Activity from brainwane
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"the entry level hug"
"These are the hugs I miss" by Linda McIver: "One person can give many different hugs, but hugs between the same two people tend to develop a distinctive character over time."
Guess the Christmas song with a new Heardle spin
One of the guess-that-song daily web games, Heardle Decades, has added Christmas Heardle -- listen to a few seconds at a time, type the name of the song or artist to search among dozens of Christmas songs, and try to guess the song within the first 12 seconds of the tune.
"Our radical ideas are now the conventional wisdom"
USENIX is ending the Large Installation System Administration Conference after 35 years. "LISA made LISA obsolete (That's a compliment!)" by Thomas A. Limoncelli takes us back to 1987, when "System administration is important" and "Open systems like TCP/IP and POSIX (Unix) are the future" were radical ideas, and shares LISA history (including: "LISA was LGBT-friendly when other conferences most certainly were not.").
"something extratextual was always going to be conveyed"
Maya.land is one of those idiosyncratic personal websites with, for example, a page about heraldry and the Internet. ("Heraldry scales nicely down to avatars.") Maya most recently posted about choosing a new font. "...a lot of what we think we’re perceiving in an artwork or Thing is the part that can be flawlessly reproduced, but the way our minds grab onto it is all about its aura – the origin, the context, the situatedness that a mechanical reproduction wouldn’t duplicate."
"appropriate, but mutually exclusive"
"I’m always looking for tangible examples of how our towns and cities go through long slow cycles. Our places as well as our institutions have a lifespan." Johnny Sanphillippo at Granola Shotgun (previously) writes about the death of an elderly neighbor, sorting through her belongings, San Francisco infrastructure that's well-maintained or not, and related topics, illustrating his post with many photos (heads-up in case you're on a low-bandwidth connection). In case you enjoy his work, check out the Granola Shotgun archives, including 2014-2020 material on his old WordPress site.
"beautiful emergent things that happen... once you get a new capability"
Where do banks site their branches, and why? Or: how does deposit insurance work? Or: what does it mean for a transaction to be "final"? Patrick McKenzie discusses these topics and more in his newsletter "Bits about Money: About the modern financial infrastructure that the world sits atop of." He focuses on the US, international networks, and Japan.
Throttle Tabs: limit visible browser tabs to a set maximum
"A while ago I made an addon for myself. It was essentially a tab FIFO [First In, First Out]. It would only allow 10 tabs to be open at a time. If an 11th tab was created, the least recently activated tab would be closed." Throttle Tabs is a Firefox browser extension (an add-on) by Eitan Isaacson to help manage open tabs. "I decided to add an 'overflow' feature which is essentially tab purgatory. Instead of having the addon auto-close the tab, it hides it. .... The overflow can be capped too so it can permanently discard old tabs after a given limit." Source code.
"neat, distinct eras instead of long, messy lifetimes"
"It was possible for someone to spend their late teen years attacking slave catchers as part of an abolitionist vigilance committee, hit their 20s ambushing proto-confederates in Kansas alongside revolutionaries who fought on the barricades in 1848, fight in the war itself, battle the klan in guerrilla actions after and still be spry enough to end up in the middle of the 1877 Great Upheaval and the conflicts following that. They would have spent very little — maybe none — of those years in uniform." "Living in the prologue: lessons from America's long civil war" by journalist and anarchist David Forbes (notes on her sources) narrates the life of Abraham Galloway to discuss the US's "long civil war — and the thousand forms of resistance within it".
Speech-to-text with Whisper
Whisper, from OpenAI, is an open source tool you can run on your own computer that "approaches human level robustness and accuracy on English speech recognition"; "Moreover, it enables transcription in multiple languages, as well as translation from those languages into English." Instructions on how to download, install, and run it. (I have successfully used Whisper and the results were very good. However, it is not fast enough to run during recording of an interview and give you live captions/transcripts; it runs after the fact, on already-recorded audio.)
The Goes Wrong Show: Season 2
Includes a prison break drama with malfunctioning cell bars, a historical drama by not-William Shakespeare, Robert's acting masterclass, a 1970s sex comedy revival, and a short play by Dennis. Available on DVD and, in the UK, available from some streaming services.
A wide variety of entertainment recommendations
The 2022 Yuletide fanfic exchange starts soon, and fans are recommending their fandoms for you to check out. Yuletide celebrates fandoms that have relatively little fanfic on the major fanfic platforms. This fandom promo post has tons of comments recommending songs, video games, films, books, ads, poems, visual novels, and other work, old and new, along with content notes and "where to find it" advice. "Share what makes your Yuletide fandoms the shiniest and why you love them."
