Early Version

partial progress on most fronts.

• the "Channel" system switched from a Python enum to a config file. These changes have mostly made it through the system
• if you try to use an emphasis tag, the color parser will crash
• Warby Parker can't handle a .HEIC image and needs a PNG
• I need to dig through my email for one file for the "private correspondence"

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today's goals:

• finish the new Channel system
• fix the emphasis tag
• order new glasses

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the details of "using Claude to make a change to 12 files is more cumbersome than one file" will be in a separate post.

other things will also be in separate posts.

yesterday was 🔥 apart from the aforementioned "fix email server I broke last week" almost completely unproductive.

today's plans:

• user-based channel filtering for Atacama
• consider the "LLM based editor" approach to LLM. 💡 I had been considering a one-step system; the LLM is involved on earlyversion. This would be a two-step system; there is a completely different workflow where the machine takes posts here, fancifies them, and puts them on a new domain 🔥 the new domain will also be earlyversion
• get the emphasis tag working on Atacama. 💡 the asterisk tag can be both "affectation" and "emphasis". for today, it will always be emphasis.
• one private correspondence to manage
• personal: order new eyeglasses online

the two new channels were added. 🔥 that took an entirety of two minutes

job thoughts continue to not be in this medium.

phi4 is not good enough to worry about.

also: furniture shopping! new end-tables.

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today.

• discover that my email routing for pow3.com wasn't working
• unknown? my "planning" patterns still aren't working

on the one hand, today was a largely unproductive day.

on the other hand, both "install Linux" and "file BOIR report" are done. 💡 and, on job applications, I find myself asking questions like "could I work for a Chinese company?"

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plans for tomorrow:

• additional channels. probably separate "tech" and "llm" channels. probably a new channel just for "cities". 💡 which will have to be called something new
• probably job-pursuit tasks, details not yet determined
• thoughts about emoji 💡 roughly that they are not printer-friendly. maybe i can hot-swap them for PNGs in CSS when printing?

a Statistic about the NFL playoffs that has gotten some play this weekend: In the first 5 years of a 14-team playoff, 7 seeds are 1-9 in the first round. ⚙️ https://ftw.usatoday.com/2025/01/cowboys-nfl-playoffs-expanded-7-seeds-embarrassing-reaction

Of course, the hot takes about this are predictably awful. This proves the playoff system is wrong! Nope. You should expect the last team in the playoffs to lose most of the time. This is how it's supposed to work.

If the seven seeds were 4-6, the hot takes would be different complaints. 🔥 the regular season doesn't mean enough!

Also, some years the seventh team is better than other years. The NFL doesn't have an absolute "all teams that are this good make the playoffs" rule.

🔥 one Reddit commenter, amusingly, jumps straight from "seven seeds aren't any good" to "it's not fair to 2 seeds that they have to play a good team".

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Of course, the governing factor here is the pursuit of the almighty dollar. So, even if the statistics did indicate a problem (which they do not), there would not be any change forthcoming. 🔥 other than, possibly, even more teams

The BOIR process is one that could be improved immensely with the use of an LLM.

It is a convoluted set of instructions, most of which don't apply to most people, with a few specific goals:

• identify the company involved
• identify the people involved

Both of these could be improved with the machine.

If I upload my driver's license, the machine can both OCR the personal information (name, Driver's License ID, etc.) and confirm whether or not it is sufficient. But, we don't do that.

The machine can also resolve the labyrinth of whether an entity needs to file. It might not be exactly identical to what a court would determine; but independent counsel also would not be able to perform at that accuracy.

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The biggest problem with LLMs in government is "who would implement them".

Suffice it to say that I believe the likes of Elon Musk are more interested in "sabotaging governance" than in "decreasing costs of governance". And, many of the Democrats are more interested in "protecting government jobs" than in "decreasing costs of governance".

So my time and effort is not a concern to either party in Washington DC.

⚙️ Red Deer is about halfway between Calgary and Edmonton.

🤖 Red Deer, Alberta, is a vibrant city in central Alberta, situated along the Red Deer River, midway between Calgary and Edmonton. Known for its scenic natural beauty, the city features rolling hills, green spaces, and an extensive trail system, including the popular Waskasoo Park. As a regional hub, Red Deer has a diverse economy rooted in agriculture, oil and gas, manufacturing, and healthcare. It boasts a strong community spirit, a rich cultural scene with festivals and arts venues, and excellent recreational facilities like the Canyon Ski Resort and the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre. With a population of over 100,000, the city balances modern urban amenities with a small-town feel and a deep appreciation for its Indigenous and settler history.

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This week is less structured than last, at least ahead of time.

tasks for the week:

• re-install an old laptop to run Linux. Modern Windows is too slow to run from an HDD.
• look at the BOIR ⚙️ Beneficial Ownership Information Report submission system, and submit information for companies I am responsible for
• respond to responses to job applications

💡 why do I want a job? i'm getting tired of "having to find work". i'm getting tired of "having to write CSS and update database schemas". i'm getting tired of having a budget that doesn't start with a "W-2 income" line.

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https://longreads.com/2018/12/04/the-case-for-letting-malibu-burn/

There are no solutions to the problems of California fires that don't involve uncomfortable truths.

A lot of these houses shouldn't have been built and shouldn't be insurable.

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https://wishyouwerehere.app/writing/this-application-should-not-exist

One part postcards, one part rules-lawyering. Apparently you can use in-app purchases to sell post-cards iff they are also gift-cards.

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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42675025

LINKS TO

https://www.righto.com/2025/01/its-time-to-abandon-cargo-cult-metaphor.html

It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor

Amazingly, the top HN comment says "Nope, we’re not doing this in 2025. Cargo cult succinctly expresses an important concept. We’re not catering to imaginary offenses somebody hallucinates on behalf of some supposedly marginalized people anymore."

And the dismissal is correct. The article makes two main arguments, both wrong.

• Some cargo cults were different than others, so we can't compare it to anything.
• Cargo cults were done by "oppressed" "primitive" people, so we can't compare it to anything.

🔥 Also, apparently 2025 is the year where a certain over-the-top form of "liberal sensitivity" can be publicly rejected.

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and, finally, WordPress continues to implode on itself. Non-benevolent dictator Matt Mullenweg continues with more erratic and tyrannical behavior. 🔥 does this create an opening in the market for a new blogging platform?

at some point during the day, I decided that the "channel" feature was the most important. 🔥 because nobody likes sorting through content on so many different topics

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also I added PGN ⚙️ chess board rendering support. because that's the type of feature that the machine actually can implement in five minutes. ⚔️ well, actually, there are 30 minutes of "minor fixes" afterwards

this has created more "Unicode characters are not pixel-perfect" issues.

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the 12-part message pattern is not fit for purpose.

next week will go back to six messages in the main chain.

two ten minute games.

the first game is a Giuoco-Piano. i lose terribly.

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the second game was unreasonably dominant.

5knr/3pq1p1/5p1p/2p1P3/rp6/3Q4/PB1N1PPP/R3R1K1 w - - 0 20

the socializing last night was good. but, the alcohol gets to me more at this age. when i woke up (not counting the 430AM wake-up) i was ready to stop drinking. again.

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goals for today are two:

• submit one job application. i just need to do the "write 200 words about why you want this job" thing to do so. which ... is hard. i don't really like "talking about myself", or "talking about wanting things from people".
• atacama "fit-and-finish" changes.