"That’s why, at least sometimes, it’s better to lean on your weaknesses as a writer. Your strengths will still be there when you need them, but often the only way to get better at writing is to develop the skills that you lack… Writing is one of the few areas where the better you get at it, the harder it becomes." Charlie Jane Anders on writing.
"A person infected with measles attended a Portland Trail Blazers home game in Oregon last week amid an outbreak that has left at least 21 people ill this month in neighboring Washington state… Contagious people also went to Portland International Airport, as well as to hospitals, schools, stores, churches and restaurants across Washington's Clark County and the two-state region, county officials said." Fan-Fucking-tastic. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"As may be the case in Alzheimer's disease, it's looking more and more like MS strikes when infectious, genetic and immune factors gang up to eventually impair the function of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Researchers are hoping to better understand this network of influences to develop more effective ways to treat MS, and perhaps prevent it in the first place."
Asteroid hits the moon during the eclipse. "Observers of Monday’s lunar eclipse were blessed with the first known sighting of a meteorite impact during such an event."
"It’s been a bad week for ice. Last Tuesday, researchers announced that the Eastern Antarctic Ice Shelf—previously thought to be stable or even growing—is actually melting alarmingly fast. And yesterday (Jan. 21), a new study found that southwest Greenland—another area where ice was supposed to be safe—is dumping more meltwater into the ocean than any other region of the icy island." We're boned.
"Specifically, climate change could alter the proportion of male and female newborns, with more boys born in places where temperatures rise and fewer boys born in places with other environmental changes, such as drought or wildfire caused by global warming."
"The previous definition included critical components of the phenomenon that experts recognize as domestic abuse—a pattern of deliberate behavior… But in the Trump Justice Department, only harms that constitute a felony or misdemeanor crime may be called domestic violence. So, for example, a woman whose partner isolates her from her family and friends, monitors her every move, belittles and berates her, or denies her access to money to support herself and her children is not a victim of domestic violence… This makes no sense for an office charged with funding and implementing solutions to the problem of domestic violence rather than merely prosecuting individual abusers." Raise your hand if you know why. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"The Los Angeles teachers' union ended its week-long strike Tuesday night, union leaders said, overwhelmingly supporting an agreement with the nation's second-largest school district."
"We also turned up significant racial disparities, just as Holder feared. In forecasting who would re-offend, the algorithm made mistakes with black and white defendants at roughly the same rate but in very different ways." Yes, Virginia, algorithms can be racist/biased. Especially when they are designed around structures that are inherently (maybe "historically" might be a better word) racist systems. Even when "race" isn't one of the inputs. In a racially segregated society (which America still is), all the data is corrupted by it. If your algorithm doesn't factor that in, and if the programmers aren't intentionally trying to correct for it, the output will still be racism. Computer programs (which is what we're talking about) can also be misogynistic, trans and homophobic and will reinforce societal structures more than they'll help break them down. Again, unless the programmers are specifically and consciously trying to correct for it. Computers themselves don't care, which is how these problems are just passed along. We used to have this saying when I was studying programming, "Garbage in, garbage out. But this garbage, having passed through an expensive system, is now held as sacrosanct and none dare challenge it." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"The Twitter account that helped spread the initial video has been removed. The user -- @2020Fight -- claimed to be a teacher and advocate named Talia from California with a photo appearing to show Brazilian model and actress Natalia Cardoso." So we were aimed at each other, it appears. But the story continues to be more complicated.
"Covington Catholic High School 'will reopen when they say it is safe to do so,' the Diocese of Covington and the school said in a statement." But the extended video doesn't absolve the kids from the school of wrong doing, it just shows that another group nearby were also being a problem. "'In the video you can see the boys approaching and surrounding (Nathan Phillips) after he stops moving and that one boy steps up to face him, not the other way around,' the (American Indian Movement Chapters of Indiana and Kentucky) said. 'Their behavior at this point is still a problem, even if they did not create the initial situation. They are seen mocking, laughing at, and disrespecting Nathan Phillips.'" Or to quote others on different subject, the students, and Sandman weren't "angels."
"But there is one group for whom 'Let It Go' has proven particularly resonant: People with disabilities." When we create we place things in the world that we no longer have control and each observer will bring their own world to the work and process its meaning from their own perspective. That's the power of art.
"But an issue that was hardly mentioned during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016 has proved trickier to solve than any other: how to handle the border between the Irish Republic, which is in the European Union, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom."
"China's economy may be slowing down, but the country is still set to eclipse the United States as the world's top retail market for the first time."
"Ever since Alaska joined the union as the 49th state in 1959, the most remote parts of the most northern state have gotten a head start on the national head count." That's because once the frost melts, those areas are hard to get to, and the mail system isn't the best. So while the ground is frozen (before April 1), the Census will count those people.
"'You know, if you didn't vote in lockstep and fall in line you were penalized.'" Funny, that's what conservatives usually say about liberals.
"'The number one question in the mind of leaders in Davos now is what on earth is Donald Trump up to?' said Tina Fordham, chief global political analyst at Citigroup Inc. and a WEF regular. 'We’ve very clearly moved in terms of investor sentiment from the Trump bump euphoria surrounding tax cuts and deregulation to fears of a Trump slump.'" Funny how those things tend to go together.
Why do the courts matter? "The Supreme Court has reinstated President Trump's ban on transgender service members in the military, granting a stay on two lower courts' injunctions that had blocked the president's policy. The court acted on a 5-4 margin, reflecting the conservative majority."
Buzzfeed gets tired of it, pulls the "fuckit" lever. "Trump’s Lawyer Said There Were 'No Plans' For Trump Tower Moscow. Here They Are." Now we wait for Guiliani to say he meant "blueprints." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin and others)
"President Donald Trump's advisers are reportedly urging him to bench his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and prevent him from making media appearances following his hapless performance of late."
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