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Rest in Peace, Robert Coover. You don't need to read Robert Coover's 1966 novel *Origin of the Brunists* to be astonished by 2014's *Brunist Day of Wrath* but you DO need to read *Brunist Day of Wrath,* the most American novel I've ever read, it's fourth read this coming 25 summer, might need to push up. I also recommend *Gerald's Party*, *John's Wife*, *Universal Baseball Association*, and of course *Public …

Pnårp experienced parasitological overimaginative verisimilitude, formication followed by disinsection, and concluded with a torrent of shrieking and hooting.

This is going to be a packed month. For Thanksgiving weekend, I am going on a camping trip with friends to do some trail repair near Temagami. Then, from the 24th to 27th, I am photographing a diplomatic conference in Montreal. Both will require a fair bit of packing and preparation, and I expect a … Continue reading "Two October trips"

When we see big dollar amounts, it is difficult to figure out exactly what they mean. . . . Let’s say that you and three of your pals received degrees in Whatever Studies. Immediately thereafter the four of you were presented with the opportunity to get jobs at Consolidated Acme. Now having a degree in Whatever Studies isn’t the sort of thing that opens a whole lot of doors. It …

On the 3rd full day of WPATH 2024, there was one session that I wanted to write up in slightly more detail, as it is very relevant to those working with or supporting trans children and young people. (My original WPATH 2024 blog is available here). The session was titled “New long-term research on adolescent gender-affirming medical care”, with 5 presenters, three from the US, and two from the Netherlands. …

Package a constant value, but make it look like a functor. An article for object-oriented programmers. This article is an instalment in an article series about functors. In previous articles, you've learned about useful functors such as Maybe and Either. You've also seen at least one less-than useful functor: The Identity functor. In this article, you'll learn about another (practically) useless functor called Const. You can skip this article if …

Our route from Castine to Niagara Falls Leaving Castine was the endpoint of our East Coast travels. Now it was time to head west. We had planned all summer to visit some Canadian cruising friends in Ontario and wouldn’t you know, Niagara Falls was kind of on the way.Our first day’s destination was Montpelier, Vermont’s state capital. We had an ulterior motive for our route. We wanted to stop at …

We held a YC event a couple of months ago where Brian Chesky from Airbnb gave a passionate talk about his experience running Airbnb over the last 17 years. He believed that as Airbnb hired more professional managers, he lost a close connection with the details of the end product and the company suffered as a result.It clearly touched a nerve with a lot of people present. It was uncomfortable …

The focus is very much on Greek tragedy this autumn / winter season with four high profile productions already scheduled to run with star names and directors attached. This week, the National Theatre’s version of Antigone, The Other Place, has its press night with Tobias Menzies and Alison Oliver, two attempts at the story of […]

Team Ratings for Week 4 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Leinster 12.78 12.09 0.70 Glasgow 11.26 9.39 1.90 Bulls 9.07 8.83 0.20 Lions 8.69 6.73 2.00 Munster 7.60 9.28 -1.70 Stormers 6.75 6.75 -0.00 Ulster 1.30 2.52 -1.20 …

Safari is (on macOS) the only good application and web browser. Chrome is a remarkable feat of engineering but a mediocre application. Arc is extremely promising. Reimagining the shape, function, and purpose of a web browser for our current computational surplus is a worthwhile endeavor. On the flip-side, I hope that grassroots efforts like the Ladybird browser and browser jams will produce more diversity in how browser engines operate and …

That title is excellent clickbait, isn't it?Come with me now back to Alabama in the summer of 1959. Our scene is set in Rabbittown, a community five miles northwest of White Plains, a small unincorporated area in Calhoun County about 15 miles northeast of Anniston. In that place Viola V. Hyatt and her elderly parents lived in an old farmhouse. Two men, Lee Andrew Harper (48) and his brother Emmett …

Here. A defeat for the British forces.

Quid (Stacy Keach) with his harmonica.Directed by Hitchcock admirer Richard Franklin, Roadgames (1981) follows truck driver Patrick Quid (Stacy Keach) as he traverses the desolate highways of rural Australia after witnessing what may have been the aftermath of a murder. You see, there's a serial killer on the loose and Quid suspects it's the mysterious man driving a green van.Released when slasher films like Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th …