Here’s a big eclectic mix of
Transatlanticism by Deathcab for Cutie
Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet
Cubafrica by Manu Dibango
E MO TION: Side B by Carly Rae Jepsen
Home is Where Your Heart Was by Plej
Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Left and Leaving by The Weakerthans
Flood by They Might Be Giants
There’s a fascinating historical nonfiction book by Erik Larson that covers the early days of the American civil war.
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War is mostly focused on the soldiers and officers manning Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the site of the first battle of the war. But it also includes lengthy discussions of how Lincoln was vilified for things he never said and blamed for things he didn’t actually do.
The southern states, specifically the landed elite, were very interested in starting a war so they could maintain their wealth and power so they used Lincoln as a scapegoat to rouse the masses
That or you’re driving after dark with your lights off 😅
It’s like flashing your lights at oncoming traffic to warn them of a speed trap ahead
Is mayonnaise an instrument?
Warby Parker glasses hold up well, are reasonably priced and aren’t owned by Luxottica
In English we have
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
Which means:
Bison who are bullied by bison do themselves intimidate or bully bison (at least in the city of Buffalo – implicitly, Buffalo, New York)
Special government employee is a specific classification that has been used by both Parties to have an advisor in the Executive Branch for brief periods (120 days at most).
That does not imply that DOGE is an official agency or department.
They are legally distinct concepts
Jungle primaries have existed in California, Washington and Alaska since at least 2014. You still see a convergence on the two main parties across every level
I’d rather see proportional representation than waste time fiddling with RCV/instant runoff or nonpartisan primaries.
More like no one will buy new construction homes because they’re too expensive to produce.
New home builders are already struggling given upward price pressure on materials and high mortgage rates. Adding in a labor shortage will push the cost of construction up even more. Margins on these homes are low by historical standards and shrinking them further is not viable.
So we will end up with fewer new homes, the ones we do have are more expensive, and the businesses building them are making less money.
In 2024, Nate’s model accurately predicted the exact electoral map.
He doesn’t do any polling. He aggregates other pollsters, weights it based on past performance and then uses other factors (he calls them fundamentals) to produce an outcome. And I think it’s misguided to suggest that Democratic leadership is looking at Nate’s polls to reinforce their own positions.
Here’s a quote from a column he wrote for the NYT
It may even feel as though we’re Ping-Ponging between radically different futures, never quite certain what lies around the bend. Yet on the whole in 2024, polling did not experience much of a miss and had a reasonable year. Ms. Harris led by only one point in my final national polling average. And Donald Trump led in five of seven key states, albeit incredibly narrowly. The final polling averages were correct in 48 of 50 states. The final Times/Siena national poll (including third-party candidates) had Mr. Trump one point ahead. There was plenty of data to support a Trump win.
Remember that the Biden campaign had an internal poll showing Trump winning ~48 states in a total landslide victory, but they maintained that Biden was the best candidate.
I’m reminded of this Nate Silver quote from the election:
Democrats, however — and here, I’m not referring so much Silver Bulletin subscribers but in the broader universe online — often get angry with you when you only halfway agree with them. And I really think this difference in personality profiles tells you a little something about why Trump won: Trump was happy to take on all comers, whereas with Democrats, disagreement on any hot-button topic (say, COVID school closures or Biden’s age) will have you cast out as a heretic. That’s not a good way to build a majority, and now Democrats no longer have one.
I was looking into DIN rails yesterday. Might be a good option to mount several smaller devices.
The whole quote is a totally different context than the headline:
A lot of shows I love have had a reboot. This is my attitude: If it’s a show I love, I’m gonna watch it. If it’s great, I’m gonna be super happy. If it’s good, whatever, at least it didn’t offend me. And if it sucks, I’m gonna be super happy to badmouth how much it sucks to my friends. Not on the internet. But that’s how I watch TV. To me, that’s a no-lose. What’s the big deal?
It’s usually the implementation of Agile that’s bad.
The Manifesto’s organizing principles are quite succinct and don’t include a lot of the things that teams dislike.
We follow these principles:
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
Working software is the primary measure of progress.
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.
Left 4 Dead 1 & 2
Killing Floor
Deep Rock Galactic