Many years ago, I attended a talk by Cynthia Good, publisher of Penguin Canada. When asked what was the first thing she looks for in a book submission, she said, “A way to get the author on TV.” I’ve now got over 400 TV appearances to my credit, and an equal number of radio interviews […]

Some of us who are disabled and/or fat are worried we'll be denied access to scarce medical resources during the pandemic. This document describes our legal rights (in the US) and ways to maximize our likelihood of getting care.

#NoBodyIsDisposable Guide to Surviving COVID-19 Triage

Crips and fatties made this.
Please share with everyone who needs it.

comments

The voice of Ahsoka Tano tells StarWars.com about writing the new Little Golden Book and rewatching Star Wars: The Clone Wars for inspiration.

Download the Padmé-starring novel at no charge from May 1 - 8.

Hello! Everyone who is waiting for the print release of Chapter 2, here is a progress report! The Deimos mini-smut-comic is finished, which is great, and I'm now in the middle of working on the Cain and Abel mini-smut-comic… which I have been waiting FOREVER to do! I'm so glad to get my black claws into this. So hold tight, my sweethearts, these goodies are on their way to you! I'll make more announcements as things develop!

Thank you so much for your patience! -Hamlet

We'll be at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda Maryland!

This is our first time at SPX! If you're there, feel free to stop by and see us in the Artist Alley – we'll be at table W49!

See you there! <3 -Hamlet

  

 My kindle has arrived BRAND NEW!!! My old one was sent away... to the depths of despair, and I am pleasantly disappointed in the ending of my book.  I'm sitting here ready for the football game to start and I can smell the pizza my husband thought would be a "great idea" to make.  I haven't had the time to exercise in almost a week. Although my eating is still on key, I feel bloated... fatter if possible.  I've done the math, and in order for me to swim the five miles I plan on in October, I have to do the following ASAP.

Mondays - Swim minimum 80 laps
Tuesdays - Strength training , Swim 80 laps
Wednesdays - OFF
Thursdays - Strength training, swim 80 laps
Fridays - Swim 80 laps
Saturdays - OFF
Sundays - Strength training, swim 80 laps

WOE IS ME! In order for my school schedule to not co-inside with my work-out schedule I will have to plan in advance.  I am currently taking 4 classes this semester, all of which are history classes.  That can only mean one thing:  mass amounts of reading and papers at the same....time.....

Advancement toward my goal at this point in time is vital, I must use my young age to my advantage and endure no social life as well as sleep... who needs either anyways?

Crap.... haha...... keep me strong friends... I'm going to need it, as well as my gym membership I so am looking forward to getting by the end of this month.  I miss swimming.

xoxo

The last data has been sent out, but our work on Nebula - the final phase of data analysis - is picking up steam. However, not all ideas are good ideas. Read about Multiplet scoring: back to the drawing board.

How to Prepare for the Trump Recession

The global coronavirus pandemic has put our economy in free-fall.

Even through Donald Trump’s reckless economic policies, like his pointless trade war with China or his deficit-busting tax cuts for his billionaire donors, the economy has somehow managed to keep chugging along — until now. 

All of the stock market gains from Trump’s time in office have been wiped out, and over the course of just over one week in March the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its five largest drops in history. 

Worse than a plummeting stock market, businesses and major industries have been forced to shutter their windows to help combat the rapid spread of the virus, putting hundreds of thousands of workers’ paychecks at risk. 

A recession is inevitable at this point. Here are 3 things we can do to prepare.  

Number one: We need to reform unemployment insurance so it reflects the needs of today’s economy. 

When it was first created in 1935, unemployment insurance was designed to help full-time workers weather downturns until they got their old jobs back. But there are fewer full-time jobs in today’s economy, and fewer people who are laid off get their old jobs back again. 

As a result, only 27% of unemployed workers receive benefits today, compared to 49% of workers in the 1950s. We need to expand unemployment coverage so that everyone is protected.

Number two: We need to strengthen Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also known as  public assistance. 

