Lance Menthe
@lmenthe.bsky.social
physicist, senior RAND analyst, author, admirer of strange music, boardgame and D&D enthusiast, unwitting pawn of the reverse vampire illuminati. 🇺🇸🏳️🌈
Pinned
Lance Menthe
@lmenthe.bsky.social
· Nov 9
AI in Military Aviation | Behind the Wings on PBS
YouTube video by Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
youtu.be
Delighted to have the chance to speak about the promise and perils of artificial intelligence on the PBS show Behind the Wings, season 6, ep. 1 “AI in Military Aviation.”
youtu.be/UuqJuBxqA-0?...
youtu.be/UuqJuBxqA-0?...
I don’t have time for 51 ingredients 🤣
December 4, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I don’t have time for 51 ingredients 🤣
I used to think there was a hard line between self-acceptance and complacency, but now I think it’s a soft and wide line, more like a hammock, and perhaps we should all take a little time each day to swing in it gently. 😊
November 21, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I used to think there was a hard line between self-acceptance and complacency, but now I think it’s a soft and wide line, more like a hammock, and perhaps we should all take a little time each day to swing in it gently. 😊
People complaining that they hate DST should be glad it’s over for the year, no?
November 3, 2025 at 5:17 AM
People complaining that they hate DST should be glad it’s over for the year, no?
Everywhere I look, people are being laid off. There will be new hiring for the Christmas shopping season, but when the seasonally adjusted Q4 figures come out, I’m concerned that they will be flashing red. Let’s hope that this is just a coincidence of things I see in the news and not a real trend.
October 30, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Everywhere I look, people are being laid off. There will be new hiring for the Christmas shopping season, but when the seasonally adjusted Q4 figures come out, I’m concerned that they will be flashing red. Let’s hope that this is just a coincidence of things I see in the news and not a real trend.
Finally watched K-Pop Demon Hunters tonight... How fun! Impressive on many levels. Golden indeed.
October 25, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Finally watched K-Pop Demon Hunters tonight... How fun! Impressive on many levels. Golden indeed.
I saw it again in IMAX. Tron Ares rules.
October 19, 2025 at 4:05 AM
I saw it again in IMAX. Tron Ares rules.
Rewatched the first two Tron movies and now saw the third. Do I have nits to pick and suggestions? Sure. But I appreciate the Tron movies very much, and to my surprise, I think “Tron: Ares” is the most successful of the three.
October 12, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Rewatched the first two Tron movies and now saw the third. Do I have nits to pick and suggestions? Sure. But I appreciate the Tron movies very much, and to my surprise, I think “Tron: Ares” is the most successful of the three.
In preparation to watch Tron: Ares, we rewatched the original 1982 movie. Wendy Carlos’s score is uneven, but has many moments of sublime beauty, such as when the light sail ship passes over the simulation sea. A fun rewatch.
October 10, 2025 at 5:48 AM
In preparation to watch Tron: Ares, we rewatched the original 1982 movie. Wendy Carlos’s score is uneven, but has many moments of sublime beauty, such as when the light sail ship passes over the simulation sea. A fun rewatch.
Reposted by Lance Menthe
RIP Jane Goodall. For some reason, I just assumed you would live forever, which isn’t untrue.
October 1, 2025 at 7:41 PM
RIP Jane Goodall. For some reason, I just assumed you would live forever, which isn’t untrue.
In other democracies, they sometimes fail to form a government and it takes weeks or more to build a workable governing coalition… maybe the U.S. government occasionally stalemating into budgetary shutdown is something of the same gear-grinding process in a different guise
October 1, 2025 at 12:18 AM
In other democracies, they sometimes fail to form a government and it takes weeks or more to build a workable governing coalition… maybe the U.S. government occasionally stalemating into budgetary shutdown is something of the same gear-grinding process in a different guise
I’ve watched Mulholland Drive many times, but last night was my first time seeing it on the big screen. What a film! The New Beverly theater also has stunning sound.
September 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
I’ve watched Mulholland Drive many times, but last night was my first time seeing it on the big screen. What a film! The New Beverly theater also has stunning sound.
NY Times always disses the science words 😠
September 24, 2025 at 3:47 AM
NY Times always disses the science words 😠
My preferred version of the quadratic formula, which is equally general, is:
x^2 - 2px + q = 0
x = p +/- sqrt(p^2 - q)
x^2 - 2px + q = 0
x = p +/- sqrt(p^2 - q)
September 17, 2025 at 8:35 AM
My preferred version of the quadratic formula, which is equally general, is:
x^2 - 2px + q = 0
x = p +/- sqrt(p^2 - q)
x^2 - 2px + q = 0
x = p +/- sqrt(p^2 - q)
Oh man, I just saw the House of Dynamite trailer with the Carl Sagan voice over and I broke down and wept. He inspired my desire to be a scientist. So clear and kind. We need people like him again.
