One night, a few weeks ago, I was driving west on I86 near American Falls when I spotted a long string of blinking red lights. The lights stretched over a large arc of the horizon. My first thought was “Jesus H. Christ now what?” As an amateur astronomer, I have climbed mountains to get away … Continue reading Who Thought Blinking Windfarms was a Good Idea?
Trey and Kate: Review
This will be a completely biased review. I have a close relationship with the author so everything I say must be verified. Please buy Trey and Kate, read it, and make up your mind. With that caveat out of the way let's get started. Trey and Kate is a tale about an on and off … Continue reading Trey and Kate: Review
The Return of the Prodigal Blogger
It's been ages since my last blog post. Yes, I've been a very, very bad blogger. Lesser men would throw themselves on the metaphorical feet of their readers and beg for forgiveness but if you're expecting apologies you don't know me! I write for myself; if you choose to read my ramblings, well that's on you. … Continue reading The Return of the Prodigal Blogger
iNap #1: Enough People are Scum
Intelligible systems are built on a few basic principles.1 While reducing my dour skepticism to the memorable maxims that codify Informed Naked Ape Protocol I repeatedly asked myself what animates unflagging skepticism? What turns naturally cheerful and optimistic people like myself into raging cynics? What motivates noble trolls to put down the pizza and grab … Continue reading iNap #1: Enough People are Scum
Informed Naked Ape Protocol
Many think we are living in a golden age of bullshit. That public discourse has never been gaudier or more demeaning. That respect for truth and decency has reached all-time lows. The mental pygmies that hold these opinions don't read or think for themselves. Deceiving ourselves and others is the one thing our species excels … Continue reading Informed Naked Ape Protocol
NumPy another Iverson Ghost
During my recent SmugMug API and Python adventures I was haunted by an Iverson ghost: NumPy An Iverson ghost is an embedding of APL like array programming features in nonAPL languages and tools. You would be surprised at how often Iverson ghosts appear. Whenever programmers are challenged with processing large numeric arrays they rediscover bits of … Continue reading NumPy another Iverson Ghost
Setting SmugMug Print Size Keywords with Jupyter and Python
For the last few weeks, my normal hobbies have been preempted by my obsessive refactoring of an old SmugMug keyword setting program. Many years ago I wrote a small application that helped me maintain meaningful SmugMug keywords. I used this application for years until inevitable software changes broke it. Replacing it with something better has … Continue reading Setting SmugMug Print Size Keywords with Jupyter and Python
Government Shutdown and Rapture 2018
It’s 2018. 2018 has prime factors of 2 and 1009, e.g. 2018 = 2 * 1009. Did anything happen in the years 2 and 1009? In the year 2 Venus and Jupiter were in conjunction. Some speculate this may have been the “Star of Bethlehem.” In 1009 the Church of Holy Sepulcher was destroyed. How … Continue reading Government Shutdown and Rapture 2018
Dear Apple Pay Stop Harassing Me!
Dear Apple Pay stop harassing me! I will never sign up for you and no amount of iOS app-nagging will change that. You’re pathetic interruptions merely remind me why I “resist” installing every freaking iOS upgrade the Apple mothership foists on its hapless phone users. I use an iPhone1 but I am not a member … Continue reading Dear Apple Pay Stop Harassing Me!
Downloading SmugMug Captions with Python and Jupyter
This blog post started out as an experimental rendering of a Jupyter notebook. I wanted to see how difficult it would be to convert a notebook to a WordPress.com blog post. Even though Jupyter exports notebooks in HTML and Markdown they do not display well "out of the box." No doubt one could craft CSS … Continue reading Downloading SmugMug Captions with Python and Jupyter
