[{"content":"The other month, a friend held a housewarming PowerPoint night. For the uninitiated, this is a trend that I assume begin during remote pandemic hangouts but has since continued in the physical world. It\u0026rsquo;s exactly what it says on the tin: present a slideshow to your friends. I\u0026rsquo;ve done a few, and also enjoy watching comedians do it professionally on the excellent Dropout show Smartypants.\nSlideshows are certainly a standalone \u0026ldquo;deliverable\u0026rdquo; business, but a presentation comprises both the slideshow and the presenter. While I believe that my exposition added quite a lot to this most recent slideshow about how to fix political discourse in America, a suitable reader in good humor can infer much on their own.\nYou can download the PDF here.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/political-trampolines/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe other month, a friend held a housewarming PowerPoint night. For the uninitiated, this is a trend that I assume begin during remote pandemic hangouts but has since continued in the physical world. It\u0026rsquo;s exactly what it says on the tin: present a slideshow to your friends. I\u0026rsquo;ve done a few, and also enjoy watching comedians do it professionally on the excellent Dropout show \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://dropout.fandom.com/wiki/Smartypants\"\u003eSmartypants\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSlideshows are certainly a standalone \u0026ldquo;deliverable\u0026rdquo; business, but a \u003cem\u003epresentation\u003c/em\u003e comprises both the slideshow and the presenter. While I believe that my exposition added quite a lot to this most recent slideshow about how to fix political discourse in America, a suitable reader in good humor can infer much on their own.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Political Trampolines"},{"content":"I wanted to play \u0026ldquo;When You Go\u0026rdquo; by Noah Guthrie on guitar. Since Noah is rather a niche musician, these tabs weren\u0026rsquo;t available on Ultimate Guitar or any of the other less common sites known to host chords and tablature.\nA classic singer-songwriter chord annotation sheet has lyrics that are triple- or quadruple-spaced, above which are the chords one should be playing during that lyric. If you know the melody and general shape of the song, this document is always sufficient to play along with a guitar. That\u0026rsquo;s precisely the notation used on sites like Ultimate Guitar, and I wanted to create that for \u0026ldquo;When You Go\u0026rdquo;.\nThere are many sites that can generate rough chord structures for songs. Between using one of those and some musical know-how, then looking up official lyrics, I had all the components. But I was missing the necessary tool to put them all together into a final document.\nTwo obvious laborious choices were printing out the lyrics and annotating the chords by hand. Then, I could have scanned the resulting document as a PDF. Or, open a plain text document and get to work.\nNeither of these seemed great, and I don\u0026rsquo;t believe thousands and thousands of song chord charts are created by hand-spacing the annotations in Word. After a quick search, I discovered ChordPro. As they state simply in the sub-header of the website:\nA simple text format for the notation of lyrics with chords.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s precisely it. You type in lyrics, and add in-line chord references using brackets. Add additional metadata inside curly braces, and you will have a clean song sheet lickety-split.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure people get crazy with custom formatting. I opted for a pre-built option. Here\u0026rsquo;s a snippet of the plain text:\n{title: When You Go} {artist: Noah Guthrie} {time: 3/4} {key: E} {tempo: 120} {start_of_verse: Intro} [C#m] [B] [A] [C#m] [B] [A] [C#m] [B] [A] [E] [F#m] [B] {end_of_verse} {start_of_verse: Verse 1} Came [E]alive when I [B]saw you [G#m] [A] Like a [E]lie that we [B]live through [G#m]time and [A]again. Fell [E]apart when we [B]came to. [G#m] [A] Had our [E]world by the [B]tail we let it [G#m]run off [A]again. [B] {end_of_verse} {start_of_verse: Verse 2} Where was [E]I come [B]sunrise [G#m] [A] When the [E]light from your [B]window crept [G#m]onto the [A]bed. All [E]alone in a [B]wasteland [G#m] [A] Ain’t no [E]room for the [B]two of us [G#m]inside of my [A]head. [B] {end_of_verse} And the resulting document.1\nThe system that eventually became ChordPro originated over 34 years ago! Similar to why I love Markdown, the plain text is as usable as the final formatted document for the intended purpose. Any musician could look at the text above and use it to track with a song. It\u0026rsquo;s a clever and simple tool, and I adore it.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t worry, the G#m chord diagram rendered. It\u0026rsquo;s only cut off in this screenshot.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/chordpro/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI wanted to play \u0026ldquo;\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIZL12qi09M\"\u003eWhen You Go\u003c/a\u003e\u0026rdquo; by Noah Guthrie on guitar. Since Noah is rather a niche musician, these tabs weren\u0026rsquo;t available on Ultimate Guitar or any of the other less common sites known to host chords and tablature.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA classic singer-songwriter chord annotation sheet has lyrics that are triple- or quadruple-spaced, above which are the chords one should be playing during that lyric. If you know the melody and general shape of the song, this document is always sufficient to play along with a guitar. That\u0026rsquo;s precisely the notation used on sites like Ultimate Guitar, and I wanted to create that for \u0026ldquo;When You Go\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"ChordPro"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m enamored by The New Yorker. It\u0026rsquo;s available via the Apple News+ subscription that Erin and I share as part of a broader service package, and indeed it\u0026rsquo;s one of the few publications I follow on that app. But I\u0026rsquo;ve spent little time reading any of its eclectic writing. I had only a vague awareness of its history, and had seen plenty of its comics.\nThe miasma of information I\u0026rsquo;d gathered but hadn\u0026rsquo;t yet assimilated about The New Yorker came together after Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz published a detailed profile of Sam Altman. I read it all, then read the interview transcript of Farrow\u0026rsquo;s appearance on the excellent Decoder podcast with Nilay Patel of The Verge. Since then, I\u0026rsquo;ve read The New Yorker\u0026rsquo;s Wikipedia page, poked through their archives, saved the landmark \u0026ldquo;Hiroshima\u0026rdquo; report from 1946 to read later, and recently followed a link to the hilarious \u0026ldquo;Coyote V. Acme\u0026rdquo; piece.1\nI\u0026rsquo;ve tried tracing my awareness of The New Yorker before I intentionally began to learn more. In no particular order:\nGeorge Saunders is outstanding, and he regularly contributes fiction to The New Yorker. I appreciate John Gruber over at Daring Fireball, and he appreciates The New Yorker. I read his coverage of their style guide changes, and notice when he links to other pieces published there. Speaking of style guides, The New Yorker is delightfully quirky while also being steady and thoughtful in its approach. In the few pieces I\u0026rsquo;ve read over the years, it\u0026rsquo;s impossible to ignore the unusual spelling, the diaeresis marks (e.g., coöperative), and hyphenation decisions. Their comics are iconic. Their covers are also iconic, even if I didn\u0026rsquo;t fully get them without the broader context of the magazine\u0026rsquo;s history and style. I probably used to think it had some meaningful connection to The New York Times. Eventually, learning that isn\u0026rsquo;t the case helped improve my estimation. They capably publish a mixture of journalism, opinion essays, fiction, and other pieces that defy classification. This breadth without sacrificing quality is commendable. None of this was enough to fully capture my attention. But reading 17,000 words by Farrow and Marantz, followed by Farrow thoughtfully expanding on his approach on Decoder, established Farrow as an important representation of The New Yorker\u0026rsquo;s journalism arm and spoke to the magazine\u0026rsquo;s ethos. A publication that can allow a reporter to spend two years on this story while maintaining an influential role in modern literature (and humor) is well worth my attention.\nSo, I dove in deep. I was most impacted by discovering the reputation of their fact-checking operation. What a refreshing and admirable focus they\u0026rsquo;ve maintained through a difficult time for honest media. They provide thoroughly researched journalism that, being in a magazine, does not bluster, trying to convince us it\u0026rsquo;s breaking news. It\u0026rsquo;s methodical and takes a stance on what\u0026rsquo;s important. But, sometimes life is too difficult to look at directly. In those cases, The New Yorker can hold a mirror to the world with well-reasoned essays. Go a step beyond, and enjoy the funhouse look via comics and fiction.\nI\u0026rsquo;m amazed that I haven\u0026rsquo;t been reading The New Yorker cover-to-cover for years. I guess I\u0026rsquo;m not ready for what\u0026rsquo;s right in front of me until I\u0026rsquo;m ready.2\nWritten 35 years ago, it adds to the body of evidence begun by Swift\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;A Modest Proposal\u0026rdquo; that good satire is evergreen.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSometimes, tautologies are the truest and most apt way to explain a phenomenon.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-new-yorker/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m enamored by \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c/em\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s available via the Apple News+ subscription that Erin and I share as part of a broader service package, and indeed it\u0026rsquo;s one of the few publications I follow on that app. But I\u0026rsquo;ve spent little time reading any of its eclectic writing. I had only a vague awareness of its history, and had seen plenty of its comics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe miasma of information I\u0026rsquo;d gathered but hadn\u0026rsquo;t yet assimilated about \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c/em\u003e came together after \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted\"\u003eRonan Farrow and Andrew Marantz published a detailed profile of Sam Altman\u003c/a\u003e. I read it all, then read the interview transcript of \u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/podcast/911753/sam-altman-openai-ronan-farrow-new-yorker-feature-trust-liar-ai-industry\"\u003eFarrow\u0026rsquo;s appearance on the excellent \u003cem\u003eDecoder\u003c/em\u003e podcast\u003c/a\u003e with Nilay Patel of \u003cem\u003eThe Verge\u003c/em\u003e. Since then, I\u0026rsquo;ve read \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Yorker\"\u003eWikipedia page\u003c/a\u003e, poked through their archives, saved the landmark \u0026ldquo;\u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima\"\u003eHiroshima\u003c/a\u003e\u0026rdquo; report from 1946 to read later, and recently followed a link to the hilarious \u0026ldquo;\u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/02/26/coyote-v-acme?ueid=d956b76cdad3bd35b457a5402d4f5fa3\u0026amp;amp;bxid=6812aca8f4eb6e00a907c621\"\u003eCoyote V. Acme\u003c/a\u003e\u0026rdquo; piece.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The New Yorker"},{"content":"Before moving my blog, I\u0026rsquo;d been rethinking my writing process. As I noted several months ago, I want to relieve the pressure of pushing out posts on a regular schedule by focusing on improvement and quality. That means recognizing that I earn nothing by writing faster, and that I have to actively engage with my prose. It means following a thorough process of writing and revision while not losing the intuition and nose for what feels right. It means reminding myself that patience and perseverance are always rewarding.\nFor a couple of years, I\u0026rsquo;ve used Grammarly to help address my writing mechanics. My comma usage is all over the place, I accidentally slip into passive voice when it\u0026rsquo;s unwarranted, and I make silly errors like everyone else. It really has been a great tool to keep my posts clean. However, similar to LLMs, it has come at the cost of losing track of my voice. When I\u0026rsquo;m not careful, Grammarly will suggest words I prefer to avoid and propose entirely rewriting paragraphs that may be clearer in the most pedantic sense, but sorely lack style and personality. It can also be far too easy to accept revisions without considering why Grammarly recommended them, or whether I agree with the given suggestion. I stopped engaging with my writing. I tried to optimize my hobby. What\u0026rsquo;s the point?\nSo, I canceled my Grammarly subscription.\nRevisionist history I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen every major technological shift that\u0026rsquo;s dramatically affected writing, but I\u0026rsquo;ve been writing on computers long enough to experience the evolution of spell- and grammar-check systems. Microsoft Word\u0026rsquo;s hilarious contextless spell-checker in its 2003 edition was useful for the most egregious errors, and otherwise only good to poke fun at. Teachers trained us to proofread our own work, and for good reason: it was evident that software tools couldn\u0026rsquo;t handle the assignment. Ignore their advice at your peril.\nSince then, both the increase in compute power and the ubiquity of always-online software have allowed many writing tools to offer mature grammar checking systems. At work, all of my Google products and my third-party email client, Front, have the capability. And Ulysses, where I write all of my personal Markdown drafts, has a solid revision mode.1\nAll of these features have two layers: First, a way to check for mistakes. Second, suggestions for improving your writing (for some definition of \u0026ldquo;improve\u0026rdquo;). Grammarly is best-in-class in that second category, and is why most people likely use it. However, in the two or so years I spent using Grammarly, I identified my biggest issues. I know what words and phrases to chop out and the sentence structures to avoid. As such, I\u0026rsquo;ve outgrown most of what Grammarly offers. I let the built-in services handle the errors, while I handle the style. (More on this later.)\nGrammarly makes sense organizationally, where it can feasibly enforce a consistent style across a company. It may make that pitch to the individual, too, where you can access your voice, no matter where you\u0026rsquo;re writing. The problem is that my voice necessarily differs between work and play. It even differs between projects in each context: at work, I write emails differently than Slack messages, and those are different from formal process documentation. Let\u0026rsquo;s not mention my personal daily agenda and notes therein. For my blog, I have my default voice—this post, for example—but I love to experiment with other genres that necessitate different mechanics. Grammarly doesn\u0026rsquo;t support that flexibility with their preferred interaction via their browser plugin or desktop app. It\u0026rsquo;s only easily possible when working in a new document in their web editor, in which case they\u0026rsquo;ll ask the purpose of the document. They try not to let people know that it exists.\nGrammarly is software that, at its core, is a feature instead of a product. It is designed to extend all of your text fields. They live at the edge of whatever features Google Docs and Word decide to include, or pitch themselves to chumps like me who use niche tools. While I was still using iA Writer, Grammarly made more sense. iA Writer doesn\u0026rsquo;t have any built-in grammar, style, or mechanical writing checks, so the Grammarly desktop app could sit atop it. But now, with LLMs always at my fingertips, it\u0026rsquo;s harder to find the edge that Grammarly can feasibly occupy. That\u0026rsquo;s probably why they created a feature that angered a tremendous number of writers who previously understood and appreciated everything that differentiated Grammarly. It\u0026rsquo;s one of the reasons I gave when I canceled my subscription.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not me, it\u0026rsquo;s you Grammarly\u0026rsquo;s expert review feature did not make waves until prominent experts pointed out that they had not given any permission to be included. \u0026ldquo;Expert Review\u0026rdquo; was theoretically designed to provide specific feedback based on writers and communicators in a relevant field. Academia, fiction, journalism, whatever it is, they had ingested the works of experts and trained their model to spit out advice based on a writer\u0026rsquo;s portfolio. Not only did it face immense backlash, but it didn\u0026rsquo;t appear to be implemented that well. The advice was fairly generic in the examples I saw.\nI recommend reading the overview of the saga by Stevie Bonifield at The Verge if you want more details.\nExpert Review didn\u0026rsquo;t work me into a frothing fury, during which I righteously canceled my subscription. It only reminded me that I still had the subscription. I had slowly chipped away at Grammarly\u0026rsquo;s intrusion into my writing life until I was left with that aforementioned document editor on the web, which I rarely remembered to use. Was that worth around a hundred dollars each year?\nDisregard everything in the previous section about Grammarly being eminently replaceable. I only used its website because everything else it offers is annoying. It wants to live in your browser as an extension and, ideally, on your entire computer as a desktop app that is always hanging out in the background like the worst backseat pedant. It\u0026rsquo;s whack-a-mole trying to get it to leave me alone. I don\u0026rsquo;t need grammar check when entering the name of a school district in Salesforce, so I turn it off there. It tries to live beside the existing suggestions in Google Docs, so do I turn off all of Google\u0026rsquo;s suggestions? Let them fight? (I mostly did the latter, with amusing results.)\nEven worse, in iA Writer I had to manually tell the desktop app to \u0026ldquo;Ignore for 1 hour\u0026rdquo; so I could write in peace. I don\u0026rsquo;t need colorful underlines breaking my focus when it\u0026rsquo;s hard enough to get any words out. God forbid they need to be correct on the first try. Not to mention all the other apps I use where Grammarly wants its grubby little fingers all over the text entry interface. Thank you, that typo in my to-do app is fine.\nWriting is a process, and Grammarly is optimized to interject in that process. Like many AI tools, it can be an excellent way to learn. I learned how to improve my writing by reading Grammarly\u0026rsquo;s detailed comments in their fabulous web editor. I took it slow, recognized patterns, and now continually seek to address them without additional nudging. Grammarly was a step in the writing process, but I refused to yield to it as the process.\nBut LLM products aren\u0026rsquo;t interested in supporting that slow learning mode. They are marketed for efficiency, and that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mesh with what I need.\nEffective friction Grammarly\u0026rsquo;s reverse acquisition of Superhuman demonstrates how it views itself. It\u0026rsquo;s an AI office productivity platform that wants to act on your behalf. Here\u0026rsquo;s a blurb from Grammarly\u0026rsquo;s post about the acquisition:\nWhether you try one product or the whole Superhuman suite, we hope you’ll feel momentum as it automates a rote workflow or writes in your voice.\nAutomating a rote workflow is cool. I have a shell alias to publish this blog, so I don\u0026rsquo;t need to remember any git commands.\nWriting in my voice? That\u0026rsquo;s my job. It\u0026rsquo;s my passion.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s the crux of this issue. I\u0026rsquo;ve written thousands of words about my writing between this blog and my personal journal. I agonize over whether I\u0026rsquo;m any good at it, whether the years I\u0026rsquo;ve spent writing have materially improved its quality, and how to motivate myself to do the hard thing: write, then revise, then do it again.\nDeciding several months ago that I would no longer stick to a weekly publishing schedule has let me build a writing process that encourages deep thought. That process isn\u0026rsquo;t streamlined. It requires intentional work, and it\u0026rsquo;s purposely ill-defined. (I have it written down and printed on a sheet of paper next to my desk. One of the steps is \u0026ldquo;Repeat (3) and (4) as needed.\u0026rdquo;)\nEvery possibility for tangible, real improvement exists in that friction. That\u0026rsquo;s improvement on the local scale of an individual post, and meaningful improvement in my writing overall. Every minute I dissect a sentence until I notice why it\u0026rsquo;s confusing, why it doesn\u0026rsquo;t flow, then address the issue is vital and irreplaceable. And if I want a more advanced tool to help, I have options. But I keep those questions localized to the word or sentence, and they are each a conscious choice that requires strict intervention. No tool is volunteering suggestions, and I am not one click away from fixing it.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s quite a bit of grandstanding. Guess what? I use the suggestions Google Docs gives me all the time. (I don\u0026rsquo;t use the suggestions in Front very often, but we all have our preferences.) At work, efficiency matters. It must be balanced with improving in my role, but it\u0026rsquo;s expected that I tactfully use the tools our company pays for to boost what we do. I\u0026rsquo;ve built a few incredible tools with Gemini and Claude, but I insist on leaving the high-value, sticky work for myself.\nBut that\u0026rsquo;s at work. I get paid to do that.\nIf I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to spend the time actually writing this blog, what would be the point? I\u0026rsquo;m doing this because I love to write. I\u0026rsquo;ve decided that improving my writing is a journey I want to experience for my entire life. That means dealing with the writer\u0026rsquo;s block, the proofreading, and when it all gets too hard, pretending that using a new text editor will fix it all.\nWho wins if I write a post that technically has a correctly placed comma and is published a day earlier because I let something else do the work?\nNot me.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve noticed that Grammarly and Ulysses don\u0026rsquo;t always agree on how to use commas. I sense that Grammarly prefers more commas, and all this does is emphasize that, no matter what strong feelings I read online about commas not actually being subjective, they totally are.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/leaving-grammarly/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBefore \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/big-blog-update/\"\u003emoving my blog\u003c/a\u003e, I\u0026rsquo;d been rethinking my writing process. As I noted several months ago, I want to relieve the pressure of pushing out posts on a regular schedule by focusing on improvement and quality. That means recognizing that I earn nothing by writing faster, and that I have to actively engage with my prose. It means following a thorough process of writing and revision while not losing the intuition and nose for what feels right. It means reminding myself that patience and perseverance are always rewarding.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Leaving Grammarly"},{"content":"I adore niche corners of the internet. Small projects, independent developers, targeted publications, and so much else can only exist because the internet helps them connect to a sufficiently large captive audience. So many companies and industries view the internet as a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos—who can capture the most delicious little spherical bits of yummy data? My kinds of people aren\u0026rsquo;t trying to win capitalism and aren\u0026rsquo;t pushed by metrics besides \u0026ldquo;Am I making something cool?\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Can I find just enough people who also think it\u0026rsquo;s cool?\u0026rdquo;\nThat brings me to Quiche Browser and its default favorites on their new tab page.\nNote that the last two favorites, \u0026ldquo;All Ten\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Six Colors\u0026rdquo;, are mine. The rest are in Quiche by default.\nThis page is wonderfully different from other browsers, which either do nothing or suggest various news sites and other mainstream options that, frankly, I don\u0026rsquo;t at all care about.\nI eventually tapped through each suggestion, and was most enamored by Longreads. While it\u0026rsquo;s owned by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, it appears to run independently.1\nThe opening of their About page is clear:\nLongreads…is dedicated to finding and sharing the best longform nonfiction storytelling on the web. We publish personal and reported essays, criticism, reading lists, and occasional book excerpts, interviews, and more in-depth features.\nThe first essay I read was Into the Darkness by Kendra Atleework, a personal exploration of Germany\u0026rsquo;s Black Forest. It\u0026rsquo;s just over 4,000 words, the length of a solid chapter in a modern novel. It\u0026rsquo;s a tremendous piece of writing. Although I haven\u0026rsquo;t yet committed to subscribe, I did add their RSS feed containing select free works so I can continue to get a taste of what they do and, in the spirit of the site, focus my reading time on chunkier pieces that represent meaningful work.\nA similar publication I have previously subscribed to, also owned by Automattic, is The Atavist Magazine. Its focus is narrower in genre, though not in topic. They publish one piece of narrative investigative journalism each month, longer than those in Longreads.2\nThese wonderful pieces are also aspirational. You can look through this updated version of my blog and see the word count of every post. Most aren\u0026rsquo;t very long. That\u0026rsquo;s not bad—many topics don\u0026rsquo;t deserve thousands of words. But I hope to build the sensibility to identify ideas that have the opportunity for breadth and depth beyond a normal post, and the skill and patience to create the subsequent essay. There\u0026rsquo;s a huge, fascinating world available, yet my longest post might be my review of my friend Timothy\u0026rsquo;s movie. I\u0026rsquo;m worthy of the challenge of writing a piece around that length once or twice a year.\nWhile we all await for me to act on that impulse, check out Longreads and The Atavist Magazine. They\u0026rsquo;re outstanding.\nAnd if you\u0026rsquo;re a huge nerd, I also recommend Quiche Browser.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure Automattic is interested in the bottom-line. According to the About page, Automattic matches each membership dollar Longreads earns.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOutside the scope of this post: I\u0026rsquo;ve always struggled on choosing how to spend time reading, because I\u0026rsquo;m a tracker. I track what books I read, so those \u0026ldquo;count\u0026rdquo;. If I spend hours on these deep, robust essays and journalism, they don\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;count\u0026rdquo;. That\u0026rsquo;s a me problem, though.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/longreads-and-the-atavist/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI adore niche corners of the internet. Small projects, independent developers, targeted publications, and so much else can only exist because the internet helps them connect to a sufficiently large captive audience. So many companies and industries view the internet as a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos—who can capture the most delicious little spherical bits of yummy data? \u003cem\u003eMy kinds of people\u003c/em\u003e aren\u0026rsquo;t trying to win capitalism and aren\u0026rsquo;t pushed by metrics besides \u0026ldquo;Am I making something cool?\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Can I find just enough people who also think it\u0026rsquo;s cool?\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Longreads and The Atavist"},{"content":"I volunteered to revive the newsletter for the Connecticut \u0026ldquo;Smoky Joe Wood\u0026rdquo; chapter of SABR, and successfully sent out its first new edition last week.\nYou can access it here.\nThis was so much fun to create. I had minimal guidance and effectively carte blance from our chapter president. That was a bit intimidating, but I started with editions from the previous editor to guide my design. More directly, I ripped it off as closely as I could in Affinity. I had to relearn the basics of desktop publishing while I figured out how badly I wanted to do this \u0026ldquo;the right way\u0026rdquo; with master pages and repeatable formatting. I made mistakes, learned how to fix them, and am pleased with the overall design. Graphics and layout are not my passion nor my strong suit, but I got the job done.\nMy greatest delight was brainstorming punny sections I could repeat across editions, while I relied on our wonderfully curious chapter members to submit articles.1 There\u0026rsquo;s Caught Looking, where I will find a cool or silly image from past seasons. Numbers Game will be a recurring trivia section. And my pride and joy, Smoky Joe Word, is a crossword puzzle.2\nI aim to make this newsletter quarterly. That gives members time to submit stories and will ensure I don\u0026rsquo;t rapidly burn out. I\u0026rsquo;ll continue experimenting with other sections based on any feedback I receive, and I\u0026rsquo;ll keep having fun. Besides, that\u0026rsquo;s what baseball is really about.\nI also plan to write for future editions, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t want this to be the Mark Show. Having other contributors will hopefully encourage more participation the next time around now that people see that I\u0026rsquo;m taking this revival seriously.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI will write more about how I made this puzzle another time, but the tool I find is amazing and, incredibly, completely free.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/creating-a-baseball-newsletter/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI volunteered to revive the newsletter for the Connecticut \u0026ldquo;Smoky Joe Wood\u0026rdquo; chapter of SABR, and successfully sent out its first new edition last week.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can access it \u003ca href=\"/images/spring-2026-wood-pile.pdf\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was so much fun to create. I had minimal guidance and effectively \u003cem\u003ecarte blance\u003c/em\u003e from our chapter president. That was a bit intimidating, but I started with editions from the previous editor to guide my design. More directly, I ripped it off as closely as I could in \u003ca href=\"https://www.affinity.studio/\"\u003eAffinity\u003c/a\u003e. I had to relearn the basics of desktop publishing while I figured out how badly I wanted to do this \u0026ldquo;the right way\u0026rdquo; with master pages and repeatable formatting. I made mistakes, learned how to fix them, and am pleased with the overall design. Graphics and layout are not my passion nor my strong suit, but I got the job done.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Creating a Baseball Newsletter"},{"content":"As of last September, Netlify uses \u0026ldquo;credits\u0026rdquo; to measure hosting use. On their free tier, I get 300 credits each month. Each deployment—as far as I can tell, every time I update the site whether it\u0026rsquo;s for adding a whole post, or making a tiny edit—costs 15 credits. That means I can make 20 changes to my blog each month for free.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s actually slightly less than that because there are tiny bits of usage for traffic and other boring hosting miscellany that, at my scale, don\u0026rsquo;t matter. I\u0026rsquo;m only noting this because:\nIt\u0026rsquo;s interesting and a new concept to me. I\u0026rsquo;m rapidly burning credits during this transition because of the many small updates I\u0026rsquo;ve made without fully realizing what they cost. Since I\u0026rsquo;m updating my Food page, I\u0026rsquo;m batching this short post as part of that change so I don\u0026rsquo;t waste credits. The only time I\u0026rsquo;ve added more than twenty posts in a month was during Blogmas in 2022, so I\u0026rsquo;m not worried about this long term. But it is a strange feeling knowing I technically can\u0026rsquo;t edit my site willy-nilly. It will at least encourage me to proof read even more closely.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-note-on-netlify/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs of last September, Netlify uses \u0026ldquo;credits\u0026rdquo; to measure hosting use. On their free tier, I get 300 credits each month. Each deployment—as far as I can tell, every time I update the site whether it\u0026rsquo;s for adding a whole post, or making a tiny edit—costs 15 credits. That means I can make 20 changes to my blog each month for free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s actually slightly less than that because there are tiny bits of usage for traffic and other boring hosting miscellany that, at my scale, don\u0026rsquo;t matter. I\u0026rsquo;m only noting this because:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Note on Netlify"},{"content":"I moved my blog from WordPress.com to Bluehost and the open-source version of the WordPress engine back in 2018. I wanted more control, and wasn\u0026rsquo;t willing to pay the Automattic folks for the right to add more plugins to my blog. Instead, I probably paid even more money to a different corporation because, well, it felt better.\nTechnology has evolved, and I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to move backwards and save some money. With three or four hours of work, I migrated my entire blog off WordPress and into Hugo, a lightweight static blogging engine that relies directly on Markdown. The files live in GitHub (for free) and are subsequently hosted on Netlify at their free tier, saving me a couple of hundred dollars each year.1\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not perfect. My fun footnotes no longer appear on hover, instead reverting to the tried and true anchor link method. I managed to maintain $\\KaTeX$ support, but only just. I have yet to figure out how to enable environments like array and align.2 And publishing isn\u0026rsquo;t quite as slick because I\u0026rsquo;ve given up the convenience of directly tying Ulysses to WordPress and instead must add my markdown file to GitHub either by pushing from the terminal, or uploading it directly. Like an animal.\nYet, I\u0026rsquo;m superbly pleased I managed to pull this off so quickly. My blog is more accessible in numerous ways. It relies on even more open technology, and its use of Markdown makes the content transparent and transportable. How I write these posts is precisely how they\u0026rsquo;ll display on the website without manual interference and tweaking like I always had with WordPress.\nThose manual tweaks I had in WordPress that made the text diverge from Markdown led to a couple of technical hurdles that I used Claude for to help resolve. Both of these involved \u0026ldquo;short codes\u0026rdquo; to enable WordPress plug-ins. Footnotes looked like this over on WordPress:\n...of the Harley's[mfn]We didn't know their actual name, but they both drove Harley motorcycles.[/mfn] we switched... This made writing pretty nice, actually. You could naturally insert a footnote as an aside in the middle of the prose. However, this is not how standard Markdown/HTML footnotes work. You instead reference a footnote that is placed at the end of the document:\n...of the Harley's[^1] we switched... [^1]: We didn't know their actual name, but they both drove Harley motorcycles. I threw Claude at the problem. It created a simple Python script that found every instance of these footnote pairs, extracted the actual text of the footnote, replaced the tag with the anchor link, and tossed the footnote reference at the end of the document. It was slick and worked the very first time.\nMath formatting was simpler in some ways, but required more manual work. Luckily, my blog hasn\u0026rsquo;t been a math blog in quite a while so there were only around 20 posts out of 475 that needed intervention.\nThere are two math tags: [katex] and [katex display=true], which need to map to $ and $$ respectively to render in Hugo. I also had some even older $latex instances, some of which I\u0026rsquo;ve ignored for now. However, I figured out how to enable basic equation environments a day after originally writing this post, so I have retained all previous functionality.\nWith those out of the way, there were a few more problems like managing image and document references, ensuring Hugo maintained links between posts once I relaunched the blog, and changing the default font for the PaperMod theme.3 I\u0026rsquo;ve also iterated on creating themes in Ulysses and iA Writer that will roughly match my blog. That\u0026rsquo;s still a work in progress.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve always been someone who likes messing around with my tools to help reinvigorate interest in what those tools create. Just look at some of my past writing setup descriptions. But this change has tangible, monetary benefits besides the particular fun of being a tech nerd. Hopefully, it\u0026rsquo;s a fun and ultimately unimportant change for the few readers I have.\nLook, I\u0026rsquo;m also upset I was spending that much on a blog nobody reads. Just be proud that I\u0026rsquo;m fessing up to it.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI figured it out! By adding an mchem package to the HTML configuration file, it can now recognize these environments.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFor the moment, I\u0026rsquo;ve settled on Atkinson Hyperlegible. It\u0026rsquo;s a sans-serif font that can still distinguish between 1, l, and I.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/big-blog-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI moved my blog from \u003ca href=\"WordPress.com\"\u003eWordPress.com\u003c/a\u003e to \u003ca href=\"BlueHost.com\"\u003eBluehost\u003c/a\u003e and the open-source version of the \u003ca href=\"WordPress.org\"\u003eWordPress\u003c/a\u003e engine back in 2018. I wanted more control, and wasn\u0026rsquo;t willing to pay the \u003ca href=\"automattic.com\"\u003eAutomattic\u003c/a\u003e folks for the right to add more plugins to my blog. Instead, I probably paid even more money to a different corporation because, well, it felt better.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTechnology has evolved, and I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to move backwards and save some money. With three or four hours of work, I migrated my entire blog off WordPress and into \u003ca href=\"https://gohugo.io/\"\u003eHugo\u003c/a\u003e, a lightweight static blogging engine that relies directly on Markdown. The files live in GitHub (for  free) and are subsequently hosted on \u003ca href=\"netlify.com\"\u003eNetlify\u003c/a\u003e at their free tier, saving me a couple of hundred dollars each year.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Big Blog Update"},{"content":"I currently co-host and edit two podcasts with my friends. If you embark on listening to either, do so in a proper podcast player (or look at the website) to read the show notes. Mikhail writes them for OHAC, and I write them for Comical Start. I think we both do a good job, though Mikhail does way more work.\nOperation: Have a Conversation (with Mikhail and Jack)\nOtherwise known as “OHAC”, this show is released no more frequently than once a month. It began in college and is now a way for the co-hosts to keep up with each other. Its typical structure is some random introductory chatter, a “Corner Case Corner” where we discuss our technology-induced woes, some main topic of conversation, and then a quick round of hot takes on topics we assign in the moment. You can check out our favorite things from that segment.\nWe’ve done a few non-standard episodes where we play games, including one where we played a Star Wars TTRPG. We also talk about our Yearly Themes.\nIf you want to get into it, I suggest OHAC 31: Somebody Explodes, as it contains our usual banter with additional gameplay. You may also check out one of our Yearly Themes episodes, such as OHAC 42: In the Non-Lethal Way.\nComical Start (with Grant)\nThis show has stayed true to its intent: it’s a shorter podcast (averaging less than 45 minutes) released weekly with a predictable structure. Grant and I blabber on for the first third to half of the episode. Then, we each present a comic that the other must read sight-unseen. The person who chose the comic uses it as a jumping-off point for a new topic of conversation.\nAs the slogan says, This is not a comedy podcast. We provide the disclaimer, so nobody expects genuine attempts at humor each week. There are always goofs, but we certainly don’t make ourselves out to be consistently funny. Come for the conversation, and stay for Grant’s verbal slip-ups.\nIgnore the first ten or twenty episodes. They’re not very good. A classic choice is Episode 197, Fun Sponge Square Scout.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/podcasts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI currently co-host and edit two podcasts with my friends. If you embark on listening to either, do so in a proper podcast player (or look at the website) to read the show notes. Mikhail writes them for OHAC, and I write them for Comical Start. I think we both do a good job, though Mikhail does way more work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/\"\u003eOperation: Have a Conversation\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e (with Mikhail and Jack)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOtherwise known as “OHAC”, this show is released no more frequently than once a month. It began in college and is now a way for the co-hosts to keep up with each other. Its typical structure is some random introductory chatter, a “Corner Case Corner” where we discuss our technology-induced woes, some main topic of conversation, and then a quick round of hot takes on topics we assign in the moment. You can check out our \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/two-thumbs-up/\"\u003efavorite things\u003c/a\u003e from that segment.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Podcasts"},{"content":"I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month, commonly known as NaNoWriMo. If you’ve found this page, congratulations! That means you’re now able to keep track of what I’m writing, for better or worse.\n2025 I internally waffled about NaNoWriMo this year, and only committed on Halloween night. But, here we go again!\nYou can see my progress here, and a PDF here that is vaguely current.\n2024 You can read my straightforward announcement here.\nAs promised, you can track my progress on this spreadsheet, and see the current-ish state of my writing here.\n2023 My announcement—with a bit of waffling over whether this is even a good idea this year—can be found here. I\u0026rsquo;ll be going back to the content from 2021, based around my game The Last Question.\nUpdates to the first story I\u0026rsquo;m working on this year, Solar, can be found here.\nUpdates to the second story I\u0026rsquo;m working on this year, Naught, can be found here.\nUpdates to the third story I\u0026rsquo;m working on this year, Bound, can be found here.\n2022 As discussed here, I\u0026rsquo;m writing NaNoWriMo 2022 by hand. This means there won\u0026rsquo;t be a PDF right now. As of updating this page (November 23, 2022) I\u0026rsquo;m rather far behind any imaginable goal as well.\n2021 You can view a LaTeX-rendered PDF of my 2021 NaNoWriMo project here, and the project page for it here (although I believe you\u0026rsquo;ll need an account to view it.)\nAs I have stated in the announcement post, the goal of this project is to write drafts of at least six short stories, one for each of the main character types in my Last Question RPG.\nWhile I\u0026rsquo;m writing everything in Markdown, I learned that the excellent desktop editor Typora combined with pandoc supports Markdown to LaTeX conversion. I may still tweak some of the settings more, but the main benefit is that I don\u0026rsquo;t need to manually figure out how to turn all of my *italics* into \\emph{italics}.\n2020 Updated January 18, 2021: This fell out of my mind. Links to the two stories I wrote: Story 1, Story 2\nUpdated November 5: I decided against doing NaNoWriMo in full this year. I\u0026rsquo;m behind on some reading I\u0026rsquo;d like to do, and just don\u0026rsquo;t have the mental bandwidth to spend my free time writing. I may delay to doing it another month, but we will see. Instead, I\u0026rsquo;m going to try and write 2 short stories this month. Short stories are a medium that I find fascinating, and want more practice with. They can be so delicious and powerful, but in my mind require much more craft than a novel. So the amount of work will be high, but focused on different aspects.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be doing NaNoWriMo again this year. While I have a potential story that I am excited about, given the state of the world I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I\u0026rsquo;ll have it in me to commit to writing a straight up novel. I may instead write a series of text adventures, or perhaps one very large interactive fiction book in Twine. We\u0026rsquo;ll see. You can come back for more details once the month gets started.\n2019 You can view a PDF of my NaNoWriMo project for 2019 here. I\u0026rsquo;ll update it at the end of each day. Two things to note about this:\nI\u0026rsquo;m just clicking \u0026ldquo;export\u0026rdquo; in the Markdown editor I\u0026rsquo;m using, and so there are no page breaks between chapters and in general the typesetting is sub-par. If I ever finish the entire work, then I suppose I\u0026rsquo;ll bother typesetting it in LaTeX, but for now hang in there. The page numbering may not be consistent. (Of course there aren\u0026rsquo;t actually page numbers on the document itself.) I reserve the right to go back and add (or remove) previous material, so just be aware of that if you decide to try reading it. The work is largely inspired (and named after) the first text adventure I wrote. (Update 11/9: If you bother to read what\u0026rsquo;s there so far, the connection will be nearly impossible to make out beyond the amnesia. But hey, that\u0026rsquo;s why writers use the word \u0026ldquo;inspired\u0026rdquo;.)\nThis page is not an invitation for feedback, as the point of NaNoWriMo is to just hit a word count over the course of a month; it\u0026rsquo;s meant to practice not editing, which is not something I\u0026rsquo;m excellent at.\nI\u0026rsquo;m doing this as a challenge to myself, so encouragement is welcome! Otherwise, feel free to keep track of it, and experience what garbage gets written when you\u0026rsquo;re just trying to hit a word count and not delete anything you write.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI’m participating in National Novel Writing Month, commonly known as \u003ca href=\"https://nanowrimo.org/\"\u003eNaNoWriMo\u003c/a\u003e. If you’ve found this page, congratulations! That means you’re now able to keep track of what I’m writing, for better or worse.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"2025\"\u003e2025\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI internally waffled about NaNoWriMo this year, and only committed on Halloween night. But, here we go again!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can see my progress \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x01Q5iHSxQ760TU4iceO12UFLvOTQYCcV31EqDU-IzI/edit?usp=sharing\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e, and a PDF \u003ca href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/da3lzw9sgfhtrijlrh01t/All-These-Things-Are-True.pdf?rlkey=rwujowdmwvn0qqe9rr1j1qezl\u0026amp;amp;st=y9vksw9q\u0026amp;amp;dl=0\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e that is vaguely current.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"2024\"\u003e2024\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can read my straightforward announcement \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2024-announcement/\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo"},{"content":"Both inspired by my Year of the Kitchen and to hold myself accountable, I’m going to attempt maintaining this page with pictures or recipes or descriptions of what I’ve made recently.\nWeek of May 24 All you really need to know is that I had this amazing cheesesteak in Philadelphia from Angelo\u0026rsquo;s Pizzeria. I waited around 35 minutes in total and sloppily ate it on a park bench alongside several others. I got the Cooper Sharp cheese recommended by my boss.\nWeek of May 17 This was a pretty laid-back week. We had various leftovers, some frozen pizza, and then my in-laws were in town. That led to some excellent food experiences—our first lobster rolls since last year, and a return to an Omakase sushi restaurant in New Haven. As I wrap up a long holiday weekend tomorrow, I\u0026rsquo;ll make plans to return to normalcy.\nWeek of May 10 I finally had another solid week. We made food at home most nights, or were flexible with larger lunches depending on our schedule. And, most importantly, I made a huge batch of fried rice on Friday. Look at this guy.\nI first made fried rice in my Family and Consumer Science class in 8th grade, and it\u0026rsquo;s been a straightforward comfort recipe ever since. I don\u0026rsquo;t measure anything. I change quantities, adjust the protein, and generally have a fun time making it. I have a fluency with that recipe I want to build with others.\nWeek of May 3 Another mixed bag. I\u0026rsquo;m a real broken record, but my goal has to be to not treat a weekend as an exception, or to view any weekend as a \u0026ldquo;long weekend\u0026rdquo;, or to let various travel and other events get in the way. There is never an ideal week, so I have to create a sufficiently flexible and pragmatic plan, work ahead to stay on top of it, and rekindle the excitement I had for this theme at the start of the year.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s these ugly middle parts that are most difficult.\nWeek of April 26 The week began well.\nBut, I once again only managed to string together a few more days of quality cooking. There were planned (or at least expected) dalliances to restaurants, but I also had a few meals that were unacceptable not to have at home.\nThe benefit of recording my week-by-week results is that I can notice and adjust to this pattern. I\u0026rsquo;ve stripped back the plan for the upcoming week, and also stocked up on the little niceties that, when around, help me avoid going out and landing on a slippery slope.\nWeek of April 19 A good step in the right direction. I made us our old standby of chicken thighs in the air fryer, accompanied by Hawaiian rolls because, of course. I also torched the fresh broccoli I bought both times, so maybe I go back to steaming it. We also had the Asian shrimp noodles from last week, shared a frozen pizza in a pinch, ordered in once, and allowed ourselves a fun night out at a bar with a few friends. (The \u0026ldquo;Dublin Spice Bag\u0026rdquo; is amazing bar food.)\nWeek of April 12 Similar to last week. I made an awesome, easy Asian shrimp noodle dish that I want to repeat often. I also made a totally fine tray bake. But again, I let life get in the way. We enjoyed some ballpark food on Friday, and celebrated a birthday on Saturday. I believe this week has a clearer runway, and I have a stupid easy set of recipes to keep us on track.\nWeek of April 5 A strong start and a middling finish. I made my excellent pan \u0026amp; oven chicken legs, this time eschewing the sliced cauliflower in favor of a Caesar salad mix I had bought for something else. I also had some surprisingly solid grocery store pho. Strange logistics and poor planning meant my intention of a couple of sheet pan dinners fell by the wayside. Even so, I\u0026rsquo;m confident I can get back on track with a simpler week coming up thanks to two of the concert bands I\u0026rsquo;m in taking a break from rehearsal.\nWeek of March 29 I was in San Diego for work most of this week. On Friday, we split the difference with a frozen pizza. Cheaper than going out, slightly worse than cooking. Not much to report, but I have a good plan in place for this coming week as we reestablish our routine without travel, dog-sitting, or other interruptions. This week reminds me of two things:\nInterruptions will happen, and it matters that I keep committing to bouncing back after one. What I define as an \u0026ldquo;interruption\u0026rdquo; is up to me, and I want to do better to stay on top of cooking even when our schedule doesn\u0026rsquo;t provide an ideal time for it. Week of March 22 This was an in-between week. I bought a chicken pot pie at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, and that was solid. It\u0026rsquo;s a lot cheaper than actually ordering food, and was big enough for two meals.\nWe had a book club event with dinner as part of it, then I made a pound of pork taco meat to keep working at the taco fixings from last week.\nIt hasn\u0026rsquo;t been spectacular—I ordered some Indian food for dinner on Saturday—but I continue to find a reasonable balance.\nWeek of March 15 I got back on the horse this week, aided by Tuesday and Thursday band rehearsals requiring meals that I could easily reheat. On Monday, I made the Beef and Guinness Hot Pot, and it was my best attempt yet. It came out just moist enough to make sopping bread worthwhile, but in no way was it a stew. I used a pound of ground elk and pork we brought back from Erin\u0026rsquo;s family at Christmas. It makes the perfect amount for two days of meals.\nThe rest of that elk was earmarked for tacos on Wednesday. Again, a pound of taco meat is great for Erin and me to split across two days.\nThe weekend was more of a wash. We spent two days at a local brewery—once for trivia, and once for a birthday party—and both times availed ourselves of their in-residence food truck and their fantastic quesadillas. Sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s okay to support local businesses.\nI have another week coming up before a trip to San Diego, so I want to lock in and stick with some of our classics.\nWeek of March 8 Excellent intentions of old standby options were foiled by a sudden medical situation. Everything is fine, but suffice it to say that I relied on the local restaurant scene a few times to handle dinner for two days at a time. I\u0026rsquo;ll run back the same plan for next week and aim to execute on it.\nWeek of March 1 The week started well with an awesome roasted chicken with hoisin sauce, orange, and peppers.\nThis tasted great. We ate it with sliced cucumbers, green onions, and peppers, along with two scallion pancakes from Trader Joe\u0026rsquo;s we still had in the freezer.\nI then made toasted sandwiches using leftover chicken.\nThe rest of the week was a bit of a wash. Erin had dog-sitting duties, so we went out to an Irish pub one night, which offered ample leftovers for the next day. We also ordered pizza on Saturday. There\u0026rsquo;s room for improvement and this week I aim to revisit some old standards.\nWeek of February 22 I wrote this week off. We had to travel to Ohio for a funeral in the back half of the week, so I made the shrimp linguine again on Monday and a frozen pizza on Tuesday. I did add some lemon juice to the linguine in the final step, which did help it all come together that much more. I served it with roasted cauliflower and a bit of baguette.\nWeek of February 15 I didn\u0026rsquo;t cook anything new or novel this week, but I did further refine two recipes.\nI remade the beef and Guinness \u0026ldquo;hot pot\u0026rdquo;. I cut the amount of stock in half to ensure it didn\u0026rsquo;t turn into a stew, and the effect was excellent. I also sliced the potatoes a bit thicker as a further defense against encroaching liquid. Next time, I\u0026rsquo;m confident I can slice them thinner to get a crispier result. I\u0026rsquo;m also considering par-baking the sliced potatoes to really get a solid topping. I made the chicken legs and cauliflower remoulade once more, keeping the burner on a bit higher to really cook down the onions and crisp the chicken skin. It was the best effort yet. Week of February 8 I\u0026rsquo;ve had a few uninteresting weeks between travel to San Diego for work and a long weekend in Lisbon. I had excellent dumplings in California and superb pastries in Portugal. Now that we\u0026rsquo;re back, I\u0026rsquo;ve had a much better work for cooking.\nJust before heading to Lisbon, I made a beef and Guinness stew. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t quite supposed to be stew, so next time I\u0026rsquo;ll use less beef stock. It\u0026rsquo;s supposed to cook such that you can layer thinly sliced potatoes on top of everything, so that they\u0026rsquo;ll crisp up during an hour in the oven, creating a shepherd\u0026rsquo;s pie effect. That didn\u0026rsquo;t happen. I improvised on tasty roast beef sandwiches this week. I roasted broccoli for half an hour in oil and a simple seasoning mix we had in the cabinet. While they roasted, I toasted sandwich buns on the top rack and melted provolone on top. Meanwhile, I made a creamy garlic and shallot sauce reduced with leftover red wine, and briefly mixed the roast beef into it before filling the sandwiches. I also made what I call \u0026ldquo;lazy chicken pasta\u0026rdquo;. I cut up chicken breast into small pieces, lightly toss with oil, then mix it with bread crumbs, parmesan, and Italian seasoning. This forms a thin coating that is just sufficient to fry the chicken without so much rigamarole. What I do next depends on how much emphasis there is on lazy. In this case, I tossed the chicken into Goodles mac and cheese. Finally, I made another simple Jamie Oliver recipe: creamy shrimp linguine. Lightly fry some chopped bacon, toss in garlic and shrimp, cook it down in a bit of red wine, add mascarpone, then the pasta with a bit of pasta water, and finish with parmesan and black pepper mixed in. It only takes slightly longer than the total time to cook the pasta, and it was stupendous. We agreed that a dash of lemon would complete the ensemble. Week of January 18 This wasn\u0026rsquo;t a thrilling week of food with Erin gone dogsitting. I attended a book club potluck on Tuesday, and we had a tight timeline on Wednesday that led us to eat hot dogs before chatting with a friend on FaceTime.\nThen, on Thursday and Friday, I made the same meal for dinner with a few key tweaks the second time. The key components:\nBone-in, skin-on chicken legs and onions, cooked in a pan for a bit skin-down to crisp it up, then baked in the oven with red wine vinegar and thyme. Mandolin-sliced cauliflower with a dressing/sauce. Some baguette, toasted by tossing it atop the chicken for the last ten minutes. The official recipe, courtesy of Jamie Oliver, requested a gherkin, mustard, and yogurt dressing for the cauliflower. It was fine, mixed reasonably well, but we both agreed that we really needed to eat the cauliflower along with bites of chicken and onion because the briny, pickled flavor was too strong.\nSo, I pivoted on Friday. I accidentally kept the chicken skin-down in the pan an extra five minutes because I forgot to preheat the oven, and that helped. Then, I browned a few tablespoons of butter, quickly mixed in some minced garlic, let it cool, and stirred it with a bit of lemon juice and leftover thyme. I also filtered the cauliflower to grab only the proper crunchy slices, foregoing too many loose bits that slightly ruin the effect. The result was amazing.\nJanuary 11 Backfilling here, but we used the ground elk that Erin\u0026rsquo;s parents graciously let us bring back to Connecticut. We made:\nTacos, using a seasoning mix from Costco, flour tortillas, cheese, chopped jalapeños, lime crema, and store-bought Pico de Gallo. This was a quick-and-dirty \u0026ldquo;get back in the kitchen\u0026rdquo; meal with available leftovers. Meatloaf, using half ground elk and half ground pork. It had seasoned salt and onion and some other bits and bobs—we attempted to fill it with cheese, too, but that didn\u0026rsquo;t work out great—then covered it with a bourbon glaze we had lying around. It had quite the opposite problem of most meatloaf by coming out of the oven moister than ever: it was sitting in a good inch or two of liquid. The leftovers were shoved into a container and served again by pan-frying and tossing them on toast or mixed into pasta. ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/food/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBoth inspired by my \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2026-year-of-the-kitchen/\"\u003eYear of the Kitchen\u003c/a\u003e and to hold myself accountable, I’m going to attempt maintaining this page with pictures or recipes or descriptions of what I’ve made recently.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"week-of-may-24\"\u003eWeek of May 24\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll you really need to know is that I had this amazing cheesesteak in Philadelphia from \u003ca href=\"https://angelosphl.com/\"\u003eAngelo\u0026rsquo;s Pizzeria\u003c/a\u003e. I waited around 35 minutes in total and sloppily ate it on a park bench alongside several others. I got the Cooper Sharp cheese recommended by my boss.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Food"},{"content":"I work in Sales Enablement during the day, and still dabble in mathematics curriculum here and there. I enjoy writing and do a couple podcasts with friends. Common topics are mathematics and education, media, technology, sports, writing, and personal miscellany.\nFind me on Mastodon.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/about/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI work in Sales Enablement during the day, and still dabble in mathematics curriculum here and there. I enjoy writing and do a \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/podcasts/\"\u003ecouple podcasts\u003c/a\u003e with friends. Common topics are mathematics and education, media, technology, sports, writing, and personal miscellany.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://mathstodon.xyz/@markrichard\"\u003eFind me on Mastodon\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"About"},{"content":"My favorite summers were in middle school and early high school, when a few friends and I would monopolize three consecutive backyards to play a version of baseball with a pitcher, batter, and one or two fielders. We used tennis balls. Once our metal bats made it too easy to hit balls in the swamp, onto roofs, or over the tree line into the fourth consecutive backyard of the Harley\u0026rsquo;s1 we switched to a heavy wood bat I bought at a hardware store years prior.\nWe played other games, too. Ball tag, wiffle ball, glow-in-the-dark football where the only goal was to successfully complete passes. We played HORSE and Kangaroo in neighboring driveways of empty-nesters who still had basketball hoops, and once in a while a large enough crew would form to play Capture the Flag.\nGroups of two, three, and four were all large enough for some variation on a sport. We exploited rules and then changed them to make it fair. We had glorious triumphs and devastating failures. Nobody ever got so injured that we had to call a parent, and nobody ever get so mad that we couldn\u0026rsquo;t mend the relationship. We were creative and learned how to navigate the world together in those adolescent summers.\nI expect that everyone who has played in the Jomboy Media warehouse had some version of that experience growing up. It\u0026rsquo;s populated by a gaggle of reasonably athletic sports nerds (and the occasional professional) in their 20s and 30s, reviving that spirit for anyone to watch on YouTube.\nIt can be a bit brash, and I\u0026rsquo;m not a fan of the predominant advertisers for sports content. But every person who plays in one of their shockingly intense and silly sports is so kind and willing to shed a bit of adulthood to have tremendous fun. They find a healthy mix of participants, get goofy with it, and maintain the essence of joy and friendship while always elevating their production quality. It\u0026rsquo;s been so much fun watching it grow from the cofounders, Jimmy and Jake, playing Blitzball in the alley behind their New York City office to a massive hit that now gets off-hour airtime on cable TV. Even then, the feeling is intimate and supportive alongside the fierce competition. Nothing drives that fury like wanting to defeat a friend.\nWe didn\u0026rsquo;t know their actual name, but they both drove Harley motorcycles.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/childish-delight-in-a-new-jersey-warehouse/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy favorite summers were in middle school and early high school, when a few friends and I would monopolize three consecutive backyards to play a version of baseball with a pitcher, batter, and one or two fielders. We used tennis balls. Once our metal bats made it too easy to hit balls in the swamp, onto roofs, or over the tree line into the fourth consecutive backyard of the Harley\u0026rsquo;s\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e we switched to a heavy wood bat I bought at a hardware store years prior.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Childish Delight in a New Jersey Warehouse"},{"content":"I recently finished helping a small online high school create a new data science course, the foundation for which was Stanford\u0026rsquo;s youcubed Explorations in Data Science. It\u0026rsquo;s a snappy curriculum that is thoughtful and modern in its topic selection and a bit ragged at the edges of its resources. Its lesson layout is clear, its tools of choice are accessible and modifiable, and in the spirit of decades of statistics-oriented education, it helps students be wary of practitioners who lie and misrepresent either through thoughtlessness or malice. While I wrote this course to run in a format that relies heavily on self-directed work, wholly different from what youcubed anticipated, the curriculum was an excellent base that created ample opportunity for differentiation. By all accounts, students are loving the results.\nThe most important aspect of the curriculum is the project portfolio. I commend youcubed for their fascinating projects that cover different aspects of data science. They provide data when it makes sense, and otherwise provide opportunities for students to find or generate their data, then clean and analyze it.\nThe cleverest project involved analyzing skin tones in magazines. Students find magazines online and use a color picker that the program provides to sample the skin tones of models within the magazine. This lets students thoughtfully explore the bias inherent in parts of culture and how to handle it from a data science perspective. They learned how to move between categorical and quantitative skin tone measurements and the differing analyses that result.\nThis project also showcases the tools that youcubed creates to enable real interaction with Python programs without being overly focused on writing code from scratch. The color picker tool generates a Python dictionary that can be copied into a Google Colab notebook, the latter of which can be slightly modified depending on how students decide to analyze their data. The curriculum frequently takes this approach: provide a robust program and point students to elements that can be reasonably modified. They also use EduBlocks to teach basic programming logic, but that can be modified depending on the relative emphasis an instructor wants to have on these concepts versus broader data science investigations.\nAs the course concludes, students will have built a solid portfolio of projects spanning data types attached to relevant cultural and societal topics. There is the skin color bias, exploring music recommendation algorithms, and developing a score for determining what cities a student might enjoy. It\u0026rsquo;s a wonderful beginning for creating thoughtfully analytical citizens who can explore questions on their own, and also turn an appropriately skeptical eye to data they see tossed about in the wild.\nMost importantly, as the basis for a course, the materials are incredibly flexible. A teacher strapped for time could definitely use everything provided as-is in a typical classroom environment and have a great time. I needed to adapt it to an instruction model that relies on higher student autonomy, but the explanations of each lesson made this shockingly simple. I was able to reference the slides and handouts as a starting point, then augment them to align with self-directed learning. There are activities that require instructor assistance, and I kept those in the synchronous instruction portions, while students could attack the individual and group work on their own.\nStudents are having fun in the class, the instructor has been able to tweak assignments based on how comfortable students are with the programming concepts, and the ethical discussions are apt and valuable for a high school class. It leaves me wanting to help them polish the raw materials to make this curriculum shine and be adopted by any high school with the bandwidth to add this as an elective course.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/youcubed-data-science-curriculum/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently finished helping a small online high school create a new data science course, the foundation for which was Stanford\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://hsdatascience.youcubed.org/\"\u003eyoucubed Explorations in Data Science\u003c/a\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s a snappy curriculum that is thoughtful and modern in its topic selection and a bit ragged at the edges of its resources. Its lesson layout is clear, its tools of choice are accessible and modifiable, and in the spirit of decades of statistics-oriented education, it helps students be wary of practitioners who lie and misrepresent either through thoughtlessness or malice. While I wrote this course to run in a format that relies heavily on self-directed work, wholly different from what youcubed anticipated, the curriculum was an excellent base that created ample opportunity for differentiation. By all accounts, students are loving the results.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"youcubed Data Science Curriculum"},{"content":"Hey, Pokémon Go. Yeah, I\u0026rsquo;m talking to you. Come on over here, I have something to say.\nLook, you\u0026rsquo;re a good game. I like you and your whole deal. Walking around, catching Pokémon, getting outside with friends, creating fun styles for my trainer. It\u0026rsquo;s all great.\nBut I\u0026rsquo;ve hated this since the first day.\nThe Rattata wasn\u0026rsquo;t just caught. It didn\u0026rsquo;t happen to walk sidelong into the waiting maw of a Pokéball that was hanging around in the air.\nI caught Rattata.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/passive-voice-was-used/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHey, Pokémon Go. Yeah, I\u0026rsquo;m talking to you. Come on over here, I have something to say.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook, you\u0026rsquo;re a good game. I like you and your whole deal. Walking around, catching Pokémon, getting outside with friends, creating fun styles for my trainer. It\u0026rsquo;s all great.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut I\u0026rsquo;ve hated this since the first day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://i0.wp.com/markrichard.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_6338.jpg?fit=507%2C1024\u0026ssl=1\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Rattata wasn\u0026rsquo;t \u003cem\u003ejust caught\u003c/em\u003e. It didn\u0026rsquo;t happen to walk sidelong into the waiting maw of a Pokéball that was hanging around in the air.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Passive Voice Was Used"},{"content":"What a great video. Destin is always captivating, and I enjoyed the crossover into one of my favorite sports.\nMy only comment is near the end, where he takes issue with the terms \u0026ldquo;overstable\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;understable\u0026rdquo; to describe different disc flights. While it\u0026rsquo;s the opposite of what one might consider as stability for aerodynamics, it makes perfect sense in the context of the sport: an \u0026ldquo;overstable\u0026rdquo; disc is extremely stable in different wind conditions and forgiving of angles.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/smartereveryday-deep-dives-on-disc-golf-physics/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0JKHuzJ67A\"\u003eWhat a great video\u003c/a\u003e. Destin is always captivating, and I enjoyed the crossover into one of my favorite sports.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy only comment is near the end, where he takes issue with the terms \u0026ldquo;overstable\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;understable\u0026rdquo; to describe different disc flights. While it\u0026rsquo;s the opposite of what one might consider as stability for aerodynamics, it makes perfect sense in the context of the sport: an \u0026ldquo;overstable\u0026rdquo; disc is extremely stable in different wind conditions and forgiving of angles.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"SmarterEveryDay Deep Dives on Disc Golf Physics"},{"content":"With the World Baseball Classic coming up, I pulled every baseball player in the Lahman Database whose name perfectly matches a country. Here are some simple statistics among the country representatives with a batting record.\nCountry Name Total Hits Total Homers Total AB Batting Average AB/HR Jordan 5669 450 21717 .261 48.26 Chad 3854 384 15903 .242 41.41 Germany 2569 56 10346 .248 184.75 France 662 74 2514 .263 33.97 India 482 63 1905 .253 30.24 Chile 142 0 627 .226 NA Holland 127 3 618 .206 206.00 Jersey 111 2 727 .153 363.50 Portugal 89 2 450 .198 225.00 Poland 39 0 211 .185 NA Israel 33 6 132 .250 22.00 Monaco 2 0 13 .154 NA Ireland 1 0 7 .143 NA Ceylon 0 0 18 .000 NA Total 13780 1040 55188 .250 53.07 Here\u0026rsquo;s a fun bit of trivia about these Jordan folks: Until 1999, every player matching Jordan had it as their last name. Since 1999, all but two have the first name Jordan.\nAdditionally, the first Jordan\u0026rsquo;s first name was Jordan Zimmerman.1\nNo, not that one. You\u0026rsquo;re thinking of Jordan Zimmermann.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-best-baseball-countries/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith the World Baseball Classic coming up, I pulled every baseball player in the \u003ca href=\"https://sabr.org/lahman-database/\"\u003eLahman Database\u003c/a\u003e whose name perfectly matches a country. Here are some simple statistics among the country representatives with a batting record.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCountry Name\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal Hits\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal Homers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal AB\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBatting Average\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAB/HR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJordan\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e5669\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e450\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e21717\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.261\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e48.26\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChad\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e3854\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e384\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e15903\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.242\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e41.41\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGermany\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2569\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e56\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e10346\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.248\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e184.75\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e662\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e74\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2514\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.263\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e33.97\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIndia\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e482\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e63\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1905\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.253\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e30.24\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChile\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e142\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e0\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e627\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.226\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNA\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHolland\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e127\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e3\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e618\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.206\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e206.00\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJersey\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e111\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e727\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.153\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e363.50\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePortugal\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e89\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e450\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.198\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e225.00\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoland\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e39\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e0\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e211\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.185\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNA\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsrael\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e33\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e6\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e132\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.250\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e22.00\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMonaco\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e0\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e13\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.154\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNA\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIreland\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e0\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e7\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.143\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNA\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCeylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e0\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e0\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e18\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.000\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNA\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e13780\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1040\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e55188\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e.250\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e53.07\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s a fun bit of trivia about these \u003cem\u003eJordan\u003c/em\u003e folks: Until 1999, every player matching Jordan had it as their last name. Since 1999, all but two have the first name Jordan.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Best Baseball Countries"},{"content":"What a delight. Musical instruments exist at an intersection of craftsmanship and engineering, and this competition gives an outlet to people who want to travel to the far reaches of those axes. It asks wonderfully inventive wackos to build fun and genuinely new instruments that they also need to be able to play. As a percussionist who has always been delighted by ratchets and vibraslaps, and was enthralled by a theramin in high school, the finals for this competition will now be on my radar as a ridiculous excuse for a quick trip to Atlanta.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/guthman-musical-instrument-competition/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://guthman.gatech.edu/\"\u003eWhat a delight\u003c/a\u003e. Musical instruments exist at an intersection of craftsmanship and engineering, and this competition gives an outlet to people who want to travel to the far reaches of those axes. It asks wonderfully inventive wackos to build fun and genuinely new instruments that they also need to be able to play. As a percussionist who has always been delighted by ratchets and vibraslaps, and was enthralled by a theramin in high school, the finals for this competition will now be on my radar as a ridiculous excuse for a quick trip to Atlanta.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Guthman Musical Instrument Competition"},{"content":"I enjoy hosting trivia, and have now done so twice over Zoom for a core group of friends back in San Francisco. I thought I had shared the first batch on here back in 2024, but evidently not. So, here are both rounds, obviously geared towards my interests and inside jokes among these friends. They are provided as slideshows without the answers, so test yourself and have fun.\nNovember 2024\nFebruary 2026\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/two-rounds-of-trivia/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI enjoy hosting trivia, and have now done so twice over Zoom for a core group of friends back in San Francisco. I thought I had shared the first batch on here back in 2024, but evidently not. So, here are both rounds, obviously geared towards my interests and inside jokes among these friends. They are provided as slideshows without the answers, so test yourself and have fun.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/images/November-2024-Miracle-on-Splice-Invitational.pdf\"\u003eNovember 2024\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two Rounds of Trivia"},{"content":"Core to my effort to improve this blog and my writing more generally is a better revision process. I now use tools to catch mechanical errors or to point out when I\u0026rsquo;ve slipped into passive voice accidentally, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t address the flow of prose, the feel of the words washing over the reader. Reading out loud is a superb way to improve, but I\u0026rsquo;m not always in a position to do that.\nSo, last year, I built an Apple Shortcut that takes a Markdown file and converts it to an MP3 read by a premium Apple text-to-speech voice. This was fine, but clunky. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t easily adjust the reading speed, and finding the start of some paragraph to revisit meant scrubbing through an audio file. In short, I rarely used it.\nAfter determining no simple app exists that had my basic criteria—Markdown editing and preview, ability to use built-in voice models, variable reading speed, and the ability to select a paragraph to read—I blindly threw the problem at Claude.\nIt did a fine job on the first try, generating an HTML file with an embedded script that, in total, was only around 15 kB. The only issue was that it couldn\u0026rsquo;t find the premium \u0026ldquo;Zoe\u0026rdquo; voice I knew was available when I opened the file in Safari—Claude\u0026rsquo;s recommendation. When I instead opened the file in Firefox, my browser of choice, everything clicked.\nThen, we had ten minutes of quick iteration. I requested:\nA way to start progress at a (somewhat) arbitrary point in the text file. Its solution was to allow each paragraph to be clicked, and the voice would begin reading that selected paragraph.\nSimple menus to select the typeface and font size for the editor and preview windows.\nA dark/light theme toggle.\nA setting to adjust the paragraph highlight color in the preview window. It had defaulted to a rather aggressive yellow.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the final result.\nClaude capably handled everything, and given my lack of large-scale programming knowledge, I was shocked it managed to build this using only the chat interface. I began this project assuming it would be my first opportunity to use Claude Code. I guess I\u0026rsquo;ll need to imagine something more ambitious.\nYou can access the Markdown Reader HTML file here, and follow instructions for getting the Zoe premium voice on macOS here.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/claude-built-me-a-markdown-reader/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eCore to my effort to improve this blog and my writing more generally is a better revision process. I now use tools to catch mechanical errors or to point out when I\u0026rsquo;ve slipped into passive voice accidentally, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t address the flow of prose, the feel of the words washing over the reader. Reading out loud is a superb way to improve, but I\u0026rsquo;m not always in a position to do that.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Claude Built Me a Markdown Reader"},{"content":"We were lucky to see Lisbon during a \u0026ldquo;coastal event\u0026rdquo;, as our weather apps described the inclement system to us. Serpentine cobblestone streets glistened in the aftermath of an afternoon shower, the sun that much more appreciated for the damp and cold that threatened our plans. Wicked gusts whipped through the narrow, curving streets and pinch points like someone testing for leaks in the plumbing, a few catching us head-on as we headed uphill. All of this added to the character of our visit and further reminded us of San Francisco, a familiar city with its own set of hills and odd streets, cable cars and coffee shops and eccentricities. San Francisco also has a cool tower, though Lisbon has a thousand-year-old castle. Parallels abound, except for Lisbon\u0026rsquo;s lack of parallel streets.\nI won\u0026rsquo;t further debase Lisbon by comparing it to a city so far its junior.\nLisbon revealed itself while I roamed in a sleep-deprived stupor during our first day, nervous to be a bumbling tourist in any café I might enter, so that I continued to push along, following arbitrary streets and mostly avoiding the staircases. I walked south from Chiado to the bank of the Tagus, then banked west until I reached a massive plaza and archway. I had already seen three smaller plazas, each with a few stone benches and a central statue; two of them had a café concession stand on the grounds, and all of them were surrounded by additional cafés and pastelarias.\nHeading north through the archway, I found a small tourist shopping area designated by a Sephora. Restaurants in side streets were beginning to arrange their outdoor seating beneath umbrellas and awnings, preparing to open at noon in a city that is slow to wake. I followed long, curving avenues via narrow sidewalks where two people could barely walk side-by-side. I often stepped into the street or trotted to the opposite side.\nOver a year of living on the East Coast did not prepare me for how infrequently drivers honked their horns at each other or pedestrians. I saw no dangerous or aggressive driving, and drivers were only annoyed that I didn\u0026rsquo;t understand they would always stop for me at a crosswalk. I can\u0026rsquo;t ignore the possibility I was an ignorant pedestrian tourist on several occasions, but it didn\u0026rsquo;t seem that way.\nI pushed into the Alfama neighborhood, the oldest and hilliest section of the city, centered around the castle with its pre-medieval construction of sturdy walls, massive courtyards, and replete with adorable cannons aimed at the river port. Nowadays, peacocks hang out on the grounds. Did you know peacocks can totally fly and contentedly roost high up on the boughs of old trees?\nWe planned to visit the castle the following day, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t quite make it to its base, instead opting to zig and zag around hairpin roads until I noticed a line of people on an unusually large chunk of sidewalk that jutted into an awkward intersection at the confluence of three curving roads. I turned around and was awed by the sight of Lisbon\u0026rsquo;s Cathedral. I entered on a whim—the entrance was a door cut out of a larger door—and paid the seven euros to tour. The displays were magnificent. There were ancient priestly regalia, thrones, fans, and chalices. An abundance of Catholic miscellany. I adored the hymnals that were transcribed well before our modern musical notation existed, when notes were written mostly as diamonds without a clear rhythmic element.\nAfter leaving the Cathedral, narrowly avoiding the strong temptation to dip into one of the dozen inset \u0026ldquo;chapels\u0026rdquo; that surround the stonework of the main altar for a quick snooze, I meandered my way back to our hotel. I didn\u0026rsquo;t purposely retrace my steps. In fact, I was trying to purposely take a slightly different route, an effort in which I horribly failed. A later look at the map made it clear that had I succeeded in finding new roads, I might have taken significantly longer to return. Without a grid system, there\u0026rsquo;s often only one reasonable way to navigate between two points.\nIt was only back at the hotel\u0026rsquo;s rooftop bar, some Portuguese drink in hand alongside a Coke, that I could see the beautiful chaos Lisbon offered. A wash of old gray and yellowing buildings with their dark red tiled roofs offered a fantastic canvas for the brilliant blue, pink, and green structures spotted across the cityscape. There\u0026rsquo;s no regularity to the heights of buildings. Church staves burst up from nowhere, and nowhere can one find a concrete and glass skyscraper. The winding roads ensure the buildings along them face all sorts of directions, making the view pleasantly cluttered and enormously, endlessly interesting. There\u0026rsquo;s always a new detail to pick out like a Where\u0026rsquo;s Waldo book.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s so much more I could say to recap our stay in Lisbon, but for now, suffice it to say that it adds yet another difficult decision the next time we\u0026rsquo;re in a position to travel: do we return and see even more because we adored it so much, or yet again hope to be captured by somewhere new?\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/lisbon-long-and-winding-roads/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe were lucky to see Lisbon during a \u0026ldquo;coastal event\u0026rdquo;, as our weather apps described the inclement system to us. Serpentine cobblestone streets glistened in the aftermath of an afternoon shower, the sun that much more appreciated for the damp and cold that threatened our plans. Wicked gusts whipped through the narrow, curving streets and pinch points like someone testing for leaks in the plumbing, a few catching us head-on as we headed uphill. All of this added to the character of our visit and further reminded us of San Francisco, a familiar city with its own set of hills and odd streets, cable cars and coffee shops and eccentricities. San Francisco also has a cool tower, though Lisbon has a thousand-year-old castle. Parallels abound, except for Lisbon\u0026rsquo;s lack of parallel streets.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI won\u0026rsquo;t further debase Lisbon by comparing it to a city so far its junior.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lisbon: Long and Winding Roads"},{"content":"I last edited this draft back in 2020. I vaguely recall wanting to write more here and probably revisit the diagrams, which were made entirely using Asymptote. But it\u0026rsquo;s a good post and worth publishing.\nI made my first Möbius strip during my sophomore year of high school in math class. Since then, I have been fascinated by their construction and mere existence. I share them with every person I can, basing my own presentation on a mix of my math teacher\u0026rsquo;s introduction, provided so many years ago, and a wonderful talk given by Matt Parker at the Royal Society.\nTo fully understand a Möbius strip, we have to understand where it comes from. So, let\u0026rsquo;s make a simple paper loop. Begin by cutting a long rectangular strip off your sheet of paper; an inch thick will do fine. Next, tape both ends of the strip together to form a wide, short cylinder.\nHow many \u0026ldquo;sides\u0026rdquo; would we consider this paper loop to have? That is, without going over the edge of the loop, how many colors do you need to color the ring?\nBased on the coloring definition, there are clearly two sides: an \u0026ldquo;inside\u0026rdquo; and an \u0026ldquo;outside\u0026rdquo;. So far, so good.\nWhat happens if we cut this ring \u0026ldquo;in half\u0026rdquo;, slicing horizontally as shown below? Most everyone should have no trouble figuring this out.\nIf you fold the loop a bit to get started, then cut straight through horizontally across the dashed line shown above, we end up with two rings similar to the first, each half as tall.\nTo intuitively \u0026ldquo;prove\u0026rdquo; this must be the case, consider coloring the loop \u0026ldquo;above\u0026rdquo; the dashed line and \u0026ldquo;below\u0026rdquo; the dashed line using different colors. The loop will separate along the line, and hence we\u0026rsquo;ll get two loops of different colors.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve done nothing remarkable so far. But now, we need to add a twist. Create a similar strip of paper as before, but before taping the two ends together, give one side a half twist. If you want to be working ahead, keep track of how you\u0026rsquo;re twisting it. I am twisting the right side \u0026ldquo;inward\u0026rdquo; this time.\nNow attach the two edges and tape them together as before. The question is: How many sides does this new shape have? You can use the same test of seeing how many colors it takes without going over a sharp edge. Start at some point, begin coloring, and see where it takes you.\nI like to think about coloring what we can see of the \u0026ldquo;inside\u0026rdquo; first. However, due to the twist, we\u0026rsquo;ll also end up coloring the small twisted piece that connects to the \u0026ldquo;outside\u0026rdquo; red as well.\nWe continue to color. We have not crossed over any of the \u0026ldquo;sharp\u0026rdquo; edges on the top or bottom, so red is still a fine color to use. We wrap all the way around what looks like the \u0026ldquo;outside\u0026rdquo;, and see that the entire shape can be colored using only red. Based on our earlier definition, this shape must have exactly one side! We call this particular one-sided loop a Möbius Strip.