Recently updated blogs

Heeeeeeeere’s the Devil! TV show host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) needs to find a way to revive his flailing late night show. He’s in steep competition with rival Jack Carson and after the chart-topping episode where Jack brings on his dying wife Madeleine (Georgina Haig) his life has been in a downward spiral. Jack Delroy and his team come up with what will be a sensational special to help revive …

You'll never guess who has "officially" announced his candidacy for the City of Kawartha Lakes Ward 5 By-Election (you will absolutely guess, because of course it is Bill Denby). PRESS RELEASE!! Presumably, this news was broken first in Bill's top-secret KLTPA group, and this may, in fact, be what Bill has been sharing to his Facebook timeline (he will never grasp that people who are not in those groups are …

I was studying the silicon die of the Pentium processor and noticed some puzzling structures where signal lines were connected to the silicon substrate for no apparent reason. Two examples are in the photo below, where the metal wiring (orange) connects to small square regions of doped silicon (gray), isolated from the rest of the circuitry. I did some investigation and learned that these structures are "antenna diodes," special diodes …

When I published my review of Belle de Boskoop in 2011, a reader told me, ❝ My samples look quite different.... Does yours have the 3 pronounced ribs on it?❞ The implication (delivered diplomatically) was, are you sure you got this right, dude? title="Belle de Boskoop apple"> When I published my review of Alexander earlier this year, another reader told me, Looks like Belle de Boskoop to me, and the …

Mudhoney Every Good Boy Deserves FudgeGet It At DiscogsIn mid-1991, grunge was poised to make its entrance into the spotlight of global popular culture as Nirvana's Nevermind was being readied for release. But Mudhoney didn't know that as they began work on their second album, and they were starting to tire of the monolithic hard rock/metal side of their sound. Taking a detour back into the garage rock and early …

My drop-in time work used to be a lot of teaching basic skills. “Here’s how to click. Now here’s how to right-click.” Then for a time it was teaching people about software. “Here’s how a menu works in Microsoft Word.” Then it was more about social media, then mobile phones. Lately it’s still a bit of all of those things, but the major thing I do is something I call …

Here's an in-depth look at the UDO Super Gemini synthesizer.… Read More UDO Super Gemini Synthesizer In-Depth Review

I found out about this charming British mystery series because my Golden Age Mystery club read some Father Brown stories. I always look up media adaptations, and while I wasn’t interested in seeing more of the good padre, this 2021 spin-off did catch my interest, so I bought Season 1 on DVD. Sister Boniface Mysteries stars, unsurprisingly, Sister Boniface (Lorna Watson). Who is not only a nun but a mystery-loving …

I’m slipping in another Austin Philips story before Winter Tales season begins. “The Murder at Silchester Post Office” is a fictional reconstruction of the real-life case of George Fell, the caretaker of the Birkenhead Post Office, in Merseyside, England. Fell was brutally murdered on the job in September, 1900. The killer was never found. Philips had written extensively about the case in a previous article for The Strand, called “Crime …

We’ve had freezing weather all week, mostly dry and bright and rather beautiful. Here’s a frosty sweet pea, some frosted rose leaves and a ruby frosted rose hip: Today was forecast to thaw and turn to heavy rain but instead we woke up to heavy snow and the garden transformed again. Here’s a selection that I posted for #SixOnSaturday Including Bella’s little footprints as she padded across the snow to …

Laura Deming on understanding Interesting uses of AI The memes of the wealthy Elon dreams and bitter lessons Nabeel on Palantir Scott reviews Deep Utopia Meditation, considered harmful There is no placebo effect Dwarkesh interviews Gwern Restoring fertility with iMSC transplantation in monkeys Profile of James Fickel, a not very well known crypto backer of many impactful projects in the longevity space The King and the Golem, by Richard Ngo …

One of my fave beaches. And most of 2023 it had sand. All rocks again now but how lovely it was with the sand. I loved this photograph, so it's been a plan to cut it since I took the picture. The combination and strength of the foreground shapes makes it quite an unusual composition. I have found this my most confusing puzzle of a print so far. I got …

Sometimes, people ask me, “What’s your favorite swear word?” I don’t know why. Also, I don’t know what to say. I’m interested in profanity but not especially invested in one word over another. It’s not a competition. They all have their uses, or we wouldn’t use them. I’d have to say something like, “Well, Fuck! is best when I’m frustrated beyond words, and my favorite profane put down is probably …

Now What? Meanwhile, the BM’s political reporters decided that inflation was Biden’s fault because of all the government spending on COVID relief, infrastructure and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US. This was a lie. This post-election analysis resonates with me. It does feel like many of my own habits, patterns, and assumptions need to change.