond sales) is deposited in the TGA, and all regular…
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Explains a lot
Turns out Substack is not a brave little rebel as the leaders want us to think. Like everything else in the tech realm it’s owned by one of the Effective Altruist devils. Marc Andreesen is one of the worst. This explains many things that didn’t make sense by the struggling young innovator myth. First it…
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It’s customary
I was thinking about the cozy relationship between oil companies and “climate” organizations. Petroleum is a major funder of the “climate” loonies. It looks corrupt, and it should annoy the “climate” loonies, but it’s actually normal. Extractive industries usually pay tribute in one way or another. It’s not a nuisance, it’s the basic cost of…
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Why the shift?
Last week I was thinking about the universal convergence of former activists against Trump’s holocaust. All of them in my circle have now become Trump cultists. I remembered that Vietnam protesters DIDN’T flip. After the war was done we moved into normal life concerns, but none of us fell in love with LBJ or Nixon.…
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