"Just as we need certain things to suck in order for others to register as cool (Beavis and Butthead, 1994, MTV), so too must we experience resistance or difficulty in order to understand the nature and depth of our own desires......Frictionless exchange almost always involves an unseen toll. One of the most insidious features of … Continue reading Everywhere Connected, Yet Unable To Connect
Category: writing
Smol Pub
Smol Pub is tiny blogging service.- Web interface and CLI to manage your posts. - Accessible from Web, Gemini and Gopher.- Storage for your images.- Write custom CSS for web.- Attach your custom domain with SSL.- Export your posts.- No JavaScript, ads, or tracking technology. On the back of My Writing Advice post from yesterday, … Continue reading Smol Pub
Words: Inclusion, Exclusion & Questioning
"Dictionaries project an image of disinterested expertise. This is because they are produced with stunning care by a professional team whose job it is to monitor a culture’s temperature. Consequently, they project authority. Yet what makes culture, particularly in a country like the United States, move is often an anti-authoritarian drive: rebellion, protests, marches. We … Continue reading Words: Inclusion, Exclusion & Questioning
Spoiled Militaries
"“Even those with military experience, you’ve got to realise that there isn't a war that has been fought like this in a long time,” Le said. “What's different with the US military and all the other NATO militaries—they're spoiled. When it comes to fighting a war, they have air support, medivac, logistics, all kinds of … Continue reading Spoiled Militaries
Metaphorical Apes & Gorillas
https://youtu.be/R4TO7nay37Y?t=880 Apes & Gorillas is another little gem from Joe Armeanio. It closely mirrors the idea two computing revolutions talked about in this post that talks about: Apps with easy to use interfaces designed for casual users Application layers, that provide tools that allow new ways of using a computer that were previously impossible There's … Continue reading Metaphorical Apes & Gorillas
Optionality & Alpha
"When you hold an option and the world moves with you, you enjoy the benefits; when the world moves against you, you are shielded from the bad outcome since you are not obligated to do anything. Optionality is the state of enjoying possibilities without being on the hook to do anything......In contrast, the closing of … Continue reading Optionality & Alpha
How-to: Be a Darknet Drug Lord
"[The advice in this article can be adapted to suit the needs of other hidden services, including ones which are legal in your jurisdiction. The threat model in mind is that of a drug market. The tone is that of a grandfather who is always annoyingly right, who can't help but give a stream-of-consciousness schooling … Continue reading How-to: Be a Darknet Drug Lord
Nightmare Fuel: Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery Repurposed to Discover New Chemical Weapons
"Our company—Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc.—had recently published computational machine learning models for toxicity prediction in different areas, and, in developing our presentation to the Spiez meeting, we opted to explore how AI could be used to design toxic molecules. It was a thought exercise we had not considered before that ultimately evolved into a computational proof … Continue reading Nightmare Fuel: Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery Repurposed to Discover New Chemical Weapons
Uncertainty & Future Planning Are Inversely Proportional
"There’s a paradox that strikes me whenever I visit Ely Cathedral, an amazing building just a few miles away from where we are sitting. It was built by masons as a structure that wasn’t to be finished in their lifetime, but which still inspires us 800 years later. We can’t think long term like they … Continue reading Uncertainty & Future Planning Are Inversely Proportional
Artists Sell Feelings?
"People buy things for how things will make them feel. Desires for status, connection, and emotion. At its core, we sell feelings."-Radia. "An artist’s guide to surviving NFTs." mirror.xyz/radia.eth. March 12, 2022 What is art? Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, raise an interesting aspect about answering this question. If we think about making art as a process, the … Continue reading Artists Sell Feelings?
Promises & Doing What You Say
"Say yes and never do it."-Austin Kleon quoting Mel Brooks, "Say Yes and Never Do It." austinkleon.com. March 8, 2022 "...there are two types of people in the world: those who do what they say they're going to do — and everyone else."-Anthony Bourdain, "Kitchen Confidential." New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2000. I was reading Austin … Continue reading Promises & Doing What You Say
What Would Americans Do? (Invasion Edition)
"As the world witnesses what is happening to Ukraine, Americans were asked what they would do if they were in the same position as Ukrainians are now: stay and fight or leave the country? A majority (55 percent) say they would stay and fight, while 38 percent say they would leave the country. Republicans say … Continue reading What Would Americans Do? (Invasion Edition)
What to Eat
"What then is the bottom line when it comes to some sort of recommendation about diet and mental health? Same as already discussed for other conditions. Look askew at supplements, reduce intake of red and processed meats in favour of fish and poultry, replace refined grains with whole grains, increase legumes, and eat at least … Continue reading What to Eat
[Minimum] Steps to Get There
This is a follow-up on my post, The Maximum Human Life Span and Conjecture on Step Counts to Get There (15,000 Steps a Day). According to this research: "By analyzing data on tens of thousands of people across four continents compiled between 15 existing studies, a team of researchers has now landed on a more … Continue reading [Minimum] Steps to Get There
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