@futurebird It's pretty essential for programmable calculators [1] and I wouldn't be surprised if it's there because it shares functionality (and code) with a programmable. I've often wanted it (slightly) to help convert a race time to minutes per mile.

[1] Random examples: finding good […]

@synlogic4242 Nothing is missing.

It's my free floating AirTag. I often throw it loose into a suitcase but not 100% sure when I last used it.

It's moving around Guatemala City now. Apple Maps claims it's 29,905 miles away which is a reminder of why I think it's OK to ask Fermi questions in job interviews.

Now it's in a warehouse in Mixco, a city next door to Guatemala City. I'm hoping it's sitting loose in the container and eventually ends up on another international trip.

I just remembered: this AirTag was likely originally in my carry-on baggage on my flight from London. When I went to collect […]

It wasn't a mistake - my subconscious mind was just telling me not to order online and get it from the local LEGO shop. Much quicker.

@highergeometer There's no doubt in my mind that Tolkien obviously had a big impact on the look and feel of D&D, the final product that got shipped, and also the ensuing success of the game.

But another question is whether or not he was an important influence on the original creation of D&D and […]

@highergeometer Gygax (probably) partly disses Tolkien for legal reasons although ultimately he didn't get into trouble with Tolkien but Chaosium who had the game license. But yeah, there is definitely a "misalignment of expectations" when you compare Tolkien with the works Gygax listed in […]

@highergeometer Gygax was mostly generous with credits for sources. But there were some blind spots. The Gygax-Tolkien story is complicated and much debated. (I have my opinions.)

And check out this proto-beholder

@noamzoam I was pleased to stumble across that document. Despite the complexity of statements about topological recursion it's clear there's something simpler lurking in there.

Another thing I like about this topic is that it's amenable to numerical experimentation. Here's how the Catalan numbers emerge from a random matrix:

https://colab.research.google.com/drive/12-41L30u2GMceKLCobEu3SrWy37Ttdk1?usp=sharing

(I could have written that as a matrix multiplication but […]

As I was saying. No major media outlet seems interested in saying even the blindingly obvious.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/25/rutger-bregman-accuses-bbc-of-censoring-his-reith-lecture-on-trump