Everywhere Vanishing Bean Curvature
@nrr.corvidae.org
Mennonite-raised. I get told "no" a lot. I'm finishing a math degree I started 20 years ago. I pretend to be a maned wolf-shaped tree on the Internet. You've used stuff I've worked on.
Trans rights are human rights.
I'm @nrr1.618033989 on Signal.
Trans rights are human rights.
I'm @nrr1.618033989 on Signal.
"To paraphrase Laurence Fishburne's character Morpheus, AI is everywhere. It's all around us, even in my word processor as I write this very essay."
December 1, 2025 at 6:13 AM
"To paraphrase Laurence Fishburne's character Morpheus, AI is everywhere. It's all around us, even in my word processor as I write this very essay."
I didn't think I'd be invoking Marx, Du Bois, and Steinmetz in my compare-and-contrast analysis of the various themes of Hao's book, but here we are.
November 30, 2025 at 10:50 PM
I didn't think I'd be invoking Marx, Du Bois, and Steinmetz in my compare-and-contrast analysis of the various themes of Hao's book, but here we are.
"Those expecting Hao to attack generative AI on epistemological grounds will walk away from 'Empire of AI' disappointed and possibly bewildered. Her core thesis rests in the sociopolitical ramifications of OpenAI as an organization and the orbit that Sam Altman has cultivated for himself."
November 29, 2025 at 11:43 PM
"Those expecting Hao to attack generative AI on epistemological grounds will walk away from 'Empire of AI' disappointed and possibly bewildered. Her core thesis rests in the sociopolitical ramifications of OpenAI as an organization and the orbit that Sam Altman has cultivated for himself."
Oh, huh. They translate the „Beeil dich, bevor die Bullen kommen“ line from the 1998 Tom Tykwer film Lola Rennt as, "Quickly, before the cops come."
This is notable because Bulle is considered impolite enough in the company of cops for an utterance to be an arrestable offense.
"Pigs" is closer.
This is notable because Bulle is considered impolite enough in the company of cops for an utterance to be an arrestable offense.
"Pigs" is closer.
November 29, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Oh, huh. They translate the „Beeil dich, bevor die Bullen kommen“ line from the 1998 Tom Tykwer film Lola Rennt as, "Quickly, before the cops come."
This is notable because Bulle is considered impolite enough in the company of cops for an utterance to be an arrestable offense.
"Pigs" is closer.
This is notable because Bulle is considered impolite enough in the company of cops for an utterance to be an arrestable offense.
"Pigs" is closer.
Current catus
No matter how much I pick him up, no matter how much I spin him around on the floor, no matter how much I have to work to trim his claws, Valérian is always here to loaf on my chest before I get out of bed.
This cat has not once growled or hissed at me, and I just don't get it.
No matter how much I pick him up, no matter how much I spin him around on the floor, no matter how much I have to work to trim his claws, Valérian is always here to loaf on my chest before I get out of bed.
This cat has not once growled or hissed at me, and I just don't get it.
November 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Current catus
No matter how much I pick him up, no matter how much I spin him around on the floor, no matter how much I have to work to trim his claws, Valérian is always here to loaf on my chest before I get out of bed.
This cat has not once growled or hissed at me, and I just don't get it.
No matter how much I pick him up, no matter how much I spin him around on the floor, no matter how much I have to work to trim his claws, Valérian is always here to loaf on my chest before I get out of bed.
This cat has not once growled or hissed at me, and I just don't get it.
No one has caught on yet that I write it "Worms Cited," even in my final drafts.
November 27, 2025 at 7:36 PM
No one has caught on yet that I write it "Worms Cited," even in my final drafts.
Erntedankfest als Spektakel des Kapitalismus
November 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Erntedankfest als Spektakel des Kapitalismus
I think I'm more annoyed by the fact that I can't seem to find any mention of intentionally breaking any of this in the release notes anywhere, and it's apparently been a problem for months for others with this same model ThinkPad.
Well, that's interesting.
The SSD in my ThinkPad died. I replaced it. I reinstalled Windows with the latest 25H2 image.
… and I think I'm just going to go back to desktop Linux. It seems the pendulum has swung the other way; my hardware does not work on a base install of Windows anymore.
The SSD in my ThinkPad died. I replaced it. I reinstalled Windows with the latest 25H2 image.
… and I think I'm just going to go back to desktop Linux. It seems the pendulum has swung the other way; my hardware does not work on a base install of Windows anymore.
November 26, 2025 at 10:01 PM
I think I'm more annoyed by the fact that I can't seem to find any mention of intentionally breaking any of this in the release notes anywhere, and it's apparently been a problem for months for others with this same model ThinkPad.
Well, that's interesting.
The SSD in my ThinkPad died. I replaced it. I reinstalled Windows with the latest 25H2 image.
… and I think I'm just going to go back to desktop Linux. It seems the pendulum has swung the other way; my hardware does not work on a base install of Windows anymore.
The SSD in my ThinkPad died. I replaced it. I reinstalled Windows with the latest 25H2 image.
