Recently updated blogs

Whether you're developer, DevOps engineer, SysAdmin, QA or in any other technical role, you're surely familiar with cURL - the command line tool and library for transferring data with URLs (as described in docs). Most of the time however, we all really only use curl for simple tasks, such downloading a file or checking if website is accessible, yet there's some much more curl can do! And in this article …

Making music on the Polyend Play+ with my new sample pack! TOY BOX - my sample pack!Check it out at polyend.com!

Programming note: I recently launched a weekly podcast, Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie. About 50% of the conversations cover Bits about Money's beat. The remainder will be on other interesting intersections of technology, incentives, culture, and organizational design. The first three episodes covered teaching trading, Byrne Hobart on the epistemology of financial firms, and the tech industry vs. tech reporting divide. Subscribe to it anywhere you listen to podcasts. If …

Asymmetric vices and the unity of virtue Published 2024-07-31 I was trying to find a post I’d written about this and then realised it was a Twitter thread. This post is just me copying out that thread and lightly editing it for format so I have somewhere more stable to refer to it. Aristotle’s conception of “virtue” is as a golden mean between two vices: One of deficit, one of …

After 150 days and 3074.5 km of hiking (and also canoeing and cycling), I reached Bluff, the southern terminus of Te Araroa. Today was, I think, the first time daylight saving time changed for me on the trail, shifting sunrise (and sunset) an hour “earlier” than it was yesterday. Of course, when your day is driven by sunrise and sunset, and not the clock, this doesn’t have much practical difference. …

France, 1927: A rustic little cottageA 1.5-story house with a living/dining room, kitchen and a toilet on the first floor. The second floor contains two bedrooms.Maisons Pour Tous Vol. II - No. 12, 15 January 1927. (Paris, France) —from my library

Schrödinger’s speed limit Here’s a problem. In 2022, Manchester City Council say they reduced the speed limit on the Mancunian Way to 30mph. But it’s not clear if they have. It’s not even clear if they can.Fair warning: this posts plumbs the depths of pedantry in the areas of legislation and signage, so if that isn’t your thing look away now. On the other hand, it does also have some …

Online readingMark Rosenthal’s blog is always great. I recommend his recent post called “Boeing: The Turning Point(s).” He connects Boeing’s ongoing difficulties to two attempts to change company strategy twenty years ago. I enjoyed Mark’s detailed reminiscences from the time:There were actually two lines running parallel, each one on a two day cycle. … Each time the line was indexed, it generally took a shift to, in succession, pull each …

I rarely ever use the date command, but when I need it I almost always struggle to get the right incantation. So, I'm just going to record such examples in this blog post (and some good to know features). There'll also be learning resources linked at the end of the post. Really basic examples The date command by itself shows the current time. But that's rarely what I need, since …

Art by Diego Olortegui It has been announced that a new JSA/Infinity Inc. series by Jeff Lemire will start a month after the current Justice Society by Geoff Johns ends. Currently, the last issue of Justice Society is scheduled to end in September, but the series has been plagued by delays since it began so it could be postponed again. The art will be by Diego Olortegui. The new series …

Exploring different ways to make sense of OpenStreetMap data.

Iceland Map Iceland is a small country with a mighty food scene. The capital, Reykjavík, is home to approximately 130,000 people, but given its position halfway between the U.S. and Europe, it’s an extremely popular tourist destination. Whether you only have a quick layover in Iceland and you’re looking for some good places to eat, or whether you’re off on an adventure to explore all of the island’s volcanoes, lagoons, …

On July 17, the iconic Ministry of Sound in London became the hub of groundbreaking tech innovation as it hosted the Home Office led Deepfake Detection Challenge Showcase. This event marked the culmination of many months of hard work and …

Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future. I try to arrive in the US as non-judgemental as possible, determined to reappraise America from first principles. Unrealistic perhaps, but …