September 15, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Oh man, I just saw the House of Dynamite trailer with the Carl Sagan voice over and I broke down and wept. He inspired my desire to be a scientist. So clear and kind. We need people like him again.
Hard day. A wonderful woman I knew for over 20 years, a friend and mentor, has passed away today. I happened to see her office yesterday, and her door, which was almost always open, both literally and figuratively, was closed.
September 9, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Hard day. A wonderful woman I knew for over 20 years, a friend and mentor, has passed away today. I happened to see her office yesterday, and her door, which was almost always open, both literally and figuratively, was closed.
Alien Earth has been exceptional so far. They’ve sure got a lot of balls in the air right now, but man, if they pay off… wow. I’m not a huge fan of horror, but this is exactly the kind of smart, atmospheric stuff I love.
August 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Alien Earth has been exceptional so far. They’ve sure got a lot of balls in the air right now, but man, if they pay off… wow. I’m not a huge fan of horror, but this is exactly the kind of smart, atmospheric stuff I love.
Reposted by Lance Menthe
RAND research finds that building multifamily housing in California costs more than twice what it costs in Texas.
Find out why in a new episode of Policy Minded. ⤵
www.rand.org/pubs/podcast...
Find out why in a new episode of Policy Minded. ⤵
www.rand.org/pubs/podcast...
Why Is It So Expensive to Build Apartments in California?
Building multifamily housing in California costs more than twice what it costs in Texas. What's driving this? And how might California address its housing crisis?
www.rand.org
August 16, 2025 at 1:19 AM
RAND research finds that building multifamily housing in California costs more than twice what it costs in Texas.
Find out why in a new episode of Policy Minded. ⤵
www.rand.org/pubs/podcast...
Find out why in a new episode of Policy Minded. ⤵
www.rand.org/pubs/podcast...
Once again, I’m begging reporters not to ask known liars to “explain” their lies. Doing so will only elicit more lies. Such quotes are easy to get but have no journalistic value. Please just investigate the story, provide all the evidence, tell the truth as best you can, and then call out the liars.
August 3, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Once again, I’m begging reporters not to ask known liars to “explain” their lies. Doing so will only elicit more lies. Such quotes are easy to get but have no journalistic value. Please just investigate the story, provide all the evidence, tell the truth as best you can, and then call out the liars.
Reposted by Lance Menthe
How can authorities defend military bases in the United States from drone attacks?
RAND's Christopher Pernin discusses lessons from a recent series of wargames: www.defensenews.com/unmanned/202...
RAND's Christopher Pernin discusses lessons from a recent series of wargames: www.defensenews.com/unmanned/202...
These wargames explored drone attacks on US military bases
Many of the details of these wargames are classified, but one key finding is that protecting domestic U.S. bases can’t be just the military’s job.
www.defensenews.com
July 28, 2025 at 8:04 PM
How can authorities defend military bases in the United States from drone attacks?
RAND's Christopher Pernin discusses lessons from a recent series of wargames: www.defensenews.com/unmanned/202...
RAND's Christopher Pernin discusses lessons from a recent series of wargames: www.defensenews.com/unmanned/202...
Today’s Wordle was not enjoyable.
July 18, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Today’s Wordle was not enjoyable.
Because of how large language models work, and how they are trained on the vast oceans of existing text, AI effectively holds a mirror up to humanity and says “this is what you sound like” and it’s not very flattering.
July 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Because of how large language models work, and how they are trained on the vast oceans of existing text, AI effectively holds a mirror up to humanity and says “this is what you sound like” and it’s not very flattering.
So saddened by the Texas floods. Every day the news gets worse… Hoping that the weather breaks soon and no more are lost.
July 8, 2025 at 1:24 AM
So saddened by the Texas floods. Every day the news gets worse… Hoping that the weather breaks soon and no more are lost.
Celebrating the 4th of July last night with friends. Fireworks all around Los Angeles were a continuous rumble for hours. (And they started in the early afternoon, for some reason?) 😊 Tonight, off to see the big drone show and other Independence Day festivities in downtown Culver City!
July 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Celebrating the 4th of July last night with friends. Fireworks all around Los Angeles were a continuous rumble for hours. (And they started in the early afternoon, for some reason?) 😊 Tonight, off to see the big drone show and other Independence Day festivities in downtown Culver City!
The reason I support a shift to geoengineering and market-based approaches to address climate change can be seen in the Keeling Curve (Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego) overlaid with the dates of major climate change treaties. The current approach is noble but just isn't working.
July 4, 2025 at 10:17 PM
The reason I support a shift to geoengineering and market-based approaches to address climate change can be seen in the Keeling Curve (Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego) overlaid with the dates of major climate change treaties. The current approach is noble but just isn't working.
Happy 4th of July!
an american flag is flying in front of a firework display
ALT: an american flag is flying in front of a firework display
media.tenor.com
July 4, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Happy 4th of July!