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Thinking about

Daniel C. Dennett Dies

April 25, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Daniel C. Dennett, Widely Read and Fiercely Debated Philosopher, 82, Dies Espousing his ideas in best sellers, he insisted that religion was an illusion, free will was a fantasy and evolution could only be explained by natural selection. From the New York Time obituary: “All varieties of perception — indeed all varieties of thought or … [Read more…]

Posted in: Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Obituaries, Science, Thinking about Tagged: artificial intelligence, Christopher Hitchens, cognitive science, consciousness, Content and Consciousness, Daniel C. Dennett, evolution, evolutionary psychology, folk psychology, free will, natural selection, New Atheism, Philosopher, religion, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, the brain

Long COVID brain fog may be due to damaged blood vessels in the brain

April 12, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

From Science News:Long COVID brain fog may be due to damaged blood vessels in the brain The result suggests there is a biological basis for this symptom   Leakiness in the brain could explain the memory and concentration problems linked to long COVID. In patients with brain fog, MRI scans revealed signs of damaged blood vessels … [Read more…]

Posted in: Pandemic, Science, Thinking about Tagged: biologic, blood brain barrier, brain fog, concentration, Long-COVID, memory, Neuroscience, problems

The world of Colonel Wingnuts

March 28, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

The Press Democrat, Monday, April 21, 1986 1B   Photo Caption: Colonel Wingnuts at the microphone of radio station KOZT in Fort Bragg The world of Col. Wingnuts Ex-Air Force lieutenant part showman, part meteorologist By PAT McKAY Correspondent FORT BRAGG – Can you believe a weatherman by the name of Colonel Wingnuts really is … [Read more…]

Posted in: California History, California Newspaper Archive, Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Flying, History, Politics, Science, the Anthropocene, Thinking about Tagged: 1986, astronomy, climate change, Colonel Wingnuts, Fort Bragg, futuristics, KOZT, Mendocino Coast, meteorology, The Press Democrat, Walter J. McKeown, weatherman

Russian Exceptionalism

March 25, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

(The events in Moscow unfolded as I wrote this, it isn’t aimed at the current events except tangentially.) I finished this review in the New York Review of Books and wanted to share it. It is a long review, but rather fascinating for someone who knows next to nothing about this history, it filled in … [Read more…]

Posted in: History, Politics, Racism, Thinking about, What I Read Tagged: 2024, Aleksandr Dugin, Charles Clover, Dugin, February 22, Gary Saul Morson, Gennady Seleznev, Halford Mackinder, Hans Sievers, Jafe Arnold, John Dunlop, John Stachelski, Mark Bassin, Moscow, New York Review of Books, Nikolai Berdyaev, Nikolai Trubetskoy, Russia, the Duma, The Foundations of Geopolitics, The Legacy of Genghis Khan, The Russian Idea, Yeltsin

Don’t Even Think About It

March 10, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

I wrapped up “Don’t Even Think About It” by George Marshall and I want to write my notes up before I go off and kill myself to do my bit to reduce our carbon debt. Yep, it’s that kind of book, I just finished chapter 37 “Degrees of Separation – How Climate Experts Live With … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Politics, Science, the Anthropocene, Thinking about, What I Read Tagged: anthropogenic climate change, carbon, carbon debt, climate, climate change deniers, Climate Experts, Don't Even Think About It, George Marshall, the future

John Walker Dies at 74

March 6, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

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…]

Posted in: California History, Faits Divers, Future of Work, IT Failures, Obituaries, Sea Stories, Thinking about Tagged: AutoCAD, Autodesk, Dan Drake, David Kalish, Duff Kurland, Founders, Greg Lutz, hacker, Hal Royalty, John Walker, Keith Marcelius, Kern Sibbald, Mauri Laitenen, Mike Ford, Sausalito, startup

Risotto crisis

February 29, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/29/risotto-crisis-the-fight-to-save-italys-beloved-dish-from-extinction-aoe The age of extinction Risotto crisis: the fight to save Italy’s beloved dish from extinction After drought devastated prized arborio and carnaroli harvests in the Po valley, new rice varieties offer a glimmer of hope. But none are yet suitable for use in the traditional recipe By Ottavia Spaggiari

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Faits Divers, Future of Work, Politics, Science, the Anthropocene, Thinking about, Uncategorized Tagged: 2022, 2023, arborio, carnaroli, climate crisis, drought, extinction, Ottavia Spaggiari, Po valley, RICE, Risotto, The age of extinction, The Guardian

Charles V. Hamilton, an Apostle of ‘Black Power,’ Dies at 94

February 18, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Charles V. Hamilton, an Apostle of ‘Black Power,’ Dies at 94 He popularized the term “institutional racism” and, with Stokely Carmichael, wrote a book in 1967 that was seen as a radical manifesto. “Equitable distribution of power must come from mutual self-interest, not altruism or guilt feelings,” Dr. Hamilton wrote

Posted in: Faits Divers, Obituaries, Politics, Racism, Science, Thinking about Tagged: Black Power, Charles V. Hamilton, Civil Rights, Columbia University, Dr. Hamilton, institutional racism, Jeh C. Johnson, Kwame Ture, manifesto, N.A.A.C.P., political scientist, Social Welfare Policies, Stokely Carmichael, Tuskegee Institute, University of Chicago

The Worlds I See by Dr. Fei Fei Li

January 27, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

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…]

Posted in: Ethical and green living, Future of Work, IT Failures, Politics, Racism, Science, Thinking about, What I Read Tagged: AI, AI4ALL, artificial intelligence, computer vision, Dr. Fei Fei Li, Fei Fei Li, ImageNet, John Etchemendy, Olga Russakovsky, Stanford, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

Human ‘behavioural crisis’ at root of climate breakdown, say scientists

January 13, 2024 by sergneri Leave a Comment

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…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Feminism, Finanace, Future of Work, IT Failures, Pandemic, Politics, Racism, Science, the Anthropocene, Thinking about Tagged: behavioural, carbon emissions, climate breakdown, climate change, consuming, consumption, crisis, geoengineered, large families, neuropsychology, norms, Population, renewable energy, social signalling, waste
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