… and I think I'm just going to go back to desktop Linux. It seems the pendulum has swung the other way; my hardware does not work on a base install of Windows anymore.
November 26, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Well, that's interesting.
The SSD in my ThinkPad died. I replaced it. I reinstalled Windows with the latest 25H2 image.
… and I think I'm just going to go back to desktop Linux. It seems the pendulum has swung the other way; my hardware does not work on a base install of Windows anymore.
The SSD in my ThinkPad died. I replaced it. I reinstalled Windows with the latest 25H2 image.
… and I think I'm just going to go back to desktop Linux. It seems the pendulum has swung the other way; my hardware does not work on a base install of Windows anymore.
Sigh. I don't want Rishi Kumar's campaign emails in my inbox, and I desperately just want him to drop from the race.
I don't need someone in the county assessor's office who'll run afoul of either the Attorney General, via the Board of Equalization, or the Hatch Act.
I don't need someone in the county assessor's office who'll run afoul of either the Attorney General, via the Board of Equalization, or the Hatch Act.
November 26, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Sigh. I don't want Rishi Kumar's campaign emails in my inbox, and I desperately just want him to drop from the race.
I don't need someone in the county assessor's office who'll run afoul of either the Attorney General, via the Board of Equalization, or the Hatch Act.
I don't need someone in the county assessor's office who'll run afoul of either the Attorney General, via the Board of Equalization, or the Hatch Act.
Current catus
The boy has always been a little unsure of which direction is up. Lots of time in zero-g? Unclear.
The boy has always been a little unsure of which direction is up. Lots of time in zero-g? Unclear.
November 26, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Current catus
The boy has always been a little unsure of which direction is up. Lots of time in zero-g? Unclear.
The boy has always been a little unsure of which direction is up. Lots of time in zero-g? Unclear.
Today's theme for the student union:
Interstellar! (And, like, literally the theme. Whoever is playing the piano here is playing Day One as I write this.)
Interstellar! (And, like, literally the theme. Whoever is playing the piano here is playing Day One as I write this.)
November 25, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Today's theme for the student union:
Interstellar! (And, like, literally the theme. Whoever is playing the piano here is playing Day One as I write this.)
Interstellar! (And, like, literally the theme. Whoever is playing the piano here is playing Day One as I write this.)
I enjoy watching spiders go about their day.
It's always a treat when one of the little guys scurries across my table and falls off the side in a fit of "I meant to do that, I promise," as they calmly float down on a tether of silk.
Delightful creatures!
It's always a treat when one of the little guys scurries across my table and falls off the side in a fit of "I meant to do that, I promise," as they calmly float down on a tether of silk.
Delightful creatures!
November 25, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I enjoy watching spiders go about their day.
It's always a treat when one of the little guys scurries across my table and falls off the side in a fit of "I meant to do that, I promise," as they calmly float down on a tether of silk.
Delightful creatures!
It's always a treat when one of the little guys scurries across my table and falls off the side in a fit of "I meant to do that, I promise," as they calmly float down on a tether of silk.
Delightful creatures!
Yes, this sucks, but I get why. The prof is feverishly trying to get through sequence and series convergence so that we can cover the useful applications of this bit of analysis.
It helps that I rather enjoy this material since it really hammers home the core theme: approximation.
It helps that I rather enjoy this material since it really hammers home the core theme: approximation.
I have seven problem sets due this week plus another take-home exam.
lolsob
lolsob
November 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Yes, this sucks, but I get why. The prof is feverishly trying to get through sequence and series convergence so that we can cover the useful applications of this bit of analysis.
It helps that I rather enjoy this material since it really hammers home the core theme: approximation.
It helps that I rather enjoy this material since it really hammers home the core theme: approximation.
I have seven problem sets due this week plus another take-home exam.
lolsob
lolsob
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 AM
I have seven problem sets due this week plus another take-home exam.
lolsob
lolsob
… huh. Someone left an unopened box of (alas, not-for-Pesach) matzos in the queer space on campus.
Everyone is confused by them, and it's somehow fallen to me to explain the prohibition of eating (or possessing) chametz over the holiday and how matzo plays a role in that.
Everyone is confused by them, and it's somehow fallen to me to explain the prohibition of eating (or possessing) chametz over the holiday and how matzo plays a role in that.
November 25, 2025 at 1:02 AM
… huh. Someone left an unopened box of (alas, not-for-Pesach) matzos in the queer space on campus.
Everyone is confused by them, and it's somehow fallen to me to explain the prohibition of eating (or possessing) chametz over the holiday and how matzo plays a role in that.
Everyone is confused by them, and it's somehow fallen to me to explain the prohibition of eating (or possessing) chametz over the holiday and how matzo plays a role in that.
The term "AI cookware" refers not to, like, a pan that is imbued with a tensor accelerator and a tremendous amount of stored program control.
No. Rather, it refers to software, leaning heavily on AI, that cooks your brain.
No. Rather, it refers to software, leaning heavily on AI, that cooks your brain.
