Pluralistic: Machina economicus (14 Apr 2025) Arguably, we do live in the shadow of such modern demons: we call them “limited liability corporations.” These are (potentially) immortal colony organisms that treat us fleshy humans as mere inconvenient gut flora. These artificial persons are not merely recognized as people under the law – they are given … [Read more…]
When I get picky and need something unusual to read, I often go to Cory Doctorow’s blog, plurasitic.net. As an example, tonight I was reading about his March 3rd 2025 entry “Trumpism is our oil crisis” in which he vilifies Milton Friedman (rightly so) and delivers a new twist to my understanding of Friedman’s history. … [Read more…]
Just finished reading I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is What’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis. (gift link) and realize now that there is a brain eating fungus out there that has manifested itself in key spore producers like MTG and Loomer et al. At … [Read more…]
John Walker, Tech Executive Who Popularized AutoCAD, Dies at 74 He avoided the spotlight, but he helped bring to market an explosively popular computer program that revolutionized the architecture and design industries. Rest In Peace, man. He was irascible, never got along with his electric shaver, wore a short sleeved shirt, no matter the weather … [Read more…]
The Worlds I See by Dr. Fei Fei Li, borrowed from my local library after a two month wait in the queue. This is a “Moment of Lift” book which supports “publishing original nonfiction by visionaries working to unlock a more equal world for women and girls.” I didn’t know this until I had finished … [Read more…]
Place holder for The Guardian article “Human ‘behavioural crisis’ at root of climate breakdown, say scientists” “We’ve socially engineered ourselves the way we geoengineered the planet,” says Joseph Merz, lead author of a new paper which proposes that climate breakdown is a symptom of ecological overshoot, which in turn is caused by the deliberate … [Read more…]
Nov 22, 2023 Just finished “The Blue Machine – How the Ocean Works” by Helen Czerski. As you can guess, it is a non-fiction title, another scientist commenting on a topic dear to her and meaningful for most of us, a genre I’m finding attractive in my old age She’s a physicist whose work on … [Read more…]
Comment on the genre of “climate fiction,” which now, in late 2023 is pretty well defined, this entry suggests it has been around for centuries but gained momentum around 2010. Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) The Wikipedia entry for Climate Fiction contains this: “Technologies such as climate engineering or climate adaptation practices often feature prominently in works … [Read more…]
World’s oldest national newspaper prints final edition after 320 years – Austria’s Wiener Zeitung to publish online only after recent law change makes it unprofitable as print product The newspaper, which is owned by the Austrian government but is editorially independent, began publishing in August 1703 and has seen out 12 presidents, 10 kaisers … [Read more…]
John Prados, Master of Uncovering Government Secrets, Dies at 71 New York Times By Clay Risen Dec. 3, 2022 John Prados, miner of declassified documents, dies at 71 Washington Post By Emily Langer December 5, 2022