onecommentman

“Daunt, the most important man in bookselling”

A very important person in retailing new English Language books in the US and the UK, perhaps. Guessing that 80%+ of the global literate population haven’t heard of, or been influenced by, him. Doesn’t seem like he has much presence in the used book market either, where I spend most of my shekels. Or online.

This is not an article on “the new age of reading”. It’s a puff piece about the personal life of one UC businessman with great influence in mass-marketing middle-brow new books in the English Language through brick-and-mortar retail spaces. Seems like a nice guy, though. Hope he does good work. Shame to hear Foyles got bought out.

I have, on two occasions, actually tossed a book in the trash rather than have someone else stumble upon it. Arguably worse than physical mutilation and I consider myself a book lover.

And, for several others, I have physically cut out and disposed of offending chapters or introductions using the same physical technique as the article suggests. Deeply emotionally satisfying, and not an option available for DRM e-books, as far as I know. And again, a book lover.

Nothing discussed is addressing the true value of a university degree to those who are often the ones paying, i.e. wealthy parents. Universities provide those parents a socially acceptable strategy to get their pothead gamer sons out of their too-comfortable basement, and keep their silly daughters from getting pregnant by that cute lower-class clerk at the local WaWa. With a general bump in overall status for the family to boot. For those parents, universities are still a great value proposition.

“Today, many feel that these experimentations have led not only to a new way of writing and sounding, but also to listening. And this, to such an extreme that it sometimes left the audience behind.”

Hmm, music that takes refuge from its critics by claiming to be better than it sounds, and also claiming it’s the listener’s fault if they don’t get it (i.e. they just aren’t trying hard enough, blaming the customer). Must ask if the game was worth the candle at that point. Experiments? If so, then a very low-yield experimental program, given the listening public’s general disdain for the genres in 2026, after 50 or so years of due consideration.

Interesting to compare how the 2009-2014 PIIGS countries (Portugal, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Italy) are faring in 2026 by this measure. They look like they are doing much better than Germany, France, UK in 2026 by this measure.

When considering such foundational challenges to Mathematical Research and plagiarism as discussed here, we should turn to that elder prophet of our age, Tom Lehrer.

Who made me the genius I am today The mathematician that others all quote? Who's the professor that made me that way The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat?

[Chorus] One man deserves the credit One man deserves the blame And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name Oy, Nicolai Ivanovich Lobach—

[Interlude] I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize

[Verse 1] Plagiarize Let no one else's work evade your eyes Remember why the good Lord made your eyes So don't shade your eyes But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize Only be sure always to call it please, "research"

[Chorus] And ever since I meet this man My life is not the same And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name Oy, Nicolai Ivanovich Lobach—

[Interlude] I am never forget the day I am given first original paper to write It was on analytic and algebraic topology Of locally Euclidean metrizations Of infinitely differentiable Riemannian manifolds

Боже мой

This I know, from nothing What I'm going to do I think of great Lobachevsky and get idea, haha

[Verse 2] I have a friend in Minsk Who has a friend in Pinsk Whose friend in Omsk Has friend in Tomsk With friend in Akmolinsk His friend in Alexandrovsk Has friend in Petropavlovsk Whose friend somehow is solving now The problem in Dnepropetrovsk And when his work is done Haha, begins the fun From Dnepropetrovsk to Petropavlovsk By way of Iliysk and over Novorossiysk To Alexandrovsk to Akmolinsk To Tomsk to Omsk To Pinsk to Minsk To me the news will run Yes, to me the news will run

[Verse 3] And then I write by morning, night And afternoon, and pretty soon My name in Dnepropetrovsk is cursed When he finds out I published first

[Chorus] And who made me a big success And brought me wealth and fame? Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name Oy, Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachev—

[Interlude] I am never forget the day my first book is published Every chapter I stole from somewhere else Index I copy from old Vladivostok telephone directory This book was sensational! Pravda—well, Pravda—Pravda said: "Жил-был король когда-то, при нём блоха жила”…it stinks But Izvestia! Izvestia said: "Я иду туда, куда сам царь идёт пешком”…it stinks Metro-Goldwyn-Moskva buys the movie rights for six million rubles Changing title to 'The Eternal Triangle' With Ingrid Bergman playing part of hypotenuse

[Chorus] And who deserves the credit? And who deserves the blame? Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name Oy

(Tom Lehrer put all of his work in the public domain prior to his passing. Find versions of his performances on YouTube.)

https://tomlehrersongs.com/disclaimer/

That sort of “smarter than thou” attitude resulted in the Republican victories in the Eisenhower/Stevenson US Presidential elections of 1952 and 1956. Maybe Nixon too, with the “silent majority”.

