Two barely-related computer items
Item the first: Weather Now got an update today. Under the hood, it got its annual .NET version refresh (to .NET 9), and some code-quality improvements. But I also added a fun new feature called...
View ArticleToday in mass stupidity
The Times morning newsletter highlighted a story from Tuesday about yet one more example of people who have come to believe something that is not only crashingly stupid, but potentially fatal:[A] small...
View ArticleFriday afternoon link roundup
Somehow it's the 3rd day of 2025, and I still don't have my flying car. Or my reliable high-speed regional trains. Only a few of these stories help:James Carville admits he got the 2024 election...
View ArticleNavigating by the stars
In February 2022, a US Navy amphibious assault ship—basically, a smallish (250-meter) aircraft carrier—sailed from Pearl Harbor to San Diego without using electronic navigation:With the approval of the...
View ArticleThe incoming administration?
I keep thinking of this clip from Remains of the Day:The "gentleman diplomacy" conducted by British nobility in the 1930s exemplifies the maxim "any sufficiently-advanced incompetence is...
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Tallest building in Evanston proposed
Crain's reports this hour that the Evanston City Council has approved a 31-story, 447-unit apartment building right next to Inner Drive Technology World HQ v2.0:Chicago-based Vermilion Development has...
View ArticleA good public-private partnership
I just spent 15 minutes on TaxAct preparing and filing Punzun Ltd.'s 2024 taxes. It helps that it's an S-corporation and made almost no money last year, but still.Intuit still doesn't have the Schedule...
View ArticleTuesday night link clearance
In case you weren't frustrated enough:Paul Krugman outlines all the ways Republicans are trying to enrich themselves at your expense by privatizing everything.Jeff Atwood worries that we may lose sight...
View ArticleI do wish he'd shut up
Once again, in the aftermath of the OAFPOTUS's demented press conference yesterday, I need to remind everyone to ignore what he says and watch what he does. He's not as harmless as the guy at the end...
View ArticleThe darkest decile of the year has passed
A friend pointed out that, as of this morning, we've passed the darkest 36-day period of the year: December 3rd to January 8th. On December 3rd at Inner Drive Technology World HQ, the sun rose at 7:02...
View ArticleFirst significant snowfall of winter
We've gotten about 4 cm of snow so far today, with more coming down until this evening. Cassie loves it; I have mixed feelings. At least the temperature has gone up a bit, getting up to -0.6°C for the...
View ArticleMore American exceptionalism
I've been working on a long-overdue update to Weather Now's gazetteer, the database of places that allows people to find their weather. The app uses mainly US government data for geographic names and...
View ArticleMonday lunchtime links
Cassie and I survived our 20-minute, -8°C walk a few minutes ago. For some reason I feel like I need a nap. Meanwhile:James Fallows remembers his old boss Jimmy Carter, and puts his presidency in...
View ArticleAvoiding going outside
Yesterday, the temperature at Inner Drive Technology World HQ scraped along at -11°C early in the morning before "warming" up to -7.5°C around 3pm. Cassie and I got a 22-minute walk around then and she...
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The midpoint of winter
Today marks the middle of winter, when fewer days remain in the (meteorological) season than have passed. Good thing, too: yesterday we had temperatures that looked happy on a graph but felt miserable...
View ArticleDiane, this looks to be my last message...
Writer and director David Lynch has died at 78:The director of 10 feature films — or maybe 11, counting the 2017 revival of “Twin Peaks,” which he described as an 18-hour movie — Mr. Lynch received an...
View ArticleDid we pass the 28th Amendment five years ago?
President Biden believes we did:On January 27, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the...
View ArticleTime for the weekend
So much to read...tomorrow morning, when I wake up:Fallows and the Post have solid takes on President Biden's farewell address.Kim Lane Scheppelle shakes her head at how authoritarians use playground...
View ArticlePrivatization of key software component
While doing a routine upgrade of NuGet packages in Weather Now, I discovered that Montreal-based Xceed Software has acquired a component called Fluent Assertions. They claim they will "will continue to...
View ArticleColdest day ever, 40 years ago
We woke up this morning to frigid -17°C air (with sun though!), with an official overnight low of -19°C at O'Hare. We get cold like this almost every year; in fact, it got down to -23°C just 371 days...
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