Recently updated blogs

For this episode I spoke to Ahmed Gatnash, the Executive director of Kawaakibi Foundation. He is also a Strategy Advisor at the Albert Einstein Institution, and is the co-author of Middle East Crisis Factory, a primer on systemic crises and a vision for a positive future for the MENA region. During the discussion we spoke about the context of the political economic situation where Islam rose, the economic policies that …

And another month has passed. With September, 75% of the year is already over. Christmas is coming soon! 🎄 But once again, there’s not much exciting to share. A lot of my time right now is spent supporting my girlfriend, who is finally taking her (hopefully) final exams in October and will then be done with her studies. 🥳 But even studying needs a break sometimes, so at the beginning …

This is the third time I’ve carved these words from J.R.R. Tolkien on a bowl, but it has been several years. Each bowl has been different, and so has the lettering. I think working with green wood straight from the … Continue reading →

In Part 4, I presented a nifty result supporting my claim that classical statistical mechanics reduces to thermodynamics when Boltzmann’s constant kk approaches zero. I used a lot of physics jargon to explain why I care about this result. I also used some math jargon to carry out my argument. This may have been off-putting. But to understand the result, you only need to know calculus! So this time I’ll …

Jargon isn't an impartial term, so I'm sorry for the mild clickbait. I needed a word that started with "J"! I went to the doctor's recently. The nurse asked me if I had any hobbies because it was a mental health checkup. I said I was "making videos and stuff around ethics in tech" (I'm still workshopping my elevator pitch, can you tell?). Her: "There are ethical issues in tech?" …

Many of you will have seen the news that Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, the groundbreaking AI safety bill that overwhelmingly passed the California legislature. Newsom gave a disingenuous explanation (which no one on either side of the debate took seriously), that he vetoed the bill only because it didn’t go far enough (!!) in regulating the misuses of small models. While sad, this doesn’t come as a …

Instagram influencers are promoting "perineum sunning" as a health practice. “In a mere 30 seconds of sunlight on your butthole, you will receive more energy from this electric node than you would in an entire day being outside with your clothes on,” says an influencer, who goes by Ra of Earth. In a viral video that has racked up more than 35,000 views, he gestures toward the sun as three …

This month’s open thread for climate topics. Please stay vaguely on topic and do not abuse other commenters. The post Unforced Variations: Oct 2024 first appeared on RealClimate.

This week’s theme: John Coltrane as a sideman with Miles Davis, 1956, Workin’, Steamin’, Relaxin’, Cooking’, Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. Featured artists Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones.The post Podcast: Miles and Trane, Prestige, 1956 first appeared on jazzcollector.com.

We survived another Folsom Street Fair weekend. It went great! It's one of our busiest weeks of the year, so it really helps with keeping the lights on. The new white paint-job on the roof did a great job of keeping the place cool. The few remaining black tiles were scorching hot to the touch, but the white bits were cool. We didn't even bother running the sprinklers this year. …

Alright y’all, am I the asshole? I went to see a mobile vet with my newly adopted dog, Eden. He was (still is) cute, fluffy, and came with a bite record towards people and dogs. Body sensitive, healed injuries to his front legs, and the softest fur I’ve ever touched. It’s a confusing dichotomy. When Eden and I stepped into the camper turned vet clinic, there was the wonderful veterinarian …

Among the bulbs I ordered from Shipton Bulbs were ten Erythronium 'Pagoda' which is a hybrid of two American species E. tuolumnese and E. californicum. Their catalogue describes it as "strong growing" and I have found that to be the case. Most of the species are American (around twenty five I think) but there is one European relative E. dens-canis. They all seem to share the common name Dog Tooth …

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.—Enrico FermiReply via email or Mastodon.

Editorial Note: Led by Editor Dr Mike Hankins, From Balloons to Drones, produces a monthly podcast that provides an outlet for the presentation and evaluation of air power scholarship, the exploration of historical topics and ideas, and provides a way to reach out to both new scholars and the general public. You can find our Soundcloud channel here. … Continue reading #Podcast – “A Dizzy Idea” – The Airplanes that …

It feels like we are getting a pixel ruling every day. I’ve ignored most of them. I’ve decided this one from 2 months ago is worth blogging, even at this date, given Judge Chhabria’s treatment of these claims. The court summarizes the context: In many pixel cases, the plaintiffs sue the owner of the web property they interacted with, alleging that the owner installed source code that caused their personal …