The Goes Wrong Show: Episodes 1-6
The Goes Wrong Show, a British farce TV show (JustWatch to advise on streaming options; watch the first season free in the US on Tubi), is a spinoff of the live theater production The Play That Goes Wrong. Both the live show and the TV show depict an ambitious theatrical troupe trying valiantly to get through live performances of plays-within-a-play, despite all manner of mishap -- props and sets that fall apart, musical cues gone wrong, pratfalls, and whatnot.
"plausibly polished logos"
includes rule covering "Unspecified Winter Celebration"
Any ex-lovers of residents of Spirit Falls must file, in writing, their intent to enter city limits ninety days before an intended visit. The paperwork must include a notarized affidavit of intent to not participate in, instigate, or be the recipient of romantic gestures. "We Are a Picturesque Small Town and We Refuse to Be the Setting for Your Romantic Comedy" by Rachel Mans McKenny, a short humorous piece in McSweeney's.
New "Our Bodies, Ourselves" website
The classic, groundbreaking, influential book "Our Bodies, Ourselves" has a new website with "updated, curated, and inclusive information about the health and sexuality of women and gender-expansive people .... features the best of the 'old' Our Bodies Ourselves as well as extensive new health content." Topics include "Sexual Anatomy and Common Medical Problems", "Trans Healthcare", and "Heart Health". In keeping with the book's inclusion of first-hand storytelling, the new site includes interview videos and transcripts.
Columbo: Fade in to Murder
Columbo investigates the death of a TV producer and immediately gets the attention of actor and murderer Ward Fowler (William Shatner), who plays a detective on TV. Fowler immediately sees through Columbo's aw-shucks act ("Why don't we stop pretending that I'm brilliant and you're simple for one moment?") and is among the least visibly rattled of Columbo's opponents. Episode is currently free to stream in the US via Amazon's Freevee (formerly IMDbTV), as is Columbo in general.
Rejections, feedback, delays, payment, and numbers
Amit Gupta gives readers and writers a peek behind the curtain: How much time does it take to sell a short scifi story, and how much do you make? "10 publications rejected the story before it found a publisher.... Read on for all the gory details including actual emails!"
"no more boxes filled with things I'll deal with later"
Published October 31, 2001, Paul Ford's "Cleaning My Room" starts, "I find it hard to clean. Certainly the basics are simple." (Content note for mice and rats, and fatphobia, and 9/11.) Ford's memoir moves through self-esteem, love, household order, guilt, shame, and making it "to this trivial point, to this small and stupid place that seemed entirely out of reach".
Movie: The Cutting Edge
Two former Olympians, one a figure skater and the other a hockey player, pin their hopes of one last shot at Olympic glory on one another. That is, of course, if they can keep from killing each other in the process...
Movie: The Man from the Diners' Club
An employee at Diner's Club issues a credit card to a well-known mobster and has to retrieve it in order to keep his job. Starring Danny Kaye. Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Tips for baking while dealing with brain fog
Motherland: Fort Salem: All Of Season 2
Conflicts and alliances among the military, civilian oversight, new enemies, and witch society further emerge and roil our characters. Streaming on Hulu and some other services in the US. This season includes an in-universe TV ad, the introduction of nonbinary witch M portrayed by nonbinary performer Ess Hödlmoser, a mystical mycelial network, battles, romance, and the scenery-chewing villain Alban Hearst, portrayed with glee by Bob Frazer.
Resilience, staffing, succession planning, and changes for our era
"Today, when someone is sick, they’re often sicker, or sick for longer than we are used to." "The new normal of staffing, conferences, and work" is a post by Heidi Waterhouse (disclaimer: a friend). "We have to change how we think about staffing and add in a lot of expensive redundancy. I thought about this originally in the context of in-person events, but it’s honestly true for every part of work and life."
Magnitsky the Musical
94 minutes, free to stream from the BBC website. "Johnny Flynn and Robert Hudson bring us a musical based on the incredible story of an American venture capitalist, a Russian tax advisor, a crazy heist, the Trump Tower meeting and the very rule of law. Blending music and satire, the story explores the truths and fictions surrounding the origins and aftershocks of the Magnitsky Act; global legislation which allows governments to sanction those who they see as offenders of human rights." I found it interesting, funny, and moving -- and, in particular, a feat of exposition.
Chinese and Australian governments, protests, and digital privacy
Bail conditions for climate change activists linked with Blockade Australia have clauses "that would prohibit the use of encrypted communication apps such as WhatsApp and Signal. [New South Wales] police also imposed conditions forcing the activists to hand over any communications device to police and provide passcodes upon request." Elsewhere, "A protest planned by hundreds of bank depositors in central China seeking access to their frozen funds has been thwarted because the authorities have turned their health code apps red", which left them unable to travel. (Previously.)
Book: Perhaps the Stars (Terra Ignota Book #4)
Alliances reshape and a new order emerges in the culmination of Ada Palmer's "Terra Ignota" series, which is on the Hugo ballot for the "Best Series" award.
