Thursday  31 Mar 2022           comment?

Every now and then I'm reminded that not everyone is familiar with terms that math/software people use. From oral argument at the US Supreme Court in 2010:

Mr. Friedman:	... I think that issue is entirely orthogonal to the issue here because the Commonwealth is acknowledging—
Chief Justice Roberts:	I'm sorry. Entirely what?
Mr. Friedman:	Orthogonal. Right angle. Unrelated. Irrelevant.
Chief Justice Roberts:	Oh.
Justice Scalia:	What was that adjective? I like that.
Mr. Friedman:	Orthogonal.
Justice Scalia:	Orthogonal?
Mr. Friedman:	Right, right.
Justice Scalia:	Ooh.
(Laughter.)

Wednesday  30 Mar 2022           comment?

The house to the west of me was built a little over 20 years ago. Now, construction begins for a house on the lot to the east. I like the new neighbors and I'm happy to see the work start.

Monday  28 Mar 2022           comment?

At first I thought it was ugly how Android shows the time in huge numerals on the lock screen. I still think it's ugly but I am entertained that twice a day it reminds me of a 2×2 identity matrix.

Thursday  24 Mar 2022           comment?

Wednesday  23 Mar 2022           comment?

Not long ago, UPS sent me email asking how well I was satisfied with their service. I told them I'd seen a few instances where their tracking system said my package was 'out for delivery' but didn't arrive that day.

The next day, I got a phone call from the local UPS office. They told me their tracking wasn't accurate, that packages weren't always on the truck when the system said they were.

I was not shocked to hear that UPS recently paid $5.3 million to settle a complaint by the US government that UPS had falsified scans of mail containers to avoid penalties for late delivery in air transport.

Sunday  20 Mar 2022           comment?

From a conversation between Paul Henley of the BBC and Pyotr Andryuschenko, assistant to the mayor of Mariupol:

BBC:	The Russian defense ministry has just issued an ultimatum calling on Ukrainians in Mariupol to surrender and promising an open humanitarian corridor as early as tomorrow. What's your response?
PA:	I think first of all it's absolutely a lie, like always, what every time say the Russian army and Russian government. So, what can I give a comment about that? It's like, you know, it's like one answer, like about Russian warship.
BBC:	... Just to be clear, your response to this Russian ultimatum, surrender now, is a simple one, it's no.
PA:	No.

(from today's BBC Newshour starting at 9:27)

Saturday  19 Mar 2022           comment?

There's more stuff growing than I was expecting to see in light of how we haven't had appreciable rain or snow since December.

Thursday  17 Mar 2022           comment?

Saturday  12 Mar 2022           comment?

A few days ago, I saw a runner wearing blue and yellow pants and shirt (I forget which was which) which struck me as an expression of solidarity with Ukraine. Yes it could have been coïncidence. A couple months ago the colors wouldn't have gotten my attention.

Two years ago, protesters in Hong Kong started holding up blank pieces of paper after the government outlawed the display of protest slogans. Someone trying the same thing in Russia recently got taken away by police.

Sunday  06 Mar 2022           comment?

Friday  04 Mar 2022           comment?

Jan Böhmermann is sort of like a German John Oliver. His show this week was partially improvised, as has been the entire world's reaction to Putin's war. He reflected on how surreal it is to have the same profession (comedian) Volodymyr Zelenskyy had before leading his country in wartime. The show's 15‑piece band played Back in the USSR (YouTube) and one of their musicians played the Ukrainian national anthem on violin outside of Russia's consulate in Bonn. The screenshot is from a point where the host is outraged at those who are more sympathetic to refugees when they're white and European. He read from a piece in the Swiss newspaper of record (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) titled "This time these are real refugees", gave the camera the finger, and said "fuck you, NZZ". This, on a public TV network. The Washington Post wrote f--- when quoting the Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island telling a Russian warship to go fuck itself.

Thursday  03 Mar 2022           comment?

From chess24.com:

Russia's top chess players and, it appears, its chess federation, have appealed directly to President Vladimir Putin to stop the war as the game reels from the fall‑out of the invasion of Ukraine.

In an open letter published today, a list of highly‑decorated players that reads like a who's who of Russian chess, said it is "unbearably painful for us to see the catastrophe that is happening".

Not that prominent sports figures speaking up is the most important thing going on now but I give them credit for doing so in a country not known for tolerating dissent.

The one prominent exception is GM Sergei Karjakin, a long‑time Putin supporter who supports the war against Ukraine.