2021-10-16
Readings
Guido von Rossum on optimisation efforts in the Python programming language. Particularly interesting is the development of compiler technologies alongside mypy and typing in Python, features I’ve used to improve code with projects I’ve been involved with. Curious about Guido’s move from Dropbox (where I knew him as a coworker) to Microsoft. Would be really interesting if he had ended up at Anaconda.
The IRS has a very amusing List of Frivolous Tax Arguments. I find amusement with insane troll logic
Likewise, Schopenhauer’s “Art of Being Right” is a fun read from a philosopher. I have a certain wariness of taking any of these things as dogmatic - there are some cases where it makes sense to break certain of these rules; they undercut and overcut reasonability in places. Still, they’re worth reading and understanding
I’ve been trying to find a good Kindle version of Sciascia’s “A ciascuno il suo” (To Each His Own) in English, ideally on Kindle. Based on this excellent essay on certain trends in Italian literature. Reminds me of my fascination, about 6 years ago, with Italian Futurism and the history that created it.
I’m interested in unusual time signatures, scales, and other variances in music. Free Time is one variety.
Wide tour of natural logarithms, prime numbers, and other things. Nicely put together.
One hemisphere of Europa has water vapour. The other does not?
Unprompted Thoughts
What is the shape of things that is improved/hurt/just-changed when designed by committee? I’ve been thinking about games and newspapers that start daring and edgy, and that slowly lose that through risk aversion to become self-echoing. Disney’s Rules for Princesses, the Austin Powers films, even newsletters. In trying to figure out what is lost, I think what happens is they try to be everything to everyone rather than allowing themselves to alienate some groups. Or they try to represent all (or most) of society through its all-inclusive values, and stop saying anything. There’s room for that mode of expression - people should generally feel vested in society and in some circumstances (e.g. what’s said by mayors about their community) that care is warranted. But society also should have a number of smaller, troublesome voices - squabbles and verbal fights. Works of art belong mostly down there in the weeds (perhaps things as permanent as architecture are often exceptions).
For Gentrification - I’m a nuanced “for” on the topic of gentrification. I think it’s an uninvestigated “should be against” that activists have on the topic, and even though I have contrarian instincts, I think this is more than that. Gentrification usually increases tax bases in an area, improving schools and other government services. It revitalises businesses. And ideally it increases population density and creates jobs. I think anti-gentrification done wrong leaves poverty in place, and I think gentrification done right blends communities in productive ways. I prefer the optimism and experimentation over a static shitty situation.
Interesting how in fiction there’s often a guide of good music towards whom the author would like the viewer/reader to sympathise with. Would be interesting to play with this - have a heroic-revolutionary movement that had uniformly tacky and awful music and a tyrannical regime that funds the arts and has really good music. Or in general more works that show the cost of leaving a more advanced civilization for a more primitive form, even if that form has its own benefits.
For awhile I’ve been uncomfortable with the intuitions behind DEI in hiring - I signed on to the approach most commonly agreed on to disparities in the 90s - that the ideal is to make hiring more fair on an individual level. Meaning we have no added eagerness or disinclination to hire people based on their race/gender/etc unless very strongly justified by the specifics of the job. I’ve seen efforts by HR departments to prefer certain makeups of their workplace, and I think those are immoral. I am relieved to see that, at least by Pew Polls, a strong majority of Americans have a stance like mine. So that’s great. How do we dismantle these Progressive efforts then? (there are also sneaky things, like Diversity Statements in Academia, that seem designed to scare off non-Progressives that should similarly be dismantled)
Current Events
The yearly back-and-forth over Columbus Day - I don’t place a lot of importance in most holidays; I’m not keen on the attempt to overlay a new holiday (Indigenous Peoples Day) over the old one to “solve” the problem, but I also don’t celebrate the old one. I think it’d be fine to do it, largely divorced of its past, as a modern “Hallmark Holiday” that brings family together. Same with Thanksgiving. I am aware of the sad history though, and if I had a time machine and an inclination to travel history offering advice, telling Amerindians to kill every single European who shows up on a boat, no questions asked, would be pretty good advice (if odd, coming from me). I certainly wouldn’t pretend it was okay, just question its relevance today. I generally approach distant history from a perspective: If nobody around today was a victim or perp of an act, it’s moved well beyond the point where we try to fix it. And i generally reject symbolic harm.
Exercise: Pick a few videos of talks and from Youtube, and watch them through on mute, just logging and describing every bit of body language they use. Tilts of the head. Sways of the body. Try to draw patterns in how they make you feel.
Reviewlets
Greg Egan’s “Dispersion” (book) unfortunately fell flat. It started with an interesting premise - that humans developed different kinds of infections that made them selectively permeable to some kinds of matter, on a basis that leads them to rotate in and out of existence based on the calendar. And it touched on issues of xenophobia this might create. Neat idea. The book didn’t do it justice - after laying out the premise about halfway through, it offered a mildly interesting technical theory, briefly showed some rising tensions, and then had a dud of an ending.
The game “Rogue Lords” is very stylish, fun, and maddeningly difficult. But I used to be into real Roguelikes (as in the actual turn-based grid-based dungeon crawlers), and was even a developer on one for a few years. I don’t mind losing a lot. I am amused though that the game’s developers seem aware that their game is so difficult that most people can’t beat the first level, based on their posts on Steam.
Enjoying Dean Koontz’s “Elsewhere” (book). It’s one of the premises that I’m a sucker for (being a little like the old TV show “Sliders”), but it has some near variations - good characterisation, and the two main characters (so far) are a father-daughter pair, which is not an arrangement I’ve seen a lot in literature yet. It’s not very long.
Metroid Dread (game) is a lot of fun - it’s difficult enough to remind me of my first experiences playing the original Metroid back in the 80s, and has the core things that make a Metroid game feel like one down well. I’m not going to binge play it, but playing a bit in the morning or evening is working well for me so far. Eventually I’ll stop remembering the areas very well though.
Unmetal (game) is a cute parody of the Metal Gear series of games. Fun.
Amusements
I played String Bass in Orchestra from Middle to High School. Interesting to see a piece about the Octobass , which is huge, impossible to play normally, and apparently is used more to provide semi-musical sound backing for an orchestra
More musical silliness: some conductors write music with parts for non-traditional instruments - in this case a helicopter quartet.
Camping with pets that are not a domesticated species sounds like a hoot.
I’ve been watching this clip a few times recently, from the film “Naked Lunch”; it’s an interesting depiction of layered communication
Interesting to know where George Takei’s “Oh Myyyy” catchphrase came from.
Recent Music
Shiny Toy Guns’ “You are the One” as well as “Le Disko”. I wish I had known of this band while they were still active. Their music is all over the place
Figli di Madre Ignota’s “Drop the Rock”, which has Tod A (from Firewater) as a vocal lead. It feels like it could be a Firewater song (which is nice, because Firewater doesn’t seem to be active as a band anymore? But neither is this band)
Dar Williams’ “Today and Every Day”. I’m glad she’s still producing new music that I’m often going to like.
Sencit’s “Pitch Black” is a fun, 60s-spy-themed song, although they’re not a normal band (they do contract work for videogames - this is for Deathloop). Still, I don’t listen to a lot of music like this so I treasure it for the musical variety it brings in.