"I want my life to flash before your eyes."
"And every minute you spend with me is a minute that they too get to look for beauty." "The Unweaving of a Beautiful Thing" by atb depicts a battle between a witch and Death. It was posted to the Effective Altruism forum but is much more about character than calculations. 'There were two words that Superman lived by, and they were “pay me”.' Over on Archive of Our Own, "A Common Sense Guide to Doing the Most Good" by cthulhuraejepsen is an unfinished narrative of "Clark Kent, effective altruist" that addresses "the Crank Problem".
vacation house-type rental platforms that respect taxes/locals/etc.
I'm dubious of "sharing economy" platforms like Airbnb, because they tend to "damag[e] communities and push[] vulnerable individuals to take on unsustainable risk" and dodge taxes and regulations (as Tom Slee writes). If I want to book a house, cottage, cabin, or similar lodging in the US (especially in New England), what platforms are more friendly to my values?
"But I knew that all was not ok."
Maria Farrell wrote advice for people struggling with the effects of COVID in 2020: "Indefinitely Ill – Post-Covid Fatigue: What to do when your body forgets how to be well": "Because I really only want to say one thing; if you have had Covid-19 (tested or not), and are getting to a month or two on and still feel like you’ve been hit by a bus, please, for the love of God, rest." Last year Ada Palmer wrote about a bad turn in her health: "the resistance to taking medical leave came from me, not others." This month Farrell wrote "Settling in for the long haul": "about how I habituated, or; how I learnt to lie not with my words but my deeds" when coping with life-changing chronic illness.
Movie: Chicken People
A 2016 documentary about the world of show chickens and the people who love them. Three participants breed, raise, and care for many varieties of chickens as they prepare to compete in a US national poultry show.
Movie: Shrek 2
In the 2004 sequel to the first "Shrek" movie, we catch up with Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey, and meet a number of new characters such as a fairy godmother and Prince Charming. Voices include Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders.
DeathSucks.pdf (also known as SayingGoodbye.pdf)
A free "workbook on the kind of bullshit you need to do when someone you love dies", available as a "version with lots of swearing at the useless, shitty situation you're in" or a "version with a fair amount of black humor but no cursewords". Including "Prepare to spend a long and miserable time on the phone," "Depressing Mad Libs" (obituary templates), "So You Suddenly Have To Become Some Kind of Hacker," and "How to plan a non-religious death party". Published 2019.
sources for quotations in "How To Win Friends and Influence People"
Dale Carnegie in How To Win Friends and Influence People liberally quotes (sometimes rephrasing) lots of other people. Often -- at least in the cheap paperback edition I have -- there's no citation. Is there a bibliography somewhere that attempts to track down the provenance of these quotations and anecdotes? Sometimes I'd like to cite a story or aphorism from the book, but I'd like to know if I need to add a "may be made up by Dale Carnegie" disclaimer, and when possible I'd prefer to be able to cite the original source.
Daily puzzles in art, geography, and more
Enjoy several daily free-to-play web puzzles or trivia games, playing with math, subway routes, film stills, and more. This list attempts to be comprehensive with (as of this post) 770 games that are in some way like Wordle. Artle: guess the painter/photographer/sculptor. Tradle: guess the country based on its chief exports. Sociolinguist Jessi Grieser is "nominating -le as a combining form meaning ‘internet game that has one solution per day and can share nonspecific results on social media’" for the 2022 Word Of The Year.
Extremely optional potato whimsy
Without any particular planning, some folks (myself included) have had a good time making and commenting on front page posts about potatoes in the last few days. There's no particular reason, no official theme week or anything like that; I saw several people commenting "what's going on?" or "is this a theme week?" so this is your reassurance that you didn't miss an announcement or something. It's just snowballed organically. If you're enjoying it, have fun! If you don't love the fad, please do feel free to post other stuff as usual. Probably the potato harvest season will end in a few days or weeks.
"How Do I Accommodate This Person?" Ask JAN
A couple years ago, through Ask a Manager comment threads (previously), I learned about the Job Accommodation Network which has a giant organized list of accommodations an employer could make, sorted "by disability, by limitation, by work-related function, by topic, and by accommodation". It's also a useful source of ideas if you're interested in better accommodating yourself as a self-employed freelancer, or supporting your family, friends, or volunteers.
"the recognition of roast potatoes at home and abroad"
For over 20 years, the annual Roasted Potato Festival has been celebrated in Slovenia, organized by the Society for the Recognition of Roasted Potatoes as a Distinct Dish. They have a song (recording). Other Slovenian potato festivals include "blindfolded potato digs".
math, cola, and a chicken suit
"Cola math" is a silly, twenty-nine-second video: "Circa year 2000 something, cut together from a couple silly student films." Found via Brion Vibber as he was testing video transcoding/deinterlacing.
