The brightly colored Temple Bar is named after the Dublin neighborhood where it resides. The place has something of a reputation as a tourist trap, in fact our taxi driver warned us that it wasn’t worth it. We arrived at around 10:00 am with an opening time listed as 10:30. We did see that some of doors were open with people inside so took a look to check out the venue. Inside, we saw that one of the bars was already open and so it seemed like an opportune time for a Guinness. People told us…
Questions are the central preoccupation of my work. I ask them of clients, we ask them together, we ask questions about questions to be sure that we are asking good questions and when we aren’t we ask questions about what would be the better questions. In uncertain situations, the quality of our inquiry often matters far more than the quality of our answers. So much of my work deals with supporting groups and organizations as they explore uncertainty, ambiguity, and unknowable futures, that…
Notes from my new life at the Avant independent living community. Still coping with piles of stuff moved from my old house and distributed more or less randomly over a completely different arrangement of rooms and built-in furnishings (or, in a startling number of cases, a lack of those built-in furnishings — or defective installations requiring repair and reworking). It’s been a long hard slog, still painfully unfolding. With some triumphs on Opal Armstrong Zwicky’s part; I was stunned and…
Click here to book St Mary Rotherhithe Free School founded 1613 To be candid, there is not a lot left of old Rotherhithe – yet what remains is still powerfully evocative of the centuries of thriving maritime industry that once defined the identity of this place. Most visitors today arrive by train – as I did – through the Brunel tunnel built between 1825 and 1843, constructed when the growth of the docks brought thousands of tall ships to the Thames and the traffic made river crossing by water…
I forgot who linked to this originally, but Groundbreaker has one of the more finely-worded perspectives about what’s happening with AI in the financial markets. Essentially, just as the subprime mortgage machine of 2008 relied on ever-accelerating home prices to support refinancing, current AI infrastructure relies on sustained, accelerating growth to service massive take-or-pay debt commitments. These debt commitments end up functioning as a massive, opaque “loan book” rather than standard…
I have long argued that AI will not hurt the status/prestige of elite colleges. This is because the difficulty and selectivity implicitly act as an IQ filter. Even if AI enables widespread cheating in coursework, admissions can still be based on assessments that are largely immune to AI, such as proctored SATs and mathematics competitions, where the use of electronic devices is prohibited or limited. So, even with AI, getting into Harvard still signifies above-average IQ. Detecting AI is…
People are constantly asking me for my thoughts on Mark Fisher. Only a slight exaggeration.It actually got a little wearisome and I had to start saying no. But then I seemed to get a second wind. Or maybe I just found easier to comply than to write the note explaining why I couldn't. Here's some thoughts requested recently by a European journalist - I have no idea if she used them. Waste not want not, as me old mum says.... 1. Fisher seems to have a lot of impact on younger audiences, even…
Selling PintosI think you'll like himI didn't buy that
“David Arakhamia and the power of being useful” by Kateryna Denisova, kyivindependent.com/david-ara… – “Meet David Arakhamia, the Ukrainian parliament’s linchpin, key negotiator, and political player, whose influence far exceeds his public profile” #Ukraine #Politics
A report from "Student 3" has just arrived
I've already explored how Substack executives are generally terrible people who coddle white-supremacists, transphobes, and nazis to goose clicks, engagement, and revenues. This is extremely well documented at this point.Numerous Substack authors openly feature swastikas while heaping praise on Hitler, spreading antisemitic or white supremacist conspiracy theories, attacking gay or trans Americans, and spreading ignorant dipshittery. Once you've subscribed to that hateful slop, Substack's…
When talking about social media, it’s common to metaphorically say that there’s a “migration” from one platform to another. When Tumblr policies changed, users migrated to Twitter. When Twitter got bought by a billionaire, users migrated to Bluesky. Users migrate from Instagram to TikTok back to Instagram again. The language calls to mind birds flying south for the winter, or people moving from one country to another. I’ve even seen, though I’m not huge fan of it, people referring to “Twitter…
It’s not intentional that this site is becoming something of a She’s Green fansite, but the pace at which they’re creating and releasing great material is just impossible to ignore, and while I like to think I’m being pretty curatorial in what I post… the machine needs to be fed. But still, even with their […] The post She’s Green – “Locket” appeared first on Space Echo.
While most wargamers instinctively reach for Turcopoles when looking to field regional allies for a First Crusade army, I wanted to build something a bit more unique. A unit of Cilician Armenian allied cavalry. These local Christian auxiliaries are vital aliies to the Crusaders as they pushed through the rugged terrain of southeastern Anatolia.
There are many aspects to life. When you let one of these aspects dominate the rest—say, a job, a relationship, a professional goal, or a vocation—you also tie your happiness to it. Whenever it inevitably fluctuates, so will your sense of well-being. A reliable way to create a life is to shrink the influence of one dominating area and introduce new aspects. Signing up for a recreational team sport is a common way to do this. Or learning something completely random (e.g., New Yorker…
What is Pubs & Pub Culture about? Pubs & Pub Culture is a place‑based travel project, exploring the pubs of England and Wales and telling the stories of what’s it’s like to spend time in them. Visiting pubs is a cultural experience, introducing you to local people, sampling local foods and beers, spotting quirky decor and unusual toilets. Pubs aren’t just about the beer. Pubs are somewhere you can spend some time alone or connecting with a unique community, making friends and sharing cultural…
The predominant narrative these days is that generative AI is going to be bad for the internet. Whether you call it Dead Internet Theory or The Slopocalypse, the idea is the same: A tidal wave of low-quality AI-generated slop will flood the internet, turning it into a lifeless shell of it’s former self.1 Maybe they’re right. I’ve certainly seen bad slop content on social media. But I’ve also seen stuff like this: I think there’s a decent chance that we’re about to enter the golden age of the…
I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. if suffering alone taught all the world would be wise since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable. All these and other factors combined, if the circumstances are right, can teach and can lead to rebirth. — Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Agnes Callard just dropped a new conceptual tool for understanding we moderns:The uni-context is a scenario in which the ways you should act become the same across all different contexts. There’s just one set of norms you should follow all times, irrespective of context.… There is a drive to be bigger than yourself. It leads people to adventure, but adventure just takes you to a different place. The uni-context takes you to a different set of norms, a much more radical change, a push to live in…
Giant Baby. Moving on from yesterday’s elderly woman and baby I present to you Giant Baby. There’s the giant Buddha in recline and now, there’s Giant Baby in recline. A Giant Newborn Baby I should point out. Complete with simulated blood. At least, I hope it was simulated … anyway, you decide. Oh, this artwork was at least 10-12 feet in length. Pity the poor woman giving birth to this guy. Ouch doesn’t cover it! giant baby close up of giant baby Enough to put you off having kids forever.
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