Since its creation in 1996, the number of families receiving cash assistance has declined dramatically – and not because they’re doing well. Between 2006 and 2018, just 13% of families were lifted out of poverty, while the number of families receiving public assistance fell by 39%.

Already weak, the program didn’t hold up well during the Great Recession. Funding doesn’t automatically expand during economic downturns – meaning the more families are in need, the less money there is to help them. The program also has strict work requirements, which can’t be fulfilled in a deep recession. Worse yet, many individuals in need have already exhausted their five years of lifetime eligibility for assistance.

We need to reform the public assistance program so that more families in need are eligible. It should be easier to waive the strict work eligibility requirements during the economic downturn, and the lifetime five-year limit should be suspended.

Number three: We need to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps. 

Unlike public assistance, SNAP responded well during the Great Recession. Its requirements are designed to expand during economic downturns or recessions.

Waiving work requirements during the Great Recession made thousands of people in need eligible for the program who otherwise wouldn’t have been. Between December 2007 and December 2009, the number of SNAP participants rose by 45%. The program helped keep an estimated 3.8 million families out of poverty in 2009.

But that might not be an option this time around, as SNAP has come under attack from the Trump administration, which is trying to enact a draconian rule change that would kick an estimated 700,000 of our most vulnerable citizens off of the program. Luckily, a judge blocked the rule from going into effect, but the administration is still fighting to enforce it — even in the middle of a global pandemic. We need to make sure SNAP’s flexibility and ability to respond to economic downturns is protected before the next recession hits.

Stronger safety nets are not only good for individuals and families in need. They will also prevent the looming recession from becoming an even deeper and longer economic crisis. 

How CEOs Are Ruining America

Today, America’s wealthiest business moguls – like Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase – claim that they are “patriots before CEOs” because they employ large numbers of workers or engage in corporate philanthropy.

Rubbish.

CEOs are in business to make a profit and maximize their share prices, not to serve America. And yet these CEOs dominate American politics and essentially run the system. 

Therein lies the problem: They cannot be advocates for their corporations and simultaneously national leaders responsible for the wellbeing of the country. This is the biggest contradiction at the core of our broken system.

A frequent argument made by CEOs is that so-called “American competitiveness” should not be hobbled by regulations and taxes. Jamie Dimon often warns that tight banking regulations will cause Wall Street to lose financial business to banks in nations with weaker regulations. Under Dimon’s convenient logic, JPMorgan is America. 

Dimon used the same faulty logic about American competitiveness to support the Trump tax cut. “We don’t have a competitive tax system here,” he warned.

But when Dimon talks about “competitiveness” he’s really talking about the competitiveness of JPMorgan, its shareholders, and billionaire executives like himself.

The concept of “American competitiveness” is meaningless when it comes to a giant financial enterprise like JPMorgan that moves money all over the world. JPMorgan doesn’t care where it makes money. Its profits don’t directly depend on the wellbeing of Americans.

“American competitiveness” is just as meaningless when it comes to big American-based corporations that make and buy things all over the world. 

Consider a mainstay of corporate America, General Electric. Two decades ago, most GE workers were American. Today the majority are non-American. In 2017, GE announced it was increasing its investments in advanced manufacturing and robotics in China, which it termed “an important and critical market for GE.” In 2018, over half of GE’s revenue came from abroad. Its once core allegiance to American workers and consumers is gone.

Google has opened an Artificial Intelligence lab in Beijing. Until its employees forced the company to stop, Google was even building China a prototype search engine designed to be compatible with China’s censors.

Apple employs 90,000 people in the United States but contracts with roughly a million workers abroad. An Apple executive told The New York Times, “We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible” – and showing profits big enough to continually increase Apple’s share price.

American corporations will do and make things wherever around the world they can boost their profits the most, and invest in research and development wherever it will deliver the largest returns. 

The truth is that America’s real competitiveness doesn’t depend on profit-seeking shareholders or increasingly global corporations. The real competitiveness of the United States depends on only one thing: the productivity of Americans. 

That in turn depends on our education, our health, and the infrastructure that connects us. Yet today, American workers are hobbled by deteriorating schools, unaffordable college tuition, decaying infrastructure, and soaring health-care costs. 

