Recently updated blogs

It’s been fascinating to see the spread of “artificial intelligence”, or more properly large language models (LLMs),* in science and in writing. It’s been even more fascinating to watch how we, as scientists and writers, are struggling to know how to think about them. That’s not surprising: the wide availability and superficially impressive performance of […]

Have you seen one these before? Nore have I.

The Slow & Steady portfolio has hit an new all-time high! Yes, our model passive portfolio has finally surpassed its previous peak, reached on New Year’s Eve 2021. Almost two years later we’ve put 2022’s bond crash behind us – in nominal terms anyway – as the portfolio grew for the fourth quarter in succession. And for once that growth wasn’t driven by our US-dominated Developed world fund. Here are …

In the post How Paris Conquered the Fashion World we learned how Parisian fashion styles traveled the seas. But just what were these styles? The Empire Style Fashion is about volume and its repartition. From the thin and weightless silhouettes of the Napoleon’s Empire to the voluminous sleeves of the Romantic Era, through the enormous bulk of the mid-century crinolines, to the thin again late 1880s and, finally to the …

Humans are increasingly engaging with wearable technology as it becomes more adaptable and interactive. One of the most intimate ways gaining acceptance is through augmented reality glasses. Last week, Meta debuted a prototype of the most recent version of their AR glasses—Orion. They look like reading glasses and use holographic projection to allow users to see graphics projected through transparent lenses into their field of view. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg …

[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]If you have to know the answer right away, it’s no; or at least, my goal with this video is to convince you that the world is not running out of sand. But if it were that simple, I wouldn’t be here (right?) and you probably wouldn’t be either. In fact, I was really surprised by some of the …

Picture me holding Trys back and telling him, “Leave it alone, mate, it’s not worth it!” adactio.com/links/21459

I need any thoughts on this please? Urgent Time Sensitive Information for those who attended Lockerbie FBI and U.S. Dept of Justice set deadline for Lockerbie bombing ‘victims’ to come forward The U.S. Criminal Court and FBI have set a deadline of October 9th 2024, for all Lockerbie ‘victims’ to come forward and register, ahead of the trial of Abu Agila Masud. The Libyan, who denies making the bomb that …

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. ***Rain is currently falling wherever I look but just who was raining on our heroes' parades, fifty years ago?Thanks to Agatha Harkness wanting to test our heroine's newfound magic powers, the Scarlet Witch finds herself locked in her bedroom and confronting the terrifying menace of Necrodamus.It seems I once reviewed this issue.And …

Today is the first day I’ve felt better in over a week. I still can’t taste or smell much, but now have a general sense of “banana” or “tea” while consuming those things. I’m resting whenever possible, and I’m so grateful for a supportive partner and workplace.

A guide for getting the ferry from Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau, including how to buy tickets, port locations, and what to expect onboard. Vung Tau is the closest beach to Ho Chi Minh City, so it’s a popular city escape for Saigonese. The easiest way to get there is by the fast ferry service. The ferry from Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau takes about 2 …

Autumn TV season is here! Most of my downtime is spent keeping up with Bake Off, Taskmaster, Gone Fishing, Only Murders in the Building or Slow Horses. Drag Race UK should be on the list too, but we haven’t started the next series yet. Here’s the other stuff… Abbott Elementary, Disney+ – After very *very* slowly starting the first season (it took about three months to watch the first few …

We’re ready, but this game isn’t! Developer: Sunsoft Publisher: Sunsoft Release Date: September 20th, 2021 Available On: Mobile (Android only, apparently) Genre: Horror Clock Tower is one of those series that I’ve always been curious about, but I’ve never gotten around to trying it. I know things about it here and there, like how the first one’s an actual classic (with a remaster coming out soon, nice!), then there’s the …

An Post, the Irish post office, has released a new series of stamps, “Imagine Ireland,” generated by “AI artist” and advertising executive Kasia Oźmin. But the new stamps aren’t just AI-generated — they’re NFTs as well! Remember NFTs? We inquired with An Post as to who thought an AI-NFT stamp was just the idea for 2024. The full post is over at Pivot to AI. “Looks like a train got …