draft
The new policy is an old policy: avoid being so negative on Facebook. When people spread ridiculous stories I no longer pour cold water on them. Who am I to tell them about reality and so upset their day and make them hate me? What has it gotten me? Nothing.
But it has been hard, very hard to keep me from posting bad news or correcting stupidity. People dont want to hear it.
A 15 year old invents a perfect test for cancer. Hardcore Republican delegates wont vote for Trump to be President at the Electoral College. All women will now vote progressive and that will be the end of the Republicans. R.E. Lee was a traitor who beat his slaves. Anyone who supports Lee is a racist.
Good luck with that. I hope you and your love ones depend on that cure for cancer that the 17 year old Muslim girl in Afghanistan invented.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Camping Test #2 at Ventana Big Sur
draft
As part of the Steve Gano memorial, I chose to camp in Big Sur and save $200/night. The only camp grounds available were at the Ventana Campgrounds which are part of the incredibly glamourous and expensive Ventana Inn. I had stayed at the Ventana Inn once 25 or so years ago and it had not been nearly so expensive but since that time it has been acquired by some ridiculous management company and now it is just for the 1 percent. The camp ground however was merely $100/night and that was affordable and my best deal.
Various things were learned and it was a valuable if not entirely comfortable experience. In no particular order: 1. It took about an hour to put up the tent, and that went well, 2. The tent worked although I was cold because I had too much ventilation, 3. I did not enjoy crawling in and out of the tent and plan to get a new tent with room to stand up, to walk into, and to have extra room around me, 4. I may or may not get a cot, 5. The sleeping pad was warm enough and comfortable but like everyone else I would always slide off of it and it was difficult to get things organized, 6. I needed much more battery life, 7. Damn bugs were attracted to any lights and they freaked me out, 8. The stove worked very well, 7. By far the best food was food that came in little packets you could boil and then dispose and also Top Ramen noodles, 9. I had lots of trouble finding things: too many things were in bags that looked alike, 10. It was annoying finding the bathrooms because they were not well marked until you knew where they were, 11. The closest bathrooms were for the elite and not the proletariat, 12. You bought tokens for hot showers and that worked well but there was no place to put your clothes or sit down, and yes 13. weird animals really liked that water. This is the countryside, after all.
One completely unexpected issue: Big Sur has weird cell phone reception. My campground had reception (it was part of the Ventana Inn, after all) but the Big Sur Lodge and other places did not. This was unexpectedly inconvenient. How far we have fallen from grace!
But the worst issue was that I had tremendous anxiety trying to get to sleep and I dont know why. This is the second time this has happened to me when on little test trips and I dont know what it means. In this case I happened to have my ADD/ADHD medication which I could misuse to get to sleep but that is not recommended even if it does work well.
In conclusion, it was a valuable test but we need to consider different equipment and more tests. Possibly even resorting to staying at hotels and not camping most of the time.
The anxiety/medication thing is worrisome.
As part of the Steve Gano memorial, I chose to camp in Big Sur and save $200/night. The only camp grounds available were at the Ventana Campgrounds which are part of the incredibly glamourous and expensive Ventana Inn. I had stayed at the Ventana Inn once 25 or so years ago and it had not been nearly so expensive but since that time it has been acquired by some ridiculous management company and now it is just for the 1 percent. The camp ground however was merely $100/night and that was affordable and my best deal.
Various things were learned and it was a valuable if not entirely comfortable experience. In no particular order: 1. It took about an hour to put up the tent, and that went well, 2. The tent worked although I was cold because I had too much ventilation, 3. I did not enjoy crawling in and out of the tent and plan to get a new tent with room to stand up, to walk into, and to have extra room around me, 4. I may or may not get a cot, 5. The sleeping pad was warm enough and comfortable but like everyone else I would always slide off of it and it was difficult to get things organized, 6. I needed much more battery life, 7. Damn bugs were attracted to any lights and they freaked me out, 8. The stove worked very well, 7. By far the best food was food that came in little packets you could boil and then dispose and also Top Ramen noodles, 9. I had lots of trouble finding things: too many things were in bags that looked alike, 10. It was annoying finding the bathrooms because they were not well marked until you knew where they were, 11. The closest bathrooms were for the elite and not the proletariat, 12. You bought tokens for hot showers and that worked well but there was no place to put your clothes or sit down, and yes 13. weird animals really liked that water. This is the countryside, after all.
