Paul 🔜PaxU
@paul314.bsky.social
Retired actuary/data scientist. Grew up in Texas, happily living in Massachusetts. Board games, Ulysses, Bayern Munich, Commanders, GY!BE. If you voted for that guy, just shove off.
I was wondering today: to what extent does the Queen Bee score provide a clue of the number of pangrams in a NYT Spelling Bee? The answer: looking at almost 1,700 puzzles…not much.
November 15, 2025 at 10:59 PM
I was wondering today: to what extent does the Queen Bee score provide a clue of the number of pangrams in a NYT Spelling Bee? The answer: looking at almost 1,700 puzzles…not much.
Okay, so yes, I admit it, I've fallen a bit behind in my reading. But I'm working on it!
November 3, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Okay, so yes, I admit it, I've fallen a bit behind in my reading. But I'm working on it!
My dog will sleep like this for hours while I watch football, blissfully snoring, but her ears perked up like this lest she miss Something Important happening
November 2, 2025 at 5:45 PM
My dog will sleep like this for hours while I watch football, blissfully snoring, but her ears perked up like this lest she miss Something Important happening
#30DayMapChallenge Day 2: Lines + Day 3: Polygons (yeah, I'm double-dipping here). Depth chart/bathymetry of the Quabbin Reservoir here in Massachusetts, using #rstats, polygons, and a color spectrum from white to - yes - dodgerblue. (also, I'd forgotten just how powerful the sf function is)
November 2, 2025 at 3:03 PM
#30DayMapChallenge Day 2: Lines + Day 3: Polygons (yeah, I'm double-dipping here). Depth chart/bathymetry of the Quabbin Reservoir here in Massachusetts, using #rstats, polygons, and a color spectrum from white to - yes - dodgerblue. (also, I'd forgotten just how powerful the sf function is)
#30daymapchallenge Day 1: points. NOAA shipwreck data + #rstats (marmap), Known Shipwrecks of the Gulf of Mexico. There may be some imprecision in the NOAA lat/long along the coast, or perhaps it includes inland waterways. But lots of them, unfortunately.
November 1, 2025 at 9:14 PM
#30daymapchallenge Day 1: points. NOAA shipwreck data + #rstats (marmap), Known Shipwrecks of the Gulf of Mexico. There may be some imprecision in the NOAA lat/long along the coast, or perhaps it includes inland waterways. But lots of them, unfortunately.
Playing the board game "Search for Planet X" for the first time in a while, I'd forgotten how fun it is. One of the few app-based games that I really enjoy.
October 25, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Playing the board game "Search for Planet X" for the first time in a while, I'd forgotten how fun it is. One of the few app-based games that I really enjoy.
I tried this in Copilot, and after repeated pressing I ended up with this, which even at the end is the AI trying to please me by confessing.
You can see why some tech billionaires have fallen in love with AI - part plutocracy, part praise machine. “Great idea, Sam!” “Very perceptive, Elon!”
You can see why some tech billionaires have fallen in love with AI - part plutocracy, part praise machine. “Great idea, Sam!” “Very perceptive, Elon!”
October 1, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I tried this in Copilot, and after repeated pressing I ended up with this, which even at the end is the AI trying to please me by confessing.
You can see why some tech billionaires have fallen in love with AI - part plutocracy, part praise machine. “Great idea, Sam!” “Very perceptive, Elon!”
You can see why some tech billionaires have fallen in love with AI - part plutocracy, part praise machine. “Great idea, Sam!” “Very perceptive, Elon!”
I've been thinking about the idea that the top player ELO ratings for a #boardgame on #BoardGameArena might reflect the amount of the game's "luck" - that is, measuring the extent to which expert players (or bots) can arbitrage away randomness through their play. The games below happen to be ones
September 27, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I've been thinking about the idea that the top player ELO ratings for a #boardgame on #BoardGameArena might reflect the amount of the game's "luck" - that is, measuring the extent to which expert players (or bots) can arbitrage away randomness through their play. The games below happen to be ones
What's important about this battle of ascendancy at Guinness isn't a fight amongst the plutocrats, it's that under the chairmanship of the winner the company hired a lot of bright science grads, including William Sealy Gosset, who would go on to invent a sampling test under the pseudonym 'Student'.
