Wed 23 Apr 17:00: bla bla
Apr. 23rd, 2025 03:01 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
talks_cl_cam_feedbla bla
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Zeno
- Wednesday 23 April 2025, 17:00-17:45
- Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building.
- Series: Foundation AI; organiser: Pietro Lio.
Wednesday wishes Will S a happy 461st birthday
Apr. 23rd, 2025 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oursinWhat I read
Made a rather slow progression through Li, Wondrous Transformations, and finished it, a little underwhelmed somehow. Some useful information, but a fair amount of familiar territory.
As a break, re-read of KJ Charles' Will Darling Adventures, Slippery Creatures (2020), Subtle Blood (2020) and The Sugared Game (2021), as well as the two short pendant pieces, To Trust Man on His Oath (2021) and How Goes the World (2021).
Then - I seem to be hitting a phase of 're-reading series end to end'? - Martha Wells, All Systems Red (2017), Artificial Conditions (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018) and Exit Strategy 2018), and the short piece Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory (2020).
Also read book for review (v good).
Literary Review.
On the go
Martha Wells, Network Effect (2020).
Up next
Predictably, Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse.
Also at some point, next volume in A Dance to the Music of Time for reading group (At Lady Molly's).
Still waiting for other book for review to turn up, but various things I ordered have turned up, so maybe those.
NYR update - week 16
Apr. 23rd, 2025 09:49 pmfred_mouseOnly a 'what has actually changed' set of notes today, rather than a reflection on where I am on the goals.
- craft - the middle of the year 100 days goal to have fewer WIPs is moving along steadily. I have a document and it has a lot of information / ideas in it. I have found yet another list that is to be reconciled into the main list (this one is in trello).
- reading - ahead 26 'books' and 59 pages (this has not been much of a reading week).
- music - Malle Symon now mostly doable at what might be a performance speed. Found a recording of someone else playing it, on a much larger recorder than I use, so the last practice I did on the alto rather than the soprano. I'm not sure if that is what made it a better run through, or maybe just I'm nearly dealing with that speed.
- organisation The three boxes of fabric and yarn have been taken away; two empty boxes have been returned; it is possible some of the fabric will come back but at the moment I'm calling that specific goal complete.
- writing I have spent some time poking at the neocities site. I have more text in it. I still haven't worked out how I want to handle some stuff. I also now have an airtable base with many Untapped books (it is intensely frustrating that there isn't just a list of them readily accessible, but needs must, and I'm poking at several different sources - I have a search in trove open, it has slightly more books than I've identified already).
Wed 23 Apr 17:00: bla bla
Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:04 pmtalks_cl_cam_feedbla bla
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Thomas hartigan
- Wednesday 23 April 2025, 17:00-17:45
- Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building.
- Series: Foundation AI; organiser: Pietro Lio.
Thu 01 May 13:00: Is There Hope for the Climate?
Apr. 16th, 2025 09:15 amtalks_cl_cam_feed
Is There Hope for the Climate?
Abstract Stay tuned!
Bio
Srinivasan Keshav is the Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, focusing on the intersection of computer science and sustainability. He earned his PhD from UC Berkeley and has held roles at Bell Labs, Cornell University, and the University of Waterloo. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, ACM , and IEEE , Keshav is recognized for his contributions to networking and sustainability. His research includes innovations in energy systems, carbon footprint reduction, and forest conservation using remote sensing. Keshav emphasizes practical applications of computer science to global challenges, fostering collaborative solutions in smart grids and biodiversity conservation.
- Speaker: Srinivasan Keshav, University of Cambridge
- Thursday 01 May 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: GS15, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
25 Hissterical Memes of Cats Being Cats Without Any Context
Apr. 23rd, 2025 06:00 amicanhascheezburger_feedCats… are unique creatures. We love them. We love them so much some people call us crazy. But the reason we love them so much is because we see all of that uniqueness, all of the things that make cats so purrfect. We see their funky little habits, we see the gears spinning in their minds, we get to be witnesses to that pawfection. And we get to make hilarious cat memes about it to share with all of the other cuckooo crazy cat ladies.
Scrolling through silly cat memes and laughing alone is already a joy of its own, but being able to show our funny cat memes to the rest of the world and have them just- get it is the best thing ever. And you really don't need to give a single bit of context for true cat people to understand these memes. One glance at the most obscure kind of cat behavior, and we're all laughing. Because we're all studying them, watching them for hours every day. Okay… maybe we are a little cray-cray, but at least we're cray-cray together.
Relevant, interests
Apr. 23rd, 2025 02:34 pmrydra_wong"You Wouldn't Steal A Gender" and "I Would Definitely Steal A Gender" badges, in exactly the font you'd expect.
New binary, WTAF
Apr. 23rd, 2025 09:24 pmfred_mouseSo, I've been off poking at recorder playing websites, in an attempt to do some upskilling. At the moment, I'm thinking about experimenting with learning circular breathing, because it looks like fun.