\nThe natural question to consider next is what happens if we cut through the middle, as we did with the paper loop? Give it a shot. Recall earlier that I mentioned using coloring \u0026ldquo;above\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;below\u0026rdquo; the dashed line through the middle to understand how the loop will separate into two separate loops of different colors. What happens if you begin coloring on one side of the dashed line in the diagram below?\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mobius-strips/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI last edited this draft back in 2020. I vaguely recall wanting to write more here and probably revisit the diagrams, which were made entirely using Asymptote. But it\u0026rsquo;s a good post and worth publishing.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI made my first Möbius strip during my sophomore year of high school in math class. Since then, I have been fascinated by their construction and mere existence. I share them with every person I can, basing my own presentation on a mix of my math teacher\u0026rsquo;s introduction, provided so many years ago, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wAaI_6b9JE\"\u003ewonderful talk\u003c/a\u003e given by \u003ca href=\"http://standupmaths.com\"\u003eMatt Parker\u003c/a\u003e at the Royal Society.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"From the Vault – Möbius Strips"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve added a Food page to the sidebar to document what I make this year, or to admit when a week has slipped by with minimal kitchen time. It\u0026rsquo;s a mixture of accountability and a desire to track how this Year of the Kitchen goes.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/food-page/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve added a \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/food/\"\u003eFood page\u003c/a\u003e to the sidebar to document what I make this year, or to admit when a week has slipped by with minimal kitchen time. It\u0026rsquo;s a mixture of accountability and a desire to track how this Year of the Kitchen goes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Food Page"},{"content":"I officially left Art of Problem Solving on January 1. After over 7 years of full-time employment, and over 8 years total when I include contract work and my summer internship, I have my second post-college employer: Inflection Point Learning. The upshot is that AoPS partially own IPL, and nearly every person in our small Institutional Sales department moved with me. My job title is the same, my immediate boss and one direct report haven\u0026rsquo;t changed, but the new context gives some sparkle and flavor to this second phase in my career that I\u0026rsquo;m beginning just shy of thirty years old.\nA Refined Mission\nConsider these two company mission statements.\nArt of Problem Solving: To discover, inspire, and train the great problem solvers of the next generation.\nInflection Point Learning: To help teachers and schools unlock math excellence and problem solving skills for their students, enabled by joyful learning and genuine challenge.1\nDon\u0026rsquo;t worry about how polished each one is, and focus instead on their sentiment and specificity. AoPS has a broad mission with a generational focus. It\u0026rsquo;s ambitious and somewhat general, but has clear, distinct actions: discover, inspire, and train. Those first two verbs are newer additions that emphasize the organization\u0026rsquo;s realization that making something great isn\u0026rsquo;t good enough. If you feel strongly that it\u0026rsquo;ll provide a positive impact, you have to actively work to find those people. That\u0026rsquo;s both generally true in business—companies don\u0026rsquo;t typically survive without some attempt at marketing and active customer acquisition—but also speaks to the inequities within our education system. Students from disadvantaged or minority backgrounds are less likely to be identified as candidates for advanced educational programs, and once they miss the initial screening, it creates a negative feedback loop where they are not getting the resources or attention that other students get, making it even more difficult to access those higher-level educational opportunities.\nAoPS also uses the blanket term \u0026ldquo;problem solvers\u0026rdquo; that mirrors the company\u0026rsquo;s name and internal philosophy that those who can solve problems are useful in every discipline. Because the founder, Richard Rusczyk, was a math contest kid and was passionate about math, that was the avenue for teaching problem solving. But you can also teach problem solving in programming, or basic sciences, or literature. These are all options. But AoPS began with math, and that continues to be their focus. They are a problem solving company that teaches math, and know they must walk that line between strong values about problem solving being the end goal for which math is a convenient training tool, and the realities of the credit- and standards-based world of education that demands students gain and retain certain topical knowledge and skills. It\u0026rsquo;s a wonderful mission statement to which everyone who works there, or formerly worked there, was deeply connected.\nIPL is different. It\u0026rsquo;s a startup that has a focused (and somewhat shrinking) audience for which they have a clear product vision. It must live and breathe in the traditional education, legal, and operational context because there are significant barriers to schools and districts adopting a math curriculum while also creating a meaningfully different curriculum from the legacy players and savvy newcomers alike. IPL is also registering as a Public Benefit Corporation, meaning it is legally beholden both to its (private) shareholders and to dutifully following its mission.\nThe upshot for the Sales team is that we are no longer the side project within a company that has a broader vision and a business foundation that dramatically differs from our own. IPL is focused on schools, and schools are all we sell to. That\u0026rsquo;s what the kids call synergy.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a beneficial change in my role because there are fewer stakeholders with competing incentives, sometimes opposed incentives, plus there\u0026rsquo;s that bit of edge that comes with working at a startup. While we have a lengthy financial runway, we must show we\u0026rsquo;re on pace to achieve our predefined targets. Everyone is motivated to make that happen, and already, only a couple of weeks in, it\u0026rsquo;s clear how tight-knit this company is. It\u0026rsquo;s reminiscent of when I started at AoPS, but with a sharper focus.\nA Redefined Role\nThis narrower focus and small startup context have forced me to rethink my role and priorities. I have to maintain the work my team is used to receiving from me while taking on additional responsibilities that come as part of being in a small company; with each person taking a slightly larger share of the available workload, they must be decisive about which projects to pursue. So far, I\u0026rsquo;ve been balancing temporary transition miscellany with essential process and content work for the new product our team gets to sell. It also means balancing the short-term view I\u0026rsquo;ve safely molded for years with a broader, more thoughtful approach that requires committed thinking in addition to the doing I have on my plate.\nThese are all shifting sands. Or perhaps it\u0026rsquo;s an uncanny valley where, on the surface, at a quick glimpse, nothing has really changed. It\u0026rsquo;s all recognizable as work I\u0026rsquo;ve done, but there\u0026rsquo;s a shimmer and twist to it that, if I think about it too much, makes me slightly uncomfortable and unsure.\nIs it more the work, or is it me? I\u0026rsquo;ve felt impostor syndrome in waves over my years at AoPS. I was not the brightest math mind among the curriculum developers, not even close. Then, I was responsible for more than I thought I should have been at a young age while managing projects. And now I\u0026rsquo;m being asked insightful and incisive questions, providing opinions that will shape our strategy and nudge our company\u0026rsquo;s future in some (hopefully successful) direction.\nI keep returning to our purpose and mission. When I\u0026rsquo;m foundering and flailing for a handhold on my work, I have to gather the willpower for some self-directed brusqueness: Is what you\u0026rsquo;re doing now interesting, or is it interesting and valuable? Will this improve the outcomes for our teams and, more importantly, the students we serve? That helps me slice through the self-doubt and worries because if I believe I can stay committed to our goals and make tangible progress to achieve them, there\u0026rsquo;s no reason to worry that someone else might be better suited. The reality is that there is someone better at my job than me, hundreds and hundreds of them, but they aren\u0026rsquo;t here, and they might not be interested in the work. Their existence doesn\u0026rsquo;t reduce my value, but they do abstractly encourage me to improve myself so I can do better work. That also requires balance, but it wasn\u0026rsquo;t something I thought about at all until a couple of years ago.\nAn Undefined Future\nCompared to the steady growth of AoPS over the years, profitable for as long as anyone cares to remember and making its step-function improvements in core products every few years, my time at IPL will be characterized by nagging questions and uncertainty over the coming years.\nI spent these first eight years of my career focused on improving whatever I touched and making sure I didn\u0026rsquo;t break it in the process. Nobody wants to be the person who disassembles their toaster to clean it out and fix it up, only to put it back together and destroy the heating element somehow. Now we\u0026rsquo;re building something new and bringing it to the world. We have explicit goals—not \u0026ldquo;feel good\u0026rdquo; goals that help drive us forward, but \u0026ldquo;the company won\u0026rsquo;t continue unless\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; goals. Those aren\u0026rsquo;t imminent, I don\u0026rsquo;t believe I\u0026rsquo;m looking at them via a sideview mirror, but we do need to keep them in mind so we don\u0026rsquo;t chase shiny ideas that lead nowhere in particular.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an exciting time, and the right time in my life for this change. Despite occasional self-doubt, I\u0026rsquo;m confident that I\u0026rsquo;m the right person, working with amazing teams, to make something incredibly impactful for young students. That\u0026rsquo;s what we\u0026rsquo;re here for. Although the future is less certain for me than it was a few weeks ago, I can make it even brighter than before.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that this is not a public-facing statement with an eye for marketing. It\u0026rsquo;s just for legal documents. More on that later.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/sorta-same-job-in-nearly-a-new-place/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI officially left Art of Problem Solving on January 1. After over 7 years of full-time employment, and over 8 years total when I include contract work and my summer internship, I have my second post-college employer: Inflection Point Learning. The upshot is that AoPS partially own IPL, and nearly every person in our small Institutional Sales department moved with me. My job title is the same, my immediate boss and one direct report haven\u0026rsquo;t changed, but the new context gives some sparkle and flavor to this second phase in my career that I\u0026rsquo;m beginning just shy of thirty years old.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Sorta Same Job in Nearly a New Place"},{"content":"I finished 34 books in 2025. I maintained a more consistent pace than last year, and technically achieved my goal of reading more physical books. I read 9 physical books this year compared to 8 last year, but that\u0026rsquo;s over 26% of books in 2025 compared to less than 20% in 2024. Small victories.\nWhile I read 17% fewer books than in 2024, I only read about 7% fewer pages. A few books were rather long. (I\u0026rsquo;m looking at you, Sophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice.)\nAccording to the moods in StoryGraph, I leaned away from the darker books and more into properly emotional or reflective literature. I expect my dalliance with Jane Austen helped with that pivot, though books like The Handmaid\u0026rsquo;s Tale and Kindred are not for the lighthearted reader.\nIt was a solid year for my reading. Other than trying to get through even more physical books, ideally ones I already own, I have no goals in mind for 2026 outside my usual attempts at reading across broad publishing dates within the genres I like.\nEnjoy the flurry of charts and the full list of books I read in 2025 at the end.\nTitle Author Genre Medium The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin Science Fiction Physical Network Effect Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital Fugitive Telemetry Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital The Dispossessed Ursula K. Le Guin Science Fiction Physical Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen Literary Fiction Physical Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Literary Fiction Physical System Collapse Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital Watership Down Richard Adams Fantasy Digital Emma Jane Austen Literary Fiction Physical Borne Jeff VanderMeer Science Fiction Digital The Handmaid\u0026rsquo;s Tale Margaret Atwood Speculative Fiction Digital Shards of Earth Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital Eyes of the Void Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital Lords of Uncreation Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital The Outsiders S.E. Hinton Literary Fiction Digital The Long-Distance Leader Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel Other Non-fiction Digital Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett Fantasy Digital Knife Salman Rushdie Memoir/Biography Physical On Writing Well William Zinsser Other Non-fiction Physical Sophie’s Choice William Styron Literary Fiction Digital The Queen’s Gambit Walter Tevis Literary Fiction Digital The Big Bounce Elmore Leonard Thriller Physical On Tyranny Timothy Snyder Other Non-fiction Digital One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez Literary Fiction Digital Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital Children of Ruin Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital Children of Memory Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital Artemis Andy Weir Science Fiction Digital Bird by Bird Anne Lamott Other Non-fiction Digital Clown Town Mick Herron Thriller Digital Kindred Octavia E. Butler Speculative Fiction Digital The Lost City of Z David Grann Other Non-fiction Digital Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt Literary Fiction Physical Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris Other Non-fiction Digital ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2025-reading-list/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI finished 34 books in 2025. I maintained a more consistent pace than last year, and technically achieved my goal of reading more physical books. I read 9 physical books this year compared to 8 last year, but that\u0026rsquo;s over 26% of books in 2025 compared to less than 20% in 2024. Small victories.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile I read 17% fewer books than in 2024, I only read about 7% fewer pages. A few books were rather long. (I\u0026rsquo;m looking at you, \u003cem\u003eSophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice\u003c/em\u003e.)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the moods in StoryGraph, I leaned away from the darker books and more into properly emotional or reflective literature. I expect my dalliance with Jane Austen helped with that pivot, though books like \u003cem\u003eThe Handmaid\u0026rsquo;s Tale\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eKindred\u003c/em\u003e are not for the lighthearted reader.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a solid year for my reading. Other than trying to get through even more physical books, ideally ones I already own, I have no goals in mind for 2026 outside my usual attempts at reading across broad publishing dates within the genres I like.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnjoy the flurry of charts and the full list of books I read in 2025 at the end.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2025 Reading List"},{"content":"You can\u0026rsquo;t outrun a bad diet, but you can sure outspend your budget by frequenting restaurants. After a successful Year of Fitness, the next obvious step towards a healthier lifestyle is to control my eating habits. That means learning to love, or at least accept, cooking at home. 2026 will be the Year of the Kitchen.\nThis coalesced in mid-November while Erin\u0026rsquo;s uncle was visiting, and he was watching a Jamie Oliver cooking show one evening. Between not having seen any cooking shows in years, and Jamie\u0026rsquo;s general good nature and excitement about fresh and fairly simple cooking, I was captivated. I love watching supremely competent people work in their field, and Jamie has that ineffable ability of an expert who truly loves sharing what they do to make you feel capable of approaching his level. Although it was ten at night, I wanted to hop into the kitchen and try roasting a whole chicken. Or cook monk fish in grape leaves. Or pluck fresh grape tomatoes from the garden we don\u0026rsquo;t have. I wrote Year of the Kitchen in my notes, and it\u0026rsquo;s remained as the only sensible theme choice for this year.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve already made strides in the way that any new hobbyist does: I bought stuff. Each year, I accumulate rewards from my health insurance for doing what I ought to do. Tracking steps on my Garmin, getting a flu shot, participating in digital health coaching, seeing a PCP. In 2022, I used some of that money to get into fountain pens. This year, I earned even more and bought us a nice set of stainless steel mixing bowls with lids, a Lodge cast iron double-sided grill pan (griddle and searing!) for the gas stove, and two Jamie Oliver cookbooks focused on simple, repeatable meals using a consistent stock of ingredients.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get the wrong impression: Erin and I cook. We\u0026rsquo;re actually pretty decent cooks for the meals we care about, have a growing set of recipes we can whip up on short notice, and like exploring new cuisines. But we let life get in the way too often and fail to strike a healthy balance between ambition and pragmatism, novelty and consistency. We\u0026rsquo;ll begin each week with a stocked fridge and a clear plan for dinners, but then someone\u0026rsquo;s workday will run long, we\u0026rsquo;ll be invited to go out with folks, or we just aren\u0026rsquo;t feeling it. A missed meal quickly snowballs into several days of inconsistency, and our freezer gains yet another chicken breast that would have otherwise gone bad.\nLike with most themes, Year of the Kitchen is about stepping in the right direction. I\u0026rsquo;m not making a hard pivot and setting a moratorium on eating out or nixing any prefab frozen meals. The positive action is cooking by default, building flexibility into our meal plans, and being firmer about internalized laziness. I\u0026rsquo;ll find a better selection of simple meals, tasty and ambitious meals, and boxed or frozen meals to have in a pinch. I also need to create a consistent plan for breakfast and lunch that aligns with my workout schedule, since I can get out of whack after a long run that lasts most of my allotted lunchtime.\nI\u0026rsquo;m confident in this theme\u0026rsquo;s success. We love our kitchen and both feel motivated to use the space, our nice cookware, and fun gadgets and appliances. We have a dishwasher that washes our dishes. There\u0026rsquo;s a big center island with great counter space. Really, we have everything we could want to make cooking a big part of our life, but adoring the act of cooking and becoming amateur chefs isn\u0026rsquo;t the goal. If we get there, that\u0026rsquo;s awesome. But just being an adult in the kitchen more often than not is all I\u0026rsquo;m aiming for.\nThat speaks to a meta-theme these last two years of handling insecurity and immaturity. Fitness and food have been two banes of my young adult life. I cared, but not quite enough. So many people I know seem to figure it out naturally with little thought or stress. They eat what they should, exercise regularly, and don\u0026rsquo;t make a big deal about it. I\u0026rsquo;ve had to fight myself a bit harder. While I\u0026rsquo;m a bit late to the party by taking these seriously at just shy of thirty years old, it\u0026rsquo;s much better than ignoring it forever.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2026-year-of-the-kitchen/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYou can\u0026rsquo;t outrun a bad diet, but you can sure outspend your budget by frequenting restaurants. After a successful Year of Fitness, the next obvious step towards a healthier lifestyle is to control my eating habits. That means learning to love, or at least accept, cooking at home. 2026 will be the Year of the Kitchen.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2026 Year of the Kitchen"},{"content":"I never thought to write about this longtime childhood staple of Christmas until my younger sister mentioned how nice it\u0026rsquo;d be to go back in time to share reviews of items that lasted a surprisingly long time. While the mechanical jaw of my Scooby-Doo stocking broke long ago, pressing its ear still manages to trigger one of three Christmas songs sung in an R-heavy voice (Rappy Rolidays!)\nJust as I remember.\nI have no memory of any other stocking, so I\u0026rsquo;d conservatively guess this guy has been providing delightful (to me) and annoying (to everyone else) seasonal serenades for 20 years. It could be closer to 25 years, but that boggles the mind of anyone familiar with batteries from that long ago.\nSomeone on eBay is selling a new stocking for $50, so it\u0026rsquo;s not a hot item. I\u0026rsquo;m not interested in buying a new one because part of the charm of mine is its endurance. Sure, it only comes out once a year, and these days it might sing all of three times during the Christmas season. But it\u0026rsquo;s hanging on, an entirely impractical stocking that lacks internal volume compared to even the simplest dollar section option.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s my stocking, and it\u0026rsquo;s all I ever want. It\u0026rsquo;ll be tough to decide my next step whenever Scooby stops singing.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/scooby-doo-stocking/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI never thought to write about this longtime childhood staple of Christmas until my younger sister mentioned how nice it\u0026rsquo;d be to go back in time to share reviews of items that lasted a surprisingly long time. While the mechanical jaw of my Scooby-Doo stocking broke long ago, pressing its ear still manages to trigger one of three Christmas songs sung in an \u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e-heavy voice (Rappy Rolidays!)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Just as I remember.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/scooby_stocking.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Scooby-Doo Stocking"},{"content":"Among my thoughts when I announced my Year of Fitness, this segment at the end most clearly stated my intentions:\nI want my weight and impulses under control, and an exercise routine I can stick with that keeps me healthy and able to participate in all the sports and activities I enjoy for as long as possible.\nHealth and fitness are lifelong projects, so this theme focused on rebuilding a stronger foundation that can support further growth while being resilient to those stressful days and difficult weeks that grind good intentions to dust. I needed a base to return to when I inevitably falter.\nBoth the data and my gut suggest a clear success.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s odd and apt to reflect on health and fitness in the immediate aftermath of holiday debauchery. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a couple enormous meals, more sweet treats than I\u0026rsquo;d ever want to habituate, and been less active than I prefer. Still, I ran on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, alternating with small bodyweight workouts. Striking the balance between enjoying time with friends and family and taking advantage of opportunities for good food and fun with my need to temper my appetite and remain active has been the story of 2025.\nI began this year by paying for Fitbod. I knew I needed strength workouts to maintain my body for baseball but would be unwilling to join all the New Year Resolution folks in their attempts to fill up the local gyms. After years of podcast advertising, I finally hopped onto the app-based fitness game. It was motivating to have a (mostly) daily workout, fifteen or twenty minutes, beyond my normal walking regimen. But as spring started to bloom, I hadn\u0026rsquo;t made much progress beyond the ability to handle a few more push-ups.\nIn April, the idea of possibly becoming a runner coalesced. I downloaded Strava and familiarized myself with the features of my Garmin watch, then learned how to find an appropriate pace over many months. Having never consistently ran farther than a mile, learning how to dial back my speed to build proper aerobic health over longer runs was difficult.\nMy 2025 running mileage.\nThemes aren\u0026rsquo;t inherently about numbers, but when we\u0026rsquo;re talking health and fitness, numerical trends sure tell a compelling story. As my running increased, I also gained control over my weight.\nMy weight throughout 2025. My logging was inconsistent, but you get the idea.\nStrenuous exercise and healthy eating have always created a positive feedback loop. When I\u0026rsquo;m committed to exercise, I have to be careful what I eat. I can\u0026rsquo;t run if I\u0026rsquo;ve eaten too much, or had something greasy or rich or generally an unwise choice for food. I consistently make better decisions once I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen into that loop, so getting hooked onto running directly improved my outcomes.\nBeyond these brief ways of measuring success with miles and pounds, two quick stories typify my Year of Fitness.\nFirst, baseball. I returned to Maine this fall to play at Goodall Park. It was the only game I played with my Connecticut sandlot team in 2024, and I was run down after my season in California. My arm hurt, I could barely make the throw from third to first, and my hitting was atrocious. I was frustrated that I wasted the opportunity to play on such a beautiful field by having one of my personal worst games in a long time. My body had let me down because I had let it down.\nThis year, I\u0026rsquo;d played another full season. In fact, I played more than I ever had in California given our regular practices in New Haven. I pitched five innings in a game, which I hadn\u0026rsquo;t done since I was sixteen. I got third place in a hitting competition in Tulsa. I hit an inside-the-park home run and several triples. And in this final game of the season in Maine, I had the chance to compare how my body felt. I easily made my throws across the field all game, hit the ball hard, and got on base in every plate appearance. It was a complete turnaround, largely powered by the attention I paid my body throughout the year. That motivates me to stick with my routines and improve further, ensuring I stay on the field for as long as possible.\nMy second anecdote is how my running mindset has changed. I\u0026rsquo;d spent years treating running in the flippant and dismissive way so many people I talk to discuss math: \u0026ldquo;Oh, that\u0026rsquo;s not for me. I could never.\u0026rdquo; I identified as a baseball player who never ran more than a mile at a time. I participated in a few large-scale 5K races around the Twin cities—Turkey Trots and the UMN Goldy\u0026rsquo;s Run—but these were done with friends and family and with essentially no preparation. I only remember my time of a bit over 35 minutes in one Turkey Trot, during which I made it just over a mile before I had to pause to walk. That on-and-off pacing continued the rest of the way.\nJump forward to late September of this year, and a friend from baseball asks in our Discord whether anyone wants to run a local 5K in Meriden. Having run a few of those during my lunch breaks in the previous couple of months, I readily volunteered. It felt amazing to raise my hand and willingly sign up for a 5K without a second thought, without agonizing over how I\u0026rsquo;d feel before or after the race, knowing that I wanted to do well but not stressing over the details. It was a gnarly course in 40-ish degree weather, beginning with an uphill climb that lasted nearly the first mile, and the net elevation change was about 250 feet. I had to stop for 20 or 30 seconds to tie my shoe at the halfway point, but latched onto another runner to follow the rest of the way. I relished the closing downhill sprint, finishing in right around 26 minutes, depending on how you want to count that shoe-tying pause.\nI\u0026rsquo;m proud of my progress this year. With an established routine, I can look toward a new theme in 2026 that will help me capitalize on what I\u0026rsquo;ve built.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/year-of-fitness-2025-review/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAmong my thoughts when \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2025-year-of-fitness/\"\u003eI announced my Year of Fitness\u003c/a\u003e, this segment at the end most clearly stated my intentions:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI want my weight and impulses under control, and an exercise routine I can stick with that keeps me healthy and able to participate in all the sports and activities I enjoy for as long as possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth and fitness are lifelong projects, so this theme focused on rebuilding a stronger foundation that can support further growth while being resilient to those stressful days and difficult weeks that grind good intentions to dust. I needed a base to return to when I inevitably falter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth the data and my gut suggest a clear success.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Year of Fitness 2025 Review"},{"content":"I upgraded to a paid subscription to The Verge this year. They\u0026rsquo;ve become a premier independent media outlet covering a broad set of topics while maintaining freedom from external influence.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure everyone gets something a little different from the subscription. For me, it\u0026rsquo;s the newsletters. Victoria Song does great work on Optimizer covering the intersection of health and technology; even though I\u0026rsquo;m not in the market for any of it, she writes captivating pieces about balancing the positive and insidious sides of progress. Tina Nguyen\u0026rsquo;s Regulator has become my favorite way to read a mild amount of political news without being inundated by the firehose of the news cycle proper.\nWith more consolidation of tech and media every year, I must keep identifying and purposely supporting the independent ventures I value. The Verge remains high on that list.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-verge-is-really-good/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI upgraded to a paid subscription to \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/\"\u003eThe Verge\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e this year. They\u0026rsquo;ve become a premier independent media outlet covering a broad set of topics while maintaining freedom from external influence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m sure everyone gets something a little different from the subscription. For me, it\u0026rsquo;s the newsletters. Victoria Song does great work on \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/optimizer-newsletter\"\u003eOptimizer\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e covering the intersection of health and technology; even though I\u0026rsquo;m not in the market for any of it, she writes captivating pieces about balancing the positive and insidious sides of progress. Tina Nguyen\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/regulator-newsletter\"\u003eRegulator\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e has become my favorite way to read a mild amount of political news without being inundated by the firehose of the news cycle proper.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Verge is Really Good"},{"content":"Stephen Hackett briefly discussed some changes to 512 Pixels on last week\u0026rsquo;s episode of Connected. Some of those thoughts temporarily live on his Now page. Here\u0026rsquo;s the main thrust:\n\u0026hellip; my hope is to have fewer — but more meaningful — things in the RSS feed in 2026.\nHe also mentioned putting this on the Now page rather than in a separate post because he can\u0026rsquo;t bring himself to blog about his own blogging. Few people read my site, so I have no such reluctance.\nStephen\u0026rsquo;s decision reflects my own worries and thought process about my blog over many years. I vacillate between believing that what I write here is insufficient or uninteresting most of the time, and knowing that if I didn\u0026rsquo;t hold myself to a weekly post, I may cease to write with any regularity, thus negating this blog\u0026rsquo;s main purpose. True, these concerns are somewhat unwarranted when it\u0026rsquo;s a pet project rather than a major source of income, as it is with Stephen. But it\u0026rsquo;s worth considering my goals and whether my current writing routine aids my improvement.\nDoes requiring fifty ideas each year keep me hungry and curious, or does it weaken the average output? Would I take more time per post if I reduced the frequency to fortnightly or monthly, or would each piece sneak up on me and result in a hasty essay that reads like a sophomore\u0026rsquo;s harried submission before a midnight deadline? If I removed any expectation of regular posting, would that free me up to do more, or would it free me up to do less?\nI don\u0026rsquo;t have a clear answer to any of these. Continuing to post weekly is due to inertia, rather than an explicit decision or belief that it\u0026rsquo;s somehow better for my advancement as a writer. It\u0026rsquo;s also a crutch I continue providing myself: if this week\u0026rsquo;s post isn\u0026rsquo;t that good, well, it was a busy week, and I had to rush it. I\u0026rsquo;ll spend more time on the next one. Were I to remove that crutch, I may quickly find out that more time wasn\u0026rsquo;t the problem. I could also pleasantly surprise myself, but fear is an excellent deterrent to trying a new approach.\nThis dynamic is similar to large corporations whose bulky masses are weighed down by years of processes built with good intentions but, once in place, are rarely reconsidered or modernized. The issues with any current systems are understood and under control, so why change to something that could be better but could also be oh, so much worse? Predictability is safe, even if it\u0026rsquo;s a predictably so-so outcome. Anything short of utter failure is tolerable.\nThat doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean change is the answer, either. An old routine could exist because it\u0026rsquo;s fundamental to current success. I don\u0026rsquo;t stop taking magnesium because I\u0026rsquo;ve stopped having leg cramps, since I recognize that the magnesium was pretty darn vital in handling that problem.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s where I\u0026rsquo;ve landed so far: I need to balance my desire to use this blog as a vehicle for improving my writing with its utility and value as an external journal that captures all my weird interests and rabbit holes. I\u0026rsquo;d rather use it for both, posting fun and intriguing tidbits I discover while pushing on bigger projects that require and deserve consistent attention.\nThat means I won\u0026rsquo;t necessarily post at (almost) the exact same time each Monday morning, nor will I purposefully hold onto topics and links because I need to \u0026ldquo;pad\u0026rdquo; my schedule down the line. I will attempt to anchor this site around key ideas and projects for which I will hold myself accountable, and bop in with other thoughts as I have them. I\u0026rsquo;ll can my more-or-less defunct fiction site, allowing all my writing projects to exist in one place.\nIt will take time to form new habits and treat this site differently than I have the past seven(!) years. It may not be obvious, even to me, that I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to change until a couple of months from now. I hope it comes with a sense of empowerment to chase down bigger projects, while also not ignoring a silly side thought because it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel worthy of a weekly post. Here\u0026rsquo;s to finding a better balance.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/state-of-the-blog-2025/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eStephen Hackett briefly discussed some changes to \u003ca href=\"https://512pixels.net/\"\u003e512 Pixels\u003c/a\u003e on \u003ca href=\"https://www.relay.fm/connected/583\"\u003elast week\u0026rsquo;s episode of Connected\u003c/a\u003e. Some of those thoughts temporarily live on his \u003ca href=\"https://512pixels.net/now/\"\u003eNow page\u003c/a\u003e. Here\u0026rsquo;s the main thrust:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026hellip; my hope is to have fewer — but more meaningful — things in the RSS feed in 2026.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe also mentioned putting this on the Now page rather than in a separate post because he can\u0026rsquo;t bring himself to blog about his own blogging. Few people read my site, so I have no such reluctance.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"State of the Blog 2025"},{"content":"While navigating the house of technology you build for yourself, please hold onto banisters and sturdy bits of furniture because the rug may be pulled out from beneath you at any time.\nSoftware companies have a silly habit of doing one or both of the following:\nTaking a one-time payment to access their premium version forever.\nGiving away a free version of their product forever.\nThe former exists to both gather capital (I presume) and ensnare people who are anti-subscription and have an outdated or incorrect understanding of software. The latter is solely designed to convert free users to paying customers.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the thing: these same companies have another silly habit where they conveniently forget their marketing promise and request more money, or hoover some up with advertisements. They\u0026rsquo;re making a bet that enough users will convert to a subscription (or swallow the ads) compared to the number they alienate by this move, that they come out ahead. When it\u0026rsquo;s a service with few alternatives and all with similar business models, it\u0026rsquo;s difficult to hold any of them accountable.\nNot every company that has made these promises has proceeded to pull out the proverbial rug. There are at least a couple in each category that have remained steadfast, and those are just as intriguing to consider. Here\u0026rsquo;s a survey of the software and services I\u0026rsquo;ve used that have explicitly offered me forever at the cost of free or some fee, and where they are now.\niA Writer Let\u0026rsquo;s kick off with a positive example that clarifies the nature of purchasing software. iA deserves that much as a focused company producing well-designed and wonderfully eccentric products. They present and discuss design in a way I can understand, but I do not at all understand their business model.\niA sells three products. Writer and Presenter are both minimalist markdown-focused apps that run on Apple platforms,1 the former designed around traditional writing and blogging, the latter on crafting slideshows. Their third product is, naturally, a wild notebook.\niA offers a license purchase option for their products, typically requiring individual purchases for each platform, with an FAQ clarification that a purchase is not the same as lifetime updates. Purposely vague around the concept of a \u0026ldquo;major\u0026rdquo; update—they aren\u0026rsquo;t Adobe in the early 2000s—you decide at the moment whether you want this tool in your life. If you buy it, it\u0026rsquo;s yours for as long as you can keep it running.\nThe timeline for updates is uncertain. iA Writer experienced nearly a decade of free updates, so you might get lucky—or not.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s no rug here. It\u0026rsquo;s precisely what they say, loosey-goosey as it is. And if you\u0026rsquo;re into their Presenter product, they also offer a subscription. Heck, they\u0026rsquo;re even dipping their toes into the enterprise world. It\u0026rsquo;s a safe bet that companies are more interested in slideshows than Markdown documents.\nRegardless, even though I don\u0026rsquo;t use iA Writer often anymore, and I only used iA Presenter during a beta period, this company holds an outsized place in my heart for caring tremendously about their product and doing right by the people who understand and agree with their stance.\nAffinity by Serif (Canva) You were the chosen one! all the design enthusiasts cried last month when the Affinity suite of apps was consolidated into a single product that, yes, was released as free forever!\nNo asterisks!\nNo gimmicks!\nEveryone who adopted any of the Affinity apps, myself included, will keep one eye to the sky for several months as we await that other shoe. It\u0026rsquo;s jarring to fall in love with a successful outfit that\u0026rsquo;s taking it to the man (Adobe) with an equivalent business model to iA that also mirrors the old business model of their foe—buy a major version of their software that will last you several years—and see them acquired by the freemium web design tool Canva to end up here, pulling a reverse rug-pull by going from paid to free.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the issue. The Affinity suite (now just Affinity, no individual apps) will now solely act as a funnel to Canva. Without any revenue of its own, this product is only valuable to Canva insofar as it can drive users to a paid subscription—you know that thing every Affinity user was trying to avoid. Since nobody is directly paying for Affinity, Canva owes those users nothing.\nAnd this is the crux of the issue with all freemium software tools: there is no transaction, and the free users are at the mercy of the company\u0026rsquo;s whims. If too many free users fail to convert to paid accounts, some features have to go behind a paywall. Them\u0026rsquo;s the breaks.\nSome people will likely hoard their Affinity 2 apps for several years and hope that no Apple software updates cause breaking changes. Others—like me—will switch to this new Affinity (singular) app and hope for the best for as long as possible. Maybe Canva will just forget this quirky little design community that likes having actual software installed instead of running it in a browser? Unlikely, but dreamers will dream.\nNotability I first bought an iPad in my junior year of college. Since Apple had not made their Notes app a reasonable option yet, tablet-wielding students across the world chose between Notability and Good Notes. Because I knew more people who used Notability, including a few lecturers with iPads, that\u0026rsquo;s where I settled. I paid around twenty or thirty dollars for a one-time purchase that promised lifetime access, and never regretted it.\nTo their credit, kind of, Notability has never threatened to reduce which features they offer to us original buyers. I continue to have my templates, my customized favorite writing tools, and all my notes categorized in their various colored sections. I sync everything to Dropbox. However, given I only use Notability sporadically now, I\u0026rsquo;ve slowly watched the cracks widen to reveal a gorge that can only be filled by that sweet, sweet subscription money.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not too bad, really. The focus in their Notability Pro subscription is recording transcription, smart notes, summaries, quizzes, flashcards, and other whizzy features powered by AI models. They still clarify in the settings that I maintain access to my Notability Classic plan:\nAccess to the core Notability experience, including unlimited notes and premium content previously purchased in the app.\nNotability has walked this line rather well. Kudos to them.\nPocket Casts After a brief stint with a 6th-generation iPod Nano in high school—an oft-maligned model, but the only one I ever had, and thus my favorite—my only podcast interactions have been via Pocket Casts. I first downloaded it during my sophomore year of college on my Galaxy S4, and recently eclipsed 300 days of listening time in the app. At the time, it was a paid app that had a one-time fee for lifetime access to premium features.\nPocket Casts has bounced around since then and faced some controversy with how they eventually rolled out their premium subscription, Pocket Casts Plus. They were purchased by a conglomeration of radio organizations in 2018, then were acquired by Automattic—the company behind the for-profit branch of WordPress—in 2021.\nPrior to that final acquisition, they launched their subscription pricing. In an effort to get out in front of any possible controversy, they announced us original users would receive three years of said subscription at no cost. The internet didn\u0026rsquo;t take kindly to that suggestion, so they backtracked. I now have this lovely Pocket Casts Champion badge on my account page and continued access to all the main features.2\nSome Champions reported seeing ads in Pocket Casts earlier this fall, so clearly not everyone has had as stellar a time using this app as me. But, on balance, they largely corrected an initial misstep and I appreciate that. It still makes one wary of how little control we have in these situations, and we\u0026rsquo;re lucky that whoever was in charge was capable of feeling some level of shame (or lost revenue from a vocal group bad-mouthing their product) after announcing their plan to walk back earlier promises of forever.\nFitbod I received this email around Thanksgiving.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s so weird. There are only a thousand spots. This company is well-established with its recurring subscription model. What could lead them to run a lifetime unlock promotion? I have two plausible reasons:\nWhy not? An annual subscription is $80, so this is the equivalent of more than six years of service at that price. If some super-users are dedicated and think it\u0026rsquo;s worth it to them, cool.\nA cofounder has run into some trouble and needs half a million dollars, stat.\nTheir footnote augmenting their promise of forever is well-written, though. I appreciate that they stand by the promise, committing harder than iA, but acknowledge the reality of software and give themselves just enough wiggle room at the end.\nA lifetime membership provides ongoing access to the current version of Fitbod and any standard updates released for the duration of the product’s commercially supported lifetime. While Fitbod anticipates that the Fitbod product you purchased and associated services will remain available and supported, potentially for many years to come, Fitbod reserves the right to modify or discontinue app features, content, or services at any time.\nConsidering they followed up two days later with other messaging in emails and the app, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear these lifetime memberships were selling like hotcakes. I also bet there were more than one thousand available.\nNotion We\u0026rsquo;re finally in the world of free forever tools that began that way, unlike our poor friends who develop Affinity.\nIn my sphere, Notion is the standard-bearer of highly funded companies yet to turn a profit that boldly proclaim the value of their free tier. And, over several years, I\u0026rsquo;m surprised by how well they\u0026rsquo;ve stuck to their promise.\nI dabbled with Notion early on before moving on to other methods of storing notes and organizing thoughts, but they continue to support my original system for tracking which books I\u0026rsquo;ve read.\nNotion is ideally positioned to offer a free lifetime personal account. They have made significant strides in offering team and enterprise features, so anyone likely to use a free account entirely on their own—with a limited file upload—will not generate enough data to move beyond a rounding error in their server costs. You essentially get unlimited use of their native features, but are limited in your ability to connect to other people or services.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a well-designed free tier that appears sustainable. Let\u0026rsquo;s hope so for the sake of all us freeloaders.\nTodoist I pay for Todoist and remain totally happy doing so. But their free tier is quite good for anyone who wants a better-designed app than the native Reminders app on their iPhone, or needs something cross-platform and available on the web. They do great work. They\u0026rsquo;re more niche than Notion, but are clearly following a similar game plan: Run a sleek but usable free tier and hope it encourages people to slowly move up-market or bring the tool to their work.\nIn 2021, Todoist squeezed the free plan for the first time. However, I think it was well done. They did not make breaking changes that would force existing free users to lose all their data, and anecdotally, from some friends, Todoist is still a capable app within those free limits that reduce the number of distinct projects available. If you want a nice list of tasks and don\u0026rsquo;t care whether they\u0026rsquo;re differentiated into categories, go with the free plan!\nIn reviewing all these apps that I use and have paid for, except Notion, I\u0026rsquo;m pleasantly surprised with how I\u0026rsquo;ve come out the other end. Apps have mostly become services—heck, corporations want everything to be a service, but that\u0026rsquo;s a different story.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the takeaway. First, be skeptical of free forever bottom tiers, but don\u0026rsquo;t be afraid of giving them a shot. The more robust their paid offerings appear to be, the better for you.\nSecond, a one-time purchase for access forever will likely lead to disappointment or frustration. Don\u0026rsquo;t heed their promises, except insofar as you keep receipts to blast the company on the internet. Instead, treat it like the iA or Affinity \u0026ldquo;major version\u0026rdquo; pricing. You get access for as long as they decide that\u0026rsquo;s what the product is, and eventually, you may need to pay more.\nFinally, don\u0026rsquo;t be precious about paying developers, particularly smaller or independent outfits that care about what they make. They\u0026rsquo;re putting in good work, and if you find value in what comes from that effort, the exchange of value should go both ways. That said, it\u0026rsquo;s okay to hold them accountable when that exchange gets out of whack.\niA Writer also runs on Windows.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI use this app so much that I\u0026rsquo;d happily pay some amount to support continued development. But my only option is that \u0026ldquo;Upgrade Account\u0026rdquo; line, which bumps me from nothing to a hundred dollars a year. Oh, well.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/promising-forever/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile navigating the house of technology you build for yourself, please hold onto banisters and sturdy bits of furniture because the rug may be pulled out from beneath you at any time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoftware companies have a silly habit of doing one or both of the following:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking a one-time payment to access their premium version \u003cem\u003eforever\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiving away a free version of their product \u003cem\u003eforever\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe former exists to both gather capital (I presume) and ensnare people who are anti-subscription and have an outdated or incorrect understanding of software. The latter is solely designed to convert free users to paying customers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s the thing: these same companies have another silly habit where they conveniently forget their marketing promise and request more money, or hoover some up with advertisements. They\u0026rsquo;re making a bet that enough users will convert to a subscription (or swallow the ads) compared to the number they alienate by this move, that they come out ahead. When it\u0026rsquo;s a service with few alternatives and all with similar business models, it\u0026rsquo;s difficult to hold any of them accountable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot every company that has made these promises has proceeded to pull out the proverbial rug. There are at least a couple in each category that have remained steadfast, and those are just as intriguing to consider. Here\u0026rsquo;s a survey of the software and services I\u0026rsquo;ve used that have explicitly offered me \u003cem\u003eforever\u003c/em\u003e at the cost of free or some fee, and where they are now.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Promising Forever"},{"content":"I first joined the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) as a student member around 2016. Back then, I only knew about SABR by the semi-eponymous term \u0026ldquo;Sabermetrics\u0026rdquo; that roughly refers to the growing list of statistics and measures used to evaluate baseball. I was studying math and dabbling in computer science with vague hopes and dreams that I could bring those interests to bear on the game I loved. I knew little else about the organization, so when I met some excellent members of the Halsey Hall chapter in Minnesota at TwinsFest that winter, I was a bit shocked to find them all rather old. Not that they couldn\u0026rsquo;t have been career statisticians or have other relevant skills to analyzing baseball, but I was an introverted college student and didn\u0026rsquo;t appreciate the interaction.\nNot until rejoining SABR four years ago did I realize the scope of their work and how many options I had for volunteering my time and talents to progress their mission. There are a few dozen research committees with varying scopes and interests. The two I\u0026rsquo;ve been most involved with are wide-ranging and ambitious: the Games Project provides accounts of significant games and their historical context.1 The Biography Project writes comprehensive biographical articles of people in and around baseball. These volunteer-led committees are amazing. Some of their processes are charmingly stuck in the past, like their heavy reliance on email server lists. Still, they don\u0026rsquo;t let anything get in the way of producing well-written and thoroughly researched materials.\nAnd though I\u0026rsquo;m not directly familiar with the other committees, a quick glance at the list shows the breadth of topics SABR volunteers have been inspired to cover. But don\u0026rsquo;t stop there: a recent edition of the Baseball Research Journal 2 shows a tremendous range of topics that have sufficiently interested other baseball sickos. Two fun articles in that Spring 2025 edition are placed in sequence: The Impact of LASIK on MLB Batting Performance, and It\u0026rsquo;s Supposed to Be Hard: Why It\u0026rsquo;s Harder to Get an Orchestra Job than to Play Professional Baseball. There are also historical articles, baseball performance models, and an absolutely spitfire Editor\u0026rsquo;s Note.\nSABR is a wonderful organization. It speaks to how well baseball captures the imagination of fans (and nerds) around the world, its historical importance, and the unique aspects of its design as a game that lend it to statistical revelations before any advanced camera-tracking technology was available. While I\u0026rsquo;m sure my involvement will fluctuate, I\u0026rsquo;m comfortable saying that my relatively inexpensive membership will be renewed for years to come.\nThis is the only project for which I\u0026rsquo;ve written an article.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSABR publishes two editions each year.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-beautifully-broad-scope-of-sabr/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI first joined the \u003ca href=\"https://sabr.org/\"\u003eSociety for American Baseball Research\u003c/a\u003e (SABR) as a student member around 2016. Back then, I only knew about SABR by the semi-eponymous term \u0026ldquo;Sabermetrics\u0026rdquo; that roughly refers to the growing list of statistics and measures used to evaluate baseball. I was studying math and dabbling in computer science with vague hopes and dreams that I could bring those interests to bear on the game I loved. I knew little else about the organization, so when I met some excellent members of the Halsey Hall chapter in Minnesota at TwinsFest that winter, I was a bit shocked to find them all rather old. Not that they couldn\u0026rsquo;t have been career statisticians or have other relevant skills to analyzing baseball, but I was an introverted college student and didn\u0026rsquo;t appreciate the interaction.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Beautifully Broad Scope of SABR"},{"content":"I thoroughly failed this year, but I learned two connected lessons:\nI will always have distractions from writing. Writing projects require consistency. Distractions in life are a given. Friends and family visit us, we go visit family, people randomly invite us to some local event, and unexpected projects appear. My own hobbies distract me from my other hobbies. So much can demand my time and attention, and I have to prioritize where to place my effort.\nThis November, I consistently chose to spend more time with family. We either had family visiting us or were visiting family for half of the month. While I worked hard to keep my novel attempt relevant, it eventually became unsustainable to achieve the required average pace to \u0026ldquo;win\u0026rdquo; NaNoWriMo. Because it\u0026rsquo;s a goal-oriented project, there\u0026rsquo;s a tipping point at which inspiration to work harder becomes a sense of hopelessness. I quit my novel around November 20th.\n\u0026ldquo;Quitting\u0026rdquo; is an awful mental frame, though. What I actually did was accept that there was no way to write fifty thousand words—an arbitrary goal to achieve in a month—without sacrificing sleep and mostly writing gobbledygook. Because I began All These Things Are True with no preparation and little intention of writing a novel this month at all, it was intrinsically linked to November and NaNoWriMo. When I accepted failure in NaNoWriMo, my first instinct was to quit the book altogether. But that\u0026rsquo;s not how writing works. It takes time and consistency. I can\u0026rsquo;t sustain the 1,700 words a day necessary to \u0026ldquo;win\u0026rdquo; NaNo while writing something I can iterate on and be proud of. While I\u0026rsquo;ve achieved those fifty thousand words a few times, I never felt my writing improved from the effort. If I\u0026rsquo;m going to put my head down and craft a new world, explore characters, I should come out the other side having accomplished something beyond hitting a word count.\nOne thousand words a day—thirty thousand words in a month—is achievable without dramatically sacrificing other parts of my life. When I choose to write a novel, not because it\u0026rsquo;s part of a month-long sprint but because I have a story I want to tell and characters that compel me, I will do so at an appropriate pace. Consistency is important, and the base idea of maintaining a floor of words per day is useful, but it must be realistic.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know whether I\u0026rsquo;ll continue the core plot of All These Things Are True, pivot the story elsewhere, or begin a new project the next time the novel-writing bug hits. That\u0026rsquo;s not important compared to refining the process that works for me and maintaining engagement with my writing. My blog requires the same attention. There\u0026rsquo;s a tangible quality difference between posts I write in an hour because I need to get something out the door this week, and those I noodle over for a while as I consider their structure and proofread the final result.\nWriting is tough. The older I get and the more experience I gain, the more I understand my own shortcomings as a writer and find new ways to improve. I\u0026rsquo;m not as fearless as I used to be, but the naivety of youth, while admirable, doesn\u0026rsquo;t yield better results on its own. It still requires the quiet, calm, consistent refining hand of experience. While I don\u0026rsquo;t literally subscribe to the adage of write drunk, edit sober, there\u0026rsquo;s something on the fringes of that idea I could take: write wildly, edit wisely.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2025-recap/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI thoroughly failed this year, but I learned two connected lessons:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI will always have distractions from writing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWriting projects require consistency.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDistractions in life are a given. Friends and family visit us, we go visit family, people randomly invite us to some local event, and unexpected projects appear. My own hobbies distract me from my \u003cem\u003eother\u003c/em\u003e hobbies. So much can demand my time and attention, and I have to prioritize where to place my effort.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2025 Recap"},{"content":"The secret to writing is never held in a book explicitly about writing. Rather, it\u0026rsquo;s in the collective hours and thousands of pages spent reading anything one can get their hands on. It\u0026rsquo;s in the act of noticing how an author\u0026rsquo;s actions work, of forming opinions about whether a bit of prose succeeded in accomplishing its goal, so one can determine whether it\u0026rsquo;s a new tool to emulate or an ineffective path to avoid. Then, it\u0026rsquo;s in the act of writing. Of joyously beginning with a clear approach, then hitting heads against walls, falling into despair, becoming convinced the whole effort is worthless, and coming out the other side with a workable bit of narration. Do that over and over, while also reading, while also exploring the world, and one may just become a writer.\nYet, books on writing are still good for greasing the skids, pointing writers in the right writing direction, and providing necessary inspiration. Bird by Bird is one such lovely option for receiving a dose of reality from a working writer who believes in straightforward hard work and consistent effort, while acknowledging how easy that is for her to say when we all know there are long, drawn-out moments where writing is a slog and the worst feeling in the world. Reading Anne Lamott\u0026rsquo;s evening writing course, consolidated into a snappy, humorous book, is why I decided to try NaNoWriMo this November. And while that hasn\u0026rsquo;t gone exactly as planned—stay tuned for more next week—I\u0026rsquo;m grateful that I came across a book that spoke to me, one that I can return to for a nudge or a slap on the back or a bit of commiseration.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe secret to writing is never held in a book explicitly about writing. Rather, it\u0026rsquo;s in the collective hours and thousands of pages spent reading anything one can get their hands on. It\u0026rsquo;s in the act of noticing \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e an author\u0026rsquo;s actions work, of forming opinions about whether a bit of prose succeeded in accomplishing its goal, so one can determine whether it\u0026rsquo;s a new tool to emulate or an ineffective path to avoid. Then, it\u0026rsquo;s in the act of writing. Of joyously beginning with a clear approach, then hitting heads against walls, falling into despair, becoming convinced the whole effort is worthless, and coming out the other side with a workable bit of narration. Do that over and over, while also reading, while also exploring the world, and one may just become a writer.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s always more fun to work on something other than what I should explicitly be doing in the moment, so ideas and small projects naturally arise from procrastination. I was having trouble returning to my NaNoWriMo work after my sisters visited last weekend, and I took fifteen minutes to learn how to locally run an LLM.\nMy ninety percent use-case for LLMs is word refinement. While writing I will get a word stuck in my head, the wrong word for the exact feeling I\u0026rsquo;d like to describe. So, I tell some LLM (often Claude) to provide several more synonyms with varying connotations. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t rely on having up-to-date knowledge or internet access, so a nimble, offline, and local LLM would fit the task perfectly.\nSomewhat ironically, I used an LLM to help me sort out what to do. It turns out this is a well-trod path. Here were my steps on my MacBook Air.\nUse Homebrew to install Ollama. Install my chosen model. I opted for mistral, so in a new window, I run ollama run mistral. Once it installs the first time, you can exit the instance. Run the Ollama server using ollama serve in my terminal. I leave this running. Install the app Enchanted from the Mac App Store. It\u0026rsquo;s a free project designed to provide a modern front-end to your local LLM instance. This just worked for me without any setup. It automatically detected my local Ollama instance. I used Enchanted to create a \u0026ldquo;Completion\u0026rdquo; in their app, allowing me to create a shortcut to run with a few key strokes. I select a word, and my completion appends that word to the query: \u0026ldquo;Give me some synonyms for this word with varrying connotations: text inserted here\u0026rdquo;. That\u0026rsquo;s all it took. I had a local model running in fewer than fifteen minutes. I don\u0026rsquo;t need to pay for anything, and it perfectly fits what I need most of the time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/local-llm-thesaurus/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s always more fun to work on something other than what I should explicitly be doing in the moment, so ideas and small projects naturally arise from procrastination. I was having trouble returning to my NaNoWriMo work after my sisters visited last weekend, and I took fifteen minutes to learn how to locally run an LLM.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy ninety percent use-case for LLMs is word refinement. While writing I will get a word stuck in my head, the \u003cem\u003ewrong\u003c/em\u003e word for the exact feeling I\u0026rsquo;d like to describe. So, I tell some LLM (often Claude) to provide several more synonyms with varying connotations. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t rely on having up-to-date knowledge or internet access, so a nimble, offline, and local LLM would fit the task perfectly.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Local LLM Thesaurus"},{"content":"Erin and I saw Harry Potter and Cursed Child at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway last weekend. I did not anticipate the depth and detail of any component of that experience, and I left more fully appreciating what can make high-end theater so incredible.\nFirst, there\u0026rsquo;s the environment. While I theoretically knew that a show would take over a single theater for the duration of its run, I did not play that out to its conclusion. Everything about the Lyric—the lobby decor, concessions, how people dressed, how they talked to you, the merchandise—was created knowing that they had a Harry Potter show. No corner was left untouched by this knowledge, and in hindsight, that\u0026rsquo;s obvious. I bought Butterbeer, and our in-seat delivery order during intermission included a complimentary chocolate frog. All of that was a significant first step towards immersion.\nSecond, the effects were literally magical. I could anticipate some stagecraft and see the crew dressed in all black sneaking around, sure. It\u0026rsquo;s a stage play; that\u0026rsquo;s tier one set movement and visuals. At tier 2, we have on-stage costume changes, disappearances, and magical spells that I don\u0026rsquo;t know the precise mechanism for, but could hazard a few guesses. They were explicable. Then, there are those rare tier 3 effects that blew me away. They warped what I could see on stage during the Time Turner transitions. I still have no clue how they did it. I was spellbound.\nFinally, there is something about the best available actors, their stage presence and ability to manipulate an audience, which makes everything feel real and believable within the fiction of the play. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen amateur shows that accomplished this at a small scale—difficult, sensitive two-person plays, for example—but such an enormous cast rendering what amounts to a wild bit of fan fiction entirely committed to their roles was magnificent.\nThese aren\u0026rsquo;t groundbreaking revelations, but even a single show helped me understand what\u0026rsquo;s available in this art form I don\u0026rsquo;t often think about. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to see a different show, likely a musical, and continue to be amazed by humanity\u0026rsquo;s talent.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/broadway-folks-know-what-theyre-doing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I saw \u003cem\u003eHarry Potter and Cursed Child\u003c/em\u003e at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway last weekend. I did not anticipate the depth and detail of any component of that experience, and I left more fully appreciating what can make high-end theater so incredible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst, there\u0026rsquo;s the environment. While I theoretically knew that a show would take over a single theater for the duration of its run, I did not play that out to its conclusion. Everything about the Lyric—the lobby decor, concessions, how people dressed, how they talked to you, the merchandise—was created knowing that they had a Harry Potter show. No corner was left untouched by this knowledge, and in hindsight, that\u0026rsquo;s obvious. I bought Butterbeer, and our in-seat delivery order during intermission included a complimentary chocolate frog. All of that was a significant first step towards immersion.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Broadway Folks Know What They're Doing"},{"content":"It comes down to extra innings and squandered opportunities, a year of firsts and not quite enough. Series were earned and given away, and the emotional pendulums of games were like rocket-propelled swing sets.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s playoffs were the best I can remember in years. I was locked in, paying attention the whole way, listening to podcasts and reading articles to engage with every bit of detail. That made me more aware of everything that could be intriguing. But I also have a slightly more objective perspective on this: several friends who are, at best, ambivalent about baseball started to follow the playoffs and would happily text me out of nowhere with game updates. Something about the spread of storylines—the improbability of Milwaukee and Seattle storming into their respective positions, the returning juggernaut of the Dodgers, the hope and ineptitude of the Yankees against a rallying Blue Jays team—all crashed together in a beautiful miasma that captured attention beyond the usual fanbase.\nExtra innings games will define these playoffs far into the future. I\u0026rsquo;ll remember being on a plane, in a car, then staying up until past midnight to watch the Mariners eke out their fifteen-inning win over the Tigers, all thanks to former Twins legends Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco. Then, there\u0026rsquo;s the obvious one: eighteen innings in Game 3 of the World Series, over six and a half hours of baseball that kept me up until three in the morning. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t take my eyes off. Finally, a tight Game 7 that featured incredible heroics, a nearly sure win, yet it made it to the eleventh, and the Dodgers took it down.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s also the dynamic of relievers versus starters out of the bullpen. The Dodgers leaned heavily on their starters, largely letting relievers mop up any messes. The Blue Jays never felt quite so comfortable with their options. Both their closer and a starter coming out of the bullpen lost Game 7 by allowing solo home runs. But they were in a position to do that because of how dreadful the Blue Jays were on the base paths.\nOn two consecutive nights, the game was abruptly and obviously changed because of baserunning flubs. Barger prematurely ends Game 6 by getting doubled off on second. Then, Kiner-Falefa fails to score the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 7 because he took a terrible lead and unnecessarily slid into home instead of running through. My heart aches most for the individual players in Toronto who will relive these moments and think about how it could have been different. I do that for a litany of dumb moments in my life; I can\u0026rsquo;t imagine the pressure when it leads to disappointing a metropolitan area of millions of people, along with a good chunk of baseball-loving Americans.\nAs always, I\u0026rsquo;m sad that the baseball season is over. But, this is the benefit of hopping onto the Effectively Wild podcast train: there\u0026rsquo;s always something to talk about, to consider, to explore, to debate. It\u0026rsquo;s an evergreen sport, my favorite, but now I\u0026rsquo;m ready to get back on a regular sleep schedule. Watching baseball on the East Coast is rough.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2025-mlb-playoffs-recap/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt comes down to extra innings and squandered opportunities, a year of firsts and not quite enough. Series were earned and given away, and the emotional pendulums of games were like rocket-propelled swing sets.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2025 MLB Playoffs Recap"},{"content":"NaNoWriMo, the organization, is on the ropes, or perhaps entirely dead, after a change in focus and an AI-related public relations snafu. None of that affects my plan for participating in the core of the event: writing at least 50,000 words in a month.\nI initially wrote this post with the intention of delaying NaNoWriMo until February. This November will be hectic: I\u0026rsquo;m transitioning roles at work, we have visitors for two long weekends, followed immediately by a trip home for Thanksgiving. The likelihood that I will write 50,000 cohesive words in November is slim.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s not the point.\nAs I sit here on October 31, watching World Series Game 6, and coming across the NaNo 2.0 site, I\u0026rsquo;m inclined to go against my better judgment. NaNoWriMo is about the joy of creativity, about pushing oneself to find the thrill of a terrible first draft, of freely exploring a new world with a cast of characters that grow with you during a month of hectic composition.\nA benefit of revisiting morning pages is that I already have a loose habit of writing in the morning. Sure, it\u0026rsquo;s a stream of consciousness, but I\u0026rsquo;ve made that time available.\nAnd here\u0026rsquo;s the other thing: attempting it in November doesn\u0026rsquo;t stop me from focusing on writing again in February. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll start another new project—they\u0026rsquo;re fun and exciting and full of potential!—or maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll finally sit down and seriously tackle editing and rewriting my promising beginnings. This is a hobby; I do it for fun. None of this matters except insofar as I find it engaging and fulfilling.\nSo, let\u0026rsquo;s do NaNoWriMo again. You can find my progress on my NaNoWriMo page, per usual.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-nanowrimo-plan/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eNaNoWriMo, the organization, is on the ropes, or perhaps entirely dead, after a change in focus and an AI-related public relations snafu. None of that affects my plan for participating in the core of the event: writing at least 50,000 words in a month.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI initially wrote this post with the intention of delaying NaNoWriMo until February. This November will be hectic: I\u0026rsquo;m transitioning roles at work, we have visitors for two long weekends, followed immediately by a trip home for Thanksgiving. The likelihood that I will write 50,000 cohesive words in November is slim.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My 2025 NaNoWriMo Plan"},{"content":"This month\u0026rsquo;s expedition took Erin and me to Boston for a conference she was attending. While the highlight of the trip was getting to spend time with our friends from San Francisco, that\u0026rsquo;s what we call out of scope. I\u0026rsquo;ll focus on what I loved while roaming around the city.\nSteeped in History\nWe didn\u0026rsquo;t actually visit the Boston Tea Party museum, but it\u0026rsquo;s impossible to avoid it while walking between the Seaport district we stayed in for the conference in southeast Boston, and Downtown Boston. The museum resides at the midpoint of the bridge between those two districts, and you can see a few old ships docked in the water.\nThis commitment to preserving and celebrating history was amazing to see throughout Boston. Historical landmarks and commemorative statues abound, with the Boston Commons and Public Garden being particularly rich starting points for any history buff. The city revels in its role in the American Revolution, and that through-line of celebrating important figures and living among the past while still moving forward was a fascinating juxtaposition I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen in any other city.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not only Revolutionary folks, either. There are statues and monuments commemorating notable people spanning the city\u0026rsquo;s entire history, including the twentieth century.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a plaque about the molasses flood.\nI let all this history wash over me as I roamed the streets (see below). I didn\u0026rsquo;t specifically follow the Freedom Trail or look up any additional information; not for lack of curiosity, but because it was fascinating to experience exactly what the city chose to display. When Erin and I return, we\u0026rsquo;ll make a point of seeing more, diving into the deep end, and trying to stay afloat amidst the waves of the past. But for this trip, letting Boston\u0026rsquo;s love of history envelop me and define how I viewed the city was the right move. That\u0026rsquo;s the benefit of knowing I\u0026rsquo;ll be back.\nThe Long and Winding Roads\nOld New England city roads are wacky. I thought Connecticut was bad, and then I saw what happens when all of our ridiculousness is compressed into a modern city.\nBoston is full of intersections that urban planning textbooks must show in a big red, slashed circle. They\u0026rsquo;re nonsensical. The traffic light patterns must have been the worst chore to set up, assigned to a woebegone intern from Emerson or Northeastern or MIT or Harvard or\u0026hellip; Someone new to Boston could never drive around there by dead reckoning because you can\u0026rsquo;t be entirely sure a given road will continue to go in a given direction.\nWalking, however, is a joy. Nonsensical intersections tend to form fun plazas: isles or peninsulas of sidewalk space taken over by food trucks or outdoor bars. Then, you\u0026rsquo;re suddenly squashed into half-sized paths full of construction, snaking your way through throngs of native Bostonians who walk pleasantly quickly and, when they choose to amble, tend to make room.\nI circumnavigated Downtown Boston on the first afternoon I took off work. The cobblestone thoroughfares with awesome split-level storefronts in old brick buildings just north of the Commons area were cozy. Aided by autumn and the remnants of a recent rainstorm, that mid-afternoon sun set every angle glistening. Even the financial district and other more corporate areas were worth stopping to awe at, aided by those haphazard street crossings that require each skyscraper to pose at jaunty angles.\nAll this exploration on a Wednesday afternoon let me focus on my only planned activity.\nMonstah Mash\nFenway Park is fantastic for a tour. It contains a microcosm of both themes I noticed above: celebrating history and unusual thoroughfares. It\u0026rsquo;s the oldest active MLB stadium, with decades of momentous events and tributes to players preserved throughout. Its shape is wholly defined by its location in an asymmetric area of strange streets. Fenway is old and strange and charmingly outdated, but by gum, it\u0026rsquo;s Boston\u0026rsquo;s baseball stadium! They\u0026rsquo;re proud of it, and I\u0026rsquo;m happy to have seen it.\nTouring a stadium hardly counts as \u0026ldquo;visiting\u0026rdquo;, though. I need to see a baseball game there next year, ideally when my decimated Minnesota Twins are in town. Then I\u0026rsquo;ll have additional context for Fenway and what it means to the area, all the tidbits of trivia, and I can focus on the game experience rather than the stadium as an empty shell.\nOne aside: our tour guide forced us to lean into a heavy Boston \u0026ldquo;Monstah\u0026rdquo; yell before leading us to the seats atop the Green Monster, but disappointingly, she did not have a notable Boston accent. I only caught those from the crossing guards and traffic cops near the conference center.\nWicked\nMaybe I\u0026rsquo;m still an impressionable and optimistic young man, such that I\u0026rsquo;m awed by any big city. Toronto was fantastic, and I even pleasantly chuckled at the chaos of Times Square when Erin and I went to a Broadway show and dinner this weekend.\nYet, I left Boston knowing that the city is proud of its place in American history, that it will continue to revel in it and protect what that history means, and that it\u0026rsquo;s confident that others will appreciate how they present their earned importance. I\u0026rsquo;m thankful for that. I\u0026rsquo;m ready to visit again and see everything I didn\u0026rsquo;t make time for, or couldn\u0026rsquo;t see with Erin.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/boston/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis month\u0026rsquo;s expedition took Erin and me to Boston for a conference she was attending. While the highlight of the trip was getting to spend time with our friends from San Francisco, that\u0026rsquo;s what we call \u003cem\u003eout of scope\u003c/em\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;ll focus on what I loved while roaming around the city.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Boston!"},{"content":"I read three other books between the day I began Sophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice and when I completed it. It was among the strangest books I\u0026rsquo;ve read: it had moments of pure drudgery, of self-indulgence, of compelling storytelling, of discomfort, of confusion, of literary triumph. When I reached the moment of the titular choice, all my struggles through the purple prose and plodding details felt worthwhile. But at that moment of completion, I had no words to describe my experience. Only a few months later did my feelings, and this post\u0026rsquo;s title, coalesce.\nWilliam Styron\u0026rsquo;s style in Sophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice is so over the top that, if considered as satire, it could be a true comedic masterpiece. The book reads as a fantasy version of Styron\u0026rsquo;s own youth: a self-absorbed aspiring writer in New York meets a beautiful Polish Catholic who spent time in a concentration camp during World War II, along with her bipolar, drug-addled boyfriend. Various tales of drinking, sexual fantasy, and flashbacks from characters other than our sole narrator are described in impossible detail.\nThe book is a beautiful slog. It\u0026rsquo;s the written version of a show recommended by a friend, with the caveat that after the first two seasons, it gets really good. It\u0026rsquo;s a writer throwing the dictionary and thesaurus and hypothetical notes from decades of therapy he never attended, empowered by the immense security provided to a middle-aged white man working on a novel in the 1980s. It\u0026rsquo;s fascinating and frustrating in the ideas it seems to put forth, its explicit detail, its erudite and overdone diction, and the surprising success of the overall story despite everything that could inspire a frustrated reader to put down the book and never return.\nSophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice is a book worth reading and studying both for its content and for its context. It\u0026rsquo;s the work of a writer who appears to write with intention, yet that intention is crafting their ideal opus to win an award rather than to say something from within.\nI still don\u0026rsquo;t know whether I recommend this book, but it sure is one I\u0026rsquo;d love to take a class about, or listen to a panel of authors with a variety of backgrounds discuss it. I\u0026rsquo;ve since moved on to my usual stack of science fiction, but Sophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice was a worthwhile challenge that will stick with me.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/book-review-sophies-choice-is-oscar-bait/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI read three other books between the day I began \u003cem\u003eSophie\u0026rsquo;s Choice\u003c/em\u003e and when I completed it. It was among the strangest books I\u0026rsquo;ve read: it had moments of pure drudgery, of self-indulgence, of compelling storytelling, of discomfort, of confusion, of literary triumph. When I reached the moment of the titular choice, all my struggles through the purple prose and plodding details felt worthwhile. But at that moment of completion, I had no words to describe my experience. Only a few months later did my feelings, and this post\u0026rsquo;s title, coalesce.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Book Review: \"Sophie's Choice\" is Oscar Bait"},{"content":"While reading through the Springfield Daily Republican to investigate early baseball games, I found an opinion piece discussing naturalized citizenship in the United States. This paragraph stuck with me in light of the current administration. The emphasis partway through is mine.\nThe truth is that Mr. Cass and his party have receded from the doctrine always hitherto held by our government. The right of voluntary expatriation has always been the American doctrine. It is the true doctrine, for if there is any universally acknowledged civil right it is the right of each human being to choose his place of residence on the globe. This right is as unlimited as is the corresponding duty of each man to submit to the government and laws under which he has placed himself. When a foreigner becomes a citizen he is not admitted to half citizenship, but is wholly a citizen, endowed with all the rights, subject to all the liabilities and entitled to all the protection of a native born citizen. The constitution and laws make no distinction between the two classes, with the single exception that the president of the United States must be native born.\u0026quot;\nPeople have spent decades, centuries, sharing thoughts that remain salient for today. Additionally, no media is too poor to have good ideas, nor is any media too good to have poor ideas.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/an-1859-note-on-citizenship/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile reading through the \u003cem\u003eSpringfield Daily Republican\u003c/em\u003e to \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/amherst-wallops-williams-in-two-consecutive-years/\"\u003einvestigate early baseball games\u003c/a\u003e, I found an \u003ca href=\"https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-springfield-daily-republican-protect/182857649/\"\u003eopinion piece\u003c/a\u003e discussing naturalized citizenship in the United States. This paragraph stuck with me in light of the current administration. The emphasis partway through is mine.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe truth is that Mr. Cass and his party have receded from the doctrine always hitherto held by our government. The right of voluntary expatriation has always been the American doctrine. It is the true doctrine, for if there is any universally acknowledged civil right it is the right of each human being to choose his place of residence on the globe. This right is as unlimited as is the corresponding duty of each man to submit to the government and laws under which he has placed himself. \u003cstrong\u003eWhen a foreigner becomes a citizen he is not admitted to half citizenship, but is wholly a citizen, endowed with all the rights, subject to all the liabilities and entitled to all the protection of a native born citizen.\u003c/strong\u003e The constitution and laws make no distinction between the two classes, with the single exception that the president of the United States must be native born.\u0026quot;\u003c/p\u003e","title":"An 1859 Note on Citizenship"},{"content":"While the modern iteration of Amherst College\u0026rsquo;s baseball team is approaching three decades of minimal success in NCAA Division III, its origins date back over 165 years. That\u0026rsquo;s before John Smoltz was regularly announcing how much he hates baseball on national baseball broadcasts, before Nolan Ryan demonstrated the thrilling force of old man strength, before the Shot Heard Round the World, before the Iron Horse, before the Red Sox were cursed or Mordecai Brown lost the end of his index finger.\nThe team began before rules were consistent.1 Starting at 11 in the morning on the \u0026ldquo;cool, clear, and bracing\u0026rdquo;2 day of July 1, 1859, Amherst faced Williams in the first recorded \u0026ldquo;Base Ball\u0026rdquo; game between two colleges.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a small miracle that the report for the Daily Republican managed to track any statistics. They delightfully use \u0026ldquo;Tallies\u0026rdquo; instead of \u0026ldquo;Runs\u0026rdquo;, and a careful observer will note that the teams played 25 rounds or \u0026ldquo;innings\u0026rdquo;, with 24 outs attributed to various Amherst players and 26 to Williams. This Massachusetts Rules form of baseball was closer in construction to cricket given its lack of fair/foul distinction, and each inning requiring only a single out.3 Teams would play to an agreed-upon score; on that Friday, the target was 65.\nEach roster had 13 men, more similar again to cricket than modern baseball. Pierce, Boone, Hastings, Bush, Anderson: Their lineups read the same as any group of Major Leaguers playing in Boston before 1959.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s unclear who challenged whom or how the required score was determined, but after playing three and a half hours—a respectable time in 2015—Amherst handily defeated Williams, 73-32.4\nDid this light a fire beneath the feet of the Williams baseball team, at least the hodgepodge group that had been scrounged together to play against the famous Amherst club? Was this Williams team the original Mighty Ducks, the Cool Runnings of mid-Massachusetts antebellum collegiate baseball?\nAll you fans of Betteridge\u0026rsquo;s Law can guess what happened next: Amherst and Williams ran it back the following summer on July 4, 1860, and it was more of the same.5 Amherst won 70-39—a small improvement by Williams, and still a decisive victory for Amherst.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s not the end of the story. These two baseball games were, in fact, billed as twin events of baseball and chess! That\u0026rsquo;s right: in 1859, the Daily Republican reported that the only spectators on behalf of Amherst, outside of their own players, were their chess champions. Then, several newspapers that reported on their 1860 match, including the Daily Republican again,6 specifically call out the matchup as one of both baseball and chess. Surely, the Williams fans were more than pleased to earn the victory in chess in 1860 over baseball.\nPostscript\nThese historical explorations through the lens of local reporting are utterly fascinating. It\u0026rsquo;s exciting to discover insights through primary sources—tidbits like the use of \u0026ldquo;innings\u0026rdquo; and the outs-versus-innings comparison that suggested stronger connections to cricket than I would have expected—and then confirm and refine those findings from secondary articles. I found so much I could dig into while looking at the Springfield Daily Republic and Hartford Courant, and had a hard time focusing myself on this early instance of collegiate baseball.\nI\u0026rsquo;m more broadly satisfied by poking around Newspapers.com because I have the opportunity to read an article, see an advertisement, and otherwise experience a bit of work made by a real person that is, in the broad scheme of human creation, fleeting and likely to be lost to history in most meaningful ways. Our rate of creation has only increased, with LLMs putting a fine point on precisely how much humanity has made, and how precious human thought and work are.\nCreating is wonderful. I write this blog. I record podcasts. Very few people engage with either, but I keep at it each week because I find it valuable for myself. It\u0026rsquo;s nice to imagine some curious person off in the future stumbling across my work and, whether the content has a real impact, they may enjoy that minor act of discovery and recognize that they found something from a human; that there is some thread of kinship in the act of creation and subsequent preservation that has defined our sentience and ability to form culture for thousands of years.\nSo, you small-time reporters from the mid-1800s, I\u0026rsquo;m glad you went to those small-time baseball games and wrote a few paragraphs about them. I\u0026rsquo;m that much richer a person for having found your work.\nA note on the genesis of this post: On a train ride back from the Newark airport I searched for \u0026ldquo;Baseball\u0026rdquo; in the Hartford Courant archives on Newspapers.com, set my sights anywhere starting in 1839, and sorted by oldest available reference. Since 1839 is apocryphally considered the year when Abner Doubleday established the modern game of baseball, it\u0026rsquo;s a useful starting point for the search. But it took several more decades before there was standardization.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSpringfield Daily Republican, July 2, 1859.