Dye Dye Dye!

I’m going to be on the road the next couple days so my availability through thursday will be spotty. My laptop died this afternoon and I don’t think I’ll be doing any long text production using an iOs keyboard.

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Generating Maps

This is cool stuff: (Via Atlas Obscura) dynamically creating fantastical maps of places that never existed. I remember creating maps when I was doing D&D worlds; it’s harder than you’d expect, if you’re trying to make something that looks semi-realistic.

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Physiognometry

The idea that you can tell things about a person from their appearance underlies the entire point of dressing up, wearing make-up, and being concerned with our appearance. There are probably some things you might be able to assume from a person’s looks, but it’s still going to be pretty unreliable: you can’t tell someone’s a terrorist because they “look muslim” because “looking muslim” is a vague concept to begin with.

What about people who look like criminals?

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Oh, It’s Weed Day?

Weed never did much for me. The first time I smoked it, I was watching Cosby, Himself and laughed so hard I think I separated a rib. Subsequent times, I just immediately head for the couch and go to sleep. If I need to sleep, I’ll just read a book on ethics.

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More on Braiding Machines

When I was in high school I got an old singer sewing machine at the goodwill, managed to adjust it until it worked correctly again, and used it for light leather-work. Sewing machines and rope-making machines have a similar problem: you want to get the thread around the bobbin without moving it – which is a really complicated trick since (for the bobbin to be stable) there has to be some kind of supporting thing that holds the bobbin.

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