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Introduction to everythingPlease note that I really do like Enigma, and I have mad respect for everybody who designed its levels, since the levels are an essential part of the game. As you read, please try to keep this in mind, even when my review sounds negative or occasionally sarcastic.There is a puzzle game called Enigma. The player controls a black marble and rolls it around a top-down view to …

Full Circle

In light of the fact that Twitter (‘X’) has become completely unusable / untenable for self-promotion over the course of the past year, we’ve discontinued regular posting on that particular social media service. We’ve finally decided to set up shop …

I know what you’re thinking. “David Benoit?! We’ve waited a year for a record review and it’s David Benoit?!? What the heck is Tarik doing writing about HIM?!” Weeeeell hold on there. This may seem out of place, and this is definitely the most recently-recorded music I’ve written about so far on my humble blog, but this record is major to me on a personal and musical level. With that, …

It’s moved to Substack, and it’s a quadfecta this week: three words and one name, all beginning with the letter D. Read and subscribe—it’s free! Here’s a preview of one of the words:

I was late. The minibus was already at the stop. I did something I very rarely do and broke into a run. I was the last one there. I was shown into a minibus that, at first glance, appeared to have no spare seats in it. The driver indicated a space at the back that would have suited a small child if they had been prepared to rough it a …

Connections The new daily game at the New York Times is called Connections, and I’ve seen a few people comment that they just don’t like it as much as Wordle or Spelling Bee. That the difficulty is inconsistent and it often makes you just feel stupid. I thought it would be interesting to contrast this to Word Dad, a puzzle game made by my friend, master game designer John Cutter. …

A model I return to a lot when talking about engineering processes is Push and Pull. Often when we design a new process or system we struggle to get buy-in. That lack of buy-in can often be traced to having forgotten the Push, the Pull, or both. We’re all familiar with processes like “write a weekly status update” that start strong and eventually fade out to low participation, engineers automating …

Everybody everyone

If you had to choose software to begin working in architectural design, which would be your first choice? Many might think that a BIM solution such as BlenderBIM or FreeCAD would be the ideal choice. In many cases, they offer numerous advantages. However, despite these advanced and modern workflows, a simple 2D CAD solution can still address most of our project needs. Using a 2D CAD solution has numerous benefits …

They say you can never go back again. Never cross the same river twice. The past is a foreign country, as the famous quotation goes. Sometimes, it can’t be avoided. Sometimes, though, it can be worth doing just for yourself.Read all

While all eyes have been on the two hurricanes, the wildfire smoke is still impacting many areas. It is quite visible today on the GOES images. The fires in the NW Territories of Canada this summer have released around 277 times the amount of carbon that area of Canada emitted in 2021! I’ve been a synoptic meteorologist for 43 years, and I’ve never seen a summer like this one. This …

Update on 8-29-2023 Last week, I put up a poll that asks users what they would do if faced with some ethical dilemmas that arise on the business side of data science. I'm presenting the first set of results here. I'm guessing the responses have stabilized but will provide further updates below should the trends shift. Case Study 1 Is it acceptable for BestHotels.com to present fake statistics to influence …

Hello! Just popping in very quickly in amongst wrapping a big parcel, making a packed lunch, sorting laundry, dashing out to the shops, and packing for a few days away (and trying to remember to breeeeathe). Life is busy. Sometimes hectic, but mostly just the kind of normal busy that comes at this point in the summer. Haircuts and new school shoes, outings and a birthday and mini holidays. Squeezing …

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