Random Thoughts XI: Listen to the Whispers

[amadeus]

“Obama dabs on Ellen.”

A four word sentence that I feel encapsulates the entirety of the last decade if you are American.

 

[NovaKart]

I saw this on Kurdish media, it says who was the richest man in history?

 

[Takhisis]

Hey, it's that guy! From the civ game that came after Civ 3, best game in history!

 

[Kyriakos]

If he had so much money couldn't he import stone and marble instead of building stuff out of mud?

 

[amadeus]

There is a man on the subway with long, gray, wild hair and glasses. He is closely examining his watch.

I wonder if he is some kind of scientist.

 

[Kyriakos]

[...] That type of creature would insist that they or their loved ones must be protected over a stranger, yet protested when that stranger likewise didn't care much about them. Then the relative guilt had to fall on other issues, which is how, traveler, we got this tower you now see in front of you and which paradoxically has been built from the top down.

 

[amadeus]

Here’s some news headlines I wrote to chew on, intended for people who find the real news depressing.

Ann Arbor, Michigan Woolworths Smash-and-Grab Plan Thwarted
Discount retailer actually defunct for more than two decades

Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev Alive and Well at 90
Caricatures frequently made use of his distinctive birthmark

Kentucky Man Finds Extra Napkin in McDonald’s Bag
Louisville trucker David Johnson, 47, used it to wipe a bug off his windshield

 

[amadeus]

A sea urchin is just a spherical table.

 

[Takhisis]

Random thought: everybody's not posting because they're at least one of a) not aware of this thread b) Unitedstatesians still comatose after a bout of gluttonous eating and drinking and c) waiting to snipe the next iteration of this thread. In no particular order.

 

[Ferocitus]

What is the best measure of the amount of microplastic present in newborn babies?
Micrograms per kilogram?

 

[Gori the Grey]

Nanograms/kilogram of body weight/day

Should be in Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread Thread.

And there you've posted something that should be in Today I Learned.

Are you messing with the serial threads, Ferocitus?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Random thought: everybody's not posting because they're at least one of a) not aware of this thread b) Unitedstatesians still comatose after a bout of gluttonous eating and drinking and c) waiting to snipe the next iteration of this thread. In no particular order.

Or people might not be posting because they're shopping last-minute Cyber Monday deals.

 

[Ferocitus]

Nanograms/kilogram of body weight/day

Should be in Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread Thread.

And there you've posted something that should be in Today I Learned.

Are you messing with the serial threads, Ferocitus?

Not intentionally. I could have framed either as a question or a "thought" or a TI didn't L.

But genuine thanks for reminding me that (gestation) time is an important factor.
The microplastics question came out of frustration with not being able to quickly find data on whether they accumulate in the bone matrix of a developing foetus or newborn, and whether the amount of bone matrix is even an important factor at all for such young critters.

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Microplastics are terrifying. I don't think we will understand their full environmental impact for a generation.

 

[Samson]

They have introduced a weird self driving shuttle that drives around the campus all day and is free to use. It looks really odd but I think it is cool.

I have been in work a bit, and seen this rather more and I no longer think it is cool. I think the AI is rubbish to the point of being dangerous:

• Today as I was coming in it was turning right across the traffic in front of me. It started turning as I came round the corner ~50m ahead of me, and did the turn so slowly that I had to stop to let it complete the turn. Why does it have to do it so slowly? Is it not dangerous to block the oncoming traffic that way?
• It was stopped at this large bus stop outside my window. A bus was passing it heading for the exit when it started moving, and the bus had to stop suddenly to prevent them both getting to the exit together and potentially causing an issue.

It may be the future, but from what I have seen we are really not there yet.

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

I guess the only way we can get there is taking these risks and learning?

 

[Samson]

I guess the only way we can get there is taking these risks and learning?

I am not sure there is any other field that we would accept risk taking as a learning process like that. And I cannot see anyone learning from what I have seen, there is no one driving the shuttle and I bet the bus driver is not asked their opinion.

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Humans learning to drive?

 

[Samson]

I am not sure what you mean. Are you saying we have to learn to drive such that we take into account self driving cars being stupid? I do not think that will end well.

 

[Arakhor]

Self-driving cars are only as safe as the AI used to drive them.