Recently updated blogs

Today, the Unit published Monitor 88, providing analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. This post by Meg Russell and Alan Renwick also serves as the issue’s lead article. It discusses how the government has stumbled in its early steps to restore public trust, failed to match rhetoric on parliamentary scrutiny with action, and hesitated to make reforms within parliament and the electoral system that it had previously …

“All is Fair in Love and War” - common saying“So many social, political, and also economic struggles — no matter what they may appear to be on the surface — are actually about who should rise and fall in status.” - Tyler CowenWe often work to seem neutral and fair in many areas of life. But when it comes to our most important areas, we usually drop this pretense and …

Sometimes (a lot of the time) I’ll look back at my blog posts and realize that there’s some really big thing I’ve been doing or working on that would have made for an interesting blog post, and while I might post about them on my socials, like Mastodon or Tumblr, I won’t ever remember to … Continue reading "Pixel Prints and Other Gaming Crafty Things"

The 1989 film Lean on Me portrays Eastside High School principal Joe Clark in Paterson, New Jersey rescuing a school mired in violence and poor academic performance. In one dramatic scene with actor Morgan Freeman playing Clark, over two hundred troublemakers are on the auditorium stage. The rest of the Eastside student body sit in the auditorium watching Clark quiet everyone including those students standing behind him. Facing the two-hundred …

Borbetomagus is a trio of Don Dietrich (reeds) Jim Sauter (reeds) and Donald Miller (guitar) and additionally Brian Doherty (electronics) Existing since the mid-seventies. This is free-improv "jazz" of the most extreme nature and its certainly not for the faint hearted, since heavy bone crushing walls of noise are their specialty.Yummy.That sounds like something I'd like, and something that any supreme court judge in a MAGA hat would eagerly pass …

Yes, Berlin has a hold on me. I’m going to be spending 2 1/2 weeks in the city. Why so long, and why only Berlin? One of my biggest regrets is I never moved there in my 20s. I feel like I’m past my so-called prime becoming an immigrant in my mid-40s. I’m a lot more inflexible in my needs and wants now than I was a couple of decades …

I ain’t no student of ancient culture, but there’s one thing that I do know: The B-52’s didn’t do a ton of research when writing the song “Mesopotamia.” But that’s kind of what the song is all about, and kind of why I love the band. They made songs about whatever weird shit they felt like: counterfeiting, driving in the south at night, odd beach encounters, how there are a …

I received the following note from David Bruhn regarding a new book out on the story of Al Baeta, long time coach at American River Community College in Sacremento, CA. Hoping some of our readers, especially from the West Coast will give the book a try and let us know about it in the form of a review. Dear George ,It's my hope that you will make visitors to your …

Repeated listening is advised. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize My first album with Brötzmann. As I’m continuing my explorations into the avant-garde the prospect of dipping my toes into the work of Brötzmann was appealing but a bit daunting. Not entirely a given, cause my impression is that he was maybe a bit too harsh a player for me …

(2007) Written and Directed by Werner Herzog; Starring: Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal, Ryan Andrew Evans, Kevin Emery, Olav T. Oftedal and Regina Eisert; Available on Blu-ray and DVD. Rating: **** “…Every single mechanic – highly professional. Every scientist – cutting edge of science, every cook who comes there, a dishwasher, are highly motivated people, sometimes you would find a retired judge who is doing the dishes… …

I feel like my own side projects haunt me sometimes. I want to build new and shiny things, I buy domain names, I get 90% of the way there… and then eh. Time for something new and shiny again. But now, I’m at a point where I just finished a super busy time at work, it’s a holiday week without a ton to do, and I have the energy and …

Lots of exciting new features have been landing in CSS recently, and it can be tough trying to figure out if they’re safe to use or not. We might know that a feature is available for 92% of users, but is that sufficient? Where do we draw the line? In this blog post, I’ll share the framework I use for deciding whether or not to use a modern CSS feature …

There is currently an effort underway to build a new universal lockfile standard for Python, most of which is taking place on the Python discussion forum. This initiative has highlighted the difficulty of creating a standard that satisfies everyone. It has become clear that different Python packaging tools are having slightly different ideas in mind of what a lockfile is supposed to look like or even be used for. In …

The world of photography is incredibly diverse, making it tricky to choose the perfect gifts for photographers. Whether you’re a seasoned shutterbug or someone who knows little about lenses, this guide is here to simplify your search. From clever camera gifts to thoughtful photography gifts that cater to both beginners and pros, you’ll find something to inspire creativity and enhance their craft. Explore these carefully curated picks and make the …

As a lifehacky person, I’m always on the lookout for items that might seem boring but secretly make life lots better. I’ve noticed people sharing similar lists to this, and I find them genuinely useful, so I thought I’d create my own. The method was simple: I went back through all of my Amazon purchases forever and picked out ones which have genuinely added to life. They are things I …