Friday Notes (Jan 19, 2024)

The first Friday Notes of 2024. (The title nicely caps the 2024, 2023, 2024, 2023 series from the titles of the previous four posts.) We’re well past the glut of holidays, and it’s back to business. There is also the fresh-start sense of the new year. I’m already thinking about all the stuff I want to throw away this coming Spring Cleaning.

My various piles of notes grow smaller and smaller! In some cases, because I deleted notes that seemed to have aged beyond their lifetime. But these Notes posts have been instrumental. In some areas, I’m actually scraping the bottom of the barrel.

But I still have notes, so here we go again…

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2023: All the Charts

This post contains the post statistics charts I didn’t have room for in the 2023 wrap-up post. There are a lot of them, and I don’t imagine they’re of much interest to anyone but me. I post them mainly to document the blog. A set of milestones, if you will.

I confess to being fascinated — and utterly befuddled — by which posts receive attention and which little piggies get none. It’s particularly interesting to me when an old post — especially one that never got many views — suddenly gets noticed and sometimes even slightly popular.

Mostly the stats are similar to previous years, but 2023 did bring a few surprises.

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2024: Looking Ahead

The other face of Janus looks forward to the Christmases yet to come. Or words to that effect. The last post looked back at some highlights from 2023; this one looks forward to the hopes, plans, and guesses for 2024.

Hopes and plans are easy enough, but when it comes to guesses, I’ve never thought much of futurists. I don’t have much truck with “could” and “might” when it comes to the actual world. Science fiction is my favorite fiction, but futurists claim to be prescient, and I very much doubt it.

Regardless (and heedless), some hopes, plans, and wild-ass guesses, for 2024.

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2023: Looking Back

I thought this year’s Janus posts — one looking back, one looking forward — would be unusually late, but it turns out they’re only one day later than last year’s pair (assuming I post what I’ve just started writing today). Hosting my furry nephew Bentley over New Year’s accounts for the (thoroughly delightful!) delay this year and last.

As usual, this post looks back at the previous year, 2023, and tomorrow’s post (assuming I write it and post it) looks forward to what 2024 might hold in store (guesses and hopes).

And, of course, there are stats and charts.

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2024: Happy New Year!

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.)

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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.

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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.]

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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.

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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.

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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…

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