Recently updated blogs

by Mete Yazici The ongoing phase of industrial transformation, known as the fourth industrial revolution, aims to merge the physical, digital, and biological domains through extensive digital innovation (Saldanha, 2019). The pervasive incorporation of digital technologies into all facets of human existence became particularly evident following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 (Hantrais et al., 2020). Moreover, there is tough competition for users’ loyalty. MindSea (2023) reports …

All of my budgeted blogwriting time is going to Logic for Programmers. Should be back early 2025. (I’m still writing the weekly newsletter.)

Ironman just announced the return of Ironman 70.3 Boise, which ran from 2008 through 2015. This would be the closest race to me, and Boise is such a nice town, I’m very tempted to sign up for next year’s race—running along the Greenbelt is so pleasant. I’ve been reading some race reports from back then, such as this one from DC Rainmaker in 2011, and it sounded like a tough …

Most people agree that we need to raise public spending to repair our damaged public services. Simon Wren-Lewis estimates that it needs to rise by around 4.5% of GDP eventually. Such an increase, as Simon says, requires higher taxes. This isn't because the government needs the money. It's because it needs real resources - more doctors, nurses, carers, military equipment or prison officers and so on - and there isn't …

I took 10 days off a computer which was genuinely wild and came back to hundreds of emails, most of which were newsletters and marketing so I’ve been on one of my periodic unsubscribe binges and being pretty brutal about whether I’ve actually ever read a newsletter and if not, delete. I mostly read aggregating things because I just want the bottom like quick, not thousands of words of hot …

I’m currently exploring sketching more in graphite and ink, so I’ve also revisited my sketching kit and tried out ways to make it lighter. It’s not that I’m completely obsessed with minimalism, but the thought of carrying a minimal amount of weight when I go sketching sounded very appealing. I’m actually changing my sketching tools ... Read more Source

Black Ice is a Canadian documentary about the influence of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHL) from the early 20th century. Directed by Hubert Davis and based on elements from Darril Fosty’s book “Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925“, the film also sheds light on the anti-black racism in the sport and how deeply entrenched it’s been. Amongst the film’s …

Converting Indo-Arabic numerals into words, like 175 into ‘one hundred seventy-five’, can be useful for a range tasks, including any text-to-speech application, even if only to make a restaurant reservation for six-thirty, and language learning of basic conversations, like to tell someone your age or that the route to take is the fourth street on the right or is some 15km straight ahead. How can you make the computer generate …

My flight home last night tracked up the Hudson and I was fortunate enough to have a window seat on the right hand side of the plane, so I had an amazing view of the Tribute in Light.Reply via email or Mastodon.

I've been editing The Threads That Weave for the last two months, with some minimum writing for Last Train Home. I have a small backlog of chapters drafted, but it will be a while before I actually publish any.And that's because I'm planning on switching focus to prior seasons of Last Train Home. I already have a cover, which I'll reveal in a few weeks. I'm currently debating on setting …

Luke Horton asked in a comment on a recent post: Given the chance to examine a titanosaur cadaver with your hypothetical army of anatomists, what would you look for first? *FACEPALM* How we’ve gone almost 17 years without posting about a hypothetical sauropod dissection is quite beyond my capacity. I am also contractually obligated to remind you that the TV show “Inside Nature’s Giants” shows dissections of a whale, elephant, …

Good morning my lovelies, I hope all is well in your little patch of the world? I'm sat here this morning in a large, comfy white bed (I'm in a hotel) with a cup of peppermint tea and my laptop, thinking how wonderful it is that we can access the world wide web so easily these days and stay connected. I have to tell you I've felt so happy to …

a keynote from CppNorth This one is about everything else that a team needs to accomplish, besides writing the code, in order to provide useful capabilities to people.

I want to thank literally everybody who has donated to the Ko-fi or joined the Patreon or gave me advice and suggestions as I transition back into “Author With A Day Job” after twenty-two years out of the workforce. I still haven’t got an interview anywhere that I’ve applied. Either I get form rejected a day after submitting my application, or no one returns my follow-up calls and emails. I …

For the past few years, I have lived around the corner from the Firemen’s Memorial in Manhattan. Every September 11, the neighborhood gets quiet. Streets are closed to traffic, and instead are filled with fire fighters in their formal uniforms, somberly marching to the monument, alongside a substantial police presence, mostly directing traffic but also respecting the moment. I have no direct connection to the firefighters; I’m just a neighbor, …