Most of what I've been reading is fine. And then I got to this piece on mouthpieces which was going just fine when talking about two breathing styles.
Then it gets into specifying which playing characteristics go with which breathing style, which had me making that 'what are you talking about' face, because I really don't believe that ones breathing style is going to affect how one positions one's fingers, and I *really* don't believe it goes with footedness.
Then it jumped the shark.
Apparently you can tell which breathing style a person is going to be, based on the ratio of sun energy to moon energy on the day they are born. There are two links to look further in to this, and determine which side of the binary you are, but both are in German, and I decided I'd read enough.
Also: I believe that both breathing styles are useful, and it does rather depend on the type of music you are playing.
Also Also: I'm not convinced that these are all the options.
Tesla’s death is “not close” says Musk, as operating margin drops to 2%
Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:47 pmarstechnica_ip_feedTesla managed to hold onto profitability in the first quarter of 2025. Just. Earlier this month the automaker reported double-digit declines in both production and delivery numbers thanks to the impact of CEO Elon Musk's central role in the Trump administration, a global trade war, and an increasingly outdated and tiny product lineup. Yesterday, we saw the true cost of those factors when Tesla published its profit and loss statement for Q1 2025.
Total revenues fell by nine percent year-over-year to $19.3 billion in Q1. Selling cars accounts for 72 percent of Tesla's revenue, but these automotive revenues fell by 20 percent year-over-year. Strong growth (67 percent) in Tesla's storage battery and solar division helped the bottom line, as did a modest 15 percent increase in revenue from services, which includes its Supercharger stations, which are now opening to other car brands.
But Tesla's expenses grew slightly in Q1 2025, and more importantly its profitability shrank. Income from operations fell by two-thirds to $399 million, and its operating margin—once as high as 20 percent—has fallen to just 2.1 percent. Now the third successive fall in a row, the company will start to lose money on every car it sells should this trend continue.
tea!
Apr. 23rd, 2025 09:02 amjazzfishWhen I'm traveling I bring a travel electric kettle, because I hate when my tea tastes like hotel coffee. I don't bring loose tea and a teaball, or even disposable teabags, because that's too much mess/hassle for a temporary space.
Instead I drink bag tea. Usually Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey, though this time it's Bigelow Constant Comment because I haven't had that in at least a decade.
Today I realised: I drink flavoured tea when I'm traveling because the questionable flavouring masks the sense that the tea itself just isn't that good.
Better than No Tea, though.
Instead I drink bag tea. Usually Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey, though this time it's Bigelow Constant Comment because I haven't had that in at least a decade.
Today I realised: I drink flavoured tea when I'm traveling because the questionable flavouring masks the sense that the tea itself just isn't that good.
Better than No Tea, though.
>INVENTORY
You are carrying:
No tea
>TAKE TEA
No tea: dropped.
--Adams/Meretzky, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Recent stuff
Apr. 23rd, 2025 07:11 amannavereViewing: The original 1940 film Gaslight has been uploaded to YouTube so I watched that this week. It would have been better with a more subtle and charismatic actor playing the husband, because he was too villainous even when he was supposed to be persuasive. However, the core concept was very frightening to watch, and lent the film greater suspense than I expected.
Meanwhile, it took until Series Eight, which has a weak reputation, for me to get the version of Doctor Who I always secretly wanted, with the towering toxicity of a Doctor/companion dynamic on overdrive. Twelve and Clara are insane about each other, and every second is riveting. I am eager to see how it all shakes out and am enjoying Capaldi's Doctor so much. The Doctor being older just works so well for me. It's like the story has finally clicked for me. This is also the first time in watching where I have felt really keen to go back and check out the classic run to get all the lore that feeds into this.
Cooking: I have a lot of random ingredients in my pantry, so as I reorganized everything I have decided to select one item at a time and figure out what to use it in. So one randomly regifted cup of red rice got made into Cajun red rice. Honestly, I see no meaningful difference between red and brown rice, so that part was a little whatever, but the dish was tasty.
Reading: I was in an antique shop this week which had old paperbacks for 50 cents each, and I scooped up a few. I'm extremely done with literary fiction for the moment, as every damn one published seems to require a downer ending to prove its worthiness or something. So I grabbed two pulpy romantic suspense (also called gothic) novels, one Inspector Finch mystery (which is apparently gothic-adjacent), one historical novel by Daphne Du Maurier (The Glass-Blowers) and two works of science fiction (2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey).
I read Dragonflight when I was about fourteen, and was so impressed by the time travel portion that I forgave it all else. I also never read another Pern novel because I didn't want to spoil the effect with subpar sequels (I was very nervous about sequels growing up, which I think carried forward into my enjoyment of cancelled TV - you can't screw up the ending if there isn't one). I have no idea if it would hold up.