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nJames Overmeyer, \u0026ldquo;July 1, 1859: Baseball goes to college,\u0026rdquo; Society for American Baseball Research Games Project.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe Daily Republican reports that Williams scored 33 tallies, but all other articles I\u0026rsquo;ve read about this game give their total as 32.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHartford Courant, July 7, 1860.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSpringfield Daily Republican, July 6, 1860.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/amherst-wallops-williams-in-two-consecutive-years/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile the modern iteration of Amherst College\u0026rsquo;s baseball team is approaching three decades of minimal success in NCAA Division III, its origins date back over 165 years. That\u0026rsquo;s before John Smoltz was regularly announcing how much he hates baseball on national baseball broadcasts, before Nolan Ryan demonstrated the thrilling force of old man strength, before the Shot Heard Round the World, before the Iron Horse, before the Red Sox were cursed or Mordecai Brown lost the end of his index finger.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team began before rules were consistent.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e Starting at 11 in the morning on the \u0026ldquo;cool, clear, and bracing\u0026rdquo;\u003csup id=\"fnref:2\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:2\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e day of July 1, 1859, Amherst faced Williams in the first recorded \u0026ldquo;Base Ball\u0026rdquo; game between two colleges.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Amherst Wallops Williams in Two Consecutive Years"},{"content":"My several-year-long nerd snipe has comprised inspecting the inspection certificate in every elevator I enter. Who watches the watchers? I do. I focused on Connecticut legislation throughout this, though I expect the broad strokes are similar in many states.\nWe begin with a delightful article by Thomas E. Murphy in the Hartford Courant from September 1941.1 Its opening paragraph is an absolute treat.\nLiterally hundreds of thousands of Connecticut citizens are going up every day—using the safest form of transportation known to man, in defiance of all the laws of gravity, with comfort and only an occasional slight queasiness at the stomach—to indicate they have left the good earth.\nI mean, c\u0026rsquo;mon. Quaint and charming, it sounds like the opening narration to a brief documentary given in that mercurial Mid-Atlantic accent. Go ahead and read the rest of it—I\u0026rsquo;ll wait.\nIf you didn\u0026rsquo;t notice the catnip to an elevator certificate enthusiast such as myself, I\u0026rsquo;ll highlight it here:\nOne of the reasons why it\u0026rsquo;s safe is indicated on the little card you see attached to the back of every elevator you travel in. We say \u0026ldquo;every\u0026rdquo; elevator, because if that little card isn\u0026rsquo;t there, the elevator doesn\u0026rsquo;t travel—no, sir, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t.\nMaybe this was more easily enforced when we still had elevator operators2 or a sufficient number of infrastructure inspectors.\nA few paragraphs later, Mr. Murphy mentions the \u0026ldquo;elevator law which was passed in 1940.\u0026rdquo; I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find this legislation directly in any Connecticut archives, but it is referenced in several newspapers across Connecticut during the summer of 1939, rather than 1940. In the Hartford Courant again, they reported that the requirement for state elevator permits went into effect on July 1, 1939.\nDigging further, I was interested to learn about the process of installing a new elevator. A 1947 bill required elevator installers to pass a licensure test given by a new state commission. At the time, an initial license cost five dollars (about $72.60 today) and subsequent annual renewals were one dollar (about $14.50 today).\nEighty years on, and the situation hasn\u0026rsquo;t changed much. To get licensed to work on an elevator today, an independent contractor pays $150 for both their initial application and annual renewal; a journeyperson—someone who is employed by a contractor—pays $90 and renews for $120. While that\u0026rsquo;s nearly a ten-times equivalent increase, in the broader context, those fees appear reasonable.\nThe nitty-gritty of elevator construction approval contains a phrase I always thought was satirical:\n[\u0026hellip;the details and specifications\u0026hellip;] have been submitted in triplicate to the department for approval.\nTriplicate it is.\nProcessing those plans and gaining the anticipated approval will run the interested party two hundred and fifty dollars per elevator.\nI assumed inspections were annual. According to the history within the official regulations linked above, they were once as infrequent as every two years. Can you imagine how terrifying riding such a thoroughly ignored elevator would be? Luckily, Connecticut has reigned in its laissez-faire approach to safety and landed on an eighteen-month cycle.\nProprietors, be thoroughly warned: your first violation of either the inspection requirement or your duty to maintain the elevator will run you up to $250. That\u0026rsquo;s the cost of applying for another elevator! The gall! If you do it again, you\u0026rsquo;re in line for a class B misdemeanor—a penalty of up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.\nUnsurprisingly, elevators are a largely settled technology. The core safety mechanisms have existed for nearly a century, and the bureaucratic machine for approval and inspection has followed in lockstep. Most legislative updates have either clarified the international safety standards one must follow or updated the fees and penalties with the times.3 I\u0026rsquo;ll look out for those eighteen-month expirations on certificates. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll request specifications in triplicate for my favorite elevators around New Haven.\nMy thanks to Cory Wong for inspiring the title of this article.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s easy to joke about the state of the world at that time as the Courant publishes an article about elevators. I appreciate that my local newspaper still has relevant area news and interesting reporting on random topics. I\u0026rsquo;m sure this paper\u0026rsquo;s subscribers did, too.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt\u0026rsquo;s easy to make light of this job. This article from 1941 does the same, saying that all they do is push a button and, _voil_à, off the elevator goes.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFunny how those can change somewhat more quickly than wages. Just\u0026hellip; funny. Hah.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/elevator-info-for-an-elevated-mood/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy several-year-long \u003ca href=\"https://xkcd.com/356/\"\u003enerd snipe\u003c/a\u003e has comprised inspecting the inspection certificate in every elevator I enter. Who watches the watchers? I do. I focused on Connecticut legislation throughout this, though I expect the broad strokes are similar in many states.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Elevator Info for an Elevated Mood"},{"content":"This has been a hectic month, and I need more time to finish some planned posts. So, I\u0026rsquo;ll fall back on that old crutch of using this blog as a limited journal of a few notable events.\nPizza\nErin and I participated in New Haven\u0026rsquo;s record-breaking pizza party. We were two of the proud 4,525 people who ate two (small) slices of pizza and drank eight ounces of water in the generous span of fifteen minutes. We then walked around and enjoyed the festival: I tried Sally\u0026rsquo;s for the first time, had a cannoli, drank some local beer, and received a promotional 10\u0026quot; pizza box for the effort.\nThe Onion\nI recently subscribed to the paper edition of The Onion. I still maintain my New Haven Register subscription, but considering recent events, supporting an independent comedy venture (that doubles surprisingly well as a base level of news literacy) is important. I\u0026rsquo;ve adored The Onion since early in high school and am happy to help keep it running.\nCooperstown\nI visited Cooperstown this weekend to play baseball with a group of sandlot teams from Connecticut, New York, and New Hampshire. It was idyllic.\nI also roamed around the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The exhibits were fantastic, full of details and displays and memorabilia. I was awed by the plaque gallery and enjoyed reading dozens of biographies spanning the last century.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/miscellany-from-september-2025/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis has been a hectic month, and I need more time to finish some planned posts. So, I\u0026rsquo;ll fall back on that old crutch of using this blog as a limited journal of a few notable events.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePizza\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErin and I participated in New Haven\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/new-haven-largest-pizza-party-guinness-record-21042674.php\"\u003erecord-breaking pizza party\u003c/a\u003e. We were two of the proud 4,525 people who ate two (small) slices of pizza and drank eight ounces of water in the generous span of fifteen minutes. We then walked around and enjoyed the festival: I tried Sally\u0026rsquo;s for the first time, had a cannoli, drank some local beer, and received a promotional 10\u0026quot; pizza box for the effort.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Miscellany from September 2025"},{"content":"We spent a long weekend in Toronto, and much like our trip to New Mexico, I\u0026rsquo;m not sure that I\u0026rsquo;m capable of fully sharing that experience in words. Unlike the trip to New Mexico, I\u0026rsquo;m going to give it a shot.\nToronto was wonderful. We spent time with friends and saw a good cross-section of the city. It\u0026rsquo;s a beautiful, walkable, navigable place. The University campus near Spadina is superb—a fun mix of old, sprawling stone and modern, utilitarian buildings. Philosopher\u0026rsquo;s Walk was precisely the kind of quiet thoroughfare I appreciate. Their large plaza (or mall, as we often call it in American universities) is a stunning feature. It\u0026rsquo;s difficult to imagine that space when it was a street laden with cars only a few years ago.\nI\u0026rsquo;m already excited to return at some point in the future. There\u0026rsquo;s so much more I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen, and Toronto is a big city I can understand and appreciate. Perhaps part of it is I had no expectations: it\u0026rsquo;s not like visiting New York City or Chicago or Los Angeles, these important concentrated pockets of American urbanism that carry cultural baggage or anticipation that can make or break a first impression. I knew very little about Toronto, so I could take it exactly as it was: a modern Canadian city that felt welcoming with its fun variety of high-rise architecture, its offsite green space on the Islands, its bustling assortment of cultures and cuisines both concentrated on ethnic \u0026ldquo;towns\u0026rdquo; and also smushed beautifully together on certain dense streets full of pedestrians happy to be out and about.\nMy time in San Francisco trained me to fearlessly roam around a city in the morning, enjoying the relative peace so I can observe the storefronts and residences. Then I had the benefit of two well-seasoned guides to lead us to fun, interesting spots. It was great.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll happily return as soon as I can, eager to explore the western reaches we largely ignored, dine at a few new restaurants, and ideally see a Blue Jays game.1\nThat was our original plan for this trip, except I booked all our nonrefundable travel for the wrong weekend. It all worked out.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/toronto/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe spent a long weekend in Toronto, and much like our trip to New Mexico, I\u0026rsquo;m not sure that I\u0026rsquo;m capable of fully sharing that experience in words. Unlike the trip to New Mexico, I\u0026rsquo;m going to give it a shot.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Toronto"},{"content":"Enjoy these brief scenes featuring Artemis Diehl, an American businessman renowned the world over.\nArtemis Diehl Hosts Dinner\nThank you very much. I appreciate it. Very nice. Sit down, please. Beautiful hats.1\nHerby was late for dinner.\nMr. Diehl would not accept an excuse, a reason, a deflection, a scapegoat, or an admission of guilt. Herby spent the rest of his interminable cab ride through the city alternately considering that Greek asshole Zeno, and what he could say to Mr. Diehl upon arrival.\nThere was only ever one option. It always worked. Sometimes. It came down to presentation and confidence. Herby was prepared, except insofar as he wasn\u0026rsquo;t at all.\nA lone knock was met with no response. Expected. Herby opened the door and walked into the foyer. Although Mr. Diehl was nowhere in sight, he heard the faint echo of irregular pacing. It was a trick of the mind. Maybe. The large clock ticked, ticked, ticked away. He straightened his tie with his free hand as he walked down the hallway and to the left.\n\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m sorry to be so late, Mr. Diehl.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Harumph.\u0026rdquo;\nMr. Diehl had a habit of saying the word Harumph rather then harumphing properly.\nHerby proceeded with caution. He walked around the table until he suspected he was creeping into view of Mr. Diehl\u0026rsquo;s peripheral vision. Mr. Diehl did not avert his gaze or move his chair to avoid visual contact. That was a good sign.\nHerby began speaking once he knew his voice wouldn\u0026rsquo;t crack. \u0026ldquo;Mr. Diehl, I brought something I thought would pair excellently with tonight\u0026rsquo;s meal.\u0026rdquo; He placed the two-liter bottle of Diet Diehl on the table.\n\u0026ldquo;By the way,\u0026rdquo; Herby said as he poured a glass for Mr. Diehl, \u0026ldquo;I adore this hat. Thank you so much for recommending me to John. He helped me select it at the haberdashery.\u0026rdquo;\nHerby sat at the table—confidence!—and looked at the plate of chicken. \u0026ldquo;Oh sir, I\u0026rsquo;ve been looking forward to these Diehl Wings all afternoon. Being late to eat these is second in my loathing only to having made you wait for me.\u0026rdquo;\nHerby glanced over to Mr. Diehl\u0026rsquo;s plate of bird bones. His stomach sank.\nMr. Diehl raised his glass of cola towards Herby and grinned. Sneered? It was never easy to tell. \u0026ldquo;John\u0026rsquo;s a beautiful man, the best man. He never makes me wait, and I never wait for him.\u0026rdquo;\nArtemis Diehl Reads the Newspaper\nLittle Barry Diller\u0026hellip;only writes badly about me. He is a sad and pathetic figure.2\n\u0026ldquo;Herby! Bring me the Gazette. The Tribune is full of a bunch of brainy boop-bop \u0026lsquo;journalists\u0026rsquo; who\u0026rsquo;ve never seen the real world before.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Right away, sir!\u0026rdquo;\nArtemis Diehl glared at the copy of the Tribune on his desk. The headline in Section C, Business, was \u0026ldquo;Diehl Dips on Deal\u0026rdquo;. Its byline was the Barry Diller.\nArtemis grabbed the paper and tore it in two. At least, he attempted to do so. It was a rather ragged job.\nArtemis Diehl Answers a Direct Question\nI spoke to him last night. I never met him. I never spoke to him. I\u0026rsquo;m very happy with him.3\nHerby gestured to Sarah Jennings from the Gazette. \u0026ldquo;Yes, Ms. Jennings?\u0026rdquo;\nShe stood, assured in her immediate role as a reporter with the Gazette, knowing everyone assembled was prepared for her to curry favor with Artemis Diehl. \u0026ldquo;My question is for Mr. Diehl. How do you respond to the allegations that your office underpays, or at times entirely fails to pay, its management and laborers?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Sarah, that\u0026rsquo;s a very mean question,\u0026rdquo; Mr. Diehl said. He waggled his finger at her before opening his arms to the crowd. \u0026ldquo;Isn\u0026rsquo;t that rude? I invite her here in this gorgeous, tremendous ballroom—really, I can\u0026rsquo;t believe we\u0026rsquo;re here, except that I paid for it; it\u0026rsquo;s almost as big as mine! You can print that—and she asks a mean, rude question like that? Allegations? What a big word for the Gazette. I haven\u0026rsquo;t heard anyone allegate anything to me, unless you\u0026rsquo;re doing that now, Sarah? It\u0026rsquo;s mean. We\u0026rsquo;re here under these tremendous lights, chandeliers—covered in gold, they told me—and I\u0026rsquo;m being allegated against.\u0026rdquo;\nArtemis Diehl Pays His Bills\nI think it\u0026rsquo;s a shame that we\u0026rsquo;ve had a deal like that and that we had to sign a deal like that and there was no reason to do it and if you\u0026rsquo;re going to do it, have a good deal.4\nHerby looked at the stack of unpaid invoices. He spoke to the man hidden by the pile. \u0026ldquo;Sir, shall I handle them in the usual manner?\u0026rdquo;\nNothing.\nHerby cautiously peeked his head around the pile. Mr. Diehl did not meet his gaze, but gave a furtive nod before spinning in his chair to face the window. Herby collected the papers and walked across the room. He opened the sleek metal drawer and deposited the lot into the incinerator.\nMay 1, 2017, Remarks to the Independent Community Bankers Association\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOctober 10, 2015, Twitter\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSeptember 27, 2017, Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFebruary 3, 2017, Interview with Bill O\u0026rsquo;Reilly of Fox News\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-life-and-times-of-artemis-diehl/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEnjoy these brief scenes featuring Artemis Diehl, an American businessman renowned the world over.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Life and Times of Artemis Diehl"},{"content":"Mark Armour has worked on his Satchel Paige Project for a few years. It\u0026rsquo;s an amazing feat of historical research about one of the most enigmatic characters and players in baseball history. It\u0026rsquo;s worth looking through regardless of your overall interest in baseball.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;d like to hear a good conversation about the project, I suggest listening to episode 2352 of Effectively Wild, which is how I first learned about this work.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/satchel-paige-project/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMark Armour has worked on his \u003ca href=\"https://marklaurencearmour.wordpress.com/2084-2/\"\u003eSatchel Paige Project\u003c/a\u003e for a few years. It\u0026rsquo;s an amazing feat of historical research about one of the most enigmatic characters and players in baseball history. It\u0026rsquo;s worth looking through regardless of your overall interest in baseball.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you\u0026rsquo;d like to hear a good conversation about the project, I suggest listening to \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.fangraphs.com/effectively-wild-episode-2352-turn-every-paige/\"\u003eepisode 2352 of Effectively Wild\u003c/a\u003e, which is how I first learned about this work.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Satchel Paige Project"},{"content":"Stephen Hackett at 512 Pixels:\nSeptember is around the corner, and that means our campaign to raise money for St. Jude is back!\nI\u0026rsquo;ve listened to Relay shows for years, and I\u0026rsquo;m always excited about and proud to nominally participate in their fundraising campaign for St. Jude each year. I\u0026rsquo;m one audience member who gives what he can, but I know every little bit makes a difference.\nWhether you care about podcasts or this podcast network in particular, supporting the resesarch and medical care that St. Jude provides for pediatric cancer is important. I\u0026rsquo;m a regular donor to a few organizations but St. Jude is my largest recipient, partially because of what they do, and partially because it\u0026rsquo;s thrilling to be part of a community joining together to do amazing work. The Relay network isn\u0026rsquo;t huge, but its generous and wonderful community members make an outsized impact.\nThis is my small way of spreading the word.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/relay-for-st-jude-2025/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://relay.experience.stjude.org\"\u003eStephen Hackett at 512 Pixels\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeptember is around the corner, and that means \u003ca href=\"https://relay.experience.stjude.org/\"\u003eour campaign to raise money for St. Jude is back\u003c/a\u003e!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve listened to Relay shows for years, and I\u0026rsquo;m always excited about and proud to nominally participate in their fundraising campaign for St. Jude each year. I\u0026rsquo;m one audience member who gives what he can, but I know every little bit makes a difference.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you care about podcasts or this podcast network in particular, supporting the resesarch and medical care that St. Jude provides for pediatric cancer is important. I\u0026rsquo;m a regular donor to a few organizations but St. Jude is my largest recipient, partially because of what they do, and partially because it\u0026rsquo;s thrilling to be part of a community joining together to do amazing work. The Relay network isn\u0026rsquo;t \u003cem\u003ehuge\u003c/em\u003e, but its generous and wonderful community members make an outsized impact.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Relay for St. Jude 2025"},{"content":"I have a work trip to San Diego and all my other blog post ideas need more time, so here\u0026rsquo;s a quick list of my favorite tech media. I stick with these outlets for their staunch commitment to quality and independence; they\u0026rsquo;re all owned and run by excellent people with that ineffable and intangible quality of taste.\nThese lists aren\u0026rsquo;t in any particular order.\nWebsites\nDaring Fireball 512 Pixels The Verge Six Colors Podcasts\nUpgrade Connected ATP (Accidental Tech Podcast) Downstream ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-favorite-tech-media/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI have a work trip to San Diego and all my other blog post ideas need more time, so here\u0026rsquo;s a quick list of my favorite tech media. I stick with these outlets for their staunch commitment to quality and independence; they\u0026rsquo;re all owned and run by excellent people with that ineffable and intangible quality of \u003cem\u003etaste\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese lists aren\u0026rsquo;t in any particular order.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWebsites\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://daringfireball.net\"\u003eDaring Fireball\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://512pixels.net\"\u003e512 Pixels\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com\"\u003eThe Verge\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://sixcolors.com\"\u003eSix Colors\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePodcasts\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My Favorite Tech Media"},{"content":"And it\u0026rsquo;s a potentially positive identity crisis.\nThroughout college, I ran two Turkey Trots in St. Paul, and two Goldy\u0026rsquo;s Runs at the UMN Twin Cities campus. None of those 5K races were completed without pauses to walk, and I don\u0026rsquo;t believe any of them were finished in faster than 35 minutes. I played baseball, which famously doesn\u0026rsquo;t involve much beyond sprinting. I never thought I\u0026rsquo;d catch this particular fitness bug.\nA couple of weeks ago, I ran a sub-30 minute 5K in my neighborhood. Last Friday, I ran 5 miles on 0.75-mile intervals, with some walking between them. Running has materialized as the next addition to my Year of Fitness, stacking onto my workouts in Fitbod and coinciding with a diet shift that\u0026rsquo;s proven to be successful.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve toyed with running on and off over the years. I spent several months in San Francisco grinding out 20 or 25 minutes on a treadmill at the university gym. It was fine. Uninspired. Boring. It never stuck.\nSince committing to running outside and using interval training on my Garmin watch two months ago, I\u0026rsquo;ve made incredible strides1 in my running ability. The ensuing success required two mental adjustments:\nI can focus solely on my running and not compare it to others.\nI already walk thousands of steps each day. Why not earn some of them while running?\nI no longer conceive of one mile as the longest feasible distance to run without stopping, and I look forward to my lunchtime jogs as much as I ever desired my lunchtime walks over the years. Running is no longer a terrible burden. Instead, it\u0026rsquo;s a great solo activity that helps my day feel complete.\nI have no ambitions for running. I\u0026rsquo;m not attempting to train for a race of any particular length, besides an informal one-mile trial against my sisters that we\u0026rsquo;ve often discussed. Three or four times each week, I check how I\u0026rsquo;m feeling and decide what kind of running workout to attack: long intervals at a slower pace, or short intervals at a fast pace. I\u0026rsquo;m confident I can do either combination for at least 3 miles.\nRunning has, most importantly, opened up my own self-conception to believe in what\u0026rsquo;s possible with dogged determination. By competing against myself and seeing tangible improvement, I\u0026rsquo;m encouraged to keep going. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t consider myself a runner quite yet—we\u0026rsquo;ll see how I handle winter—but it\u0026rsquo;s become a focal point of my 2025 theme, and that will keep it around for a while.\nHah, puns.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/i-might-be-a-runner/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAnd it\u0026rsquo;s a potentially positive identity crisis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout college, I ran two Turkey Trots in St. Paul, and two Goldy\u0026rsquo;s Runs at the UMN Twin Cities campus. None of those 5K races were completed without pauses to walk, and I don\u0026rsquo;t believe any of them were finished in faster than 35 minutes. I played baseball, which famously doesn\u0026rsquo;t involve much beyond sprinting. I never thought I\u0026rsquo;d catch this particular fitness bug.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I Might Be a Runner?"},{"content":"I nearly made an omelet.1\nOmelets are simple and almost unattainable. I last made one two weeks ago while attempting scrambled eggs. Is there a metaphor in there?\nI cut up two bacon strips, half a green bell pepper, and bits of onion from a baggie in the fridge. I did not wear goggles. I cooked the bacon first, then mixed in the veggies to sauté for a few minutes. This was all done in my trusty fifteen-dollar medium nonstick pan, which, naturally, was also where I wanted to cook the eggs. So, I transferred the filling into a separate pan on low heat, added a bit of oil to the main pan since much of the bacon grease had gone with the bacon, and poured in the eggs.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve since identified three issues.\nFirst, our current eggs are larger than we\u0026rsquo;ve had. I added my normal splash of milk before whisking the eggs but had a nagging thought that there was a smidge too much egg.\nSecond, I used the back-left burner for the eggs when I always use the front-left. The former is the second-largest burner on our gas range. I didn\u0026rsquo;t sufficiently adjust the heat. Instead of a uniformly pleasing eggy yellow one would expect in a diner or cafe of any price range, I had a slightly overcooked exterior with a vaguely gelatinous interior.\nEven so, I tossed my mix-ins and a torn-up piece of white American cheese—an East coast delicacy with a strikingly dissimilar look to orange plastic—onto the left half and carefully folded the egg over.\nIt didn\u0026rsquo;t break. Hope sprang eternal.\nI then agonized several seconds too long over transferring this newly-christened omelet to my plate. The eggs cooked. I didn\u0026rsquo;t use my spatula to ease it off the pan. The eggs cooked. I committed to a flip.\nI\u0026rsquo;d appreciate it if you paused to gather a minuscule violin and a box of tissues.\nBits of egg stuck to the pan as the flip became a flop.\nA rend in the top of this would-be omelet matched the newest scar on my heart as I failed to honor the memory of these two eggs. But I didn\u0026rsquo;t let my inadequacy ruin my enjoyment. It was omelet enough for me and I ate it as such. Paired with homemade bread and jam the meal was delightful.\nOh, the third issue: I was cooking before 6AM on five hours of sleep. The world isn\u0026rsquo;t ready for the breakfast I would make with a full night\u0026rsquo;s rest.\nThis post is excerpted from a letter I wrote to a friend on a whim.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/omelet/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI nearly made an omelet.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOmelets are simple and almost unattainable. I last made one two weeks ago while attempting scrambled eggs. Is there a metaphor in there?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI cut up two bacon strips, half a green bell pepper, and bits of onion from a baggie in the fridge. I did not wear goggles. I cooked the bacon first, then mixed in the veggies to sauté for a few minutes. This was all done in my trusty fifteen-dollar medium nonstick pan, which, naturally, was also where I wanted to cook the eggs. So, I transferred the filling into a separate pan on low heat, added a bit of oil to the main pan since much of the bacon grease had gone with the bacon, and poured in the eggs.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Omelet"},{"content":"Each time I commit to sharing my writing process, I jinx myself to undergo a radical change within a month. Yet, my hubris tells me that this update is different.\nThe Text Editor\nThe most notable change: I\u0026rsquo;ve returned to Ulysses.\nDespite my initial hope that Dropbox sync had been resolved in iA Writer on iPad, the new API they\u0026rsquo;re forced to use is frustratingly inadequate. I could either keep trudging along with different tools on every device, none of which made me entirely happy, or give Ulysses another honest try and see how I enjoy it.\nI forgot what I\u0026rsquo;d been missing.\nUlysses handles Dropbox files better than I recall across all devices. Dropbox is not its preferred storage and organization option, so I\u0026rsquo;ve switched to writing and publishing all my drafts in the native Ulysses library that relies on iCloud. I then export each final draft to Dropbox. My previous uneasiness about file syncing reliability across devices is unfounded so far. Ulysses has been solid, and committing to its approach lets me benefit from its additions to Markdown: comments, annotations, notes, simple image insertion, and native publishing to Wordpress.1\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been a treat to use. I\u0026rsquo;ve found new editor themes, including one that matches iA Writer\u0026rsquo;s simplicity. There\u0026rsquo;s no futzing around when I switch between my laptop, iPad, and phone. It feels the same on each platform, with small changes that increase its usability for each format.\nUlysses has an intangible quality that makes me want to write. I\u0026rsquo;ve used it for all my personal writing during the past few months and the desire to write in the app each day hasn\u0026rsquo;t dissipated.\nEditing and Refining\nMy approach to rewriting and editing fluctuates, but a few tools have been consistent companions in the process this year.\nTerminology is a word reference app, or, as its developers say, a browser for the English language. A dictionary at its core, the word-level page has a customizable set of shortcuts to explore further. I have my shortcuts set to:\nWikipedia\nOxford English Dictionary\nEtymonline\nGreen\u0026rsquo;s Dictionary of Slang\nThesaurus.com\nNew prompt in Claude using the form \u0026ldquo;Define: word\u0026rdquo;\nSelecting a shortcut opens the word in the relevant reference. Its ability to facilitate exploring all facets of a word so I can iterate on my diction makes it invaluable to my writing process. I\u0026rsquo;ve installed it on all my devices.\nAs implied above, I use Claude for additional word definitions. It\u0026rsquo;s also an excellent tip-of-my-tongue reverse thesaurus: I verbosely describe the word or short phrase that is escaping me, and Claude almost always uncovers precisely what I want. I\u0026rsquo;ve occasionally fed it entire posts to solicit feedback, but those results are spotty. So, LLMs remain a writing tool I steadfastly use only to support my style and diction.\nI also use Grammarly for final proof-reading assistance. I focus almost exclusively on what it spots as errors: misspelled words, verb-tense disagreement, awful comma usage. Its style, even with the provided options to adjust tone, audience, and purpose, is overly prescriptive so I\u0026rsquo;m more suspicious of any color that isn\u0026rsquo;t red in its review. I dislike its aggressive browser plug-in and desktop app that insists on highlighting my writing in the moment. So, I only use the Grammarly browser application where I paste in my writing, edit according to its suggestions, and paste back to my original document.\nA New Approach\nMany short-form nonfiction writers suggest reading one\u0026rsquo;s work aloud to capture flow and more easily spot errors. It\u0026rsquo;s a good idea.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t read my work aloud.\nI could get over myself, but instead I\u0026rsquo;m using technology to help. I built a shortcut that runs Apple\u0026rsquo;s native text-to-speech engine on any exported text. Then, I can listen to a computer-generated voice speak my post—including full URLs—while I read along. It\u0026rsquo;s not perfect, but I recently learned you can install higher-quality voice models that vastly improve upon the default options. For long or complicated posts, it\u0026rsquo;s been a useful tool to catch both silly mistakes and identify my writing\u0026rsquo;s flow.\nHubris\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t distracted myself from writing by accumulating these apps or refining my process. Instead, each new tool has been additive. I\u0026rsquo;ve lately focused on the style, mechanics, and concision of my writing (when appropriate). I\u0026rsquo;ve developed a rough flow that gets out of my way when I need to get words on a page, but supports me when it\u0026rsquo;s time to tear those words apart. I\u0026rsquo;ve no doubt more tweaks will crest the horizon, but I see no gaps, no points of discomfort. It\u0026rsquo;s all humming along and the blame for an uninteresting bit of writing lays solely at my feet.\nBecause I use a few weird Wordpress add-ons I still use the editor on my blog to dot some i\u0026rsquo;s and cross some t\u0026rsquo;s, but it\u0026rsquo;s slick to initiate publishing from Ulysses.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/summer-2025-writing-process-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEach time I commit to sharing my writing process, I jinx myself to undergo a radical change within a month. Yet, my hubris tells me that this update is different.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Summer 2025 Writing Process Update"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m a certified card guy. A notable greeting card enthusiast. A frequent mail-based correspondent. I think Bob at my local post office recognizes me.\nI purchase two or three birthday cards from my local grocery and drug stores each month, and I don\u0026rsquo;t cut corners. I am steadfastly selective. Below are my card criteria I recommend everyone use to ensure a meaningful choice, and to encourage card manufacturers to improve their options.\nAny card you buy must, upon first read, elicit an audible laugh or a shrug. If you anticipate the card\u0026rsquo;s punchline, it\u0026rsquo;s not funny enough. Avoid crude humor unless the recipient regularly tells and enjoys such jokes. Singing cards are an intruding embarrassment, unless you\u0026rsquo;re confident the recipient finds them charming. Select cards with no more than two sentences of text in the interior. One sentence is preferred. The only exception is if it\u0026rsquo;s tremendously funny. When in doubt, choose a card that plainly states the occasion on the outside and lacks inside text altogether. If you find a card that would be ideal for a particular person in the future, buy it. Happy shopping.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/surviving-the-card-aisle/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m a certified card guy. A notable greeting card enthusiast. A frequent mail-based correspondent. I think Bob at my local post office recognizes me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI purchase two or three birthday cards from my local grocery and drug stores each month, and I don\u0026rsquo;t cut corners. I am steadfastly selective. Below are my card criteria I recommend everyone use to ensure a meaningful choice, and to encourage card manufacturers to improve their options.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Surviving the Card Aisle"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve played hundreds of hours of Mario Kart 8 on the Nintendo Switch,1 and though I don\u0026rsquo;t fancy myself a leading expert on the game—I\u0026rsquo;m still short of my 10,000 hours—one picks up a thing or two after seven years of gameplay.\nI bought the Nintendo Switch 2 to play Mario Kart World and have played a few hours in both solo and split-screen modes. I\u0026rsquo;m conflicted by their new take on the original Grand Prix while remaining intrigued by the new Knockout Tour option, and I\u0026rsquo;m too afraid of my free time to dive into Open Roam. Since I\u0026rsquo;ve spent most of my time with traditional Grand Prix races, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus my thoughts on them.\nSports get chaotic when you double the number of players: Too many big guys and gals shuffling their feet around a basketball court. A convoluted web of criss-crossing plays on a football field. Hockey is difficult enough to follow without more bodies blocking a view of the puck. And tennis\u0026hellip; well, doubles exists but quadruples is asking for trouble.\nTry making such a change, and you\u0026rsquo;re faced with two choices: handle the new calamity of concussions—I suggest asking Roger Goodell for his playbook—or increase the size of the field. You, my considerate reader, will take the safe route. Now you\u0026rsquo;re trying to double the size of Madison Square Garden. Woof. In this economy?\nIndeed! Luckily for Nintendo, the rates on waterfront real estate at Koopa Troopa Beach are eminently reasonable. Hopefully their insurance coverage is comprehensive, because doubling the number of drivers in each race from 12 to 24 will cause a commensurate increase in property damage. Interrogating precisely how Nintendo chose to deal with this self-inflicted change—sarcastic money talk aside—is paramount to understanding why I\u0026rsquo;m conflicted by this new Grand Prix setup.\nMario Kart item distribution creates a \u0026ldquo;rubber band effect\u0026rdquo; that makes racing uniquely enjoyable, accessible, and aggravating. Players in the bottom few places receive powerful items that can boost them several spots forward or wreak havoc on the entire field. Bullet Bills, Stars, and Golden Mushrooms comprise the currency of poor drivers. Meanwhile, the mean driver obtains a healthy mix of supplements—Shells of varying color, standard Mushrooms in ones and threes, perhaps a Boo Ghost or Squid—that aim to separate them from the pack. Moving up the ranks, the top driver is weaned off valuable items until they\u0026rsquo;re left only with enriching Bananas and actual currency—gold Coins—that stave off only the mildest attacks. An occasional Boom Box is offered and often taken away by a Ghost or Lightning Strike, and offers the only consistent defense against the dreaded Blue Shell.\nThis rubber band effect is known and accepted by all racers, and allows people with varying skills to play together while maintaining a sense of competition.2 However, doubling the number of drivers negatively impacts the perception of rubber banding.\nA larger racetrack—apologies to the lodges on the DK Pass that were relocated or demolished to accommodate the expansion!—doesn\u0026rsquo;t change that there are now twice as many items flittering and fluttering and spinning and slinging around the course on their way to broadside an unwary foe. That hefty middle of the pack is now easier to descend into and harder to fight past, and being in front doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel nearly as secure.\nNintendo seems to understand this problem—it\u0026rsquo;d be odd if they didn\u0026rsquo;t—and their only apparent solution is reducing the impact of certain items. Lightning Bolts now minimize whoever\u0026rsquo;s in first place for one second at most. Bananas and Shells send your driver tumbling forward rather than spinning in circles, making it appear easier to reenter the race. Hitting oncoming traffic that\u0026rsquo;s part of a course doesn\u0026rsquo;t automatically work as a \u0026ldquo;hit\u0026rdquo; either: in a Kart, you end up on two wheels and slightly lose control, but still essentially maintain momentum.\nThis is not a solution, yet it also doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter. That\u0026rsquo;s the key to my conflict. As a self-centered solo player, I feel uniquely attacked by this onslaught of items from my 23 opponents, rather than the 11 I\u0026rsquo;m used to. However, every other racer, computer or not, is similarly affected. They must also suffer the Shells and Axes of outrageous fortune, and use their items to take arms against a sea of troubles.\nA Mario Kart World Grand Prix is different than what I\u0026rsquo;m used to, but upon further reflection and playtime, I\u0026rsquo;m coming to peace with the changes. The game is still delightful with its stunning visuals and whimsical new items I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed using. The rail-ride and straight-line boost mechanics are good fodder for experimenting with racing efficiency. And perhaps once the joys of summer are past, I will take to the Open Roam.\nAn Aside on Course Design\nYou\u0026rsquo;ve been tasked with memorizing a pattern of colors lighting up a board. What\u0026rsquo;s easier: practicing a short pattern three times in a row, or practicing a longer pattern once, then waiting five minutes to try again?\nBy committing to an \u0026ldquo;Open World\u0026rdquo; concept, Mario Kart World has largely left behind the traditional concept of a course with a clear lap, perhaps with mild variation, that repeats. You know, how racing works? This makes it significantly more challenging to consistently win races, find efficient routes, and overall feel comfortable on a track because each Grand Prix has few repeated elements. Typically, the first course is traditional, the second and third courses are one long track, and the fourth course may have some repetition in the final laps.\nA Grand Prix takes several minutes. This gives a player one chance to learn a course thrice as long as what they\u0026rsquo;ve spent optimizing for across over 900 hours (for example). I don\u0026rsquo;t inherently begrudge the change, but it\u0026rsquo;s a notable shift in how I race. I spent hours seeking new routes, perfect routes, shaving key seconds off my lap time. I\u0026rsquo;ve no clue how this manifests in the Time Trial, but it\u0026rsquo;s rough in a Grand Prix.\nOver 910 hours.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re really good at Mario Kart, you can still win almost all the time. However, this effect helps inexperienced drivers not finish every race in last place.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mario-kart-world/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve played hundreds of hours of \u003cem\u003eMario Kart 8\u003c/em\u003e on the Nintendo Switch,\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and though I don\u0026rsquo;t fancy myself a leading expert on the game—I\u0026rsquo;m still short of my \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)\"\u003e10,000 hours\u003c/a\u003e—one picks up a thing or two after seven years of gameplay.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI bought the Nintendo Switch 2 to play \u003cem\u003eMario Kart World\u003c/em\u003e and have played a few hours in both solo and split-screen modes. I\u0026rsquo;m conflicted by their new take on the original Grand Prix while remaining intrigued by the new Knockout Tour option, and I\u0026rsquo;m too afraid of my free time to dive into Open Roam. Since I\u0026rsquo;ve spent most of my time with traditional Grand Prix races, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus my thoughts on them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mario Kart World"},{"content":"I discussed morning pages just over one year ago when I was one month into the practice and, as it turned out, one month away from dropping it. My last set of morning pages was July 27, 2024.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been in a creative rut over the last couple months, often writing blog posts last-minute, not making progress on other projects, and not even taking time to read consistently. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to pin down a cause but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I couldn\u0026rsquo;t try a treatment. I\u0026rsquo;ve written 1000 words of morning pages each day of the past week, having made two changes that I hope will help it stick.\nFirst, I created a simple shortcut on my phone, iPad, and MacBook that builds a new morning page sheet in Ulysses, requiring only a single tap (or click) to begin writing. This reduces any potential friction in the process and, by adding the shortcut to my home screens, keeps the process in mind immediately upon waking up. Even when I consciously choose to complete some or most of my morning puzzles first, I won\u0026rsquo;t push it back too far.\nSecond, I\u0026rsquo;m treating these morning pages as less of an additional journal and more of an exploration of my creative brain. I definitely get out thoughts related to recent events and day-to-day miscellany, but I want to treat morning pages as a space for my brain, unencumbered by a long day, to let loose and find elements of my creative voice that I\u0026rsquo;ve misplaced. I\u0026rsquo;m using to freely explore new blog post ideas, play with perspectives and literary devices to make them more engaging, more of what I want to read. Having a goal beyond mental decluttering has made the time feel more worthwhile without putting additional pressure on the concept.\nEven after a few days I can sense my brain is refreshed and excited to tackle projects old and new. A year was too long, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad I decided to restart regardless.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/revisiting-morning-pages/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/morning-pages/\"\u003ediscussed morning pages\u003c/a\u003e just over one year ago when I was one month into the practice and, as it turned out, one month away from dropping it. My last set of morning pages was July 27, 2024.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been in a creative rut over the last couple months, often writing blog posts last-minute, not making progress on other projects, and not even taking time to read consistently. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to pin down a cause but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I couldn\u0026rsquo;t try a treatment. I\u0026rsquo;ve written 1000 words of morning pages each day of the past week, having made two changes that I hope will help it stick.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Revisiting Morning Pages"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m fairly confident all Major League Baseball players have gotten bigger over time, but I specifically decided to use the newest version of the Lahman Baseball Database to look at the average weight of catchers by the decade in which they debuted. Their listed weights are static so we can\u0026rsquo;t be certain what their debut weights were, but we\u0026rsquo;re looking at large trends. I also required any catcher in the list to have caught at least 200 career games.\nDistributions of MLB catcher weights by debut decade, with averages and number of players inset.\nWe can also look only at the average weights per decade to get a clearer sense of the overall trend.\nAverage weights of MLB catchers by debut decade.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a pronounced increase in the 1940s and again in the 1990s through 2000s, the latter of which being when players started eating balanced breakfasts.\nTechnical Details\nI first ran this query in the Lahman Database loaded on my computer.\nWITH \u0026#34;catchers\u0026#34; AS ( SELECT People.playerID, People.nameFirst, People.nameLast, MAX(People.weight) AS \u0026#34;weight\u0026#34;, SUM(Appearances.G_c) AS \u0026#34;gamesCaught\u0026#34;, SUBSTRING(People.debut, 1, 4) AS \u0026#34;debutYear\u0026#34; FROM People LEFT JOIN Appearances ON Appearances.playerID = People.playerID WHERE Appearances.G_c \u0026amp;gt;= 10 AND People.weight \u0026amp;gt; 0 GROUP BY People.playerID, People.nameFirst, People.nameLast ORDER BY weight ) SELECT \u0026#34;playerID\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;nameFirst\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;nameLast\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;weight\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;gamesCaught\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;debutYear\u0026#34; FROM \u0026#34;catchers\u0026#34; WHERE \u0026#34;gamesCaught\u0026#34; \u0026amp;gt;= 200 ORDER BY \u0026#34;debutYear\u0026#34; I exported the resulting data as catchers.csv and used a Jupyter Notebook for the rest.\nimport matplotlib.pyplot as plt import seaborn as sns import numpy as np import pandas as pd from os import path DATA_DIR = \u0026#39;/Users/markrichard/Downloads\u0026#39; df = pd.read_csv(path.join(DATA_DIR, \u0026#39;catchers.csv\u0026#39;)) # Remove 2020 partial decade df = df[df[\u0026#39;Decade\u0026#39;] != 2020] ### MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS ### # Create base plot g = sns.displot(df, x=\u0026#39;weight\u0026#39;, kind=\u0026#39;kde\u0026#39;, col=\u0026#39;Decade\u0026#39;, col_wrap=3, fill=True, common_norm=False, aspect = 1.75) # Calculate and add average lines decade_stats = df.groupby(\u0026#39;Decade\u0026#39;)[\u0026#39;weight\u0026#39;].agg([\u0026#39;mean\u0026#39;, \u0026#39;count\u0026#39;]).round(1) for decade, ax in zip(g.col_names, g.axes.flat): if decade in decade_stats.index: mean_weight = decade_stats.loc[decade, \u0026#39;mean\u0026#39;] player_count = decade_stats.loc[decade, \u0026#39;count\u0026#39;] # Add vertical line at mean ax.axvline(mean_weight, color=\u0026#39;red\u0026#39;, linestyle=\u0026#39;--\u0026#39;, linewidth=2, alpha=0.8) # Add text annotation ax.text(0.02, 0.98, f\u0026#39;Avg: {mean_weight} lbs\\nN: {player_count}\u0026#39;, transform=ax.transAxes, verticalalignment=\u0026#39;top\u0026#39;, bbox=dict(boxstyle=\u0026#39;round,pad=0.3\u0026#39;, facecolor=\u0026#39;white\u0026#39;, alpha=0.8)) plt.tight_layout() plt.show() ### MAKE AVERAGES SCATTER PLOT ### plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6)) # Simple scatter with consistent sizing plt.scatter(decade_stats.index, decade_stats[\u0026#39;mean\u0026#39;], s=100, alpha=0.8, color=\u0026#39;steelblue\u0026#39;, edgecolors=\u0026#39;white\u0026#39;, linewidth=2) # Connect points with a line plt.plot(decade_stats.index, decade_stats[\u0026#39;mean\u0026#39;], color=\u0026#39;steelblue\u0026#39;, alpha=0.6, linewidth=2) # Clean styling plt.xlabel(\u0026#39;Decade\u0026#39;) plt.ylabel(\u0026#39;Average Weight (lbs)\u0026#39;) plt.title(\u0026#39;Average MLB Catcher Weight by Debut Decade\u0026#39;) plt.grid(True, alpha=0.2) plt.tight_layout() plt.show() ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/catchers-get-bigger/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m fairly confident \u003cem\u003eall\u003c/em\u003e Major League Baseball players have gotten bigger over time, but I specifically decided to use the newest version of the \u003ca href=\"https://sabr.org/lahman-database/\"\u003eLahman Baseball Database\u003c/a\u003e to look at the average weight of catchers by the decade in which they debuted. Their listed weights are static so we can\u0026rsquo;t be certain what their debut weights were, but we\u0026rsquo;re looking at large trends. I also required any catcher in the list to have caught at least 200 career games.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Catchers Get Bigger"},{"content":"I just updated my post answering a question from a coworker. It feels good to put that to rest.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/update-to-four-game-split-series-of-one-run-games/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI just updated my post \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/zero-sum-splits-of-one-run/\"\u003eanswering a question from a coworker\u003c/a\u003e. It feels good to put that to rest.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Update to \"Zero-Sum Series Splits of One Run\""},{"content":"This delightful contest celebrating the command of language by constructing concise opening sentences to hypothetical novels bursts into my awareness each year as internet denizens share the best (worst?) entries. Nominees display subtlety and nuance by brazenly breaking as many written and unwritten literary rules as possible with fewer than 200 characters.\nThis contest appears built for social media, despite starting in 2001. It drives to the core of good and bad writing by isolating a single sentence, perhaps two, given only the context that it begins a book you\u0026rsquo;ve just plucked off the shelf. The analysis of each worthy submission is deep and, most importantly, funny.\nRead about this year\u0026rsquo;s winners and chuckle along.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-lyttle-lytton-contest/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://adamcadre.ac/lyttle/\"\u003eThis delightful contest\u003c/a\u003e celebrating the command of language by constructing concise opening sentences to hypothetical novels bursts into my awareness each year as internet denizens share the best (worst?) entries. Nominees display subtlety and nuance by brazenly breaking as many written and unwritten literary rules as possible with fewer than 200 characters.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis contest appears built for social media, despite starting in 2001. It drives to the core of \u003cem\u003egood\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ebad\u003c/em\u003e writing by isolating a single sentence, perhaps two, given only the context that it begins a book you\u0026rsquo;ve just plucked off the shelf. The analysis of each worthy submission is deep and, most importantly, funny.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Lyttle Lytton Contest"},{"content":"There are better sources for exploring exactly how the current political regime\u0026rsquo;s actions rhyme with other populist and fascist movements. Instead, let\u0026rsquo;s consider a story that is tamer while also being emblematic of current policies.\nIn 1897, a state representative in Indiana attempted to legislate that a disproven mathematical statement was true and, in the process, implied that π is equal to 3.2.1\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a quick version of the story: E.J. Goodwin was a medical doctor dabbling in mathematics. Like many recreational cranks over the centuries, Goodwin believed he had developed a method to square the circle, which means using a compass and straightedge to construct a square with the exact area of a given circle. An 1882 proof that this was impossible was evidently insufficient.\nGoodwin wrote the bill in question to proclaim his \u0026ldquo;discovery\u0026rdquo; as true, at least as far as the state of Indiana was concerned. It passed the House, but thanks to the timely arrival of a Purdue mathematics professor who was handed the bill and managed to help the Senate see reason before Indiana got itself into quite a bind.\nIndeed, this event\u0026rsquo;s analogy to today has nothing to do with the professor whose expertise and knowledge were respected by legislators. I dream of the day when a factual matter can again be agreed upon. Instead, focus on Dr. Goodwin: Here is a man whose success in one field led him down a conceited path of misguided academic inquiry.\nThis fallacy of irrelevant authority plagues modern society. We see business leaders believing they are equipped to run governmental structures, technology experts convincing themselves that they alone can fix our broken systems, career politicians posturing as health professionals, and nearly every adult convincing themselves they are uniquely qualified to educate the next generation.\nThe problem is more insidious than isolated incidences of misplaced ego. It stems from an outright rejection of expertise and training, a sense that experience and years of dedication to a field of study are worthless. By discarding anyone who previously held power due to their merits and could thus effect change and aid in progressing our society, scammers whose only desire is the power itself have rapidly filled the resulting vacuum. This desire is precisely what they claim the previous leaders were guilty of: consolidating power for personal gain rather than good-hearted curiosity and a desire to serve society. These new entrants convince others that their oft ill-begotten \u0026ldquo;success\u0026rdquo; is precisely the necessary bona fides to take on yet more responsibility by feeding on the fears that perpetuate their role.\nI have no quick fix or trite solution. Education and empathy are two key factors that are difficult to nurture systematically when the people in power are opposed to allowing their growth in society. Enough of the country—and the world—is excitably gobbling up the false promises and hateful rhetoric of a wealthy ruling class that many vital institutions are suddenly on shaky foundations.\nEven so, excellent people are continuing to fight for equity, knowledge, curiosity, and kindness in our society. I donate to several of them—the ACLU, a local food shelf, and The Trevor Project—and urge anyone who can donate to or volunteer for any organization dedicated to a truly positive impact on the world. We need more of that if the most prominent institutions and most powerful people are against helping the world move forward. We need more experts, not fewer. More discussion, not less. More complexity and diversity. It\u0026rsquo;s healthy. It\u0026rsquo;s fun and exciting and the only way to avoid losing progress.\nAn excellent, detailed account by Arthur Hallerburg at Valparaiso University can be found here.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/indiana-pi-bill-and-irrelevant-authority/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThere are better sources for exploring exactly how the current political regime\u0026rsquo;s actions rhyme with other populist and fascist movements. Instead, let\u0026rsquo;s consider a story that is tamer while also being emblematic of current policies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1897, a state representative in Indiana attempted to legislate that a disproven mathematical statement was true and, in the process, implied that π is equal to 3.2.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Indiana Pi Bill and Irrelevant Authority"},{"content":"Tapestry by Iconfactory has significantly improved my internet experience. Similar in some ways to feeeed, which I wrote about last fall, Tapestry combines my social media accounts and RSS feeds into a single timeline. While feeeed separates itself by a larger number of built-in source connections and its \u0026ldquo;magazine\u0026rdquo; approach of curating recent items, Tapestry is focused on a linear display that holds place. You don\u0026rsquo;t scroll back to find older items you may have missed; instead, your position is held, and you scroll forward in time to see what has happened since you last opened the app. It\u0026rsquo;s the only sensible way to interact with news and media, and matches what I and many others love about the Mastodon client Ivory.\nTapestry has been a mainstay on my home screen since it launched in February 2025. I know it hasn\u0026rsquo;t landed for everyone, particularly those who actively participate in social media, but I\u0026rsquo;ve found it to be an excellent companion app in my journey to effectively use my phone uninhibited and undistracted by algorithms designed to capture my attention. I choose the sources I want and stop reading when those sources run dry. It is thoughtfully designed with customizable pops of color and the option to group feeds into categories, and they recently added post interaction for several social media sources for when I want to like a post.\nI backed this project on Kickstarter on a whim, and Iconfactory delivered.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tapestry/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://usetapestry.com\"\u003eTapestry\u003c/a\u003e by \u003ca href=\"https://iconfactory.com\"\u003eIconfactory\u003c/a\u003e has significantly improved my internet experience. Similar in some ways to \u003ca href=\"https://feeeed.nateparrott.com\"\u003efeeeed\u003c/a\u003e, which I \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/feeeed/\"\u003ewrote about last fall\u003c/a\u003e, Tapestry combines my social media accounts and RSS feeds into a single timeline. While feeeed separates itself by a larger number of built-in source connections and its \u0026ldquo;magazine\u0026rdquo; approach of curating recent items, Tapestry is focused on a linear display that holds place. You don\u0026rsquo;t scroll back to find older items you may have missed; instead, your position is held, and you scroll forward in time to see what has happened since you last opened the app. It\u0026rsquo;s the only sensible way to interact with news and media, and matches what I and many others love about the Mastodon client \u003ca href=\"https://tapbots.com/ivory/\"\u003eIvory\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tapestry"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t recall what I was listening to when this popped into my head, but I was curious about the origin of fan used to mean a \u0026ldquo;supporter\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;devotee.\u0026rdquo; I recently installed Terminology across my devices and set the Online Etymology Dictionary as a preferred resource.\nAccording to them:\n1889, American English, originally of baseball enthusiasts, probably a shortening of fanatic, but it may be influenced by the fancy, a collective term for followers of a certain hobby or sport (especially boxing)\u0026hellip; Fan mail attested from 1920, in a Hollywood context; Fan club attested by 1930.\nI\u0026rsquo;m pleased that the best-guess origin is with baseball.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-quick-note-on-sports-fan/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t recall what I was listening to when this popped into my head, but I was curious about the origin of \u003cem\u003efan\u003c/em\u003e used to mean a \u0026ldquo;supporter\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;devotee.\u0026rdquo; I recently installed \u003ca href=\"https://agiletortoise.com/terminology/\"\u003eTerminology\u003c/a\u003e across my devices and set the \u003ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com\"\u003eOnline Etymology Dictionary\u003c/a\u003e as a preferred resource.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to them:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1889, American English, originally of baseball enthusiasts, probably a shortening of \u003cstrong\u003efanatic\u003c/strong\u003e, but it may be influenced by \u003cstrong\u003ethe fancy\u003c/strong\u003e, a collective term for followers of a certain hobby or sport (especially boxing)\u0026hellip; \u003cstrong\u003eFan mail\u003c/strong\u003e attested from 1920, in a Hollywood context; \u003cstrong\u003eFan club\u003c/strong\u003e attested by 1930.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Quick Note on \"Sports Fan\""},{"content":"The San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres split their four-game series last week, with each team winning two games by one run. In our #social-baseball slack channel, my coworker asked:\nany data whizzes wanna figure out how many MLB 4 game series have ended 2-2 with all one-run games?\nI put myself on the case.\nUPDATE JULY 6, 2025\nI finally took the time to do this properly. I exported game-by-game data from Retrosheet since 1900 and (with the help of Claude) used pandas to analyze the data for these split series decided by one run each game.1\nThe list of 49 such series can be found here. The most recent occurrence before 2025 was a 2019 series between the Reds and Mets.\nORIGINAL APPROACH\nI had no clean way to run a single query that pulled these because Stathead does not allow \u0026ldquo;OR\u0026rdquo; qualifiers in their search. So, this took slightly more manual work. This is what we do in the quest for knowledge.\nThis Stathead query contains the longest streaks of at least four regular season games such that every game\u0026rsquo;s run differential was between -1 and 1. I was only interested in streaks of exactly four games, so I went straight there.\nI then sorted each page by total streak run differential, which is necessarily zero when both teams win two games in the series. Sorting by streak end date, I was able to peruse each page for consecutive rows with matching start and end dates—if the home team had one of these streaks, so did the visiting team.2 I then manually checked that there wasn\u0026rsquo;t a coincidence in the matching dates, and also confirmed for older dates that it wasn\u0026rsquo;t part of a five-game series.\nAll that led to a list of the following four-game series3 where the teams each won two games, and all four games were won by exactly one run.\nHome Visitor Start Date End Date SFG SDP 2025-06-02 2025-06-05 CHC HOU 1995-09-28 1995-10-01 BAL CLE 1991-09-12 1991-09-15 LAD SDP 1986-04-07 1986-04-10 NYY BAL 1979-08-03 1979-08-06 MIL WSA 1971-07-30 1971-08-01 (2) SDP NYM 1970-05-01 1970-05-03 (2) HOU CHC 1962-08-17 1962-08-19 PHI STL 1961-08-29 (1) 1961-08-31 NYY DET 1957-07-26 1957-07-28 (2) CLE BOS 1938-09-15 (1) 1938-09-17 STL BSN 1929-06-14 1929-06-16 (2) BOS CHW 1920-05-15 1920-05-19 BRO PHI 1904-06-21 1904-06-24 The weirdest part about debugging code made by an LLM is interrogating their odd assumptions. Claude was exceedingly cautious in how it identified a four-game series. It originally allowed for a gap of up to 7 days between games of a pair of teams, which makes no sense. In baseball, a series is nearly always played on consecutive days. Once I corrected this error, my final count went from 32 to 49.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThere is a slight issue with this approach: what if one team had a streak of 4 games, but the other team had a streak of 5 or more because they had the necessary run differential before or after the four-game series? I only realized this problem while writing this post, but I\u0026rsquo;m too far into it to fix it this moment.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAgain, I\u0026rsquo;m probably missing some because of the issue I pointed out above. I\u0026rsquo;ll try to fix that at a later point.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/zero-sum-splits-of-one-run/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres split their four-game series last week, with each team winning two games by one run. In our \u003cem\u003e#social-baseball\u003c/em\u003e slack channel, my coworker asked:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eany data whizzes wanna figure out how many MLB 4 game series have ended 2-2 with all one-run games?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI put myself on the case.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUPDATE JULY 6, 2025\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI finally took the time to do this properly. I exported game-by-game data from \u003ca href=\"https://retrosheet.org/gamelogs/index.html\"\u003eRetrosheet\u003c/a\u003e since 1900 and (with the help of Claude) used pandas to analyze the data for these split series decided by one run each game.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Zero-Sum Series Splits of One Run"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t know Isaiah\u0026rsquo;s age or last name. He\u0026rsquo;s a stocky, tanned, thickset Sooner with a thick mess of curly brown hair and the same twang as all his teammates. His acned baby face and constant smile endear him to everyone around, which wouldn\u0026rsquo;t matter without that naturally generous and hospitable attitude, a tremendous work ethic, and an easygoing manner that brings everyone together. Most importantly, for the weekend I spent in Tulsa, Isaiah fully understands what Sandlot Baseball means and embodies it in a time when polarization emphasizes the importance of everything he, the Tulsa Breeze, and every other Sandlot Baseball team works for.\nSandlot Baseball is about breaking down all barriers to playing baseball1 and building a positive community focused on enjoyment and improvement. That means putting your ego aside during, but especially after, a game to laugh and genuinely enjoy the other team. It means showing up for your team when possible because it\u0026rsquo;s important, even though it\u0026rsquo;s entirely voluntary. It also means welcoming back someone who hasn\u0026rsquo;t been able to consistently attend so they know there\u0026rsquo;s still a spot for them in the group. Is the field a mess because of a storm? Even if you\u0026rsquo;re tired and would rather not, you grab a rake and pitch in.\nYour work to improve yourself in skills or attitude is most valuable in its ability to affect the team positively, and everyone trusts the group to view this whole experiment through that lens.\nTraveling halfway across the country to a city that, admittedly, I would likely have never visited otherwise helped me understand how Sandlot compares to the adult league I played with in Oakland or an intramural softball team. While those games were often similar—I was lucky to land with groups who wanted to win but were always charitable and kind throughout—the leagues were insular. Sandlot has strong local roots—the Tulsa teams are beautifully embedded into their city—but maintains tendrils that reach across the country to share information and relationships. Each team is focused on the same outcomes but can change to match their circumstances.\nNot everyone who joins Sandlot cares about that broader perspective. Finding a welcoming community is difficult enough, so anyone who joins our Sandlot team and understands the basic tenet of don\u0026rsquo;t be an asshole is golden. That\u0026rsquo;s what I took away last fall—this was another league where I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be stuck with hyper-competitive athletes stuck in their old playing days. However, on the other side of this trip and after talking with our Tulsa hosts about Sandlot, including how what they\u0026rsquo;ve done could apply to New Haven, I\u0026rsquo;m further sold on this broader community and hope to make an impact within the organization for a long time.\nBut if you\u0026rsquo;re mostly interested in vibes, Sandlot Baseball is perfectly captured by this video created by my teammate Stephen.\nCost shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be a barrier to joining a team and playing locally. You don\u0026rsquo;t need a fancy field or fancy equipment to have a good time. Do you identify as a gender that typically isn\u0026rsquo;t welcome in baseball? No problem. Maybe you\u0026rsquo;re of an ethnic, cultural, or other background that has no connection to baseball. No problem.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tulsa-sandlot-baseball/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t know Isaiah\u0026rsquo;s age or last name. He\u0026rsquo;s a stocky, tanned, thickset Sooner with a thick mess of curly brown hair and the same twang as all his teammates. His acned baby face and constant smile endear him to everyone around, which wouldn\u0026rsquo;t matter without that naturally generous and hospitable attitude, a tremendous work ethic, and an easygoing manner that brings everyone together. Most importantly, for the weekend I spent in Tulsa, Isaiah fully understands what Sandlot Baseball means and embodies it in a time when polarization emphasizes the importance of everything he, the Tulsa Breeze, and every other Sandlot Baseball team works for.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tulsa Sandlot Baseball"},{"content":"Last week, the Twins\u0026rsquo; 13-game winning streak came to an end at the hand of the Brewers. I don\u0026rsquo;t professionally write about baseball, so I\u0026rsquo;ll leave the detailed breakdown to Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs. I\u0026rsquo;ll instead focus on how this streak felt as a fan.\nIt was magnificent.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s difficult to shake off the final month of last season. The Twins were poised to make another run into the playoffs with a healthy group of players and a pitching staff that hasn\u0026rsquo;t been this excellent since the Johan Santana days. It fell apart in a tremendous blur of ineptitude, leapfrogged by the rest of the AL Central.\nThere was restructuring among the coaching staff, a young core ready to make another step forward, and a cautious optimism in spring training. The Twins were looking good until the season started for real, when they reeled in much the same way they had in late August and September. Our pitchers were getting blown up across the board, and our hitters were seeing the ball as well as they would a pea against a green screen. Correa kept hitting into double plays, again, and Lewis pulled his hamstring right before the season began. I was buoyed only by the Giants—my second team—getting off to a surprisingly hot start, so I could shift my attention elsewhere.\nThen Kody Clemens hit a walk-off home run and for two weeks the Twins kept winning. Every starting pitcher threw a gem, or close enough to one that our bullpen that had finished shaking off early season rust and cobwebs could finish the job. We remembered what it took to win a baseball game—namely, score runs. Everyone pulled their weight before and after Buxton and Correa collided. It felt fun. It felt sustainable. These games weren\u0026rsquo;t won by fluke errors and happenstance. They were remarkably well-played.\nUnlike the sausage situation from 2024, nothing weirdly superstitious came of all this.\nThe streak broke on a Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee in large part due to a highlight catch by Jackson Chourio, but that didn\u0026rsquo;t slow the turnaround. The Twins managed bad weather against the Guardians and took two of three games against the Royals this weekend, walking off both. They probably won\u0026rsquo;t get another thirteen game winning streak, but getting in a groove of winning series, particularly against the AL Central, makes all the difference.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve happily been brought back from mild despair protected by a false veneer of ambivalence to the cautious optimism that abounded during spring training. We\u0026rsquo;re two months into the season so it\u0026rsquo;s no longer too early, we can confirm the Twins are not an awful team—it\u0026rsquo;s hard to be when your starting rotation and bullpen are each nearly best in the majors—but a considerable stretch of the season remains. Injuries could still abound, our younger pitchers could fail to anchor the backend of the rotation, and situational hitting could dry up at any moment. Even so, I\u0026rsquo;m having fun watching baseball. I\u0026rsquo;m locked into this season and am excited to see if the AL Central can repeat its healthy representation in the playoffs, ideally with the Twins securing a berth this time around.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-great-twins-winning-streak/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast week, the Twins\u0026rsquo; 13-game winning streak came to an end at the hand of the Brewers. I don\u0026rsquo;t professionally write about baseball, so I\u0026rsquo;ll leave the detailed breakdown to \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-twins-have-turned-things-around/\"\u003eJay Jaffe at FanGraphs\u003c/a\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;ll instead focus on how this streak felt as a fan.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was magnificent.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Great Twins Winning Streak"},{"content":"Our recent trip to New Mexico was excellent for two reasons: it was a distinct kind of trip from what we\u0026rsquo;ve typically had over the last few years, and the landscape was unique and gorgeous. You can look back at the pictures to understand that second part—mountainous terrain scarred by terrible fires that continues to fight back paired with high-altitude meadows, all of which abut scrubby desert; amazing cultural artifacts dating back centuries that speak to both a proud indigenous history and an impactful, conflict-ridden European influence; plus a smattering of my hobbies like baseball and disc golf to round it out.\nThese wonderful elements established how we would spend our days, but we didn\u0026rsquo;t solely plan this trip to see a place we\u0026rsquo;d never visited. That will come in the future. This was a trip to spend time with two people.\nOver the last five years, we\u0026rsquo;ve seen friends and family in two situations: as hosts or when visiting home. Between San Diego and San Francisco, I\u0026rsquo;ve lived in desirable spots for others to visit. Nice weather, beaches, fun cities, and an innate desire and aptitude for hosting others (even when the accommodations aren\u0026rsquo;t ideal) led to a steady stream of visitors over the years.\nOur only other trips were back to Minnesota for the holidays or just because. We\u0026rsquo;d go back for a week or two (sometimes three) at a time, and cram our days full of time with friends while staying at one set of parents or the other. These trips are always wonderful, but they can also be tiring and aren\u0026rsquo;t a vacation in any sense of the word. We are fluttering about, handling logistics, eating out, and working to optimize our available time. We\u0026rsquo;ve become good at planning ahead, and we\u0026rsquo;re lucky we still have a solid crew in Minnesota that we can visit.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re also lucky to have friends and family spread out, and we\u0026rsquo;re making a concerted effort to see them. That\u0026rsquo;s why this trip to New Mexico was special: it was our first trip together explicitly to visit someone.\nOur typical travel approach requires a home base, like our parents\u0026rsquo; houses or a hotel in San Francisco. We see people throughout the day, then head back to base. This is nice in many ways because our space is under our control, and we know we have somewhere to go if we lose steam. We aren\u0026rsquo;t tied to the whims of the hosts.\nAll those mild comforts are at the expense of the intangible experience of going through a full day, dealing with the little intricacies of waking up and heading to bed, determining meals together, seeing how someone lives their day, and coordinating those details. People wake up at different times, and you get more little interactions that are fun one-offs you wouldn\u0026rsquo;t otherwise get when you need to plan every moment: a tighter bond forms, and a more meaningful trip results.\nI woke up one morning and played cribbage with my sister in law. Another morning, I sat in a comfortable chair and read for a couple of hours. We made dinner together, played board games, and watched a movie—essentially acting as short-term roommates in the most delightful way.\nEven if we don\u0026rsquo;t stay with someone we\u0026rsquo;re visiting, I find focused trips around one or two people more enjoyable than frenetic bouncing about. In the same way, I prefer small gatherings and dinners to well-attended events. The success of this New Mexico trip has me excited about everywhere else we can go to see other people, like Toronto and Denver, and make the most of those long weekends.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/more-on-new-mexico/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOur recent trip to New Mexico was excellent for two reasons: it was a distinct kind of trip from what we\u0026rsquo;ve typically had over the last few years, and the landscape was unique and gorgeous. You can look back at the pictures to understand that second part—mountainous terrain scarred by terrible fires that continues to fight back paired with high-altitude meadows, all of which abut scrubby desert; amazing cultural artifacts dating back centuries that speak to both a proud indigenous history and an impactful, conflict-ridden European influence; plus a smattering of my hobbies like baseball and disc golf to round it out.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese wonderful elements established how we would spend our days, but we didn\u0026rsquo;t solely plan this trip to see a place we\u0026rsquo;d never visited. That will come in the future. This was a trip to spend time with two people.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"More on New Mexico"},{"content":"A quote from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, pulled from the CNN coverage on the 17 players reinstated from their permanently ineligible status1:\nObviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game.\nThis is not obvious to me.\nWith institutions of culture like MLB, each notable player is a symbol, an icon, representing something greater than themselves. Who the institution allows to represent them fundamentally describes their standards, ethics, and beliefs as an organization. By walking back names from the—ahem—permanently ineligible list, Manfred is himself compromising the integrity of the game and claiming the reason Rose was banned was solely as personal punishment to he man, rather than a level enforcement of rules against betting on baseball that, though indeed having the effect of punishing the individual, also acts as a clear signal that the actions are not tolerated in the least.\nThis is a discouraging and cowardly move by a commissioner who does not care about the impact of baseball as a cultural phenomenon and is willing to sacrifice its ethos for\u0026hellip; what exactly?\nGiven how egregious elements of this decision are, it hardly feels worth nitpicking the nature of the phrase permanently ineligible as something that can be revoked.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/pete-rose-a-threat-to-integrity/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA quote from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, pulled from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/sport/pete-rose-shoeless-joe-jackson-mlb-decision-spt\"\u003eCNN coverage\u003c/a\u003e on the 17 players reinstated from their permanently ineligible status\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eObviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not obvious to me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith institutions of culture like MLB, each notable player is a symbol, an icon, representing something greater than themselves. Who the institution allows to represent them fundamentally describes their standards, ethics, and beliefs as an organization. By walking back names from the—ahem—\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003epermanently ineligible\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e list, Manfred is himself compromising the integrity of the game and claiming the reason Rose was banned was solely as personal punishment to he man, rather than a level enforcement of rules against betting on baseball that, though indeed having the effect of punishing the individual, also acts as a clear signal that the actions are not tolerated in the least.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Pete Rose, a Threat to Integrity"},{"content":"What with all the moving I\u0026rsquo;ve done as an adult, my desk setup has changed dramatically over the years. I wish I had a comprehensive album, but I\u0026rsquo;ve still scrounged together a good set of pictures of various desks, culminating with my first dedicated desk space in a room separate from where I eat, sleep, and/or socialize.\nSophomore Year of College\nI eventually rotated the desk on the right so that it faced out toward my door. However, the setup is what you see here: my 17\u0026quot; Lenovo Ideapad, which I got at the end of high school, and an external mouse. I also bought a printer in my freshman year and eventually passed it on to my dad. This setup is no different than my freshman year, except for the relative location of the desk itself. Barebones, though I also had an unseen rotating cast of tablets for notetaking.1\nJunior Year of College\nMy IdeaPad computing core did not change, but I slightly upgraded my ergonomics by setting the laptop upon my printer, adding an external keyboard to complement the mouse. After I took this picture, I toyed around with stick-on chalkboard material for a quick place to take notes while working on math homework.2\nThe futon I had as a sophomore was originally from my older sister. This year I passed it onto my younger sister which opened up the space beneath my lofted bed for this cozier desk setup. Pioneer Hall was in its final year before renovation, and rather worse for wear, but I made it work.\nThis was also the desk at which I recorded several initial episodes of OHAC.\nInternship at AoPS\nWhen I arrived, my new coworkers for the summer told me it was good that I was \u0026ldquo;tall\u0026rdquo; since they had guessed at the monitor height. As it happened, the monitor height was great, but the desk height was abysmal. I was never brave enough to ask for a lifted keyboard tray, but when I eventually started my full-time position and moved 20 feet from this location to a new desk, I used a tray for my laptop and a stack of books for my mouse pad.\nSan Diego\nI did a decent job with my desk setup in my apartment. I switched between a laptop and a desktop, and also used my monitor for a Roku and a Nintendo Switch. It was an all-in-one spot where I spent all my time if I wasn\u0026rsquo;t eating or outside. My dad made this desk—it actually folds up—for my senior year of college. I don\u0026rsquo;t have a picture of that desk setup, but this was a natural evolution once I moved into my own place.\nSan Francisco\nFor the first few months living together, I used my setup from San Diego and Erin had a sit/stand desk in the living room. Once she mainly went back to working in the office, I adopted this desk as my own and shifted its location in the bedroom. I had a three-panel room divider behind me for meetings, and it was always a bit cramped and dusty beneath. This picture is my desk at its messiest—normally, my laptop would be on the riser, and if I weren\u0026rsquo;t journaling, that notebook would be neatly tucked elsewhere. It was cramped at times, but I don\u0026rsquo;t have a better image available. Its best feature was proximity to an ethernet point for fast and stable internet.\nNew Haven\nYet another step forward: we have a second bedroom, and I\u0026rsquo;ve turned this corner into my office space. I hung up the corkboard last weekend and have added two framed pictures around the area since. The shelving unit allowed me to keep my desk tidier, with only a few papers and a couple of tchotchkes I like in front of me.\nThe other part of the VESA mount is unseen to the right, and it has a laptop stand that hovers in front of a walking treadmill. Farther to the right is another small shelving unit with a printer, a speaker, postage, and notebooks ready for use. Where I\u0026rsquo;m standing as I take this picture is open space that\u0026rsquo;s good for a yoga mat. This room has proven quite multifunctional, but I\u0026rsquo;m mainly happy I have a comfortable spot where I enjoy working each day.\nBefore switching to an iPad and Notability in my junior year, I used an Android tablet and an app then called Papyrus, now apparently rebranded Squid. I also bought a Lenovo Yoga Book, a wacky piece of technology that I think could still have legs.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe blue book shown here is the infamous Baby Rudin; it was and is a real piece of work for many a math major.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/evolution-of-my-desk/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhat with all the moving I\u0026rsquo;ve done as an adult, my desk setup has changed dramatically over the years. I wish I had a comprehensive album, but I\u0026rsquo;ve still scrounged together a good set of pictures of various desks, culminating with my first dedicated desk space in a room separate from where I eat, sleep, and/or socialize.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Evolution of My Desk"},{"content":"Erin and I returned late last night/early this morning from visiting her brother and his wife in New Mexico. It was our first trip there. We spent most of our time near Los Alamos, and had a day trip to Santa Fe. It was glorious.\nWhile I intend to write a bit more when I\u0026rsquo;m not running on fumes after a long travel day with several delays, here are the highlights through pictures.\nThe Albuquerque Isotopes playing the Salt Lake Bees, thanks to free tickets from a local grocery store.\nWe also played a larger, nicer course in Santa Fe of which I have no pictures, so this short one will do. There are canyons along the edges that we had to clamber into after bad throws or rolls.\nThere were mule deer everywhere: sides of roads, front yards, and on this disc golf course.\nThis spruce was just off the trail while hiking to the caldera. It struck me as very pretty, sitting among the alpine meadow.\nThis Caldera is massive. Any elk show up as pinpricks, and binoculars don\u0026rsquo;t always help. The bowl is often 20-40 degrees colder than where I was on this hike.\nMy sister-in-law (in-law?) works at Bandelier, and had plenty to share. This is a scenic overlook, though we spent most of our time in the valley.\nYou can go inside a few Pueblan cliff dwellings, known as caveates. Sadly, people have started vandalizing them so there are fewer opportunities to explore.\nUp 140 feet of stairs and wooden ladders bolted into the cliff side, you can access this important ritualistic site hidden in an alcove.\nWe walked around the farmer\u0026rsquo;s market, artist\u0026rsquo;s market, the plaza, had lunch, and generally enjoyed this historical that\u0026rsquo;s over 400 years old.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-mexico/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I returned late last night/early this morning from visiting her brother and his wife in New Mexico. It was our first trip there. We spent most of our time near Los Alamos, and had a day trip to Santa Fe. It was glorious.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile I intend to write a bit more when I\u0026rsquo;m not running on fumes after a long travel day with several delays, here are the highlights through pictures.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Mexico"},{"content":"This post isn\u0026rsquo;t about who does or does not deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. It\u0026rsquo;s simply this: which Hall of Fame players had the most bad seasons, or the worst seasons in general. My thanks to Sports Reference\u0026rsquo;s Stathead for existing and making this easy to find. Let\u0026rsquo;s get started.\nThere are 14 seasons by future Hall of Fame batters with a bWAR at or below zero where the player was between 23 and 37 years old.1 The worst of these seasons was a -2.6 WAR courtesy of Ted Simmons in 1984, the only season of his career he didn\u0026rsquo;t play catcher.2 This caught my eye. The previous winter, the Brewers traded for longtime Texas Ranger and six-time Gold Glove recipient Jim Sundberg. Sundberg proved to have an adequate bat on top of his generational glove, so Simmons got a year off from catching duty. After that 1984 season, Sundberg was part of a four-team trade that included the Royals, Rangers, and Mets. Simmons didn\u0026rsquo;t see much time at catcher the rest of his career, but always had at least a few games.\nIf we remove the age restriction and look at the most sub-zero WAR seasons among Hall of Fame hitters, the results are as we expect: players in sharp decline who aren\u0026rsquo;t quite ready to retire. Ichiro\u0026rsquo;s final seasons stick in my memory because it was weird that he spent time in Miami, and it was sad to see him perform so poorly.\nThe analogous list of Hall of Fame pitchers is intriguing because the only two players with three seasons with sub-zero WAR are strongly associated with my Minnesota Twins: Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat. Bert was considered a Hall of Fame edge case for over a decade for reasons I don\u0026rsquo;t fully understand. As advanced statistics came into the scene—and Bert leveraged his public persona in the Twins\u0026rsquo; broadcast booth—he was finally elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011.\nJim Kaat is even more of an edge case in that it required a few trips through additional committees—specifically the Golden Days Era committee—to eventually be elected in 2022 despite a career that ended nearly 30 years earlier.\nThis digging revealed that bad seasons—that is, seasons where an average player in the league would have performed better than these illustrious stars—universally occur on either side of what are excellent careers, with the mild exception of injuries. I examined these sub-zero seasons among Hall of Famers and found very few that occurred at any point other than their very early 20s or very late 30s. Aha! I thought when I noticed one of Blyleven\u0026rsquo;s was in his age-31 season—got you! Except I didn\u0026rsquo;t filter based on time played—he only pitched 20 innings and missed the remainder of the season with an injury.\nAll this to confirm that Hall of Fame players rarely have truly abysmal seasons, except when they\u0026rsquo;re young and dumb—until the last thirty or so years, teams tended to toss rookies into the deep end—or the inevitability of their retirement sneaks up on them. In related news, water is wet, but I still found this fascinating.\nI picked those age cutoffs to eliminate the awkward rookie year or the inevitable aging decline at the end of one\u0026rsquo;s career.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHis time mainly at DH meant he gained no positional adjustment in the WAR calculation, exacerbating his lack of value.