Diversions

ChicagoBoyz KC Meetup, 10/7-9

by

[7/13 UPDATE: Truman Library substituted for Nelson-Atkins]

So, I shot my mouth off at the Denver meetup about doing the next one in KC, and Jonathan reminded me yesterday that I should set a date. I knew I wanted to do it before the midterms, and looking at my calendar, the first weekend of October is best, so there you go.

Strawman schedule:

  • Friday (7th) evening
    • First Friday in the Crossroads (north-central portion of ZIP code 64108); we will meet at a predetermined spot and poke around for at least a couple of hours
  • Saturday (8th) morning
  • Saturday (8th) afternoon
    • MAIN SESSION, venue TBD but probably ~25 min S of museum
    • early dinner, B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 5 min from probable main session venue
  • Saturday (8th) evening
    • weather-dependent: Powell Observatory, Louisburg, KS, ~35 min from B.B.’s
    • alternatively, we just hang out at B.B.’s for the live music or go somewhere quieter nearby, 5-10 min away
  • Sunday (9th) morning/afternoon
    • brunch, venue TBD
    • Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 10 min from downtown Truman Library, Independence, 20 min E of downtown KC

Next Steps/Non-Steps:

  • Interested parties, provide contact info in comments, using such discreet conventions as “john [UNDERSCORE] doe [AT] provider [DOT] com”, unless you know that I already have a good e-mail for you, in which case just indicate that you hope to attend.
  • Airport code is MCI, due to early-’70s optimism about trying to name it “Mid-Continent International.”
  • I don’t pick a hotel, but you are advised to begin your search in 64108.
  • A vehicle is a sine qua non in the KC metro, which is physically large and low-density, with all that that implies. You may wish to coordinate/combine with other attendees.
  • In general, the above venues except for the Nelson will have some kind of admissions charge, and the Nelson gets you on parking (typically $10).
  • The “main session” will be in a conference room and ideally consist of multiple ≤ 30-minute presentations, each of which is followed by Q&A/discussion. I may attempt to get this video’d. You will need to let me know if you expect to be a presenter.

Where We Spent Today

by


It was a lovely day – we got there early, so as to be assured of a place to set out the umbrella and the blanket. We expected to beat a large crowd, which never really materialized. There were mostly families, setting up on the beach, or on the levels above the little cove, children and their parents, splashing about in the shallow water. The day pass is only good up until 6 PM, which probably cuts down on the rowdiness. The Air Force and the Army recreation services have a slice of recreation area on Canyon Lake, which is a short drive from San Antonio. The recreation area encompasses a small beach with picnic grounds adjacent, a dock and anchorage for small boats, rental cabins and cottages and RV spaces. Next year, we are thinking of renting one of the cottages for the 4th. Depends on how everything goes. We hope that things will go on in the Shire, as they always have, from day to day.

Random Pic

by

ramen

Ichimi ramen bar is the official ramen bar of the Chicagoboyz blog.

When the Rule of Law Fails: A Reprise Post

by

So, reading the story of this numbskull (link found through Instapundit) bloviating on MSNBC about the fierce urgency of abolishing the police reminded me of a long post that I did some years ago about what happens in a lawless, politically corrupt, violence-plagued city when the otherwise upright and law-abiding citizens get fed to the teeth with lawlessness, corruption and violence, and decide to take matters into their own hands. Brittany Packnett Cunningham, apparently noted as an anti-police activist, likely would not like what happens when citizens are finally pushed an inch too far.

The resulting post of mine was originally in three parts, but reposted here in total, below the fold. The story of the Vigilance Committee of 1856 was one that I had originally researched as providing a turn of plot for my Gold Rush adventure, The Golden Road. The hero of that novel, young Fredi Steinmetz worked for a time in San Francisco with his friend Edwin, selling copies of James King’s Evening Daily Bulletin on the streets and delivering to subscribers late in 1855, but left for the diggings before the Vigilance Committee renewed itself. The situation in San Francisco, which finally boiled over, reminds me very much of current events; naked chicanery at the polls, political corruption, a high level of crony capitalism, and criminals terrorizing ordinary citizens and going unpunished.

Read more

Worthwhile Reading and Viewing

by

Much political anger is based on attributing to opponents views that they don’t actually hold, according to this study, summarized and discussed on twitter here.

Paul Graham, who himself writes some interesting essays, says:

No one who writes essays would be surprised by this. When people attack an essay you’ve written, 95% of the time they do it by making up something you didn’t actually say, and then attacking that.

The skill of surgeons varies tremendously, with bottom quartile surgeons having over 4x as many complications as the best surgeons in the same hospital…so says this study.   And surgeons are keenly aware of who is good & who is bad – their rankings of others are very accurate.   Summarized and discussed on twitter here, where there is also a reference to the classic study   showing 10X range among programmers, and another study measuring the impact of managers on revenue performance in the game industry.

Some innovation stories from small US manufacturers, and a shop-floor driven tooling innovation at GE Aviation.

Speaking of tools, here’s a study suggesting that using mechanical tools improves language skills.

The limits of narrative, at Quillette.

Ryan Peterson, CEO of the digital freight forwarder Flexport, discovered an AI tool that lets you create art without being an artist, and has been having fun with it.