One completely unexpected issue: Big Sur has weird cell phone reception. My campground had reception (it was part of the Ventana Inn, after all) but the Big Sur Lodge and other places did not. This was unexpectedly inconvenient. How far we have fallen from grace!
But the worst issue was that I had tremendous anxiety trying to get to sleep and I dont know why. This is the second time this has happened to me when on little test trips and I dont know what it means. In this case I happened to have my ADD/ADHD medication which I could misuse to get to sleep but that is not recommended even if it does work well.
In conclusion, it was a valuable test but we need to consider different equipment and more tests. Possibly even resorting to staying at hotels and not camping most of the time.
The anxiety/medication thing is worrisome.
The Gano Memorial
draft
The Steve Gano memorial was organized by Gretchen Schwartz Gano and Kristee Rosendahl. They did a fabulous job and I learned a lot about Steve. In attendance were dozens of people I knew but many times dozens more I didnt. It was Michael Naimark who pointed out that these were two nearly disjoint communities: alumni from the Architecture Machine Group and from the Apple Advanced Technology (Multimedia?) Group.
It was held at the Henry Miller Library, at the Nepenthe Restaurant, at the Big Sur Lodge and another place I dont recall. I met some very nice people, most of whom I will never hear from again. We had some small world phenomena.
Among the people I knew (or met there) include Peggy Weil, Jane Nisselson, Scott Fisher, Sally Rosenthal, Nancy Hechinger and Fabrice Florin.
The whole thing was very distressing to me.
Thanks again to Gretchen and Kristee for doing such a nice job.
The Steve Gano memorial was organized by Gretchen Schwartz Gano and Kristee Rosendahl. They did a fabulous job and I learned a lot about Steve. In attendance were dozens of people I knew but many times dozens more I didnt. It was Michael Naimark who pointed out that these were two nearly disjoint communities: alumni from the Architecture Machine Group and from the Apple Advanced Technology (Multimedia?) Group.
It was held at the Henry Miller Library, at the Nepenthe Restaurant, at the Big Sur Lodge and another place I dont recall. I met some very nice people, most of whom I will never hear from again. We had some small world phenomena.
Among the people I knew (or met there) include Peggy Weil, Jane Nisselson, Scott Fisher, Sally Rosenthal, Nancy Hechinger and Fabrice Florin.
The whole thing was very distressing to me.
Thanks again to Gretchen and Kristee for doing such a nice job.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Avengers Endgame Meta Review
draft
Being rewritten.
Spoilers for Avengers Endgame, of course.
Avengers Endgame has come and almost gone having left in its wake an astonishing number of rumors and reviews, not to mention a boat load of money. When so many people see a movie, it is natural for some of them to like it and some of them to hate it. I have read many of these reviews, at least the ones in English, and I have also read many of the speculation and rumors before the release. So I want to go over a few things before we get to the movie itself.
1. Many of the rumors and speculations that were published on the net were flat out fabrications. There is definitely some weird psychology going on here. Maybe they are the moral equivalent of right-wing or Russian trolls who lie to get a reaction? But if so, what is their motivation? On a political topic it might make sense, but for a superhero movie? Maybe they just want attention. Maybe "because they can". I dont know.
2. Avengers Endgame is intended to finish off the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which, love it or hate it, has done very well for itself. The point of this movie is to deal with a major cliffhanger involving the very fate of the universe (!) as well as tie up a number of loose ends and bring to a conclusion many character arcs created in the previous 22 or so movies. So far so good. What therefore is the point of someone reviewing this movie who has not seen any (or at least most of) the previous movies? What is the point of someone reviewing the film who hates superhero movies? In the former case they are not going to have a clue what is going on and in the latter case they are going to hate the movie because they hate superhero movies.
