Apr 2016
- Apr 5
- Self-Determination
Just because you "don't believe in labels" doesn't mean other people aren't free to identify themselves with communities they have a stake in.
· Read more… - Apr 5
- Playing a Bard in an RPG
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- Apr 5
- Word Salad
Inexplicably, Sarah Palin is still being paid attention to.
· Read more… - Apr 5
- Berniebots
I thought "Berniebot" was just a pejorative term for Sanders supporters (akin to "Obamabot" in the 2008 election without the definite racial component.)
· Read more… - Apr 7
- Web Browsers
It makes no sense to me, but having multiple different browser instances open (like, literally five different browser instances right now) seems to use memory more efficiently than if I had opened everything in multiple tabs in a single browser.
· Read more… - Apr 9
- Hip Hop and Rock and Roll
That moment when people who hate sampling and remixes forget that rock and roll totally appropriated aspects of R&B, the blues, gospel, jazz, etc., etc., and mashed it all up into an ill-defined genre.
· Read more… - Apr 9
- Firefight
So apparently this happened about four blocks from my office yesterday.
· Read more… - Apr 9
- FriendFeed Death Anniversary
It feels like it was a really long time ago when Facebook finally pulled the plug on FriendFeed.
· Read more… - Apr 11
- To the Pain
Last night was the first time I can remember having a pain dream.
· Read more… - Apr 12
- Nitrogen Pollution
These days, carbon pollution is generally the headliner, but nitrogen pollution definitely has major environmental effects.
· Read more… - Apr 12
- Tab Cleanup
Collecting some of the open tabs in Chrome:
· Read more… - Apr 12
- Is Bernie Sanders a Democrat?
Especially from the Clinton camp, there has been much talk about how Sanders isn't really a Democrat.
· Read more… - Apr 12
- Ortho Nixes Neonics
Despite the controversy over whether or not neonicotinoid pesticides harm bees or not, Ortho has taken the step to phase out and eventually discontinue neonics in their home and garden products.
· Read more… - Apr 13
- Restoring the New Deal
While I totally agree that Clinton is closer to the center than Sanders is, they're still both far to the left of guys like Kasich, Rubio, or Jeb!
· Read more… - Apr 13
- Hugo Weaving
Since Middle Earth is really just supposed to be Earth, this means that The Lord of the Rings and "The Matrix" happen in the same universe. Agent Smith is really just Elrond after he went totally insane after countless millenia. And just like elves, agents cannot leave their plane of existence like humans can.
· Read more… - Apr 14
- Kilig
Another Tagalog word makes it into the OED!
· Read more… - Apr 14
- Sandy Hook and Tanks
Bushmaster Firearms is being sued for selling AR-15s, which was one of the weapons Adam Lanza used to mow down first graders in 2012.
· Read more… - Apr 15
- Texting in Movie Theaters
Alienating all the people who still go to movie theaters in a feeble attempt to draw millenials who don't really go to movie theaters sounds suicidal.
· Read more… - Apr 15
- The Robot Uprising Already Happened
Most jobs left that are front-facing (i.e., that require person-to-person interaction) will probably not be satisfactorily automatable until AI becomes much more powerful.
· Read more… - Apr 16
- Horses Not Unicorns
When you hear hoofbeats, don't think of unicorns. Everyone knows unicorns never really touch the ground.
· Read more… - Apr 16
- Folic Acid Fortified Corn Tortillas
Definitely do not read the comments on this one. The pseudoscience and scientism in the comments are out of control.
· Read more… - Apr 18
- Getting Rid of Andrew Jackson
It's kind of hilarious that the popularity of "Hamilton" seems to have ensured that Alexander Hamilton will stay on the $10 bill.
· Read more… - Apr 19
- Party Loyalty
Despite what Republicans say, the Democratic party isn't like the Communist party where you have to declare total party loyalty. It's always been an unruly coalition of special interests since it's inception as the Democratic-Republican party in 1799. Some special interests have bailed, others have joined, but the dynamic has always been the same. It's a big tent. It's within my living memory when politicians who supported segregation and states' rights caucused with politicians who kindled and propelled the Civil Rights Movement and politicians who were instrumental in preserve the welfare state enacted by the New Deal and the Great Society.
· Read more… - Apr 19
- Bernie or Bust
We don't really need to wonder whether the Bernie or Bust sentiment is real. We already saw it in 2010 when the Democratic electorate rolled over and let the Tea Party move in.
· Read more… - Apr 20
- Legitimacy
Assuming that existing polls hold (there is a paucity of polls in the remaining primaries—there's only really data for CT, MD, PA, CA, and NJ, and absolutely nothing from all of May) and using the national polling data as a guide for how the states without data will go (538 has Clinton at 49.4% and Sanders at 41.7% nationally which will be wildly inaccurate in a lot of states—a lot of those smaller states will probably go heavily towards Sanders—but it's all we've got) there's no realistic way for Clinton to get 2,383 pledged delegates before the convention (she'll probably have just under 2,000 pledged delegates by the end of the DC primary.)
· Read more… - Apr 20
- I Don't Trust Obi-Wan Kenobi
Since Obi-Wan Kenobi has revealed himself to be a terrible liar, it occurs to me that he might have been exaggerating about what he felt about the destruction of Alderaan:
· Read more… - Apr 21
- Dictionary Definitions and Disingenuity
Dictionary definitions are the last refuge of scoundrels.
· Read more… - Apr 21
- Prince is Dead
Oh my god 😞
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