Superficially smart, smug, supercilious and (ironic, eh) emotionally satisfying…but ultimately very foolish.

Depends on how deep you want to climb down that rabbit hole. You can go all Rusty Shackleford if you’re a privacy enthusiast. It can be fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_%28codename%29

Hope they release their legacy audio IP in some reasonable format. Decades of Gardeners Question Time, In Our Time, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, Letter from America, Goon Show, etc. would make the perfect ambient background for housebound/bedridden listeners of a certain age, at home or in institutions. Practically ASMR.

A simple fix: direct the French to the wonders of jellyfish cuisine.

https://olasquid.com/en/delicious-jellyfish-dishes/

“you’ll see an “AI Persona” badge on an artist’s profile across the app if they do “not represent a real person.””

What about performers so outrageous they may not qualify as a “real person”? Say, Keith Richards? Or Ozzy Osborne? Is there some hazy intermediate category for such liminal artists?

Playing around with AI (not using, playing), I didn’t see much issue with the AI danger aspect. I am entering my eighth decade, so the emotional/intellectual developmental aspect isn’t in play for me. In fact, gen AI art creation would be a great engagement option for elderly in their slow go/no go years…active rather than passive (TV, doomscrolling) engagement.

Until I played around with AI companions. Ugh. Bells went off in my head immediately and dropped any engagement after a few minutes. Burn it with fire.

If you are prepared to go down a very deep rabbit hole, you should start with the Monroe Institute, who have been studying binaural beats for 50 years or so. It’s legitimate, bought CDs from them 30+ years ago, and they are still around.

https://www.monroeinstitute.org/pages/early-history-research...

For context, 739 people died during a five-day heat wave in 1995 in the City of Chicago in the State of Illinois in the United States.

I’ll throw in my pet theory. American football is rooted in infantry maneuvers Civil War through WWII. Soccer is closer to cavalry, a Second Millennium European experience.

Cavalry was never that important in the military experiences of Americans since its founding a mere 250 years ago, whereas lots of folks served in the infantry — Civil War through WWII. The US, moreover, is essentially a 20th Century country; infantry, tanks, air forces, etc. is 20th Century warfare; and American football echoes those 20th Century technologies.

The romantic ideal and practical effectiveness of cavalry over many centuries, ending in the 20th Century/WWI, made it much more deeply ingrained in the European (Old World) psyche. Soccer is cavalry, thus Europe and past colonies gravitated towards it.

Then again, there is more to life than increasing its speed. (Gandhi). When I read a physical book, especially an early (hardback) edition, I’m reliving the experience of all the early readers of that book. A mug of tea, a warm light, perhaps a candle or oil lamp, a period chair — and I’m recreating the experience the Author imagined his/her readers would be experiencing. Digital for work, analog for pleasure.

Boy, that’s not just a “data-driven” view, that’s a purely transactional view of “romance”.

A few decades ago, sales training made the distinction between transactional connections and relational, suggesting a relational connection between you and your clients was far superior and more powerful than a mere transactional one. I’d imagine that would be even more true if you are considering a (lifelong) marriage with your “client” and perhaps children in the offing.

Gave up on the video halfway when the notion of an actual emotional, much less spiritual, relationship didn’t pop up once. AI slop? I’d downvote if I could…

And be homeless, if you are truly not thinking (and assuredly acting) about it. It’s not “just another subscription” in many ways. The idea of renting being the “peace of mind” choice rings false with me.

35 years, .75% per year, newish home when bought, high desert

But at varying rates determined by use, design and location. I recommend desert living if you want low maintenance, or even a graceful manageable decline. Maybe not true adobe that requires regular remudding, but frame-stucco or stabilized adobe. Becomes more charming with age. Taos Pueblo has been around for 1000 years…

Maintaining your own home is a great hobby for guys 40 years old and older. The house may age, but your engagement and knowledge of your house steadily grows. Even contracting out the work has its interesting elements. Keeps you active as you age, both mentally and physically.

