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Note: this is a post reflecting on one of the modules of my MSc in Systems Thinking in Practice. You can see all of the related posts in this category. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but it’s quite hard not to. We form opinions about whether something is “of interest” to us or not by how it is packaged. Big Tech knows this, hence we …

Morning folks - I hope you are well!Today's FB has a title that not only quotes an album by 4NonBlondes but also, I think, is at the root of what is currently wrong with photography.Oh I know, chuck your coffee at the screen, drop your phone down the toilet, etc etc . . I know.You see, to cut a long story short, megapixels, print size, formats, fps, USAF resolution charts, …

There were a couple of new beers from Galway Bay Brewery. I dropped into The Black Sheep one afternoon to see what the story was.Celestial Floods (or "Fioods", as the badge has it) is a double IPA of 7.9% ABV. Bullhouse of Belfast collaborated, and the hops are Galaxy, Riwaka and Mosaic. "Hazy" doesn't quite cover the proposition: it's downright beige in the glass, though smells attractive. I get pineapple, …

?si=aoRK422gthc62UZE If you attend the “Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise” exhibition at the Musée D’Orsay, in Paris, you can spend time with “Hello Vincent,” a generative Artificial Intelligence project that allows visitors to have “a unique, personalized encounter” with Vincent van Gogh. According to CBS Sunday Morning, whose report we’ve included above, “Hello Vincent” allows museum visitors to converse with Van Gogh and ask him questions. His responses draw on a …

Chronolog is an interactive map of timelapse photographs designed to help monitor the environment. It is a citizen science project which encourages organizations and individuals to engage with nature while recording and monitoring the changing environment.The Chronolog map allows you to explore timelapse photos of nature which have been captured around the USA (and one or two in other countries

Add a subrule to the rule Structures, called Embellishments: Each Vassal may have a number of Embellishments that are publicly tracked. A Vassal may have a number Embellishments equal to or less than their Development, which is calculated as the number of upgrades they have applied to their Structures (eg a Medium Stone Wall adds 1 to their Development; a Gargantuan Moat adds 3; a small Stone Tower contributes 0). …

New article from Special Needs Jungle: With Sarah Johnson, parent of disabled children The Blue Badge, enabling disabled people to park in special larger bays closer to their destination and have extra time in time-limited parking, … The post Why can’t my disabled children have a Blue Badge just because they’re under three? Please help me change the rules! appeared first on Special Needs Jungle. Special Needs Jungle ⓒ Special …

How much you sleep each night matters, but more importantly, it’s about the quality and if you feel rested when you wake up. This seems to shift with age as responsibilities and sleep patterns change. The following chart shows how rested people felt, based on answers to the American Time Use Survey. Read More

It’s been a slow week here, I’ve suffered with long Covid symptoms for years now but every now and again I become physically and mentally burnt out, plodding on but inefficient and ineffective. This week has been about accepting that, focusing on what can be done, giving myself permission to rest and reflecting on the successes of the last week…My work and my hobby are a fantastic muse. This latest …

Jason goes rogue! In this episode he conducts an impromptu survey of classical music.

Within ten years after Captain Cook’s 1778 contact with Hawai‘i, the islands became a favorite port of call in the trade with China. The fur traders and merchant ships crossing the Pacific needed to replenish food supplies and water. The maritime fur trade focused on acquiring furs of sea otters, seals and other animals from the Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange …

Asian Perspective, vol. 48, no. 1 2024 https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/919884 I have, for personal use only, a pdf copy of this article, which appears in Asian Perspective, vol. 48, no. 1 (Winter 2024). Email me if you want to see – I am preparing a post with the typescript, but the original can be hooked by those with a MUSE account. Here – https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/919884 – Project Muse access is free if your …

Having just discussed whether humans – as opposed to their machines – will one day make interstellar journeys, it’s a good time to ask where we could get today with near-term technologies. In other words, assuming reasonable progress in the next few decades, what would be the most likely outcome of a sustained effort to push our instruments into deep space? My assumption is that fusion engines will one day …

If you think about space travel and the means of escaping the confines of the Earth then most people, currently, are likely to think about the new Artemis project and the Space Launch System. That’s not the only new development though, Blue Origin have been working on their New Glenn rocket and finally we have got a glimpse of their new offering. The rocket was finally rolled onto the launch …