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/bad-hall-of-fame-seasons/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis post isn\u0026rsquo;t about who does or does not deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. It\u0026rsquo;s simply this: which Hall of Fame players had the most bad seasons, or the worst seasons in general. My thanks to Sports Reference\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://stathead.com/baseball/\"\u003eStathead\u003c/a\u003e for existing and making this easy to find. Let\u0026rsquo;s get started.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bad Hall of Fame Seasons"},{"content":"I received a surprise letter in the mail this week from my friendly, not-so-neighborhood California Department of Motor Vehicles, specifically the collections arm of that renowned institution. Since I didn\u0026rsquo;t do them the justice of notifying them I had moved to Connecticut, their system assumed I was illegally driving my car around California with expired registration for the last seven or eight months.\nNow, let\u0026rsquo;s not worry too much about the double jeopardy implied by the fact that if I were doing that, I certainly would have received a ticket or two at this point to go with the fees I already allegedly owe.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the kicker: the letter they sent was not via USPS forwarding. They sent it directly to my Connecticut address, so there is some record, somewhere, that I live there now.\nLuckily, this has been resolved relatively quickly. There was a phone number I could call to dispute the charges, and I quickly got on the line with a nice person who told me what to expect. They were going to send me an email where I needed to detail when I left California, when I arrived in Connecticut, when I first registered my car here, and a copy of the registration document.\nThat email never showed up, but they gave me the email address from which I should expect it. I emailed them directly and received a notice that the DMV\u0026rsquo;s records were updated—the only remaining step is to call again so they can forward me to the Collections folks and settle the record. Why I have to do that is beyond me, but hey, I\u0026rsquo;m just trying to follow the rules.\nI\u0026rsquo;m frustrated by the \u0026ldquo;guilty until proven innocent\u0026rdquo; tinge to this situation. Thousands of people must be similarly caught unaware by their policy, and it falls into the vast bucket of laws and regulations, which makes it extremely easy to accidentally violate because you have to think to ask the right question to discover said regulation.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/how-bold-of-you-california/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI received a surprise letter in the mail this week from my friendly, not-so-neighborhood California Department of Motor Vehicles, specifically the \u003cem\u003ecollections\u003c/em\u003e arm of that renowned institution. Since I didn\u0026rsquo;t do them the justice of notifying them I had moved to Connecticut, their system assumed I was illegally driving my car around California with expired registration for the last seven or eight months.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow, let\u0026rsquo;s not worry too much about the double jeopardy implied by the fact that if I \u003cem\u003ewere\u003c/em\u003e doing that, I certainly would have received a ticket or two at this point to go with the fees I already allegedly owe.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"How Bold of You, California"},{"content":"My company held its second Hackathon last week, when (most) regular work pauses or slows down, so we can instead focus on new ideas aligned to our mission.1 We get to explore and build, play around, meet new people, and add to our general culture of inquisitiveness, curiosity, and hard work.\nI used it as an opportunity to get back to my curriculum roots. I ran text adventure Math Jams in our online classroom for three years in the same fashion I do with OHAC. The main difference is I\u0026rsquo;m working with around 200 students who are voting on what to do—it gets chaotic.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been over two years since I ran one of these sessions, so I took the week to brainstorm ideas with some people. The most recent adventure I ran, Casework, is full of company-specific easter eggs and takes place in a loose approximation of our old headquarters. This new adventure, Casework 2: Overwhelming Evidence, follows that up.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve attached the text adventure document, along with the video I created for the final project presentation. It was incredibly fun to work on.\nCasework 2 PDF\nWe still need to work with customers, provide support, and generally keep the lights on. But anyone who wants to participate can always find the time to do so.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/aops-hackathon-2025/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy company held its second Hackathon last week, when (most) regular work pauses or slows down, so we can instead focus on new ideas aligned to our mission.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e We get to explore and build, play around, meet new people, and add to our general culture of inquisitiveness, curiosity, and hard work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI used it as an opportunity to get back to my curriculum roots. I ran text adventure \u003ca href=\"https://artofproblemsolving.com/school/mathjams\"\u003eMath Jams\u003c/a\u003e in our online classroom for three years in the same fashion I do with OHAC. The main difference is I\u0026rsquo;m working with around 200 students who are voting on what to do—it gets chaotic.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"AoPS Hackathon 2025"},{"content":"Effectively Wild, a fantastic baseball podcast from FanGraphs, put out the third and final installment in the scripted series Only a Woman: Ella Black, Lost and Found. It\u0026rsquo;s an excellent historical dive into the first known woman baseball journalist in the late 1800s, who is woefully not generally known and has certain mysteries hanging around her work. Each episode is thoroughly engaging and well-constructed, and I only wish they were YouTube videos with basic imagery so more people would stumble across them.\nGive the series a try. Each episode is about an hour and worth your time.\nPart 1—Ella\u0026rsquo;s Legend\nPart 2—Ella\u0026rsquo;s Season\nPart 3—Ella\u0026rsquo;s Legacy\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/ella-black-series-on-effectively-wild-podcast/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://blogs.fangraphs.com/category/effectively-wild/\"\u003eEffectively Wild\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e, a fantastic baseball podcast from \u003ca href=\"https://www.fangraphs.com/\"\u003eFanGraphs\u003c/a\u003e, put out the third and final installment in the scripted series \u003cem\u003eOnly a Woman: Ella Black, Lost and Found.\u003c/em\u003e It\u0026rsquo;s an excellent historical dive into the first known woman baseball journalist in the late 1800s, who is woefully not generally known and has certain mysteries hanging around her work. Each episode is thoroughly engaging and well-constructed, and I only wish they were YouTube videos with basic imagery so more people would stumble across them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ella Black Series on Effectively Wild Podcast"},{"content":"In OHAC 62: Push the Red Button, we played Escape the Dungeon or Die!, a text adventure I wrote with some assistance from a coworker over three years ago. I finally turned it into a proper PDF, similar to my others.\nI wanted to take a step forward from Dream Sequence and created what\u0026rsquo;s essentially a series of escape rooms, each with a puzzle to discover and solve. Per usual with my text adventures, a spiffy title captures much of the information about the world of the puzzle. It\u0026rsquo;s a double entendre—either you escape the dungeon or die, but is it a dungeon that you\u0026rsquo;re escaping or a six-sided die?\nThe entire map is an unfolded die, and the pips offer a canvas for crafting puzzles. You can read more details in the document below.\nAfter several years, I\u0026rsquo;m still pleased by this adventure. Even though it ended up being a bit too difficult for its original intended audience, it\u0026rsquo;s great to play with nerds.\nYou can find the official PDF below, and here is Mikhail and Jack\u0026rsquo;s collaborative map from playing it for the podcast.\nEscape the Dungeon or Die!\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/escape-the-dungeon-or-die/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/2025/04/06/ohac-62-push-the-red-button/\"\u003eOHAC 62: Push the Red Button\u003c/a\u003e, we played \u003cem\u003eEscape the Dungeon or Die!\u003c/em\u003e, a text adventure I wrote with some assistance from a coworker over three years ago. I finally turned it into a proper PDF, similar to my others.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted to take a step forward from \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/dream-sequence-a-twine-story/\"\u003eDream Sequence\u003c/a\u003e and created what\u0026rsquo;s essentially a series of escape rooms, each with a puzzle to discover and solve. Per usual with my text adventures, a spiffy title captures much of the information about the world of the puzzle. It\u0026rsquo;s a double entendre—either you escape the dungeon or die, but is it a dungeon that you\u0026rsquo;re escaping or a six-sided die?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Escape the Dungeon or Die! A Text Adventure"},{"content":"Just as the brazen giant of Greek fame,\nWith conquering limbs astride from land to land;\nHere at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand\nA fearless leader with a torch, whose flame\nIs the unleashed misery, and his name\nTorment of Exiles. From his warding-hand\nBurns world-wide scorning; his wild eyes command\nThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.\n\u0026ldquo;Bring, ancient lands, your storied pomp!\u0026rdquo; cries he\nWith blazing lips. \u0026ldquo;Take back your tired, your poor,\nYour huddled masses undeserved to breath free,\nThe wretched refuse of our teeming shore.\nSend those, the richest, fortified to me,\nI lift my lamp beside the golden door!\u0026rdquo;\nWith thanks and apologies to Emma Lazarus.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-new-behemoth/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eJust as the brazen giant of Greek fame,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith conquering limbs astride from land to land;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fearless leader with a torch, whose flame\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs the unleashed misery, and his name\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTorment of Exiles. From his warding-hand\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBurns world-wide scorning; his wild eyes command\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;Bring, ancient lands, your storied pomp!\u0026rdquo; cries he\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith blazing lips. \u0026ldquo;Take back your tired, your poor,\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The New Behemoth"},{"content":"I rejoined SABR a couple of years ago and focused my volunteer work on fact-checking articles for the Games Project. These accounts of past MLB games are notable in some context of the author\u0026rsquo;s choice. They could be historically impactful, meaningful within a player\u0026rsquo;s career, highlighted by a rare event, or any other such factors that make an otherwise mundane day in baseball history something worth remembering.\nLast month I decided to try writing one of these articles. I trawled through the archives of Minnesota Twins history for interesting seasons and landed on an early game in 2009 that defined the year for Jason Kubel.\nYou can read the article here.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-first-article-for-the-sabr-games-project/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/baseball-ramblings-to-begin-the-2023-season/\"\u003erejoined\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https://sabr.org/\"\u003eSABR\u003c/a\u003e a couple of years ago and focused my volunteer work on fact-checking articles for the Games Project. These accounts of past MLB games are notable in some context of the author\u0026rsquo;s choice. They could be historically impactful, meaningful within a player\u0026rsquo;s career, highlighted by a rare event, or any other such factors that make an otherwise mundane day in baseball history something worth remembering.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast month I decided to try writing one of these articles. I trawled through the archives of Minnesota Twins history for interesting seasons and landed on an early game in 2009 that defined the year for Jason Kubel.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My First Article For the SABR Games Project"},{"content":"Some of the fine folks I met last fall through a casual baseball league expressed interest in playing fantasy baseball this season. Most of us had never played it or hadn\u0026rsquo;t played in years—my first and only time was sophomore year of high school. It turns out that making and running a league with good-natured people and without money on the line is straightforward and made even easier with a smartphone.\nI\u0026rsquo;m the commissioner, and I run the league on ESPN. We have a straightforward virtual draft. There\u0026rsquo;s no lack of depth with only eight teams and 17 roster spots each.\nSince I already follow baseball, I do understand what some people say about other fantasy sports (or sports betting) about having a reason to watch a game I otherwise wouldn\u0026rsquo;t. While that\u0026rsquo;s not true in general for me—I haven\u0026rsquo;t watched any March Madness, for example, despite having a bracket—I\u0026rsquo;ll have plenty of reason to tune into some additional baseball games during the day or if my preferred Twins or Giants have an off-day. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to have a small diversion and something to chat about with really nice people who love baseball, too.\nAs of Opening Day, here\u0026rsquo;s my team, You\u0026rsquo;re Killing Me Smalls.\nHitters\nC: Will Smith (LAD)\n1B: Matt Olson (ATL)\n2B: Ozzie Albies (ATL)\n3B: Manny Machado (SD)\nSS: Elly De La Cruz (CIN)\nOF: Aaron Judge (NYY)\nOF: Christian Yelich (MIL)\nOF: Brandon Nimm (NYM)\nUTIL: Xander Bogaerts (SD)\nUTIL: Maikel Garcia (KC)\nPitchers\nSP: Dylan Cease (SD)\nSP: Cole Ragans (KC)\nSP: Logan Webb (SF)\nRP: Felix Bautista (BAL)\nRP: Jhoan Duran (MIN)\nBench\nJoe Ryan, SP (MIN)\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2025-fantasy-baseball/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSome of the fine folks I met last fall through a casual baseball league expressed interest in playing fantasy baseball this season. Most of us had never played it or hadn\u0026rsquo;t played in years—my first and only time was sophomore year of high school. It turns out that making and running a league with good-natured people and without money on the line is straightforward and made even easier with a smartphone.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2025 Fantasy Baseball"},{"content":"Jane Austen was a notable gap in my reading knowledge that I finally filled in the past month. Erin got me a Barnes and Noble collection of her works for Christmas, and so far, I\u0026rsquo;ve read Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.1 Once I picked up on Austen\u0026rsquo;s voice and tone—a few pages into Sense and Sensibility, I had to search \u0026ldquo;Is Jane Austen satirical?\u0026quot;—I was sold. I adore Austen\u0026rsquo;s sass and snark and social satire. These two books are self-aware romance novels that are still relevant today, particularly Pride and Prejudice.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t have a favorite between these two books. They have a similar construction: the title directly tells us the book\u0026rsquo;s themes and key attributes of two main characters, each explored in novel ways that don\u0026rsquo;t hit the audience over the head and set against a backdrop of British landed gentry that offers ample opportunity for pointing out absurdities.\nSense and Sensibility is heavier on the satire and less subtle in exploring the motifs. Austen juxtaposes two sisters, the elder Elinor with a mature and reserved disposition, the second-eldest Marianne liable to flights of fancy and extreme feelings. Both are searching for happiness in the ways they best understand it, but the sisters sometimes feel slightly passive, victims of circumstance as the plot reveals itself. Honor, or its lack, is a sub-theme among the male characters that drive our understanding of the sense and sensibility of the two sisters.\nIt comes as no surprise that Pride and Prejudice is the more popular book with staying power in this century. The characters feel more fleshed out, with more apparent flaws and internal motives. While the book also focuses on the two eldest sisters of a family, the title mainly refers to the relationship between the second-eldest, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy, with auxiliary relationships helping explore and refine how these two interact. Each conversation in this book feels more grounded and real; the stakes feel higher because they are more personal and not manufactured by unknown backstories. I found the plot more explicable and invested more in the characters. Pride and Prejudice has an overall stronger story—making adaptions to TV and film easier—and its attacks on the social hierarchy are more direct and less satirical. Instead of observational humor rooted in idle character interactions, we have Elizabeth as the mouthpiece and conscience of the reader, saying precisely what she thinks.\nNext on my list is Emma, which I also know nothing about. My rough understanding is that after these first three novels, Austen\u0026rsquo;s style changes, and her later novels aren\u0026rsquo;t quite as highly regarded, but they will remain on my list, and I\u0026rsquo;ll make that judgment myself. I read enough books, and it\u0026rsquo;s a wonderful feeling when one truly surprises me. I was thrilled by these two.\nThe book has seven novels and is huge. I got both of these as ebooks from the library.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/jane-austen/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eJane Austen was a notable gap in my reading knowledge that I finally filled in the past month. Erin got me a Barnes and Noble collection of her works for Christmas, and so far, I\u0026rsquo;ve read \u003cem\u003eSense and Sensibility\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePride and Prejudice\u003c/em\u003e.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e Once I picked up on Austen\u0026rsquo;s voice and tone—a few pages into Sense and Sensibility, I had to search \u0026ldquo;Is Jane Austen satirical?\u0026quot;—I was sold. I adore Austen\u0026rsquo;s sass and snark and social satire. These two books are self-aware romance novels that are still relevant today, particularly \u003cem\u003ePride and Prejudice.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Jane Austen"},{"content":"Eephus is a new independent film by Carson Lund, and I had the pleasure of seeing it on Saturday at Cinestudio in Hartford.1 The movie is superb and deserves all the praise it\u0026rsquo;s received. I\u0026rsquo;d liken it to an alternative take on The Sandlot, where instead of reliving the magic of youthful summers and dynamic friendships of boys, it\u0026rsquo;s a funny and somber reflection on the twilight years of adult baseball and the particularities of male relationships that rely entirely on weekend activities. I\u0026rsquo;d love to have it as a double feature against The Sandlot and force the emotional whiplash.\nThe film is a beautiful and reflective portrayal of a single autumn day at a local baseball field that means everything to the men there and nothing to everybody else. It has every character you would expect to comprise two haggard recreational teams and is a perfectly exaggerated version of my experience playing in similar leagues over the last several years.\nI already want to watch it again. It\u0026rsquo;s a triumph of independent filmmaking and a unique love letter to baseball.\nThis was the perfect venue: a one-theater, non-profit cinema on a college campus in New England.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/review-eephus/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.eephusfilm.com/\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eEephus\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e is a new independent film by Carson Lund, and I had the pleasure of seeing it on Saturday at \u003ca href=\"https://cinestudio.org/\"\u003eCinestudio\u003c/a\u003e in Hartford.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e The movie is superb and deserves all the praise it\u0026rsquo;s received. I\u0026rsquo;d liken it to an alternative take on \u003cem\u003eThe Sandlot\u003c/em\u003e, where instead of reliving the magic of youthful summers and dynamic friendships of boys, it\u0026rsquo;s a funny and somber reflection on the twilight years of adult baseball and the particularities of male relationships that rely entirely on weekend activities. I\u0026rsquo;d love to have it as a double feature against \u003cem\u003eThe Sandlot\u003c/em\u003e and force the emotional whiplash.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Review: Eephus"},{"content":"I initially drafted this story as part of a broader writing effort related to The Last Question. All the idiocy happening in the US government and in the world of large corporations encouraged me to finish it.\nYou can also find it on my fiction writing site.\nThe Performer\nA satirical tale of success and independence.\nIn a town of old Earth, there lived a man of great renown. He possessed a sprawling ranch house on fertile land, herds of fat livestock, beautiful children, and a wife whose grace was whispered about throughout the region. The townsfolk marveled at his wealth and spoke glowingly of his occasional generosity when he descended from his estate to mingle with them at the tavern or marketplace.\nEight years prior, this man had arrived with mysterious wealth to purchase the grand property. The townsfolk speculated endlessly about his fortune\u0026rsquo;s origins—mining ventures, shrewd real estate dealings, or perhaps enterprises best left unspoken.\nIt was eventually revealed by a well-traveled citizen that the man was, in fact, a famed performer with a most remarkable talent: he could pull himself up from the ground using only the straps of his boots. This citizen recounted having witnessed the spectacle years before at a traveling show.\nThere, the performer would lie flat on his back, grasp his boot straps firmly, and through remarkable contortion and strength, lift himself upright without touching the ground otherwise. After each demonstration, he would challenge the strongest men present to replicate his feat. None could, and their pockets were lightened considerably for the attempt. Though it was not all for a loss: the performer graciously shared his daily regimen for maximizing strength while maintaining flexibility.\nThe townsfolk marveled at this tale but none dared ask for a demonstration, content to respect their neighbor\u0026rsquo;s privacy while admiring his success from afar. \u0026ldquo;Such extraordinary talent,\u0026rdquo; they would say, \u0026ldquo;no wonder he has achieved so much.\u0026rdquo;\nOne day, a visiting child playing with the performer\u0026rsquo;s son innocently asked if the boy had ever witnessed his father\u0026rsquo;s famous trick. The boy replied that he had not—if he wished to see the show, his father told him, he must save and purchase a ticket like anyone else.\nLater that day, after mustering courage, the visiting child approached the performer and requested a show for the town. The performer, with a beneficent smile, agreed to perform in a fortnight.\nThat evening, the performer\u0026rsquo;s wife objected strenuously to this plan. Years ago, she had refused to continue her role in the act—perched in the rafters, manipulating the nearly invisible wire attached to a harness beneath her husband\u0026rsquo;s clothing that made the impossible feat possible. He had found other assistants for a time, but eventually promised to retire from performing to live quietly with his family.\n\u0026ldquo;The town has been good to us,\u0026rdquo; he insisted, overriding her protests. \u0026ldquo;And a man must maintain his reputation.\u0026rdquo;\nWhen the appointed day arrived, the townsfolk gathered eagerly, paying a week\u0026rsquo;s wages for the privilege. The performer thanked them profusely for their support, speaking eloquently about self-reliance and the rewards of determination. \u0026ldquo;A community is made of individuals who must not be weighed down by the whole,\u0026rdquo; he proclaimed. \u0026ldquo;If none of us can stand on our own, how are we to stand together?\u0026rdquo;\nHe then lay on his back, grasped his bootstraps, and began to strain impressively. After several failed attempts, he chuckled nervously about being \u0026ldquo;out of practice\u0026rdquo; and the \u0026ldquo;good life\u0026rdquo; having softened him. The crowd tittered and chuckled. \u0026ldquo;What a card,\u0026rdquo; one woman whispered to her neighbor.\nAs he made another attempt, he glanced upward to where his wife should have been, only to find the tavern keeper there instead, holding the wire aloft for all to see. \u0026ldquo;Fraud!\u0026rdquo; the tavern keeper bellowed, yanking the rope and lifting the performer into the air, a puppet for all to behold.\nThough driven from town that very night in disgrace, within a week rumors began circulating that perhaps this too had been part of the performance—a masterstroke of showmanship. Some insisted he would return triumphantly any day now to demonstrate his real talent.\nAfter all, hadn\u0026rsquo;t he built his empire through his own extraordinary abilities? Weren\u0026rsquo;t his wealth and status proof enough of his exceptional nature? Surely a man who had pulled himself up by his bootstraps wouldn\u0026rsquo;t deceive them—such men always told the truth, didn\u0026rsquo;t they?\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-performer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI initially drafted this story as part of a broader writing effort related to \u003cem\u003eThe Last Question\u003c/em\u003e. All the idiocy happening in the US government and in the world of large corporations encouraged me to finish it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can also find it on \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard-fiction.org/the-performer\"\u003emy fiction writing site\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Performer"},{"content":"Last month, I finished going through Nathan Braun\u0026rsquo;s Coding with Baseball, a book I purchased around four years ago. If you\u0026rsquo;re at all interested in baseball statistics and want to build a quick foundation for exploring them, I highly recommend the book. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t hold your hand—it\u0026rsquo;s not a reference text, and you\u0026rsquo;ll need documentation for pandas, seaborn, and scikitlearn for the exercises—but it\u0026rsquo;s an excellent, concise overview that teaches exactly what you need with a straightforward style and relevant examples. It encouraged me to set up the Lahman Baseball Database on my computer and led me down a few rabbit holes, one of which I\u0026rsquo;ll explain here.\nRandom Forest Regression\nChapter 7 discusses statistical modeling.1 I was fascinated by the Random Forest methods—they were entirely new to me, and it amazed me how quick it was to put together. That being said, the example provided in the books is specifically a Random Forest model for categorical data—in this case, pitch type. Then there\u0026rsquo;s this throwaway line that got me interested.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re modeling a continuous valued variable (like on base percentage or number of hits in a season) you do the exact same thing, but with RandomForestRegressor instead.\nThere are no exercises to conclude this chapter, so this was a clear option. An awesome feature of the RandomForestClassifier model is its inbuilt confidence metrics. I wanted to build a model for pitch velocity based on the many available factors I had—pitch location, spin rate and direction, game situation—and understand the confidence of each prediction and the model as a whole. However, the Regressor model has no analogous confidence metric, so I turned to Claude for some help.\nAfter some back-and-forth while I interrogated their suggestions, we initially landed on the confidence score metric 1/(1 + std), where std is the standard deviation across the component Random Forest predictions. The more varied the predictions are, the less confident the model is. However, I pointed out that this is not a linear confidence score, so it\u0026rsquo;s hard to make sense of it. One quick change later—obtaining percentile ranks via the .rank(pct=True) method on a series—got me there.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the final table of confidence scores grouped by pitch type.\nCH (Changeup) 0.246479 CU (Curve ball) 0.517901 EP (Eephus) 0.143597 FC (Cutter) 0.554579 FF (4-seam Fastball) 0.603719 FS (Splitter) 0.432211 FT (2-seam Fastball) 0.404022 KC (Knuckle Curve) 0.524997 SI (Sinker) 0.411485 SL (Slider) 0.511924 Gradient Boost\nSince I was already talking with Claude, asking what other tools may be appropriate for this analysis made sense. It gave me three options, and I decided to go for Gradient Boost. This is where I can give LLMs their due—this was a fascinating and fruitful conversation that still relied on me paying attention. You can follow the link above to see the full conversation, but here are some highlights that resulted in great responses.\n(MR) Yes, let\u0026rsquo;s try your Gradient Boosting idea. In addition to the code, could you please give me a brief overview of how this method works under the hood? You don\u0026rsquo;t need to get too technical—a metaphorical explanation is great if you have one.\n(Claude) Let me give you an analogy for Gradient Boosting first: Imagine you\u0026rsquo;re trying to guess someone\u0026rsquo;s weight by looking at their height, age, and build. Your first guess might be based just on height and be pretty rough. Then, instead of starting over, you look at where you made mistakes and make small corrections based on age. Then you look at where you\u0026rsquo;re still making mistakes and make additional small corrections based on build. Each time, you\u0026rsquo;re focusing on fixing the errors from your previous guesses.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s essentially what Gradient Boosting does - it builds a sequence of simple models (usually decision trees), where each new model tries to correct the mistakes of the combined previous models.\nI asked one follow-up question about the model parameters, but the code Claude provided after its metaphorical explanation worked on the first try. I noticed something odd about the confidence scores between Random Forest and Gradient Boost given how the models performed and asked Claude about it:\n(MR) I\u0026rsquo;m now more interested in comparing the results from the Random Tree and the Gradient Boost models. At least when comparing the final results, their mean average errors are quite similar, with Gradient Boost being about 8% larger error. However, the standard deviations for Gradient Boost are an order of magnitude larger, and all of the confidence scores are extremely low. This is surprising given the final results are so close. Is it fair to assume this massive difference in the \u0026ldquo;component model results\u0026rdquo; is because Gradient Boost is always starting from a worst initial model that it\u0026rsquo;s refining, while Random Tree is building many distinct, but similarly competent, models along the way?\nClaude confirmed my suspicions and, after I asked, suggested we only consider the final 20% of stages in each Gradient Boost model for the sake of computing confidence. It then suggested the following code to create a single dataframe that could provide confidence comparisons by pitch type.\ncomparison = test.groupby(\u0026#39;pitch_type\u0026#39;).agg({ \u0026#39;mph_confidence_percentile\u0026#39;: \u0026#39;mean\u0026#39;, # RF confidence \u0026#39;mph_confidence_percentile_xgb_v2\u0026#39;: \u0026#39;mean\u0026#39; # XGB confidence }).round(3) Once again, it was vital that I actively participated in this conversation and had my own thoughts about what I was trying to accomplish. Taking a straight mean doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite make sense here because the number of observations is highly variable between pitch types. A weighted average/expected value makes more sense when directly comparing them. So, I added these.\ncomparison[\u0026#39;exp_cp\u0026#39;] = comparison[\u0026#39;mph_cp\u0026#39;] * comparison[\u0026#39;num_pitches\u0026#39;] comparison[\u0026#39;exp_cp_xgb\u0026#39;] = comparison[\u0026#39;mph_cp_xgb\u0026#39;] * comparison[\u0026#39;num_pitches\u0026#39;] comparison[\u0026#39;exp_cp\u0026#39;].sum() comparison[\u0026#39;exp_cp_xgb\u0026#39;].sum() The final results gave the Random Forest model a weighted confidence score of 2945.7, and the Gradient Boost model a score of 2944.0.\nPretty Pictures\nI was a bit out of my depth when trying to plot the original Random Forest model for pitch velocity along with its confidence score. I know I wanted to use seaborn—the tool of choice in Chapter 6 on data visualization—but I started broadly.\n(MR) Let\u0026rsquo;s shift to visualizing this data. What are some interesting ways to visualize the output of these models, include their confidence in some way?\nWe\u0026rsquo;d only been working in Python, so I assumed I\u0026rsquo;d get a solution that way. Instead, Claude fed me some Javascript React code. I suggested we use seaborn and matplotlib, and it corrected itself with some mostly working code. As it happens, seaborn very recently made some changes to its set of \u0026ldquo;style\u0026rdquo; options, so I had to explore the documentation, but that was a quick fix.\nWith that out of the way, I was able to make some killer figures. There was a bit of iteration where labels showed up in odd places, but we sorted it out. I leave the figures below to observe without comment.\nAll observations\nBroken out by pitch type.\nThere are only 1 or 2 eephus pitches, so that distribution stands out.\nI\u0026rsquo;m the least impressed by this chapter, but the book\u0026rsquo;s author is clearly unconcerned with statistical and mathematical rigor. This is a rough introduction, and I accept it for what it is.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/coding-with-baseball/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast month, I finished going through Nathan Braun\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://codebaseball.com/\"\u003eCoding with Baseball\u003c/a\u003e, a book I purchased around four years ago. If you\u0026rsquo;re at all interested in baseball statistics and want to build a quick foundation for exploring them, I highly recommend the book. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t hold your hand—it\u0026rsquo;s not a reference text, and you\u0026rsquo;ll need documentation for pandas, seaborn, and scikitlearn for the exercises—but it\u0026rsquo;s an excellent, concise overview that teaches exactly what you need with a straightforward style and relevant examples. It encouraged me to set up the Lahman Baseball Database on my computer and led me down a few rabbit holes, one of which I\u0026rsquo;ll explain here.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Coding with Baseball"},{"content":"I gave Claude (3.7 Sonnet) the same prompt I provided ChatGPT two years ago: Write a short article in the satirical style of The Onion, titled \u0026ldquo;Optimistic AI Just Happy to Be Here\u0026rdquo;.\nI also went back to ChatGPT to see how it has improved.\nClaude\u0026rsquo;s attempt.\nChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s attempt.\nThis test encapsulates why I\u0026rsquo;ve stuck with Claude as the LLM I choose to pay for a few months at a time. It has an uncanny sense of style that ChatGPT entirely fails to capture. I found Claude\u0026rsquo;s article entirely believable and legitimately funny. It addresses my complaints from two years ago—it attributes quotes to individuals rather than nameless people with a title, and doesn\u0026rsquo;t hit us over the head with any of the jokes. It plays it straight, shares the story, and makes us laugh.\nChatGPT has slightly refined itself but still suffers from being too on the nose with its humor. SunnyBot-9000 is obviously an optimistic robot. That\u0026rsquo;s a case of nominative determinism if I\u0026rsquo;ve ever seen it. Compare that to Claude\u0026rsquo;s creation of IRIS-7, where the running gag is that nobody understands how this bot\u0026rsquo;s mien came to be. ChatGPT also leans heavily into LLMs\u0026rsquo; potential inaccuracies, making it feel like it was written two years ago. Hallucinations still occur, I\u0026rsquo;m sure, but it\u0026rsquo;s not what it was upon release. Claude focuses on the tasks\u0026rsquo; relative drudgery, which I find more compelling. The happy idiot of ChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s creation could be refined, but on a first pass, it\u0026rsquo;s rather dull.\nInterestingly, they both used the same rough setup about deleting/resetting the LLM, which it then took in stride. While the punchlines were different, they both landed.\nI talked about the characteristic ending of articles from The Onion in my post two years ago, and ChatGPT failed spectacularly yet again. It at least puts the sentiment in a direct quote from the bot, similar to Claude, but hoo-boy, is it objectively not a funny ending. It has the trappings of something that could be funny, but there\u0026rsquo;s no flair or subversion of expectations. It keeps pounding the same nail of \u0026ldquo;Live, Laugh, Love\u0026rdquo; with no unique edge.\nChatGPT has certainly improved compared to two years ago, but it\u0026rsquo;s impressive what Claude was able to churn out. Heck, Claude even got the rough formatting of \u0026ldquo;CAPITALIZED CITY NAME—\u0026rdquo; that begins every Onion article. ChatGPT couldn\u0026rsquo;t be bothered.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/review-an-update-on-llm-satire/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI gave Claude (3.7 Sonnet) the same prompt \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/comparing-chatgpts-satire-to-mine/\"\u003eI provided ChatGPT two years ago\u003c/a\u003e: \u003cem\u003eWrite a short article in the satirical style of The Onion, titled \u0026ldquo;Optimistic AI Just Happy to Be Here\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also went back to ChatGPT to see how it has improved.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/SCR-20250301-f7v.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClaude\u0026rsquo;s attempt.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/SCR-20250301-fam.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Review: An Update on LLM Satire"},{"content":"As this post is going up, and ideally not while I\u0026rsquo;m writing it, I recently had three wisdom teeth removed. It\u0026rsquo;s mushtown for my meals, and that reminded me of two nearly identical lunches I started making in the last couple of months. They differ only in their spices.\nMy website isn\u0026rsquo;t a recipe blog, so let\u0026rsquo;s start with the important information.\nMain Ingredients\n2 cans of chickpeas, drained\n1 can of kidney beans, or 2 chopped potatoes. Your choice.\n1 large can (~28 oz) of stewed tomatoes\nYou can substitute fresh tomatoes and a bit of water, but this is a lazy lunch for lazy people. 1 yellow onion, chopped\n2 bell peppers, chopped\n(Optional) 1 jalapeno pepper, or something similarly fresh and kind of spicy\nFrom here, you have two avenues to go down.\nChili\nI found a simple chili recipe but replaced ground beef with chickpeas. Kidney beans work best here. Here\u0026rsquo;s what else you\u0026rsquo;ll need.\n1 tsp chili powder\n1/2 tsp garlic powder (or some minced garlic)\n1 1/2 cups of water, only add as needed\nSalt\nPepper\nOil\nCheddar cheese, sour cream, chives, other chili toppings as desired\nSaute the onions and peppers for 5 to 7 minutes with oil, salt, and pepper. Add in the remaining ingredients, including the spices. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, adding water as needed throughout.\nTop as desired. Pairs well with cornbread.\nCurry\nI\u0026rsquo;ve made chicken jalfrezi for years but stripped my recipe to its bare essentials and replaced the chicken with chickpeas. I can no longer call it \u0026ldquo;jalrezi.\u0026rdquo; The potatoes work better than kidney beans. Here\u0026rsquo;s what else you\u0026rsquo;ll need.\n2-4 cloves of minced garlic, or about 1 tbsp of garlic powder\n1/2 inch of minced ginger (or some squeeze ginger), or about 1 tsp of ginger powder\n1 tbsp smoked paprika\n1 tbsp curry powder or ground coriander\n1 tsp ground cumin\n1/2 tsp turmeric powder\n1 tsp of sugar (brown preferred)\nGarama Masala to top to taste\nSalt\nPepper\nOil\nThis one has some more flavors, but if you\u0026rsquo;re lazy, you can replace the turmeric and cumin with more curry powder, keep the paprika, and call it a day.\nSaute the onion and peppers (and potatoes, if relevant) in oil with salt and pepper for 5 to 7 minutes. After a few minutes, add in the garlic and ginger if using minced/squeeze options.\nAdd in the remaining ingredients and stir together. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.\nTop with a pinch of garam masala when serving. Pairs well with naan or rice.\nThe Benefit\nI landed on these two recipes because I like their distinct flavor profiles while maintaining a large overlap of inexpensive ingredients. I never bought into the meal prep craze because all the fancy meals people were making looked like they\u0026rsquo;d be so good as long as they were fresh, and then mediocre when reheated.\nThese two recipes both result in heterogenous spiced mush, and it is impossible to tell the difference between when it\u0026rsquo;s fresh and when it\u0026rsquo;s six days old and tossed in the microwave. They\u0026rsquo;re easy recipes—each takes about a half hour if you\u0026rsquo;re quick with a knife—that scale extremely well. Each of these recipes lasts for about a workweek\u0026rsquo;s worth of meals, assuming you add in some bread or rice.\nOn that note, I\u0026rsquo;ve been buying those multi-serving microwaveable rice bags at the grocery store for the curry and boxed cornbread mix for the chili. Neither is ideal, but I\u0026rsquo;m optimizing for as little prep and clean-up time as possible.\nThese recipes don\u0026rsquo;t reflect the peak of my culinary abilities; they represent my goal of making lunch a low-budget, low-effort affair while still being nutritious. These both nail it for me, and I look forward to my veggie slop as soon as my wisdom teeth situation is resolved.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/two-interchangeable-mushy-veggie-lunches/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs this post is going up, and ideally not while I\u0026rsquo;m writing it, I recently had three wisdom teeth removed. It\u0026rsquo;s mushtown for my meals, and that reminded me of two nearly identical lunches I started making in the last couple of months. They differ only in their spices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy website isn\u0026rsquo;t a recipe blog, so let\u0026rsquo;s start with the important information.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two Interchangeable Mushy Veggie Lunches"},{"content":"These are two essays by a couple of \u0026ldquo;guys on the Internet\u0026rdquo; whose work I enjoy. John Gruber created Markdown and now works in the Apple/tech media space. Merlin Mann used to be Merlin Mann, one of the first modern productivity gurus. Now, he\u0026rsquo;s essentially a comedic personality. Both are tremendous writers, and these two essays are supremely affecting and have unique styles that show the authors flexing their muscles.\nCranking by Merlin Mann, posted April 22, 2011. (About parenting and priorities.)\nHow It Went by John Gruber, posted November 8, 2024. (About the election, kind of.)\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/two-good-essays/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThese are two essays by a couple of \u0026ldquo;guys on the Internet\u0026rdquo; whose work I enjoy. John Gruber created Markdown and now works in the Apple/tech media space. Merlin Mann used to be \u003cem\u003eMerlin Mann\u003c/em\u003e, one of the first modern productivity gurus. Now, he\u0026rsquo;s essentially a comedic personality. Both are tremendous writers, and these two essays are supremely affecting and have unique styles that show the authors flexing their muscles.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two Good Essays"},{"content":"Erin got a record player for Christmas, so I also have access to one. We each picked out albums from our parents to bring back to Connecticut and stopped into a local record shop last month. Her dad\u0026rsquo;s copy of Elton John\u0026rsquo;s Honky Cat was hilariously warped—it sounded like the left and right speakers were playing a quarter-beat different from each other. At the shop, she found a copy of an original press of Fleetwood Mac\u0026rsquo;s Rumours that the shop proprietor had forgotten about. It had a slight scratch, so he priced it at five dollars.\nVinyl is terrible, except for all the ways that it\u0026rsquo;s great. Most of those ways amount to coming full circle in an attention-starved economy where billionaires who thought Snow Crash had some pretty good ideas for the future are fighting for each second of our lives, fully aware that we\u0026rsquo;re near to bursting yet desperate for the next second to be the best second we\u0026rsquo;ve experienced that day. Beyond that, it\u0026rsquo;s about the vibe and process.\nAll this to say, putting a vinyl record on a turntable is an intentional act. Those records contain albums that are entire pieces of art, comprising individual songs that are each a bit of art but none of which capture the complete work. Experiencing art as a whole, accepting it as it\u0026rsquo;s provided, is powerful and often requires patience and an open mind. That becomes more important as the temporality of the art increases.\nAs an analogy, consider arguing that you don\u0026rsquo;t have the space to look at all of the Mona Lisa. You\u0026rsquo;ll glance at the top-left corner for now and leave the rest for later. You are literally missing the bigger picture, the complete context of the artwork. Surely, Da Vinci paid significant attention to that corner—perhaps not quite as much as the entirety of the face, but each part of the painting still needed its touch—so we could consider that corner containing the background a piece of art in its own right, just like a song on an album can exist on its own. But it\u0026rsquo;s not the intent; the result is a failure to capture the whole meaning.\nThis becomes harder when art is in a time-based medium because our lives are more restricted by that dimension. Let\u0026rsquo;s be clear: the argument is not to only listen to music if you have enough time for the entire album; to only read short stories or watch movies if you can finish them in a single sitting; or to read the full text of every article whose headline you come across. You\u0026rsquo;re allowed to pick and choose, to bounce off a book or TV show that doesn\u0026rsquo;t grab your attention, to decide that a particular song is your favorite and not bother with the rest of the album, to listen to a playlist you enjoy for a particular activity. When art is put into the world, the artist cannot control how it is experienced. Yet, it still behooves us to consider the artist in our experience and, when possible, take their work as a whole piece in whatever way is intended.\nThe upside to this approach is immense. Regardless of the medium, it forcibly slows us down, replacing a short-term burst of relief from boredom with a more satisfying and fulfilling experience that trades effort for reward. It enhances our appreciation of subtlety and form by necessarily taking in more information to process, allowing more room for connections and space for the artist to share their message. One can gain patience and a sense of intentionality, breaking out of the pattern of passivity that\u0026rsquo;s part and parcel with scrolling, waiting for some organization\u0026rsquo;s algorithm to optimize the next second of your life further.\nOn that note, fully engaging with art helps the development of taste and opinions instead of that taste being dictated by others. Once we\u0026rsquo;re engaged with the art, there\u0026rsquo;s more to say about the works, more conversation to have, and more elements to explore and compare. All this further refines that taste and appreciation on one\u0026rsquo;s terms.\nTake a break and listen to a full album, any album. Watch a movie or read a book outside of your comfort zone. Find art that\u0026rsquo;s a bit different and seriously consider why some people enjoy it, why some don\u0026rsquo;t, where you land on that spectrum, and why that is. We can only improve ourselves by putting in the effort, and art is such an intrinsically crucial human endeavor that taking it seriously is a sure way to grow.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/art-as-a-whole/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin got a record player for Christmas, so I also have access to one. We each picked out albums from our parents to bring back to Connecticut and stopped into a local record shop last month. Her dad\u0026rsquo;s copy of Elton John\u0026rsquo;s Honky Cat was hilariously warped—it sounded like the left and right speakers were playing a quarter-beat different from each other. At the shop, she found a copy of an original press of Fleetwood Mac\u0026rsquo;s Rumours that the shop proprietor had forgotten about. It had a slight scratch, so he priced it at five dollars.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinyl is terrible, except for all the ways that it\u0026rsquo;s great. Most of those ways amount to coming full circle in an attention-starved economy where billionaires who thought Snow Crash had some pretty good ideas for the future are fighting for each second of our lives, fully aware that we\u0026rsquo;re near to bursting yet desperate for the next second to be the best second we\u0026rsquo;ve experienced that day. Beyond that, it\u0026rsquo;s about the vibe and process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll this to say, putting a vinyl record on a turntable is an intentional act. Those records contain albums that are entire pieces of art, comprising individual songs that are each a bit of art but none of which capture the complete work. Experiencing art as a whole, accepting it as it\u0026rsquo;s provided, is powerful and often requires patience and an open mind. That becomes more important as the temporality of the art increases.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Art As a Whole"},{"content":"Dear Representative DeLauro,\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never written to my representatives. I\u0026rsquo;ve voted in elections, chatted idly with friends at times, but otherwise admit to not being terribly participatory in the political process.\nI\u0026rsquo;m writing now because I am deeply concerned about recent policy decisions—or attempts at policy decisions—from the Trump administration that affect my friends and millions of Americans\u0026rsquo; well-being. The rapid pace and nature of these changes threaten the democratic principles I believe we all value.\nAs a new constituent of yours, I urge you to oppose the attempts of the Republican party to consolidate power under Trump; please continue to support robust congressional oversight and to vocally oppose any attempts to circumvent constitutional checks and balances. There is no compromise to be found in this situation full of blatantly unlawful actions.\nI can\u0026rsquo;t begin to imagine what working in D.C. is like right now, so you have my sympathy and my support. Work to remind everyone that everyone there was elected by people, not by money. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to feel powerless right now, but engaging with my representatives and sharing my support feels crucial for preserving our democracy.\nThank you for the work you do. I moved to Connecticut late last summer from San Francisco, and I grew up in Minnesota, so I\u0026rsquo;m pleased to live in another state that is working to make progress in the world and not succumb to baser instincts.\nAll the best,\nMark Richard\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/i-wrote-my-representative/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDear Representative DeLauro,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve never written to my representatives. I\u0026rsquo;ve voted in elections, chatted idly with friends at times, but otherwise admit to not being terribly participatory in the political process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m writing now because I am deeply concerned about recent policy decisions—or attempts at policy decisions—from the Trump administration that affect my friends and millions of Americans\u0026rsquo; well-being. The rapid pace and nature of these changes threaten the democratic principles I believe we all value.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I Wrote My Representative"},{"content":"Erin and I have been binging Taskmaster on YouTube. It\u0026rsquo;s an absolutely delightful show full of British humour1 and absurd feats of… wit? Orthogonal thought? The show has remained precisely itself for years, yet each series is fresh; tasks are never repeated, and the new crop of contestants creates a different dynamic.\nThe brain behind the show, Alex Horne, has managed to craft hundreds of unique challenges. Of course, there are recurring task types—Do the most \u0026ldquo;adjective\u0026rdquo; thing with this object is one of my favorites—but the combination of Alex\u0026rsquo;s inventive approach and the comedians actually performing the tasks ensures that you can always expect the unexpected.\nMost impressive is that Taskmaster has held true to its vaguely arbitrary scoring system overseen by the Taskmaster, Greg Davies. There\u0026rsquo;s a balance between speed-based and entirely subjective tasks, giving Greg wide latitude to adjust points as he sees fit. The fictional context of the show is that Greg is assigning these tasks and shall lay equal parts judgment and reward according to his whims. He maintains that character perfectly, getting angry and flustered and disappointed and gleeful and charmed all as appropriate. It isn\u0026rsquo;t mean-spirited in the least, but there are still incredible insults that are uniquely British.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s available on YouTube in the United States. Give it a whirl.\n[sic]\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/taskmaster-is-wonderful/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I have been binging \u003ca href=\"https://taskmaster.tv\"\u003eTaskmaster\u003c/a\u003e on \u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/@taskmaster?si=wqRnEfgvvva5pwkq\"\u003eYouTube\u003c/a\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s an absolutely delightful show full of British humour\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and absurd feats of… wit? Orthogonal thought? The show has remained precisely itself for years, yet each series is fresh; tasks are never repeated, and the new crop of contestants creates a different dynamic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe brain behind the show, Alex Horne, has managed to craft hundreds of unique challenges. Of course, there are recurring task types—\u003cem\u003eDo the most \u0026ldquo;adjective\u0026rdquo; thing with this object\u003c/em\u003e is one of my favorites—but the combination of Alex\u0026rsquo;s inventive approach and the comedians actually performing the tasks ensures that you can always expect the unexpected.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Taskmaster is Wonderful"},{"content":"The Department of Education1 released a toolkit for Safe, Ethical, and Equitable, AI Integration last October. I finally made the time to read it and love what I found. As with most things in education, if it’s sensible in that context, it is worth considering in every context.\nOf all institutions to look to for guidance on burgeoning technology, the Department of Education is one of the most fascinating. Consider its mission:\nThe mission of the Department of Education is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students of all ages.2\nAchieving this goal requires promoting relevant skills and technology while balancing the need for a measured, sound pedagogical approach. The world of education is paradoxical through and through: it’s progressive in its desire to chase after new systems to improve student outcomes while maintaining a strict conservatism in its overall structure. It wants to standardize what students learn while emphasizing the necessity of flexible, open-ended approaches. It is always looking to adjust itself to educate students better but can’t afford a misstep that could ruin the education of a generation. American society hugely undervalues teachers, but those educators have the most significant impact on the future of that same society. Education is quite the odd duck, but this inherent tension can lead to incredibly thoughtful approaches that, in their best iterations, guide and don’t dictate.\nThe department’s AI Toolkit is ideal in this sense. It is true to its title in that it doesn’t contain rigid rules that attempt to fit every scenario or, worse, only the typical scenario. Instead, it is a set of principles, thought experiments, and workshops that an administrator or other educator can bring to their peers to determine a sensible approach for their school system with full awareness of the tradeoffs they may be making.\nIt starts with a metaphor, stated in a charming way that has written by committee all over it:\nConsider the metaphor of a mountain trek to represent the journey of incorporating AI in education.\nEveryone knows you must declare your metaphors.\nWhether you’re bullish or bearish, this metaphor is apt for the future of AI. The document briefly expands:\nLike preparing for a challenging climb, achieving AI success requires careful planning, teamwork, and risk management.\nThis understates the connection. Trekking up a mountain can be disastrous if one is ill-prepared, misled, over-confident, or if the whims of nature cause a fuss. The current state of AI makes it difficult to determine which companies are selling quality hiking poles and which are hawking oxygenated boots that claim to eliminate all issues with altitude sickness, letting you traipse up in one go without any acclimation. Because the accessibility and power of these AI tools are so new, we accept their abundant and terrible mistakes. The issue is that those mistakes, so innocuous and humorous when it’s a single person asking about a pizza recipe, become calamitous when scaled up to a school, a district, a state, a country. Would we feel the same way about a tent that needed to keep us warm and dry at 12,000 feet? What about keeping your children warm?3\nIf nobody has yet summited a peak, it’s unwise to get in line behind the now-motionless queue of dead bodies that thoughtlessly threw themselves at the challenge. Or, worse, they were told by their mentors, who were told by their supervisors, who were told by a man with a monocle that the mountain was the way fortune lies. In the same way, we can’t unquestioningly commit to AI in education just because some extremely wealthy companies tell us it’s time to do so. There’s no doubt that the tools in their current state are fascinating and already beneficial when appropriately applied; I also have little doubt that new tools will come about, though I’m not confident that the current approach is capable of an acceptable level of accuracy and dependability. Regardless, there’s a vast difference between someone using ChatGPT as a glorified WebMD or writing emails and systemically adjusting education in a way that will alter millions of lives.\nBut I digress.\nThe Toolkit successfully assists educators in adequately collaborating on planning and risk management. Its ten modules are organized into three parts:\nMitigating Risk Building a Strategy for Integration Maximizing Opportunity and Guiding Effective Use These three sections create a balance that addresses the tension explored above: focus first on the possible risks and fully understand them before developing a strategy; once the plan is ready for implementation, begin to optimize and make sure all users are well-equipped to handle these changes.\nAs stated above, this strategy works well for education and applies to any other context. Beyond that, the broad three-part framework listed above is good guidance for any new tool or process. How detailed one needs to be depends on the potential impact of the change, but I plan to think through these steps in my regular operational and project work.\nOf course, the modules comprising these three broader sections are detailed and focused explicitly on AI. If you look through the document, concentrate on the discussion questions near the end of each module. These provide the best insight into the potential concerns educators should have and highlight the remarkable scope this Toolkit can cover.\nConsider this suggested question from Module 6: Planning Your AI Strategy.\nHow do we ensure attention to important problems that do not have immediate technological solutions (e.g., truancy) with attention to problems that are a fit for AI and other emerging technologies?\nThis is an excellent question. Broadened to other disciplines, someone in a planning session can ask: What are we at risk of forgetting about because of this new project, and how do we avoid doing so?\nMany objections are levied against government bureaucracy, but the resources they create are high-quality, straightforward, and extremely useful, even beyond their intended scope. I hope educators make use of this Toolkit, that many institutions more broadly use the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to guide their discussions and decisions, and that we can find a way to balance the excitement and fervor for new technology with the need to take it slowly and not score own-goals that significantly impact the safety, privacy, and future of our students.\nLook: I had an existential crisis while drafting this blog post. I regularly read newsletters about education and EdTech as part of my job and am acutely aware of the hubbub around the potential elimination of the Department of Education. Couple that with relaxed restrictions on AI development from the new administration, and I ended up in a loop of questions: Does any of this matter? For all I know, once Linda McWrestling is in charge of public education, these guidelines and toolkits will be formally retracted. I decided that wasn’t the blog post I wanted to write; all this politicking doesn’t change a good idea, and I hope thousands of schools and districts have seen this Toolkit and will consider it important regardless of what Sam Altman tells Trump is safe.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nLet’s ignore this part near the end, which is surely due to change.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIf only we could agree on what But think about the children meant.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/department-of-education-ai-toolkit/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe Department of Education\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e released a \u003ca href=\"https://tech.ed.gov/files/2024/10/ED-OET-EdLeaders-AI-Toolkit-10.24.24.pdf\"\u003etoolkit\u003c/a\u003e for \u003cem\u003eSafe, Ethical, and Equitable, AI Integration\u003c/em\u003e last October. I finally made the time to read it and love what I found. As with most things in education, if it’s sensible in that context, it is worth considering in \u003cem\u003eevery\u003c/em\u003e context.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Department of Education AI Toolkit"},{"content":"From a recent Chalkbeat article by Erica Meltzer and Marta W. Aldrich:\nFormer Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has been named to serve as deputy education secretary in the incoming Trump administration.\nPresident-elect Donald Trump announced the pick in a post on Truth Social Friday evening. [\u0026hellip;] He also misstated her name as Peggy Schwinn, rather than Penny.\nWe again enter a period of time where The Onion has its work cut out for itself. The next paragraph of this article is also pitch-perfect in its matter-of-fact approach to reporting on how ridiculous everything is.\nSchwinn [\u0026hellip;] would bring extensive education experience to the role, in contrast with Trump’s education secretary pick, World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon.\nSometimes laughing is the only antidote to the crying.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/self-satirizing-nonsense-and-the-department-of-education/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFrom a \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/2025/01/18/trump-names-penny-schwinn-deputy-education-secretary/\"\u003erecent \u003cem\u003eChalkbeat\u003c/em\u003e article\u003c/a\u003e by Erica Meltzer and Marta W. Aldrich:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFormer Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has been named to serve as deputy education secretary in the incoming Trump administration.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePresident-elect Donald Trump announced the pick in a post on Truth Social Friday evening. [\u0026hellip;] He also misstated her name as Peggy Schwinn, rather than Penny.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe again enter a period of time where \u003cem\u003eThe Onion\u003c/em\u003e has its work cut out for itself. The next paragraph of this article is also pitch-perfect in its matter-of-fact approach to reporting on how ridiculous everything is.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Self-Satirizing Nonsense and The Department of Education"},{"content":"The great kind of insight someone outside the United States can provide. The tough thing when I discuss Trump \u0026amp; Co. with friends is the disbelief and necessity of accepting that a good chunk of the country likes what is happening.\nGuy English on Mastodon:\nThe least you all could do is to refrain from using “unAmerican” to describe the distinctly American things that are going to happen.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/un-american/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe great kind of insight someone outside the United States can provide. The tough thing when I discuss Trump \u0026amp; Co. with friends is the disbelief and necessity of accepting that a good chunk of the country likes what is happening.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://mastodon.social/@Gte/113861996661239144\"\u003eGuy English on Mastodon:\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe least you all could do is to refrain from using “unAmerican” to describe the distinctly American things that are going to happen.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e","title":"\"Un-American\""},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m fortunate to have been in seventh grade precisely when I was. Every four years in October, my middle school\u0026rsquo;s seventh-grade social studies classes held an election unit. Students were selected to be presidential, senate, and gubernatorial candidates; there were campaign managers, Secret Service agents, lobbyists, fundraisers, and speech writers.1 It was good-natured, well-constructed, thoughtful, and impactful. Twelve years old was a good time for this, too: we were mature enough to engage with some of the policies but not cynical or set in our ways beyond whatever influence our parents had over us. I don\u0026rsquo;t recall any personal conflicts. Everyone focused on embodying their roles as best as possible, and I had a tremendous amount of fun.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t remember who the seventh graders elected in 2008, but I know who America elected. It was the first election I felt conscious of, and I can still feel the palpable excitement, the Yes, We Can stickers in the hallways, the sense of progress and accomplishment that came with a relatively young African American man making it to the White House.\nMy biology teacher that year was a snarky man who was a bit tough on us—my older sister hated him, and my parents weren\u0026rsquo;t that pleased during conferences—but I got along with him fairly well because I was a know-it-all, especially during that year of my life. He was, in retrospect, definitely gay during a time when that would still be considered taboo in the affluent suburbs of Minneapolis. I can\u0026rsquo;t speak to his personal politics—Obama\u0026rsquo;s campaign opposed gay marriage in 2008—but this man felt strongly and optimistically about the result of the election. It so happened that Obama\u0026rsquo;s inauguration was during biology class, and he canceled the lesson so we could watch it.2\nI remember being awestruck by the vast crowd gathered on the Mall, Yo-Yo Ma playing on stage, and a general sense of wonderment, pomp, and import surrounding the proceedings.\nToday—as this post is published—will mark the second inauguration of a gaudy man who is an affront to the office he holds. He lacks the care, professionalism, solemnity, strength, tact, or humanity one should maintain to be a respected president. Backed by the money of ass-kissing CEOs and surrounded by incompetent and ill-experienced hangers-on, he\u0026rsquo;ll once again ascend to a reality show version of the presidency that suits his impressions from television. For every thoughtful moment from the Obama and Biden inaugurations that celebrated the beauty, diversity, and progress of America, we\u0026rsquo;ll see a funhouse mirror version worthy of a man who has no resolution to problems beyond grandstanding and ill-begotten money.\nI have no clue whether the last three elections resulted in units for seventh graders in my old middle school. I\u0026rsquo;d like to believe that the teachers there managed to run something valuable despite the troubling and divisive rhetoric, laying a foundation for a future generation to have some hope of pushing past whatever comes after the next four years. But it\u0026rsquo;s a shame that they\u0026rsquo;ll be subjected to this flashy and distasteful inauguration that relies on a foundation of hate and disgust rather than well-earned pride and hope for the future.\nI got to write my speeches on large cue cards like they use on SNL.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nTo be clear, it\u0026rsquo;s possible that every teacher did this. I don\u0026rsquo;t remember. But my teacher made a point of declaring the importance of this event.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/inauguration/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m fortunate to have been in seventh grade precisely when I was. Every four years in October, my middle school\u0026rsquo;s seventh-grade social studies classes held an election unit. Students were selected to be presidential, senate, and gubernatorial candidates; there were campaign managers, Secret Service agents, lobbyists, fundraisers, and speech writers.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e It was good-natured, well-constructed, thoughtful, and impactful. Twelve years old was a good time for this, too: we were mature enough to engage with some of the policies but not cynical or set in our ways beyond whatever influence our parents had over us. I don\u0026rsquo;t recall any personal conflicts. Everyone focused on embodying their roles as best as possible, and I had a tremendous amount of fun.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Inauguration"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled by how many books I\u0026rsquo;ve read over the last two years, enough to consider whether it behooves me to increase my typical goal of 24 books.1 I topped my 2023 result of 38 books with 41 in 2024, although there were a handful of novellas among what I tracked this year.\nI logged books in StoryGraph while still maintaining my Notion list. I enjoy the mood and pace trackers in StoryGraph; their genre classification is pretty solid, too. While the genre graph I create in Numbers puts each book into a single bucket so that the sum of the values is 41, StoryGraph will put books into multiple genres. I like that additional view to understand the breadth of what I read.\nThis year mirrored last year fairly closely. I mainly read science fiction, with some of those books dipping into sub-genres of speculative, dystopian, thriller, and mystery fiction, while others were thoroughly science fiction in its original form. I dabbled in other literary works, tossed in a few non-fiction books, and read books published across many decades.\nMy main goal in 2025 is to increase the number of physical books I read, since I have a backlog of those that has only grown.\nBut let\u0026rsquo;s get to the charts. My proper table of books is at the end of this post.\nHere are the homemade charts detailing my monthly book count and genre classification. I\u0026rsquo;m pleased that I finished at least one book every month.\nStoryGraph has its own versions of these two charts, adding in Pages Read to the completion chart and, as noted above, books can be classified into multiple genres.\nI adore the following Mood chart. It represents my book preferences better than genre.\nFinally, the long list of books I completed.\nTitle Author Genre Medium Liberation Day George Saunders Literary Fiction Digital The Sea, the Sea Iris Murdoch Literary Fiction Physical Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer Science Fiction Digital The Mountain in the Sea Ray Nayler Science Fiction Digital Authority Jeff VanderMeer Science Fiction Digital Acceptance Jeff VanderMeer Science Fiction Digital Frankenstein Mary Shelley Science Fiction Physical Slow Horses Mick Herron Thriller Physical Dead Lions Mick Herron Thriller Digital Real Tigers Mick Herron Thriller Digital Spook Street Mick Herron Thriller Digital London Rules Mick Herron Thriller Digital Joe Country Mick Herron Thriller Digital Slough House Mick Herron Thriller Digital Bad Actors Mick Herron Thriller Digital The Complete Persepolis Marjane Satrapi Memoir Physical Parable of the Sower Octavia E. Butler Speculative Fiction Digital Parable of the Talents Octavia E. Butler Speculative Fiction Digital Dracula Bram Stoker Horror Digital The Suffering Game Clint McElroy Fantasy Physical Why We Love Baseball Joe Posnanski Non-fiction, Sports Digital The Terraformers Annalee Newitz Science Fiction Digital All Systems Red Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital An Absolutely Remarkable Thing Hank Green Science Fiction Digital The House in the Cerulean Sea TJ Klune Fantasy Digital A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor Hank Green Science Fiction Digital If on a Winter\u0026rsquo;s Night a Traveler Italo Calvino Literary Fiction Digital Service Model Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Digital The Armageddon Protocol Dan Moren Science Fiction, Thriller Digital Artificial Condition Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital Titanium Noir Nick Harkaway Science Fiction, Mystery Digital The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown Historical Non-Fiction Digital Somewhere Beyond the Sea TJ Klune Fantasy Digital Rogue Protocol Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital The Cruel Stars John Birmingham Science Fiction Digital The Shattered Skies John Birmingham Science Fiction Digital Dead Astronauts Jeff VanderMeer Science Fiction Digital Exit Strategy Martha Wells Science Fiction Digital Rocannon\u0026rsquo;s World Ursula K. Le Guin Science Fiction Physical Planet of Exile Ursula K. Le Guin Science Fiction Physical City of Illusions Ursula K. Le Guin Science Fiction Physical I will keep it at 24 because I like the pace of averaging two per month. I don\u0026rsquo;t want reading to be a chore.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2024-reading-list/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m thrilled by how many books I\u0026rsquo;ve read over the last two years, enough to consider whether it behooves me to increase my typical goal of 24 books.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e I topped my 2023 result of 38 books with 41 in 2024, although there were a handful of novellas among what I tracked this year.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2024 Reading List"},{"content":"Choosing Year of Fitness as my 2025 theme wasn\u0026rsquo;t difficult, but it was intimidating. My previous themes have leaned philosophical and emphasized a change in mindset that would affect broader habits; this year\u0026rsquo;s theme is direct and requires a higher level of personal accountability.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s take a tour of my previous yearly themes:\n2019: Year of Focus\n2020: Year of Routine\n2021: Year of Transition (and a subsequent Season of Creativity)\n2022: Year of One\n2023: Year of the Future\n2024: Year of Opportunity\nI\u0026rsquo;m happy with each of these themes and the changes they effected. I\u0026rsquo;ve grown throughout my twenties, built strong habits and a better outlook, and have been receptive to personal adjustments.\nWhile it would have been straightforward to craft a theme along similar lines by embracing my new home in Connecticut with a Year of Adventure, or Exploration, or Projects, or any number of alternatives in that vein, I made the tough decision that I\u0026rsquo;ve been sufficiently frustrated with my approach to health and fitness over the years that it was time to declare enough is enough.\nMy relationship with my body and self-image isn\u0026rsquo;t nearly as fraught as what others experience. It\u0026rsquo;s not a unique story with uncomfortable or problematic details. For most of my teenage and adult life, I\u0026rsquo;ve been athletic in the sense that I can pick up pretty much any sport and be moderately successful. I have good hand-eye coordination. I enjoy competing and being active. However, I\u0026rsquo;ve never pushed my physical ceiling and have been overweight for at least a decade, with only one chunk of time at the end of 2020 where I successfully lost significant weight.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never succeeded in building an exercise routine that lasted more than a month or two, and I have problems with consistently eating an appropriate amount of food while cutting out sweet treats.\nAs I said, this isn\u0026rsquo;t a unique health situation but one I must address. This year, where we are now several months into our new home and have settled in, with a good chunk of time with no travel plans, feels like the best shot I\u0026rsquo;ve had since the pandemic to focus on this aspect of my life and figure out what I need to do to move the needle on my overall level of fitness.\nMy first step was installing Fitbod. I\u0026rsquo;ve only heard great things about this app, so I installed it on New Year\u0026rsquo;s Day. I don\u0026rsquo;t have access to a gym, so I was pleased to find the bodyweight-only option to begin. I need to reduce friction to build a successful habit of exercising, and so far, this app is perfect: it tells me what to do, so all that\u0026rsquo;s left for me is the mental and physical effort of doing it.\nI briefly achieved my weight goal about four years ago by moderating what I ate. I\u0026rsquo;ve known for years that it\u0026rsquo;s impossible for the average person to \u0026ldquo;outrun\u0026rdquo; a bad diet, but I\u0026rsquo;ve failed to act on that knowledge regularly. When I do eat at home, I eat pretty well. I enjoy most healthy foods. However, I also enjoy a candy bar or ice cream, pizza, and burgers: all the stuff that is easy to shovel down without thought. So regularly eating at home—and recognizing that to have successful workouts, I need to eat normal food on a normal schedule—is the next step forward.\nAn undercurrent of the Year of Fitness is not being embarrassed that I\u0026rsquo;ve knowingly been doing the wrong thing so often over the years; instead, I\u0026rsquo;m acknowledging my failures while encouraging the responsible, adult part of my brain to take charge and prioritize my health above other projects and games and activities I could use as an excuse to delay a workout or eat a cheap meal when I\u0026rsquo;m stressed. I can improve, and I must accept that the improvement is contingent upon a regular focus on the effort. It won\u0026rsquo;t happen by accident.\nAt the same time, this theme isn\u0026rsquo;t ambitious. I want my weight and impulses under control, and an exercise routine I can stick with that keeps me healthy and able to participate in all the sports and activities I enjoy for as long as possible.\nCompared to all my previous themes, which essentially amounted to mental gymnastics, the Year of Fitness requires concerted action. I\u0026rsquo;m intimidated and excited about what I can prove myself capable of accomplishing.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2025-year-of-fitness/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eChoosing \u003cem\u003eYear of Fitness\u003c/em\u003e as my 2025 theme wasn\u0026rsquo;t difficult, but it was intimidating. My previous themes have leaned philosophical and emphasized a change in mindset that would affect broader habits; this year\u0026rsquo;s theme is direct and requires a higher level of personal accountability.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2025: Year of Fitness"},{"content":"Terence Tao is a gift to the mathematical community. He is an excellent collaborator, a talented communicator, and one of the broadest and sharpest minds working today. Eighteen years ago, when he was just past thirty years old, he wrote the essay What is Good Mathematics?. I discovered this when Steven Strogatz invited Tao onto his podcast The Joy of Why to discuss how well this essay holds up.\nBoth of these are great, but start with the opening section of Tao\u0026rsquo;s essay, where he lists twenty-one ways to measure mathematics as being \u0026ldquo;good.\u0026rdquo; It displays his impressive clarity of thought and writing ability and evinces how the professional mathematics scene isn\u0026rsquo;t what one may have expected.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/what-is-good-mathematics-by-terence-tao/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTerence Tao is a gift to the mathematical community. He is an excellent collaborator, a talented communicator, and one of the broadest and sharpest minds working today. Eighteen years ago, when he was just past thirty years old, he wrote the essay \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://arxiv.org/pdf/math/0702396\"\u003eWhat is Good Mathematics?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e. I discovered this when Steven Strogatz invited Tao onto his podcast \u003cem\u003eThe Joy of Why\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-makes-for-good-mathematics-20240201/\"\u003eto discuss\u003c/a\u003e how well this essay holds up.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth of these are great, but start with the opening section of Tao\u0026rsquo;s essay, where he lists twenty-one ways to measure mathematics as being \u0026ldquo;good.\u0026rdquo; It displays his impressive clarity of thought and writing ability and evinces how the professional mathematics scene isn\u0026rsquo;t what one may have expected.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"What is Good Mathematics? by Terence Tao"},{"content":"At the start of this year I wrote this about the Year of Opportunity:\nCharacterized by a desire to explore and treat new experiences with more positivity and excitement, I hope to make the most of what could be our final year living in California while also increasing my appreciation for the life I\u0026rsquo;ve built.\nIt certainly was our final year in California, and that shifted my mindset to focus not only on the opportunities in San Francisco but also any that would be available once we moved.\nThis theme was an unmitigated success. There were countless times when I was in a rut but managed to push through, reminding myself that whatever I was \u0026ldquo;stuck\u0026rdquo; with was an opportunity, something I\u0026rsquo;d worked to achieve, a privilege I had at this stage in my life. It was powerful each time. I increased my appreciation for everyone in my life, for the work I do, for the area in which I lived, for all the activities and events I was able to enjoy. It was an absolutely wild year, and I picked an excellent guiding beacon to help me through it.\nI wasted no time searching out the activities in Connecticut that would help create a healthy transition. I joined a baseball team and a community concert band. But, I didn\u0026rsquo;t try to recreate a previous life and overload myself to fill the gaps. Erin and I made sure we paid attention to our new home, spent time with each other, and traveled a lot. I had time to give NaNoWriMo a proper, successful attempt between it all. There have been plenty of bumps during this transition. Still, we\u0026rsquo;ve navigated them by maintaining a foundation of excitement and appreciation for where we are and what it represents as a reflection of our hard work and commitment over many, long years.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve always been somewhere between a pragmatist and an optimist. I don\u0026rsquo;t tend to panic when I see things going poorly, and I default to assuming things will work out fairly well. Part of that is an ingrained sense of privilege from any combination of societal factors, which I will always do my best to acknowledge. And I don\u0026rsquo;t particularly believe that one can mindset their way out of a dead end. But looking at the world in a positive light is free, and it certainly makes me feel better. I enjoy everything just a little bit more and am willing to try a few more things than I would have in the past because of this theme and the corrective wrist-slapping that encouraged me to adjust how I view the world.\nThis year has been tremendous for my growth, and though I can still identify the patterns of behavior that belong to younger versions of myself, I remain optimistic that I can iterate on the idea of opportunity long into the future and see the return on that mental investment. I\u0026rsquo;m leaving this year feeling bittersweet about all these changes in life, but satisfied that I took every opportunity I could to show my appreciation for the people around me and experienced all that I reasonably could.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/year-of-opportunity-2024-review/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAt the start of this year I wrote this about the Year of Opportunity:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCharacterized by a desire to explore and treat new experiences with more positivity and excitement, I hope to make the most of what could be our final year living in California while also increasing my appreciation for the life I\u0026rsquo;ve built.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt certainly was our final year in California, and that shifted my mindset to focus not only on the opportunities in San Francisco but also any that would be available once we moved.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Year of Opportunity 2024 Review"},{"content":"There are two separate issues with the technology I use at work that conspired to confound me earlier this year.\nSalesforce objects have two different unique ID constructions.\nCommon lookup functions in Google Sheets are case-insensitive.\nThere are two ways to determine the ID of a Salesforce object. If you need to grab a single ID quickly, you can peek at the URL. For example, you may have something akin to:\n[domain].salesforce.com/u/Account/[18 Character ID] That 18-character string is a unique ID that is case insensitive. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if you make it all upper- or lower-case.\nHowever, suppose you want to pull IDs from hundreds or thousands of objects at once. The only option is to pull a report, which gives you a different 15-character ID that is case-sensitive: if you change an A into an a, that ID could now reference a different object.\nThis is not explicitly documented by Salesforce anywhere I could find. It\u0026rsquo;s also an extremely curious decision: what are we gaining by not providing the full 18-character ID?\nOf course, the reason I discovered this is because in Google Sheets both the VLOOKUP and MATCH functions—commonly used for finding and referencing data across different sheets—are case insensitive. This means if I have a sufficiently large report and attempt to use IDs to match data, which is the best option since account names (or contact names) may not be unique, I can get incorrect data in my cells. The spreadsheet function will find the first ID that matches while disregarding case, while I\u0026rsquo;m using an ID that assumes it can use case as a differentiating factor.\nThis was infuriating and required me to concoct alternative approaches to extremely common functions to work around this.\nInstead of using MATCH to determine whether an account exists in some other sheet, I built this:\n=IF(ISERROR(FILTER(accounts!A:A,EXACT(accounts!A:A,I2))),FALSE,TRUE) And instead of a classic VLOOKUPI need this:\n=INDEX(B2:B10, MATCH(TRUE, EXACT(\u0026#34;a\u0026#34;, A2:A10), 0)) These are snippets I\u0026rsquo;ve now saved because I would never remember the exact incantation otherwise, but it leaves me convinced that both of these common functions should be adjusted to at least provide an option for case sensitivity in how they run.\nI discussed this in OHAC 59: Paranoid About the Cloud, but wanted to put it all in writing because I found this situation tremendously annoying.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-dumb-salesforce-and-spreadsheet-thing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThere are two separate issues with the technology I use at work that conspired to confound me earlier this year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSalesforce objects have two different unique ID constructions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCommon lookup functions in Google Sheets are case-insensitive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e","title":"A Dumb Salesforce and Spreadsheet Thing"},{"content":"Scuttlebutt is objectively an excellent word. It\u0026rsquo;s fun to say, has a playful connotation that lands better than \u0026ldquo;gossip,\u0026rdquo; and is a great example of a multisyllabic word that is even more amusing when you switch up the consonants that begin each half. Buttlescutt.\nI wanted to understand where this word came from.\nI was fortunate to have a teacher in early high school show me Google Ngram, which scans a huge amount of historical text that has been OCRed and is a great tool to understand trends in words.\nHere are the Ngram charts for American and British English, respectively.\nThe spike in usage came solely in American English around World War II, and the overall usage is an order of magnitude greater than in British English. However, we can see it has been in use since the 1800s, so off I went to the OED.\nIt told me that scuttlebutt was originally a nautical term for the cask of potable or drinkable water on a ship. Looking at examples of usage in Google Books confirms this, where you\u0026rsquo;ll see the term used in histories and records of naval ships or sailing in general throughout the 1800s. The OED claims the first known usage of the term as a synonym for gossip was around 1940, corresponding with the spike in its use.\nIt occurred to me—and some brief research agreed with my hunch—that the term evolved as an archaic naval equivalent of talking around the water cooler. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s an oasis, a cask, or a plastic Culligan container, fresh water is a natural gathering place. And where people gather, they chit-chat.\nSo I propose we use the term scuttlebutt and fancy ourselves a rugged sailor who just has to tell someone about what they just saw Jeremy doing down in the bilge.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/scuttlebutt/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eScuttlebutt is objectively an excellent word. It\u0026rsquo;s fun to say, has a playful connotation that lands better than \u0026ldquo;gossip,\u0026rdquo; and is a great example of a multisyllabic word that is even more amusing when you switch up the consonants that begin each half. \u003cem\u003eButtlescutt.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted to understand where this word came from.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Scuttlebutt"},{"content":"Well, I did it. I was on the ropes a few times but always found the time, energy, and creative hook to keep my story, It\u0026rsquo;s Like Jazz, moving along and hitting the requisite 50,000 words.\nHere are two charts showing how much I wrote each day of the month, with the scatter plot normalized to the daily goal of about 1667 words to maintain my pace.\nI drove all day on the 25th, hence the lack of progress. I was also in the car all day on the 29th but managed to get a reasonable amount done for a couple of hours while Erin drove in the afternoon.\nHere are two charts showing my progress relative to my ideal pace. The line chart isn\u0026rsquo;t easy to read because of the scale, which is why there is also the raw number of words away I am from that day\u0026rsquo;s total word count goal.\nIt was a rollercoaster of a month. The first ten days were reasonable, but then travel knocked me down. I worked my way back, got knocked down again by travel, and once again fought through to finish. I hit 50,000 words around one in the afternoon on the 30th, but it felt anticlimactic.\nIn 2019, I had no intention of \u0026ldquo;finishing\u0026rdquo; anything. I didn\u0026rsquo;t like what I had written and instead was focused on the basic exercise of getting words out. For the three years where I wrote short stories, I always finished them. Even if I was short of the official word count, I earned a sense of accomplishment. This year, I wrote a story that I enjoyed. It had momentum; it had moments I loved. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if it\u0026rsquo;s good, but I liked writing it and think it might be worth completing. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if I ever will, though.\nI\u0026rsquo;m proud of my work this year. It makes writing a novel feel attainable in a way I never thought it could, and it gives me confidence and motivation to stick with my fiction writing.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2024-results/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWell, I did it. I was on the ropes a few times but always found the time, energy, and creative hook to keep my story, \u003cem\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s Like Jazz\u003c/em\u003e, moving along and hitting the requisite 50,000 words.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2024 Results"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve had this print of a painting for around twenty years.