The point is, why waste our time? We already know you are going to be confused or filled with elitist disgust or both, so maybe you could spare us this? We get it already. Your review could be maybe two or three lines. Or maybe you could do us the favor of disqualifying yourself up front? No of course not.
3. Endgame is an imperfect but enjoyable movie. For those who like their SF tight, this is not that movie. The more you reflect on the "unsnapping", where people were and how they got to the field of battle, the less it holds up. Pym particles in general and in specific (oh really, one vial of Pym and we transport an entire intergalactic army? Hmmm).
4. But at the end of the day, they hit their marks, and some of that is brilliant. Thor and his Mother. The phone call from the wife. On your left. Captain America and his hammer. For that matter, Thor retrieving his hammer. Avengers, assemble. They are totally sincere which is not the case with the Star Wars abominations.
They deserve credit for their sincerity.
Its a superhero movie, kids.
Being rewritten.
Spoilers for Avengers Endgame, of course.
Avengers Endgame has come and almost gone having left in its wake an astonishing number of rumors and reviews, not to mention a boat load of money. When so many people see a movie, it is natural for some of them to like it and some of them to hate it. I have read many of these reviews, at least the ones in English, and I have also read many of the speculation and rumors before the release. So I want to go over a few things before we get to the movie itself.
1. Many of the rumors and speculations that were published on the net were flat out fabrications. There is definitely some weird psychology going on here. Maybe they are the moral equivalent of right-wing or Russian trolls who lie to get a reaction? But if so, what is their motivation? On a political topic it might make sense, but for a superhero movie? Maybe they just want attention. Maybe "because they can". I dont know.
2. Avengers Endgame is intended to finish off the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which, love it or hate it, has done very well for itself. The point of this movie is to deal with a major cliffhanger involving the very fate of the universe (!) as well as tie up a number of loose ends and bring to a conclusion many character arcs created in the previous 22 or so movies. So far so good. What therefore is the point of someone reviewing this movie who has not seen any (or at least most of) the previous movies? What is the point of someone reviewing the film who hates superhero movies? In the former case they are not going to have a clue what is going on and in the latter case they are going to hate the movie because they hate superhero movies.
The point is, why waste our time? We already know you are going to be confused or filled with elitist disgust or both, so maybe you could spare us this? We get it already. Your review could be maybe two or three lines. Or maybe you could do us the favor of disqualifying yourself up front? No of course not.
3. Endgame is an imperfect but enjoyable movie. For those who like their SF tight, this is not that movie. The more you reflect on the "unsnapping", where people were and how they got to the field of battle, the less it holds up. Pym particles in general and in specific (oh really, one vial of Pym and we transport an entire intergalactic army? Hmmm).
4. But at the end of the day, they hit their marks, and some of that is brilliant. Thor and his Mother. The phone call from the wife. On your left. Captain America and his hammer. For that matter, Thor retrieving his hammer. Avengers, assemble. They are totally sincere which is not the case with the Star Wars abominations.
They deserve credit for their sincerity.
Its a superhero movie, kids.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Ghosting Times Two
I have ghosted and been ghosted. I have been befriended and unfriended.
I have decided to cut off contact with two long-term friends. Both are interesting people, talented in their own way, and committed to living a life that has some integrity in ways that may not make them popular.
One is a hard core right wing Republican who thinks that trolling "the libs" is fun. And I qualify as a "lib" and am therefore on the troll list. The other is a pure and extreme left wing ... something ... who does not know the very complicated history of a region but presumes to judge and does so with violent propaganda that I find offensive.
Let that be a lesson to me, no relationship is so strong that it can not be terminated.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The Congressional Database and the Townhall Meeting
Apparently all our elected representatives, at least on the national level, have a database system to track their constituents. They are required to select from a list of preapproved programs because of security issues.