The key for older homeowners is finding your querencia, the place of your heart. If where you live is your querencia, then countless options open up for you. Simply living in your home and community becomes a joy. Your community becomes an extension of your home and your heart and you become a vital part of that community. In your golden years, that community provides deep meaning and grounding when your work life quickly fades. Building that connection takes time and energy…plopping yourself somewhere else in your 60s, you may not find it. Building it now and in your 50s guarantees it’s there when you want it.

And having a grass lawn is actually quite expensive (water) and borderline illegal/immoral (water) in the American Southwest. Having a grass lawn is only mandatory in a few gated communities with out-of-touch HOAs. We’ve gotten used to the xeriscaped look…blends well with the brown stucco/adobe exteriors. When you don’t have much green, it becomes a (cheap) accent color (e.g. shrubs, evergreen trees) rather an expensive-to-maintain background color (e.g. lawns).

The student learns by daily increment. The Way is learned by daily loss, Loss upon loss until At last comes rest.

By letting go, it all gets done; The world is won by those who let it go! But when you try and try, The world is then beyond the winning.

為學日益，為道日損。損之又損，以至於無為。無為而無不為。取天下常以無事，及其有事，不足以取天下。

道德經, Tao Tê Ching, 章 “poem” 48, (tr.) R B Blakney From The Teachings of the Mystics, Walter T Stace, 1960

老子, Lao Tzu…2500 year old 21st Century foreign spy.

You can do better with corn in bulk at a grain elevator. Takes about 8 bushels (56 pounds, 25.4 kg) to provide the calorie requirements for an adult for a year. Current price for corn in USA is $5/bushel plus transport. So $40/person/year (modulo transport, cooking, dying of pellagra, etc.).

Look at Richie Rich paying $200 plus prorated membership for his subsidence calories (in white rice, no less, which is a premium starch in some Asian countries)…

To a college friend from a Canadian academic family who was in senior management in a large tech firm, a period copy of Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich by Canadian professor and humorist, Stephen Leacock, published in 1914.

US nuclear power whispers to solar: welcome to the club.

This is a book review about a book about a book reviewer who reviewed books. Essentially writing about writings about writings, some of those writings presumably are themselves writings about writings. And people wonder why the humanities have become irrelevant to the lives of people today.

You touched on a pet idea of mine and, since you made the mistake of actually intelligently responding to online forum comments, now I get to make a pitch for it.

Thesis: every student accepted into medical school must complete 9 months as a medical scribe (financially compensated at some reasonable level) assigned to various medical team(s) prior to their actual entrance into med school.

They are formally trained on the latest and greatest scribing tech (which clinicians probably deprioritize).

They get exposure to what it means to work as part of a medical team. A heads-up before they pursue a medical career.

They get exposed to operational ethics, formality of ops, etc. in a role where they probably aren’t going to kill anyone.

They learn useful operational jargon and the lore of clinical practice to motivate the unending hours they will spend memorizing metabolic pathways and general trivia in med school.

They provide a friendlier, more humane “UI” for clinicians who loathe automated scribing systems, but love the fact they get to actually go home at a reasonable hour instead of charting til the wee hours. They should be actually, visibly and directly making the clinician’s job easier and more pleasant, so will be more likely to be treated with respect, perhaps even be coveted, and ultimately view the experience as a life-affirming one.

They make some decent money, less than a permanent professional scribe but more than flipping burgers, enough to secure decent med school student housing, maybe even pay for their books.

The program fits nicely into the concept of interning already part of medical training, being a sort of “data intern” with no access to the more physically impactful elements of medical practice.

The OP title isn’t clickbait. The actual article has a title that is somewhere between clickbait and excessively biased. The positive correlation between high vitamin intake and lung cancer has been studied, reported and cited in the professional literature for many years now. Using the word “absurd” in the article title is biased and unprofessional and downright silly. AI?

Looks vaguely like the Karmarkar algorithm idea for Linear Programming where you rescale the feasible region to look spherical to make the search more efficient.