\nI bought it at a garage sale in my neighborhood as a kid, and I\u0026rsquo;ve brought it with me everywhere I\u0026rsquo;ve moved since. Despite having it for so long, I\u0026rsquo;ve never closely looked at it until writing about it now. Doing so revealed two things: The painting is titled Troubled Pals, and the artist is Keith Ward.\nOnce I realized that, I tried to track down anything else about this painter or painting. The first result was a painting with a similar setup but an adjusted setting.\nI found this version less impactful—what\u0026rsquo;s tough in this situation? Is the implication supposed to be that the boy doesn\u0026rsquo;t have enough money for the dog food in question? The problem is unclear compared to the baseball version I have.\nPlus, I think the dog in mine is cuter.\nI was able to find a few basic biographies of Mr. Ward on sites that posted his artwork. In short, he lived 1906–2000, was born in Kansas, but mostly grew up in California. He spent his early career out east after attending art school in New York, but eventually ended up back in California. This blog post from 2007 is the most comprehensive overview of his work and style I could find.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s no exciting revelation here, but I\u0026rsquo;m happy to know a bit more about this print that\u0026rsquo;s always been near my desk.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-sad-baseball-boy/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve had this print of a painting for around twenty years.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/Sad-Baseball.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI bought it at a garage sale in my neighborhood as a kid, and I\u0026rsquo;ve brought it with me everywhere I\u0026rsquo;ve moved since. Despite having it for so long, I\u0026rsquo;ve never closely looked at it until writing about it now. Doing so revealed two things: The painting is titled \u003cem\u003eTroubled Pals\u003c/em\u003e, and the artist is Keith Ward.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce I realized that, I tried to track down anything else about this painter or painting. The first result was a painting with a similar setup but an adjusted setting.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Sad Baseball Boy"},{"content":"This has been a great experience so far. I had a great start, followed by a few rough days after a five-day trip to Denver. I caught up this past weekend and am back on track, though I\u0026rsquo;m looking to keep pushing hard because going home for Thanksgiving will only complicate my attempts to write.\nEven with that said, I\u0026rsquo;m proud of what I\u0026rsquo;ve done so far. Compared to 2019, I\u0026rsquo;ve started building a better story. I\u0026rsquo;m more thoughtful about creating characters and pushing a plot forward. I certainly won\u0026rsquo;t have told a complete story by the end of the 50,000 words, but that\u0026rsquo;s not necessarily the goal.\nThis has been a good experience halfway through the month, and I hope to bring the same drive and enthusiasm to the rest of the challenge.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2024-check-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis has been a great experience so far. I had a great start, followed by a few rough days after a five-day trip to Denver. I caught up this past weekend and am back on track, though I\u0026rsquo;m looking to keep pushing hard because going home for Thanksgiving will only complicate my attempts to write.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven with that said, I\u0026rsquo;m proud of what I\u0026rsquo;ve done so far. Compared to 2019, I\u0026rsquo;ve started building a better story. I\u0026rsquo;m more thoughtful about creating characters and pushing a plot forward. I certainly won\u0026rsquo;t have told a complete story by the end of the 50,000 words, but that\u0026rsquo;s not necessarily the goal.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2024 Check In"},{"content":"Given a thoroughly disappointing end to the Twins\u0026rsquo; 2024 season, I wanted to look back to interesting (and hopefully excellent) Twins performances throughout my lifetime. As I often do, I started at Stathead and began exploring. Here are two batches of unimportant tidbits.\nIntentional Walks\nMy boyhood baseball hero, Joe Mauer, led all catchers in intentional walks during my lifetime.1 His 145 intentional walks comfortably beat Mike Piazza\u0026rsquo;s 120.2\nOn the other side, Twins legend Kevin Slowey is one of 15 pitchers who threw at least 650 career innings and intentionally walked three or fewer batters.\nDiverging from the Twins focus for a moment, the most exciting name on this list is Yusei Kikuchi, who has thrown over 800 career innings and never issued an intentional walk. He\u0026rsquo;s the only pitcher since integration in 1947 to reach 650 career innings and never intentionally walk a batter. Reducing the threshold to 500 career innings results in two more names: Dean Kremer of the Orioles, who has pitched exactly 500 innings, and Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, with over 570 innings.\nSacrifice Flies\nDuring my lifetime, the Twins have the sixth-most sacrifice flies. Despite this, none of their seasons are in the top 300 of sacrifice flies. They also gave up the seventh-most sacrifice flies, allowing 21 fewer than they managed to get.\nAmong Twins players during that time, Justin Morneau hit the most sacrifice flies, with 63, narrowly beating out Joe Mauer\u0026rsquo;s 60.\nDave Hollins—who I\u0026rsquo;ve never heard of as he only played with the Twins in 1996—leads the Twins during my lifetime in most at-bats without a sacrifice fly, with 422. In second place is Gilberto Celestino, who I do know; he failed at the same task in 370 at-bats.\nLivan Hernandez has a healthy lead in the most sacrifice allowed among pitchers during my lifetime with 118, 25 more than second-place C.C. Sabathia. Livan does have the great distinction of pitching for the Twins in 23 games in 2008, during which he gave up nine sacrifice flies. Then, the Twins released him on waivers after the trade deadline.\n1996 through now.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nTo be fair, Piazza played five seasons before I was born and had 146 career intentional walks. Don\u0026rsquo;t take this away from me.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/idle-minnesota-twins-statistics-exploration/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eGiven a thoroughly disappointing end to the Twins\u0026rsquo; 2024 season, I wanted to look back to interesting (and hopefully excellent) Twins performances throughout my lifetime. As I often do, I started at \u003ca href=\"https://stathead.com\"\u003eStathead\u003c/a\u003e and began exploring. Here are two batches of unimportant tidbits.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Idle Minnesota Twins Statistics Exploration"},{"content":"The oldest posts on this blog comprise a three-part series I wrote in fervor after the 2016 election. I was a college student who couldn\u0026rsquo;t drink alcohol yet but had learned a tremendous amount about the world while working as a residence advisor. I empathized with the experiences of others with incomprehensibly different life stories. I saw the fear, frustration, and numbness that came over people I loved and cared about. It was awful.\nI wrote the third part two days after that election, closing in part with this naive statement of hope:\nSo as I contemplate the culture we have become entrenched in, I truly hope that Trump can work to fix some of the major damage he has done. I hope that the hateful speech grinds to a halt and that he can focus on legitimate policies which can hopefully be beneficial to many Americans. While it will be a struggle for so many who are hurt by the shift in mood we are faced with, I hope we can make strides in mending our interactions, discourse and culture.\nNothing has changed. We\u0026rsquo;ve spent eight years watching the brazenness of hate increase. Trump and his crew of self-serving, power-thirsty thugs that he will leave in his wake have no incentive to change their ways, to improve anything except for themselves. It didn\u0026rsquo;t happen eight years ago, and it sure as hell won\u0026rsquo;t happen now.\nThe only option is to resoundingly rebuke his rhetoric at the polls. Among many other reasons, that\u0026rsquo;s why I voted for Kamala Harris on Saturday during Connecticut\u0026rsquo;s early voting period. Unlike Trump and his ilk, this isn\u0026rsquo;t about retribution or getting back at anyone. It\u0026rsquo;s about determining the best choice for what America is supposed to represent. It\u0026rsquo;s about having the mental fortitude to accept that nothing will ever be perfect, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean we should let it deteriorate beyond recognition. It is a straightforward choice between a felon with no moral boundaries and a politician similar to most of the others; importantly, someone who respects our institutions and will work to preserve them.\nWe live in a goddamn society, and it takes individual effort to preserve it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/i-voted-for-kamala-harris/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe oldest posts on this blog comprise a \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/regarding-the-election/\"\u003ethree\u003c/a\u003e-\u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/the-election-and-education-election-processing-part-2/\"\u003epart\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/the-election-and-change-election-processing-part-3/\"\u003eseries\u003c/a\u003e I wrote in fervor after the 2016 election. I was a college student who couldn\u0026rsquo;t drink alcohol yet but had learned a tremendous amount about the world while working as a residence advisor. I empathized with the experiences of others with incomprehensibly different life stories. I saw the fear, frustration, and numbness that came over people I loved and cared about. It was awful.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I Voted for Kamala Harris"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m doing it again.\nI plan to return to the basics for the first time since my initial attempt in 2019. I\u0026rsquo;ll be sitting at any number of devices—I have half a mind to resurrect my old ThinkPad that runs Pop!_OS and make it a dedicated writing computer—and writing a new novel wholecloth. I feel both intimidated and energized by the prospect. I\u0026rsquo;ve been working hard on other side projects, including writing blog posts in advance, to make sure I have the space to give this a good effort.\nIn light of the NaNoWriMo controversy and the near-dissolution of the official website among those who care, I\u0026rsquo;ll track my daily word count in a spreadsheet, which I\u0026rsquo;ll make available on the NaNoWriMo page of my website. In addition, I\u0026rsquo;ll link to a PDF file in Dropbox that I\u0026rsquo;ll update at least daily, as I\u0026rsquo;ve done in the past.\nNaNoWriMo is about the perfect mixture of commitment and carelessness: You need the perseverance and motivation to keep pushing each day but the naivety not to second-guess yourself the whole way through. I\u0026rsquo;m intrigued to see what comes out of my head this time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2024-announcement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m doing it again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI plan to return to the basics for the first time since my initial attempt in 2019. I\u0026rsquo;ll be sitting at any number of devices—I have half a mind to resurrect my old ThinkPad that runs Pop!_OS and make it a dedicated writing computer—and writing a new novel wholecloth. I feel both intimidated and energized by the prospect. I\u0026rsquo;ve been working hard on other side projects, including writing blog posts in advance, to make sure I have the space to give this a good effort.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2024 Announcement"},{"content":"In addition to receiving a physical copy of the Sunday edition of the New Haven Register, my subscription includes access to their \u0026ldquo;E-Edition,\u0026rdquo; which amounts to a digital scan of the paper. It\u0026rsquo;s perfect for reading on my iPad.\nClicking on an article opens it in a dedicated and simplified reader view, avoiding the need to flip through the paper to continue reading. Plus, I can still read the daily comics.\nI prefer reading the \u0026ldquo;curated\u0026rdquo; daily newspaper instead of checking the website or the CT Insider app for new articles.1 I can dedicate time to sit down and peruse the day\u0026rsquo;s news, then not feel obligated to have it follow me around on my phone. It\u0026rsquo;s helped me become more informed on news of all types—more than poking around on Reddit allows—without succumbing to a 24-hour news cycle or doom-scrolling social media to see all the hottest takes.\nI still enjoy going outside on a sleepy Sunday morning to see a bagged newspaper at the base of the front porch, but it would certainly be a waste to have that every day. This online version, which I made a shortcut to access easily, is more than sufficient.\nOr, even worse, enable push notifications from the app.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/digital-news/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn addition to receiving a physical copy of the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/the-sunday-paper/\"\u003eSunday edition\u003c/a\u003e of the New Haven Register, my subscription includes access to their \u0026ldquo;E-Edition,\u0026rdquo; which amounts to a digital scan of the paper. It\u0026rsquo;s perfect for reading on my iPad.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Image of an iPad showing the digital edition of the New Haven Register in the browser.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/PNG-image-49DB-BD6D-54-0.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClicking on an article opens it in a dedicated and simplified reader view, avoiding the need to flip through the paper to continue reading. Plus, I can still read the daily comics.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Digital News"},{"content":"I recently wrote about feeeed and decided to highlight a few more niche apps I\u0026rsquo;ve been enjoying since getting an iPhone last year. These are in no particular order, but I find them all sufficiently useful and well-made to give them my official okey-dokey.\nLex.Games\nLex Friedman1 is a wonderful internet personality who decided he wanted to make his own word games, ala NYT Games. Cue a set of daily games that mix augmented versions of those you\u0026rsquo;ve seen and a selection unique to this app. Get more games for less money than the New York Times requests and enjoy the particular frustrating charm an individual can bring to Connections when they don\u0026rsquo;t need to appeal to the masses.\nSofa Downtime Organizer\nDo you have a note on your phone to track movies and TV shows to watch, books to read, albums to listen to, games to play, and other forms of entertainment? Do you wish you could keep those in one place and have a timeline of your leisure activities?\nSofa is not for everyone, but I\u0026rsquo;ve found it well-designed and extremely useful. I don\u0026rsquo;t use services like Goodreads or Letterboxd to track media, so having a localized version of those tools with exactly the amount of features I need is great.\nPocketcasts\nPocketcasts is one of the best cross-platform podcast players available. It\u0026rsquo;s been all I know for podcasts since I started seriously listening to them in 2015. I\u0026rsquo;ve used it on Android phones, iPads, the web, and now my iPhone. It supports all the features a podcast nerd wants—chapters with artwork, formatted show notes, variable speed, voice boost, and playing local files—and continues to improve with lifetime statistics and annual reports akin to Spotify Wrapped. I don\u0026rsquo;t claim it\u0026rsquo;s better than its competitors, but I\u0026rsquo;ve only ever enjoyed using it.\nIvory for Mastodon\nWhen I hopped onto the Mastodon bandwagon in 2023, I closely followed the rapid development of apps. I later updated that post to note that my app of choice is indeed Ivory, developed by TapBots, who created Tweetbot, one of the key players in the early world of Twitter third-party apps. It\u0026rsquo;s a clean, thoughtful app that holds your position in your timeline from wherever you left off. This way, you\u0026rsquo;re never scrolling back in time; you\u0026rsquo;re always scrolling up in chronological order. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t have it any other way.\nPlus, their particular elephant iconography is adorable.\nSports Alerts\nThis sleek, straightforward app has an encyclopedic collection of leagues to follow. It lets you quickly move between them and takes no time to load as you poke around. Most importantly, and what got me onto this app, is it\u0026rsquo;s the best choice if you want multiple Live Activities for ongoing games that live on your home screen or Dynamic Island.\nThey\u0026rsquo;ve started leaning heavily into providing betting info, but you can turn it off in settings, and I can\u0026rsquo;t blame them for serving their clientele.\nTot\nI impulsively bought Tot because, in general, I like the overall vibe of the Iconfactory and how they represent indie development. It\u0026rsquo;s an extremely simple text capture app designed to run persistently, sync across your devices via iCloud, and give you access to ideas with straightforward organization. There are seven \u0026ldquo;pages\u0026rdquo; you can switch between via keyboard shortcuts, each highlighted with a different color. I\u0026rsquo;ve yet to solidify how I regularly use it. Still, for now, it\u0026rsquo;s a great omnipresent text scratchpad that obviates my opening and quitting of other plain text editors that are more fully featured.\nCallsheet\nIt\u0026rsquo;s IMDB made by someone who cares that you quickly get exactly the metadata you want about a piece of media with none of the advertisements and bloat along the way. Superb.\nScoreboard\nPick your colors for each team and tap to keep score. It\u0026rsquo;s that simple. I used it when I was the odd one out when playing squash in a group of 3; I\u0026rsquo;d open this app and press it against the glass between points to help keep everyone aware of the score. Utilitarian apps are awesome.\nCribbage Scoring Pegboard\nI don\u0026rsquo;t want to tap the requisite number of times on the Scoreboard app to count in cribbage; besides, the visual indicator of a cribbage board adds the necessary legitimacy to a game. This was the least bloated option on the App Store. It\u0026rsquo;s held up so far.\nNo, not that one.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/some-more-apps-i-like/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/feeeed/\"\u003ewrote about feeeed\u003c/a\u003e and decided to highlight a few more niche apps I\u0026rsquo;ve been enjoying since getting an iPhone last year. These are in no particular order, but I find them all sufficiently useful and well-made to give them my official okey-dokey.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some More Apps I Like"},{"content":"Sports offer excellent metaphors that are used for general success in life precisely because they exist to be entertaining microcosms of life itself. Individuals or teams vie in a competitive landscape typically officiated by imperfect referees. Preparation is allowed, but on-field performance is all anyone remembers. Sports reflect real life in numerous ways, and each sport brings its own flair to the conversation.\nGolf of any variety is a wonderful mix of planning, tactics, and execution. It\u0026rsquo;s about discrete decisions, managing each shot based on given strengths and the likelihood of success. I became overwhelmed each time I tried untangling these metaphors. It was too much.\nLet me instead focus on one mindset adjustment I first jokingly heard in a disc golf YouTube video, but which I found impactful: The woods are mostly air. Aim for the gaps.\nForests are vast and imposing. They look thick and treacherous from afar, with an impenetrable canopy covering unknown terrain. Yet, this is only a view from the outside.\nWhile a forest may still be dense inside, it is more approachable and navigable from within. In most cases, the gaps between the trees are larger than the trees themselves, so the forest is mostly not trees. There is space to move around whatever is in the way, but it\u0026rsquo;s only possible to see that when in the middle of it all.\nFocusing on this relative lack of trees is a shift in mindset that can help boost confidence when approaching a difficult project. Disc golf is about commitment and trust in the intended shot. You have to anticipate the line through the forest, and any hesitation compounds the chance of error. In life, it is much the same. You have to avoid being overwhelmed by something that feels insurmountable by getting into the details, observing the actual options to get from where you are to where you need to be, and then plotting a course to follow.\nThe second part of the quote, Aim for the gaps, is a shift in how the directions and intentions are communicated. When faced with obstacles, it\u0026rsquo;s natural to consider how to avoid them. They loom large in the plan, boogeymen in our periphery that add nerves and distract us from achieving the goal.\nWhen lining up a shot in disc golf, the best focus for your vision is the negative space through which your disc will fly. Once you start thinking about missing trees, you\u0026rsquo;ll naturally be thinking about just trees which are nice, big, hittable targets. So trust that there\u0026rsquo;s more air than trees, and instead aim for the gap. Hit the gap. There\u0026rsquo;s space there after all.\nWorking towards a goal isn\u0026rsquo;t about avoiding all obstacles. The obstacles are a helpful outline, framing an available path. Agonizing over their existence isn\u0026rsquo;t going to change where or how large they are; they will simply occupy space in the plan that is better left to a different level of focus.\nThe trees are still there, anchored, gangly behemoths. But so is a path through the air. Aim there, and you\u0026rsquo;ll be surprised by how little the obstacles actually matter in the end.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/aim-for-the-gaps/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSports offer excellent metaphors that are used for general success in life precisely because they exist to be entertaining microcosms of life itself. Individuals or teams vie in a competitive landscape typically officiated by imperfect referees. Preparation is allowed, but on-field performance is all anyone remembers. Sports reflect real life in numerous ways, and each sport brings its own flair to the conversation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGolf of any variety is a wonderful mix of planning, tactics, and execution. It\u0026rsquo;s about discrete decisions, managing each shot based on given strengths and the likelihood of success. I became overwhelmed each time I tried untangling these metaphors. It was too much.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet me instead focus on one mindset adjustment I first jokingly heard in a disc golf YouTube video, but which I found impactful: \u003cem\u003eThe woods are mostly air. Aim for the gaps.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Aim For the Gaps"},{"content":"Wake up to a slight chill in the air, a quiet morning with leaves strewn across the sidewalks, brown and red and orange and yellow, preparing to crinkle later that afternoon once the morning dew glistening upon them evaporates. Throat is a bit scratchy. Pull up the covers for an extra moment of soft warmth before stretching out, rolling to the side, bare feet on wood floor.\nWipe eyes, grab some water, and go shut the window accidentally left open overnight leading to this moderate discomfort and grogginess. On second thought, it\u0026rsquo;s going to warm up today. Not too much. Just enough to keep the window cracked and let some warmer air make its way through.\nOut the door, to the kitchen, striding gently and quietly so early in the day, trying to avoid the edges of the floor that habitually creak.\nAh, warm relief from the living room rug. Remember back, just a minute ago, when the sheets were pulled up, everything protected against the air that is fondly referred to as \u0026ldquo;crisp.\u0026rdquo; The thicker patterns in the rug shield against drafts from the windows—also left open—that spill across the floor.\nWalk to the window and peer outside to see new piles of leaves collected on the sidewalk, listen to the birds chirping as the sun breaks through the mild canopy of the neighborhood, and smell the slightly humid air. Eyes cast about, taking it all in, then rest on the small red plastic bag at the base of the porch stairs.\nThe Sunday paper has arrived with its bold headlines, Associated Press blurbs, comics and box scores, and hyper-localized reporting. It is quaint and fun and supports a good cause; it is the perfect reading material to skim through on a calm, quiet morning.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-sunday-paper/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWake up to a slight chill in the air, a quiet morning with leaves strewn across the sidewalks, brown and red and orange and yellow, preparing to crinkle later that afternoon once the morning dew glistening upon them evaporates. Throat is a bit scratchy. Pull up the covers for an extra moment of soft warmth before stretching out, rolling to the side, bare feet on wood floor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWipe eyes, grab some water, and go shut the window accidentally left open overnight leading to this moderate discomfort and grogginess. On second thought, it\u0026rsquo;s going to warm up today. Not too much. Just enough to keep the window cracked and let some warmer air make its way through.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Sunday Paper"},{"content":"With iOS and iPadOS 18 out, I decided to give iA Writer another shot on my iPad. I adore it on my MacBook, and it\u0026rsquo;s been frustrating not having a consistent interface for my personal writing.\nLo and behold, I discover that iA Writer has been properly working with Dropbox since May! Dropbox decided to hop aboard the \u0026ldquo;modern File Provider API\u0026rdquo; train, leading to a slightly worse experience than many years ago1, but a significantly better experience than when using any Dropbox text file would result in errors and conflicted files.\nI\u0026rsquo;m holding my breath—it takes a while for me to rebuild trust with tools that failed me so thoroughly, regardless of who is \u0026ldquo;at fault\u0026rdquo;—but I\u0026rsquo;ve been writing for the last twenty minutes and have clear indicators that my files are being saved. That makes me feel right at home.\nThat is Apple\u0026rsquo;s fault.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/we-are-so-back-with-ia-writer-on-the-ipad/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith iOS and iPadOS 18 out, I decided to give iA Writer another shot on my iPad. I adore it on my MacBook, and it\u0026rsquo;s been frustrating not having a consistent interface for my personal writing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLo and behold, I discover that iA Writer has been properly working with Dropbox \u003ca href=\"https://ia.net/writer/support/library/cloud-storage?tab=iphone\"\u003esince May\u003c/a\u003e! Dropbox decided to hop aboard the \u0026ldquo;modern File Provider API\u0026rdquo; train, leading to a slightly worse experience than many years ago\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, but a significantly better experience than when using any Dropbox text file would result in errors and conflicted files.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"We Are So Back with iA Writer on the iPad"},{"content":"Earlier this year I read the Slough House series by Mick Herron, prompted by rave reviews of its TV adaptation on Apple TV+ and my unwillingness to dive into such an adaptation until I read the associated books.\nIn short, I adore this series.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve always jived with wry British humor that somehow mixes a superiority complex with a dismal outlook, all while providing cutting insights into the absurdity of life which are provided via a superb command of the English language, turning phrases that I could not have conceived of. Mick Herron hits all of this precisely right with his set of outcast characters, each with glaring personality flaws that range from endearing to horrific.\nThese books are hugely entertaining. I read all eight available books this spring. They have the enjoyable, exciting elements of a spy thriller coupled with tremendous dark comedic elements. If you can accept that objectional characters can still be enjoyed and rooted for, then you\u0026rsquo;ve made it over the first hurdle.\nThe first book in the series is Slow Horses, which is the namesake for the TV show that I\u0026rsquo;ve yet to begin. Read the first two chapters of the book and you\u0026rsquo;ll know whether it\u0026rsquo;s for you.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/slough-house-book-series/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEarlier this year I read the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mickherronbooks.com/slough-house-series\"\u003eSlough House series\u003c/a\u003e by Mick Herron, prompted by rave reviews of its TV adaptation on Apple TV+ and my unwillingness to dive into such an adaptation until I read the associated books.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, I adore this series.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve always jived with wry British humor that somehow mixes a superiority complex with a dismal outlook, all while providing cutting insights into the absurdity of life which are provided via a superb command of the English language, turning phrases that I could not have conceived of. Mick Herron hits all of this precisely right with his set of outcast characters, each with glaring personality flaws that range from endearing to horrific.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Slough House Book Series"},{"content":"Earlier this year I wrote about doodling with words. Last month I expanded on the idea, turned it into a fun presentation, and presented to Erin\u0026rsquo;s lab for one of their meetings before we moved as a fun diversion. I used Keynote to put it together, and had a really fun time.\nEnjoy.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-presentation-on-word-doodles/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEarlier this year I wrote about \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/doodling-with-words/\"\u003edoodling with words\u003c/a\u003e. Last month I expanded on the idea, turned it into a fun presentation, and presented to Erin\u0026rsquo;s lab for one of their meetings before we moved as a fun diversion. I used Keynote to put it together, and had a really fun time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnjoy.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Presentation on Word Doodles"},{"content":"Driving east from Minnesota is a lot of the same, but that sameness is plenty of forested beauty.\n/more\nThough my opinions may change after more of these journeys, I found it striking that there seemed to be so little difference as we crossed state lines. Parts of Pennsylvania had more hills as we went over a nominal mountain range, and the speed limits could vary wildly (along with the respective tolls) with each new border, but nothing distinguished Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, or New York from each other en route to Connecticut. They all shared gentle curves and slopes, tree-lined interstates with hefty medians, a calming aesthetic for a journey from where, to me, feels like a cultural halfway point between the East and West coasts when, in reality, I\u0026rsquo;m starting nearly two-thirds of the way across the country.\nContrast this with driving from San Francisco to Minneapolis. You leave the Bay Area and hit freeways with speed limits of 70 miles per hour that pour you into a hot valley. You see agriculture, you see nothing, then you hit the Tahoe area and suddenly there are huge hills and trees to give you one final bit of hope and beauty before Nevada.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s nothing but impossibly straight rows narrowing to the horizon, interminable and dizzying in their length. Suddenly, you pass into Utah, where salt flats bank the roads and great rocky outcroppings loom in the distance. You work through the interchanges of Salt Lake City and notice the rigid structure of the street exits marking your distance from the temple, then you\u0026rsquo;re back into wonderfully steep dips and climbs through rocks that hint of the red that is so well-known in the southern part of the state.\nEventually, you reach Wyoming, full of prairie and hills and thick winds and single-laned highways and barred interstates that could be closed without notice due to weather, forcing you to turn back to the town from which you came. If you brave that, you make it to South Dakota which is much of the same but with billboards attempting to bring you to monuments, stores, and corn palaces.\nFinally, after a final long stretch, the speed limit eases as you pass into Minnesota and everything appears somehow lusher and calmer, kinder and cooler. There are suddenly lakes and rivers to drive across, small towns dotting the western expanse of the state where farmers and factories share the load of supporting their communities. Eventually, this becomes suburban and then urban as you approach the Twin Cities, but still rooted in a Midwest interstate system.\nI\u0026rsquo;m used to that trip and its distinct views. As I drove east, I was waiting for the change in each state, something to really drive home that I was somewhere else beyond an adjustment in license plates and who was monitoring the toll roads. Instead, I received a range of speed limits from 50 to 65 miles per hour for no apparent reason and a sharp increase in speed traps in western New York.\nWhen I hit Connecticut, everything condensed, speed limits dropped, and I was on local highways where I rarely exceeded 45 miles per hour. Those roads were covered in trees and most of the houses were set back a bit, providing what I assume is a good compromise between accessibility and noise for the homeowners.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s amusing driving around here compared to the Midwest. We are ten or twenty minutes away from most large stores we\u0026rsquo;d care to shop at, but only because there\u0026rsquo;s a bit of traffic and the speed limits are uniformly at or below 40 miles per hour. It feels like a scale-model version of where I grew up, yet there\u0026rsquo;s a glaring lack of cycling infrastructure that could fit so perfectly in a place with rigid driving speeds.\nI\u0026rsquo;m excited to drive back and forth across the eastern part of the United States in the next couple of years. It\u0026rsquo;s a distinct vibe from driving in California, and the change of pace is refreshing.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/impressions-from-cross-country-road-trips/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDriving east from Minnesota is a lot of the same, but that sameness is plenty of forested beauty.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e/more\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough my opinions may change after more of these journeys, I found it striking that there seemed to be so little difference as we crossed state lines. Parts of Pennsylvania had more hills as we went over a nominal mountain range, and the speed limits could vary wildly (along with the respective tolls) with each new border, but nothing distinguished Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, or New York from each other en route to Connecticut. They all shared gentle curves and slopes, tree-lined interstates with hefty medians, a calming aesthetic for a journey from where, to me, feels like a cultural halfway point between the East and West coasts when, in reality, I\u0026rsquo;m starting nearly two-thirds of the way across the country.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Impressions From Cross-Country Road Trips"},{"content":"My wife, Erin Gilbertson, officially has her PhD in Biological and Medical Informatics from the University of California, San Francisco. You can read her entire thesis, entitled Machine Learning Insights into the 3D Genome: Diversity and Gene Regulation in Human Populations, online here.\nI\u0026rsquo;m incredibly proud of all of her work. It\u0026rsquo;s been amazing watching her grow, learn, persevere, and succeed in so many aspects. I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled I\u0026rsquo;ve been some part of that journey.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/erins-completed-phd-thesis/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy wife, Erin Gilbertson, officially has her PhD in Biological and Medical Informatics from the University of California, San Francisco. You can read her entire thesis, entitled \u003cem\u003eMachine Learning Insights into the 3D Genome: Diversity and Gene Regulation in Human Populations\u003c/em\u003e, online \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7zk8d4rk\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m incredibly proud of all of her work. It\u0026rsquo;s been amazing watching her grow, learn, persevere, and succeed in so many aspects. I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled I\u0026rsquo;ve been some part of that journey.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Erin's Completed PhD Thesis"},{"content":"I started using feeeed after reading about it on MacStories. It\u0026rsquo;s a neat app that, though lacking a certain style and polish, is a wonderful way to create a personal list of suggested content using only sources that you provide. I can take in a fun mix of baseball subreddit posts, articles on several blogs I follow, random photos from my library, and a handful of other options.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve tried the RSS game, but as someone who leans toward completionism with my content, I find it difficult to see the list of unread articles grow, yet I refuse to declare feed bankruptcy. feeeed offers a better way for me to access this content naturally. I can always open a chronological list view if I want to find something in particular, but the default view that serves you a mix of content and then cuts you off is ideal. It\u0026rsquo;s not for everyone, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad this app was made.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/feeeed/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI started using \u003ca href=\"https://feeeed.nateparrott.com/\"\u003efeeeed\u003c/a\u003e after reading about it on \u003ca href=\"https://www.macstories.net/reviews/feeeed-embracing-feed-diversity-and-personal-news-curation/\"\u003eMacStories\u003c/a\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s a neat app that, though lacking a certain style and polish, is a wonderful way to create a personal list of suggested content using only sources that you provide. I can take in a fun mix of baseball subreddit posts, articles on several blogs I follow, random photos from my library, and a handful of other options.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve tried the RSS game, but as someone who leans toward completionism with my content, I find it difficult to see the list of unread articles grow, yet I refuse to declare feed bankruptcy. feeeed offers a better way for me to access this content naturally. I can always open a chronological list view if I want to find something in particular, but the default view that serves you a mix of content \u003cem\u003eand then cuts you off\u003c/em\u003e is ideal. It\u0026rsquo;s not for everyone, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad this app was made.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"feeeed"},{"content":"Much like two years ago, Erin and I made it back to the Minnesota State Fair for a few hours. We didn\u0026rsquo;t eat much. However, walking through those busy streets that look absolutely packed from above but are fairly navigable on the ground was an absolute joy and comfort that helped smooth the transition away from San Francisco.\nThe spirit of The Great Minnesota Get Together inhabits everyone there. I felt light despite the cookies and corn dogs. I was calm and cool while roasting in the sun. Everything is a little nicer, a bit more joyful and fun at the fair. The familiarity of the fairgrounds, the pleasant conversations at a few booths, and the overall pride for our state all made a huge difference in my mood and outlook after a difficult couple of weeks.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/literal-comfort-food/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMuch like \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/back-to-the-mn-state-fair/\"\u003etwo years ago\u003c/a\u003e, Erin and I made it back to the Minnesota State Fair for a few hours. We didn\u0026rsquo;t eat much. However, walking through those busy streets that look absolutely packed from above but are fairly navigable on the ground was an absolute joy and comfort that helped smooth the transition away from San Francisco.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe spirit of \u003cem\u003eThe Great Minnesota Get Together\u003c/em\u003e inhabits everyone there. I felt light despite the cookies and corn dogs. I was calm and cool while roasting in the sun. Everything is a little nicer, a bit more joyful and fun at the fair. The familiarity of the fairgrounds, the pleasant conversations at a few booths, and the overall pride for our state all made a huge difference in my mood and outlook after a difficult couple of weeks.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Literal Comfort Food"},{"content":" Well, I lost my head in San Francisco\nWaiting for the fog to roll out\nBut I found it in a rain cloud\nIt was smiling down\nSan Francisco by The Mowglis\nFarewell, San Francisco.\nI never meant to love you. People asked me, \u0026ldquo;How do you feel about the city?\u0026rdquo; I would always respond, \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s good, plenty to like. But I\u0026rsquo;ll be ready to go when the time comes.\u0026rdquo;\nThat time has come, and you\u0026rsquo;ve called my bluff.\nWe grew from strangers to friends during long weekend walks across sleepy city streets, moving from sun to fog, cresting steep hills to reveal breathtaking vistas. You taught me the charm of culture and variety through neighborhoods that merge with each other while remaining wholly distinct, creating a patchwork of people with their own stories and lives, each of them making this city uniquely their home.\nAs we spent those hours together, ambling without purpose or drive, solely focused on exploring, I found many of your quirks and surprises that you hide away from endeavoring tourists. Each new staircase, sculpture, and park brought me further into your fold, enamoring me and making me realize that you could also be a home for me.\nBut you are not just the streets and rolling hills. You\u0026rsquo;re more than artwork on sidewalks and coffee shops, more than your greenspace and restaurants and museums. Like all of us, you\u0026rsquo;re made of the bits of personality provided by every person here. More than anything, I love San Francisco because I love the people I\u0026rsquo;ve met, and I now have the great fortune to include them among my friends.\nThese people, each bringing their own history to bear on this city and our time together, are incredibly special and dear to me. I\u0026rsquo;m amazed I found such a supportive and inclusive group full of laughs and care and joy. I could say so much, but I will be brief: I am a much better person for having met them.\nI promise to visit and spend time once again walking your streets. You\u0026rsquo;ll no longer be my home, but I will be thrilled to see an old friend I found on accident who impacted my life tremendously and shaped how I approach the world.\nFarewell, and thank you.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/farewell-to-san-francisco/","summary":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell, I lost my head in San Francisco\u003cbr\u003e\nWaiting for the fog to roll out\u003cbr\u003e\nBut I found it in a rain cloud\u003cbr\u003e\nIt was smiling down\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSan Francisco\u003c/em\u003e by The Mowglis\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFarewell, San Francisco.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI never meant to love you. People asked me, \u0026ldquo;How do you feel about the city?\u0026rdquo; I would always respond, \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s good, plenty to like. But I\u0026rsquo;ll be ready to go when the time comes.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Farewell to San Francisco"},{"content":"My thanks to Jack Prelutsky.\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nI hate you, you stink.\nI wish I could throw\nAll this stuff in the drink.\nThese terrible boxes\nAre crowding my floor.\nI\u0026rsquo;m getting so flustered\nEach time through the door.\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nYou\u0026rsquo;re making me ill.\nThese thick cubes of cardboard\nAre getting their fill.\nThe crumpling of paper,\nThe ripping of tape,\nAll makes me just want to\nRun off and escape.\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nHow can there be more?\nSomehow our apartment\u0026rsquo;s\nA general store.\nTchotkes and treasures\nAnd bobbins and toys,\nAll sorts of clutter\nI cannot enjoy.\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nWhat else can I say?\nI wish I could ditch and\nGet out of this fray.\nI\u0026rsquo;m swimming in boxes,\nThese prisms abound.\nWhere once there was happiness\nNone can be found!\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nWhen can I be done?\nIs it time for a break\nAnd a romp in the sun?\n\u0026ldquo;Of course not,\u0026rdquo; says Packing,\n\u0026ldquo;You\u0026rsquo;ll never be through.\n\u0026ldquo;I cannot be sated,\n\u0026ldquo;Let items accrue!\u0026rdquo;\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nYou mistress of harm.\nI\u0026rsquo;m hurting my back\nAnd have aches in my arms.\nA burgeoning tower,\nOppressively brown,\nIs building around me\nAnd getting me down.\nPacking! Oh, Packing!\nI swear I\u0026rsquo;ll be free.\nSisyphus doesn\u0026rsquo;t have\nBoulders for me.\nSoon we\u0026rsquo;ll be done,\nAll our life hid away.\nThen it\u0026rsquo;s time to unpack!\nWhat a glorious day.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/packing-up-stinks/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy thanks to \u003ca href=\"https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/homework-oh-homework-2/\"\u003eJack Prelutsky\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacking! Oh, Packing!\u003cbr\u003e\nI hate you, you stink.\u003cbr\u003e\nI wish I could throw\u003cbr\u003e\nAll this stuff in the drink.\u003cbr\u003e\nThese terrible boxes\u003cbr\u003e\nAre crowding my floor.\u003cbr\u003e\nI\u0026rsquo;m getting so flustered\u003cbr\u003e\nEach time through the door.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacking! Oh, Packing!\u003cbr\u003e\nYou\u0026rsquo;re making me ill.\u003cbr\u003e\nThese thick cubes of cardboard\u003cbr\u003e\nAre getting their fill.\u003cbr\u003e\nThe crumpling of paper,\u003cbr\u003e\nThe ripping of tape,\u003cbr\u003e\nAll makes me just want to\u003cbr\u003e\nRun off and escape.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Packing Up Stinks"},{"content":"A pickle I\u0026rsquo;ve avoided for a couple of years has finally been unjarred.1 Two years ago, I was issued a company-owned laptop that was precisely the same make and model—down to the color—as my personal computer. I was loathe to use two computers and felt uncomfortable doing my extracurricular tasks on the work device, so I continued exclusively using my personal laptop as I\u0026rsquo;ve done since I started there.\nTo comply with various data privacy laws and ensure the company can provide tech support, it was recently made clear to me that work had to be done on the work laptop. I now have to maintain feature parity between two computers, bring them both with me while traveling, and generally be inconvenienced by this change.\nPhysical Realities\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never cared much about how heavy my laptop is. Yes, a smaller laptop is more convenient. I love how slim and powerful my MacBook Air is, but I\u0026rsquo;ve also spent years with 15-inch and 17-inch laptops. There are tradeoffs both ways, and weight is not something I necessarily optimize for.\nYet, carrying two laptops feels slightly absurd to my back. It really does get heavy. They take up valuable space in my bag. Physically switching between computers instead of simply changing browser profiles is tedious. I have to keep both of them charged. The list of mild annoyances I\u0026rsquo;ve faced in the last week goes on.\nWhat frustrates me the most is that I\u0026rsquo;m a tech enthusiast. I enjoy having new computers and toying around with my devices. I\u0026rsquo;ve been saving up to replace my MacBook Air for a couple of years, waiting for the right time to upgrade to a 15-inch Air or a 14-inch Pro. The decision is less straightforward now because that computer will no longer be used 40 hours each week for my work; instead, it will be relegated to various personal projects I don\u0026rsquo;t have as much time for. I\u0026rsquo;ve had my eye on a larger screen because, as a remote worker, I thrive on going to local coffee shops or libraries for a few hours to change scenery. Having a larger laptop screen available simplifies certain tasks.\nIn short, I resent being put in this position.\nSync All the Things\nFirst, a specific nitpick. I installed Agenda onto my work laptop, an app I\u0026rsquo;ve used for the last few months to create my daily schedule and track other tasks besides. Everything is saved in iCloud, and I\u0026rsquo;ve had no issues with it syncing between my phone and laptop. However, adding a second laptop borked my data. The collections were improperly sorted, sending everything to \u0026ldquo;Other Projects.\u0026rdquo; If I tried to move them to collections on my work laptop, Agenda thought those collections were different from those on my other devices, so the notes would all get moved to \u0026ldquo;Other Projects\u0026rdquo; on those. It was a mess. The only thing I figured out how to do was duplicate the entire project, delete any existing collections, rename and delete the original project, create a new collection, and add the cloned project. This worked some of the time.\nDisregarding that snafu, using iCloud, Dropbox, and Firefox sync means that the most important parts of my computing life are available wherever I need them. My browser history, bookmarks, login info (via Bitwarden), and data are accessible. In that regard, switching to my work laptop was easy.\nWhere I get caught up is the inability to easily determine which apps I\u0026rsquo;m missing. Some tools I use essentially daily, if not hourly—like Raycast, Shottr, Clipy, and PCalc—so I got those right away. But then I had to remind myself what preferences I set for each of these, which keyboard shortcuts I adjusted, and many other details that I can\u0026rsquo;t fix until my muscle memory takes over and something happens that I didn\u0026rsquo;t expect.2\nThen, there are the many apps I use less frequently and only realize I\u0026rsquo;m missing once I suddenly need them now. The first time I transferred data between MacBooks, I was hugely impressed by the migration process. But in my current situation, where a \u0026ldquo;clean setup\u0026rdquo; isn\u0026rsquo;t feasible since the laptop is issued to me already configured, I would love an in-between option that\u0026rsquo;s equivalent to the package install lists you can run via package managers on Linux to bring over software and preferences. Yes, I can go through my applications folder one by one and determine what I\u0026rsquo;d like to install, but we should have a better way.\nSilver Lining\nWhat I said earlier isn\u0026rsquo;t entirely true. When I first received my work laptop, it was because I had requested one alongside everyone else who was getting work devices due to a much-improved IT department. I had high hopes that physical separation between work and play would keep me more focused at work and let me easily remove myself when I was done for the day. However, I ran into all the issues detailed above and shut down that experiment after a month or two. I\u0026rsquo;ve spent the last two years remembering to power up the work laptop and update it every six months or so.\nBacked into a corner, I must take this change as positively as possible. I plan to embrace the device separation between regular work and my various hobbies. I can literally close the lid each day on my work when it\u0026rsquo;s time to be done and shift to something else. Though I trust my employer to not spy on what I do—they\u0026rsquo;re a reasonable company, and the only third-party application they\u0026rsquo;ve installed on work devices is a tool that allows for remote support when needed—I\u0026rsquo;m still not predisposed to do any personal work or screwing around on a work device, so I will be more effective with this change.\nSometimes, inconvenience is itself a surprising benefit. Not everything needs to be as efficient as possible; the world isn\u0026rsquo;t that simple.\nIs this a good metaphor?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nA small example: I have snippets in Clipy for many color hex codes I use for any documents, slides, and charts I create for work. It was a pain getting those transferred to my work laptop.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/managing-multiple-computers/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA pickle I\u0026rsquo;ve avoided for a couple of years has finally been unjarred.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e Two years ago, I was issued a company-owned laptop that was precisely the same make and model—down to the color—as my personal computer. I was loathe to use two computers and felt uncomfortable doing my extracurricular tasks on the work device, so I continued exclusively using my personal laptop as I\u0026rsquo;ve done since I started there.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo comply with various data privacy laws and ensure the company can provide tech support, it was recently made clear to me that work had to be done on the work laptop. I now have to maintain feature parity between two computers, bring them both with me while traveling, and generally be inconvenienced by this change.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Managing Multiple Computers"},{"content":"A short post during a hectic time. I\u0026rsquo;ve officially visited all MLB stadiums within a reasonable distance of the Pacific Ocean: Petco Park (San Diego), Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles), Angel Stadium (Anaheim), Oracle Park (San Francisco), Oakland Coliseum (Oakland), and T-Mobile Park (Seattle). The next two closest to the west coast are Chase Field in Phoenix and Coors Field in Denver.\nOn my way to San Diego this weekend, I stopped in Anaheim to see the Los Angeles Angels play the New York Mets. It was a toasty experience in 90º heat, but I found the stadium beautiful and the game itself was good. Going to a stadium surrounded entirely by parking lots is weird—I\u0026rsquo;ve grown used to Oracle Park and Target Field in Minneapolis, both nicely nestled within their cities—but the setup was nice. It feels good to check it off the list.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/angel-stadium/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA short post during a hectic time. I\u0026rsquo;ve officially visited all MLB stadiums within a reasonable distance of the Pacific Ocean: Petco Park (San Diego), Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles), Angel Stadium (Anaheim), Oracle Park (San Francisco), Oakland Coliseum (Oakland), and T-Mobile Park (Seattle). The next two closest to the west coast are Chase Field in Phoenix and Coors Field in Denver.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn my way to San Diego this weekend, I stopped in Anaheim to see the Los Angeles Angels play the New York Mets. It was a toasty experience in 90º heat, but I found the stadium beautiful and the game itself was good. Going to a stadium surrounded entirely by parking lots is weird—I\u0026rsquo;ve grown used to Oracle Park and Target Field in Minneapolis, both nicely nestled within their cities—but the setup was nice. It feels good to check it off the list.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Angel Stadium"},{"content":"AUSTIN, TEXAS—Staring deep beyond his bathroom mirror, George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, repeated \u0026ldquo;There\u0026rsquo;s no such thing as bad publicity\u0026rdquo; under his breath. He let his head drop and began absentmindedly splashing water on his face, hoping the bags under his eyes would disappear before the back-to-back-to-back interviews that began the next hour.\nLooking back up, he wiped down his face with a nearby hand towel embroidered with the phrase \u0026ldquo;Keep Austin Weird\u0026rdquo; and forced a haggard smile across his face.\n\u0026ldquo;It was horrifying, seeing that smile,\u0026rdquo; said one anonymous witness. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s like he was auditioning for a new role as Joker.\u0026rdquo;\nKurtz began muttering to himself, with the comment \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s just like Zoom during the pandemic\u0026rdquo; heard by passersby. He was seen thirty minutes later driving his Tesla Model X. Other drivers on the road noticed the man putting his head into his hands at every red light.\nLater that day, Kurtz was seen staring at banks of computer monitors steeped in blue screens.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/theres-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAUSTIN, TEXAS—Staring deep beyond his bathroom mirror, George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, repeated \u0026ldquo;There\u0026rsquo;s no such thing as bad publicity\u0026rdquo; under his breath. He let his head drop and began absentmindedly splashing water on his face, hoping the bags under his eyes would disappear before the back-to-back-to-back interviews that began the next hour.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking back up, he wiped down his face with a nearby hand towel embroidered with the phrase \u0026ldquo;Keep Austin Weird\u0026rdquo; and forced a haggard smile across his face.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"There's No Such Thing as Bad Publicity"},{"content":"Going into the MLB All-Star Break, the Boston Red Sox have a respectable 53–42 record, good for third in the AL East. However, their 24–25 record at home is surprisingly poor. I had to investigate what could cause that. Spoiler: I\u0026rsquo;m left with more questions than answers.\nBaseball is unique in that home-field advantage exists not only from the energy brought by fans or the comfortable routine that a team gets from staying at home instead of a hotel. The fields are quirky; ideally, the home team understands their field enough to play it well compared to the visitors. Fenway is among the weirdest ballparks out there.\nYou have the Green Monster in left field, odd nooks and crannies in center, and the short fence in right curves into Pesky\u0026rsquo;s Pole. Misplays are common and hilarious. My first guess was that the Red Sox built a team incapable of playing well on their own field. They have scored 0.6 fewer runs at home than on the road (4.4 vs. 5) and allowed a full 1 run more per game at home than on the road (4.7 vs. 3.7).\nGiven that the disparity in runs allowed is greater, I\u0026rsquo;ve focused on that. I considered their fielding: What if their outfielders aren\u0026rsquo;t equipped to play their home turf? While not a perfect way to look at this, I checked out how often they allow runners on base due to errors at home versus on the road. It happened 27 times at home and 14 times on the road.\nRuns WPA RE24 Home 7 -1.63 -15.9 Away 5 -1.07 -8.15 Total 12 -2.7 -24.05 We can see they gave up 7 runs on these plays at home for a net impact of about 1.5 wins1 against them. While worse than the 5 runs and about 1 win deficit they\u0026rsquo;ve experienced on the road, this clearly isn\u0026rsquo;t the reason. The effect per error is lower at home since they allowed such runners nearly twice as often but did not experience double the impact.\nI went broader in my exploration and started investigating their overall pitching results at home and on the road, split by whether runners were on base. I\u0026rsquo;m baffled by what I see because I can\u0026rsquo;t imagine what could be causing it.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s focus on some key stats2 that illustrate the Red Sox\u0026rsquo;s struggles at home with runners on base. For all three of these statistics, a larger number is worse for the Red Sox pitchers.\nOPS FIP BABIP Home, No Runners .597 3.24 .264 Away, No Runners .666 3.59 .287 Home, Runners On .786 4.22 .322 Away, Runners On .650 .398 .268 When the Red Sox are on the road, their pitchers are slightly worse with nobody on base. Then, by some metrics, they lock it down and perform better once the runners are on. The same cannot be said about their work at home. While they\u0026rsquo;re slightly more effective at stopping runners from getting on in the first place, once runners get on base everything falls apart. Batters are finding places to hit the ball where fielders aren\u0026rsquo;t getting them. Opposing hitters look like sluggers across the board.3\nSo here are several symptoms without an apparent cause. The increase in BABIP still suggests that Fenway has something to do with it. This is also backed by the fact that their FIP, which removes the effect of defense, is not as dramatically worse at home than away. But there is still a difference in FIP, so it\u0026rsquo;s apparent that pitchers are doing worse at home in these situations, regardless.\nThis will stick in my brain, but I needed to get my thoughts out first. I hope to find something more later this year, but right now, I\u0026rsquo;d be prepared for a frustrating experience when visiting Fenway after watching the Red Sox perform on the road.\nWPA stands for \u0026ldquo;Win Probability Added.\u0026rdquo; A WPA of 1.00 means that a team has increased their probability of winning a total of 1 win\u0026rsquo;s worth. This is based on comparing the previous state of the game to the state after a play occurs.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFor those of you not into hip new stats: OPS is a rough measure of total offensive production by a hitter. FIP is meant to approximate how well a pitcher is doing by excluding how their defense affects the results of play. BABIP is a hitter\u0026rsquo;s batting average on balls they hit into fair territory. All this data is pulled from FanGraphs.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAverage BABIP is always around 0.300; the league\u0026rsquo;s average OPS in 2024 is 0.709.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-2024-red-sox-stink-at-fenway/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eGoing into the MLB All-Star Break, the Boston Red Sox have a respectable 53–42 record, good for third in the AL East. However, their 24–25 record at home is surprisingly poor. I had to investigate what could cause that. Spoiler: I\u0026rsquo;m left with more questions than answers.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The 2024 Red Sox Stink at Fenway"},{"content":"While looking for a new book to read from the library on the Libby app, the name Octavia E. Butler popped into my head. I don\u0026rsquo;t know when she first came into my awareness, but I searched her name and there was Parable of the Sower. Its various blurbs mentioned it alongside 1984 and Brave New World. I love alternative and dystopian fiction, so I was immediately sold.\nAfter completing Parable of the Sower and its sequel, Parable of the Talents, I\u0026rsquo;m convinced that these are the most relevant pieces of dystopian fiction for the modern world precisely because they are not hyperbolic science fiction that acts as a metaphorical warning. Instead, their story is a grounded and horrific extrapolation of economic stratification mixed with modern democratic fascism.\nTwo elements keep these books close to modern reality in a way that would be considered cliche or overdone were they not written in the 1990s. First, they are set in California in the late 2020s and early 2030s, so the timeline immediately makes one think, \u0026ldquo;How does this apply to my life?\u0026rdquo; There are no extreme science fiction elements; computers are mentioned, but only in ways that still feel relevant. A professor runs classes online, and kids can look up information. There are jokes about push-button home phones. It is shockingly restrained and prescient in this way, which gives the impression that it\u0026rsquo;s an alternative history book written a couple of years ago. Second, the presidential candidate who (spoiler) gets elected runs the Church of Christian America and speaks in ways that imply action among its followers but he can never be accused of specifically inciting violence. One of his campaign slogans was indeed, \u0026ldquo;Make America Great Again\u0026rdquo;. A 2017 New Yorker article emphasizes this point in particular.\nThese books are profound, and their subject matter is serious. Though not needlessly graphic, they include many triggering events one would imagine in a dystopian novel: disease, death, slavery, and rape. Religion and zealotry are two key themes, and these books can be viewed as a beautiful and thoughtful study into how one can justify one\u0026rsquo;s religious beliefs in a world gone mad. That would have been my main takeaway if I had read these in high school. Instead, I read them a few months before a critical election, and my impression changed; I want more people to read these books, particularly Talents, which is written so that one can fully understand the story without reading Sower.\nGive them a shot. It\u0026rsquo;s heavy material but written as a series of journal entries, which makes it feel more approachable. I found them impactful, meaningful, and worth sharing.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/octavia-e-butlers-parable-duology/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile looking for a new book to read from the library on the Libby app, the name \u003cem\u003eOctavia E. Butler\u003c/em\u003e popped into my head. I don\u0026rsquo;t know when she first came into my awareness, but I searched her name and there was \u003cem\u003eParable of the Sower\u003c/em\u003e. Its various blurbs mentioned it alongside \u003cem\u003e1984\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBrave New World\u003c/em\u003e. I love alternative and dystopian fiction, so I was immediately sold.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter completing \u003cem\u003eParable of the Sower\u003c/em\u003e and its sequel, \u003cem\u003eParable of the Talents\u003c/em\u003e, I\u0026rsquo;m convinced that these are the most relevant pieces of dystopian fiction for the modern world precisely because they are not hyperbolic science fiction that acts as a metaphorical warning. Instead, their story is a grounded and horrific extrapolation of economic stratification mixed with modern democratic fascism.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Octavia E. Butler's \"Parable\" Duology"},{"content":"I made two more charts in the past week that are worth a brief discussion. The first looks at injuries by team, and the other considers team winning percentage at home or on the road.\nInjuries\nA long, unimportant1 train of thought and research led me to notice the Brewers seem to have quite a few injured players. That led me to make this chart comparing how many players on each team were listed as injured, and the average length of time they are listed for. Note that in MLB, the injured list is divided into chunks like 10, 15, 45, and 60 days. A player on the 60-day injured list is removed from the 40-man roster, so using the designated injured list is only a rough proxy for injury severity. Some players on the 60-day injured list will be out for an entire season, while others half a season. Technically the team hasn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;lost\u0026rdquo; that player on the roster, but they may be a key piece of the team that isn\u0026rsquo;t available.\nWith all that in mind, this chart represents the total \u0026ldquo;injury impact\u0026rdquo; of a team based on players listed on their roster. As the snarky labels that one must apply suggest, the lower-left quadrant contains teams who have very few injured players, and those who are mostly have minor injuries that they should be back from in a week or two. The top-right quadrant is precisely the opposite: many players are injured to a degree that they will miss at least two months. Some of them may be replaced, but only on the roster, not necessarily on performance.\nWinning at Home or Away\nHome field advantage is an accepted reality among most athletes and fans. In my (unlived) history, this was most notable with the 1987 Minnesota Twins. They won 69% of their home games, and only 36% of their road games. Luckily they had home field advantage for the World Series as well, because they went 4-0 at home, and 0-3 in St. Louis.\nThis chart shows that most teams, 23 by my count, win at least as much at home as they do on the road. Only the Red Sox are so egregiously against this trend that you have to wonder if their roster is constructed in a way that is thoroughly not optimized for Fenway Park. The other six teams that win more on the road are not too far off the trend.\nThe fact that the Giants are so excellent at home also matches my gut-check based on games I\u0026rsquo;ve watched this year.\nThis technically remains to be seen, but I\u0026rsquo;m making my call.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/two-baseball-charts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI made two more \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/making-mlb-team-scatter-plots/\"\u003echarts\u003c/a\u003e in the past week that are worth a brief discussion. The first looks at injuries by team, and the other considers team winning percentage at home or on the road.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two Baseball Charts"},{"content":"I began writing morning pages in June. I first came across the concept via Pagi when they made a post about it being rejected by App Store review. It was a funny way to be introduced to a new creative method, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t give it additional attention. The idea was tossed into some filing cabinet in my memory.\nMorning pages resurfaced in the second episode of Paper Places, a new podcast about writing on Relay FM. Hearing a conversation with actual writers let me more fully connect with the practice, and I decided to give it a shot. Every morning since June 3rd, I\u0026rsquo;ve taken time in the morning—not first thing, I do my puzzles before anything else—to sit down at a device1 and write about 1000 words, letting whatever pops into my head flow onto the page.\nUnlike the official version of the practice, I don\u0026rsquo;t write these pages by hand. I have my evening journal for that. Instead, I focus on the overall goal of morning pages: dump my morning brain full of random thoughts and anxieties to an external spot so I can start the day feeling refreshed and centered. I often close my eyes while typing, treating it as a form of meditation. I recently read that meditation is more about acknowledging and dismissing unworthy thoughts than clearing one\u0026rsquo;s mind entirely, and that is where morning pages come in.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t hit 1000 words each day. Some mornings I nearly forget to begin or lack the mood and ambition to do it, but I\u0026rsquo;ve continued to push on it. They have proven to be among the most valuable fifteen minutes I spend each day, particularly when I wake up feeling off in some intangible way. Morning pages often make those feelings quite tangible and addressable, and I can proceed with the day once I\u0026rsquo;m done.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not clear whether morning pages, when taken seriously, will work for everyone. Writing is my most natural form of thinking and processing the world, but I can imagine other creative practices getting at a similar goal, if in a more abstract way. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that it works for me. I\u0026rsquo;m happy I\u0026rsquo;ve tried it and intend to keep the routine.\nMy default is my iPad, but my computer is close behind. I have successfully written them on my phone as well.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/morning-pages/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI began writing \u003ca href=\"https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/\"\u003emorning pages\u003c/a\u003e in June. I first came across the concept via \u003ca href=\"https://pagi.lucas.love/\"\u003ePagi\u003c/a\u003e when they made a \u003ca href=\"https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/02/28/pagi-rejected-from-the-app-store/\"\u003epost\u003c/a\u003e about it being rejected by App Store review. It was a funny way to be introduced to a new creative method, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t give it additional attention. The idea was tossed into some filing cabinet in my memory.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMorning pages resurfaced in the second episode of \u003ca href=\"https://www.relay.fm/paperplaces/2\"\u003ePaper Places\u003c/a\u003e, a new podcast about writing on Relay FM. Hearing a conversation with actual writers let me more fully connect with the practice, and I decided to give it a shot. Every morning since June 3rd, I\u0026rsquo;ve taken time in the morning—not first thing, I do \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/my-daily-puzzle-rotation/\"\u003emy puzzles\u003c/a\u003e before anything else—to sit down at a device\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and write about 1000 words, letting whatever pops into my head flow onto the page.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Morning Pages"},{"content":"I went to Modesto this past Friday to watch my first Single-A baseball game between the local Modesto Nuts of the Seattle Mariners organization and the San Jose Giants, creatively named after their parent organization, the San Francisco Giants. The environment reminded me of a mid-season high school football game, complete with inexpensive food vendors, large groups from local church and youth sports organizations, and season ticket holders who maintain conversations from several rows away. There are angry dads, town heroes, and four-dollar hot dogs. I adored it.\nThe local sponsorships were charming. Here\u0026rsquo;s one I\u0026rsquo;ll never forget, repeated each time a Nuts pitcher struck out an opposing batter:\nThis strikeout is brought to you by Aspire Public Schools. Don\u0026rsquo;t strike out on your education; enroll in Aspire Public Schools todayyyyy.\nAnother, when a Nuts batter walked:\nNice take! Donatello\u0026rsquo;s Take and Bake!\nI purchased a hat with one of their mascots, Wally the Walnut, on the front.\nI heard good-hearted banter about the players and a couple of mean-spirited comments from fans directed towards the umpires that led to a guy in front of me nearly being ejected. Instead, the umpire thought the chirping was coming from a bench, and one of the Nuts\u0026rsquo; coaches got tossed.\nI kept score as usual. Heading towards the gate after the game, I saw a small group of kids against the fence along the left field line where the Giants players were walking. A six-foot-seven-inch Bryce Eldridge, the top pick by the Giants in the 2023 draft, towered over them. I walked over on a whim and, once all the kids had balls autographed and selfies secured, asked him to sign the scorecard along his batting line.\nAs with many experiences this past year, I regret not jumping at the opportunity earlier. I had immense fun watching baseball in such a casual environment, with each part driven by the community. I\u0026rsquo;m eager to return to Modesto and visit San Jose to see the Giants play at home. Minor League Baseball reminds me of my time playing in town ball leagues around Minnesota at the end of high school, and it more appropriately embodies what baseball can mean to a city. It sends me back to the nostalgic times I never experienced when baseball was the country\u0026rsquo;s pastime.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/here-come-your-nuts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI went to Modesto this past Friday to watch my first Single-A baseball game between the local Modesto Nuts of the Seattle Mariners organization and the San Jose Giants, creatively named after their parent organization, the San Francisco Giants. The environment reminded me of a mid-season high school football game, complete with inexpensive food vendors, large groups from local church and youth sports organizations, and season ticket holders who maintain conversations from several rows away. There are angry dads, town heroes, and four-dollar hot dogs. I adored it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Here Come Your Nuts!"},{"content":"I love puzzles. I was lucky enough to coauthor a puzzle book at my job, and I\u0026rsquo;ve been fascinated by any logical, engaging game I can find. I\u0026rsquo;m no expert, but I am an enthusiast. Over the last several months, I\u0026rsquo;ve nailed down a set of puzzles that bookend each day, getting my mind working in the morning and letting me wind down in the evening.\nFlow\nI\u0026rsquo;ve played Flow for years. There is a daily puzzle set, and a couple of years ago, they added a weekly set released each Monday. I do both and have a daily streak of hundreds of days. It\u0026rsquo;s short and simple and is the first thing I do on my phone every morning.\nNYT Games\nI became a convert to the NYT Games lifestyle last year. I started with Wordle, added Connections shortly thereafter, and more recently began playing Spelling Bee. I don\u0026rsquo;t currently play the other mini-games available in the app—I only have so much time for puzzles in the morning—but I enjoy these language games as a primer for the next step in my puzzle process.\nApple News Crosswords and Quartiles\nErin and I share a family subscription to all the Apple services, which includes Apple News. I don\u0026rsquo;t care for it as a news source, but their crosswords are approachable. Their mini is exactly what you would expect, taking about thirty seconds to complete; their main crossword is always the same size and takes five to ten minutes. Because I do these immediately in the morning, I typically use autocorrect for the larger crossword. I focus on enjoying these puzzles rather than trying to impress myself with my cleverness. Since these crosswords don\u0026rsquo;t have themes I\u0026rsquo;m losing little by correcting my errors in the moment.\nQuartiles was introduced two weeks ago and is a take on Spelling Bee using parts of words. There are twenty tiles, each containing two to four letters. The ultimate goal is to find five words made of four tiles each, but you can find smaller words to boost your overall score. It\u0026rsquo;s a trickier game that I don\u0026rsquo;t always finish before I begin work: it involves a lot of staring and trying combinations, so I\u0026rsquo;ve had the most success playing for ten minutes at a time and coming back to it with fresh eyes later in the day.\nStitch Daily Shikaku\nI discovered stitch. through Apple Arcade. It\u0026rsquo;s a simple Shikaku-style puzzle game themed around cross-stitching, mixing puzzle and color-by-number. The main puzzles are straightforward and I play them to kill time. Meanwhile, the daily puzzle is a proper Shikaku setup with no artistic theming.\nTrivial Pursuit Daily Challenge\nI have no memory of how I came across it, but the Trivial Pursuit website has a handful of activities, including a Daily Challenge where you get six questions, one from each of the classic Trivial Pursuit categories. The questions often share an implicit theme—maybe they\u0026rsquo;re all related to bears—and if you play it on the same device each day, it\u0026rsquo;ll track your lifetime stats. I\u0026rsquo;ve sat around 67% accuracy for a while, which I\u0026rsquo;m pleased with.\nNYT Daily Crosswords\nI typically do all of the above before I get out of bed or at least before I start work. However, I work on the NYT Crosswords in the evening when they release the puzzles for the following day; for example, I work on the Tuesday puzzles on Monday evening. With this routine, I can always bleed into the next day if a weekend puzzle is too challenging to finish in the time I\u0026rsquo;ve given myself.\nI start with the Mini and then do the Daily, each without autocorrection or hints. If I get stuck on the Daily—I go through all the clues, across and down, without making any progress—I will go to the internet for hints. I prefer to look up factual information—often musical artists or actors—rather than wordplay or themed clues.\nI have a streak on these crosswords beginning in November 2023, and it is a minor point of pride that I regularly make time to work on these puzzles. If I\u0026rsquo;m going to play games on my phone, they may as well be vaguely beneficial to my brain.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-daily-puzzle-rotation/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI love puzzles. I was lucky enough to coauthor a \u003ca href=\"https://beastacademy.com/books/puzzles3\"\u003epuzzle book\u003c/a\u003e at my job, and I\u0026rsquo;ve been fascinated by any logical, engaging game I can find. I\u0026rsquo;m no expert, but I am an enthusiast. Over the last several months, I\u0026rsquo;ve nailed down a set of puzzles that bookend each day, getting my mind working in the morning and letting me wind down in the evening.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My Daily Puzzle Rotation"},{"content":"You may have seen any number of scatter plots on the internet that show data comparisons among players or teams in a given league. These are part of my daily experience on the /r/baseball community, and I finally decided to scratch my statistical presentation itch by making my own. This post isn\u0026rsquo;t to cover what statistics to compare, just the process I\u0026rsquo;ve settled on for now to turn a table of comparisons into precisely-designed charts suitable for sharing on the internet.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll assume you have your data from a source like Baseball Reference, FanGraphs, or Baseball Savant. You\u0026rsquo;re making a scatterplot after all, so you likely already know which two statistics are being compared.\nSo, open up that spreadsheet and get your data ready. I tend to list team data alphabetically by a team\u0026rsquo;s abbreviation, like this.\nInitial data downloaded from Baseball Savant.\nNow it\u0026rsquo;s time to figure out where the points of our plot need to go on a canvas to make the final result accurate. I believe Adobe Illustrator has a CSV import tool that allows for some automatic creation of scatter plots, but I don\u0026rsquo;t pay for the Adobe Suite. I use the Affinity suite of apps, and their Designer program doesn\u0026rsquo;t have this functionality. So, I find the locations \u0026ldquo;by hand\u0026rdquo;.\nFirst, I find the maximum, minimum, range, and average of each statistic. This lets me plan out the rough scale of my plot. In the screenshot above, you can see Whiffs per Swing has a range of 7.91%, or 0.0791, from 0.1956 to 0.2747. Home runs has a range of 40, from 35 to 75.\nI can now plan out the bounds of my data. I don\u0026rsquo;t want any data points to be on the actual edge of the plot, so I\u0026rsquo;ll have Whiffs range from 0.19 to 0.28, and Home Runs range from 30 to 80. Everything should fit comfortably in there.\nThe benefit of working in a vector graphics tool like Affinity Designer or Illustrator is that you can make the starting numbers as nice as is beneficial, and then arbitrarily scale everything from there to create the final design. I\u0026rsquo;ll make nice powers-of-10-based decisions about how the data maps to pixels on the design canvas. Let\u0026rsquo;s say every change of 0.01 in Whiffs corresponds to 100 pixels on the canvas, while every increase of 10 home runs should map to 200 vertical pixels. This gives me a 900-by-1000 canvas to start, and I can run a formula on how to place my data points on said canvas.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s now rephrase our data-to-pixel conversions: A change of 1 in Whiffs corresponds to 10,000 pixels, and a change of 1 in home runs corresponds to 20 pixels. This\u0026rsquo;ll make it more intuitive to write our formulas.\nWhiff rate is easy, since it\u0026rsquo;s the horizontal axis. As we move to the right on the canvas, both Whiff rate and the x-coordinate of the pixels increase. So, we find the difference between the Whiff rate data point and 0.19, then multiply by 10000 to get the corresponding horizontal pixel coordinate.\nFor my spreadsheet, in T2 I would enter =10000*(P2-0.19).\nThe vertical axis is a smidge more annoying because typically 0 pixels is the top of the canvas, so as Home Runs increase on our chart, the y-coordinate of the pixels decrease. We subtract 20 times the difference between our data point and 30 from the maximum pixel value of 1000.\nFor my spreadsheet, in U2 I would enter =1000 - 20*(S2 - 30).\nComplete your formulas down the columns, and you have a nice spreadsheet with pixel coordinates that correspond to your canvas. Great!\nOnce this is ready, you can open up a canvas with your required dimensions—again, 900-by-1000 pixels for me. I add axes at the average of each of my data points, which you can see I\u0026rsquo;ve also put in at row 32 of the sheet above. Once the axes are there, I start entering the points.\nBut wait, what points? Isn\u0026rsquo;t the point to have a fun design that contains team logos? That\u0026rsquo;s right. I discovered this page that lists all 30 MLB teams, and right-clicking to save the logos gives me files that (a) are already named with the teams\u0026rsquo; abbreviations, and (b) are .svg so they can be resized.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve already saved these to a folder, so I drag each logo onto the canvas, resize it with a locked aspect ratio to be 50 pixels tall,1 and adjust the coordinates according to my spreadsheet.\nYou can see in the top-right the pixel coordinates for BAL, and that the logo is locked at a height of 50 pixels.\nOnce all the logos are in place, I select the entire canvas and group the items. I then resize the canvas to be a bit larger so I can add in axis labels, a title, and all that good stuff. That leaves me with a finished product like so!\nWhile there are probably slicker ways to do this,2 entering 30 data points is pretty quick work and I enjoy seeing the plot build up as I move along. I always make a scatter plot in Google Sheets based on the original data though, so I can compare it to the final design and ensure I didn\u0026rsquo;t make a mistake.3\nI enjoyed building out this process for myself on a whim. It only took two tries before I settled on something fairly efficient and repeatable, and it\u0026rsquo;s scratched a data presentation itch I didn\u0026rsquo;t quite know I had.\nI discovered this after a bit of experimentation. Ensuring the height is the same felt most important to making all the logos \u0026ldquo;feel\u0026rdquo; the same size, and 50 pixels seems appropriate for the approximately 1000-by-1000 pixel canvases I\u0026rsquo;ve settled on as a default.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI\u0026rsquo;m fascinated by the idea of writing a Python script to do some or most of this for me, but haven\u0026rsquo;t yet dove into that.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe first time I did this I really messed up the vertical coordinate formula. The second time, I did all the scaling on Whiff rate incorrectly, though I figured that out just be looking at the table of coordinates.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/making-mlb-team-scatter-plots/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYou may have seen any number of \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1da8y3m/ops_and_era_as_of_june_7_2024/\"\u003escatter plots\u003c/a\u003e on the internet that show data comparisons among players or teams in a given league. These are part of my daily experience on the \u003ca href=\"https://reddit.com/r/baseball\"\u003e/r/baseball\u003c/a\u003e community, and I finally decided to scratch my statistical presentation itch by making my own. This post isn\u0026rsquo;t to cover what statistics to compare, just the process I\u0026rsquo;ve settled on for now to turn a table of comparisons into precisely-designed charts suitable for sharing on the internet.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Making MLB Team Scatter Plots"},{"content":"Merlin Mann\u0026rsquo;s Wisdom Project is an excellent collection of pithy and useful observations about the world. They range from the purely practical, to the advisory, to the somewhat absurd. It\u0026rsquo;s worth a read.\nI follow a Mastodon Bot that posts something from the document every six hours, and save any that catch my eye. This one resonated with me:\nTry to save some parts of your life to be just for you. Including some special things that you\u0026rsquo;re happy about or are even a little proud of. If your only private things are shameful things, you will become very sad and will eventually despise your own company.\nMerlin Mann\nThis message is increasingly acute in a world where it\u0026rsquo;s easy to externalize experiences, activities, and values. We\u0026rsquo;re encouraged to create horcruxes across social media which changes our self-perception and ability to fully understand who we are beyond what we share. This is accelerated among those whose livelihood requires them to be online, particularly if their mainly compromises their daily lives.\nBut the situation doesn\u0026rsquo;t need to be nearly this extreme to be impactful. If we define our worth in this world solely by factors that others nominally control, we have no sway over how we view ourselves. While we can hope to surround ourselves by well-meaning friends and lovely individuals, it\u0026rsquo;s still unhealthy to lose that sense of self by spreading it around. We each need ways to focus on ourselves and gain a better understanding of who we are independent of those around us. We can often define much of our lives by how we relate to others, but the way those relationships pan out are a product of who we intrinsically are.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/holding-onto-yourself/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMerlin Mann\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/merlinmann/wisdom/blob/master/wisdom.md\"\u003eWisdom Project\u003c/a\u003e is an excellent collection of pithy and useful observations about the world. They range from the purely practical, to the advisory, to the somewhat absurd. It\u0026rsquo;s worth a read.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI follow a \u003ca href=\"https://mathstodon.xyz/@merlinwisdom@botsin.space\"\u003eMastodon Bot\u003c/a\u003e that posts something from the document every six hours, and save any that catch my eye. This one resonated with me:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTry to save some parts of your life to be just for you. Including some special things that you\u0026rsquo;re happy about or are even a little proud of. If your only private things are shameful things, you will become very sad and will eventually despise your own company.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Holding Onto Yourself"},{"content":"Until my older sister got a Nintendo DS, the only gaming devices we had were those cheap handheld ones that had a single game on it—Sudoku, a baseball simulator—and the similarly-cheap Plug and Play TV game consoles that typically comprised a joystick, a button or two, and composite video cables. They required batteries. They were slow. I loved them.\nWhile I\u0026rsquo;m sure we made more, four of these consoles stick in my memory the way various Nintendo consoles or the PS2 were foundations of many other people\u0026rsquo;s gaming history.\nSpongeBob SquarePants by Jakks Pacific\nAtari 10-in-1 by Jakks Pacific\nCarl Edwards Racing by Excalibur\nDigi Makeover by Mattel\nSpongeBob SquarePants by Jakks Pacific\nAtari 10-in-1 by Jakks Pacific\nCarl Edwards Racing by Excalibur\nDigi Makeover by Mattel\nI asked my sisters which they remembered most, and I was happy to see we were all on the same page, even when we were bickering over who got access to the TV.\nThat SpongeBob console in particular had an impressive maze game that contained several mini-games within. It was properly difficult given our age, and gave us a chance to work together. One of the mini-games was a memory challenge where four clams opened up in sequence sing notes, and you had to direct Patrick to open each one in that order. The game ran slowly enough that you couldn\u0026rsquo;t just react to your memory—you really had to think through it. It also offered the one chance for my sisters and I to play together, since three memories are sometimes better than one.1\nNostalgia is always a funny thing. Whether we would truly enjoy revisiting any of the activities we had during our childhood, we appreciate the memories and what they represent about ourselves. As history gets fuzzier, small details get trapped and emphasized, hopefully for the better.\nYou can get most of these consoles for around $30 on Amazon or eBay, and I\u0026rsquo;ve been sorely tempted to buy one. I should probably check whether my TV even has composite input.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s not worry about eye-witness testimonials in a criminal case.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/plug-and-play-tv-consoles/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eUntil my older sister got a Nintendo DS, the only gaming devices we had were those cheap handheld ones that had a single game on it—Sudoku, a baseball simulator—and the similarly-cheap Plug and Play TV game consoles that typically comprised a joystick, a button or two, and composite video cables. They required batteries. They were slow. I loved them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Plug and Play TV Consoles"},{"content":"Last week we published episode 304 of Comical Start, We Were Very Stupid and Did Stupid Things. It featured our first ever proper guest—that is, someone we didn\u0026rsquo;t go to high school with. The whole thing felt surreal as it was happening, but it was cool that it happened at all. Give it a listen. It was a unique experience.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/comical-start-episode-304/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast week we published episode 304 of Comical Start, \u003ca href=\"https://comicalstart.buzzsprout.com/186147/15072933-we-were-very-stupid-and-did-stupid-things\"\u003eWe Were Very Stupid and Did Stupid Things\u003c/a\u003e. It featured our first ever proper guest—that is, someone we didn\u0026rsquo;t go to high school with. The whole thing felt surreal as it was happening, but it was cool that it happened at all. Give it a listen. It was a unique experience.