Most people seem to be running repetitive and pointless optimization exercises only where the streetlight glow illuminates. My goal is to undertake optimization exercises in the formless void of the space of possible minds and the permutations of sentient existences thereby realized1.
Month: August 2024
Average Car Insurance Prices Expected to Hit $2,500 This Year.
Democratic attacks on JD Vance are working. Good. That guy is a fucking weasel.
Press Must Cover Trumpโs Cognitive Decline. But they will not. They need the election to be a close one.
Faking William Morris, Generative Forgery, and the Erosion of Art History.
The coming Republican freakout.
Mass deportation would accomplish nothing.
China Is in Denial About the War in Ukraine. Why Chinese Thinkers Underestimate the Costs of Complicity in Russiaโs Aggression. Yeah, long-term China has really fucked itself over there.
โStress on Shelvesโโthe Battle for Space in Store Aisles.
Why false claims that a picture of a Kamala Harris rally was AI-generated matter. There are absolutely zero signs of AI generation there and I am exceptionally good at detecting such manipulations.
Ven Diagram
The US didn’t become wealthy because of its good institutions, but it also did not become unwealthy because of its institutions. Which is how many states do it, such as Venezuela and much of the rest of Latin America. That’s also important and it is equally childish to believe otherwise.
AIrhead
Eric Schmidt Says Google Is Falling Behind on AIโAnd Remote Work Is Why.
LOL, remote work doesn’t have jack shit to do with why Google is behind in AI. Most remote staff work longer hours and are more available than prior to that inflection point. I know I certainly do and am. And have observed this with my own staff. Also the fact that I am and they are more productive. This is especially true if you don’t define “productive” as many managers do — i.e., “I can ask an inane question I’ve already asked 500 times for the 501st time and get an answer right away.”
That sort of nonsense makes inferior managers feel productive but is not achieving anything other than wasting time and destroying actual productivity.
Stile
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother writing emails or documentation at work. No one reads or pays attention to a damn thing. Reading might be fundamental, but no one seems to give a crap.
Gamer Grate
Gamergateโs Aggrieved Men Still Haunt the Internet.
This article doesn’t understand, for the most part, what the Gamergate goofuses were upset about.
As with incels, I didn’t approve of their methods but most of the GG grievances weren’t actually incorrect or misguided. It’s just that hating and harming women wasn’t and isn’t the answer and won’t help.
What the GG crew was agitated about is that to them it felt like their last refuge was being invaded by people who had already rejected them and exiled them from mainstream society. To the Gamergaters, therefore, it seemed (in many ways, accurately) that the women who’d already told them how terrible and contemptible they were would soon evict them once again to some other, even worse fringe of civilization.
Their reaction wasn’t helpful but their assessment of what was occurring wasn’t totally wrong.
Combat Losses
I believe these numbers are real as the Ukrainian loss assessments match independent ones consistently. And that’s insane for a single day (Or it might be five days? Context was not clear.) of fighting. The Russians are throwing away just vast amounts of everything, every day. Five days or one day — still just staggering losses for modern warfare.
Cinematic Omens
The First Omen was not that good. Kind of meandering and predictable. However, the cinematography was nice.
(That’s a shot of Margaret and her roommate getting ready to hit the town. Our girl Maggie1 is trepidatious about going out in a dress she feels is too revealing, while her roommate applies some peer pressure for her to woman up.)
In addition to just having a great name, Nell Tiger Free is very good in the film, as are Bill Nighy and Ralph Ineson. But you spend most of your time with Nell so she is the reason to watch if you like good acting. Otherwise, skip.
Khan Mars
Mars, maker of M&Mโs and Snickers, to buy Cheez-It owner Kellanova for nearly $30 billion.
I hope Lina Khan smacks this so hard these companies all end up on Mars. The last thing we need is more consolidation in our food system. And check this corporate gibberish.
โThe Kellanova brands significantly expand our snacking platform, allowing us to even more effectively meet consumer needs and drive profitable business growth,โ Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Snacking, said in a statement.
“Snacking platform.” Ok, buddy. Anyone who says crap like that is no longer actually human. They have been replaced by marketroids. If those types didn’t control so much and wield so much power, this sort of thing would be funnier that it in fact is.
Int Broke
When we go to war with China, expect the internet mostly to be broken for several years and for GPS to be largely unavailable. But at least we probably won’t starve (unless some nukes get used).
YereOne Project – Yars Sarin a / ี ีกึีฝ ีีกึีซีถ ีก
Smooth groove. That language is Armenian!
Silverbacks – Something I Know
I love when I find a song where I can’t predict what’s gonna happen.
Phone Site
This site is not optimized for viewing on a phone and I don’t give a crap how it looks on a phone or if it displays at all.
Y’all’ll live.
Coup de tรชte
Probably another coup attempt in November 2024 and/or January 2025 if Trump loses, which is looking increasingly likely. That should be fun.
Key Film
The Skeleton Key (2005) is such a good movie.
That is a truly solid, underrated film. It’s just a tight little gem. Nothing belabored and nothing wasted. It helped I knew little about it going in so had no expectations. Recommended.