Imagine my surprise at finding myself in:
Because I still remember wondering if 1984, when it finally arrived, would be anything like the book. (Not to mention how far off 2001 seemed back then.)
Sideband #79: Growth Curves
nx vs xn vs nx (for n=42)
You’ve probably heard the phrase “exponential growth” in reference to something that grows very fast. A common example is bacteria in a petri dish. More relevant in daily life, perhaps, the spread of a highly communicable disease or a “viral” meme. These things all can have exponential growth.
You may also have heard the phrase “geometric growth” and wondered how — if at all — it differs from the exponential form. Recently I found myself curious enough about the difference to dig into it a little and find out once and for all.
This post records my simple exploration.
Merry Christmas!
“…as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us every one!“
[Created on Christmas Day while listening to Christmas Music and using only Christmas Electrons and Christmas Pixels.]
Friday Notes (Dec 22, 2023)
Tonight, to celebrate the long-awaited Solstice, I’ll crack open the first of the three bottles of champagne I plan to drink before the end of the year. The Eves of Christmas and New Year’s account for the other two.
Of the three, the Solstice is the more important to me, the most looked forward to. The end of the calendar year is an arbitrary marker, and Christmas is a whole other tin of Lumbricina. Solstice, however, is a baggage-free party. (An ancient one at that.)
Speaking of parties, here is the last Friday Notes of 2023.
Hand-Me-Down Genes
I’ve mentioned before that, after ten years of retired idleness, this year I’ve applied myself to getting some long-standing items off my TODO list. I’m a lazy beaver, not a busy one, but I’ve been less lazy than usual in 2023. (Perhaps, in part, because, on several counts, I can’t believe it’s actually 2023. I remember a time when 2001 seemed far off… in the future.)
One long-standing item off my “Gee, I Oughta…” list was doing one of those DNA assessment things I’ve seen advertised for years. I was adopted as an infant, so I’ve never known my genetic heritage.
Now, at long last, I do. And a bunch of other stuff besides.
Awful Adaptations
I’ve written many times here about my issues with TV and movie adaptations of existing stories. Short synopsis: I usually find them lacking. Especially the more recent attempts. Extra especially the live-action adaptations of animated stories. So many are just plain awful.
I don’t mean they fill me with awe, at least not the good kind. Sometimes I am a bit in awe that the people involved all thought it was a good thing. Emperor’s New Clothes, perhaps? No one wanted (or dared) to say anything?
Recently, I got to thinking about the worst adaptations I’ve seen…
Friday Leftovers
Yesterday I enjoyed the first home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner I’ve had in many years. To be successfully single (which I like to think I am these days, having settled into a comfortable retirement) one must learn to let “the holidays” wash over the mind like the proverbial water off the proverbial duck’s back.
It helps to be a severe introvert. For us, holiday gatherings can be fraught, even vaguely threatening. Which makes a successful social outing like this metaphorical gravy. With actual gravy, in this case.
And the best part: Friday leftovers!
Friday Notes (Nov 17, 2023)
The implied image in my last post — of a sea creature returning to the surface — turned out to be more apt than intended. I descended again to finish my project and my burn-out. Spent a few days on the couch reading to recuperate (the library was nagging me about people waiting for books I borrowed and wasn’t reading).
So, let’s try this resurfacing thing again. I have more than books to catch up on. And two posts that should have come before this, but here we are on the penultimate Friday in November.
I have plans next weekend, so it’s Friday Notes now or never (in November).
Resurfacing
I’m in a post again?
Most online sources define resurfacing firstly as having to do with floors, roads, ice rinks, kitchen counters, and even skin. Only secondarily do they define resurfacing as returning to the surface. But Wiktionary puts that latter one first, and it’s in that sense that I mean it (bravo Wiki!).
It feels as if it’s been a long time since my last post, but in fact it’s been less than a week. It just seems long because it has also been a productive week filled with new things as well as a week of some long hours on a project. Enough hours to have burned me out a bit. Now I have some catching up to do.
But it’s nice to know I can still pull off a coding all-nighter at my age.
Will It Snow?
Long-time readers may remember my Three Winter Questions about When It Will Snow: by Halloween? by Thanksgiving? by Christmas? Each year the answers vary. Most years, though, the first answer is no.
Not this year. Bad news for trick-n-treatin’ kids.
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