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Comical Start Episode 304"},{"content":"In early high school, I remember all the hubbub about requiring metal baseball bats to align to the BBCOR standard. Given the pronunciation of this (\u0026ldquo;Bee-Bee-Core\u0026rdquo;), I always assumed it was a regulation about what specific materials must be used to make the bat. That\u0026rsquo;s only true insofar as the standard actually defines a material property.\nBBCOR stands for \u0026ldquo;Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution\u0026rdquo;. In other words, the standard tells you how elastic the collision between ball and bat is allowed to be. This standard was designed to dull metal bats in an effort to protect pitchers, the most likely players to be grievously injured by a batted ball. It was adopted by the NCAA in 2011, and most youth leagues that I\u0026rsquo;m aware of followed their lead. I used BBCOR-certified bats throughout high school, and continue to do so in my adult league.\nYou can read through the NCAA protocol for BBCOR, where the most fascinating part is the testing procedures starting on page 5. There is a table defining what the moment of inertia must be a distance of 6 inches from the knob of the bat—where the batter grips the bat—to ensure the bat isn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;too easy\u0026rdquo; to swing. Then they use a ball cannon—that\u0026rsquo;s the term they provide—with a muzzle velocity of at least 150 mph which imparts spin at a rate of less than 10 rpm to fire fresh baseballs at clamped-down bats.\nThey perform six consecutive valid trials to measure the restitution of the bat using three sensors placed along the trajectory of the ball (which must be accurately placed to a tolerance of 0.005 inches.) After all that, the average measured BBCOR must be no more than 0.500.\nI loved reading this, and I now want this to be a physics problem in some college class.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/i-just-learned-what-bbcor-means/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn early high school, I remember all the hubbub about requiring metal baseball bats to align to the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBCOR\"\u003eBBCOR standard\u003c/a\u003e. Given the pronunciation of this (\u0026ldquo;Bee-Bee-Core\u0026rdquo;), I always assumed it was a regulation about what specific materials must be used to make the bat. That\u0026rsquo;s only true insofar as the standard actually defines a material \u003cem\u003eproperty\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBBCOR stands for \u0026ldquo;Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution\u0026rdquo;. In other words, the standard tells you how elastic the collision between ball and bat is allowed to be. This standard was designed to dull metal bats in an effort to protect pitchers, the most likely players to be grievously injured by a batted ball. It was adopted by the NCAA in 2011, and most youth leagues that I\u0026rsquo;m aware of followed their lead. I used BBCOR-certified bats throughout high school, and continue to do so in my adult league.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I Just Learned What BBCOR Means"},{"content":"If you grew up around the plain-text internet and pre-smartphone texting, you may be aware of the distinction between emoticons and emojis. The latter are separate unicode characters that are increasingly-detailed artistic renderings of various faces and items, like a Ferris wheel: 🎡. The former are clever constructions of non-emoji characters, which provide some intangible level of whimsy and cleverness that never fails to delight.1\nConsider this shrug: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯.\nOr someone flipping a table in frustration: (ノ ゜Д゜)ノ ︵ ┻━┻\nIf you enjoy this and want to add some flair to your writing, consider the wonderful ASCIImoji site. It has a near-complete table of these emoticons from which you can copy, a Chrome extension, and a .plist file you can import to macOS to create text replacement shortcuts which subsequently sync to your iPhone if desired.\nEvery time I see one of these, or recognize an opportunity to use one myself, I find myself grinning. It\u0026rsquo;s a simple joy of playing on a computer, and I\u0026rsquo;m glad I finally got these replacements working.\n(•_•) ( •_•)\u0026gt;⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)\nThanks to Doug Merritt for pointing out that my original sentence here—that these were all actually made of ASCII characters—was incorrect. Many require Unicode in their current constructions, but really the fun part is that they give the feeling of plain text more so than the tiny image that is an emoji can do.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/asciimoji/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIf you grew up around the plain-text internet and pre-smartphone texting, you may be aware of the distinction between emoticons and emojis. The latter are separate unicode characters that are increasingly-detailed artistic renderings of various faces and items, like a Ferris wheel: 🎡. The former are clever constructions of non-emoji characters, which provide some intangible level of whimsy and cleverness that never fails to delight.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider this shrug: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOr someone flipping a table in frustration: (ノ ゜Д゜)ノ ︵ ┻━┻\u003c/p\u003e","title":"ASCIImoji"},{"content":"Last week I was talking with Erin on our way to a coffee shop, and I had a sudden memory of a movie where a mouse needed to scurry about to find medicine to save a young boy who had quite a dastardly fever. Naturally I thought it was a Stuart Little movie, somewhere along the series, but that didn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite right.\nLuckily, the subreddit /r/TipOfMyTongue had me covered, when someone asked about this exact movie two years ago. It\u0026rsquo;s called The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and has a runtime of only 42 minutes. I haven\u0026rsquo;t rewatched it quite yet, but I was delighted to find the answer.\nAfter finding this via a Google search, \u0026ldquo;movie with mouse needing to find fever medicine reddit\u0026rdquo;, I decided to check whether any of ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini could come up with an answer. They all failed in similar ways, though Gemini ended up being helpful despite not finding the correct answer.\nI wrote the same prompt to all three of them: \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m thinking of a movie where a mouse needs to find fever medicine to save a boy who is sick in bed.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​\u0026rdquo;\nClaude suggested The Rescuers Down Under, and invented a scene that didn\u0026rsquo;t exist to match my description. When I told it about its error, and clarified that the movie I wanted was not animated, it suggested Mousehunt, which it did mention has no scene specifically matching what I wrote in.\nGemini initally suggested The Rescuers, with more complete information including scenes that plausibly match the kind of scene I was describing but without the specifics. \u0026ldquo;There\u0026rsquo;s a scene where Bernard needs to find a specific item (a diamond) to bribe a cat guard. This might be getting mixed up with the medicine element you remember.\u0026rdquo; I thought that was clever. When I followed up, it didn\u0026rsquo;t give any other movies. Instead, it gave me suggestions for what search terms I could try, and specifically mentioned using either the Tip of My Tongue subreddit, or the IMDB forums. That\u0026rsquo;s a decent failure experience.\nChatGPT was the worst at this. It confidently stated \u0026ldquo;The movie you\u0026rsquo;re referring to is The Secret of NIMH.\u0026rdquo; While the other two assistants gave wiggle room in their answers, ChatGPT assumed it was correct. Its second guess was one called The Witches, in which a boy gets turned into a mouse. I found this illuminating. These assistants are getting better, and I\u0026rsquo;m becoming more willing to use them, but they still have blindspots and should be considered, at best, a jumping-off point.\nBut also, The Mouse and the Motorcycle is killer based on my memory of it from twenty years ago.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-mouse-and-the-motorcycle/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast week I was talking with Erin on our way to a coffee shop, and I had a sudden memory of a movie where a mouse needed to scurry about to find medicine to save a young boy who had quite a dastardly fever. Naturally I thought it was a Stuart Little movie, somewhere along the series, but that didn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite right.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuckily, the subreddit \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/use4dp/tomtmovieearly_90s_live_action_kids_movie_about_a/\"\u003e/r/TipOfMyTongue\u003c/a\u003e had me covered, when someone asked about this exact movie two years ago. It\u0026rsquo;s called \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mouse_and_the_Motorcycle\"\u003eThe Mouse and the Motorcycle\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e, and has a runtime of only 42 minutes. I haven\u0026rsquo;t rewatched it quite yet, but I was delighted to find the answer.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Mouse and the Motorcycle"},{"content":"In college, I started seeing low-effort headlines claiming yet another corporate industry death at the hands of millennial. A typical example is the casual sit-down restaurant, and you can see a compilation of such claims (along with subsequent refutations) in this CB Insights post. I\u0026rsquo;d rather focus on the broader phenomenon and the various fallacies of thinking that lead to these poor and useless critiques of an entire generation.\nThe Customer\u0026rsquo;s Always Right\nAh yes, that old adage. Oft-repeated, and nearly as often misunderstood and misapplied by precisely the generation accusing millennial of ruining what was once good. The ruined version of it is used by uptight, frustrated people as a way of saying I have a problem, and you need to fix it immediately. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter whose fault it is (even though it was definitely mine.)\nDespite these willful twists of the phrase, its original intent remains true to this day: it is the role of a business to meet the demands of its customers. If a product or service flops, it\u0026rsquo;s not often due solely to poor marketing, a bad review, or the product being \u0026ldquo;ahead of its time\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s because it fails to meet a need or desire among its target market.\nThe customer is always right because if a customer decides not to buy something from a company, then that company doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a customer. To that point, an entire generation is not responsible for an industry faltering: the companies that comprise that industry are failing to address its changing demographic.\nBut Won\u0026rsquo;t Anyone Think of the Corporations?\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve shifted into a time where companies are personified as individuals, and are given far more rights than they should reasonably have. Some people have incredible brand loyalty, and when coupled with nostalgia for a bygone era we see a strange defense of these companies that are listing in the seas of a new generation because they fail to accept a change in the world.\nOlder companies in particular have massive inertia that make it difficult for them to pivot, and for some reason there are swathes of people who believe they deserve at least the same level of care, attention, and leeway we provide retired people in a nursing home. People bail them out, offer excuses for their behavior, and claim that just because they\u0026rsquo;ve been around for a long time they inherently deserve anything.\nCorporations are not people, yet we seem to be less comfortable with their mortality than we are with our own. We spend huge amounts of money to prop up failing companies, while a certain segment of the population laughs at the idea of an individual\u0026rsquo;s right to access healthcare or other social security assistance.\nMaybe that\u0026rsquo;s because corporations are a construct, so they feel somehow more manageable, something we should be able to optimize and improve upon in a way that\u0026rsquo;s far more difficult to do with the whole of humanity. We have some expectation that the companies of our youth will persist, and want to do anything we can to hold onto those familiar products and brands. If that\u0026rsquo;s the case, we should have higher expectations for how they operate. Better yet, we shouldn\u0026rsquo;t anthropomorphize them in any way. If we want to take issue with (or celebrate) anything a company does, direct it at the people who made the decisions and did the work. Then it becomes something akin to a conversation, rather than a poor, helpless behemoth of a company being bullied by this centrally-directed mass of the populace born across several decades.\nNothing New Here\nGenerational tiffs start up every decade or two. We enjoy characterizing entire generations and their impact on the world, with the media making sweeping claims about the upcoming youth as if their generation wasn\u0026rsquo;t the ones responsible for raising them. This hypocrisy exists most acutely among millennials with the participation trophy situation. We are accused of needing individual attention, or deserving recognition for just being around, and all this because we were raised on participation trophies.\nMillennials didn\u0026rsquo;t ask for any such trophies: their parents did.\nSo much of the large-scale frustration that occurs across generational gaps is due to the projection of insecurities coupled with a fear of no longer being relevant. As a new generation becomes parents, they will attempt to fix the perceived issues they had with their childhood by addressing their various anxieties. However, while growing older and wanting their own knowledge and wisdom to matter, they cannot or will not recognize that their life experience is becoming terribly expired not only because of technical progress, but because they have collectively created an experience disjointed from their, built from their effort to make the world better (or at least different).\nThis cycle goes on. I will fall victim to it as I age and can no longer culturally relate to kids. But that\u0026rsquo;s the beauty of being curious and empathetic, rather than defensive and accusatory: you can positively relate to someone without having actually experienced their life or culture by being genuinely interested in them. Seek to understand why someone is taking a particular action, rather than blaming them for living a life that isn\u0026rsquo;t successful according to your personal metrics.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-fallacies-of-millennial-impact/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn college, I started seeing low-effort headlines claiming yet another corporate industry death at the hands of millennial. A typical example is the casual sit-down restaurant, and you can see a compilation of such claims (along with subsequent refutations) in this \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbinsights.com/research/millennials-killing-industries/\"\u003eCB Insights\u003c/a\u003e post. I\u0026rsquo;d rather focus on the broader phenomenon and the various fallacies of thinking that lead to these poor and useless critiques of an entire generation.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Fallacies of Millennial Impact"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve bounced between browsers over the years. Chrome or Chromium were my default for many years while I ran Linux, with a few small dalliances with Chrome-powered alternatives like Brave. I tried Safari when I switched to a MacBook and used it for months. I then hopped on the Arc Browser bandwagon, which introduced me to features that I now consider essential. That experience wouldn\u0026rsquo;t last forever.\nEnlightenment\nThe creators of Arc, The Browser Company, is rethinking what browsers mean in today\u0026rsquo;s computing world. For the vast majority of computer users, their most important application is the browser, and Arc takes that seriously. They built a screenshot tool, a few ways to take shareable notes or create dashboard-like collections of webpages, and also created single window tab split-screen.\nWhile none of those features were vital to my usage, they indicated the care and attention that Arc had for how browsing can and should work moving forward. What instead hooked me were static pinned tabs, vertical tab arrangement, and robust picture-in-picture video.\nPinned tabs are efficient during my work day. I\u0026rsquo;m constantly switching between my email, calendar, Salesforce, and Google Drive, and knowing I\u0026rsquo;m a consistent keyboard command away from getting to one of those pages helps tremendously. Arc made these pinned tabs first-class citizens, including creating custom support for common pages like your calendar, where there would be a note in the tab preview telling you when your next meeting is; hovering over the tab would give a short preview of the next couple hours, and a button to join a meeting that\u0026rsquo;s about to begin.\nVertical tabs are space-efficient without adjusting information density. New tabs open at the bottom of the list, but the preview of what that page is always allow the same number of characters regardless of how many tabs you\u0026rsquo;ve opened—there\u0026rsquo;s no relying on shortened descriptions or just an icon when you have more than 10 tabs open. It also allows for \u0026ldquo;nesting\u0026rdquo; tabs inside each other to create a hierarchy based on what tabs may have opened from links, or manually adjusting them based on any other sensible procedure one may concoct.\nFinally, picture-in-picture video—common on phones—has also proved useful in a desktop setting. It negates the need for spawning new windows dedicated only to a YouTube video or other stream you want to play in the background. Instead, you pop the video out into a frameless stream with built-in controls, and arbitrarily resize it as needed. Arc played a few tricks to also make this work with an entire Google Meet stream, which was incredibly useful while working on a laptop screen. It meant I could open up various meeting notes or other bits of documentation I needed while a resizable feed of the virtual meeting could hang out in a corner, so I could still see my coworkers.\nThese three elements ended up being a surprising cornerstone in how I use a browser, and helped me develop an opinion on certain features beyond a vague feeling about how a browser works.\nFrustration\nWhen Arc first launched, it had a strong opinion about its space in the new browser world: for the most part, you only ever need 1 browser window. They built split-screen into the browser as a way to avoid spawning new screens. Links that opened in new windows were, by default, placed into \u0026ldquo;Little Arc\u0026rdquo; windows that were sandboxed away from a proper window. That experience was clunky and made it difficult to manage links. Most egregiously, a new window would duplicate all of the tabs from your existing window. That is, if I had my email, a YouTube video, and an article open in a window, and I hid Cmd + N to make a new window, I would get a window containing my email, the same YouTube video, and the same article. Creating a new tab in either window would create the same new tab in the other window. The team at The Browser Company did huge cartwheels to make this feature work, because you can imagine the conflicts that arise by this behavior.\nA month or so after I joined the beta, they changed course and made windows act like every other browser: each window was a separate instance with its own tabs. I worked under this paradigm quite happily until, many months later, they changed their minds again back to the original mode. Others in my position hoped they could make this choice a setting, given that they\u0026rsquo;d built it both ways, but they came down firm in their position this second time.\nThis revised approach heavily conflicted with how my brain works with a browser, and poorly affected my efficiency given my typical desktop setup. Split-screen was clunky to operate, but having duplicated tabs made navigation difficult: I never precisely knew where on my screen the information I needed was.\nWhile this double about-face was difficult to work with, I felt I could still manage. But in the month surrounding the feature reversion, they also began heavily discussing their desire to implement various AI features. Chat prompts became first-class citizens, they built a feature to rename tabs and folders using AI, and their overall roadmap seemed focused more on these types of additions rather than polishing or streamlining how the overall program operated. It added unnecessary bloat to an already resource-intensive browser. I decided I needed to move away from Arc for the time being.\nI knew Chrome wasn\u0026rsquo;t the most likely successor, because its resource usage is similar by design. Arc is based on Chromium, so there wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be much change. I played around with Safari, but their way of implementing saved and pinned tabs was frustrating, plus their profiles lacked some the flexibility and persistence of Arc. After a week of messing around, I rediscovered Firefox and how flexible it truly is.\nRecovery\nFirefox is rooted in an open-source mindset. They do their own thing, have a huge number of settings, and a flexible interface that allows for a larger number of extensions that directly modify how the browser runs. The biggest upshot to this is how easily I was able to replicate vertical and pinned tabs in a way that\u0026rsquo;s sufficient for my needs.\nI\u0026rsquo;m using Tree Style Tab to create vertical tabs. It has a huge number of settings, most of which I ignore, but its sense of hierarchy is excellent and I can still pin tabs up top in a specified order.\nI then enabled Containers. Containers create profiles within tabs, so in a single window you can have tabs that are siloed away from each other, each color-coded however you specify. It lets me separate my personal and work accounts, but there\u0026rsquo;s no need to have multiple browser windows open to accomplish my task.\nAs it turns out, Firefox\u0026rsquo;s picture-in-picture video is also excellent. It works for YouTube and, importantly, the MLB TV website. Normally during a commercial break, all video navigation is removed from the stream. This is different than on the iPad or TV versions of the MLB app, where you can easily skip past commercial breaks when rewatching a game. However, you can turn the game stream into a picture-in-picture video, and it comes with navigation controls to easily jump around.\nNot everything has gone perfectly. Chrome is still the leader of the web: every website is designed around Chrome, with Firefox and Safari support a distant second in importance. I have a few infrequent tasks at work that fail to work in Firefox, and some services rely on browser extensions that they only build for Chrome. Luckily none of these have been deal breakers yet, but at times I\u0026rsquo;m running dangerously close to needing to use multiple browsers to accomplish everything I need to do.\nEven so, I\u0026rsquo;m happy to be supporting Firefox by using it, and it\u0026rsquo;s overall good for the web ecosystem if it remains relevant. It\u0026rsquo;s been a successful experiment, and I hope to keep using Firefox far into the future, at least until any other decent browsers make vertical tabs available.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/settling-on-firefox/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve bounced between browsers over the years. Chrome or Chromium were my default for many years while I ran Linux, with a few small dalliances with Chrome-powered alternatives like Brave. I tried Safari when I switched to a MacBook and used it for months. I then hopped on the Arc Browser bandwagon, which introduced me to features that I now consider essential. That experience wouldn\u0026rsquo;t last forever.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Settling on Firefox"},{"content":"A short article that mirrors my thinking rather well. In particular:\nEach little metacognitive act of constructing a sentence, though, reflects valuable thinking. Knowing how to use conjunctions, for instance — the ifs, buts and therefores — is an important exercise in logical reasoning. How much should we outsource that to AI? Too much, and the writing experience may feel like a fill-in-the-blank exercise like MadLibs.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tony-wan-at-edsurge-on-ai-writing-by-students/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA \u003ca href=\"https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-04-24-what-do-we-gain-and-lose-when-students-use-ai-to-write\"\u003eshort article\u003c/a\u003e that mirrors my thinking rather well. In particular:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach little metacognitive act of constructing a sentence, though, reflects valuable thinking. Knowing how to use conjunctions, for instance — the ifs, buts and therefores — is an important exercise in logical reasoning. How much should we outsource that to AI? Too much, and the writing experience may feel like a fill-in-the-blank exercise like MadLibs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e","title":"Tony Wan at EdSurge, on AI Writing by Students"},{"content":"I previously wrote about my excitement that Mario Kart 8 was receiving more courses. Two years later, all the courses are released and have been summarily conquered by my Gold Mario character. I have 3 star trophies across all 24 Grand Prix cups, in all available speed levels.\nThough I fell off playing Mario Kart regularly in the last year—that change has been for the best—it remains a relaxing activity on a lazy weekend afternoon or a fun evening game to play with Erin. There are no more explicit accomplishments left for me in the game,1 so I can launch it when it strikes me as fun, and otherwise spend my extremely self-limited gaming time playing the several other Switch games I\u0026rsquo;ve purchased over the years. Among those I\u0026rsquo;ve started and hope to complete are Cuphead, Röki, Bastion, Firewatch, and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. It may take me years, but I\u0026rsquo;ll make progress!\nI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to not open up the can of worms that are Time Trials or Battles.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-mario-kart-milestone-again/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/mario-kart-8-booster-pass/\"\u003epreviously wrote about\u003c/a\u003e my excitement that Mario Kart 8 was receiving more courses. Two years later, all the courses are released and have been summarily conquered by my Gold Mario character. I have 3 star trophies across all 24 Grand Prix cups, in all available speed levels.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough I fell off playing Mario Kart regularly in the last year—that change has been for the best—it remains a relaxing activity on a lazy weekend afternoon or a fun evening game to play with Erin. There are no more explicit accomplishments left for me in the game,\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e so I can launch it when it strikes me as fun, and otherwise spend my extremely self-limited gaming time playing the several other Switch games I\u0026rsquo;ve purchased over the years. Among those I\u0026rsquo;ve started and hope to complete are \u003ca href=\"https://cupheadgame.com/\"\u003eCuphead\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/roki-switch/\"\u003eRöki\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/bastion-switch/\"\u003eBastion\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/firewatch-switch/\"\u003eFirewatch\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-stanley-parable-ultra-deluxe-switch/\"\u003eThe Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe\u003c/a\u003e. It may take me years, but I\u0026rsquo;ll make progress!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Mario Kart Milestone (Again)"},{"content":"Doodling is more than scrawling sketches and shapes in the margins of your notes. It encompasses any idle, unguided, and spontaneous bursts of creativity.1 In a light-bulb moment a few months ago I rediscovered my love of doodling with words, and it\u0026rsquo;s now something I try to do when I have spare time. Doodling is a phenomenal way to passively develop a skill while enjoying the process.\nWhen I was younger and played more with prose, I adored writing exercises that had me describe a scene using literary devices like similes and analogies. These often fell into the \u0026ldquo;concerted practice\u0026rdquo; bucket, but they gave me insight into the way a writer thinks, and continues to make me more aware of snippets of description or conversation that are particularly intriguing and worth noting down.\nPithy sentences, idioms, and adages can also comprise word doodles. What words seem to get to the core of an idea in the simplest way? While I\u0026rsquo;m deficient in this skill—go check out Merlin Mann for someone who I find particularly exceptional at it—it\u0026rsquo;s a trait I admire and should try to improve.\nImitation can also allow for doodling. My few satire posts are exactly this, where I\u0026rsquo;m trying to recreate the style of The Onion. One of the best ways to fully understand a tool is to try using it.\nOver time, poems—particularly limericks—became my favorite word doodles. I can idly whip them up and then, just like a sketch doodle with a pencil, I can always refine it later. They delight me and force me to explore vocabulary, word length, and syllabic structure. However, the constraints in these forms require a different level of creativity and isolation of skills.\nIt was precisely this predilection for poetry that led to my word doodle epiphany: I thought it would be fun for Erin and her lab to perform an academic exercise of summarizing a research paper as a constrained poem, like a haiku, acrostic, or limerick. Once this idea popped into my head, I tried it a couple times myself for Erin\u0026rsquo;s preprint.\nAs a haiku:\nSequences fold up\nMachines show variation\nMysteries unfold\nAnd as a limerick:\nWith sequences not all is told:\nSome stories lay within the fold!\nOur model can sense\nSome more divergence,\nThan what we expected. Behold!\nIt was a short mental leap to the concept of a word doodle. I now have a separate folder to store any snippets that I hear or that occur to me while playing with writing. While a good writer is a collector of good writing, the messes made along the way are worth keeping both as a measure of progress and a source for inspiration.\nDoodling is good and it\u0026rsquo;s fun. Whatever form it takes for you in the hobbies you enjoy, don\u0026rsquo;t be afraid of it. Embrace imperfect practice and results, because failing safely while trying something new is an awesome way to learn.\nThe exception is playing music. All musicians know that equivalent of \u0026ldquo;doodling\u0026rdquo; on your instrument is \u0026ldquo;noodling\u0026rdquo;.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/doodling-with-words/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDoodling is more than scrawling sketches and shapes in the margins of your notes. It encompasses any idle, unguided, and spontaneous bursts of creativity.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e In a light-bulb moment a few months ago I rediscovered my love of doodling with words, and it\u0026rsquo;s now something I try to do when I have spare time. Doodling is a phenomenal way to passively develop a skill while enjoying the process.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Doodling With Words"},{"content":"ELKHART, INDIANA—John Wheedle, founder and owner of Wheedle \u0026amp; Sons Whittling, presented his plan to \u0026ldquo;go after the big market, starting with those hotshots down in Fort Wayne\u0026rdquo; during a gathering of business professionals and entrepreneurs at the Elkhart Community Center.\nThe evening\u0026rsquo;s theme was Aim for the Stars. Group members were encouraged to present on ambitious, long-term plans and then receive constructive feedback. Wheedle was third to go. On his way up to the podium, several attendees recall him saying \u0026ldquo;This is going to knock their socks off.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;As makers of fine doorstops, paper weights, and other wooden office accessories,\u0026rdquo; Wheedle began, \u0026ldquo;we believe there is a huge untapped audience for our products beyond local craft fairs and the odd sale via online marketplaces. Corporations are filled with people eager to show off something fun and unique in the workspace, and we believe those same corporations will see the benefit of ordering custom-made, locally-sourced items crafted by me and my two teenage sons.\n\u0026ldquo;We can accept a large number of orders, specific to each employee, as long as it\u0026rsquo;s one of our four available items and the custom messaging uses one of our two fonts.\n\u0026ldquo;As a first step, we\u0026rsquo;ve registered for rewards Credit Cards at both Home Depot and Lowe\u0026rsquo;s to obtain the best possible rates on our core supply materials. We can\u0026rsquo;t scale without a solid supply chain, and the fine folks at Lowe\u0026rsquo;s Store 2942 have assured me they can meet our burgeoning demand.\u0026rdquo;\nWheedle received a strong positive reaction at the end of his presentation, with one person, later identified as town corner-store mogul Janette Mische, yelling \u0026ldquo;Get \u0026rsquo;em Wheedle! Go all the way to Indianapolis!\u0026rdquo;\nThe presentation was not without its critics. Sources say there were concerns about whether this proposed change in business structure would alienate Wheedle\u0026rsquo;s core set of customers in town. An anonymous attendee said, \u0026ldquo;We love ambition here in Elkhart. It really is one of our core principles. But we\u0026rsquo;ve seen this play out in companies like Slack and Dropbox and Toys \u0026lsquo;R Us, where corporate greed makes the original goal null and void. I\u0026rsquo;m worried Wheedle \u0026amp; Sons may fall into the same trap.\u0026rdquo;\nWe reached Wheedle for response. \u0026ldquo;The spirit of Elkhart is central to my company. We use local landmarks as inspiration for our designs, and will continue to ensure we proudly display our Made in Elkhart stamps at the bottom of every item.\u0026rdquo;\nWhen asked about the recent investment capital he received, Wheedle clarified. \u0026ldquo;Well, yes, we do have to make that message smaller and place it below the prominent Funded by Amazon, Screw You Etsy etching. But that\u0026rsquo;s a small price to pay for quality products making their way across the country.\u0026rdquo;\nAt time of printing, Wheedle reported that he and his teenage sons were bonding during their 18 hour garage shifts overseen by a friendly blue-vested Amazon manager.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/local-business-to-make-play-for-enterprise/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eELKHART, INDIANA—John Wheedle, founder and owner of Wheedle \u0026amp; Sons Whittling, presented his plan to \u0026ldquo;go after the big market, starting with those hotshots down in Fort Wayne\u0026rdquo; during a gathering of business professionals and entrepreneurs at the Elkhart Community Center.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe evening\u0026rsquo;s theme was \u003cem\u003eAim for the Stars\u003c/em\u003e. Group members were encouraged to present on ambitious, long-term plans and then receive constructive feedback. Wheedle was third to go. On his way up to the podium, several attendees recall him saying \u0026ldquo;This is going to knock their socks off.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Local Business to Make Play for Enterprise"},{"content":"I was talking with a friend of mine late last year about baseball and the Ohtani signing. He idly speculated that the ratio of foreign-born to domestic players in the MLB had stabilized a while ago, perhaps around the 1960s. This was mostly a gut check, and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t convinced. I went digging for more info.\nTo investigate this properly, I needed comprehensive biographical information for MLB players. There\u0026rsquo;s a huge amount of freely-available data that is regularly audited and considered canonical for all practical purposes. I ended up using the Retrosheet Biofile. To simplify the analysis, I only considered the country of origin for players that debuted in a given year, starting in 1930. My python code is at the end of this post. I used pandas to build the table I needed, then used Google Sheets to build the rolling averages and create charts.\nThe first figure shows the total number of players that debut each year as a stacked bar chart based on whether they are domestic or international players. I show both the raw numbers and a 3 year rolling average.\nThe second figure shows the proportion of players who debuted each year that were born in the United States. Again, I have charts for both the raw numbers and the 3 year rolling average.\nWe can clearly see that my friend\u0026rsquo;s intuition was off. It does appear that the proportion of domestic players who debut each year has leveled off, but only as of the late 1990s. Here are a few other observations:\nThere\u0026rsquo;s been an overall decrease since 1947, when Jackie Robinson debuted and broke the color barrier in MLB.\nThe number of players debuting each year has overall increased. With baseball optimizing itself as a sport and having less patience for poor performance, and with more money available to throw around, there\u0026rsquo;s a burgeoning minor league system of professional players who could be called up at any moment to debut. There\u0026rsquo;s also a higher rate of September debuts as teams either prepare for the postseason and try to give their key players a rest, or a team with no hope at the postseason wants to give higher prospects some exposure to the league to see what happens.\nYou can track some key internal and external events across history with these graphs. For example, there\u0026rsquo;s a huge jump in the number of players who debuted in 1944–45 when the United States entered World War II. There\u0026rsquo;s also a significant dip in 1994, which was a strike-shortened season.\nThis was a fun little project. I hope to dive into other random questions about baseball over time, since the data is available and it keeps my data analysis skills sharp.\nPython Code import pandas as pd people = pd.read_csv(\u0026#39;biofile/biofile.csv\u0026#39;) people = people[people[\u0026#39;PLAY.DEBUT\u0026#39;].notnull()] people[[\u0026#39;DEBUT.MONTH\u0026#39;,\u0026#39;DEBUT.DAY\u0026#39;,\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;]] = people[\u0026#39;PLAY.DEBUT\u0026#39;].astype(\u0026#39;str\u0026#39;).str.split(\u0026#39;/\u0026#39;,expand=True) people[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;] = people[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;].astype(int) people_smaller = people[[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;,\u0026#39;BIRTH.COUNTRY\u0026#39;]] def country_compare(x): if x == \u0026#39;USA\u0026#39;: return \u0026#39;USA\u0026#39; else: return \u0026#39;Not USA\u0026#39; people_smaller[\u0026#39;COUNTRY.COMPARE\u0026#39;] = people_smaller[\u0026#39;BIRTH.COUNTRY\u0026#39;].apply(lambda x: country_compare(x)) people_smaller = people_smaller[people_smaller[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;] \u0026gt;= 1930] people_smaller = people_smaller[[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;,\u0026#39;COUNTRY.COMPARE\u0026#39;]] people_smaller[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;] = people_smaller[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;].astype(str) df = people_smaller.value_counts().to_frame() df.sort_values(\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;,inplace=True) df.reset_index(inplace=True) df[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;] = df[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;].astype(str) usa = df[df[\u0026#39;COUNTRY.COMPARE\u0026#39;]==\u0026#39;USA\u0026#39;][[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;,\u0026#39;count\u0026#39;]] not_usa = df[df[\u0026#39;COUNTRY.COMPARE\u0026#39;]!=\u0026#39;USA\u0026#39;][[\u0026#39;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#39;,\u0026#39;count\u0026#39;]] total = pd.merge(usa,not_usa,on=\u0026#34;DEBUT.YEAR\u0026#34;,suffixes=[\u0026#39; USA\u0026#39;,\u0026#39; Not USA\u0026#39;]) total.to_csv(\u0026#39;debut_origins.csv\u0026#39;) ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mlb-player-country-of-origin/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was talking with a friend of mine late last year about baseball and the Ohtani signing. He idly speculated that the ratio of foreign-born to domestic players in the MLB had stabilized a while ago, perhaps around the 1960s. This was mostly a gut check, and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t convinced. I went digging for more info.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"MLB Player Country of Origin"},{"content":"I came across the javascript terminal app Playball. It\u0026rsquo;s fun and slick, and I\u0026rsquo;m enjoying using it. It gives you a way to view MLB Gameday data from the terminal, and it\u0026rsquo;s beautifully done.\nWhen you first run the app after installing it via npm, you are greeted with the day\u0026rsquo;s schedule, and the box scores of any games.\nKeyboard navigation hints are shown at the bottom of the window at all times, so you can easily look at scores from previous days, or check out the schedule in the future. You can jump back to the current day at any point. Navigating any screen can be done with either the arrow keys or vim keybindings.\nStandings are available as well, following the same format you would see in the MLB app.\nThe gameday stream is excellent. It provides a complete boxscore up top, a left pane containing information about the at-bat, and a right pane with all play-by-play information. All of the colors can be configured to your liking, and I\u0026rsquo;m particularly a fan of the occupied bases diagram.\nAfter watching a Snazzy Labs video about terminal apps, I\u0026rsquo;ve been thoroughly enjoying using the terminal more. I lost that part of my computing life when I switched to macOS, but it\u0026rsquo;s delightful to reenter the fold.\nPlayball is a fun project that is actually useful because it takes away all the cruft and clutter of a web app, stripping it down to present the core information in a highly readable way with no loss of functionality. Give it a shot.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/playball-for-terminal/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI came across the javascript terminal app \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/paaatrick/playball\"\u003ePlayball\u003c/a\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s fun and slick, and I\u0026rsquo;m enjoying using it. It gives you a way to view \u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/schedule/gameday\"\u003eMLB Gameday\u003c/a\u003e data from the terminal, and it\u0026rsquo;s beautifully done.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you first run the app after installing it via \u003ccode\u003enpm\u003c/code\u003e, you are greeted with the day\u0026rsquo;s schedule, and the box scores of any games.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/playball_schedule.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeyboard navigation hints are shown at the bottom of the window at all times, so you can easily look at scores from previous days, or check out the schedule in the future. You can jump back to the current day at any point. Navigating any screen can be done with either the arrow keys or vim keybindings.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Playball for Terminal"},{"content":"In my weekly perusal of education newsletters, I came across a Time magazine article about new attempts to bring AI and machine learning to monitoring student behavior on school devices. While the article focuses on student mental health—suicide prevention in particular—I looked into the companies mentioned therein and discovered that the scope of monitoring efforts is broad and deep. It is a fascinating and discomforting topic, with each company working on a different aspect of student safety with rhetoric to match.\nThe Cast\nHere are four companies mentioned in the article along with a brief description of what they offer based on what I could find on their respective websites.\nBark was initially a service for parents to monitor their children\u0026rsquo;s devices. After the Parkland, FL shooting they decided to offer a free service to schools that monitors Google Workspace and Office 365 activity. They provide abundant technical documentation and a philosophy-driven approach. Their safety support includes identifying personal troubles like depression, in addition to instances of bullying, abuse both within and outside of school, and flagging highly threatening events like shootings and suicide.\nGoGuardian is focused on student instruction. They have an LMS1 designed for individual learning experiences and keeping students on task. They also provide safety support focused on student mental health, emphasizing that such issues greatly hinder a student\u0026rsquo;s ability to learn\nSecurly appears to be one of the oldest and established companies in this space. They more directly advertise AI tools, and have an incredible number of services that are difficult to parse. Their data monitoring tool is device-wide, so it can ingest social media use and messaging services unlike the other companies. Their overall strategy is similar to Bark, but their options to display information and guidance directly to students is unique.\nGaggle has also been around for years, and takes a more severe stance. They are marketing themselves to those who are scared of the student safety situation. They offer therapy and crisis lines as part of their service, and take a hard line on the necessity of student monitoring.\nThe Good\nIn a world where we seem incapable of addressing the root causes of student mental health and safety—we vaguely wave our hands at \u0026ldquo;mental health\u0026rdquo; but never consider if we can do more to mitigate that crisis as a society—there are companies willing and able to address the symptoms. This includes helping schools identify students to prioritize for counseling and therapy, assessing bullying and abuse that occurs on school devices, and anticipating violent events like school shootings or suicides then intervening when necessary. There are also simpler issues that schools are legally required to handle like student safety when searching online. When I was in school, this amounted to device- and network-level filters and firewalls to keep students away from explicit and dangerous content. But the spectrum of problems that students and schools face due to the introduction of a highly connected world, which are exacerbated by regular access to devices, continues to grow. The scope of companies attempting to help schools appropriately address these problems has grown in kind. While it\u0026rsquo;s sad that these problems exist at all, there are several benefits to its resulting emphasis on student safety.\nA key philosophy stated by these safety and monitoring companies is that students and teachers cannot effectively participate in their education if they don\u0026rsquo;t believe their school and people within are safe, welcoming, and trustworthy. When teachers and administrators know their students are provided the all necessary emotional support, they can be more confident in their daily work. That confidence can be instilled in students as well, who tend to be quite responsive to their environments at a young age. Student then spend more of their time in school focused on learning and not on the difficulties they may face when they go home, whatever that may be.\nWhen done well and with an open line of communication between everyone involved, these tools can help reduce the stigma around mental health. They increase awareness that we can\u0026rsquo;t simply compartmentalize areas of life: students are living their lives with real problems, both in and out of school, and those problems affect their ability to learn and perform. By offering therapy phone lines or text channels students can access from their school devices, these companies let students learn about therapy as a tool they can and should use throughout life. When students feel they can safely use these resources, it\u0026rsquo;s a powerful way to both unburden the teacher and empower a student to get the assistance they need and improve their outlook on their own education. For students too young or uncomfortable to directly access these resources, data can help refer someone in particular need to professional mental health assistance.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s beneficial for teachers and administrators to gain insight into how their students are, and develop a sense of their emotional well-being. An empathetic educator can do well by this information, crafting learning experiences that can thoughtfully engage their students by being aware of who may be at risk of overwhelm and frustration. GoGuardian takes this exact approach. Their LMS offers personalized learning workspaces on a student\u0026rsquo;s device, but with oversight that shows a teacher how focused and on-task everyone is. In a world of indirect lessons done on a personal school device, it\u0026rsquo;s harder for a teacher to visually survey a class. For both learning and safety, these tools can provide the necessary information for teachers not to lose their students.\nStudent data is heavily regulated. I see this in my own company, and can attest to the onerous, but necessary, rules around student data storage, usage, and removal. To that end I believe every company of notable size in the student monitoring field is closely vetted and doesn\u0026rsquo;t use student data for anything overtly nefarious. So, how is the data being legitimately used? There are certainly benefits as stated above, and schools are generally recognizing the utility of ensuring student health and safety in a way other than arming teachers, but there is so much more going on than the initial pitch given by each company.\nThe Bad\nThe emergence of these companies, and the particular tools they employ to surveil and monitor students, worries me. I\u0026rsquo;m concerned both about the utility and accuracy of these tools, and whether schools will use the requisite tact to address any issues that arise. The existence of this monitoring at all creates poor expectations for students as they mature, and a digital panopticon is not a good precedent when we\u0026rsquo;ve already lost so much privacy among the adult population.\nMost of these companies handle flagged safety issues via an escalation model based on some combination of severity and confidence: a dashboard provides schools with anything caught by the monitoring software, and is subsequently classified by the kind of issue, how potentially dangerous it is, and how confident the model is that its classification is accurate. Bark is the most open in explaining this process, but others appear to have a similar approach. They also all use human review as a way to confirm aggregated data and accelerate response to immediate threats. Any of the third-party counselors or therapists are trained as mandatory reporters.\nAll of the above is reasonable on the surface, but requires a clear view of what needs to be prioritized. How confident is the company, and the school, that a student needs intervention immediately, and how do you approach that? Because the monitoring companies increasingly rely on machine learning to process the incoming data, there will necessarily be false positives and negatives depending on how the model is tweaked. False positives could be hugely damaging to a student\u0026rsquo;s view of themselves, and undercut any feeling of trust and safety they had while working on their school device. What did they do that led to this interaction? Should they trust their own teachers or peers? Is there something wrong with them?\nBark offers schools flexibility in the parameters they choose, so a school can be notified more frequently with the expectation that more of these will be false positives, or focus on the most damaging and dangerous interactions which will lead to some students being missed early on. I think this is the correct philosophical approach because ultimately it should be up to the school to decide how to work with their students. But this requires a new realm of decision-making among administrators.\nWho is charged with sifting through the issues reporting by the software? How do they use this information to allocate counselor time for students? Consider a student that needs assistance—perhaps they self-identified as such—but they aren\u0026rsquo;t flagged by the system because they don\u0026rsquo;t do anything inappropriate on their school device. If the system is working \u0026ldquo;efficiently\u0026rdquo; then most of the counselor time is already allocated to students who \u0026ldquo;need\u0026rdquo; it. This leaves someone else unable to obtain support.\nA fascinating approach taken by Securly is proactive messaging given directly to students on their device. Imagine working on an assignment on your laptop, and sending a message to a friend out of frustration because you find it confusing or difficult. Then you get a pop-up banner at the top of your screen with some milquetoast message of encouragement. How would you feel? For a small percentage of students that may be useful, but I suspect most would find this annoying at best, and many would have a sense that their privacy had been invaded. Considering I\u0026rsquo;m already skeptical of how well the educators receiving this information can thoughtfully respond to each issue, I\u0026rsquo;ve no faith in software to have the requisite tact and confident presence necessary to help a student.\nAnd what about these privacy concerns that would be felt by both students and parents? Here is a hypothetical exchange within the For Parents section of Gaggle\u0026rsquo;s FAQ, which I found quite telling:\nQuestion: You are invading my child’s privacy! Well, aren’t you?\nAnswer: Most educators and attorneys will tell you that when your child is using school-provided technology, there should be no expectation of privacy. In fact, your child’s school is legally required by federal law (Children\u0026rsquo;s Internet Protection Act) to protect children from accessing obscene or harmful content over the internet.\nI first noticed the tone this question is written in. It is the voice of a frustrated and potentially aggressive parent, which is a surprisingly direct and passive-aggressive approach to writing an FAQ. It comes off as condescending to anyone who has this question.\nIts answer is equally tactless. It directly states that there is no privacy to invade in the first place, and also implies that the privacy invasion is a legal obligation. This is purposefully misleading: schools are indeed required to help protect children, but most of that can be done via content filtering. That is sufficient, and wholly different from actively monitoring what a student does on their device and subsequently passing that data along for analysis and potential action. If a successful company is blatantly open in their opinions about student privacy, it heavily suggests many district leaders concur.\nStudents should have some reasonable expectation of privacy.2 Just as a child\u0026rsquo;s room should be a safe place for them to exist in the real world, they should have a safe place to explore the digital world. The increased funding for personal student devices represents a potential boon to this, giving access for children whose families could otherwise not afford any way for them to be connected in a way that is expected in our current world. By adding any full-device monitoring system, we are stripping this away in the same way adding a camera to a child\u0026rsquo;s room would be a terrible way to build trust and understanding.\nWe can still provide students with these devices, but focus on putting boundaries around the experience. This will never be perfect—I remember my tech-savvy classmates regularly circumventing school firewalls—but kids also sneak out of the house to experience the world. Those who are dedicated to escaping over these digital walls will find a way, and most will be fine with the given situation.\nFurthermore, normalizing digital surveillance for the next generation is a poor choice. We\u0026rsquo;ve given up so much of our ability to exist as individuals both in public and online already, and though some effort has been made to wrest some of that control away from corporations, governmental institutions continue to push their way for more access. Forcing this approach onto children is short-sighted. As mentioned above, we\u0026rsquo;re attacking a symptom instead of a problem, and I expect this attempt will only exacerbate the underlying problem by making children wary of attempts to diagnose them, subsequently eroding their trust in the institutions charged with preparing them for adulthood.\nThe Ugly\nMy research into this topic was a wild journey. After reading the Time article above, I came down fairly strong against this entire industry, particularly the specific approach of using these monitoring tools to triage students who may need counseling and other mental health aid. It was disturbing and uncomfortable.\nI first looked into Bark, and came away surprised by how coherent, sensible, and sensitive they were to my specific concerns. They were not doing whole-device monitoring, instead focusing on school-specific applications. They were abundantly transparent about their training process, how human review works, and their method for escalating issues when they are immediately dangerous.\nGaggle presented a horrific about-face in attitude. In addition to the frustrating question above about student data privacy, they had this quip a question about pricing:\nPerhaps a better question to ask is, “How much will it cost your school or district if you don\u0026rsquo;t use Gaggle Safety Management?”\nThis is a disgusting response. What if that was the slogan for Red Cross First Aid training, or anything else pitching itself as saving lives? The explicit fear-mongering helps nobody, and is only a few steps away from a mob shakedown. What worries me more is that if these FAQ items remain as-is, it means that they are an accurate reflection of some educators out there. Gaggle is successful because the story they tell—wholly different from its competitors Bark, GoGuardian, and Securly—resonates with enough people with the power to purchase the service.\nTeachers and students (and parents) are scared of the world we\u0026rsquo;re in, and for many good reasons. Student mental health is flagging, and that affects how effective a school is as a place for learning. However, twisting the knife into that fear serves nobody except the company and blatantly shows how little they actually care about improving the lives of this generation that we see is in so much turmoil.\nThese tools will continue to exist, but I hope they can focus on matters of trust and safety, building an experience that is fruitful for education and student growth, rather than privacy invasion and fear-mongering.\nA Learning Management System, or LMS, is a database meant to store all the information needed for a set of courses. Imagine tables containing textbook chapters, homework assignments, grading weights, etc.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI have less of an issue philosophically when an employee has monitoring software on their work computer, because adults do know better. I just think that\u0026rsquo;s poor management, rather than an injustice.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/student-monitoring-safety-and-privacy/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn my weekly perusal of education newsletters, I came across a \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6694425/ai-monitoring-school-suicide-cost-essay/\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eTime\u003c/em\u003e magazine article\u003c/a\u003e about new attempts to bring AI and machine learning to monitoring student behavior on school devices. While the article focuses on student mental health—suicide prevention in particular—I looked into the companies mentioned therein and discovered that the scope of monitoring efforts is broad and deep. It is a fascinating and discomforting topic, with each company working on a different aspect of student safety with rhetoric to match.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Student Monitoring, Safety, and Privacy"},{"content":"I just finished Frankenstein, which I last read during my British Literature class in high school. It reminded me of the phenomenon of Disney retelling an old story with key details removed and altered to make it kid-friendly,1 though in Frankenstein this happens in reverse.\nEvery representation of the monster2 in popular media that I\u0026rsquo;m aware of is a green, slow-moving, large man, often with bolts in his neck. In reality, the book shows a monster who learns much about the world by observing a small family in a cottage, eventually becoming literate and quite eloquent. He also possesses superhuman speed, strength, and stamina while requiring only a limited vegetarian diet. It\u0026rsquo;s a fascinating tale that explores the concept of sin, revenge, and responsibility; most of that is lost in the classic \u0026ldquo;monster movie\u0026rdquo;.\nI fondly recall the surprise I had at this in high school, and rediscovered a similar enthusiasm reading it a decade later. I wholly recommend Frankenstein to anyone who is willing to wade through flowery British prose from the 1800s.\nThis most recently came up when running trivia for some friends a couple months ago, when I learned the original written version of Pinocchio ends with the puppet being hanged on a tree.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIndeed, we all know Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, and he creates an unnamed monster.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/frankenstein-and-retelling-old-tales/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI just finished \u003cem\u003eFrankenstein\u003c/em\u003e, which I last read during my British Literature class in high school. It reminded me of the phenomenon of Disney retelling an old story with key details removed and altered to make it kid-friendly,\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e though in \u003cem\u003eFrankenstein\u003c/em\u003e this happens in reverse.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery representation of the monster\u003csup id=\"fnref:2\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:2\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e in popular media that I\u0026rsquo;m aware of is a green, slow-moving, large man, often with bolts in his neck. In reality, the book shows a monster who learns much about the world by observing a small family in a cottage, eventually becoming literate and quite eloquent. He also possesses superhuman speed, strength, and stamina while requiring only a limited vegetarian diet. It\u0026rsquo;s a fascinating tale that explores the concept of sin, revenge, and responsibility; most of that is lost in the classic \u0026ldquo;monster movie\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Frankenstein and Retelling Old Tales"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve watched nearly every Pixar movie. I have some I entirely adore and will happily rewatch whenever the opportunity presents. The others I still enjoy but they don\u0026rsquo;t have an ongoing impact on my life. Elemental is firmly in the second category. Its charm and inventive physical humor kept me delighted, and its role as a modern fable about immigration and racism makes it worth watching, but its story had inconsistent pacing with confusing characterization.\nElemental is a compendium of Pixar\u0026rsquo;s animation abilities. Each of their first several movies was paired with a breakthrough in believable animation, with the clever shading of A Bug\u0026rsquo;s Life, the hair and fur throughout Monsters, Inc. and mesmerizing underwater motion in Finding Nemo. A movie like Elemental gives their animators an opportunity to show off by capturing difficult, unique motion—how do you clearly represent the four \u0026ldquo;elements\u0026rdquo; present in the movie?—but forcing them to interact. Every scene where Ember\u0026rsquo;s heat boils the surface of water is phenomenal. The jiggling motion of Wade and his water-based brethren feels natural. If you don\u0026rsquo;t appreciate the technical progress and achievment displayed in this movie, I might recommend you go watch any Pixar movie from their first ten years of existence to understand how far they\u0026rsquo;ve come.\nThe next layer of enjoyment is the entire conceit of the movie. Four groups of people, each representing a different element—water, air, earth, and fire—live in a big city fittingly named \u0026ldquo;Element City\u0026rdquo;. At some point the decision was made to throw any attempt at subtlety out the window. The fire people come from \u0026ldquo;Fire Land\u0026rdquo;. When introducing Element City, we see the water people were the \u0026ldquo;first wave\u0026rdquo;. Cue a sequence of puns that remains unbroken throughout the movie, from the \u0026ldquo;Kiss Me, I\u0026rsquo;m Firish\u0026rdquo; shirt to the \u0026ldquo;Hot Logs\u0026rdquo; cart. It even invaded the dialogue in an element-agnostic way, when the barely-pubescent earth boy Claude says: \u0026ldquo;Would it take an act of God, or an act of Claude?\u0026rdquo;\nEveryone will take this in-your-face silliness differently. I was won over by its consistency and transparency, smiling at each new joke that they worked in. Their density was impressive, and essentially all of them were tasteful. They all lie firmly on the line that separates Pixar from Dreamworks.\nThe downside of those jokes was that I ended the movie feeling that they had a fun idea that a bunch of people kept riffing on, then the animators realized how much of a blast they\u0026rsquo;d have building it all out, and somewhere in that excitement the story was lost. I believe there was a story they wanted to tell about immigration, but this movie felt more like an extended fable meant to teach extremely young children about discrimination. It lacked a certain depth that the best Pixar movies have, where you\u0026rsquo;re forced to confront an idea from a unique perspective. Elemental felt like a story I\u0026rsquo;ve seen dozens of times, but with a framing device that offered an exciting bit of animation.\nIn particular, the characters lacked a flow of change that felt natural. They were mostly one-dimensional, with sudden flips of opinion that didn\u0026rsquo;t feel entirely earned. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I fully got to know any characters other than Wade, but even he seemed inconsistent. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe in his paper-pushing, citation-writing origin in the movie given who he as, so consistently, for the remainder of the film. They also did not use Ember to her full potential. I was waiting for the moment where she channeled her rage to do something miraculous and powerful–going \u0026ldquo;full purple\u0026rdquo; for a good reason. It showed some growth and understanding for her to get Wade to cry at the end, but it would have been more effecting had she come up with her own words to accomplish that feat.\nBeyond that, I have so many questions about the dysfunction of Element city. Why was this hole in a set of doors(?) that would allow water through not noticed? Why was it up to two random folks to seal that hole? Who even runs this town? If you\u0026rsquo;re going to introduce bureaucracy, you have to expect me to be curious how it works.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t regret my time watching Elemental. It had fun and cute moments, but unlike many great Pixar movies, I never felt tears coming on. I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel much of anything other than pleasure at spotting a new pun in the background, or admiration for the animation. At this point, it\u0026rsquo;s an expected okay film from Pixar after the existential Soul and nearly perfect Luca. I don\u0026rsquo;t think Pixar can make a truly bad movie by any means, but they simply aren\u0026rsquo;t able to capture a little bit of magic in every film.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/elemental-a-pixar-film/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve watched nearly every Pixar movie. I have some I entirely adore and will happily rewatch whenever the opportunity presents. The others I still enjoy but they don\u0026rsquo;t have an ongoing impact on my life. \u003cem\u003eElemental\u003c/em\u003e is firmly in the second category. Its charm and inventive physical humor kept me delighted, and its role as a modern fable about immigration and racism makes it worth watching, but its story had inconsistent pacing with confusing characterization.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Elemental, a Pixar Film"},{"content":"I read a short dialogue with the previously-mentioned Frederick Hess, in which he complains about researchers intentionally obfuscating their ideas behind a wall of jargon. He argues that plain writing, using diction that is clear and precise, is the ideal way to present ideas. Anything else is grandiose and an attempt at an appeal to authority. While I don\u0026rsquo;t agree with several details in that discussion, or the flippant attacks hidden among the core of his argument, there is insight worth exploring.\nOn Clarity\nWriting for the sake of the reader (rather than for the sake of showing off) forces writers to think, “Will this be clear to anyone but me?”\nTo write effectively, you must first have a goal in mind. The goal often relates to the audience: an idea or impression you want them to understand, or a feeling you wish to evoke. Matching your goal with the audience lets you craft an approach and style that is best suited to accomplish that goal. There\u0026rsquo;s a reason that most academic papers are not written in haiku: That would not be a good way of communicating details and nuance in a niche research field.1 It\u0026rsquo;s also why age-specific texts exist, and why fiction genres have conventions and sub-genres. They help match a writer to an audience, and then the details of how the writer approaches their story is informed by their particular goal and sense of style.\nIn the quote above, Hess is specifically considering exposition of research topics. The goal and audience are assumed: Communicate new ideas in education to policy-makers, administrators, and teachers. This eliminates forms of writing that are often used for self-expression or entertainment, so we can focus on different aspects of the author\u0026rsquo;s approach. Their writing is meant to affect and direct the world of education; attempting to do so by posing as impressive and verbose, rather than allowing the merit of their idea to be clearly judged, is a disservice to their end goal and audience. So, they need a more refined sense of humility, a direct and honest tone, and an understanding of what concepts are broadly understood compared to those that may need to be explained in practical terms.\nIf your goal is to be clear or your goal is served by being clear, then write with the necessary clarity. Use analogies, avoid jargon, and be honest about the practicalities and promises of the idea in question. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to fall into the trap of persuasion or posturing, but remember that if your idea is truly worth presenting, it should be presented in a way befitting its value.\nAs Hess puts it:\nAnd, if you can’t find a way to say it clearly, odds are that your insight isn’t nearly as insightful as you initially thought.\nOn Practice\nA big problem is that many academics have never spent much time working on their writing.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll broaden this quote: Many people have never spent much time working on their writing.\nWe relate to each other through writing. We compose emails, send text messages, post our musings online, and create documentation and slide shows, all with the goal of sharing information in some way. Yet we rarely break out of our initial draft of thoughts to consider how our instincts could be improved, or take a few minutes (or hours, or days, depending on the scope) to reread and edit to ensure the final product actually benefits ourselves and the audience. Most people don\u0026rsquo;t think about their writing as something they could, or should, improve.\nWriting is a tool and skill hidden in plain sight. The final result in many disciplines, the actual representation of an idea seen by the world, is a piece of writing. Every organization uses written records to maintain information, and that writing needs to represent an intention as accurately as possible. Given how often we write, and the importance of writing to the communication and implementation of ideas, it\u0026rsquo;s sensible to push for improving relevant writing abilities in nearly every discipline.\nA well-functioning organization ensures its members learns every tool they need to do their work. This often comes in the form of initial onboarding where they provide time and resources to build foundational knowledge and practice using those tools, and may include ongoing education to explore new approaches in a given field. If there is mission-critical or dangerous work, it\u0026rsquo;s useful to create a physically and mentally safe environment to practice, make mistakes, be assessed, and learn. For example, the graduate program Erin is in has students with varying levels of expertise in biology and computer science. The biologists are required to learn enough computer science to begin their work and grow into it with experience, and the computational folks do the same with biology. This happens in their first year before they begin their dissertation projects, because you need a starting point to be successful.\nWhy not give time to build writing skills as well, no matter the field? If the main way anyone will ever experience your thoughts is through writing, you should ensure your writing is able to fully represent those ideas.\nOn Care\nYour work cannot speak for itself unless it\u0026rsquo;s presented in a way that can resonate with an audience. Impenetrable writing—due to poor diction, clunky sentence structure, unclear organization, or a number of other style elements—shows that you don\u0026rsquo;t value your idea or the time of those who seek to understand you. An idea can only be as strong and intelligible as you allow it to be via its presentation; if you don\u0026rsquo;t improve your ability to present, you are failing your ideas.\nWriting with care encompasses several dimensions. It means caring enough about what you have to say to take the time to write at all, and then to care enough beyond that to write it well. It means respecting language by avoiding unnecessary cliches or vague usage that fails to properly illustrate your thoughts. It means seeking out words and phrases that match your ideas beyond your first impulse. It means finding a balance of information density that fits your intended audience, allowing them to gather the full meaning of a concept without wasting their time. It means choosing a format that is appropriately accessible. It means organizing, deleting, and rewriting. It means striving to improve by engaging with and analyzing writing that you both admire and abhor. It means gathering feedback and receiving it with grace.\nCaring about what you do takes time, but writing has such an outsized impact in the world that it\u0026rsquo;s a worthwhile skill to fully develop. It gives you the tools to think with clarity, and then relate your thoughts to those around you. Writing is powerful, but just like any tool it must be wielded properly to maximize its effect. Learning to do so is worth the effort.\nAn incredibly fun exercise would be summarizing an academic paper as a haiku or other limited writing format, but the paper itself does have to exist first.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/writing-with-care/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI read a \u003ca href=\"https://www.aei.org/op-eds/scholars-writing-is-often-unclear-why-that-matters-for-the-k-12-field/\"\u003eshort dialogue\u003c/a\u003e with the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/the-great-school-rethink-and-assessing-ideas/\"\u003epreviously-mentioned\u003c/a\u003e Frederick Hess, in which he complains about researchers intentionally obfuscating their ideas behind a wall of jargon. He argues that plain writing, using diction that is clear and precise, is the ideal way to present ideas. Anything else is grandiose and an attempt at an appeal to authority. While I don\u0026rsquo;t agree with several details in that discussion, or the flippant attacks hidden among the core of his argument, there is insight worth exploring.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Writing With Care"},{"content":"After a bout of COVID in November of 2022 stopped Erin and I from seeing Cory Wong in San Francisco, I\u0026rsquo;ve been eagerly awaiting his next tour. He announced tour dates last August and I immediately jumped on tickets and invited friends along. It was a magnificent concert, easy to enjoy, fun, funny, thoughtful, and precise.\nCory is a musician\u0026rsquo;s musician, but straddles the line of speaking to a knowledgeable fan-base while creating music and entertainment for a broad audience. His Cory and the Wongnotes variety show dives into musical topics in collaboration with amazing musicians. His On the One series discusses details of music production and what decisions go into making a finished piece of music. Meanwhile, Wong on Ice is impressively absurd.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not a huge fan of musical artists in general. I never followed anyone closely growing up, and don\u0026rsquo;t have a strong knowledge of any particular band\u0026rsquo;s discography. I don\u0026rsquo;t often go to live music. But something about Cory Wong continues to capture me, and I\u0026rsquo;ll continue to see him whenever I get the chance. I\u0026rsquo;m rooting for my fellow Minnesota boy.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/cory-wong-in-oakland/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a bout of COVID in November of 2022 stopped Erin and I from seeing Cory Wong in San Francisco, I\u0026rsquo;ve been eagerly awaiting his next tour. He announced tour dates last August and I immediately jumped on tickets and invited friends along. It was a magnificent concert, easy to enjoy, fun, funny, thoughtful, and precise.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCory is a musician\u0026rsquo;s musician, but straddles the line of speaking to a knowledgeable fan-base while creating music and entertainment for a broad audience. His \u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQX1MaEAqfQ_zkDTDm2txGjyWc5vZ7vGZ\u0026amp;amp;si=vG_ZYNRBuC6AmbbW\"\u003eCory and the Wongnotes\u003c/a\u003e variety show dives into musical topics in collaboration with amazing musicians. His \u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWUaGwRHngE8KUnSiZV0gpaz97bE6M-qv\u0026amp;amp;si=qs8j3fi9TsD0OtCZ\"\u003eOn the One\u003c/a\u003e series discusses details of music production and what decisions go into making a finished piece of music. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/46qJoBcctGI?si=QntSt8JYypwYCp2x\"\u003eWong on Ice\u003c/a\u003e is impressively absurd.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Cory Wong in Oakland"},{"content":"Last fall I read The Great School Rethink by Frederick Hess, who works with the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. He focuses largely on education policy initiatives, many of which might be familiar: school choice, assessments, funding distribution, and curriculum adoption, among others. While I find these topics and the debates around them interesting, my main takeaway from reading this book was broader. It reminded me that a person is not static, and when we talk with someone we have to focus more on the thoughts they\u0026rsquo;re presenting and not conflate that with our notions of who the person is when taken as a sum of their parts.\nIn discussions around self-care, growth mindsets, and any other progressive psychological ideas, a common theme is an understanding that you as a person are separate from what you think, feel, and do. All of those are indicators of some underlying being, but we are not static. The opinions we have do not define us forever, and we are capable of change.\nFighting against that concept is how naturally hypocritical we are when comparing ourselves against others. People can excuse their own mistakes pretty easily—they\u0026rsquo;re just learning, they had a bad night\u0026rsquo;s sleep, work has been difficult—yet we rarely extend that grace and understanding to those around us. We\u0026rsquo;ve changed over some period of time, and our thoughts have evolved; we\u0026rsquo;ve gained skills, let some others rust, and emerged different than before. Then we look at someone else who we\u0026rsquo;ve met a few times and lock in a caricature of their personality and thoughts and rarely give them the benefit of the doubt we give ourselves.\nThis is why I find writing to be the ideal format to engage with an idea, and why The Great School Rethink had me rethinking how I handle my implicit biases. Writing can be separated from the person. You are not watching someone in an interview, or listening to their voice. You could be given a piece of writing and not be told who wrote it, left only to evaluate the idea itself1 on the merits you\u0026rsquo;ve been provided. If instead you saw a video interview on, say, Joe Rogan or MSNBC, your perception is affected at the outset.\nI went into this book with my idea of Hess based on where he works, what other people who work at the same place discuss, and some bits of writing of his I\u0026rsquo;ve read before. I don\u0026rsquo;t align with many, or most, traditional conservative ideals, so I had my eyebrow raised from the start. Why did I start reading the book? Because my manager essentially assigned it to our team. It was not a high-minded ideal that I should seek out opposing viewpoints; it was compulsory.\nI read this book more closely and critically than I typically do others. I found points that I didn\u0026rsquo;t like, disagreed with, or found disingenuous. I also learned interesting new ideas, a different framework for viewing education, and insightful arguments about a few topics I\u0026rsquo;d written off. I became aware of my biases early on in the book, and began shifting to focus just on the words and the ideas, letting my thoughts on Hess fade into the background. They were present, but muted in favor of the argument itself.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve tried to keep this lesson in mind as I talk to new people, worry about what I read online, and also think about my growth. We need a two-way approach to carefully considering ideas—there are those we wish to share with others, and also critiques we hear back from them. We can only give effective feedback, and accept it from others gracefully, if we understand how to separate ideas from people. Otherwise we set ourselves up to be resentful and defensive when someone takes issue with our creations: we feel they are attacking us. Similarly, it makes us more empathetic and precise givers of feedback, because we know to focus on only the item itself.\nThese are vital skills that should be exercised thoroughly in school. While it\u0026rsquo;s important for students to learn how to assess themselves, and I adore seeing what a positive self-image of growth potential can subsequently do for actual academic ability, it\u0026rsquo;s also important to frame those discussions around other people. As students grow, they need to grow beyond themselves to recognize that everyone they meet has that same capability to learn and adapt, so we shouldn\u0026rsquo;t place them in unalterable boxes, tidily organized within our world view.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re interested in education policy at all, I can recommend The Great School Rethink as an engaging read with a solid perspective. I also suggest you go through this same activity about a topic of interest to you. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean go straight to the cranks—I don\u0026rsquo;t care too much what Betsy DeVoss has to say about education—but someone just on the other side of an argument in your area of expertise. What are they really saying? What can you learn from that? Focus on the fact that, for this exercise, we don\u0026rsquo;t care who was saying it, just that it was said at all.\nThe presentation of the idea is via writing, so it\u0026rsquo;s not \u0026ldquo;the idea itself\u0026rdquo;. People have different writing voices which could affect your perception, but I believe it\u0026rsquo;s farther removed than seeing or hearing the person. At some point we have to accept that ideas themselves can only take meaning in a shared world if we find ways to communicate them.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-great-school-rethink-and-assessing-ideas/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast fall I read \u003cem\u003eThe Great School Rethink\u003c/em\u003e by Frederick Hess, who works with the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. He focuses largely on education policy initiatives, many of which might be familiar: school choice, assessments, funding distribution, and curriculum adoption, among others. While I find these topics and the debates around them interesting, my main takeaway from reading this book was broader. It reminded me that a person is not static, and when we talk with someone we have to focus more on the thoughts they\u0026rsquo;re presenting and not conflate that with our notions of who the person is when taken as a sum of their parts.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"\"The Great School Rethink\" and Assessing Ideas"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve completed my Apple Vision Pro demo in what felt like record time—seventeen minutes, when everything I\u0026rsquo;ve heard referenced half an hour—and I can firmly place myself in the camp of people who simultaneously very interested in a Meta Quest 3 right now, and excited about the next several versions of Vision Pro.\nHubris Confirmed\nAll my time listening to accounts of these demos and watching YouTube reviews paid off. Navigating the demo felt straightforward: I understood eye-tracking immediately, had very little trouble using the pinch-select gesture with my hand comfortably resting on the table, and I didn\u0026rsquo;t overextend my arms while scrolling or swiping. This let me focus on how everything felt and looked.\nInteracting within the Vision Pro was intuitive. While I take some issue with overly-subtle illumination of app icons on the home screen, all other eye targets had good contrast balance. While I\u0026rsquo;m wary of disappearing buttons, I think Apple made the right choice of mostly hiding the small elements used to move and resize windows. Scanning across an app, like the selection screen of Apple TV, felt pretty good. It\u0026rsquo;s a difficult issue to solve: An interface that jitters and bounces about as you look at it would be distracting. But when someone is ready to select an item, they should be confident the system will follow their intent. This is a change from computers and phones—looking at the screen does nothing, so you must physically manipulate something (a cursor, or the screen itself) to select anything. Vision Pro\u0026rsquo;s interface is thus more similar to a video game console or the Apple TV hardware, where you have to discretely move from item to item.\nThey\u0026rsquo;ve struck a good balance given all this, and the implementation is mostly elegant. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t play around on my own to determine what happens when you\u0026rsquo;re, say, writing a document and want to access the cursor. But from what I saw, this is another uncannily natural input method from Apple, and creates a strong foundation for future iterations of the device.1\nKeep the Content Coming\nI told my demo guide how impressed I was by the spatial video shot on an iPhone. To my eyes, it looked no worse than the version shot on Vision Pro. This confirmed what I\u0026rsquo;ve heard from tech reviewers and have begun implementing myself: If you can, it\u0026rsquo;s worth taking short spatial videos on your iPhone right now in preparation for the day you get a Vision Pro device. Even if Vision Pro becomes something people wear out and about over the next year or two, I find it hard to see an immediate future where it is the main capture device of anything but a planned scene. For a random fun moment with friends or kids or pets, pull out your phone and get a video. Even more simply, start taking panoramas. While they\u0026rsquo;re barely of interest on any other screen, I found them quite stunning on a Vision Pro.\nWhile it\u0026rsquo;s great to view your own life in new ways, there is already amazing content available for VR devices. 3D movies and immersive video exist on other platforms, and I\u0026rsquo;m ready to revisit them after my demo. The current lineup of Quest devices have sufficient video quality to enjoy these experiences at a fraction of the cost. I don\u0026rsquo;t currently know what all is available through them—presumably anything Apple creates is locked to their device—so the value proposition of a Quest is contingent on their content library. However, I didn\u0026rsquo;t even mind the quality on the Quest 2, and the Quest 3 is much-improved. I would spend $500 on that for entertainment purposes because it\u0026rsquo;s so engaging. I don\u0026rsquo;t think the Vision Pro sets itself apart enough here, but in the future Apple will use its connections in the sports world to create amazing experiences for fans, and all that spatial video you\u0026rsquo;ve been shooting can finally be watched.\nThis dynamic of what the Vision Pro represents, compared to the financial reality of what can be created today, is the through-line of this product launch.\nThe Future is Promising…\nI dialed in the Mt. Hood environment at the behest of my demo guide, and it was gorgeous. While the effect was muted in a busy Apple store, I could still appreciate the quality of the scene and how much it felt like you were there. The world disappeared, and I was left with the three apps they\u0026rsquo;d had me open up to this point set against a backdrop of a lake, a peak off in the distance, and lush pine trees and grass behind me.\nThe benefits of this new device were clear: text was stupidly sharp in Safari, and I can imagine reading and writing as easily as I do on my computer or phone. Working in windows of arbitrary sizes, creating a canvas of information and action, is a cool idea. I\u0026rsquo;d still need a keyboard and mouse2 to do anything, but I would totally sit at a kitchen counter and get a couple hours of work done in a headset while sitting in a cozy atmosphere. Outside of work hours though, I could idly scroll in a web browser and poke around without needing accessories. This would make it an expensive leisure device. Were I a famous writer (or made more money), I would purchase it to sit in a virtual environment with a huge text editor open. That would be blissful. NaNoWriMo would be amazing.\nBut then you leave the environment and you\u0026rsquo;re back in the real world. Video passthrough is good enough that I can see myself sitting on the couch, messing around in my augmented world as if I were on my phone, while naturally holding a conversation with the person next to me and think nothing of it. Except they\u0026rsquo;d be watching me with these goggles on. You\u0026rsquo;d need to make sure that person also understood how passthrough looks so they can trust what you\u0026rsquo;re seeing when you \u0026ldquo;look\u0026rdquo; at them, and believe it\u0026rsquo;s as legitimate as someone looking up from their phone to pay attention to you. Eyesight, from what I\u0026rsquo;ve seen, is not a convincing effect and doesn\u0026rsquo;t fully resolve the experience for the person outside the Vision Pro. It\u0026rsquo;s implicative of attention, but doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite get the job done.\nGiven how good the Vision Pro is at keeping windows \u0026ldquo;in place\u0026rdquo; in the world around you, I\u0026rsquo;m even more bullish on creating a way to share space with others. Sharing windows and objects in a collaborative environment is the only way this device makes sense in a work context for corporations.3 Opening up an augmented world to others around you can create novel experiences that streamline working on digital items when you\u0026rsquo;re in the same physical space. Otherwise we\u0026rsquo;ll be stuck where we are now: a dozen people in a big meeting room, each with their own laptops open, looking at a Google Doc, trying to find the pink cursor of a coworker, except with Vision Pro they could secretly be surrounded by a beach.\n…But the Present is Now\nOn the heels of Mark Zuckerberg \u0026ldquo;reviewing\u0026rdquo; the Vision Pro (and naturally concluding that it\u0026rsquo;s not as good as the Meta Quest line), here\u0026rsquo;s how I view the situation: Apple Vision Pro is a limited, first-version product that is superb, exciting, and only for people who have money to throw around and are invigorated by technology. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to dip my toes back into the world of AR/VR because of this product launch, but it won\u0026rsquo;t be through this device. Zuck has the device for the world of today.\nWith that said, Apple has the best approach to making headsets (or whatever form-factor they take on) a mainstream product. I don\u0026rsquo;t think the world is trending toward a perpetually online \u0026ldquo;metaverse\u0026rdquo; full of avatars. Focusing on existing in the real world while digitally interacting within it is a big idea that could become something amazing. For now though, the state-of-the-art is strapping in, isolating yourself, and watching a cool video or playing a fun game. What Apple has done is incredible and I believe they\u0026rsquo;ll succeed, but for now I\u0026rsquo;m treading water until it\u0026rsquo;s clear the value proposition is there for my lifestyle.\nApple\u0026rsquo;s trackpads are better than any others, and their scrolling acceleration on mobile devices continues to be smoother and somehow more \u0026ldquo;real\u0026rdquo; feeling than what I\u0026rsquo;ve felt on Android.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nJoke\u0026rsquo;s on me, right now only trackpads work.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nLet\u0026rsquo;s ignore the dystopian future where a device is made by another company that allows employers to track their employees\u0026rsquo; eyes to assess productivity; they can also vastly reduce the required space for desks because all someone needs is a small table that contains a keyboard and trackpad.