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Category Archives: personal
Happy New Year and Happy 2018
Just a quick maintenance post. In the new year I intend — as anyone who writes does — to write more frequently and more broadly. I don’t expect it, but I intend it. 🙂
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Facetious blueprint
An AI researcher (Kai-Fu Lee) has written an article (“A Blueprint for Coexistence with Artificial Intelligence“) that fails at its own goal, spectacularly. He assures us we need not end up in the dystopias so common in movies and literature. … Continue reading
Posted in personal, philosophy, technology
Tagged AI, artificial-intelligence, robot-economy
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Lunacon 2014 (2): Saturday
Even though Lunacon is over, I’m going to keep writing up my notes and impressions, if only to keep writing in general. Saturday was the busiest day of the con, and it certainly showed in my personal programming grid. I … Continue reading
Marc Cohn @ The City Winery, 2012 Jan 26
{This has apparently been sitting in my Drafts folder for four years. Oops. I never finished it, so it ends abruptly. -=-BLG} It’s been a while (a real long while) since I’ve gotten to a Marc Cohn show, but this … Continue reading
On riots, protests, and the legitimacy of violence (short)
For everyone who has counseled the citizens of Baltimore (and Ferguson and…) that “violence is not the answer” and that it would be better if everyone just protested peacefully: 1) As has now been documented extensively, the protests were by … Continue reading
Posted in American cantos, Health of the Republic, personal, politics, ramblings
Tagged Baltimore, police, protests, racism
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What explains the waning influence of research blaming black poverty on black culture
Vox has an article purporting to explore “The real reason research blaming black poverty on black culture has fallen out of favor”. And it’s fine so far as it goes, but it still dances around the reality. Why has “blaming … Continue reading
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Review: Doctor Who Season 8 Episode 8: Mummy on the Orient Express
Meh. Haven’t we been here before?
Posted in personal, review, science fiction, television
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Review: Doctor Who Season 8 Episode 1 “Deep Breath”
I finally got around to watching Season 8 Episode 1 (“Deep Breath”) of the revived Doctor Who. It’s the first one with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. (What do we call him, anyway? Is he the 12th Doctor, even though … Continue reading
Posted in personal, review, science fiction, television
Tagged Doctor Who, sci fi, tv
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What is a library?
I am far from the first to ask this question in an increasingly-electronic age, and I am sure that my answer will be far from unique. But my wife and I have batted the question around a couple of times … Continue reading
Posted in books, personal, philosophy, ramblings
Tagged books, education, personal, ramblings
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The persistence of “factory”-style schools
Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute asks “Why Do ‘Anti-Corporatists’ Defend Factory-Style Leadership?” There’s a lot in there I’d like to respond to; here’s my first swing at it. It’s easy to blame hidebound educators for educational malaise, and … Continue reading