¶Language is fluid, just ask the cryptographers.
Stream
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/2021/11/21 on November 22, 2021 at 3:43 AM
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¶Intel is done with stock buybacks, a financial move in which a company uses its cash to buy stock and thereby increase its price. “We’re investing in factories,” he told me. “That’s going to be the use of our cash....”
¶Intel is heading back to the future, and putting a heck of a lot of dough into the trip. Fabs everywhere, and it’s hard to view that as a bad thing.
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/2021/11/21 on November 22, 2021 at 3:23 AM
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¶Goalie interference in hockey has to be the most inconsistently called penalty in all of professional sports. Holding by NFL offensive linemen is probably a distant second.
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/2021/11/20 on November 21, 2021 at 3:45 AM
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¶Good morning! Up and at it!
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/2021/11/18 at 11:52 AM
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(cnbc.com)
¶This is a smart move by Pfizer (and Merck, which was first to make the arrangement for an oral antiviral pill for Covid). It’s smart patent strategy, and also the right thing to do.
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/2021/11/16 on November 17, 2021 at 1:13 AM
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/2021/11/15 on November 16, 2021 at 2:03 AM
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¶Yes, we need to teach digital literacy to our kids. Everyone is ignoring the reality, though, that we really need to teach it to our parents.
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/2021/11/14 at 11:54 PM
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¶Just watched the Lions and Steelers play to a tie, 16-16. The ten minutes of overtime had to be the worst ten minutes of pro football I’ve ever watched. Turnovers, penalties, a horribly missed field goal, and just plain sloppy play. It was an embarrassment for the league. It was hysterical, though.
¶And the the Lions didn’t lose, so at least there’s that.
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/2021/11/14 at 9:48 PM
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¶Thanks to a friend, who shared this story with me as follow-up to my photo of the Toledo Blade Boulevard sign in Florida. It’s not the backstory I expected, not even close. But it’s interesting, and now I have the rest of the story.
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/2021/11/14 at 5:36 PM
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¶First snow arrived today. Not much, but it’s here. And gone. It’s supposed to be sixty degrees plus later this week. That’s how the beginning of winter rolls in Ohio.
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/2021/11/14 on November 15, 2021 at 11:57 AM
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¶Technology continues to isolate us from each other, both in ways we’re fully aware of (checking our phones constantly) and in ways I don’t think we appreciate yet. Case in point on the latter — after taking my seat on my flight back home today, I noticed how quickly everyone turns to the seatback monitor and the entertainment options available for the flight. Many people, include the guy sitting next to me, plugged their headphones in before the system was operational. Granted, today’s flight is a brief two hours long, which means you’ve got to start a movie right away if you hope to finish it before landing.
¶It’s sort of sad, though. The chance of striking up an interesting conversation with a seat mate in a plane seems to have dropped considerably lately, thanks to technology.
¶But, the movie selection is decent. And I did sit behind an older gentlemen that chose to watch Roger Rabbit, which is kind of cool.
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/2021/11/11 at 9:40 PM
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¶Occasionally I find myself in St. Pete Beach without Renee. It’s not the same without her, of course, but one perk of the solo trips is having smoked fish at Ted Peters. It’s just not her thing, so we never go when we’re down here together.
¶Well, I’ve been down here for work the last couple days, and I’m heading home tomorrow. So smoked salmon, German potato salad, and Miller High Life in a frosted mug was an easy call.
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/2021/11/10 at 10:50 PM
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¶I’m a bit of a word nerd, so the eight buffalo sentence has intrigued me for some time. Whenever I read it I have to perform the mental gymnastics necessary to understand it, but I eventually get there.
¶There’s been a lot of well-deserved snickering on the various Apple podcasts lately about the new Apple M1 Max chips and the Macs that include them (Upgrade, ATP, for example). Confusion sets in when you’re speaking about these chips and the computers that include them because, without a bit of context, you can’t tell whether the spoken word is Macs or Max.