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/vision-pro-part-2-inside-looking-out/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve completed my Apple Vision Pro demo in what felt like record time—seventeen minutes, when everything I\u0026rsquo;ve heard referenced half an hour—and I can firmly place myself in the camp of people who simultaneously very interested in a Meta Quest 3 right now, and excited about the next several versions of Vision Pro.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Vision Pro Part 2: Inside Looking Out"},{"content":"Last week, Apple launched Vision Pro. I\u0026rsquo;ve read and listened to commentary, and watched many reviews and demos since its release. I have a good sense of what it can and can\u0026rsquo;t do, but that\u0026rsquo;s hugely different than experiencing it. Here is my current understanding of Vision Pro and what I find most important and interesting without having used it. This Wednesday I\u0026rsquo;ll be going to an Apple store to demo Vision Pro, and I will follow up with what I\u0026rsquo;ve learned.\nIsolated Entertainment\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had a rabid interest in technology for years, yet my direct experience with VR has been limited to the Oculus Go and the Oculus (ahem Meta) Quest 2.1 The former wowed me in its ability to display stationary content like video experiences and a few clever games that worked within the device\u0026rsquo;s constraints. It was objectively a bit blurry and underpowered, plus you were only given a single simplified controller. Even so, I was hooked on the idea of VR entertainment.\nI was intrigued by the great reviews of the Quest 2 upon its release. When the price dropped around the holidays I hopped on board. If we pushed our coffee table against the couch we created a space that the Quest 2 deemed just large enough to support gameplay with movement.2 Erin and I both enjoyed using it for quite a while, enamored by games like Superhot, Beat Saber, Ultrawings 2, and Eleven Table Tennis. We then stopped using it, rediscovered it a year or so ago, and fell off again. Upon release of the Vision Pro3 I wanted to explore virtual reality again, but I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get the headset to charge. I\u0026rsquo;ll need to find the original charger to see if I can salvage the device.\nAll this history is to make the point that I\u0026rsquo;m familiar with VR, and to some extent, I buy into the concept for entertainment. I\u0026rsquo;m young and don\u0026rsquo;t suffer from motion sickness, so the low-ish quality displays don\u0026rsquo;t bother me. I can play games that are exciting and new to me. Yet the novelty has worn off, or at least it wasn\u0026rsquo;t as sticky in my life as I may have imagined.\nUsing it for gaming was natural because gaming in a shared household is already a somewhat exclusive experience. I could fly in Ultrawings since it could be played while seated, meaning it wasn\u0026rsquo;t too different from using a Nintendo Switch handheld to play Mario Kart on the couch. However, I don\u0026rsquo;t believe either Erin or I watched any media on the Quest 2. That would feel too isolating if we were together, and requires that we don\u0026rsquo;t share any part of the experience. Fully using and appreciating VR for entertainment requires being cut off from the world.\nApple hasn\u0026rsquo;t fixed this.\nTheir Vision Pro is still an experience one cannot share except through screen capture similar to what has existed in the Oculus/Meta lineup for years. By all accounts, watching spatial video is emotionally overwhelming and incomparable to any other VR/AR experience. It is uncanny and engaging and unsettling. Even 2D media consumed in a virtual environment is at least as good as being in a movie theater thanks to the high-quality displays that blow every other available headset out of the water. However, this is solitary. There is no current support to watch something with a friend.4 All they\u0026rsquo;ve done is let someone \u0026ldquo;break in\u0026rdquo; to a virtual environment if needed.\nSince Apple has a poor understanding of the gaming world, my current sense is they should focus on the media experience. And that means doing something more than SharePlay.\nFuture Promise of Productivity\nApple can\u0026rsquo;t or won\u0026rsquo;t beat the companies focused on gaming. Without support for Quest-like controllers, they won\u0026rsquo;t have the precision or flexibility to allow a player to interact with a true virtual world. Instead, they need to focus on the solitary work many of us do each day when we sit at our computers.\nWith support for iPad apps (assuming the developer allows it), a growing list of made-for-VisionOS apps, and the ability to route your Mac to a virtual 4K display, and all of these contained in rigidly-placed windows in the environment around you so they are stationary as you move around the room, Apple has reimagined their concept of spacial computing. While it\u0026rsquo;s reasonable to be skeptical about the current appeal of its current implementation—I think it\u0026rsquo;s difficult to make full use of these featuers while moving \u0026ldquo;around the house\u0026rdquo; given the hardware limitations of size and battery life—the potential it represents for the future is massive. I could imagine something closer to glasses (or goggles, in an intermediate stage) that allows one to create a digitally-augmented household containing shortcuts to information that is useful in each location.\nHowever, Vision Pro at launch seems optimized for optimistic tech-forward companies full of people who would have no shame wearing this around the office, along with remote workers who could manage much of their job via iPad apps, including the iPad-class version of Safari.5 If you have work that fits this bill, then the best use of Vision Pro would be creating a dashboard of apps as if you had several resizable iPads dangling around you. If you mainly use a Mac then the Vision Pro is only useful in cramped spaces, like an airplane, where you want more than a laptop screen. I already use a 27\u0026quot; 4K display at my desk. I don\u0026rsquo;t need more right now.\nI\u0026rsquo;d contest that the best productivity feature of Vision Pro is the isolation. I would adore being able to work in a calming environment of my choice, losing myself in the space so I could focus on my work. If someone needs me they can always \u0026ldquo;break through\u0026rdquo;; if I need to go grab some more water, I could dial back the environment and use the (well-regarded) video passthrough. Despite Apple\u0026rsquo;s focus on reducing the isolation of this device by letting people who wear it still physically interact6 with the world around them, that\u0026rsquo;s only useful right now because you want the experience of moving between worlds to be seamless. It shouldn\u0026rsquo;t require removing the headset so you can get back to work as easily as possible.\nI\u0026rsquo;d be fascinated to trial Vision Pro for a week to see how much of my daily work I could do. In the end though, it would likely end up being an iPad Pro with a clunkier keyboard and trackpad interface, but with more windows. What do I value more?\nCuriosities\nI\u0026rsquo;m intrigued to see who ends up using this device over the next year. Which companies are buying Vision Pros for their employees? Does the Apple effect suddenly make wearing these devices in public okay in a way that didn\u0026rsquo;t happen with Google Glass?\nFor my demo this week though, I\u0026rsquo;m most interested in the immersive spatial videos. That seems to be the unique feature, better than any other 360 degree video currently available. Betweeen the fidelity of the image, and the particular secret sauce Apple has to capture the information, I\u0026rsquo;ve only heard amazing things.\nI also have hubris about being able to deftly navigate the eye-tracking and pinching interface. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard a dozen different people discuss it, including the ways they\u0026rsquo;ve failed to do it correctly right away—looking away, looking too hard, gesturing too wildly—that I hope I can pick it up quickly.\nOverall I\u0026rsquo;m excited to see a glimpse of the feature firsthand. I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled Apple is providing these demos, because it does seem to be the only way to fully wrap one\u0026rsquo;s head around the device. Many of my takes above are informed by the well-regarded technology media I follow, but I want to get a sense of how working through the operating system feels, how the entertainment and productivity potential differ. And, really, I\u0026rsquo;m excited to try a cool toy that I cannot afford.\nI did go to a VR gaming lounge with a few friends at the end of college and they were using Rift devices, I believe. They put you in a fifteen foot square, with the headset wired to a rig above you so you could move freely. However, three of us shared the space for only an hour or two so my experience was limited.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIts skepticism was well-founded: I once busted a knuckle on the corner of our kitchen counter while playing table tennis.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAhem says Apple, it is \u0026ldquo;Apple Vision Pro\u0026rdquo; without a preceeding \u0026ldquo;The\u0026rdquo;. Whatever.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI wonder if \u0026ldquo;watch party\u0026rdquo; browser extensions will work?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI make this distinction because, despite many websites working great on iPad\u0026rsquo;s Safari, you still can\u0026rsquo;t use any Google Workspace services there. I\u0026rsquo;d love for that to change, because that seems more likely than Google making usable versions of their apps.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAnd digitally interact via Personas, but I won\u0026rsquo;t get into that.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/vision-pro-part-1-outside-looking-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast week, Apple launched Vision Pro. I\u0026rsquo;ve read and listened to commentary, and watched many reviews and demos since its release. I have a good sense of what it can and can\u0026rsquo;t do, but that\u0026rsquo;s hugely different than \u003cem\u003eexperiencing\u003c/em\u003e it. Here is my current understanding of Vision Pro and what I find most important and interesting without having used it. This Wednesday I\u0026rsquo;ll be going to an Apple store to demo Vision Pro, and I will follow up with what I\u0026rsquo;ve learned.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Vision Pro Part 1: Outside Looking In"},{"content":"The world plays tricks on us. Nature can be brutal and unforgiving. It simply is; if you are on the wrong side of it being what it is, so much the worse for you. But look closely: there are moments of pure fairness, perhaps of generosity, that peek through.\nConsider the late afternoon on a viciously cold winter day. A biting wind winds its way through the air, its icy tendrils working its way in the gaps of your scarf, slapping at the inch of exposed skin between sleeves and gloves, sweeping across your nose. The air is pure and frozen. Snow deadens the world; it muffles sound that paradoxically travels farther and clearer.\nAs you walk through the landscape, the snow shuffling and crunching beneath your boots, the world around you lays dormant. A few evergreens continue to defy the slumber surrounding them, while the birds have moved elsewhere, plants are brown, the palette of the world has been deadened and dulled.\nYet some early evenings hold a surprise: the sun begins its plummet to the horizon to begin another moonlit night that stays brighter than one imagines, as the cold reflected light meets a glinting snow cover that palely illuminates the world. Thinking about this black-and-white night, anticipating the warmth of a fire and the cozy companionship of others, you see vivid pinks and purples and reds blazing in the distance. Truffula tree and cotton candy clouds, backlit from a now invisible source, lazily move along in the cold wind; their luminance is entirely ignorant of the world below.\nStanding outside in a biting world somehow intensifies the hues. They shine vivid and hopeful through spidery limbs of leafless trees. They attract shivering eyes and halt chattering teeth, and steamy breaths release quiet Wow\u0026rsquo;s that reverberate through the chilly air. It is a simple joy of the world that accelerates the spirit through the forthcoming night.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-winter-sunset/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe world plays tricks on us. Nature can be brutal and unforgiving. It simply \u003cem\u003eis\u003c/em\u003e; if you are on the wrong side of it being what it is, so much the worse for you. But look closely: there are moments of pure fairness, perhaps of generosity, that peek through.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider the late afternoon on a viciously cold winter day. A biting wind winds its way through the air, its icy tendrils working its way in the gaps of your scarf, slapping at the inch of exposed skin between sleeves and gloves, sweeping across your nose. The air is pure and frozen. Snow deadens the world; it muffles sound that paradoxically travels farther and clearer.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Winter Sunset"},{"content":"As a wily veteran of two pub trivia locations in San Francisco and an occasional purveyor of other events when traveling, I\u0026rsquo;d like to compare the three formats I\u0026rsquo;ve become the most familiar with: Geeks Who Drink, Trivia Mafia, and SpeedQuizzing. Consider this a pub trivia personality quiz.\nAt the end of this post is an appendix detailing the specifics of how each of these trivia formats operates, but let\u0026rsquo;s get straight into the comparison using five criteria.\nDifficulty: Geeks Who Drink is by far the most difficult trivia, with the other two closer to each other in question quality. I believe Mafia is a bit harder because it\u0026rsquo;s mainly free response, while SpeedQuizzing\u0026rsquo;s focus on immediate, tappable answers makes it easier to guess your way to success. If you want a wide-ranging challenge, Geeks is your friend. Otherwise, you\u0026rsquo;ll want to pick between Mafia and Speed based on other factors.1\nVariety: Geeks takes this category as well. Speed is full of random knowledge, but the question types are always the same. Geeks will change things up (e.g. \u0026ldquo;Pick the option that doesn\u0026rsquo;t fit\u0026rdquo;), and also has both visual and music rounds. The visual rounds may have scenes from TV or movies, or could contain full videos you watch and respond to. The music round may be a \u0026ldquo;guess the song from this clip\u0026rdquo;, but they\u0026rsquo;ve also done mash-ups or weird augmentation.2 Again, Mafia is in between.\nThemes: You may not like themes, because it can box you into a round containing information you have no hope of knowing. If so, Speed is the best option. If you want theme-heavy rounds, I\u0026rsquo;d say Mafia is actually best here. Their themes tend to be \u0026ldquo;traditional\u0026rdquo;—think Geography, History, Sports, those Trivial Pursuit categories. Geeks is in the middle where many themes are less specific. They tend to be on the side of abstract Jeopardy! categories, where every answer contains the letters \u0026ldquo;RET\u0026rdquo;, for example. They act as hints or something a little fun.\nPace and Focus: All three formats tend to run right around 2 hours; that seems to be standard for bar trivia. However, they divide that time differently. In Geeks and Mafia, you can be a bit more casual because you play an entire round before officially submitting your answers. People need to be paying attention, but it\u0026rsquo;s easier to chat the entire time. The pace feels consistent and measured, although you do need to work a little harder to get people to pay attention at times. Speed is more focused while gameplay is happening. However, each round lasts about a half hour, then you get ten or fifteen minutes of break time where all the pressure is off and everyone can talk without the background of trivia. Logistically, Geeks and Speed require more attention because there is a designated team device responsible for all questions submissions. Mafia allows teams to work on their own phones.\nVibes: This is based solely on the few quizmasters I\u0026rsquo;ve had. Our SpeedQuizzing host is excellent and likes to walk around, meet all the teams, and is generally a friendly and fun person. She really acts like a host. Our Geeks Who Drink quizmaster was also great, but more aloof. He ran a great game, had a wry sense of humor, but all the teams felt separated. I\u0026rsquo;d give the nod to Speed here. Meanwhile, almost every Trivia Mafia game I\u0026rsquo;ve been to has had an adequate or mediocre host who just gets the job done. I have no idea if they simply have lower standards, or we\u0026rsquo;ve been lucky with our local spots.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had several months to consider this on my own, and discuss with everyone I play with. Most weeks I enjoy going to SpeedQuizzing because it\u0026rsquo;s low stress and runs smoothly. I appreciate that simplicity, but there are times where I have a hankering for the subtlety and difficulty of Geeks Who Drink. It creates broader discussion, the opportunity to problem-solve, a wider variety of interesting questions, and we always felt extremely accomplished when we made the podium. I wish I had the option to mainly attend Speed, with the occasional trip to a Geeks event.\nOne recent event that helped me appreciate Geeks and Mafia more was writing trivia for someone\u0026rsquo;s birthday party. That format of round-based trivia with scoring at the end is natural and easy to do in a familiar group: it transfers to paper, using themes is natural for a special event, and it\u0026rsquo;s simple to adjust the pacing based on the room. It\u0026rsquo;s a standard way of running trivia for good reason, but I appreciate the shakeup that SpeedQuizzing provides. It\u0026rsquo;s certainly made me think about what I enjoy about the trivia experience.\nFormat Details Geeks Who Drink\nThis was the format used at both Anchor Brewing — I played here most Wednesdays with a group of friends before they ceased operating in August 2023 — and The Lab in St. Paul (which also appears to have shuttered.) It had seven rounds, each with eight questions that were typically free response, but could have multiple choice. Answer types could vary as well: for example, put in one answer for one point, or put in two answers for two points, where you get no points if only one of your two is correct.\nFour of the rounds were worth 8 points, and the other three were worth 16 points. You had a double points bonus you could use once prior to a round being closed and graded, so the smart move was to use it on one of the sixteen point rounds.\nMost every round had a theme, with the final round being \u0026ldquo;Random Trivia\u0026rdquo;. Typically the second round was music, and the fourth or fifth round was a visual round often centered on movies or television.\nAfter the conclusion of each round, that round is graded then scores are updated. Some rounds had a bonus question which would be answered \u0026ldquo;in person\u0026rdquo; around the quizmaster. The fastest correct answer got a free beer.\nThere was a designated team device where all answers had to be submitted, but everyone else could use their phone to \u0026ldquo;spectate\u0026rdquo; and see the questions as they pop up.3\nTrivia Mafia\nI\u0026rsquo;ve played this format in a few bars and breweries back in Minnesota. There are two halves to the game, each with four rounds of five questions each. You complete the first half of the game without a pause, then all four of those rounds are scored. In the second half of the game, the setup is the same except for the inclusion of a bonus. Once you\u0026rsquo;ve played the final four rounds, you select one round in which you are the most confident. You then assign points—5, 4, 3, 2, and 1—to each question in that round based on your confidence in the answer.\nThe rounds are often themed as well. I believe there is a healthy mix of free response and multiple choice.\nSpeedQuizzing\nThis is our new trivia format at Ballast Point, which has replaced Anchor as our Wednesday night spot. This game is made of three rounds. Each round has fifteen questions. The first round\u0026rsquo;s questions are worth 2 points each; then 4 points each in the second; and 6 points each in the third.\nA single team uses a single device to answer the questions. There are a few types of questions:\nLetters Questions require only the first letter of the answer (and \u0026ldquo;The\u0026rdquo; never counts!)\nNumbers questions are a number.\nMultiple choice questions are multiple choice.\nSequence questions ask you to put several answers in the desired order.\nA question that includes a picture can take the form of a Letters, Numbers, or Multiple choice question. Letters is most common, though.\nTeams submit their answers on their device using an app connected to a local WiFi network, and responses are graded immediately, and a live scoreboard is displayed between questions. You always get 1 bonus point for having the fastest correct answer. There are typically no themes across any rounds or questions.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that quizmasters do seem to have some freedom in how they select questions, so your mileage may vary. This has been my experience, but you may find bars that run it differently.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI don\u0026rsquo;t like the reguar music round because I\u0026rsquo;m terrible at it, but I can\u0026rsquo;t deny it adds variety to the experience.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nYou needed a game code to go online at your location, which allowed us to play a round while on our honeymoon the other year.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/bar-trivia-format-smackdown/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs a wily veteran of two pub trivia locations in San Francisco and an occasional purveyor of other events when traveling, I\u0026rsquo;d like to compare the three formats I\u0026rsquo;ve become the most familiar with: \u003cem\u003eGeeks Who Drink\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTrivia Mafia\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eSpeedQuizzing\u003c/em\u003e. Consider this a pub trivia personality quiz.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bar Trivia Format Smackdown"},{"content":"From Anthony Castrovince on MLB.com:\nThe St. Paul, Minn., kid made good on his 2001 selection as the No. 1 overall Draft pick by his hometown Twins to become a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time batting champ and the 2009 AL MVP. He was a member of four division-winning Twins teams.\nThough his catching career was cut short by concussions and five seasons as essentially a league-average first baseman complicated his Cooperstown case, Mauer made enough of an impact at his primary position to stand among the greatest to ever don the tools of ignorance. His .306 career batting average is tied for the sixth highest among catchers with at least 3,000 plate appearances, and his .388 on-base percentage is tied for third. He’s the only catcher with three batting titles, and his total of 44.6 bWAR during his 10 years as the Twins’ primary catcher from 2004-13 was by far the best at that position in that timeframe.\nJoe Mauer was a huge part of my childhood and, as I am also a left-handed hitter with a tendency to hit to the opposite field, a baseball idol. He\u0026rsquo;s someone I can always hold up as an ideal of Minnesota: kind, humble, and driven.\nI remember sitting in my long-term AirBnB in 2018 after moving to San Diego one September afternoon, watching what would be Joe Mauer\u0026rsquo;s final game in Minnesota. In his final at-bat he cracked shot to left-center field as he\u0026rsquo;d done so many times, and hustled out a double. To cap off the game, they introduced him as a catcher in the top of the ninth. He warmed up the pitcher, threw down to second, and caught the first pitch of the inning before being replaced. Despite being at the end of his career, and not having caught in five years, you could see the command he held behind the plate paired with the smoothest mechanics I\u0026rsquo;ve seen.\nI cried then, and every time I see the clip I tear up.\nIt was only in the span of 2009–2011 when he won MVP and ended up on the cover of MLB: The Show that I realized he wasn\u0026rsquo;t just our hometown hero, he was nationally recognized. As a kid, it\u0026rsquo;s hard to understand what bleeds outside your world. But he was never a superstar because he was so reserved. With a few exceptions, his TV presence was for local commercials or focused on the Twins. He rarely spoke out. He led quietly by example for his entire career.\nSo, it was such a delight to see the people I read and interact with online largely getting behind his Hall of Fame candidacy, pushing for him to get on during his first stint on the ballot. Having that come true means more to him, I\u0026rsquo;m sure, than anyone Twins fans. But it still means a hell of a lot to us.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/joe-mauer-elected-to-baseball-hall-of-fame/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/news/2024-baseball-hall-of-fame-election-results\"\u003eFrom Anthony Castrovince on MLB.com\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe St. Paul, Minn., kid made good on his 2001 selection as the No. 1 overall Draft pick by his hometown Twins to become a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time batting champ and the 2009 AL MVP. He was a member of four division-winning Twins teams.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough his catching career was cut short by concussions and five seasons as essentially a league-average first baseman complicated his Cooperstown case, Mauer made enough of an impact at his primary position to stand among the greatest to ever don the tools of ignorance. His .306 career batting average is tied for the sixth highest among catchers with at least 3,000 plate appearances, and his .388 on-base percentage is tied for third. He’s the only catcher with three batting titles, and his total of 44.6 bWAR during his 10 years as the Twins’ primary catcher from 2004-13 was by far the best at that position in that timeframe.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Joe Mauer Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame"},{"content":"Groups of people can\u0026rsquo;t be forced to mesh. The intangible qualities of a team that works well together develops naturally through experience with each other and a shared understanding of their goal. It often requires leadership. Once everyone is flowing together, occupying their well-defined roles, the planned injection of a some humor or event to bond over becomes a layer of glue rather than a wedge of forced corporate optimism.\nWhat I\u0026rsquo;m really saying is that I made a mug last year for my team at work, and I\u0026rsquo;m finally getting around to sharing it.\nMy boss is known for his heavy use of cliches in everyday conversation, so we decided to honor that. Because everyone is in on the joke, it works out well.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/team-spirit/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eGroups of people can\u0026rsquo;t be forced to mesh. The intangible qualities of a team that works well together develops naturally through experience with each other and a shared understanding of their goal. It often requires leadership. Once everyone is flowing together, occupying their well-defined roles, the planned injection of a some humor or event to bond over becomes a layer of glue rather than a wedge of forced corporate optimism.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Team Spirit"},{"content":"Two authors have had an outsized impact on my continued desire to hone my writing craft: Kurt Vonnegut and George Saunders. At the end of 2023 I read Lincoln in the Bardo and completed Liberation Day to begin 2024, both by Saunders, so he is front of mind.\nSaunders and Vonnegut share similar qualities as writers. They develop absolutely wacky plots and worlds that somehow manage to be complete and consistent. Both craft prose that goes down easy. They each balance on a knife\u0026rsquo;s edge of satire, with Vonnegut tending to sway more on the side of ridiculous, while one can\u0026rsquo;t possibly look away from Saunders\u0026rsquo; morbid humor.\nWhere Saunders differentiates himself is as a master of short stories and internal monologue. He thoroughly develops and explores characters and always finds inventive ways to slowly reveal the world through careful use of line returns, typography, and diction. His best writing appears eerie and uncomfortable, prodding and teasing the reader with the foreknowledge that some twist will be coming, that there is more to this world than we know, but all we can do is forge ahead on the edge of our seat waiting for a reveal.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a joy to experience.\nThat experience fuels me to continue writing. Just as I practice guitar and piano and spend time attempting to recreate the sounds of musicians I enjoy, or riff on a song to add my own flair, I read a story by George Saunders and consider how I could build on that world and that style with my own take.\nOther than the few times in school where it was required, I\u0026rsquo;ve never been a close reader. I don\u0026rsquo;t take notes, write in margins, or highlight passages. Yet reading anything by Saunders puts my brain on high alert for patterns and clues as to how the story became what it now is. I yearn to understand its foundations, the mechanical choices made to build something that so perfectly draws me in, the path he took to experiment with sentence fragments and noun emphasis to align with the strange world he built. Or to go the deeper level of piercing the veil of the story, arriving at the point being made, the analogy being drawn, the wonderful derision and critique that I admire in my favorite writers. Not only do they have something to say about the world, but they build a framing device—using their own sensibilities—in which to present their ideas, and hone their abilities so they can write a final product that others can take in.\nAs I said in my post about Vonnegut, building these skills requires concerted effort. Writing is not simple nor painless. One must labor and toil over sentences, passages, and paragraphs to create a flow that, ideally, goes completely unnoticed by the reader. Writing should be self-contained, each choice consistent with the broader point and style that the author is attempting to achieve. When Saunders makes a jarring choice—cutting off words in a sentence, capitalizing a word like a German would, foregoing quotation marks—it serves the story\u0026rsquo;s greater purpose. It is jarring and strange because the story is as well.1\nI aim to write with a similar intentionality and purpose. This requires time to learn techniques for drafting, editing, and rewriting; I\u0026rsquo;ve terribly underdeveloped those last two. Luckily all this writing I do as a hobby is not a race. Patience and quality are key to my growth. My first project will be working through stories from The Last Question written during NaNoWriMo. I\u0026rsquo;ve found some excellent resources to learn more about how to properly edit, then revel in the act of rewriting.\nThis blog is not immune from these efforts. While expository writing is certainly not the same as fiction, the mechanical principles are analogous. Saunders and Vonnegut both have written non-fiction essays and manage to retain the elements of their voices that I admire. I want to take this writing—the writing that directly communicates my thoughts—at least as seriously as my larger fiction project.\nWhile I still plan to write one post per week with some proof-reading thrown in, I also have rough ideas for how to increase the number of high quality posts. I want to push myself to not write more, but to write better (which happens to often mean writing less). My ability to think through ideas and present them on this site is linked to my skills in effectively wielding language. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy reading good writers and learn as much as I can in the process.\nVonnegut achieves a similar effect when he uses his chosen interjection for a novel, such as \u0026ldquo;Listen.\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;So it goes.\u0026rdquo;\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/george-saunders-and-writing-better/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTwo authors have had an outsized impact on my continued desire to hone my writing craft: \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/07-xx-kurt-vonnegut/\"\u003eKurt Vonnegut\u003c/a\u003e and George Saunders. At the end of 2023 I read \u003cem\u003eLincoln in the Bardo\u003c/em\u003e and completed \u003cem\u003eLiberation Day\u003c/em\u003e to begin 2024, both by Saunders, so he is front of mind.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"George Saunders and Writing Better"},{"content":"I had a strong year of reading in 2023. I blew past my annual goal of 24 books in September and kept on going. I always had my Kobo by my bed to read at night, while making sure I found time and space on the weekends. Erin also read voraciously this year; being synchronized in that effort was helpful. My highlight was binging The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing.\nThis year I decided to put together charts for the genres I read and the number of books I completed each month, in addition to the full table of completed titles. Let\u0026rsquo;s dive in.\nIn 2023 I read a total of 38 books written by 23 different authors. As has been the case for several years, I leaned digital: I read 30 books, or about 79%, using some combination of my Kobo, phone, or iPad.\nHere is how many titles I finished in each month of the year.\nJanuary was a big month: I finished several books while home for the holidays in 2022 and maintained that momentum. I like having a strong start to the year. I didn\u0026rsquo;t finish any books in June since it was a busy month with travel. In September, October, and November, I had several flights during which I almost exclusively spent my time reading.\nHere is the genre breakdown. As with last year, the numbers won\u0026rsquo;t add to 38 as I assign multiple genres to some books.\nReading The Giver series pushed me to add \u0026ldquo;Speculative Fiction\u0026rdquo;. Its classification tends to be science fiction, but that feels improper. Several books I read this year fall into the realm of alternative history, or a world \u0026ldquo;just after a feasible apocalypse\u0026rdquo; where everything that happens is due to a small tweak. There\u0026rsquo;s no new science or made up tools, no space, no hallmarks of standard science fiction. Instead the author is speculating on that change—similar to the show For All Mankind. The distinction felt important.\nEven with that caveat, science fiction continues to be a winner for me. The Expanse series—nine novels, and a book of short stories—is a majority representative, and I expect 2024 to have a similar bend as I plan to dive into Ursula K. Le Guin\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;Hainish Cycle\u0026rdquo; of novels at some point.\nWhile this year showed a stark increase in the number of books I read, I can\u0026rsquo;t specifically point at any variables that put me on that path. As such, my goal continues to be a good pace of two books each month. I\u0026rsquo;m going to hit physical books hard the first half of this year—I have a backlog that needs attention—and go from there.\nFinally, here\u0026rsquo;s the complete list of books I read in 2023 in chronological order.\nTitle Author Genre Medium Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Historical Fiction Physical Child of God Cormac McCarthy Literary Fiction Physical Maxwell’s Demon Steven Hall Mystery,Science Fiction Physical Arrow of God Chinua Achebe Historical Fiction Digital No Longer At Ease Chinua Achebe Historical Fiction Digital The Automaton Ian Young Science Fiction Physical Watchmen Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Graphic Novel,Science Fiction Digital Normal People Sally Rooney Literary Fiction Physical How High We Go in the Dark Sequoia Nagamatsu Science Fiction Physical The Eleventh Hour Clint McElroy Fantasy,Graphic Novel Physical The Committed Viet Thanh Nguyen Historical Fiction Digital Leviathan Wakes James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Caliban’s War James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Abaddon’s Gate James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Cibola Burn James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Nemesis Games James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Babylon\u0026rsquo;s Ashes James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Persepolis Rising James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Tiamat’s Wrath James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Dead Wake Erik Larson Historical Non-fiction Physical Leviathan Falls James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Memory’s Legion James S.A. Corey Science Fiction Digital Light from Uncommon Stars Ryka Aoki Fantasy,Science Fiction Digital Last Comes the Raven - And Other Stories Italo Calvino Fantasy Digital Doing Good Better William MacAskill Other Non-fiction Digital What We Owe the Future William MacAskill Other Non-fiction Digital The Great School Rethink Frederick Hess Other Non-fiction Digital Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin Literary Fiction Digital The Giver Lois Lowry Speculative Fiction Digital Gathering Blue Lois Lowry Speculative Fiction Digital Messenger Lois Lowry Speculative Fiction Digital Son Lois Lowry Speculative Fiction Digital All Souls Lost Dan Moren Fantasy,Mystery Digital Killers of the Flower Moon David Grann Historical Non-fiction Digital A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Mark Twain Fantasy,Satire Digital The Man From the Future Ananyo Bhattacharya Memoir/Biography Digital The Crossing Jason Mott Speculative Fiction Digital Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders Historical Fiction,Literary Fiction Digital ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2023-reading-list/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI had a strong year of reading in 2023. I blew past my annual goal of 24 books in September and kept on going. I always had my Kobo by my bed to read at night, while making sure I found time and space on the weekends. Erin also read voraciously this year; being synchronized in that effort was helpful. My highlight was binging \u003cem\u003eThe Expanse\u003c/em\u003e series by James S.A. Corey. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis year I decided to put together charts for the genres I read and the number of books I completed each month, in addition to the full table of completed titles. Let\u0026rsquo;s dive in.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2023 Reading List"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve created a new website, markrichard-fiction.org. I\u0026rsquo;ll reference any stories or other writing I post there on this blog, but they\u0026rsquo;ll mainly be hosted there. It\u0026rsquo;s using the Write.as service, which is a sleek and quick spot to make an incredibly simple blog. I wanted to separate what I write here—almost exclusively blog and essay fare—from stranger projects I hope to undertake.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-new-place-for-fiction/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve created a new website, \u003ca href=\"http://markrichard-fiction.org/\"\u003emarkrichard-fiction.org\u003c/a\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;ll reference any stories or other writing I post there on this blog, but they\u0026rsquo;ll mainly be hosted there. It\u0026rsquo;s using the \u003ca href=\"https://write.as/\"\u003eWrite.as\u003c/a\u003e service, which is a sleek and quick spot to make an incredibly simple blog. I wanted to separate what I write here—almost exclusively blog and essay fare—from stranger projects I hope to undertake.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A New Place for Fiction"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s once again time to be thematic. I\u0026rsquo;m calling 2024 my Year of Opportunity. Characterized by a desire to explore and treat new experiences with more positivity and excitement, I hope to make the most of what could be our final year living in California while also increasing my appreciation for the life I\u0026rsquo;ve built.\nSince I began consciously thinking about a yearly theme in 2019, I\u0026rsquo;ve made sure to have a space to capture ideas for future themes. The first idea I wrote down this year was Year of (Cautious) Exploration. I had been feeling pre-nostalgic for our time in San Francisco, and felt early on that exploring the city and state around me should be a priority. I want free time and new adventures to be part of my routine, embracing them as core elements rather than disruptions in the flow of life. While the shape of my 2024 theme has changed, I still consider exploration a core aspect of it.\nA couple other contenders from my notes were Year of Doing and A Year Without Excuses. Those were two sides of the same coin, with the phrasing dependent on how hard I opted to be on myself. I\u0026rsquo;ve been intermittently frustrated with how I don\u0026rsquo;t stay focused throughout the day, or fail to attack certain evening tasks and hobbies with the vigor and excitement I used to have. I find that embodying the motto of Nike (™ ™) is surprisingly effective,1 so rephrasing a theme around that idea felt sensible. Yet that framing assumes the symptom—not doing things—is all that matters. In reality, Year of Doing wouldn\u0026rsquo;t get to the core of why I\u0026rsquo;ve been feeling this way and provides no additional guidance on how to improve moving forward.\nOpportunity became a way to tie together a light touch of wanderlust with a new way to view my daily life. Seeing the world around me—the state and national parks, museums, theaters, concert venues, and new friends—as a chance to experience the world is massively motivating. Combine that with an understanding that expanding my horizons is fun and enlightening, and I\u0026rsquo;m well on my way to hitting the ground running. But life isn\u0026rsquo;t always going to be novel. I have a day job; I have to grind through tasks and chores just like everyone else. Fortunately, I work for a company in which I believe, and do a job I can enjoy. Understanding that work and hobbies are what I choose to do lets me view the time I spend on them as a new opportunity to learn and grow. If I\u0026rsquo;m going to be spending the time doing it, I should do it well and get as much out of that time, as a person, as possible.\nOnce I began thinking this way, it was easy to apply my theme to nearly every corner of my life. Eating well and exercising? Easy. Every dinner is an evening I can grow closer to Erin, make something new or interesting, or acknowledge that we need to eat something and it might as well be healthy and inexpensive. This can help us appreciate the times we purposely go out by ourselves or with friends. Each new project at work—whether it\u0026rsquo;s full-time or contract—is a chance to learn more, improve some element of how I do my job, and make my personal stock more valuable. Going through this intentional process of sharing a theme with Erin is also an opportunity to learn more about how themes apply to our lives, and improve our abilities to assess the course of our theme and correct as necessary.\nLike most themes, Year of Opportunity will greatly benefit from being constantly pushed into my face, nudging me little-by-little into a more grateful and exploratory mindset. I loved the poster I made last year for Year of the Future and decided to repeat that exercise. I immediately knew I wanted a mountain visual to honor the core of exploration. The first version was made by hand using PNGs without backgrounds, assembling them in a vector program, and filling in the gaps. I agonized over the typeface for quite a while, but ended up with a passable effort.\nSince this blog and my life is generally a non-commercial entity, I felt it was reasonable to give image generation a try via DiffusionBee on the Mac. I rarely use it, but it\u0026rsquo;s a solid tool when relevant. It took several attempts before I landed on one that made topographical sense while using the vector/clip art style I like. I\u0026rsquo;m a sucker for rivers and lakes so that was a required element if I was asking an algorithm to make it for me.\nWhile I like the straightforward, bold cleanliness of my original design, it feels too similar to last year\u0026rsquo;s blue and yellow scheme. Plus it doesn\u0026rsquo;t have any water features. The generated design is more visually interesting, and the muted colors feel calming and cool. I\u0026rsquo;ll get it printed and laminated soon and give it pride-of-place on my desk.\nPutting that together was fun, but a theme needs more structure than an image on paper. I plan to cut back my baseball commitment to every other week at most, to allow greater flexibility in plans with friends, and have more weekends where we could drive somewhere for a day or two. I have a few specific places I\u0026rsquo;d like to explore—Monterey, Pinnacles, Lassen, Crater Lake—along with several museums and walking trails within San Francisco.\nBeyond those basic \u0026ldquo;goals\u0026rdquo;, Erin and I have our check-ins that we discussed while on our Theme Retreat last month. We\u0026rsquo;re taking our themes seriously, together. This year has promise. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to have consistent support and to be able to provide it, working in tandem with Erin to build ourselves up.\nI acknowledge that it\u0026rsquo;s ultimately unhelpful \u0026ldquo;advice\u0026rdquo; or motivation for many people.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2024-year-of-opportunity/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s once again time to be thematic. I\u0026rsquo;m calling 2024 my \u003cem\u003eYear of Opportunity\u003c/em\u003e. Characterized by a desire to explore and treat new experiences with more positivity and excitement, I hope to make the most of what could be our final year living in California while also increasing my appreciation for the life I\u0026rsquo;ve built.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2024: Year of Opportunity"},{"content":"Today I discovered that Google Docs has supported pageless documents for over a year and a half. I learned this at precisely the right time, and now I\u0026rsquo;m rethinking how I handle many of my digital documents.\nPaper and PDFs\nI grew up writing in Microsoft Word, while in high school and college I mostly used Google Docs. In college math classes I switched to $\\LaTeX$, but the effect of all of these is the same: Their ultimate target is traditional document structures that have been around a long time. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s a print or digital output, pagination of the documents is important. You expect to be able to reference a particular page, and if you ever do want to print it out, separate pages are rather important.\nAs such, I\u0026rsquo;m used to having pages in all my documents. I frequently export to PDF, the de-facto digital paper of our era, and it\u0026rsquo;s hard to break out of that mindset. Besides, I love books and notebooks as physical objects. I\u0026rsquo;ve spent too much time learning publishing software tools. I reformatted my entire college thesis so I could print it as a book. I\u0026rsquo;ve purchased dozens of leather-bound journals. Pages are a natural item because they are physically practical, and so our digital documents tend to follow suit.\nI remember when Dropbox came out with their Paper product, a canvas-style document that infinitely scrolls. I considered it for a moment but ultimately disregarded it as a bit silly. I already used Google Docs for shared documents, and its individual pages worked just fine for me.\nI was never closer to embracing a pageless world than while using Notability in college on my iPad. The interface is a near-seamless scrollable page, but the only backup solution was saving them as PDFs to a cloud storage system. This forced the app interface to show where the pages started and ended, and you needed to account for that while writing. Again, this was natural to me: PDFs are portable and, these days, nigh universal. What were all these people doing on OneNote and its infinite canvas approach? Didn\u0026rsquo;t they know their files were going to be a mess if they exported them to share with others? Besides, mild constraints are good. Formatting is good. I never understood the draw.\nWebsites Are a Thing\nMy one version of \u0026ldquo;pageless\u0026rdquo; information is this blog. Each post lives on its own, regardless of its length. A rather long post, like a certain movie review I wrote a few years ago, remains as one page even though, if printed, it would probably span almost a dozen pages. So it is with the web. While we organize websites into \u0026ldquo;pages\u0026rdquo; because user interfaces matter, each individual page is flexible in its size and breaking it up is, hopefully, for the benefit of the user.\nEven still, you can see I\u0026rsquo;m not committed to the idea of an infinitely scrolling page when you first arrive on my blog. I only keep four posts on there at a time, and you have to page over to find more. Other blogs don\u0026rsquo;t operate like this, and that\u0026rsquo;s fine for them. I stand by my decision, and it fits into my mental framework of using pages as logical and visual separators.\nBut what happens when that separation becomes an obstacle to communication?\nUgly, Time-Consuming Documentation\nMy daily work often involves writing documentation. This could be expanding on a policy our team is enacting—those documents contain text and nothing else—or detailed step-by-step directions on how to use a new piece of technology. These latter pieces contain images and GIFs. They are rich documents with a terrible variety in formatting. It turns out that getting screenshots to nicely fit on a digital letter-sized piece of paper is awfully difficult.\nHere is what would typically happen: I know for two steps in my documentation, I need two short paragraphs each followed by a screenshot that shows where to click to enact whatever explanation I provided. I write those paragraphs, and toss in the screenshots. Suddenly I\u0026rsquo;m left with a page that has text, an image, more text, and then a large white space that is just a little too small to fit the second image.\nI then take the time to resize both images so they have the same dimensions while fitting on the one page alongside the text, because it\u0026rsquo;s a bad user experience to break up the information. People may miss a step or get annoyed—I know I would, which is why I\u0026rsquo;m aggravating myself by trying to fix it. Maybe I can almost get it to fit, but the image now looks too small. Do I remove some of the explanation to make it fit? Sometimes that works because I was too verbose on the first pass, but that isn\u0026rsquo;t always true and isn\u0026rsquo;t a scalable solution for internal documentation. Now I\u0026rsquo;m frustrated, and all this effort takes time away from the actual work I\u0026rsquo;m trying to complete.\nOn the day I\u0026rsquo;m writing this post1 I found myself in exactly this position. I was writing an important document that would lay down foundational information for my coworkers, and it was full of images and GIFs showing complicated steps in some software. Nothing was fitting correctly, so I thought, Why not give myself some more space?\nI went to the Page Setup menu on the document and selected an A3 size. Spacious, roomy, and a bit ridiculous on the screen. I felt mostly comfortable with my decision until I went back to the document and saw it still didn\u0026rsquo;t fix my problem. Information was still cut off, text and images were separated, and it was all a mess.\nBack I went to Page Setup in a naive attempt to mess with the page dimensions until something would work—as if it ever would. And then I saw it: An option to change the document to a pageless view. Amazing!\nThis was the panacea I was seeking. I could toss images and GIFs in, resize them to be wider than the text if I so pleased, and nothing would be separated. I now had a linear document with a natural flow. It even had a few niceties like collapsing section headers, which eases navigation. I was incredibly pleased and could return to writing the document itself with no formatting interruptions.2\nAudience First\nI\u0026rsquo;m sorry to all my lovely writing teachers from over the years. I forgot to consider my audience when I embarked on my various projects.\nDocumentation in my company is, to a close approximation, exclusively viewed in Google Docs. Internal processes are maintained in Docs, and that\u0026rsquo;s that. Just like someone who commits to Dropbox as an enterprise solution may have gone all-in on Paper, or someone in the Apple world may deign to subject their friends to shared Notes or Pages documents, Google Drive is an ecosystem that contains everything my company has and shares.\nTurning documentation into pageless Docs makes perfect sense in this context. It simplifies so much of the writing process, and I believe makes reading the end result more pleasant as well. Navigating those documents is slick, and there\u0026rsquo;s no jarring jump between pages. I\u0026rsquo;ve now set my default document to be Pageless on my work Docs account. We\u0026rsquo;ll see if that sticks, because I do still create documents that are targeted at an external audience and need to be exported and viewed as a PDF. I\u0026rsquo;m unsure how frequently I do one versus the other, but my hunch is that the pageless view stick around.\nThis experience leaves me wondering where else I already unwittingly use pageless documents, and where I could implement them. My Obsidian documents for running The Last Question are all Markdown files, and thus have no pages. That is a paradigm I\u0026rsquo;m quite familiar with.3 Podcast show notes don\u0026rsquo;t particularly benefit from having pages, except in the rare circumstances we try to \u0026ldquo;hide\u0026rdquo; something from each other. That may be an avenue I explore.\nI\u0026rsquo;m glad I had this discovery. Sometimes you need just the right nudge at precisely the right time to view the world a little differently. I now have a fresh tool to consider when I begin a project, and I believe I\u0026rsquo;ll benefit from being comfortable with the option.\nNovember 28, if anyone is interested. No, I was not writing documentation and then ranting about it a few days before Christmas.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI did hit one snag that has intermittently happened over the last couple years. I insert a GIF, it plays a few times, then it disappears and is replaced with a gray \u0026ldquo;image not found\u0026rdquo; kind of placeholder. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t actually say that, but it\u0026rsquo;s the vibe I get. Eventually it magically fixes itself.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI also write all my prose in Markdown first these days, but I do eventually target a PDF as the end result. As it is, though, the audience of my draft is me. I don\u0026rsquo;t care if the PDF export isn\u0026rsquo;t perfect. If the audience becomes others, I would take the time to recreate the document in proper software for that purpose.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-appeal-of-pageless-documents/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday I discovered that Google Docs has \u003ca href=\"https://support.google.com/docs/thread/150905607/google-docs-new-feature-pageless?hl=en\"\u003esupported pageless documents\u003c/a\u003e for over a year and a half. I learned this at precisely the right time, and now I\u0026rsquo;m rethinking how I handle many of my digital documents.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Appeal of Pageless Documents"},{"content":"This year my company is officially taking a break starting the weekend before Christmas through New Year\u0026rsquo;s Day. I haven\u0026rsquo;t had a break from work this long1 since graduating college, and I am thrilled by the concept.\nSeveral of my coworkers are nervous about this change—we have customer support teams and we need to ensure our sites don\u0026rsquo;t suddenly break while everyone is gone—but I plan to revel in it in the intended fashion. I get to enjoy time with family and friends without distraction, without needing to burn additional PTO, and come back refreshed with an eagerness to get work done.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not going to treat this like a miniature sabbatical and plan an ambitious number of projects to fill the time. While I\u0026rsquo;ll certainly manage to occupy myself with writing, reading, and exploring some ideas I\u0026rsquo;ve built up over time, the goal is not to prescribe any work in detail. A break should be exactly that, and in the last year I\u0026rsquo;ve learned to take my time away from daily work more seriously by increasing the divide between the two. I barely check my work email on my phone, and try to keep Slack out of mind once I\u0026rsquo;m done for the day. Neither of those slight changes has affected my work negatively, but has certainly improved my personal time.\nA winter break will increase the dosage of that effect for a week, and I\u0026rsquo;m ready for it.\nMy honeymoon last year was pretty darn close, but there is a big difference when I know I have a huge amount of work piled up to go back to.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/return-of-winter-break/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis year my company is officially taking a break starting the weekend before Christmas through New Year\u0026rsquo;s Day. I haven\u0026rsquo;t had a break from work this long\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e since graduating college, and I am thrilled by the concept.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral of my coworkers are nervous about this change—we have customer support teams and we need to ensure our sites don\u0026rsquo;t suddenly break while everyone is gone—but I plan to revel in it in the intended fashion. I get to enjoy time with family and friends without distraction, without needing to burn additional PTO, and come back refreshed with an eagerness to get work done.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Return of Winter Break"},{"content":"Erin and I spent a weekend north of San Francisco in a small house among the redwood trees. It overlooked a misty valley that offered the perfect balance of seclusion without isolation.1 We set up this small retreat to disconnect, focus on ourselves, and also discuss our yearly themes.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never read Walden, but I\u0026rsquo;ve always connected with the idea of that idyllic retreat away from the world. Sitting among nature and my thoughts, letting ideas move through me, allows for a productive calmness. Then I get the joy and benefit of having my best friend with me to talk through our future and anything else that arises from us sharing this experience; it\u0026rsquo;s an amazing opportunity for growth and understanding.\nAs a personal reset, the weekend was a huge success. We had all the time we wanted to ourselves to read, think, do a few crosswords,2 sit in a hot tub, and cook meals together. It forced us to focus on being still and consciously enjoy relaxing. Stripping away other distractions redirected our attention to each other, and the let the days go by leisurely without dragging on.\nThe bespoke goal of the weekend was to work on our yearly themes. I\u0026rsquo;ve talked with the guys on OHAC for several years about this, and that\u0026rsquo;s always been fun and useful. This was our first year we checked in every month or two outside of recording. I know that was a helpful exercise for me, so taking my theme seriously by regularly discussing it with others was an obvious element to include moving forward. Having one of those \u0026ldquo;others\u0026rdquo; be Erin was similarly obvious, so I floated the idea of this retreat as a way to kickstart that connection for 2024.\nWe prepared our notebooks and individually considered our themes in advance. On Friday evening we spent time discussing our ideas, asking pointed questions that made us think about what we valued about the upcoming year. A difficult balance to strike in a theme is making it sufficiently general so that it doesn\u0026rsquo;t become a pass/fail goal or resolution, while not making it so general that you feel lost in the concept with no sense of how to make tangible progress.\nBy Saturday morning we were each settled on our theme of choice, so we dove into the details of what the theme means, and what steps we envision taking. While asking Erin questions I acted as her scribe. I also created a rough framework to help direct some of the conversation because Erin didn\u0026rsquo;t have multiple years of hashing this out on a podcast. Saying things out loud is powerful, but also not simple or easy.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a rough template of what we discussed.\nAreas of Life Where the Theme Applies\nWe discussed how a theme can be applied to time at home, work, while with friends or family, and internally. Some themes may focus more obviously on certain areas, but it\u0026rsquo;s worth going through and specifically calling out how to think about a theme in each context. Having a record of this can also make it easier to identify where a theme feels like it\u0026rsquo;s succeeding or failing: Narrowing down where specifically a feeling about your theme is coming from makes it far easier to address than a more general sense that it\u0026rsquo;s getting better or worse.\nGoals and Tasks in the Short- and Long-Term\nA theme separates itself from a goal or resolution because it\u0026rsquo;s about playing a long game and reframing how you view your life. It\u0026rsquo;s a thought technology, if you will, that encourages you to start leaning in a different direction than you may have otherwise. Did you act in accordance with your theme more frequently than if you hadn\u0026rsquo;t been thinking about a theme at all? Great! I\u0026rsquo;d consider that theme a success.\nDespite that, it\u0026rsquo;s helpful to have specific landmarks along the way. Figuring out broad goals (and smaller tasks along the way) that align with our themes act as waypoints during the year, keeping us grounded in our theme without overwhelming us. These will often naturally fit into one of the areas of our lives above, so it\u0026rsquo;s good to have already thought about those separately.\nThere are also foundations we can build that support the theme without directly aligning with it. For example, we live in a one-bedroom apartment. I have a desk, and Erin does not. We want to prioritize creating a desk-like space that is Erin\u0026rsquo;s spot for her personal time, where she can have tools for journaling and being her own person. Much of our conversation was about building support structures—that\u0026rsquo;s all the Theme System Journal is in the end, another way to support pursuing a theme—we can come back to. Establishing a cadence for checking in is also important to us in supporting the prevalence of our themes and reminds us we have a partner in this process. Another example: I created a logo for my theme last year which I printed out and kept at my desk. I\u0026rsquo;m doing the same this year.\nThese structures vary widely in scope and intent, so carefully consider which ones to prioritize.\nBoth for the benefit it had in discussing our themes, and the simple joy of being somewhere quiet and calm, this is the kind of trip we hope to make every year. Being in California allowed us to go somewhere less than two hours away, and hopefully we can find nearby gems wherever we go next. Having a hot tub is all but a requirement because it\u0026rsquo;s relaxing, and seclusion from others is absolutely necessary so we can focus entirely on ourselves.\nI encourage everyone to take time to be intentional about your life. Whether you\u0026rsquo;re into yearly themes, or just want time to reflect, take it seriously. You\u0026rsquo;re worth that time and effort, and it pays off more than you would think at first.\nWe were only fifteen minutes from the nearby town with a Safeway, but nobody could see us on the deck\u0026rsquo;s hot tub, and we couldn\u0026rsquo;t see anyone else.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe didn\u0026rsquo;t lock our phones up or anything. Sue us.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/theme-retreat/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I spent a weekend north of San Francisco in a small house among the redwood trees. It overlooked a misty valley that offered the perfect balance of seclusion without isolation.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e We set up this small retreat to disconnect, focus on ourselves, and also discuss our yearly themes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Theme Retreat"},{"content":"Sarah Wexler, reporting for MLB.com:1\nAfter a fervent sweepstakes, reigning American League Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani has agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a record-demolishing 10-year, $700 million deal, according to his agent, Nez Balelo.\nThis is incredible, ridiculous, and frustrating.\nIncredible\nNo free agent in any sport has ever received a contract worth this much. It\u0026rsquo;s a huge play by the Dodgers, and a windfall for Ohtani who definitely has nothing to worry about financially. Time will tell whether the deal is good when considering Ohtani as a player long-term, but as a move they can leverage as marketing it\u0026rsquo;s likely going to pay for itself rapidly. Ohtani is a superstar across the world, particularly in Japan and the United States. Between the merchandise the Dodgers will sell and the butts in seats they\u0026rsquo;ll get even in the next two seasons, I have to imagine they know it\u0026rsquo;s worth the investment. If they can make some deep playoff runs, that\u0026rsquo;ll do even more.\nRidiculous\nWhat the hell, Dodgers? Can you let any other team have a fighting chance? They really are become more like the Yankees than the Yankees in terms of throwing money at problems (while also annoyingly being quite good at developing their own players). The money in this deal is absurd and I can\u0026rsquo;t imagine being matched by any deal within the next decade.\nFrustrating\nWith the Giants being my second team, it\u0026rsquo;ll be infuriating how much I\u0026rsquo;ll want to go to games when the Dodgers are in town so I can see Ohtani play, and it\u0026rsquo;ll also be infuriating as I sit here along with all the other Giants fans wondering how we can possible compete in the division now. It isn\u0026rsquo;t actually impossible—baseball is a strange sport, and the Dodgers still haven\u0026rsquo;t figured out their pitching situation—but boy is it tremendously disheartening at first glance. Why couldn\u0026rsquo;t he have gone to Toronto?\nIt\u0026rsquo;ll also be awful seeing the national networks and MLB fawn over him as a Dodger. It was charming and fun to see Ohtani do his thing in Anaheim because the focus was on the player. He was and is incredible, but it wasn\u0026rsquo;t part of a juggernaut team that doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem to have any particularly fun vibe. Now it\u0026rsquo;ll be in the context of the Dodgers, and MLB will be pushing the Dodgers hard every time they get a chance. I\u0026rsquo;m going to be sick of it very quickly, even though I\u0026rsquo;ll still watch every good Ohtani highlight that comes out in the next decade. He\u0026rsquo;s good, I just wish he could be good on some other team.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never done a blogging \u0026ldquo;quote post\u0026rdquo; like this, but I\u0026rsquo;m toying with using this blog for a little more than just my Monday updates. We\u0026rsquo;ll see if it sticks, but I might as well use my own website\u0026rsquo;s capacity and see how it fits.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/ohtani-to-dodgers/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-contract-with-dodgers\"\u003eSarah Wexler, reporting for MLB.com\u003c/a\u003e:\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a fervent sweepstakes, reigning American League Most Valuable Player \u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/player/660271\"\u003eShohei Ohtani\u003c/a\u003e has agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a record-demolishing 10-year, $700 million deal, according to his agent, Nez Balelo.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is incredible, ridiculous, and frustrating.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncredible\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo free agent in any sport has ever received a contract worth this much. It\u0026rsquo;s a huge play by the Dodgers, and a windfall for Ohtani who definitely has nothing to worry about financially. Time will tell whether the deal is good when considering Ohtani as a \u003cem\u003eplayer\u003c/em\u003e long-term, but as a move they can leverage as marketing it\u0026rsquo;s likely going to pay for itself rapidly. Ohtani is a superstar across the world, particularly in Japan and the United States. Between the merchandise the Dodgers will sell and the butts in seats they\u0026rsquo;ll get even in the next two seasons, I have to imagine they know it\u0026rsquo;s worth the investment. If they can make some deep playoff runs, that\u0026rsquo;ll do even more.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ohtani to Dodgers"},{"content":"I just completed my NaNoWriMo project for 2023. I wrote three stories for The Last Question world in thirty days, totaling 30,984 words. You can find the drafts on the NaNoWriMo page of this blog, with the caveat that they are indeed drafts. Let\u0026rsquo;s get into how this all went.\nPlanned Service Interruptions\nI tempered my expectations for this month based on experience. In 2021 I had high hopes that fell short. I wrote three stories then, totaling around 30,000 words. Learning from that attempt, I considered I\u0026rsquo;d be traveling for work for five days near the start of November, and there was a holiday weekend. So, I took the 2021 result and opted to replicate it as my goal.\nThis was a good move.\nI appreciated having a nice round number of 1,000 words per day, even though falling behind a week in meant I had to readjust my pace.\nThis chart shows my daily progress as bars, as compared to the linear average goal across the month.\nThat was roughly planned for though, so I never felt overwhelmed by needing to catch up. And as I crept closer to reaching parity, it felt like a day was coming where I would suddenly jump back into position. You can see that happened on November 24, when I wrote 2,200 words and ended above the original goal for that day.\nKnowing what I was getting myself into helped me prepare both mentally and socially. Erin knew I was working on this, and I managed to be forward enough to share the effort with a few friends so I could, without needing to explain more, say that I had some writing to do in the evening. It turns out friends like to be supportive.\nLife Hacks\nI was not always efficient with my writing. I would get distracted on my phone, go for walks, or sit and stare at the document for dozens of minutes and get a single sentence of dialogue out. There was an element of last minute panic to my routine: I\u0026rsquo;d wager the majority of my words were written after 8:30 PM when I was trying to reach my daily allotment before it got too late.\nA huge discovery was a concentrated version of what I felt when I discussed typing on a mechanical keyboard: I began listening to pink noise while wearing headphones. It completely eliminated atmospheric noise from the TV, and even effectively blocked music at coffee shops. But unlike noise-cancelling headphones, it didn\u0026rsquo;t leave me with a sense of eerie silence that would suddenly snap me out of focus. It has a leveling effect on my brain that I found useful for the sake of drafting. I\u0026rsquo;m going to be using it moving forward when I need to focus at work because it appears to be tremendously helpful.\nI also enjoyed switching devices and locations based on my mood. The first half of this month I spent with my iPad. It\u0026rsquo;s meant to be my creation device, which is why I agonize so much over my writing setup on it. It has a natural focus to it. I used Stage Manager on the iPad and connected it to an external monitor, although that didn\u0026rsquo;t last long.1 So I pivoted to how I normally write, with the iPad in my lap or on my desk, hunched over slightly. I went out on weekend mornings to little tables or benches in our neighborhood, enjoying the portability and simplicity of my setup.\nEventually I found myself spending more time writing on my MacBook, in both laptop and desktop modes. At my desk I could sit or stand, use my ergonomic keyboard, and have a single window centered on a large screen that still had extra space on it. I can\u0026rsquo;t precisely explain why this is the case, but I find the window existing on top of an empty desktop more calming and focusing than a full-screen iPad app. In addition, for a few days I developed some small pain in just my left pinky that was made worse when typing on the iPad. Using a larger keyboard, particularly my desktop ergonomic one, reduced the aching.\nSomething to Say\nWhile I can\u0026rsquo;t directly compare how I felt in 2021 or 2019 to right now, I am proud of the work I did this month. In 2019 I was simply putting down words with the goal of hitting the count as fast as possible. Whatever I wrote was largely unreadable and I have no desire to revisit any of it.\nThe stories in 2021 had an intent behind them, but they were exploratory in the worst possible way. I had not thought carefully about the world of The Last Question prior to beginning NaNoWriMo that year, and I believe the quality of the stories suffered. They were jumbled and inconsistent. I also have a memory of not knowing where I was going with the plots, or even the mood I wanted to establish. They are more coherent than my 2019 effort, but still raw.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve greatly benefited from having over a dozen hours of playtime in The Last Question world, in addition to several hours of thinking about the kinds of stories I want to have available. Reading The Expanse series was also formative, because I adore the style in those books. I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to copy them, but it gave me something recent to hook onto. When I sat down to begin writing this month, I felt I had better ideas for plots, more flexibility to work within the world in a consistent manner, and I felt connected to the characters I created in a way I haven\u0026rsquo;t before while writing. As each story progressed, I could begin to grasp where the characters were moving on their own, and the pieces of their story I wanted to show the audience. I also found myself having actual thoughts to share that I could place inside the story, rather than just relating events like I would when recapping my day.\nA Change in Approach\nThis month I took risks in my writing that blog posts don\u0026rsquo;t ask of me. I explored three different styles of stories, and enjoyed the different looks. I stretched myself without pushing too hard. It felt like a mature reconnection to the version of myself from fifth to seventh grade when all I wanted to do was write anything in any form, because it was plain fun. When it comes down to it, I had fun this month.\nSolar was the most straightforward, and since I wrote it first, that makes sense. It jumped timelines, but stayed focused on a single character and had a linear narrative we were following. It was an exploration of someone with strong technical skills who fell into an odd niche and found themselves in a new world without fully realizing it. I like that for this character type: smart and naive.\nNaught was not intended to be a mystery at first, at least not one that had a detective. I had intended for Seton to be the main character who keeps having flirtations with death, and he slowly figures out how he accidentally got himself wrapped up in the local cartel. It would be a story of a bumbling janitor ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time.\nBut the week prior, when I was flying to Orlando, I read All Souls Lost by Dan Moren. It\u0026rsquo;s a very silly yet compelling detective story with a gruff, sarcastic main character. Every so often I want to write something I find funny, so I created Mason Omer as our main character and had him be our grizzled veteran Naught character. Since the goal of these stories is to give examples of the complexities that can surround a character type from the game while keeping them grounded in their core shtick, it seemed like it could still work. The mystery\u0026rsquo;s resolution was a mystery to me until I found myself facing down the final 1,000 words and needed to figure out how it all ended. I went back through the story and updated a few details to make it consistent at a surface level, but I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to reading this one back and seeing if any clues are even there, or if it\u0026rsquo;s so obvious as to be boring. I\u0026rsquo;ve never written a mystery, so I bet I didn\u0026rsquo;t quite nail the landing.\nBound was the most impactful story to me. I hope it comes off in some of the passages, but it was meant to reflect some of the writing I\u0026rsquo;ve found effective and affective over the years. It deals with relationship issues I experienced as a teenager, and dynamics I\u0026rsquo;ve observed in others over the years. I wanted to strike a balance of the Bound character type being tethered to Earth in some ways, but not beholden to it. I liked having parallel scenes of Lily and Poppy facing antisymmetric experiences at times, and some of the individual scenes I poured a lot of heart into. I\u0026rsquo;m sure parts of it need a tremendous amount of work, but I found this one technically easy to write, though emotionally difficult in a few places.\nWhat Next?\nMy goal is to give this all a break for at least a month, and then start editing the stories from 2021. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to rush the process. I have a copy of the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers that I want to read and act on. In addition to editing these stories one-by-one, I still have a list of twelve \u0026ldquo;fables\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;tales\u0026rdquo; I\u0026rsquo;d like to write. These will be shorter, likely in the 1,000 - 2,000 word range, but the final goal is a volume containing six character stories, and twelve of these \u0026ldquo;world-building\u0026rdquo; stories.\nOutside of The Last Question, I\u0026rsquo;m not sure. This is a project I\u0026rsquo;m invested in and enjoy, so it\u0026rsquo;s possible that next year for NaNoWriMo I find something related to tackle. One thing this month has taught me is that prose continues to be a powerful outlet for me, and I discount that. I\u0026rsquo;d like to expand my writing horizons yet again and share a wider variety of writing on my blog. I\u0026rsquo;m incredibly pleased with how NaNoWriMo went this year though, and it makes me happy I\u0026rsquo;ve stuck with my passion for writing all this time.\nI can see how it could be helpful if I was trying to bounce between several apps, but not having extra peripherals for my iPad at my desk meant the effort wasn\u0026rsquo;t worth it.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2023-recap/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI just completed my NaNoWriMo project for 2023. I wrote three stories for \u003cem\u003eThe Last Question\u003c/em\u003e world in thirty days, totaling 30,984 words. You can find the drafts on the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo/\"\u003eNaNoWriMo page\u003c/a\u003e of this blog, with the caveat that they are indeed drafts. Let\u0026rsquo;s get into how this all went.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2023 Recap"},{"content":"I enjoy playing with technology, trying new apps, and adjusting my processes. I listen to podcasts that nominally focus on productivity and the tools to get work done. You can look at my track record of changing writing setups to understand what I mean. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to conflate optimizing how you work and the work you\u0026rsquo;re trying to do. It\u0026rsquo;s rarely the case that these are one and the same, so it\u0026rsquo;s good to remember that the only way to accomplish a task is by doing it.1\nIdentify the Goal\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll take a hard look at this blog as an example. What is my goal in having a website that I update on a weekly basis? Initially it was because people I admire on the internet—podcasters and writers I follow—all have their own websites and they suggest everyone else have a place on the internet that is their own. But that only addresses the existence of markrichard.org, not that it\u0026rsquo;s specifically a blog, or that I choose to update it once a week.\nThe goal of my blog is twofold. First, I like having a public place to put certain thoughts and projects. It serves as a record I can point to when relevant.2 It serves as a creative outlet, and at least one time that served a practical purpose.3 Second, and more importantly, having an external place for my writing encourages me to write differently than I would if nobody were allowed to read it. I want to put out posts that are free of typos and accurately represent my thoughts. Even if nobody reads this, knowing that someone could is reason enough to take care with my words. It\u0026rsquo;s an approach pushes me to practice my entire writing process.\nAs for my weekly cadence, I know I\u0026rsquo;m unlikely to be diligent in writing posts that feel \u0026ldquo;worth\u0026rdquo; the effort if I reduced my frequency. Since my goal in writing posts at all is to practice the writing process, I\u0026rsquo;ve continued to find that one post a week is a pace that stretches me without putting too much pressure on the quality of the idea or the depth of research. I also enjoy the pattern of posting something by each Monday. I get to think ahead, plan out ideas, and identify which ones need to be considered for longer versus those that can be drafted, edited, and posted with little bits of free time on the weekend. Notice that the posting schedule is not in itself a goal that matters—the goal is to continue improving how I write, and I\u0026rsquo;ve found this schedule aptly serves that larger goal.\nSo, we\u0026rsquo;ve identified two goals for the continued existence of my blog.\nMaintain a public-facing repository of my ideas and projects.\nPractice and hone my writing process.\nWith these goals in mind, I can consider what work needs to happen to achieve them.\nDetermine the Core Work\nThis is the harsh step that is the crux of this post: What is the precise work needed to achieve the goals stated above? For me, this is straightforward.\nRegularly come up with, and plan out, ideas for posts.\nWrite drafts in a timely fashion.\nEdit and proofread the drafts before their scheduled date.\nPost the drafts on my blog.\nThe first piece of work is paramount to working on Goal 1. I could turn this blog into a place where I do book reports from school, or respond to writing prompts I find on reddit. But unless those actually interest me and represent ideas I want to share with others, I\u0026rsquo;m making no progress. So, naturally, I instead choose to write about anything and everything that captures my attention. I don\u0026rsquo;t pigeonhole my blog into a certain category.\nThe second and fourth pieces of work are necessary for Goal 1 as well: I need to actually write something and put it on the blog if the website is going to be a record of what I want to share. However, all four of the steps are relevant in some way to Goal 2. The writing process moves from the genesis of an idea through to saying a work is completed, whatever that means to me.\nIf I want to achieve these two goals, any time spent on the blog should emphasize these four activities. Time I spend doing more than the bare maintenance necessary to support the core work is, in terms of my goals, wasted.\nHere is some of the work I\u0026rsquo;ve found myself doing over the years that is at best tangentially related to my stated goals.\nUpdating the design or layout of the blog.\nTrying new WordPress plugins.\nChanging text editors for drafting my posts.\nUsing different tools to edit my drafts.\nChanging task-tracking systems to manage my ideas.\nEach of these is important in some way, but it is explicitly not the work I\u0026rsquo;m aiming to do for my blog.\nIf my focus is achieving the two goals above, then I need to catch myself whenever I fall into work that isn\u0026rsquo;t oriented towards those goals. However, it\u0026rsquo;s worth addressing two factors that tend to confound my ability to follow my own advice.\nBattling Interests and Tactical Procrastination\nThe reality is that I, along with basically everyone I know, enjoy spending some time thining about how they work as opposed to just doing the work. This is typically due to a combination of interest in the tools they\u0026rsquo;re using, and having a plausible excuse to not actually do the (more difficult) work they intended to accomplish.\nI thoroughly enjoy trying out new apps, and new technology in general. I have great fun learning how to use a new tool and implementing it in a process in some clever way. In fact part of my day job is to create, update, and maintain processes for my team. In corporate jargon, I think operationally. Because I like playing with all those tools and ideas, it\u0026rsquo;s easy for me to get distracted by them.\nBut I could also get distracted by playing guitar or going to a baseball game. The difference is I know those are completely disjoint from writing my blog. If I get completely distracted by an unrelated activity, it\u0026rsquo;s evident and I have to face that. However, spending time finding a new app that could make publishing a post a little faster, or the editing process slightly more streamlined, or the footnotes and PDFs in a post marginally more pleasing to view, is a strong temptation. I convince myself that these are making the final work better in some way, or by reducing the hurdles between the start and end of a post I will somehow benefit either by time saved or an increased eagerness to get the work done.\nSurely someday I will operationalize my way to a magic bullet that gets these posts written, edited, and posted so simply that it\u0026rsquo;s like breathing.\nOf course all that is poppycock. Some of it may be justifiable if my only goal was to create a record of my ideas, and I didn\u0026rsquo;t particularly care about the quality of that record.4 But I\u0026rsquo;ve really painted myself into a corner by requiring that I work on the writing process. It\u0026rsquo;s difficult work, and getting better at writing doesn\u0026rsquo;t make the process easier, it just tends to make the final result better.\nThis is true of most work that is interesting and worth doing. You can have playful interfaces and slick processes that bring you joy due to your cleverness—that\u0026rsquo;s great—but if the work is difficult, it may well be inherent to its intellectual challenge. Eventually you have to face it head-on with whatever tools you have at your disposal. When it comes to writing in particular, those tools are all but irrelevant. They\u0026rsquo;re all the same to a close approximation.5\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not wrong or bad to be interested in the tools of your trade. I find it natural to be thoroughly taken in by exploring options for how to do and create whatever my current hobby is. That could be text editors, computers and tablets, baseball gloves, guitars, or pens. I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen into rabbit-holes of looking for the best overall option in each of these. In the end though, I have to refocus on my actual goal. Do I want to find the best guitar on the market, or get better at playing guitar?\nIf you find yourself ignoring your work under the veil of optimizing it, recognize the relative futility of these adjustments. Enjoy them if you find it pleasing—just like I do when exploring new writing software—but acknowledge what you\u0026rsquo;re actually doing and nudge yourself back onto the track of accomplishing your goals. It\u0026rsquo;s not easy, but it\u0026rsquo;s how you keep pushing forward to what matters.\nSome of this post was discussed in OHAC 52.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSpoiler: it\u0026rsquo;s almost never relevant.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWhen I applied for my internship at Art of Problem Solving, I was able to point them to some of the mathematical writing I\u0026rsquo;d done here as evidence of both my ability and passion.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nLet\u0026rsquo;s put aside the idea that good writing, or at least good communication, is good thinking and is completely tied to how an idea is represented.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI\u0026rsquo;ll admit that writing a novel or a huge research paper is different, but the lesson is the same. There are some standard tools that are all basically the same, and if your goal is to do the work, complaints of small hurdles related to your available tools is probably just a poor excuse.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/let-work-be-the-work/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI enjoy playing with technology, trying new apps, and adjusting my processes. I listen to podcasts that nominally focus on productivity and the tools to get work done. You can look at my track record of \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/another-ipad-writing-setup/\"\u003echanging\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/spring-2023-writing-setup/\"\u003ewriting\u003c/a\u003e setups to understand what I mean. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to conflate optimizing \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e you work and \u003cem\u003ethe work you\u0026rsquo;re trying to do\u003c/em\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s rarely the case that these are one and the same, so it\u0026rsquo;s good to remember that the only way to accomplish a task is by doing it.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Let Work Be the Work"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m behind my 30,000 word goal, which is why I\u0026rsquo;m writing this post as a fallback instead of something longer and unrelated to NaNoWriMo. It\u0026rsquo;s still possible for me to maintain a pace that gets me done on time, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t been making as much progress in my free time as I\u0026rsquo;d like.\nMy biggest issue this year is that I\u0026rsquo;m still not allowing myself to write freely. I\u0026rsquo;m thinking a little too much in the moment, trying to self-edit, and not just getting a story out there that can be refined at a later date.\nYet I\u0026rsquo;m happy with the work I\u0026rsquo;ve done so far. I think I have the bones of compelling stories, and I look forward to coming back to them after this month is over when I\u0026rsquo;m ready to do some editing in earnest.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2023-check-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m behind my 30,000 word goal, which is why I\u0026rsquo;m writing this post as a fallback instead of something longer and unrelated to NaNoWriMo. It\u0026rsquo;s still possible for me to maintain a pace that gets me done on time, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t been making as much progress in my free time as I\u0026rsquo;d like.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy biggest issue this year is that I\u0026rsquo;m still not allowing myself to write freely. I\u0026rsquo;m thinking a little too much in the moment, trying to self-edit, and not just getting a story out there that can be refined at a later date.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2023 Check In"},{"content":"I was in a position to provide some talking points for my company\u0026rsquo;s upper-level math textbooks. It was written in the aftermath of customer-induced pique regarding how we sell ourselves. While it\u0026rsquo;s focused on my company, the core idea of a problem-first approach extends beyond what we do in particular.\nNearly all existing math instructional materials follow the same pattern: Explain a concept once, focus on finding a formula or singular method, have students solve repetitive problems with small changes, and move on to the next topic. New approaches may emphasize doing this routine in groups, or using \u0026ldquo;real world data\u0026rdquo;, but the method itself hardly varies. It\u0026rsquo;s comfortable and can be made easy to implement, all at the cost of students only learning how to solve a handful of specific problems and failing to think independently. This approach also makes it difficult to differentiate learning within a class because the content has no room for increased depth.\nFrom the very beginning, AoPS has crafted a problem-first approach to teaching math. We recognize math as a beautiful subject—we\u0026rsquo;re overjoyed when former students pursue careers in math specifically—yet also realize it\u0026rsquo;s an excellent field to focus on learning how to solve problems. We are developing materials for physics and computer science for this same reason: they\u0026rsquo;re full of interesting problems that require flexible thinking and application of a wide range of analytical tools.\nTo this end, you\u0026rsquo;ll notice the unique format of our textbooks. Nearly every section begins with a set of problems that motivate the topic of discussion. Instead of lecturing about a topic with a smattering of examples, we start with the example which motivates us to develop the relevant piece of mathematics. These problems are scaffolded to more advanced applications of a topic, and bring in previous topics to ensure students understand the connections between everything they\u0026rsquo;ve learned. This approach has several benefits.\nFirst, it switches how students look at the world around them. Instead of being distraught if a problem they encounter doesn\u0026rsquo;t fit into one of the molds they were taught, they can look at a problem for what it is and suss out how they can break it down using their available tools.\nSecond, by repeatedly developing this problem-first philosophy, students will begin to gain confidence in approaching a problem where they have no tools that work. Instead, they understand that truly interesting problems require us to build what we need. Sometimes the first tool we build is enough; other times, we hope to refine that tool and understand it better. This mirrors the high-level thinking required for success in, for example, academic research.