September 26, 2025 at 10:06 PM
What's important about this battle of ascendancy at Guinness isn't a fight amongst the plutocrats, it's that under the chairmanship of the winner the company hired a lot of bright science grads, including William Sealy Gosset, who would go on to invent a sampling test under the pseudonym 'Student'.
It's my first #tidytuesday ever, and I'm already cheating by grabbing extra data (2005 FIDE ratings)...but I wanted to learn ggalluvial and also see the growth in the top 100 players from India.
September 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
It's my first #tidytuesday ever, and I'm already cheating by grabbing extra data (2005 FIDE ratings)...but I wanted to learn ggalluvial and also see the growth in the top 100 players from India.
Thought I was seeing the Wurster kid tonight, but Mould is flying solo
September 20, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Thought I was seeing the Wurster kid tonight, but Mould is flying solo
The new Forest Shuffle standalone on BGA is a lot of fun, and different enough from the other game/two expansions that it requires quite a bit of rethinking. Great design. #boardgames
September 10, 2025 at 1:37 PM
The new Forest Shuffle standalone on BGA is a lot of fun, and different enough from the other game/two expansions that it requires quite a bit of rethinking. Great design. #boardgames
Oh, how short the memory can be....
September 2, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Oh, how short the memory can be....
Visiting the oldest timber frame house in North America, circa 1637, as one does on a Sunday. Beware the low ceilings. #FairbanksHouse #DedhamMA
August 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Visiting the oldest timber frame house in North America, circa 1637, as one does on a Sunday. Beware the low ceilings. #FairbanksHouse #DedhamMA
1974, a banner year for Billboard Top 100 songs with 'Baby' in the title: Rock Your Baby, (You're) Having My Baby, Angie Baby.
August 26, 2025 at 11:53 PM
1974, a banner year for Billboard Top 100 songs with 'Baby' in the title: Rock Your Baby, (You're) Having My Baby, Angie Baby.
A final, definitive list of why Democrats lost, according to pundits and social media:
August 24, 2025 at 2:18 AM
A final, definitive list of why Democrats lost, according to pundits and social media:
Target really got a boost from Covid, and then they went and set all that goodwill on fire. I'm sure hiring some new guy will fix everything.
August 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Target really got a boost from Covid, and then they went and set all that goodwill on fire. I'm sure hiring some new guy will fix everything.
One great thing about watching old BBC shows is seeing actors much earlier in their careers.
Pictured: Tom Wilkinson shouting "I am Shiva, the God of Death!" at Chief Inspector Wexford (offscreen)
Pictured: Tom Wilkinson shouting "I am Shiva, the God of Death!" at Chief Inspector Wexford (offscreen)
August 13, 2025 at 10:32 PM
One great thing about watching old BBC shows is seeing actors much earlier in their careers.
Pictured: Tom Wilkinson shouting "I am Shiva, the God of Death!" at Chief Inspector Wexford (offscreen)
Pictured: Tom Wilkinson shouting "I am Shiva, the God of Death!" at Chief Inspector Wexford (offscreen)
I feel like her future could become even more complicated.
August 12, 2025 at 10:33 PM
I feel like her future could become even more complicated.
Hahaha one of the world's most rich, corrupt organizations asking for volunteers, in return for a t shirt and some snacks. Welcome to your 2026 World Cup!
August 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Hahaha one of the world's most rich, corrupt organizations asking for volunteers, in return for a t shirt and some snacks. Welcome to your 2026 World Cup!
My favorite doctor and companion.
August 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
My favorite doctor and companion.