And truth be told, big American corporations and the CEOs that head them – wielding outsized political influence – couldn’t care less. They want tax cuts and rollbacks of regulations so they can make even fatter profits. All of which is putting Americans on a glide path toward lousier jobs and lower wages. How’s that for patriotism?

The first step toward fixing this broken system is to stop buying CEOs’ lies. How can we believe that Jamie Dimon’s initiatives on corporate philanthropy are anything other than public relations? Why should we think that he or his fellow CEOs seek any goal other than making more money for themselves and their firms? We can’t and we shouldn’t. They don’t have America’s best interests at heart — they’re making millions to be CEOs, not patriots.

Big American corporations aren’t organized to promote the wellbeing of Americans, and Americans cannot thrive within a system run largely by corporations. Fundamental reform will be led only by concerned and active citizens.

After Ken Anderson

In the latest episode of their high-flying double-decker podcast, Ken and Robin talk making mind control fun to play, Nadar, the occult adventures of Bruce Lee & Jimi Hendrix, and the Rotodyne.

Congress Sets Up Taxpayers to Eat $454 Billion of Wall Street’s Losses. Where Is the Outrage?

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: May 7, 2020 ~ Beginning on March 24 of this year, Larry Kudlow, the White House Economic Advisor, began to roll out the most deviously designed bailout of Wall Street in the history of America. After the Federal Reserve’s secret $29 trillion bailout of Wall Street from 2007 to 2010, and the exposure of that by a government audit and in-depth report by the Levy Economics Institute in 2011, Kudlow was going to have to come up with a brilliant strategy to sell another multi-trillion-dollar Wall Street bailout to the American people. The scheme was brilliant (in an evil genius sort of way) and audacious in employing an Orwellian form of reverse-speak. The plan to bail out Wall Street would be sold to the American people as a rescue of “Main Street.” It was critical, however, that all of the officials speaking to the … Continue reading →

-

U.S. Unemployment Reaches 14.7 Percent – Chart from Great Depression Shows Risks Ahead

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: May 8, 2020 ~   The data is out this morning and it’s not pretty. Nonfarm payrolls collapsed by 20.5 million jobs in April and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent. The United States is now seeing the worst unemployment rates since the Great Depression. We prepared the above chart from data available at the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) archives at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Following the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, it was not until August 1931 that the unemployment rate reached 15.01 percent. We’re now at 14.7 percent unemployment from a rate of 3.5 percent just two months ago in February. Consider using the chart above to figure out just how much cash on hand you need to maintain.

-

ESPN highlights the stories of athletes, coaches and other sports figures managing their mental health and well-being.

The IOC Session -- an annual meeting of approximately 100 members -- will be held in July via a video conference rather than the originally scheduled gathering in Tokyo prior to the Summer Olympics.

Posted by: brerrabbit

( Read more... )

comments

The finalists are:

• Tommy Arnold
• Rovina Cai
• Galen Dara
• John Picacio
• Yuko Shimizu
• Alyssa Winans

Just looking up those websites has given me a lot of pleasure - my art knowledge continues to be "I don't know much but I know what I like" - and I'm looking forward to taking more time to consider each of the finalists more carefully.

I'm pleased to see Galen Dara on the shortlist, I've seen her work frequently in Uncanny, Lightspeed & Fireside Magazines, and usually like it. I was lucky enough to get into a kaffeklatsch with John Picacio at Dublin Worldcon last year (although I came there sideways, through interest in his work founding The Mexicanx Initiative, which was a finalist for Best Related Work), which was a great experience.

comments

Turmeric is a root related to ginger. It's a little hot and spicy, which makes it delicious. It's active ingredient, curcumin, is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that could improve all sorts of things from arthritis to diabetes. Buy the fresh root and use peeled and grated, or buy the dried powder which is available at most groceries. I found mine at my local farmer's market.

Like most foods, it works synergistically. The absorption of curcumin is greatly enhanced by black pepper and it boosts the absorption of omega-3s, so I've added some pepper and flax oil. If you don't have flax oil on hand, substitute olive oil or just omit. 