¶“The new M1 Max,” when spoken, could leave a listener thinking the speaker is referring to the M1 Max chip. But the listener might also think the speaker is referring to the new Mac computers that include any M1 chip - M1 Macs.
¶The Upgrade podcast offered a simple solution that makes sense and should eliminate any confusion - follow “Max” with “chip” and the meaning will always be fairly clear. “M1 Max chip” means the chip, and “M1 Macs” (without the “chip”) means multiple M1 Mac computers.
¶So the solution is relatively simple and the problem can be avoided.
¶But, as I was thinking about that, the Eight Buffalo sentence crept into my head. Can I get there with the Max/Macs confusion? It’s not the same, granted, because the words are not the same. It’s still fun to think about, though.
¶Here’s what I’ve got so far.
¶Mac’s Max’d Max Mac Max’d Mac’s Max Mac.
¶Count ‘em - Eight!
¶Here’s the key:
¶I guy named Mac has two M1 Max computers - one is maxed out, and the other has less than maximum specifications (maybe he opted for the more affordable 2 or 1 TB drives, for example). As any self-respecting computer nerd would do after ordering two nearly identical computers, Mac ran some sort of head-to-head performance test on both of them and, surprise, the one with the maxed out configuration performed better - it “maxed” the other one.
¶Mac’s (a guy named Mac has two computers)
Max’d (one has maximum specifications
Max (it includes the M1 Max chip)
Mac (it’s a Mac - a MacBook Pro, by definition)
Max’d (that first computer beat the second one, below, in a head-to-head performance test)
Mac’s (Mac has a second computer)
Max (it also includes the M1 Max chip)
Mac (and it also is a Mac, and, indeed, is a MacBook Pro by definition).
¶I suppose you could add another “Max’d” before the Max of the second computer, which would make each computer an M1 Max Mac with maximum specifications, but then the concept of one beating the other in a head-to-head test sort of loses meaning. If the two computers are identical, how could one beat the other? I suppose it could be in a test that would pickup on the slightest of differences, but it seems unreasonable to me.
¶The Max Macs sentence is a bit of a stretch, no question. The words are not the same, and you have to accept a couple of slang definitions for “Max’d” (maxed out specifications, and winning a competition). These nuances ensure the sentence will never rival the eight buffalo sentence, but it’s fun to think about nonetheless.
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/2021/11/10
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¶Cuban sandwich for lunch. Decent, not great.
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/2021/11/09 on November 10, 2021 at 5:39 AM
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¶So far, the most notable thing on alligator alley in Florida is the birds. These guys were all over the place at the rest area, which is about halfway across the Alley. What are they, turkey vultures of some sort?
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/2021/11/09 on November 10, 2021 at 5:37 AM
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¶It’s been a while since I’ve seen this sign. It’s in Port Charlotte, Florida, which is south of Sarasota and north of Fort Myers. I haven’t driven this way in quite some time. I remember seeing it years ago though and wanting to research it — why the heck is there a street named after the Toledo blade down here in Florida? Inquiring minds want to know.
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/2021/11/09 on November 10, 2021 at 5:35 AM
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¶Oh so Florida. I’m heading from St. Pete Beach to Coral Springs for a work meeting today. It’s a long drive — about 3.5 hours one way — so I threw some shorts, sandles, and a sweatshirt in the backseat for changing into before the drive home. And my tie. Pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve ever assembled that collection of clothing articles together.
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/2021/11/09 on November 10, 2021 at 5:31 AM
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¶I’ve got a quick turnaround today. After getting him from Boston late last night, I’m heading to Florida this morning for a few days.
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/2021/11/08 at 11:43 AM
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¶Lunch in Harvard Square.
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/2021/11/07 at 8:40 PM
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¶This trip has really highlighted for me the drastic ways in which travel has changed in recent years. Not that it happened all at once — there’s been a series of nudges that, summed together, create an entirely different travel experience, from beginning to end.
