Misc
Imported from Atacama channel misc
this morning, before I start work: watching people play video games.
https://edconway.substack.com/p/what-andy-burnhams-80-t-shirt-really Andy Burnham new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom wore a T-shirt that cost 80 pounds roughly $125 because it was made in the UK from UK wool/cotton.
A basement is generally a full story below (or partly below) ground level that's designed as usable living or utility space — it typically has higher ceilings, may have windows, and is often finished or finishable. In modern North American construction, "basement" is the default term for any…
Six 500-Person Companies (part 2)
It strikes me that the LLM, in some way, completely misunderstands the situation. It has fallen into the register of an IBM commercial, rather than an actual product.
1. Regional fast-casual restaurant chain (~40 locations, 500 employees). Currently paying $50K–150K per year for point-of-sale, inventory management, scheduling, and loyalty systems from vendors like Toast or Square. Their general manager knows exactly what they need — she's been running…
My list of "firmament words" words that are too difficult to define without already understanding language at an advanced level, or that are so fundamental they are often embedded in grammar rather than stand-alone words from a few years ago:
some translation troubles (part 3)
Done. Removed 10 polysemous prepositions:
some translation troubles (part 2)
Different Words (real semantic choices)
Both Valid (synonyms with different nuances)
a bad take on US conflict with China
Never trust any Substack with a black background.
I have noticed three types of errors I make in using Trakaido (to learn Lithuanian).
perhaps "science" or "medicine" or "the DSM" should be a channel?
We consider the question of how one should sit when using the AppleVision.
a man listens to a radio broadcast about trains.
there is no "tarot" channel. yet.
not sure whether "environment" or "transportation" would be the channel here.
rebutting some petrol propaganda
I only assume these people are being indirectly paid by the fossil-fuel industry. In general, for these bad-faith, low-quality arguments against any form of << renewable energy , it is a safe bet. Regardless of whether they are paid, directly or indirectly, it is very blatantly propaganda.
meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea
https://alluvial.substack.com/p/finding-value-in-faraway-places
https://x.com/patio11/status/1930340924212539902 << (n.b. This is extremely well-known among companies which have a business process where you sign things. Most of them use a signature to demonstrate solemnization rather than authorization or authentication.)
seen on Reddit: [[Leblouh - << the practice of force-feeding girls from as young as five to nineteen, in (Arab) countries where obesity was traditionally regarded as desirable
ONE. https://computer.rip/2025-06-08-Omnimax.html - the history of Omnimax (one form of IMAX).
We need to have a blog post about Curtis Yarvin
Somewhere in the past six years, [[Curtis Yarvin has made a heel turn. He wasn't viewed as much of a hero before, but he definitely isn't now. The obvious point of examination is that of his wife's death. We have three theories regarding that.
"Substack is just OnlyFans for people with a rage fetish"
from https://jasonpargin.substack.com/p/to-save-the-world-save-yourself :
there is a solution to this.
The machine listed 8 definitions for the word << long :
Multilingual Linguistic Terms Table
From the archives: a list of the 78 << firmament terms from a linguistic taxonomy.
https://www.md-a.co/p/intellectual-laziness
https://yuxi-liu-wired.github.io/essays/posts/cyc/
i had a dream last night: i had to visit somebody in the hospital. roughly 75 years old; had been in a minor car accident.
The "Tariff talk": https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/treasury-secretary-bessent-says-chinas-escalation-was-big-mistake-country-playing-with-losing-hand.html
seen on Reddit: what US states border each other but don't have an Interstate Highway that crosses that border? on Reddit, the examples given were Kansas-Nebraska, Nebraska-South Dakota, South Dakota-Montana, with the diagonal "four corners" states being a special case.
Today's background viewing: << Satisfactory .
democracy and "institutional independence"
Trying to get the machine to explain a distinction I find this debate too annoying to write up myself
https://ossaiceejay.substack.com/p/he-was-sentenced-to-a-luxury-resort
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5178180-novo-nordisk-slashes-wegovy-prices/
https://collegetowns.substack.com/p/no-you-and-a-couple-of-friends-shouldnt
https://carlalallimusic.substack.com/p/the-true-costs-of-being-on-youtube
link roundup (from late February)
1. https://ew.com/woman-suffered-crushed-spine-from-harry-potter-ride-awarded-7-25-million-11686593
I will wear costume after this war will finish
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5170029-conservative-commentator-questions-zelensky-over-attire-why-dont-you-wear-a-suit/
I order the glasses on Warby Parker.
The BOIR process is one that could be improved immensely with the use of an LLM.
a link too good to pass up: https://www.righto.com/2024/12/this-die-photo-of-pentium-shows.html
zen and the art of peloton maintenance
I did not expect "find the metric hex-key set" to take 15 minutes. It did take 15 minutes, but I did find the hex-key.
After Burning Man, I resolved to no longer watch chess on YouTube.
it's only February ...
In a not-so-highly-anticipated announcement, LONDON has declared that the 2023 Man of the Year is George Santos.
TSFKAT is still good for something; it informed me that today is the day that the Putnam exam is being sat.
My history with Wikipedia is largely unspeakable.
song cue: Joan Crawford, Blue Oyster Cult
when one would prefer not to speak a Name, it is good to wait at least six weeks before telling the blurred story.
the principle of maximum drama
I am watching Foundation series 2, and I do not like the degree to which it follows the Law of Maximum Drama.
a taxonomy of conspiracy theories (1/17)
the phrase "conspiracy theory" has so many bad implications, I am very tempted to switch to 汉字 for it. But 阴谋论 (the literal translation) still has those implications, it just hides them from the Anglophone audience. And 卡只家 isn't quite right either. For now, we stick to the known-problematic term.
It seems daft to be blogging on the playa.
count to ten
if you ask the machine a question it doesn't know the answer to, don't be surprised when it gets it wrong.
a course in storytelling (coursework)
so I don't think I can mix dialogue with monologue ...
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.
The first rule of Burning Man is that you must bring at least 5L of water per person per day.
For the beginner, a rainy day is an excuse to skip the daily run.
Such a strange thing to have to declare.
The theme of the day is rest.
The other day, I found myself on a walk through my local neighborhood.
The first and most important variable in a course in running is "how much time can you spend on it per week".
In French, the phrase "red fruits" refers to berries.
but not in the intermediate register.
I am leaving Substack.
It has been a sour week.
In Euclid's Elements, there are "axioms" and "common notions".
welcome to the new internet.
we note a Substack which claims that, instead of a "Big Five", there is actually a Zipf distribution of discernment of various attributes.
Every person concerned about their public image needs to have a press kit. This should be available as a 力ZIP file or public website. It should contain at least two images released either to the public domain or under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
Why do you look like Cesar Romero?
It is dandelion season here. Dandelions are weeds, they show up where they are unwanted.
in which I ask the machine to distinguish violet from purple
trust not in prophets that make prophecies
I wake up and feel determined that today shall be a fast day; that I shall consume nothing other than water and black coffee.
you only get one hundred thousand years
Well I'm sorry, Lana, I didn't go to rabbinical school.
According to the Microsoft Corporation, my account is located in Bolivia.
i burnt my register key in the fireplace
"It was a pleasure to burn" - opening line of Fahrenheit 451.