But at least I have a stack of books which might qualify as escapist in some way or another.
Meanwhile, it took until Series Eight, which has a weak reputation, for me to get the version of Doctor Who I always secretly wanted, with the towering toxicity of a Doctor/companion dynamic on overdrive. Twelve and Clara are insane about each other, and every second is riveting. I am eager to see how it all shakes out and am enjoying Capaldi's Doctor so much. The Doctor being older just works so well for me. It's like the story has finally clicked for me. This is also the first time in watching where I have felt really keen to go back and check out the classic run to get all the lore that feeds into this.
Cooking: I have a lot of random ingredients in my pantry, so as I reorganized everything I have decided to select one item at a time and figure out what to use it in. So one randomly regifted cup of red rice got made into Cajun red rice. Honestly, I see no meaningful difference between red and brown rice, so that part was a little whatever, but the dish was tasty.
Reading: I was in an antique shop this week which had old paperbacks for 50 cents each, and I scooped up a few. I'm extremely done with literary fiction for the moment, as every damn one published seems to require a downer ending to prove its worthiness or something. So I grabbed two pulpy romantic suspense (also called gothic) novels, one Inspector Finch mystery (which is apparently gothic-adjacent), one historical novel by Daphne Du Maurier (The Glass-Blowers) and two works of science fiction (2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey).
I read Dragonflight when I was about fourteen, and was so impressed by the time travel portion that I forgave it all else. I also never read another Pern novel because I didn't want to spoil the effect with subpar sequels (I was very nervous about sequels growing up, which I think carried forward into my enjoyment of cancelled TV - you can't screw up the ending if there isn't one). I have no idea if it would hold up.
But at least I have a stack of books which might qualify as escapist in some way or another.
Invasive species
Apr. 23rd, 2025 08:27 amjhetleyTwo mourning doves under the feeder now. I expect endless coo-ah noise. Doves, mockingbirds, and the cardinals have extended their range in recent decades, disturbing the peace.
Spring verse offers a poetic refuge in tempestuous times
Apr. 23rd, 2025 08:03 amcsmonitor_main_feedFive writers offer a collection of poetry to welcome spring and, with it, light and hope during uncertain times.
Days of future past
Apr. 23rd, 2025 06:56 amjhetleyAir temperature 44 F, wind west about 5 mph, cloudy. Squirrels still gnawing away at the acorns paving our front yard. Hope the oak isn't as bountiful next fall -- that area is going to be dangerous when the mowers start to run. Projectiles.
icanhascheezburger_feedSome alley cats are born with enough swagger and coolness to knock up every stray feline on the block. For this notorious cool cat, paw-therhood was becoming too big of a burden after getting with all of the local kitties. But despite being on the hook for child support checks for every female kitty within a 2-mile radius, this cat wanted the enduring love and affections of a real family. Lucky for this saucy stray, a kind couple took note to his plight, capturing him and fostering him into a new future… One with far fewer kittens, but a lot more love.
Things
Apr. 23rd, 2025 08:33 pmvassBooks
Very little progress.
Crafts
Dyed a 36x45cm piece of white 14 count aida cloth purple, for Secret Reasons. And now I know that I can get a reasonable result doing that with a large storage box and hot water, winging the quantity of Rit dye. Shenanigans may result.
Food
My parents' Christmas present to me, a new frying pan, just made it to me today. I haven't test-driven it yet, but it looks nice. And like it should heat up easier than the cast iron one my stove can't really handle, much as I love it.
Weather
Finally cooling down. Good.
Other
One of the Discord servers I'm in had a PowerPoint night. I didn't present, but I contributed a very unserious set of slides for someone else to present sight unseen. This was a heap of fun, and I recommend this form of grownup show and tell to other nerds. I am already working on my next such document.
In a different Discord, a discussion of linguistics prompted me to make a series of noises which in turn made Dorian give me a very funny look. If you would like to provoke yourself to make a series of noises that will make your cats give you funny looks, here is the chart.
Very little progress.
Crafts
Dyed a 36x45cm piece of white 14 count aida cloth purple, for Secret Reasons. And now I know that I can get a reasonable result doing that with a large storage box and hot water, winging the quantity of Rit dye. Shenanigans may result.
Food
My parents' Christmas present to me, a new frying pan, just made it to me today. I haven't test-driven it yet, but it looks nice. And like it should heat up easier than the cast iron one my stove can't really handle, much as I love it.
Weather
Finally cooling down. Good.
Other
One of the Discord servers I'm in had a PowerPoint night. I didn't present, but I contributed a very unserious set of slides for someone else to present sight unseen. This was a heap of fun, and I recommend this form of grownup show and tell to other nerds. I am already working on my next such document.
In a different Discord, a discussion of linguistics prompted me to make a series of noises which in turn made Dorian give me a very funny look. If you would like to provoke yourself to make a series of noises that will make your cats give you funny looks, here is the chart.