I’ve just discovered The Thing About Austen podcast and am busily bingeing it as I winter-proof (heh) the yard. I began at the beginning, way back in 2022, and so far I can tell you that Ep.2 (The Thing about Wentworth’s Umbrella) and Ep.6 (The Thing About Darcy’s Pen) are insightful, hilarious and not to be missed by anyone who calls themselves a fan of Jane Austen. (h/t PCHH)
Yeah, my bad, you can’t listen to this if you aren’t Slate Plus, but it’s worth sharing so I can misquote their guest, Nathan Calvin. He used to work for Anthropic and here adds to the debate about rogue AIs. When John asked him if there was anything we could do right now, Calvin had two suggestions: Embed third-party safety protocols in every AI, along with a kill switch so we can turn them off at need. Right up Isaac Asimov’s alley.
Ian Wright over at Brilliant Maps has been building some maps of his own lately, and interactive ones at that. Distance of zip code from where I live to where I spend the holidays? 2,250 miles. Where in the world is it dark right now, which includes where the sun is directly overhead at the moment I write this post, which is somewhere south and east of Hawaii? Right here. What am I exactly opposite from on the planet? Too close to the Roaring Forties for comfort. (Brilliant Maps)
Gotta admit, that is a pretty cool logo on Caitlin Clark’s new shoe, and I love where they put it on the inside of the arch. Subtle and elegant. Great color, too. (AP)
Report used to justify reinstatement of Alaska Republican governor candidate appears flawed
Dana sez, “Appears.” Heh. (Alaska Beacon)
Quote for the day
And then, in August, the big trial reported. Eleven hundred and thirty-seven patients. It hit its main target and the big secondary one, cutting both recurrence and the spread of the disease to distant organs. That makes it the first time in history that a personalised cancer vaccine has succeeded in a phase 3 trial, and the first time any mRNA cancer therapy has. —Tāne Hunter at Future Crunch
Outro…The PHM soundtrack is as much a character in the film as Grace and Rocky.
God, that is just so great.
(The whole soundtrack is right here.)
Chatter Lagniappe Sunday Brilliant Maps Caitlin Clark 1 Daniel Pemberton Division of Elections Isaac Asimov Nathan Calvin Project Hail Mary rogue AIs slate political gabfest State of Alaska The Thing About Austen three laws of robotics