This delicious and super healthy turmeric dressing can be used over any salad, as I've done here, but is also delicious on just about anything else from mixed veggies to rice bowls. It also works as a great vegetable dip.

ingredients

dressing

• 3 tablespoons tahini ($.30)
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice ($.60)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave (can substitute stevia or omit) ($.10)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon flax oil ($.20)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon cilantro flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

salad

• 1 head romaine or other lettuce ($1.80)
• 2 tomatoes ($1.00)
• 1 cucumber ($.50)
• 1 small onion, sliced ($.20)

• 2 bananas, sliced and frozen ($.60)
• 1/2 cup almond milk ($.40)
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
• pinch salt
• few drops of stevia, if more sweetness is desired

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil ($.80)
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder or cocoa powder ($.80)
• 1/4 cup finely ground coconut palm sugar ($.80)
• pinch salt 
• 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios ($.40)

1. Place all fudgesicle ingredients into  blender and puree until very smooth. Add more almond milk or water if needed to facilitate blending. 
2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for several hours until fully frozen. 
3. Prepare the chocolate shell coating. 
4. Place all the chocolate shell coating ingredients into a small bowl and stir well until smooth.
5. Remove the fidgesicles from the freezer and pop them out of their molds.
6. Dip the fudgescicles into the hard chocolate shell, or drizzle it over them to coat. 
7. Just heating the coconut oil up enough to melt it and not any warmer will yield the best results. If needed, gently remelt the chocolate hard shell. 
8. Add a sprinkle of chopped pistachios or other chopped nut, if desired. Cacao nibs also work well.
9. Any leftovers can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for a week or so.

These are just insanely good and great for summer. I really don't think there's a conventional dessert that could be any better tasting than these. I used paper cupcake cups and a cupcake pan ... the paper lined pans seemed to make just about perfect sized tarts. They certainly didn't last long in these parts, although theoretically they can be covered and frozen for up to a week.

A note about the dehydrated bananas ... these need to be just dehydrated enough to take some of the moisture out but not hard. I dehydrated my gently for about 6 hours and that seemed to work out well.


ingredients

• 6 dates ($3.00)
• 1/2 cup walnuts ($.50)
• 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut ($1.00)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons agave
• pinch salt
• 2 avocados ($1.49)
• 3 bananas, dehydrated ($.45)
• 4 limes, juice and zest ($2.00)
• 4 tablespoons agave ($.40)

directions

1. Make the crusts first. In a food processor with the "S" blade, process the dates until mush. 
2. Add the coconut, coconut oil, agave, and salt and process until it begins to clump. 
3. Last, add the walnuts and process until the walnuts are fully incorporated and the mixture sticks together.
4. Divide the crust mixture evenly into and press into the bottom and sides of eight paper lined cupcake cups. 
5. Put in the freezer for about a half hour, until firm.
6. For the filling, in the food processor with the "S" blade, process the avocados, bananas, lime juice and zest, and agave. It takes a minute or two, but this will become velvety smooth and the consistency of thick pudding.
7. Spoon the filling into the tart crusts and chill well before serving.

Planted 365. 

Seen several variations of this floating around. This particular version I got from ghoti_mhic_uait who pointed out that whether and how some of them are gendered can be really regional.

It/its - Basically nobody ever uses 'it' spontaneously unless they are trying to insult people for being GNC or perceived as trans. Most people perceive me as a not particularly feminine woman, so 'it' pretty much doesn't happen. I don't have any wish to be insulted by people who hate non-binary folk, but in the abstract I somewhat prefer 'it' to 'they'.

She/her - Most usual pronouns for me, and what I'll pick if people ask for pronouns and I don't want to be that annoying cis person who says 'I don't mind'. But actually I kind of don't mind.

He/him - I about equally don't mind 'he' as 'she', but in practice nobody ever reads me as male. I'll correct it if we're in an online discussion where people assume that articulate and sensible = male, but otherwise, emotionally it would be fine, realistically not very likely.

They/them - I feel guilty for saying this but I somewhat dislike being referred to as 'they'. I think it's the same objection I used to have when 'Ms' became common. It ought to mean that my gender (marital status) is irrelevant to what people are saying about me, which is correct, but actually it seems to mark me as one of those people for whom non-binary gender (or non-determinate marital status) is really important. So I don't like 'they' because I feel like I'm being gendered as a gender rebel, which I'm really not, I have no spare energy for activism around not fitting into the female box. I am entirely happy to refer to other people as they and hopefully wouldn't make too many assumptions about anybody else's gender politics, but I dislike it for myself.

Neo-pronouns - If it were a politically uncomplicated choice, and didn't have the same problem as 'they' that neo-pronouns mark you as a gender rebel, this would probably be my preference. I particularly relate to zie / hir ; some people object to this set because it sounds like German 'sie' meaning 'she' and therefore isn't truly gender neutral. But actually that matches pretty well how I feel about myself. I'm sort of female-ish, if people think of me as somewhere on the female side of neutral, that's about right. Also, as you can see from my icon, my preferred pronoun in Swedish is definitely 'hen'; yes, it does sound like the feminine gendered English word 'hen', which is a problem for many bilingual people, but for me personally it works really well.

Mr. - Can't really imagine this happening to me. Sometimes I choose it in a fit of pique if I'm choosing from a fixed list with only inappropriate title options. But just like I'm never going to be called 'he' spontaneously, nobody ever calls me Mr.

Mx - Don't love Mx but I'm ok with it. If social norms shift to the point that Mx is the default that people start out with rather than assuming Mr or Ms, that would be ok with me. But I don't love it anywhere near enough to insist on it if people are using a different title. (I don't like to spell it with a dot as it was in the list I copied from, 'Mx.' just looks wrong to me because it isn't an abbreviation for anything.)

Miss - My preferred title if Dr. isn't available. I dislike when people who don't know my name just call me 'Miss', but in a formal context where we're using titles, I will opt for 'Miss Surname'.

Ms - I guess, if I can't have Dr or Miss, then Ms is probably better that the other options. I am less prickly about being identified as a feminist than I was years ago, but it kind of doesn't really feel like me and I'd rather have Mx.

Mrs. - Don't like this because there is no sensible combination of 'Mrs.' with a surname. I don't have the same surname as my husband, so calling me 'Mrs. Hisname' is incorrect, but calling me 'Mrs. Myname' doesn't work either because it's not a married name, it's the same surname I was assigned at birth. A few distant relatives on both sides do default to 'Mrs. Hisname', and I don't really take offence at it, it's just a slightly incorrect formalism, not an insult. It just feels completely irrelevant to how I think of myself.

Dr. - This is my correct and earned title, which is incidentally gender neutral. I don't like being pretentious enough to insist on it always, but if I have to give a formal title to a random customer service bod, then Dr. is more correct than any of the other options. I'm happy to be addressed as 'Dr. Surname' if we are being formal. I'm not a fan of being addressed as just 'Dr.' or 'Doc', but I suppose it's better than plain 'Miss'.

Sir - I can't imagine a situation where someone would call me Sir outside a kink scene. And even then I'm almost exclusively submissive so it's not very likely. If I hypothetically did get read as male, and hypothetically it was the kind of context where 'Sir' is polite, I would be ok with it, but I'm not willing to go to the effort to be read as male, so it's not going to happen.

Ma'am - The cross-section of class and region I'm most familiar with doesn't use this. I have occasionally been called 'Madam' and I'm ok with that if it's a mark of genuine respect from someone who doesn't have a clue what my name or title are, not if it's sarcastic.

Dude - Relatively gender neutral in my dialect, but mostly used as an expression of surprise. So I wouldn't expect to be called 'dude' for real, but if it happened it would be ok.

Bro/bruh - I don't think anyone has ever called me either of these. If I heard it from someone from a similar sort of race and class background to me, I would assume they were taking the mick, either mocking me, or mocking what they perceive as a working class or ethnic minority dialect. If I were called 'bro' by someone who regularly calls people 'bro' that would be ok but again, unlikely because it's too male-gendered.