¶It starts with Renee’s parents. They hadn’t flown in years, so, last week, we set them up with the Delta app on their phones. I had really taken the convenience of etickets for granted a simple question from them - “are you sure we don’t have to print these out?” - highlighted it to me.
¶Lodging? Yep, totally different. In Cambridge, we opted for an Airbnb instead of a hotel. This was my first Airbnb experience. We didn’t really know what to expect on arrival as far as cleanliness, supplies, etc., which is one of the downsides of Airbnb as I see it (I pretty much know what to expect when I book a room at a Hilton or a Marriott, even if I’ve never been there before). But, we got an entire house, which was perfect for the size of our party and better than any combination of multiple hotel rooms would have been. And cheaper. And closer to Jonathan’s dorm. And. And. And.
¶We used Uber to get around town during our visit. And not just for going from point A to point B, that’s not really new. We did use it in a new way for us, though. Renee’s mom gets tired after walking a bit, and the uneven sidewalks of Cambridge certainly didn’t help that. So we told her — do what you can, and when you’re ready, let us know and we’ll get an Uber to take you back (to the Airbnb). I’m not sure she could have done this trip — to visit her grandson at Harvard for the first time — without this option. That’s powerful, and really underscores the impact of some of the ways in which travel has changed.
¶And the food! Yes, we ate at some local restaurants. But, with long days of walking around campus, the option of having food delivered to our Airbnb was too convenient to resist. And not just traditionally delivered options like pizza. We had donuts and bagels delivered for breakfast, and Chinese food delivered for dinner. And, yes, pizza. But here’s the thing with that — we weren’t limited to the pizza joints that happened to offer delivery to our location. In fact, we didn’t even think to search for a pizza place based on that criteria. Instead, we went straight to the website of Jonathan’s favorite pizza place — Pinocchio’s — and checked for delivery options. DoorDash for the win! So the entire family got to relax and visit with Jonathan, eating his favorite pizza in the comfort of a living room.
¶Entertainment? Well, we went to the Harvard v. Cornell hockey game on Friday night, which was a fairly traditional experience (Uber rides to and fro notwithstanding). And the Crimson won in dramatic fashion, which was great. On Saturday evening, as we ate our DoorDash-delivered Chinese food in our Airbnb living room, we realized the Crimson were playing again, this time against Colgate. We had so much fun the night before that we actually had a somewhat serious discussion about going again, but then realized we could stream it from the ESPN+ app onto the AppleTV in the living room. Ivy League hockey on the big screen in the living room while eating delivered takeout, all with family while visiting with Jonathan (and celebrating his 20th birthday, btw)…that moment, that evening, just could not have been a better experience (maybe if we had realized white rice is a separate menu item that needs to be ordered alongside the entrees…practical knowledge for next time!).
¶It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it. A series of little changes, each quite innovative in its own lane, have suddenly congealed to revolutionize travel in a way that changes the experience for the better. They expand it, really. I think we’ve entered a new era of travel experiences, and I’m looking forward to the trip.
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/2021/11/07 at 2:27 PM
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¶We woke up this morning to cheering and clapping coming from the street. Turns out the Cambridge half marathon is being run today and the route takes the runners right past our Airbnb. So I snapped this pic of Renee, went outside to get a few more from the street, and then had coffee and donuts for breakfast. Sigh.
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/2021/11/07 at 12:59 PM
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¶George.
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/2021/11/06 at 9:40 PM
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¶Jonathan and Renee studying a Rothko painting. This one has an interesting vandalism and restoration(s) story behind it. I’ve never really appreciated his paintings before, but I did like this one quite a bit. Maybe the vandalism and botched restoration job pulled me into it, emotionally.
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/2021/11/06 at 9:34 PM
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¶Police brutality is not a modern problem; it’s a long-term problem. This is a portion of Hunger March, a 1933 mural by Harvard grad Lewis Rubenstein. It’s not new. Yet it continues.
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/2021/11/06 at 9:23 PM
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¶Visiting the Fogg Museum today
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/2021/11/06 at 9:13 PM
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