I call my representative, Carbajal of CA 24, once a week to find out what his position is on impeachment and on removing rapists from the supreme court. The phone is answered promptly and there is always a nice person who takes my message and says that someone will get back to me, but they never do.
But this time it was different. First, the nice person at the office told me that he was at a "townhall meeting" with Carbajal last March and that at the time that Carbajal was cautious on the whole topic but had not made up his mind either way. That was not what I wanted to hear, of course, but it was helpful because the primary goal here was to find out what my representative thought.
Second, just for fun, I asked the person in my Congressman's office if he could tell how many times I had called. And he could! I had called 8 times plus today, for a total of 9.
I think that this is mostly good. They are supposed to keep track of what their constituents think, and it should be computerized in this day and age.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Anita and Willem Lijpers from Holland
On my way back from Big Sur, I stopped to look at an astonishing view and ended up talking to a nice person who was doing the same. Her name was Anita, and with Willem her husband, she was on a cross country trip. They are from Holland, they visited their son in Virginia, and drove across country ending in Los Angeles in a few days. These pictures do not do them justice. They flagged me down 10 miles down the road to offer me coffee. Isnt that nice? This is what I used to get from travelling, meeting new people. It makes me sad that I am unlikely to see them again. No, I dont know why they look so sad, but I think it is an artifact of my bad photography.
\
I so enjoyed meeting them and it makes me sad I am unlikely to see them again.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
What is the Value of Sponsoring Research Early
draft
Imagine the following situation. A company is spun off of a major university computer science department. The company has many core technologies, but it is primarily in the area of searching very large databases and machine learning. The key technology that enabled the success of this company was original to the graduate students when they were at the University.
But it turns out that this university was the recipient of decades of grants in these areas and others long before these areas were practical. And because of those grants, the University had a stellar reputation and a faculty second to none, all of which was a benefit to the graduate students that started the company.
So. Did that long term research, those grants long before it was practical, contribute to the success of this huge new company? Or was that company sui generis and without any debt whatsoever (morally speaking) to those who came before?
This question is not about money. I couldnt care less about the money. This question is about the intellectual history of the field and the value of doing long term early research.
I thought I knew the answer, but a good friend with much better research credentials than I am likely to ever have says that there is no debt whatsoever.
Imagine the following situation. A company is spun off of a major university computer science department. The company has many core technologies, but it is primarily in the area of searching very large databases and machine learning. The key technology that enabled the success of this company was original to the graduate students when they were at the University.
But it turns out that this university was the recipient of decades of grants in these areas and others long before these areas were practical. And because of those grants, the University had a stellar reputation and a faculty second to none, all of which was a benefit to the graduate students that started the company.
So. Did that long term research, those grants long before it was practical, contribute to the success of this huge new company? Or was that company sui generis and without any debt whatsoever (morally speaking) to those who came before?
This question is not about money. I couldnt care less about the money. This question is about the intellectual history of the field and the value of doing long term early research.
I thought I knew the answer, but a good friend with much better research credentials than I am likely to ever have says that there is no debt whatsoever.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Remembering Those who Betrayed America
It can be very difficult to remember later the details of events like we are experiencing. So I will from time to time write about these events/things/whatever even though I have nothing too profound to say about them.
One artifact of this collapse of the American government is that whenever something happens, there is some seemingly sane person who writes an editorial saying the most ridiculous things, but saying them with a straight face. These editorials masquerade as news and are published straight faced in Politico, the Hill, the Wall Street Journal, Lawfareblog.
And they say things like this. "The Russians didnt help Trump. Obama betrayed us to the Russians, not Trump. There are no grounds for the House to request anything from Trump. Mueller totally exonerated Trump."
All of these things are lies, and they know it. Why do they do it? Here is one theory. They are demonstrating loyalty so they can be appointed as a Federal Judge and then maybe the Supreme Court.
It worked for Kavanaugh.
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