Sis - Fine from my actual siblings, and one particular friend with whom I have a negotiated fraternal relationship. Fine from people who are expressing feminist solidarity; I think I broadly prefer 'sister' over 'sis' but either is fine.

I'm also totally fine with Muslim women calling me 'sister' if they come from a culture where that's the general term of respect for anyone perceived as a woman. And if they normally only call fellow-Muslims 'sister' then it's a compliment to include a Jewish woman in the sisterhood. I don't expect it from Christians because I'm not a nun and not likely to be mistaken for one.

I wouldn't like to be called 'sis' by a stranger trying to get my attention though, it's one of the words that assumes intimacy.

Sib - Nobody really calls me 'sib' (or 'fam' for that matter). I like them, but they don't really belong in my culture and dialect.

Woman - I'm totally fine with being described as a woman. I strongly dislike being addressed as 'woman'; I can't think of a context where that would be anything other than deliberately rude.

Man - I don't think people call me 'man' directly. People use 'man' as an expression of emphasis, like, man, you're fast!. But I don't perceive that as being addressed as 'man'.

I have a few friends who will refer to me as a man if I happen to be wearing more masc attire than I usually do, and I am somewhat uncomfortable with that, because I'm not more male in trousers than a skirt, though I appreciate the underlying thought process which is to acknowledge gender-fluidity.

Boy - Implausible.

Girl - In a feminist-disapproved way, I do to some extent think of myself as a 'girl'. I am ok with other people calling me 'girl' in a context where it's obviously positive, like you go, girl!, but I wouldn't respond to someone calling me 'hey girl!' in the street. I might slightly ironically say 'because I'm a girl' when discussing some gender unfairness. I don't like people referring to me as a girl, because that can be patronizing. I particularly don't like 'girl' as a modifier; I'm not a 'girl scientist' or a 'girl manager' or a 'girl blogger', I'm a woman or female scientist.

King - I don't move in the kind of circles where this would ever be a term of address.

Queen - I think you have to be a certain kind of gay man or African American to call someone 'Queen' so this doesn't seem to fit me.

Prince - Implausible.

Princess - I kind of dislike this even as a term of endearment. It feels like a name for either a young child, or someone you don't really respect as a person but think of as basically an ornament or toy.

Captain - Completely irrelevant. The only time I'm ever even slightly likely to be addressed as 'Captain' is if someone is gently ribbing me for being bossy, which I suppose is ok if we have the kind of relationship where that sort of teasing is accepted.

Lady - As a term of address where this is culturally normal, fine. I don't feel personally excluded or hurt if someone addresses a speech to 'Ladies and Gentlemen'. If a complete stranger is trying to get my attention, I probably prefer 'lady' over 'girl', though neither is great. I don't mind when parents tell their children, say thankyou to the nice lady or similar. I would not expect anyone who knows my name to call me 'lady' instead. If someone is describing me rather than addressing me, I think 'woman' is a better word than 'lady', and 'person' is a better word still.

Feminine compliments - I don't entirely agree with the various examples from different versions of the meme of what constitutes a feminine, masculine or gender-neutral compliment. I broadly dislike 'feminine' compliments from people who don't know me well, because they are almost all about appearance, and because they are often belittling. If I'm in a close relationship with someone and feel comfortable with them complimenting my appearance, I prefer the gender-neutral 'gorgeous' over the more feminine-ish 'beautiful' as terms of address, but if it's a description rather than a name then it depends on the person giving the compliment.

Masculine compliments - I would love to be described as 'handsome', but it's never going to happen, because I'm really not. Also I don't like being addressed as 'handsome' in place of a name or title. What other masculine compliments even exist? I can't think of any of the top of my head.

Neutral compliments - In place of a name, supposedly neutral compliments are often feminized. Like, if a stranger calls me 'cute' or 'hot' or 'sexy' because they don't know my name, they're quite likely to be asserting gendered power over me and I don't like that. If someone wants to describe me in a sentence using complimentary language, I usually prefer neutral over explicitly feminine.

Honey, sweetie etc - If it's normal in someone's dialect to call random strangers by terms of endearment, that's fine. I think doing so can be gendered slightly female, but it doesn't bother me if someone calls me 'darling' or 'sweetheart' because they perceive me as female. I dislike endearments once I'm having an ongoing interaction with someone, in that case I want them to ask my name (or title, in a more professional context) and use it.

comments

Well, here we are on the eve of SIGBOVIK 2019. I'm in the midst of a long day of video-making for one of my projects, but I can get 2 for the price of 5 by posting now about four of my papers. This year I've been on a chess kick, which I think I've successfully gotten out of my system by writing all these (previous posts alluded to there being five, but one of them didn't really go anywhere and/or just became part of the other(s)). They are sort of intertwined:

Survival in chessland is about how to stay alive if you are being a chesspiece to the death

Color- and piece-blind chess is about, among other things, playing chess without being able to tell what the pieces are (only where they are)

Elo World, a framework for benchmarking weak chess engines is about exploring the full spectrum of computer chess play

CVE-2018-90017117 #KingMe is just a short joke, but based on a true story


My last paper is on a different (maybe even weirder?) topic, and I'm putting together a video for it now, so I should be uploading that tomorrow some time. It's been a bit rough going, though, since I replaced my computer a few months ago and forgot that I hadn't actually set stuff up for this kind of work; I'm experiencing small problems like custom key commands aren't set, and bigger problems like audio drivers acting crazy. Looks like I will be able to finish with some vacation time, at least.


Speaking of vacation, this month we also went to Belize, which was pretty cool. The highlight for me was swimming/scrambling 1km into a cave ("Actun Tunichil Muknal") to access an approximately 1000 year-old Mayan site where they performed human sacrifices; it's remarkable because almost all of the artifacts are still in situ, including a number of calcified human skeletons. Was pretty wild. I got some good running done, found some New Haven-style pizza (!?), and wrote papers about chess (?!).

OK! I did manage to finish the video I described in the last few posts. It's this:

30 Weird Chess Algorithms: Elo World

I felt pretty down on this video as I was finishing it, I think mostly in the same way that one does about their dissertation, just because of the slog. I started it just thinking, I'll make a quick fun video about all those chess topics, but then once I had set out to fill in the entire tournament table, this sort of dictated the flow of the video even if I wanted to just get it over with. So it was way longer than I was planning, at 42 minutes, and my stress about this just led to more tedium as I would micro-optimize in editing to shorten it. RIP some mediocre jokes. But it turns out there are plenty of people on the internet who enjoy long-form nerdy content like this, and it was well-received, which is encouraging. (But now I am perplexed that it seems to be more popular than NaN Gates and Flip-FLOPS, which IMO is far more intetersting/original. I guess the real lesson is just make what you feel like making, and post it!) The 50+ hours programming, drawing, recording and editing did have the desired effect of getting chess out of my system for now, at least.

Since last post I played Gato Roboto which is a straightforward and easy but still very charming "Metroidvania." Now I'm working my way through Deux Ex: Mankind Divided, which (aside from the crashing) is a a very solid sequel to Human Revolution. Although none of these games is likely to capture the magic of the original (one of my all-time faves), they do definitely have the property that you can play them in ways that the developer didn't explicitly set out for you, and as you know I get a big kick out of that.

Aside from the video games, I've picked back up a 10 year-old project that I never finished because it was a little bit outside my skillset. But having gotten significantly better at electronics and CNC, it is seeming pretty doable now. Stay tuned!

So hey I think I managed to break a leisure record this Virgo Month of Leisure! The bad news is that’s because I’ve been feeling borderline punk for a few months now. I always thought of myself as someone in pretty good shape, but every so often I just come down with… sinus nonsense, or […]

The Grand Master Sabazius has provided some useful information and advice to O.T.O. members about how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Worst Things For Sale is Drew's blog. It updates every day. Subscribe to the Worst Things For Sale RSS!