Way too much time is spent by scientists defining phenomena in ways that literally no one does and then declaring it doesn’t exist. Other than the ability to publish more papers, who does this help? Why do this? How does one learn to think this poorly?
I’m not sure how concerned we should be that we don’t know how AI/ML is able to discern a picture of a dog from a picture of a monkey because I don’t know how I do that, either — I just do.
Neuroscientifially speaking, that is, we have no idea.
In any model of the world there will be missed cases and overfitting. It’s as true of humans as it is of machines.
Wow, Planet Fitness sounds like a joke gym.
Then there’s the fact that certain bodybuilding exercises—like dead lifts and clean-and-jerks—are prohibited.
What kind of busted-ass gym doesn’t allow deadlifts? Ha. Is that some kind of joke? A deadlift is a foundational exercise. If you’re not deadlifting, you’re wasting a lot of time if you’re weightlifting.
The facility also comes equipped with a “lunk alarm”—a siren that is supposed to go off whenever someone grunts too loudly or drops a heavy weight on the floor. (The latter is a moot point at most Planet Fitness locations, where they don’t even have any large weights.) I’ve never set off the alarm, but on more than one occasion, in different locations around the country, I’ve been lectured by staffers for breathing too hard when lifting, and I’ve gotten dirty looks for excessive sweating in the weight room. Clearly it’s not my planet either.
What the hell? Who goes to this gym and why? I mean I don’t like gyms either, because I am not social and I like lifting what I want to lift when I want to lift it. But I was looking for gyms when we travel and this isn’t even on the possibilities list. I breathe like a camel climbing a mountain when I deadlift (not that it’s even allowed in joke gym.)
Although it seems paradoxical—like setting up an all-you-can-eat buffet with a “No Fatties Allowed” sign—there’s a lot of money in tailoring a fitness club to people who don’t actually want to work out.
It never would’ve occurred to me to start a gym for people who don’t want to work out but I do have to admit, that is brilliant. Simply genius. The signifier more important than the signified and all that.
Meanwhile, I’ll be over here busting my ass, dropping weights on the floor, grunting and breathing hard. And oh yeah, actually getting strong. (I do miss the clean and jerk and the snatch, and I can’t really do those at home safely.)
There was a milfic book I read a few months ago that at first I thought was pretty ridiculous and I initially started reading it only for its comedic value but then I ended up really liking it.
It continued to be ridiculous but also had real heart and well-paced drama. And now, because I read so many books, I cannot find it and don’t remember enough details to easily Google it so that I can read the rest of the series. Dammit all.
I burned through that book in a few hours is why my dim recall, and the fact I’ve read several hundred books since then. But now it’s driving me a bit crazy that I cannot locate it nor the series.
The first 10 on today’s playlist:
I wonder if they'll crack the case? https://t.co/tq0tDrXhSf
— Stephen Schwartz (@AtomicAnalyst) January 24, 2019
There’s no tailing; we’ll sea. Might be able to claw them back, might not.
It was probably a lobster mobster who pinched them, hoping to shell them on the black market. Butter not get our hopes up. These things often end up in the tank.
I’m glad I’m not on Twitter so I can’t get banned for saying I am gonna punch some Nazis.
Because if I see some Nazis, I’m punching them. It’s the right and proper thing to do.
Only a few years ago, Dems and elite media portrayed Bernie Sanders’ ideas as unrealistic. Now his longtime agenda is portrayed as new, innovative, exciting and mainstream. pic.twitter.com/B151T1laHl
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) January 25, 2019
Bernie did more to shift the ol’ Overton Window than anyone else in the past 20 years. It is very strange, however, to see in many cases the same people who berated him and his ideas as completely unrealistic and delusional now championing them as utterly mainstream and obvious.
I mean, I’ll take it. But still weird.
Since I hadn’t watched it in over 20 years, I decided I wanted to watch the Belly “Gepetto” video tonight. And I found this:
Now during the 90s I watched the “Gepetto” video about 900 times. That’s probably not much of an exaggeration as I was absolutely obsessed with Belly. So I was confused as I distinctly recalled Tonya having ear-length blonde hair (not red) and wearing a white dress in the video, and a bunch of kids running around clipping guitar strings and such. But it’s listed as the “official video” so I thought maybe my memory from all those years ago was just faulty.
After a bit more searching, though, I found the below video which is actually the one that aired all the time around 1993 or so, not the one listed as the “official” video. Why the change and re-writing of history, I don’t know. But the video that actually aired is better. And if you listen closely, you’ll notice that the mix and song is slightly different too. Also, Gail Greenwood (the bass player) is not in the first video, and is in the second one (and that’s whose very toned belly is featured in the thumbnail). It’s a 90s mystery!
The second video and song is definitely better — the bass really slaps as Greenwood was a more talented bass player than whoever was playing in the first version of the song.
The first 10 on today’s playlist:
