TomMasz

I saw some fireflies a couple of years ago. I hadn't seen any in years and haven't seen any since. They've basically disappeared. Hardly any bugs on the windshield, either. We're losing all kinds of insects.

Consider the barn door securely locked. Sorry about the horse.

This is totally on brand for JWZ.

As someone taller than 6 feet, I am never comfortable around ceiling fans. Some of these fans, though, leave uncomfortable behind and embrace absolutely terrifying, regardless of how the ceilings might be.

Back in the '90s I worked for a small consulting company that was conveniently next to a bar that we often went to after work on Friday. One of the other software engineers, who was an exceptionally gifted programmer, would walk back to the office to write some more code. He said he was his most profific/creative after a couple of beers.

I actually went to a dinner party this past Saturday. It was planned and coordinated by my best friend's wife (of course). It was the only one this year. I'm sure they will be holiday parties, thanks to my sister-in-law, but that was the one dinner party in 2026. My cohort is mostly retired, so it's not from a lack of spare time.

Even the font names are great. I can't think of use for any of these, but I'll keep them in mind should the need ever arise.

Capitalism runs on addiction. Cigarettes showed how profitable it was to have an addictive product. Vaping just follows this tradition. Whether you choose one or the other (or switch back and forth), you're making someone money. The harm it may cause is a you problem.

This is good to know, but the kind of folks who use AI to create their posters and menus aren't going to be able to be so specific. They'll throw the details at an LLM and take whatever they get the first time. What matters is they didn't have to pay a designer (they ignore that they're paying a subscription).

I wonder how many of the competitions for new buildings include traditional designs as candidates. Are people picking modernist designs because that's all there is to choose from? Also, cost doesn't seem to be mentioned. Are traditional designs more expensive to build?

Monocultures suck.

My mom never made this, though she did make some other Polish dishes. I just might try making some of my own.

This could be useful for reclaiming space when your disk is almost full, but $9.99 a month for a tool the average person isn't going to need very often seems a bit much.

The photos of stores and the paucity of merchandise available say a lot.

I don't need Pandoc often, but when I do there's nothing like it.

My mother smoked from age 12 until she was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 45. But the lung cancer was the result of metastasis from an advanced uterine cancer. A friend's mother, another long-time smoker, developed bladder cancer. Smoking's damage can manifest itself in multiple ways.

When my wife died, I chose to have her immediately cremated. She was raised Catholic but wasn't religious and a viewing/funeral wouldn't have been appropriate. Her ashes are in an urn on the mantelpiece of the house we lived in for 42 years. This is where she died and where our children were born. It's where she belongs.

It still cost $4K. Dying, at least in the US, isn't cheap.

I keep a handwritten journal and write in script. My penmanship isn't great, but it's good enough.

For exams in my intro programming classes, I allow students to bring a handwritten notes sheet if they wish. I get anything from a few sentences to a sheet so full of writing it almost looks gray. From what I can tell, students who really put effort into their notes sheet look at it less frequently but tend to score higher. This tracks with the studies I've seen on handwritten notes.

I'm an endurance cyclist, and I take 5g on ride days (4/week). I started based on this study (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15502783.2023.2...). In short, it does have some benefits for endurance sports by enhancing surges in intensity such as climbing or the finishing kick. I've noticed some muscle mass increase, including my upper body, but nothing I would consider dramatic. I can't say I've experienced any mental effects, though I haven't taken an IQ test in decades, so who am I to say?

I never had an LLM tell me my question was already answered and imply I was stupid for not finding it. SO dug its own grave and jumped in.

Social media isn't "social" anymore. It's algorithmically designed to keep you scrolling. Burnout is inevitable.

As the article points out, CPR really is oversold. I was a volunteer firefighter and did CPR multiple times, none of those people survived. I watched (and listened) as firefighters did CPR on my wife after she had a massive heart attack, hanging on to some hope but knowing deep down it was futile. But they transported her to emergency anyway.

I watched my father slowly die from sepsis that began with an infection in a toe. Surgery to improve leg circulation failed and his toe was amputated. The antibiotics not only induced the sepsis but led to a C. difficile infection. His mind deteriorated almost overnight. My mom couldn't make the decision to end care and place him in hospice, so the decision was passed to me. He had made his care wishes clear in writing, so while it was a hard decision, I knew it's what he wanted. He died less than a day later.

I'm working on my own care directives so my kids know exactly what to do when it's my time. With luck, they'll be able to ensure those directives are followed.

The LinkedIn post pop-up has an AI button at the bottom. It's no wonder people are using it.

I was around when blogging started and I've seen a lot of blogs come and go. The web was a much different place then and it was easier to attract and hold an audience than it is now. It's still possible to have a successful blog but it will never be as easy as it was in 2000.

I was able to fly business class in 747s to Japan back in the 90s (it was coach to Europe, though). That meant the upper deck and amenities like a sandwich and snack cart that you could just help yourself from. By the 2000s, it was coach everywhere, regardless of the plane.

Back in my running days in the 80s, the people who did the timing and race results had a van with a PDP-11 in it that I assume ran off a generator. I wish I had asked them more about it but I was too busy worrying about running.

I am shocked, shocked I say, that the head of a ransomware as a service group is based in Russia.

Homebrew has been a gamechanger for me, thanks for all your efforts!

The university I work at is heavily dependent on Google and its products, so I use Vivaldi for work. Otherwise, it's Firefox. I've been using it since the beginning and see no reason to change. If a site doesn't work with it, than I don't visit that site.

I've worked on skunkworks projects. It's all fine and dandy until it becomes a product and the main company takes over.