"So much of my work as a teacher and mentor involves telling writers not to worry about things. Learning not to worry too much is crucial, not only because we have very little control over the book after it leaves our hands but also because this kind of worry is toxic to creativity." (Grokked from S.A. Chakrabortty)
"So, as a public service, I’m going to list assumptions your systems probably make about names. All of these assumptions are wrong. Try to make less of them next time you write a system which touches names." Useful advice for writers as well. (Grokked from Patrick Nielsen Hayden)
"Earlier this month we saw what was considered to be the largest ever dump of stolen internet accounts with 773 million email addresses and 21 million passwords. The dump of compromised accounts was called 'Collection #1'. Now, Collections #2-5 have been dumped and the numbers are staggering: 845GB of stolen data that includes 25 billion total records and 2.2 billion unique usernames and passwords." Update your passwords everybody. I totally hate this timeline. Includes some links where you can check if you data was in the various releases. (Grokked from John)
"A scientist in New York is conducting experiments designed to modify DNA in human embryos as a step toward someday preventing inherited diseases, NPR has learned." I know this concerns a lot of people, but it's going to happen at some point. And then after we accept it for controlling for diseases, it'll be "minor" enhancements. And then it'll be major changes. While the ethicists may be saying the question is "should we", the real question is "how fast should we." Unfortunately the ethicists are right, but around the wrong reason. The real problem now is that we don't fully understand what we're doing. And to say CRISPR is precise is a misnomer. It's our most precise tool yet, but it's still using a hammer to drive in a screw.
"The Trump administration announced it's producing a new, small nuke to counter Russia's own tactical nuclear weapons. Critics fear the plan could mark the return to the darkest days of the Cold War." There is no such thing as a winnable nuclear exchange.
"Lewis and other experts say say these new weapons have the potential to be used in the sort of nuclear war America hasn't prepared for in years. Rather than a global conflagration, this would be a tactical nuclear conflict, where weapons would be deployed on the battlefield." There is no such thing as a winnable nuclear exchange. That is the lesson from the Cold War. A nuclear "proportional response" will always escalate to a full exchange. The only chance to "win" is to launch everything first. And it's game over at that point. "'The problem right now is that Russia thinks that they can get away with it,' (Matthew Kroenig a nuclear policy expert at the Atlantic Council and Associate Professor at Georgetown University) says. 'They think that they can use a limited nuclear strike and there won't be a response.'" And that, my friends, is the exact thinking that lead to the arms race of the 60s and 70s that leave the world's nuclear powers with the ability to immolate the world something like 15 times over. This is what comes from not directly and honestly answering Trump's questions about why he can't just use nukes. Because, Mr President, any use of nuclear weapons leads to total, mutual destruction and the end of human life on the planet. The lucky ones will be within Zone 1, they're the ones who, if they're not incinerated or torn apart by the fireball/compression wave, won't live longer than an hour. The ones who are lucky enough to be outside Zone 4 areas might live half-a-year at most and will die slowly and painfully. There is no bunker that will save you. Not even the The Cheyenne Mountain Complex will protect you.
"President Donald Trump and dozens of other conservatives are weighing in about a Virginia abortion bill that modestly loosens restrictions around later abortions, falsely characterizing it as 'infanticide.'" Well, people don't get nearly upset if they know it's actually about allowing doctors to make the call in late term abortions if a pregnancy is viable (that the child born would survive) or poses a danger to the mother instead of forming a committee to make the determination. That kind of nuance doesn't bring in the campaign funding or get people yelling at vulnerable women about killing their babies. (Grokked from Chip Dawes)
"In an internal police misconduct report obtained by CBS St. Louis affilitate KMOV-TV, a police lieutenant alleges both Officer Nathaniel Hendren and his partner "consumed alcoholic beverages" while on duty the night Officer Katlyn Alix was shot and killed by Hendren during a game of Russian roulette." I'm adding 2 and 2 together, but not getting the 4 they're talking about here.
How goes Brexit? "But they predicted that we would soon see what they described as 'transactional politics', in a way that we haven't seen before in this country… With Number 10 in a frantic hunt for support, maybe that time has arrived." So, not going with the honest conversation I see. And while it may seem strange, this is how politics is done.
How go the Trade Wars? "It's been a long… slog over the last few months here and until the new NAFTA talks and the China talks… have some sort of resolution and the tariffs get lifted, we continue to have pretty strong headwinds in moving our products into those markets and it doesn't seem like there's a resolution coming in anytime soon."
"Amazon held off stiffer competition for online shoppers during the holiday season, once again increasing its sales. But the company said on Thursday that growth slowed from its usual breakneck pace — and it came at a cost, with the company spending far more on shipping to win customers."
"President Donald Trump admitted he had not read an intelligence report when speaking to the press on Thursday. But that did not stop him criticizing how the press had reported on it… 'I didn't see the report from the intelligence,' Trump said, before curiously adding, 'When you read it, it is a lot different than what is covered in the news.'" Shorter Trump, "I didn't read it, but I know you all lied about it." Um, yeah.
In case you haven't heard it everywhere by now, "Mitch McConnell mocked the idea of making Election Day a federal holiday, calling the new bill that would make it easier to vote a 'power grab' by Democrats." (Grokked from Anne Wheaton who tweets, "Only a party who relies on voters NOT being able to get to the polls would consider this a 'power grab' for wanting it to be easier for everyone to vote.")
"President Donald Trump probably won't be satisfied with any deal Capitol Hill negotiators come up with he admitted Thursday, even in the long-shot event lawmakers agree on a solution to defuse the immigration standoff that shut down the government… Trump said he will likely go ahead and use his executive power to build his border wall anyway, in comments that could badly undercut compromise talks between lawmakers." Can't wait for the updated Art of the Deal to include this bumbling.
The man who would be president. "It's a small story in the scheme of things, and one echoed many times over in encounters between local governments and wealthy individuals. But illustrates why many in Seattle see Schultz as an imperious figure who believes that his wealth and success entitles him to behave like an entitled nobleman who is owed fealty by the rest of the city." One could hope that his running would help our society drive a stake through the misbegotten heart regarding "self-made men", but I fear our cultural worship of the rich might prevent that. Again. (Grokked from George Takei)
"The trollbot activity surrounding Howard Schultz is alarming." :: waves to our Russian friends :: (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Trump Jr./'s "fixer" is now in the news. "The episode was a watershed moment for official Washington’s understanding of Schwartz. A longtime New York PR consultant, Schwartz had operated largely in the background of Republican politics for years. But now two of Schwartz’s longtime friends, Scaramucci and Steve Bannon, were at the center of power and attention in the new administration… And whenever Schwartz believed his allies were being treated unfairly in the press, he went on offense against his perceived enemies." Only the nicest people have fixers run interference for them.
"Records provided to the Senate Intelligence Committee show the calls were between Trump Jr. and two of his business associates, the sources said, and appear to contradict Democrats' long-held suspicions that the blocked number was from then-candidate Donald Trump." So a side-plot might not be as clear as before.
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