November 24, 2025 at 2:43 PM
The term "AI cookware" refers not to, like, a pan that is imbued with a tensor accelerator and a tremendous amount of stored program control.
No. Rather, it refers to software, leaning heavily on AI, that cooks your brain.
No. Rather, it refers to software, leaning heavily on AI, that cooks your brain.
Current catus
I'm being told that it's time to wake up by Laureline kneading on my shins and purring so enthusiastically that she's also cooing.
Of course, Valérian has come to join her.
I'm being told that it's time to wake up by Laureline kneading on my shins and purring so enthusiastically that she's also cooing.
Of course, Valérian has come to join her.
November 23, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Current catus
I'm being told that it's time to wake up by Laureline kneading on my shins and purring so enthusiastically that she's also cooing.
Of course, Valérian has come to join her.
I'm being told that it's time to wake up by Laureline kneading on my shins and purring so enthusiastically that she's also cooing.
Of course, Valérian has come to join her.
"Should I get a BOSS TU-3 in 2025?"
Wait a bit and get it in 2026.
Wait a bit and get it in 2026.
November 23, 2025 at 6:41 AM
"Should I get a BOSS TU-3 in 2025?"
Wait a bit and get it in 2026.
Wait a bit and get it in 2026.
Somehow, I missed that Jogeir Liljedahl had remixed the theme from the Amiga game Hybris.
www.amigaremix.com/remix/3333
www.amigaremix.com/remix/3333
Hybris Imploded! by Jogeir Liljedahl
This is a remix of Hybris (and turbo imploder 3), composed by Paul van der Valk.
www.amigaremix.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Somehow, I missed that Jogeir Liljedahl had remixed the theme from the Amiga game Hybris.
www.amigaremix.com/remix/3333
www.amigaremix.com/remix/3333
Oh, man, how has no one quoted the Panashiba PSA from Tales from the Afternow yet?
"This is a Panashiba reminder to make sure you only practice what certified instructors have taught you.
"This is a Panashiba reminder to make sure you only practice what certified instructors have taught you.
November 22, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Oh, man, how has no one quoted the Panashiba PSA from Tales from the Afternow yet?
"This is a Panashiba reminder to make sure you only practice what certified instructors have taught you.
"This is a Panashiba reminder to make sure you only practice what certified instructors have taught you.
I'm reminded that I had to explain burning CDs to the kids this past week.
"The proper term was 'recording,' but we used 'burning' both because it sounded cooler and because CD recorders used a laser to cut the pits in the substrate of recordable media, more or less by actually burning it."
"The proper term was 'recording,' but we used 'burning' both because it sounded cooler and because CD recorders used a laser to cut the pits in the substrate of recordable media, more or less by actually burning it."
November 22, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I'm reminded that I had to explain burning CDs to the kids this past week.
"The proper term was 'recording,' but we used 'burning' both because it sounded cooler and because CD recorders used a laser to cut the pits in the substrate of recordable media, more or less by actually burning it."
"The proper term was 'recording,' but we used 'burning' both because it sounded cooler and because CD recorders used a laser to cut the pits in the substrate of recordable media, more or less by actually burning it."
I'm finding that computers are a good idea on paper, but the execution is quite poor.
Through no fault of my own beyond insisting on running updates, VcXsrv and Emacs are broken on Windows, so I now have access to neither acme nor org-mode.
This is unlivable.
Through no fault of my own beyond insisting on running updates, VcXsrv and Emacs are broken on Windows, so I now have access to neither acme nor org-mode.
This is unlivable.
November 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
I'm finding that computers are a good idea on paper, but the execution is quite poor.
Through no fault of my own beyond insisting on running updates, VcXsrv and Emacs are broken on Windows, so I now have access to neither acme nor org-mode.
This is unlivable.
Through no fault of my own beyond insisting on running updates, VcXsrv and Emacs are broken on Windows, so I now have access to neither acme nor org-mode.
This is unlivable.
I will forever find it funny that USB mass storage gives you two options for how you'd like your disk: floppy or "scuzzy."
November 21, 2025 at 4:04 AM
I will forever find it funny that USB mass storage gives you two options for how you'd like your disk: floppy or "scuzzy."
Oh, there's a runoff election happening yet, it seems. That wasn't clear a few weeks ago.
The only thing that tipped me off to it was Rishi Kumar crowing in my inbox about how he intends to use an elected bureaucrat's post to protect prop 13 and how he disapproves of a natural gas ban.
The only thing that tipped me off to it was Rishi Kumar crowing in my inbox about how he intends to use an elected bureaucrat's post to protect prop 13 and how he disapproves of a natural gas ban.
November 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Oh, there's a runoff election happening yet, it seems. That wasn't clear a few weeks ago.
The only thing that tipped me off to it was Rishi Kumar crowing in my inbox about how he intends to use an elected bureaucrat's post to protect prop 13 and how he disapproves of a natural gas ban.
The only thing that tipped me off to it was Rishi Kumar crowing in my inbox about how he intends to use an elected bureaucrat's post to protect prop 13 and how he disapproves of a natural gas ban.