Movie: Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Five years after their first time-travelling adventure, Southern California rockers Bill and Ted must venture to parts they had not previously explored, including the afterlife (featuring William Sadler), to defeat a villain -- who's made impostor robots who impersonate our heroes. This film came out the same year as Keanu Reeves's Point Break, which is rather a range!
Movie: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves), high school buddies starting a band in 1980s Southern California, get help from Rufus (George Carlin) to help them complete their final history presentation. Silly time travel shenanigans ensue.
upholds the permanently ricketty elaborate structures of living
"And maintenance is the sensible side of love /
Which knows what time and weather are doing / To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring..." from U. A. Fanthorpe's poem "Atlas". "and I realise that, without me asking / you've stopped what you were doing / to take him outside, so he can continue playing / and I can have a quiet house for my call" -- from a comic by Jordan Bolton, part of Scenes from Imagined Films Issue #1.
Joy of Computing
"Joy of Computing is here to remind you that computers can be both useful and fun": one new link to a technical project posted each day -- blog posts, toys, tools, games, and more. There's now an archive going back to 2018 ("a bit like a big group Tumblr"). Everything from a mathematical expression generator ("Do you want to say '1' as inscrutably as possible? This web app will generate a complicated mathematical expression for the integer of your choice.") to "an interactive tool that invites you to play and experiment with DNS to understand how it works" to a book about how WebRTC works.
a civilized and graceful concession
I post this to let y'all know that da share z0ne (previously) has now posted perhaps the graphic most? or least? suited for reference in MetaFilter discussion: "Thank's for the infomation / I changed my mind / I was wrong / It won't be the last time / bitch" of course accompanied by a leather-clad skeleton arcing colored energy between their hands.
"clipping each word so it faced the world alone"
"I’ve no fixed place on account of I’m often late from my shift." "Churched" by Maria Farrell is a short story that is about, among other things, "the marooned generations of Irish in London – people who came over from the 1950s onward, pushed out by economic and social stagnation, and who rarely got home again." And resolving a little mystery about a man who starts acting oddly in church.
"it makes me stand out; makes me look obviously new"
A few memories and reflections on buying bagels in New York City and Döner in Berlin, language, tourists and immigrants, and expectations. "When you move to a country, you have this list of things in your head that you know will make your life easier. If I can just get my Anmeldung, if I can just learn the language, if I can just get my Unbegrenzte Aufenthaltserlaubnis, then everything will be ok. Then, I will be secure. Then, I will truly be able to call this place home. Could you imagine, years later, slowly realising that your efforts to integrate have suddenly depreciated?"
The Uselessness of Phenylephrine
"The only reason it's sold is to have some alternative [to pseudoephedrine] to offer consumers, even if it's a worthless one." Pharmaceutical blogger Derek Lowe of In the Pipeline (previously) discusses phenylephrine, which does not work as a decongestant and is "indistinguishable from placebo in conditions like allergic rhinitis", saying it is "is of no real use and does not deserve its FDA listing."
Trader Joe's Annual Customer Choice Awards
US grocery retailer Trader Joe's this year announced the winners of its 13th Annual Customer Choice Awards (podcast audio and PDF transcript; podcast is silly and includes a cooking segment). The podcast hosts mentioned that this year's overall winner has been "on the list as either the Favorite Frozen Product or the Favorite Entree, the favorite of whatever category in which it fits every year, since we've had the Customer Choice Awards" so let's look at the historical winners!
a piece of sports equipment, not lingerie
Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Smith are among this year's inductees for the US National Inventors Hall of Fame because they created the first sports bra. Jogbra started in 1977 -- five years after Congress passed Title IX. This BBC article details the story and includes cool photos of old advertisements.
Frank Oz Muppets and the Big Five Personality Traits
An OCEAN of Muppets (that is, Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism): "In case you are searching for a unified account of Frank Oz Muppets in terms of the Big Five Personality Traits—and, to be clear, someone on the internet was earlier today—I’m providing it here for posterity. This version includes the 'Henson Area', which is optional but both clarifying for the strictly psychological aspects and a bridge to a fully social theory of Frank Oz Muppets." By Kieran Healy (previously).
a cute little anecdote about a baby at a grocery store
"i wiggled a mushroom at her and she gasped and kept staring." Single paragraph.
Paperwork & Bodywork: short virtual anti-procrastination calls
Is there paperwork or light exercise you've been putting off? Would mild peer pressure from other MeFites help you get started? Join or start a short call! As a followup to recent FPPs on fitness, on Hybrid Calisthenics, and on accountability and body doubling, I'm setting up several IRL (but actually online) events May 10th-14th. And I'd love copycats.