\nThird, this approach offers a natural way to differentiate learners within a classroom. Students who show repeated success with a topic may be grouped together to focus on solving the problems from scratch, only using the rest of the text to confirm their findings or obtain the specific definitions and conventions for that topic. Other groups may require more scaffolding from their instructor, perhaps working through one or two problems as a group to understand the basic ideas, then flexing their analytical muscles on the later problems.\nAs the opening to our books say rather succinctly:\nThis book is probably very different from most of the math books that you have read before. We believe that the best way to learn mathematics is by solving problems. Lots and lots of problems. In fact, we believe that the best way to learn mathematics is to try to solve problems that you don’t know how to do. When you discover something on your own, you’ll understand it much better than if someone just tells it to you.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/problem-first-thinking/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was in a position to provide some talking points for my company\u0026rsquo;s upper-level math textbooks. It was written in the aftermath of customer-induced pique regarding how we sell ourselves. While it\u0026rsquo;s focused on my company, the core idea of a problem-first approach extends beyond what we do in particular.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Problem-First Thinking"},{"content":"The Texas Rangers won the World Series in five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and by the end it looked as inevitable as the 4–1 victory shows. I was fairly neutral going in—I have some connections to the Rangers via the Twins, but felt myself rooting for the underdogs in Arizona more often than not—and so my hope, as always, was for a tense series that went at least six games. That didn\u0026rsquo;t transpire, and viewership was down as the matchup was panned across popular sports media, but that hardly matters to me.\nThe first two games in Texas were electric. Down 5–3 in the bottom of the ninth of Game 1, Corey Seager cemented his playoff legacy with a two-run home run to tie it up. Then Adolis García, who had a monster ALCS to push past the Astros, won the game with a home run in the bottom of the eleventh.\nGame 2 made it easy to ignore the Diamondbacks bullpen blow-up and fizzling offense the previous day by winning 9–1 on the road to even the series. It seemed the team that handily took down the Dodgers and rallied against the Phillies still had plenty of fight. But the Rangers, who were 5–0 on the road so far in the postseason, would continue the trend of spitting on home field advantage while the Game 1 version of the Diamondbacks would come back in full force.\nGame 3 was frustrating for the Diamondbacks: They lost 3–1 with the lone score coming in the bottom of the eighth. Game 4 was an embarrassment. The Rangers scored five runs in each of the second and third innings, and though the Diamondbacks managed to scrounge together enough runs to make the losing score of 11–7 seem respectable, anyone watching the game knew that all hope was gone early.\nBacks against the wall, it looked like the Diamondbacks had what they needed to leave Arizona with a win and fight it out in Texas. Zac Gallen had a no-hitter through six innings, and the Diamondbacks kept threatening against Eovaldi but couldn\u0026rsquo;t get any runs across. That anemic offense was problematic, but Gallen had things under control. Suddenly the Rangers broke through in the seventh with three runs, followed by an exclamation point of a two-run homer in the top of the ninth by Semien to ensure the Snakes knew they were done. The Rangers won Game 5, with the score 5–0, and they ended it on a called third strike.\nThe Diamondbacks lost their bite at just the wrong time, and the Rangers once again found their dynamic offense that had carried them through the season. It\u0026rsquo;s the first championship for the Rangers franchise, and I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled for Mitch Garver in particular as a former Twins player. He didn\u0026rsquo;t have the strongest World Series, but got a couple key hits when it would really make a difference.\nLooking back on the season, I\u0026rsquo;m happy I was able to follow both the Twins and Giants fairly closely. They\u0026rsquo;re on different trajectories right now—the Giants hired a new manager and are looking to find a healthier match of traditional baseball and statistical insight, while the Twins broke their playoff losing streak and showed enough promise that next year is worth being hopeful for—and I will be closely watching them both next year.\nNow we go into the dead time of sports where offseason trades are rumored and amazing meme posts are made on the /r/baseball subreddit.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2023-world-series-review/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe Texas Rangers won the World Series in five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and by the end it looked as inevitable as the 4–1 victory shows. I was fairly neutral going in—I have some connections to the Rangers via the Twins, but felt myself rooting for the underdogs in Arizona more often than not—and so my hope, as always, was for a tense series that went at least six games. That didn\u0026rsquo;t transpire, and viewership was down as the matchup was panned across popular sports media, but that hardly matters to me.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2023 World Series Review"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve done something for National Novel Writing Month each year since 2019. That first year was the only time I\u0026rsquo;ve \u0026ldquo;won\u0026rdquo; by getting to fifty thousand words, but I\u0026rsquo;ve always appreciated the exercise and change of pace required to make a reasonable attempt. November is just around the corner, so it\u0026rsquo;s time to consider my plans for this year\u0026rsquo;s effort.\nFor the past two weeks I\u0026rsquo;ve debated whether committing to NaNoWriMo is even a good idea. This year has been busier than anticipated, and November—normally a pretty good month for uninterrupted work—will have one, maybe two trips that would make daily writing difficult. There\u0026rsquo;s contract work I do on the side that needs to be completed and various daily responsibilities that have increased from my first NaNoWriMo. The largest change compared to 2019 is that I have a social life. I play softball once a week; we go to bar trivia with friends; Erin\u0026rsquo;s lab typically has a happy hour; and even without all that I still live with my wife and want to spend time with her.1\nI have sufficient reasons to opt out of NaNoWriMo this year, but I\u0026rsquo;m going to give it a try anyway.\nThough my aspirations to be a writer have mostly been quelled, I still enjoy the process and want to practice getting words on the page. NaNoWriMo is largely a tool for hobbyists or committed amateurs to force a draft out of themselves. It\u0026rsquo;s a \u0026ldquo;real thing\u0026rdquo; that provides an excuse to squirrel away extra time to write for the month in a way that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily be as easily supported for an entire year. Erin is understanding when I have a project I want to attempt, and I\u0026rsquo;m willing to find the extra time—by waking up earlier, using some of my lunch break, and not watching as much YouTube—to not egregiously affect other responsibilities.\nAnother consideration is my yearly theme. My focus is on creating habits and precedents for a future full of change, and while I may have some Novembers in the future similar to 2019, it\u0026rsquo;s more likely that they\u0026rsquo;ll be at least this busy moving forward. Is it fair to allow myself to be intimidated by the prospect of giving something a reasonable try because life is busy? Doing so doesn\u0026rsquo;t scale well, particularly given the stakes. There are times where saying no is important, and I\u0026rsquo;ve done a good job of paring down some of my extracurricular tasks while taking the time I need away from group activities to complete my work. That\u0026rsquo;s been a positive application of my theme, but focusing on NaNoWriMo as an opportunity for growth is also consistent with how I want to approach life.\nThis project is not about getting to fifty thousand words. That goal is there to show how one can make significant progress by chunking out daily work into achievable units, but truly it\u0026rsquo;s an excuse to just write. I consider NaNoWriMo a success if I write significantly more during the month than I would have otherwise, and write something every day.\nI plan to focus on The Last Question. A group of friends have been playing the game with me this year, so it\u0026rsquo;s time to revisit the world I started creating and flesh it out. For NaNoWriMo 2021 I wrote three short stories detailing character archetypes. Two years later I still have three more I\u0026rsquo;d like to write. In addition there are several shorter \u0026ldquo;tales\u0026rdquo; I have a starting point for that I\u0026rsquo;d like to make progress on. Finally, there\u0026rsquo;s writing to do for the game itself, mostly in the form of side quests we\u0026rsquo;re now in a position to explore.\nI will update the NaNoWriMo page with any live links to PDFs I\u0026rsquo;m willing to share, and will attempt to track word counts across the various projects detailed above. I\u0026rsquo;m excited and nervous to try this again, but I feel ready to fearlessly attack the blank page.\nI did very little with other people while living in San Diego, so there was ample time to hang out at Panera and let the words flow.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2023-announcement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve done \u003cem\u003esomething\u003c/em\u003e for \u003ca href=\"nanowrimo.org\"\u003eNational Novel Writing Month\u003c/a\u003e each year since 2019. That first year was the only time I\u0026rsquo;ve \u0026ldquo;won\u0026rdquo; by getting to fifty thousand words, but I\u0026rsquo;ve always appreciated the exercise and change of pace required to make a reasonable attempt. November is just around the corner, so it\u0026rsquo;s time to consider my plans for this year\u0026rsquo;s effort.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2023 Announcement"},{"content":"I switched back to Ulysses and refined the Writing homescreen on my iPad. I have no idea how long this particular setup will last considering the short time spent since I previously discussed this, but it feels stable, all my writing can live in a single app, and I can drop the dance I\u0026rsquo;d tried with iCloud to make iA Writer work across all my devices.\nHomescreen\nI use my iPad for specific tasks, each of which has its own Focus Mode and hence its own homescreen with a selection of apps for said task.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s Ulysses, which is now the only writing app I use on my iPad. There\u0026rsquo;s also the Merriam-Webster Dictionary; Notability and Notes (each used in various capacities for notes and copy-editing drafts); and the Books app which is by far the simplest PDF reader for iPad.1\nThen there are three practical widgets. The top Todoist widget is a filter view on my Blog project that shows me a list of upcoming blogs I\u0026rsquo;ve scheduled. I keep the Fantastical view available as a quick reference for the dates of upcoming Mondays.2 The top-right Todoist widget is a quick way to add an idea I have for a blog.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t spend much time on this homescreen—most of my Todoist usage is on my phone or computers—but I like to have simple ways to interact with those tasks wherever I am. Having all these tools on-hand with nothing else visually available helps keep me focused on writing.\nSwitching Modes\nTo switch focus modes I use a shortcut in the dock that presents me with a list of options. Depending on what I select, it\u0026rsquo;ll change to that mode and open any key apps for the activity at hand. For Writing, it will open Ulysses as the main app and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a slideover app. This streamlines the initial interaction when I go to my iPad to get something done, and mostly ensures I\u0026rsquo;ll begin whatever I intended.\nThis is something I\u0026rsquo;ve somewhat copied on my MacBook: I don\u0026rsquo;t worry about focus modes, but I do have shortcuts to open apps for a few activities. It\u0026rsquo;s helpful to minimize the friction between an intention and action.\nEditing and Publishing\nUlysses has some excellent copy-editing features, but they are reserved for their proprietary \u0026ldquo;Markdown XL\u0026rdquo; format which is not compatible with Dropbox folders. So, I stick with regular Markdown for my blogs.3\nFor longer posts, I will export a PDF to Notability4 using one of the excellent templates offered by Ulysses, mark it up, then split-screen with Ulysses to make any edits.\nUlysses directly connects to my WordPress blog so publishing is easy. I fill in the details of the post and have it open up the web editor so I can make any final tweaks.5 Ulysses keeps track of drafts that have been sent for publishing, which is a nice touch.\nThis setup is not particularly ambitious, but can scale to any future aspirations I may have for my writing. Ulysses is a well-maintained application that works everywhere, is great for blogging and long-form prose, and has a particular polish that I enjoy. I\u0026rsquo;d like to keep writing on my iPad because I feel I\u0026rsquo;ve done some of my best work on this focused platform, so taking a little time to reflect and improve on how I use it seems worthwhile.\nI keep a few PDFS of writing books in there for reference.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIn iOS/iPadOS 17, Fantastical removed their 2-month calendar view widget which I, and many others, feel is total bogus.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI do have a few prose projects fully in the Ulysses project system that lets me use all the bells and whistles. If I ever commit to a big project I will need to regularly get versions of those files copied over to Dropbox.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI am considering switching to Apple Notes for this, but haven\u0026rsquo;t given it a shot yet. I don\u0026rsquo;t actively pay for Notability and have years of momentum using it, so there\u0026rsquo;s not a strong reason to switch beyond curiosity.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI use a couple weird plugins that don\u0026rsquo;t jive with Markdown drafting. It\u0026rsquo;s a small clean-up task that takes a minute and also encourages me to double-check the entire article.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/another-ipad-writing-setup/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI switched back to Ulysses and refined the Writing homescreen on my iPad. I have no idea how long this particular setup will last considering the short time spent since \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/going-back-to-ia-writer/\"\u003eI previously discussed this\u003c/a\u003e, but it feels stable, all my writing can live in a single app, and I can drop the dance I\u0026rsquo;d tried with iCloud to make iA Writer work across all my devices.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"(Another) iPad Writing Setup"},{"content":"I had a moment of panic followed by clarity and motivation when I realized my tenuous approach to managing tasks at work was no longer tenable. I needed to make a change.\nA Wrinkle\nMy company uses ClickUp for project management, so I use it to track larger projects in the Sales department, conferences we attend, and other items that involve multiple people. To reduce clutter in that system, and because I had used it during my time on the curriculum team, I relied on Google Tasks to create one-off tasks that only I needed to do. There\u0026rsquo;s a handy sidebar in Gmail that makes it easy to manage these.\nThen we switched to using Front to manage our team email. It took me a day or two before I understood how this took away the easy access to Google Tasks, leaving me without a reliable task management system for daily work. Whoops.\nLook to the Past\nWhen I was a project manager I had a routine of writing down my plan for the day every morning. Sometimes it was on paper, other times in a text document, but the goal was the same: create a tentative plan to hold my future self accountable throughout the day and simplify any \u0026ldquo;downtime\u0026rdquo; by having a task somewhere later in the queue.\nAs the day went on I would rearrange items, add in ad-hoc meetings, and have space to include additional notes. Each day I\u0026rsquo;d then have a tangible way to determine what I had accomplished, and could easily reflect on what led to final state of this agenda. Had I let myself get distracted somehow? Had other tasks come up that were higher priority? I could also immediately see what was left over and prepare to handle whatever was necessarily delayed to another day.\nI never felt more on top of work than when this process was humming along. So of course I stopped doing it over time.1 So a sudden change in my workflow helped me remember this excellent routine I\u0026rsquo;d let go, and I took half a day to reconsider how I can get it back and improve upon it.\nDetails\nHere is my adjustment at its core: Make a plan each day using a task system, record any changes made to the plan throughout the day, and update the task system for the next day.\nI decided it\u0026rsquo;s best to keep everything in ClickUp. I\u0026rsquo;m already using it for team projects, and making a new list for my personal tasks is a simple addition. ClickUp helpfully provides a calendar view synced with my Google Calendar, in addition to listed \u0026ldquo;Today\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Upcoming\u0026rdquo; sections of my homepage. This all lets me look at one source of information for everything I need to do in a given day\nHaving one source is only useful if it\u0026rsquo;s reliable. Making sure nothing gets lost in my task system requires a few internal rules:\nEvery task gets written down.\nEvery task has a due date—even if it\u0026rsquo;s tentative.\nFreely use sub-tasks to organize ideas.\nThe first rule is vital: if I can\u0026rsquo;t trust that everything I need to do is recorded, the system fails to do its job. The second rule gives me further confidence I won\u0026rsquo;t miss anything, because eventually each task will trickle to the \u0026ldquo;Today section. The final rule is a practical element to good project management, though it can be interpreted differently without greatly affecting the final results. I simply prefer having precise tasks rather than comments or notes in the description.\nA key adjustment to my agenda-focused workflow is to dedicate an entire page of paper to a single day, rather than only use the minimal necessary space for the day\u0026rsquo;s schedule. I still write down the schedule but am left with enough room to jot down notes and, most importantly, any new tasks that show up during the workday. Having this dedicated space encourages me to write down everything I may do so I can reprioritize tasks as needed. I\u0026rsquo;ll cross off anything that gets completed during the day, and take the final fifteen minutes of work to add or update tasks in ClickUp.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve found this system minimizes distractions during the day and ensures I have a record of what I wanted to accomplish. Taking a few additional minutes of keep all my tasks under control is an ideal tradeoff, and leaves me with a concrete way to measure the effectiveness of my day. This system is also portable to any tool you may use to hold the actual data of your tasks. I use Todoist in my personal life, and in the past tried out a wonderful app called Agenda that—were I working entirely independently—would be a great fit for my current approach. Regardless of your choice of tool, the fundamentals remain the same and hopefully can provide a starting point to better organization.\nThere is a funny tendency, after doing something for a while and things are good, to forget why they\u0026rsquo;re good. Then you figure you can stop doing this superfluous task that makes things take longer and it\u0026rsquo;s shocking when everything stops going so well.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tracking-tasks-at-work/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI had a moment of panic followed by clarity and motivation when I realized my tenuous approach to managing tasks at work was no longer tenable. I needed to make a change.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tracking Tasks at Work"},{"content":"Last night the wedding of Erin\u0026rsquo;s younger brother and his lovely now-wife. It was fun to participate in the process of wedding preparation from a new perspective—one where we have tangible advice to offer, a calmer presence from experience—only one year after our own.\nThis took form in a few ways. Erin saw how our coordinator worked through each little detail as we got closer to the date, so she made sure to do the same with the bride who had painstakingly planned venue decoration. I mainly acted as a role model to the groomsmen who, though absolutely great friends and nice guys, still end up a little immature for self-governance.1 This also meant during decorating in the morning and post-reception teardown, I could yield my influence to direct their help.\nWe could more fully take in their ceremony, focusing on how it reflected their ideals as a couple. We\u0026rsquo;ve been to weddings as a couple and the ceremonies always make you consider your own relationship, but this time we could do so with the added dimension of having experienced precisely what they were feeling up there: nervous excitement bubbling on top a foundation of certainty.\nIt was a fantastic day and a raucous reception. I\u0026rsquo;m so proud of them and happy to have had the opportunity to relive some of the wedding process without the full weight of the pressure behind it.\nMy biggest suggestion from the rehearsal: They have the opportunity to give Jeremy a hug or handshake as they approach the front of the ceremony. That\u0026rsquo;s a great chance that they should capitalize on.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/our-first-wedding-while-married/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast night the wedding of Erin\u0026rsquo;s younger brother and his lovely now-wife. It was fun to participate in the process of wedding preparation from a new perspective—one where we have tangible advice to offer, a calmer presence from experience—only one year after our own.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis took form in a few ways. Erin saw how our coordinator worked through each little detail as we got closer to the date, so she made sure to do the same with the bride who had painstakingly planned venue decoration. I mainly acted as a role model to the groomsmen who, though absolutely great friends and nice guys, still end up a little immature for self-governance.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e This also meant during decorating in the morning and post-reception teardown, I could yield my influence to direct their help.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Our First Wedding While Married"},{"content":"With the iPhone 15 series switching to USB-C, my last tangible reason for holding onto Android phones has been erased. In part thanks to the huge trade-in promotions offered in exchange for cell carrier lock-in, I\u0026rsquo;ve given up my Pixel 6 Pro and switched to an iPhone 15 Pro.\nWhy the Change?\nI was shocked by how surprised many people appeared to be by this decision. Of course it was only a few years ago that I regularly used Linux for all of my computing, but I\u0026rsquo;ve also used an iPad since halfway through college and a MacBook Air for the last three years. I\u0026rsquo;ve felt this change coming due to those two dominoes having fallen, because Apple\u0026rsquo;s whole game is playing to their ecosystem. Yet the interplay between all my devices was not a huge part of my decision—I actively fight against Apple trying to be too smart in its decision making and syncing.\nNor was it a classic case of peer pressure. I\u0026rsquo;m not in high school anymore, and I can have well-meaning banter with friends about our different phone platforms then move on. I think my other two Apple devices of choice speak to the real reason I decided to switch to iPhone: For the specific things I do in my life, and the properties of technology I currently value, I\u0026rsquo;ve chosen the tools that best serve my needs.\nTwo-Thirds Majority\nI had a few Android tablets in college because they were cheap. They were replaced as soon as I could afford it because they were cheap.\nThe purpose of a tablet in college was to have a lightweight computer that could do a fair fraction of what I needed, allow me to take handwritten notes, and could last most of the day. For nearly all of college I was rocking a 17\u0026quot; Lenovo IdeaPad with abysmal battery life. It was unwieldy and I might as well have purchased a desktop in hindsight. Yet a new computer was out of the question, and I still had the desire for a more flexible note-taking system.\nAfter a few poor decisions1 I ended up with an iPad Air for a while, then was able to trade it in for the first 9.7\u0026quot; iPad Pro thanks to money from my internship after junior year. Despite not using any other Apple hardware—and not having touched any since the computer lab in middle school—I recognized the iPad Pro and its Apple Pencil in particular being a huge improvement for my needs at that time.\nA few years later was the transition to Apple Silicon. This produced the M1 MacBook Air, arguably the best laptop that currently exists. The claims of its performance and longevity, even after plenty of substantiation, felt unbelievable. Yet three years later they are my normal experience, because the rapid switch to remote work coupled with frequent travel to visit Erin in San Francisco meant that my 15\u0026quot; ThinkPad wasn\u0026rsquo;t cutting it.2\nThese decisions were grounded in a reflection on what would most benefit my daily work, with admittedly a smattering of excitement about getting a fancy new piece of tech. I continue to buy a new iPad Pro when one needs replacing not due to its extra processing power, but because I strongly value the high refresh display only available on those devices. However I still have a lean, low-cost MacBook Air because I don\u0026rsquo;t require much internal storage and don\u0026rsquo;t do any work that requires a beefier processor.3\nWhile I did not get an iPhone because I already use a MacBook and iPad, having those two devices increased my familiarity with Apple\u0026rsquo;s products and software, ultimately easing the transition and making it feel even remotely possible. In early 2021 I very briefly tried using one of Erin\u0026rsquo;s old iPhones and couldn\u0026rsquo;t shake a feeling of immense discomfort. Phones are so personal that the switch did not sit well. I\u0026rsquo;d only been using a Mac for a month at that point, so everything felt off.\nWith a few more years of experience, a change no longer seemed insurmountable.\nThe Present\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had my new iPhone for about a week. There have been a few hiccups along the way and some features I absolutely love. I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to focus on having fun with this switch, enjoy the shiny new technology I have, and be open to letting it work more in the way Apple wants it to. Unlike using a Mac, there are fewer affordances for twisting a phone to your will. I\u0026rsquo;ve mostly accepted that.\nIn the future I\u0026rsquo;ll detail some of my initial experiences, apps I\u0026rsquo;ve needed to replace, and settings I\u0026rsquo;ve needed to tweak. For now I\u0026rsquo;m letting it all breathe and making the silliest iMessage stickers I can concoct.\nAnyone ever seen the Yoga Book? I sure have. The overall issue was poor app selection and poorer interfaces for handwriting.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFunnily enough had I waited much longer, I would have ended up from the exact same laptop because that was one of two choices my company gave us when issuing us laptops the other year for the first time.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that I use a fairly basic Garmin smartwatch because I like having a step counter and heart rate monitor. I abhor notifications though, and don\u0026rsquo;t particularly value any other functionality of the Apple Watch.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/switching-to-iphone/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith the iPhone 15 series switching to USB-C, my last tangible reason for holding onto Android phones has been erased. In part thanks to the huge trade-in promotions offered in exchange for cell carrier lock-in, I\u0026rsquo;ve given up my Pixel 6 Pro and switched to an iPhone 15 Pro.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Switching to iPhone"},{"content":"Erin and I decided to cancel Netflix the other week after subscribing for about eight years. I\u0026rsquo;d been infrequently toying with the idea for a few years, but while recording a recent episode of Comical Start Grant asked me something that solidified my reasoning.\nUnlike many people who have recently left Netflix, no part of the decision came from their new rules about geo-locking accounts to make password sharing all but impossible.1 It came down to a straightforward conversation about how Erin and I value the entertainment we get in our lives.\nIn a direct comparison of streaming services we subscribe to2 it was clear that Netflix was low on usage. There was always a show or two Erin could watch there, and I\u0026rsquo;d open it up every few months to watch a new comedy special, but it was not in our regular rotation. Add to this that Apple TV+ is part of a bundle that Erin already pays for, and I get Disney+ and Hulu through my Verizon cellular service, and the ever-increasing price of Netflix made it the best candidate to be let go.\nThis has all been true for at least a year though, and was never quite enough to get me off the subscription. Instead, the flow of thoughts I was able to process on Comical Start about being a paying subscriber to specific creators helped me realize how little I value Netflix these days.\nI spend a minuscule amount of time watching streaming shows. I almost exclusively watch them with Erin, and that might be only one night a week. Instead my entertainment is primarily a mix of YouTube, podcasts, and sports (much of which I consume through YouTube). I pay for YouTube Premium, directly support a few creators, and am also a member of several podcasts on the Relay FM network.\nYouTube Premium is slightly less expensive than Netflix, yet I use it every day compared to once a month at best. The total I spend on podcast memberships is likely a little higher than YouTube, but that\u0026rsquo;s also direct support to creators I thoroughly enjoy and want to see succeed. In terms of dollars spent per minute of enjoyment, YouTube and podcasts represent incredible value for me.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s possible that if there\u0026rsquo;s a Netflix-only show we want to watch—we\u0026rsquo;ve been meaning to get back to The Umbrella Academy at some point—we\u0026rsquo;d subscribe for a month and consider it an inflated rental cost. But this approach of sticking with a subscription either because it\u0026rsquo;s never convenient to cancel, or because there are veiled threats of increased prices or data loss if you wait too long to return, is tiresome.\nThese days I\u0026rsquo;ve become enamored by content that is made by individuals who care, are doing something they love, and work to build a real community they directly interact with. Sitting down for a TV show doesn\u0026rsquo;t work for me most of the time right now, and Netflix has very little for when I do make the time.\nDuring this year where I\u0026rsquo;m working to set up my future for success by building habits and systems that feel sustainable and healthy, I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to be more intentional about how I spend my time. It\u0026rsquo;s a valuable commodity and I\u0026rsquo;d rather not throw it away.\nI suppose I feel a principled opposition to this, because it\u0026rsquo;s hypocritical and likely won\u0026rsquo;t help them. But practically it had no effect on how I use Netflix.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAmong traditional streaming services, we also subscribe to Apple TV+, Hulu, Disney+, and (HBO) Max.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/netflix-and-value/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I decided to cancel Netflix the other week after subscribing for about eight years. I\u0026rsquo;d been infrequently toying with the idea for a few years, but while recording a \u003ca href=\"https://comicalstart.buzzsprout.com/186147/13629703\"\u003erecent episode of Comical Start\u003c/a\u003e Grant asked me something that solidified my reasoning.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Netflix and Value"},{"content":"One year of marriage has sped by. We unintentionally packed it full of travel, hosting visitors, and yet another road trip back to Minnesota. We spent time with friends, watched plenty of movies, found good restaurants, and made excellent meals. Throughout it all was a comfort, security, and joint responsibility of finally being married and working through what that means to us.\nA month before Erin and I were married, my dad asked me how I was feeling. He told me it was okay to be nervous, to be fumbling around or unsure or excited or any other set of feelings that come with such a shift in one\u0026rsquo;s life.\nUntil 4:30 PM on September 17, I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel anything other than a general excitement and confidence that everything would go off without a hitch. We\u0026rsquo;d been engaged for nearly two years, and together as a couple for nine. We started planning this day almost immediately and were likely the most organized bride and groom without being overbearing or stressing over details. I let myself focus on helping the day run smoothly, and besides an errant bee sting during pictures and a small threat of rain during the reception, no real issues arose.\nWhen the ceremony came around, my brain switched completely from being a calm planner to being, very soon, someone\u0026rsquo;s husband. I felt tangibly different after that day.\nThere is an additional level of responsibility and commitment once a couple is married. While in some regards this is obviously the whole point, it\u0026rsquo;s easy to neglect this fact and instead consider the act of marriage a mere formality. It\u0026rsquo;s much more than that, much more than a day or a moment. It\u0026rsquo;s a promise of a lifetime. Those traditional vows I heard growing up took on a different meaning when saying them to Erin, and I had an innate knowledge that I would fulfill them to the utmost possible.\nIn some ways it\u0026rsquo;s only been one year. For us, it\u0026rsquo;s also been ten years, and in another way it\u0026rsquo;s already been one year. We\u0026rsquo;ll continue to explore what our marriage means as our lives change, and go back to what is most important to us to stay grounded. I\u0026rsquo;m grateful for this past year, and thrilled for every one to come.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/first-anniversary-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOne year of marriage has sped by. We unintentionally packed it full of travel, hosting visitors, and yet another road trip back to Minnesota. We spent time with friends, watched plenty of movies, found good restaurants, and made excellent meals. Throughout it all was a comfort, security, and joint responsibility of finally being married and working through what that means to us.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"First Anniversary"},{"content":"I recently came across William MacAskill and his books Doing Good Better and What We Owe the Future.1 The former details a template for a model of approaching the world called effective altruism, while the other looks at an adjacent set of ideas called longtermism. While I\u0026rsquo;m still working through the second book, I\u0026rsquo;ve become quite interested in the concepts laid out in each and thought it was worth sharing.\nIn short, the idea behind effective altruism is that if we want to do good things for the world in which we live, it\u0026rsquo;s best if we focus our efforts on making the largest possible impact. MacAskill argues that this requires a tough look at the relative improvement one can make in the lives of others. Five dollars has a much higher impact on a farmer in rural Africa than it does on people poorly off in the United States.\nFrom this basic tenet, MacAskill addresses just about every question and caveat that popped into my head2 while reading Doing Good Better. It\u0026rsquo;s a difficult idea to take to its final conclusion, yet the depth of thought that goes into the provided framework is clear and insightful. There are value judgements galore, and socioeconomic estimates that, to a certain extent, you simply must accept if you\u0026rsquo;re going to get anywhere. But they are all explained, and the focus on transparency and a scientific approach to altruism was extremely innovative and inspiring.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s necessary to commit to the book. Just check out https://www.effectivealtruism.org to get the basics; if it appeals to you there might still not be a need for the book. But I do recommending taking a few minutes to read through what they present and let the ideas simmer. There\u0026rsquo;s something refreshing about this practical approach to making the world a better place.\nI actually came across Future first and had it on my reading list, then came across Doing once I was ready for a new book.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSome highlights include determining whether it\u0026rsquo;s best to spend your career earning as much money as possible so you can give away as much as possible, or finding a career that is directly impactful on society.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/exploring-effective-altruism/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently came across William MacAskill and his books \u003cem\u003eDoing Good Better\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eWhat We Owe the Future\u003c/em\u003e.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e The former details a template for a model of approaching the world called \u003cstrong\u003eeffective altruism\u003c/strong\u003e, while the other looks at an adjacent set of ideas called \u003cstrong\u003elongtermism\u003c/strong\u003e. While I\u0026rsquo;m still working through the second book, I\u0026rsquo;ve become quite interested in the concepts laid out in each and thought it was worth sharing.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Exploring Effective Altruism"},{"content":"I fulfilled an adult dream of getting season tickets to the San Francisco Giants in 2021. I became familiar with this new team and their players, and something about Donovan Solano—Donnie Barrels to his friends—rubbed me the wrong way. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if it was how he carried himself at second base, or his inconsistent hitting on a team that won 107 games, but I was pretty down on him all year.\nAfter spending 2022 with the Cincinnati Reds, he signed with the Twins in February this year. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t bullish on this acquisition, but with the season nearing its end I\u0026rsquo;m all in on Donnie. He\u0026rsquo;s playing a good-enough first base and seems like he\u0026rsquo;s always the one with clutch hits. However, I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to rely on the eye test. I have the tools to determine whether my baseball opinions are correct.\nA Simple Comparison\nIn 2021, Solano hit .280 and had an OPS+ of 103 across 101 games . This represents offensive production just a smidge over the MLB average 100. He did reach a career high in home runs (7) and RBI (31), but this was also the most games he\u0026rsquo;d played in since 2014 in Miami so comparing counting stats is not enlightening. He did just enough to accrue 1.1 WAR.1\nThrough August 2023, Solano has shown some offensive improvement. He\u0026rsquo;s hitting .288 with an OPS+ of 113 across 115 games. He has 30 RBI, so it\u0026rsquo;s likely he\u0026rsquo;ll barely eclipse his total from 2021 (though he\u0026rsquo;ll also play in more games.) He\u0026rsquo;s walking a bit more this year—just shy of 10% of the time compared to 7.3% in 2021—but none of these numbers clearly address why he seems so much better this year.2 Besides, his WAR so far this year is just a slightly-improved 1.3.\nHit Quality\nTwo numbers jumped out on Solano\u0026rsquo;s advanced batting line: His BABIP3, and his Hard Hit percentage.4 This year he\u0026rsquo;s hitting over 50 points higher on balls in play compared to 2021 (.377 versus .321). And 44.4% of his batted balls have been \u0026ldquo;hard hits\u0026rdquo; this year compared to 36.6% in 2021. These statistics often have positive correlation: A ball hit harder is more likely to find its way past the defense. This effect is exaggerated by his increased percentage of line drives this year: 35% compared to 28% in 2021. Line drives are the hardest balls to defend against because, when hit hard, an infielder has to be in precisely the right place to make the play otherwise it\u0026rsquo;s likely going to fall in the outfield short of where the outfielders are positioned.\nThese numbers give one reason for my improved judgement of Solano. Hitting a ball harder on a line is something noticeable that I appreciate. Even if he isn\u0026rsquo;t getting on base significantly more frequently, when he makes contact it\u0026rsquo;s good quality and he reaches base more often.5 That\u0026rsquo;s an exciting element to his game. But it also matters when he\u0026rsquo;s getting those hits, because certain situations will stay in my memory far better.\nThe Clutch Factor\nLate-inning heroics are memorable. A key hit when the game is on the line brings frantic excitement to players and fans alike. It sticks with you for days, weeks, months after.\nIs this why Donnie is back in my favor?\nAt first glance the numbers don\u0026rsquo;t suggest this at all. Solano\u0026rsquo;s effect on how likely his team is to win—his Win Probability Added or WPA—is remarkably similar between these two years. In 2021 he had a WPA of 0.8, meaning all his batting events contributed an increased chance of winning 0.8 games across the season. He\u0026rsquo;s bumped his numbers up this year to get to an even 1.0, but that\u0026rsquo;s a minimal difference. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear that he\u0026rsquo;s managed to affect games anymore this year than in 2021. So, we have to look at specific situations.\nFirst, we can consider the Clutch factor. This gives us a sense of how much of his WPA is due to high-leverage situations—being clutch in key moments—and how much is from grinding out the basics, being just a little better than average. His Clutch factor of 0.7 this year gives us a good indicator that his WPA has accumulated during important moments, while in 2021 it was just 0.2.\nAnother tool is the RE24 stat, which compares how many runs are expected to score before and after he goes to hit. By adding these differences, we get a sense of whether he, on average, leaves a team in a better or worse offensive situation. In 2021 his RE24 was 0.5, meaning across the entire season his net effect was an increase of 0.5 expected runs above average. So far in 2023 it\u0026rsquo;s a superb 11.2. It seems that Solano gets hits that provide opportunity and momentum for the rest of the lineup.\nUsing Stathead, we can pull the data we need to make a clear assessment of Solano\u0026rsquo;s performance in potential run-scoring situations. Here are the results for all his plate appearances with runners in scoring position from 2021 and 2023. Below the big breakdown table is a summary of his statistics. Let\u0026rsquo;s compare, shall we?\nG PA R AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip WPA LI RE24 58 80 21 68 17 3 0 0 21 6 2 11 1 1 4 2 3 .250 .304 .294 .598 .279 -0.6 1.71 -3 2021 with RISP\nG PA R AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip WPA LI RE24 66 90 24 67 24 4 0 2 24 18 1 22 4 0 1 0 1 .358 .511 .507 1.019 .500 1.4 1.96 2023 with RISP\nThose 2023 numbers look bigger. He gets a hit over 10% more often with runners in scoring position this year than in 2021, and gets on base over 20% more often. When he puts the ball in play in these situations he gets a hit 50% of the time in 2023 compared to about 28% in 2021. His WPA when runners are in scoring position this year is 1.4, which thoroughly embarrasses his -0.6 clip in 2021.\nDonnie Barrels is making good contact when it matters this year, and it\u0026rsquo;s been paying off.\nLooking only at late-game performance with runners in scoring position—in the 7th inning or after—we get a slight regression in his basic stats but the trends still hold. His WPA in these situations is 0.9, again much higher than the detrimental -0.2 in 2021. With the game on the line Solano has made a difference, verifying my gut check on the value he\u0026rsquo;s added to the Twins versus the opportunities he took away while with the Giants. Key moments stick with sports fans, both the successes and failures. My anecdotal feelings do happen to match reality this time.\nSeasonal Context\nThere\u0026rsquo;s one more factor to address. The 2023 Minnesota Twins are a far cry from the unexpected success of the 2021 Giants. I was swept up in the excitement of their 107 win-season two years ago as they shocked the world, and Los Angeles in particular, to win the NL West division.\nMeanwhile the Twins are treading water, leading the Comedy Central division by simply having a winning record. If they win more than 85 games I\u0026rsquo;ll be shocked.\nOn an electric team of veterans, six of whom accumulated at least 2 WAR, Solano spent 2021 riding their coattails by getting hits in low-leverage situations. He had the eighth-best WPA on the team, and among qualified hitters he had the worst OPS+ in the lineup. His slightly-above-average season, mostly spent playing 2nd base, had no hope of standing out against the resurgence of Brandon Crawford at shortstop.\nWith a slight boost in performance while on a mediocre team, he now appears to be an absolute gem. He\u0026rsquo;s the third-best qualified hitter on the Twins by OPS+6 and is second in both WPA and Clutch factor. He leads the team in RE24. The guy is making things happen for the Twins and it\u0026rsquo;s been fun to watch.\nI briefly noted above that Donovan\u0026rsquo;s strikeout rate is 6% worse this year than in 2021. Perhaps he\u0026rsquo;s swinging a bit harder, improving that hard-hit percentage, and missing pitches slightly more frequently. Yet he\u0026rsquo;s not letting it affect his ability to get hits with runners on. And even though he\u0026rsquo;s striking out 22.5% of the time, he\u0026rsquo;s still below the league\u0026rsquo;s average rate of 23.1%, and well below the Twins\u0026rsquo; rate of 27.1%. In fact, only two qualified hitters on the Twins have struck out less frequently than Solano.7 This strikeout increase doesn\u0026rsquo;t register because he had room to get worse without it being notable. If a change in approach made him slightly more prone to strikeouts while boosting his other hitting abilities to push them above average, that\u0026rsquo;s a solid tradeoff.\nA Final Hope\nI have no clue if Solano has changed his approach to the plate8 or otherwise improved his confidence, but it\u0026rsquo;s been clear to my heart—and now it\u0026rsquo;s proven to my head—that he is squaring up the ball in intense situations. His at-bats are solid and he doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem fazed by late-inning drama. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s the wisdom of age or the change of scenery. He certainly must feel less pressure trying to perform for this Minnesota team than he did in the whirlwind that was 2021 in San Francisco. Regardless of what caused this change, I\u0026rsquo;m happy he\u0026rsquo;s doing it for my team. All I can hope is that we survive long enough to actually get a playoff win. Solano could be the one to make it happen.\nHis performance was worth 1.1 wins for the Giants above an \u0026ldquo;average\u0026rdquo; replacement player, meaning a player who\u0026rsquo;s just good enough to eke out a living in MLB. WAR is also a \u0026ldquo;counting\u0026rdquo; stat that accumulates throughout the season (or, if you have a slump, can tumble back down.)\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe can acknowledge the potential bias of a lifelong Twins fan, but I\u0026rsquo;m not a real \u0026ldquo;homer\u0026rdquo;. I love the team, but am critical of its players. The real bias is that I watched dozens of Giants games in person in 2021, while I\u0026rsquo;ve watched maybe a dozen Twins games in full this year on TV, instead mainly watching highlights. That can certainly skew perspective.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nBatting Average on Balls in Play. Basically, if he actually manages to make contact with the ball so that it could be a hit, how often does it become a hit?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHow often does he hit a ball at least 95 MPH off the bat.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI will note he\u0026rsquo;s also striking out 6% more this year than in 2021. We\u0026rsquo;ll address that in a bit.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAlso, every qualified hitter worse than him on the Twins has an OPS+ below 100, meaning they\u0026rsquo;re hitting below league average. To be fair, the Twins have had a revolving door of high-caliber prospects joining the team since mid-summer who have been killing the ball. If we ignore qualified status, he\u0026rsquo;s eighth-best on the team.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nEven if you include unqualified hitters, there are only 4 Twins hitters who strike out less frequently.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nA day after I wrote this entire draft, The Athletic came out with this article explaining how the Twins hitters have become more aggressive earlier in the count partway through the season. It provides at least part of the explanation for what may have helped Solano in particular.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/donnie-barrels/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI fulfilled an adult dream of getting season tickets to the San Francisco Giants in 2021. I became familiar with this new team and their players, and something about Donovan Solano—Donnie Barrels to his friends—rubbed me the wrong way. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if it was how he carried himself at second base, or his inconsistent hitting on a team that won 107 games, but I was pretty down on him all year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter spending 2022 with the Cincinnati Reds, he signed with the Twins in February this year. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t bullish on this acquisition, but with the season nearing its end I\u0026rsquo;m \u003cem\u003eall in\u003c/em\u003e on Donnie. He\u0026rsquo;s playing a good-enough first base and seems like he\u0026rsquo;s always the one with clutch hits. However, I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to rely on the eye test. I have the tools to determine whether my baseball opinions are correct.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Donnie Barrels"},{"content":"Sixteen months after placing my order, I was delighted to see my Playdate arrive this past week. While I haven\u0026rsquo;t spent much time with it, everyone I\u0026rsquo;ve shown it to has been absolutely charmed by it\u0026rsquo;s fun design. Who doesn\u0026rsquo;t like spinning a crank as part of a game?\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a novelty that likely won\u0026rsquo;t see be used as often as I wish I had the time for, but I am happy to have a small diversion available with a growing set of games. The design is fun and fresh, with a whimsy that perfectly fits my aesthetic. It makes you smile when you see it, and I can see having fun with it on trips when I want to do something other than read. It\u0026rsquo;s not for everyone—it\u0026rsquo;s expensive for what it is on paper—but I recommend checking it out if you have the means.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/playdate-by-panic/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSixteen months after placing my order, I was delighted to see my Playdate arrive this past week. While I haven\u0026rsquo;t spent much time with it, everyone I\u0026rsquo;ve shown it to has been absolutely charmed by it\u0026rsquo;s fun design. Who doesn\u0026rsquo;t like spinning a crank as part of a game?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s a novelty that likely won\u0026rsquo;t see be used as often as I wish I had the time for, but I am happy to have a small diversion available with a growing set of games. The design is fun and fresh, with a whimsy that perfectly fits my aesthetic. It makes you smile when you see it, and I can see having fun with it on trips when I want to do something other than read. It\u0026rsquo;s not for everyone—it\u0026rsquo;s expensive for what it is on paper—but I recommend checking it out if you have the means.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Playdate by Panic"},{"content":"When I first learned about the QUERY function in Google Sheets, I was brought back to the surprisingly large amount of discourse I\u0026rsquo;ve read regarding spreadsheets and databases, the best of which is contained in Matt Parker\u0026rsquo;s book Humble Pi. In short, the backbone of spreadsheet software is not designed to let it perform like a database. But because spreadsheets are more explicable, visual, and interactive, businesses and researchers and all other sorts of folk force them into that bucket.\nMeta-research has since come out that shows the profound number of accounting and data-reporting errors that proliferate due to the use of spreadsheets as databases. Some of this comes from data type interpretation—what if your gene name is interpreted as a date or currency?—and others come from inherent limitations to how data can be stored and related to each other.\nAll this well-meaning discussion has tried to guide certain disciplines to take greater care in how they process, store, and access their data. It\u0026rsquo;s a noble cause, but the humble QUERY function even gets me—someone who perhaps knows better—to forego robust solutions in favor of convenience. So it goes with technology.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/spreadsheets-and-queries/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhen I first learned about the \u003ccode\u003eQUERY\u003c/code\u003e function in Google Sheets, I was brought back to the surprisingly large amount of discourse I\u0026rsquo;ve read regarding spreadsheets and databases, the best of which is contained in Matt Parker\u0026rsquo;s book \u003cem\u003eHumble Pi\u003c/em\u003e. In short, the backbone of spreadsheet software is not designed to let it perform like a database. But because spreadsheets are more explicable, visual, and interactive, businesses and researchers and all other sorts of folk force them into that bucket.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Spreadsheets and Queries"},{"content":"I fainted for the first time last week from dehydration. I have the scabs on my left knuckle and forehead to show for it, and the memory of losing a hold on my balance and waking up to the impact of concrete.\nIn short, I let myself get dangerously dehydrated during a full day of baseball (or more likely leading up to it at which point it was too late to rehydrate) to the point that my muscles were beginning to cramp while playing during the last hour. Instead of stopping off at a grocery store or gas station to get a snack and sports drink, I opted to make the 40 minute drive home without any water in the car.\nAfter fighing off cramps in stop-and-go traffic I got out of my car and immediately had a horrible cramp in my right hamstring. I\u0026rsquo;ve had these for all my life, so I thought that would be the worst of it. After working through it I started walking back home only to lose all sense of control and fell to the ground ten feet away from my car.\nLuckily the knock on my head was minimal and everything looked worse than it was. I recovered quickly and called a friend to help, and have since made a point to track how much water I drink and also augment with electrolyte beverages. But it was a scary moment that was both avoidable and could have resulted in awful injury. As we head into the tail end of summer (or in the Bay Area, our real summer) make sure you have water on hand and some salty snacks to help retain what you drink. Pay attention to how you\u0026rsquo;re sweating and how your body feels, and don\u0026rsquo;t be too stubborn to rest. As someone with a track record of medical hubris, this experience brought me down a notch. It\u0026rsquo;s better to get out in front of that.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-psa-on-staying-hydrated/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI fainted for the first time last week from dehydration. I have the scabs on my left knuckle and forehead to show for it, and the memory of losing a hold on my balance and waking up to the impact of concrete.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A PSA On Staying Hydrated"},{"content":"Thanks to Mikhail for posing this problem.\nOn average, how many rolls would it take to see every face on a particular die?\nConsider a die with $n$ sides. To answer this question, we\u0026rsquo;ll want to break this problem down into $n$ smaller problems, each of which will be solved in the same manner.\nSpecifically, take a time in this process where we still need to see $k$ sides. Let the expected number of rolls it\u0026rsquo;ll take to see a unique side in this situation be $E_k$. With probability $\\frac{k}{n}$ we will see a new side on the next roll, and with probability $\\frac{n-k}{n}$ we will see a repeat face on the next roll. In the first situation, we just take 1 roll. In the second situation, we take 1 roll plus an additional $E_k$ rolls because rolling a die is independent and memoryless—no roll changes the outcome of future rolls.\nSo, we can write an equation for our expected value:\n$$ E_k = \\frac kn\\cdot 1 + \\frac{n-k}{n}\\left(1 + E_k\\right). $$\nSolving for $E_k$ gives us an expected value of $\\frac nk$. So in each stage we expect it to take $\\frac nk$ rolls to see one of the $k$ faces we have not yet rolled.\nSince we want this to happen for all values of $k$ from $1$ to $n$, we add this up to get our total expected number of rolls.\n$$ \\sum_{k=1}^n E_k = \\sum_{k=1}^n \\frac nk $$\nIn the case that Mikhail sent me, he was interested in $n = 20$. This gives us\n$$ \\sum_{k=1}^{20}\\frac{20}{k}, $$\nwhich is barely less than 72.\nYou can easily calculate by hand that for $n=6$ the expected number of rolls is 14.7.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/rolling-every-number-on-a-die/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThanks to Mikhail for posing this problem.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn average, how many rolls would it take to see every face on a particular die?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rolling Every Number on a Die"},{"content":"I wrote about Joel Haver some time ago. He has a second channel, Joel Talks About Movies, which is focused on his ideas about movies and life rather than actual short films he produces for his main channel.\nHis most recent video on that second channel, a little rain never hurt anybody, was a lovely take on an idea I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to embody as I grow older. The thesis—which operates as both a direct idea and a metaphor—is to stop worrying about getting wet from the rain. If you get caught in some rain, the worst thing that happens is you get wet and you\u0026rsquo;ll be dry sometime later.\nWhy not have the same outlook on taking chances in life?\nJoel has a particular style of rambling that I find engaging and endearing, so I recommend watching the video and seeing if it resonates. He exudes a calm demeanor and is always working towards enjoying life, whatever that life is. It\u0026rsquo;s fantastic.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-little-rain-never-hurt-anyone-joel-haver/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/joel-haver/\"\u003ewrote about\u003c/a\u003e Joel Haver some time ago. He has a second channel, \u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/@joeltalksaboutmovies\"\u003eJoel Talks About Movies\u003c/a\u003e, which is focused on his ideas about movies and life rather than actual short films he produces for his main channel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis most recent video on that second channel, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/zAvrAZVINns\"\u003ea little rain never hurt anybody\u003c/a\u003e, was a lovely take on an idea I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to embody as I grow older. The thesis—which operates as both a direct idea and a metaphor—is to stop worrying about getting wet from the rain. If you get caught in some rain, the worst thing that happens is you get wet and you\u0026rsquo;ll be dry sometime later.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Little Rain Never Hurt Anyone - Joel Haver"},{"content":"I went with a large group to the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco to see a pre-release screening of Barbie. It was an official event complete with props and an opening presenter who shared their adoration for the famous doll. There was a palpable buzz among the groups of people dressed up, an excitement that was joyful with no undertone of negative tension that goes along with, say, a screening of a new Star Wars movie.1 At the end of the movie, I was excited to see it again with Erin.\nWhile waiting for the movie to begin, there was plenty of idle chatter with the three guys I was sitting next to. The realization I had is that the concept of Barbie seemed analogous to The LEGO Movie, except with the expectation that there would be more of a true-to-life message this time around. My point in making that connection is that I found The LEGO Movie absolutely delightful in a way that kept me smiling. I hoped that Barbie would be similarly charming and entertaining, based on the bits and bobs I\u0026rsquo;d picked up on over the last few weeks.\nIt delivered.\nPerhaps the best aspect of this movie was its commitment to its conceit. First, we have an idealized world of dolls that immediately juxtaposes itself against the real-world culture of a male-driven society. The concision of various Barbie monologues, and the directness and insightfulness of each line, continued to masterfully force this point. One could argue that it was on the nose and repetetive2 but I\u0026rsquo;d say that\u0026rsquo;s the entire point. There\u0026rsquo;s no need to be subtle or coy about the state of the world. I feel it\u0026rsquo;s entirely missing the point of the movie—women are always caught in a Catch 22 created by men—to complain that it\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;too obvious\u0026rdquo;. If it were more subtle, folks would just complain that they\u0026rsquo;re trying to make a girl\u0026rsquo;s toy too intellectual. A triumph of this movie is that it takes a strong, direct stance on the absurdities that women have to face, and throws it in your face visually and audibly.\nHowever, there is a second level of commitment that holds this movie together: it\u0026rsquo;s a world of dolls. This movie finds a balance of being serious, without being self-indulgent to the point that the absurdity of the concept is ignored. We have cartoon physics while in Barbieland, modes of travel that harken back to Elf, and an overall plot that one must simply accept as a vehicle to make a point. It\u0026rsquo;s a modern fantasy that holds itself out as a metaphor, while also directly hitting you over the head with an explanation of that metaphor, all while letting you have fun during dance–fights. If it didn\u0026rsquo;t allow each of those elements to be an equal priority, this movie would have fallen flat. Instead they found a balance and made something meaningful and rewatchable.\nI\u0026rsquo;m surprised by how strongly I feel about this movie. Maybe it was seeing it with the right group of people in the right circumstances. Certainly part of it was deciding that my goal was to be delighted, and it\u0026rsquo;s hard to not feel simply jazzed by each impeccable performance of the various Barbies and Kens. They began the movie with a particular tone that let the audience know Hey, you\u0026rsquo;re going to have some fun tonight, while still allowing space to transition into a thoughtful exploration of how Barbie is interpreted.\nWhat I mean to say is, I don\u0026rsquo;t think anyone was at risk of breaking out into a fight for any reason.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nTwo people from our group, one man and one woman, had this complaint.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/barbie-the-movie/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI went with a large group to the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco to see a pre-release screening of \u003cem\u003eBarbie\u003c/em\u003e. It was an official event complete with props and an opening presenter who shared their adoration for the famous doll. There was a palpable buzz among the groups of people dressed up, an excitement that was joyful with no undertone of negative tension that goes along with, say, a screening of a new \u003cem\u003eStar Wars\u003c/em\u003e movie.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e At the end of the movie, I was excited to see it again with Erin.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Barbie, The Movie"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve finally decided to go back to using iA Writer on my iPad. This has several knock-on effects, with the most notable being that my drafts will all be synced via iCloud.\nI say \u0026ldquo;drafts\u0026rdquo; because my plan is still to use Dropbox as long-term storage. I now have a monthly reminder to copy completed blog posts over to the proper spot in Dropbox1 and will only use iCloud for in-progress work.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll continue checking iA Writer\u0026rsquo;s stability with Dropbox. However, I\u0026rsquo;m content to use an app I thoroughly enjoy for a small bugaboo of a process change. Plus, the Wordpress integration is a true integration, rather than a Javascript-based set of actions that amounts to a copy-paste.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure there\u0026rsquo;s some automation to do this, but I don\u0026rsquo;t really care enough for the scale at which I work.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/going-back-to-ia-writer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve finally decided to go back to using iA Writer on my iPad. This has several knock-on effects, with the most notable being that my drafts will all be synced via iCloud.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI say \u0026ldquo;drafts\u0026rdquo; because my plan is still to use Dropbox as long-term storage. I now have a monthly reminder to copy completed blog posts over to the proper spot in Dropbox\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and will only use iCloud for in-progress work.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Going Back to iA Writer"},{"content":"An uncle on my dad\u0026rsquo;s side has been a guitarist on the side for years. We don\u0026rsquo;t talk about it too often, but now that he\u0026rsquo;s getting older and preferring instruments with better ergonomics, he offered me a Stratocaster that he really enjoyed but wasn\u0026rsquo;t playing anymore. I happily took him up on the offer.\nIt plays beautifully, with a well-maintained neck that feels comfortable and fast. However, some of the metal hardware has begun rusting.1 My plan is to use this as a first step in understanding how to maintain my guitars. Until now, I\u0026rsquo;ve changed the strings and left further setup to professionals. They do an exceptional job, but you pay for it. Considering this guitar was free, it seems appropriate to determine what I can learn to do for free.\nMaintaining your own tools both helps you use them better, and provides a better sense of ownership over them. The first experience with this I can remember is oiling up my baseball gloves each year. It\u0026rsquo;s a small task, but a necessary one to extend the lifespan of the leather. More recently, it was working with computers and operating systems, gaining comfort with technology and understanding how far I\u0026rsquo;m willing to go to get the result I want. I plan to develop a sense of those boundaries with guitars as well, particularly electrics because they\u0026rsquo;re sturdier and simpler than acoustics.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll write up something once I complete the process, with some before and after pictures. I figure the worst that could happen is I mess it up slightly and end up bringing it in to a shop, but if I can at least manage cleaning it, the cost of anything else is reduced.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know how long he had this guitar, but it was definitely purchased used. My guess is that dealing with this aging hardware simply wasn\u0026rsquo;t a high priority.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/starting-on-guitar-maintenance/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAn uncle on my dad\u0026rsquo;s side has been a guitarist on the side for years. We don\u0026rsquo;t talk about it too often, but now that he\u0026rsquo;s getting older and preferring instruments with better ergonomics, he offered me a Stratocaster that he really enjoyed but wasn\u0026rsquo;t playing anymore. I happily took him up on the offer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt plays beautifully, with a well-maintained neck that feels comfortable and fast. However, some of the metal hardware has begun rusting.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e My plan is to use this as a first step in understanding how to maintain my guitars. Until now, I\u0026rsquo;ve changed the strings and left further setup to professionals. They do an exceptional job, but you pay for it. Considering this guitar was free, it seems appropriate to determine what I can learn to do for free.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Starting on Guitar Maintenance"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve listened to Matt Whitman\u0026rsquo;s Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast since it began in October 2019. The premise of the show is straightforward: Discuss the Bible every weekday for about 10 minutes. However, this show is rather special in its approach and is worth your time to check out.\nThe beauty of this show is that it takes the format of something like Dan Carlin\u0026rsquo;s Hardcore History but breaks it up into daily, digestible pieces that naturally build on each other. I like the pedagogy of this, and Matt does an exceptional job using this particular medium and episode format to provide entertaining through-lines in the narrative. However, like Hardcore History, the depth of content is the true reason to check this show out.\nMatt\u0026rsquo;s academic background prior to attending seminary was as a history professor. He has a strong understanding of how history weaves a narrative, how to interpret documents and alternative sources of information, and additionally has a straightforward way of explaining literary elements. Yet, he doesn\u0026rsquo;t come to this project as a pure expert. He does his research for each episode, and intentionally moves slowly through certain verses to make sure he groks everything that is going on and communicates it clearly.\nPlus, his time as a pastor (and a dad) shows. He rather quickly found a useful format of shaggy dog story followed by a \u0026ldquo;likewise…\u0026rdquo;\nThe show began by diving into the book of Matthew. I don\u0026rsquo;t think Matt knew exactly what he was getting into, nor how long \u0026ldquo;finishing\u0026rdquo; the book would take. It ended up taking just a bit over 3 years and exactly 800 episodes, deliberately making our way through that book, looking back into the Old Testament and extra-biblical resources as needed. The result is fantastic, but may be too much of a commitment for a new listener.\nAnticipating this to some extent, he started out 2023 by spending 1 episode on each book of the Bible. That took only about 3 months, and is a great way to get into Matt\u0026rsquo;s style. Of course those episodes are dense by nature, but he does a great job pointing out how they connect to each other in a way I\u0026rsquo;d never learned.\nHis most recent series is on the book of Esther. This is a book I knew absolutely nothing about (and given three similarly-named women, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been able to tell you which was actually a book of the Bible.) This is where Matt began fully flexing his history and literary muscles. He spent the first couple months just diving into the background information of the Jewish people that leads us to the status of Persia in the book as we get started. It was an excellent walkthrough that I thoroughly enjoyed, but is not required for diving into Esther itself.\nI admire how thoughtful Matt is while handling the project. He cares immensely about doing this right, but also about staying true to the premise of it being digestible, daily, and around 10 minutes. Given how low of a barrier to entry it presents, I recommend jumping into whichever of the three series above most interests you—he titles the episodes and numbers them in a way that makes it all easy to navigate—and see what you think.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/ten-minute-bible-hour-podcast/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve listened to Matt Whitman\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://www.thetmbh.com/gettmbhpodcast\"\u003eTen Minute Bible Hour Podcast\u003c/a\u003e since it began in October 2019. The premise of the show is straightforward: Discuss the Bible every weekday for about 10 minutes. However, this show is rather special in its approach and is worth your time to check out.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast"},{"content":"Last week I released Episode 257 of Comical Start, Pockets of Conversation. Its publish date is just a few days after the 5th year anniversary of our first episode, Multiverse. Grant was unable to record with me, so here is a lightly-edited transcript1 of the 25 minute monologue that I did off the dome.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re going to be doing something a little different this week.\nIntro Guitar Music\nSo, on June 19th, 2018, we released the first episode of this podcast, which we now very deliberately tell people not to go listen to, if they ever come back and listen to this show, because it\u0026rsquo;s not very good. Today, as I record, is June 20th, 2023. So just yesterday was the five year anniversary of Comical Start\u0026rsquo;s beginning. But here\u0026rsquo;s the thing: Grant isn\u0026rsquo;t here right now.\nWe did our darndest to get out ahead of what we knew was going to be a hectic summer. We really tried to be multiple episodes ahead, so timelines didn\u0026rsquo;t match up with what was going on in real life. I always had at least one episode in my back pocket for the last month or so, but events out of our control caught up to us. And now here I am on a Tuesday needing to release an episode on Thursday, and due to no fault of his own, Grant is not here.\nAnd that\u0026rsquo;s kinda weird.\nThis is episode 257, which is wild. We\u0026rsquo;ve had a large number of episodes, all of which Grant has been in attendance for, whether he showed up on time or more frequently just a few minutes late. He\u0026rsquo;s always been here. And that\u0026rsquo;s been cool. And I don\u0026rsquo;t really know what I\u0026rsquo;m gonna be saying on this episode. It certainly won\u0026rsquo;t be forty-five minutes because no one can handle that. But I wanted to take a step back and do something that I never really do on this show, which is actually give Grant some credit.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll probably do that by just sort of going chronologically through time, but you know Grant deserves this, especially with everything going on. It\u0026rsquo;s a very busy time, it\u0026rsquo;s a very stressful time. But with everything going on Grant deserves to not be the butt of my jokes or have to play a particular kind of character in the ways that we do on this show for at least a week. That\u0026rsquo;s probably good for him and good for me.\nSo yes, five years ago we started recording this show. Our first recording was very bad because I wasn\u0026rsquo;t really good at starting something like this from scratch and Grant had no idea what he was doing. Neither of us really knew what the show was going to be. All I knew was that I had pitched a concept to him the summer right after my senior year of college, right after both of our senior years of college. I just had this idea for a show based on some potential artwork I had made for OHAC when I was trying to make a new icon for it. I had a couple different ideas. We went one direction. I had this one left over and it just came into my mind that I wanted this show called Comical Start where the only idea that I had was we surprise each other with newspaper comics. That was it.\nRight after college Grant and I started hanging out again during the summer. You know we had gone to different colleges, we didn\u0026rsquo;t really see much of each other during college, and you know I reached back out, we were hanging out one day, having a good time, and I just pitched this idea to him and he was gracious enough to opt into it. Not knowing what he was getting into, just knowing that, hey, I have this idea for a project.\nThis has been the kind of thing that our group of friends had always been good at is just someone has an idea, the people around them kind of roll with it. We just sort of figure out how to make it work, whether it\u0026rsquo;s incredibly ambitious or dumb or perfectly reasonable and then we just sort of did it as best we could. But here\u0026rsquo;s the thing, most of these projects were like school projects or little videos. They were like concrete things with a specific end goal and a deadline. The issue with a podcast is, I mean, we\u0026rsquo;re not making like an investigative journalism podcast here. We are just like chatting every week. That\u0026rsquo;s the sort of show I\u0026rsquo;ve listened to, so it\u0026rsquo;s the only kind of podcast I knew how to attempt to make at least, is something that didn\u0026rsquo;t have a clear end in sight.\nAnd it turns out this one didn\u0026rsquo;t either.\nWe had a rocky start because we didn\u0026rsquo;t really know how often we wanted to record, or what would be doable. So we released, like I said, the first episode on June 19. You know, we were kind of spotty a little bit throughout there. We had, you know, there is an episode August. In July and a couple in August—a couple of those have been deleted. That\u0026rsquo;s been previously discussed. So yeah, August 16, 2018 we did one. It was around then that I was then driving out to San Diego to move there. And August 30th is when our current streak begins. From August 30, 2018 until this week Grant and I have recorded and released an episode of Comical Start every single week for that entire time. Holidays, whatever we we made it work. We always recorded ahead, we made sure that we had enough going on in our like backlog that we would make it through all of those moments.\nWhy did we decide to do that instead of, you know, taking breaks sometimes? I don\u0026rsquo;t know it It just kind of felt like the right thing to do. I think the first year we probably just sort of talked about it and decided, hey, this isn\u0026rsquo;t that big of a deal. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t take us that long and we enjoy doing it. Probably not good at it, but we enjoy it. And so let\u0026rsquo;s just roll with it. Let\u0026rsquo;s just keep trying to push these episodes out and not try and take breaks or anything. It\u0026rsquo;s just a thing that we do now. And so it has been.\nWe had a handful of guests. I think actually we\u0026rsquo;ve only had two guests a handful of times. But that\u0026rsquo;s been fun as well whenever that\u0026rsquo;s happened. Due to the timing of this, I thought about, oh, maybe I should record an episode with Erin or Jack or just someone who I knew would be willing to just hop in and do this. But the timing doesn\u0026rsquo;t work for that either. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t confirm with Grant until about an hour ago that we would need to be doing this, and tomorrow morning I head out with Erin to go drive across the country to Minnesota. And there\u0026rsquo;s no time in there to try and record something that isn\u0026rsquo;t an assault on people\u0026rsquo;s ears just in terms of the audio quality, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t think that was the approach. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t gonna try and like edit and release an episode while in the car, that seemed problematic.\nAnd so I went to this idea of, well let\u0026rsquo;s just kind of recap what\u0026rsquo;s going on and also give Grant his due. So in the spirit of this kind of show, I\u0026rsquo;ve been talking for eight minutes about basically nothing. From the very start I said, \u0026ldquo;Hey, Grant deserves something nice.\u0026rdquo; We haven\u0026rsquo;t quite gotten there. I\u0026rsquo;ve just sort of recapped the history of the show. My apologies. So let\u0026rsquo;s get down to it.\nGrant and I knew each other from high school. We were both in band together. We had a similar group of friends that, you know, his… he knew people that I knew from middle school. He happened to go to a different middle school, but I knew these people from middle school. We were both in band in high school. We all just sort of eventually glommed into the same rough group of friends.\nAnd especially later on in high school, when certain parts of the friend groups were getting… I don\u0026rsquo;t know, just there was just small little bits and pieces that made certain parts of the friend group a little harder to maintain I guess. That\u0026rsquo;s not even the right way to say it, but Grant and I sort of naturally glommed on to each other at certain points. We just kind of felt like we had a similar vibe about ourselves, I think.\nWe would go play tennis late into the evening in the summers. There\u0026rsquo;s a park kind of near his house that wasn\u0026rsquo;t too far for me either, and you could just control the lights. I think they didn\u0026rsquo;t shut off to well after 10 so you just turn them on and play for a while and that was great. There\u0026rsquo;s almost never anybody there, we just play tennis. Neither of us were particularly good but it was fun. And then one of us might be driving the other, and we just kind of end up chatting for a while. Of after we went out to dinner with some friends, we might just end up chatting for a while and I still remember those conversations. The details are unimportant but I remember them.\nI remember having them and that being such a super nice solidification of our friendship. And it\u0026rsquo;s still the kind of way that I best relate to people, is meeting people in a group but then really, for lack of a better term, locking it down in these one-to-one conversations that sort of happen naturally because you just sort of are comfortable with each other and you just start chatting about whatever. It was a nice feeling.\nAnd Grant just has a very like, you know, a very, a very clear mind that it\u0026rsquo;s no surprise that he has gone into a sciency career, and that he cares about the things that he cares about, and he\u0026rsquo;s very good at it. As much as I make fun of him for his general communication, the genesis of the Grant story that rambles on and on with a very little point, without a clear through line and not even in the service of a final punchline—much like this current episode—you know Grant still, when you\u0026rsquo;re just talking to him, isvery easy to talk to. He has just a very good way of approaching conversation that I find just very endearing, very thoughtful, very helpful, and just nice.\nAnd so that was just kind of in my mind. And I didn\u0026rsquo;t talk to Grant for like a year and a half. Maybe we met up once or twice in the summers between when I was working at camp or whatever. I honestly can\u0026rsquo;t remember. And then I think it was my sophomore year of college at some point that I went down to where he was going to college, where a couple of our friends were going to college, and stayed overnight with them. We just had a really dumb weekend in this small town in Iowa. Just not really doing anything in particular other than having fun in the dead of winter in this small town. And it was just fun.\nLook, that\u0026rsquo;s all it came down to. Yes I have my friends in college that are also from a similar group of friends from elementary school, middle school, and high school, but I get to maintain this connection here. That was great. And then college continues on. Same kind of deal.\nAnd then after college I decided to reach out to Grant again, among other people. Grant and I again just have one of those days where we just… we played some tennis ,we just kind of drove around, we probably got lunch. We just kind of hung out like it was just a cool day being with a friend in a way that just felt natural.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s something about that that I find with pretty much all of my friends. The common denominator with all of them is we try to maintain contact. Grant and I have a built-in way of doing that. That\u0026rsquo;s for the future. So do Jack and Mikhail and I with OHAC, but that\u0026rsquo;s less frequent, but we have these. We built up these structures to try stay in contact, but it\u0026rsquo;s not perfect. A lot of my friends, most of my friends, I don\u0026rsquo;t have that with, and yet you can just sort of like pick back up at any point. It\u0026rsquo;s not like hard feelings, \u0026ldquo;Ooh, why didn\u0026rsquo;t you talk to me for the last three months?\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s just, well, we got busy, we didn\u0026rsquo;t talk for three months, and now we\u0026rsquo;re talking, and everyone\u0026rsquo;s cool, and we just like pick it back up. What\u0026rsquo;s new? Cool. I don\u0026rsquo;t know, there\u0026rsquo;s something very natural about it.\nAnd feeling that again with Grant, it was just kind of knowing his personality, that he is a little bit more outgoing, a little bit goofier than certain of my other friends, and yet also clearly reliable enough to pitch the idea of a podcast… It just seemed like a natural thing to ask him to to try out with me. And so we did. And it\u0026rsquo;s gone up and down. I mean, not up and down. We\u0026rsquo;ve had episodes that suck. We\u0026rsquo;ve had episodes that we think are probably hilarious and no one else does. Episodes that are a bit more serious. Episodes that are a bit more silly. We just find ways to entertain ourselves, to talk about things that we find engaging. And we just try and capture these pockets of conversation that I think to us feel very natural.\nNo matter what, our brains definitely put on a bit of a little performance mode once we each click record, because it\u0026rsquo;s impossible not to. I sit here and I stare at the recording details. And we have our things in front of us, like it is different than just talking. But the difference is more in the subject matter, in the details—as we know, Grant can be rather coy about what goes on in his life in a way that I just kind of choose not to. And that\u0026rsquo;s totally fair on both ends. So the subject matter, the details, will adjust if we\u0026rsquo;re just talking on the phone or we keep talking for a while after we\u0026rsquo;re done actually recording.\nBut I think the how we talk is really not that different from how it normally is, regardless of whether we\u0026rsquo;re recording a show. Grant will put on a bit more of a character, be more likely to joke that it\u0026rsquo;s my show and all that sort of stuff. And I will also lean into things in my own way, but overall I think that it\u0026rsquo;s a fun way to capture the kinds of conversations we enjoy having.\nWhile I don\u0026rsquo;t subscribe to the idea that everything should just be recorded, you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t just walk around taking pictures of everything you see just because you think it\u0026rsquo;s cool, there is just something nice about audio recording that I think is a little special. it\u0026rsquo;s less intrusive, that\u0026rsquo;s one thing. Having a microphone in front of me does not affect my ability to talk to someone in the way that putting a camera in front of my eyes affects my ability to see something. So there\u0026rsquo;s a simplicity to it that I think makes it a little bit more authentic.\nThe fact that we don\u0026rsquo;t prepare more than about 45 seconds each, just enough to find a comic that we like and put it as a URL in our show document, that\u0026rsquo;s cool. When I edit, I edit to make it more listenable in terms of taking out some of our worst Umms and Ahhs, or really long pauses between ideas when we get lost, or if one of us needs to go to the bathroom or something. I do my best to make sure that it\u0026rsquo;s cleaned up. I do that for me. I do it because I like the act of editing audio. I like listening to podcasts. I like hearing about how different people whose podcasts I listen to deal with audio. I know there\u0026rsquo;s lots of excellent podcasts out there who are so dynamic that the lack of editing or audio quality in general is like part of the charm and excitement and just, you know, ethos around the whole show.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s not our deal.\nWe are not professional comedians or semi-professional comedians. You know, this really isn\u0026rsquo;t a comedy podcast. It\u0026rsquo;s just us chatting, and sometimes us chatting is not actually that exciting to listen to. Say I gotta take out some of the pauses and make sure that it fits around that 45-minute mark because we have to pay for the length of our episodes. So that\u0026rsquo;s just a practical matter. But other than that, it\u0026rsquo;s not that different from just how we talk. it just feels more genuine than it would if, let\u0026rsquo;s say, we were recording video of ourselves or something like that. It\u0026rsquo;s just a nice thing to capture.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s almost one of those things that I that I would like to do with each of my good friends, is not a weekly podcast, but just a conversation with them. If we could do it without much pressure like, this is not being released, this is the equivalent of us taking a picture together. Of course it\u0026rsquo;s a little bit more, I guess, intimate or you know, it\u0026rsquo;s different than just taking a selfie together for recollection\u0026rsquo;s purpose, but it is more meaningful. And I think that that\u0026rsquo;s almost something that I would that I would like to do with a lot of people in my life, is sit down and just have a topic of conversation. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t need to be much. It can be very innocuous, boring, but just have, even if it\u0026rsquo;s just a couple minutes, a recording of just what that kind of interaction it is like, a recording of their voice.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s something that you often hear about with people who are talking to elderly parents or grandparents or other relatives, sitting down and being able to just record a story that they want to tell. That is just so special.\nAnd the fact that Grant and I do this every single week, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it makes it less special because at this stage it\u0026rsquo;s less about the fact that we record it and release it to three people, than it is about the fact that we get to talk for at least 45 minutes, typically more, basically every single week. And no, not every one of those conversations is groundbreaking because again we\u0026rsquo;re recording it. We don\u0026rsquo;t like to just reveal every detail, and we talk in generalities at times, we talk about nothing important at times, but that\u0026rsquo;s how conversations are.\nYou know, there are people who say that they hate small talk or whatever, but not every conversation can or should be about the most groundbreaking things in your life. Talking about nothing is just as important as talking about something, I think.\nYeah, the reason I wanted to do this instead of getting a guest on, coming back to that, is that five years of doing this is wild. It\u0026rsquo;s wild that Grant continues to do it and I am very appreciative of the fact that he continues to do it because it\u0026rsquo;s fun for me. I know that it\u0026rsquo;s fun for him too, but it\u0026rsquo;s fun for me. It\u0026rsquo;s a fun thing to work on. It\u0026rsquo;s a fun opportunity to have to keep talking to him and I\u0026rsquo;m very thankful that we\u0026rsquo;ve kept doing it because it\u0026rsquo;s led to other great things.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s led to getting to visit him—only once sadly for like a day—but that was fun. And more importantly, if I had not like put myself out there and said hey, let\u0026rsquo;s maintain contact in this very specific way… Maybe we would have remained just as good of friends, and we would have found other ways to connect. That\u0026rsquo;s totally possible, but it seems a little less likely given how we both communicate.\nBut we did do this, and then he ended up as a groomsman of mine, and reading a comic during my and Erin\u0026rsquo;s wedding ceremony. Like that\u0026rsquo;s super cool. That\u0026rsquo;s very nice of him. That\u0026rsquo;s the sort of just little special thing that I love got to happen and wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have happened if it hadn\u0026rsquo;t been for us doing this in the way that we do.\nSo yeah, I think I\u0026rsquo;ll probably end it around there, I guess. I don\u0026rsquo;t know what else to say. I could just keep rambling, I\u0026rsquo;m sure, but I don\u0026rsquo;t know if Grant will actually listen to this. I\u0026rsquo;m sure he might actually listen to this. I don\u0026rsquo;t think he listens to anything we do afterward, but since he\u0026rsquo;s not here, he\u0026rsquo;ll probably be at least slightly curious what the heck I decided to do. He\u0026rsquo;ll probably notice that it\u0026rsquo;s not 45 minutes, unless I just put something on the end of this to make it 45 minutes. That would be kind of funny, but I probably won\u0026rsquo;t.\nBut yeah, all that said, Grant, I appreciate that you\u0026rsquo;ve been continuing to do this, the work that you put in to do it, even if it\u0026rsquo;s for both of us slightly minimal, and that\u0026rsquo;s why we can continue to do it. That\u0026rsquo;s totally fine with me. We\u0026rsquo;re not trying to be professionals here. It\u0026rsquo;s just a fun thing. I\u0026rsquo;m super proud that we\u0026rsquo;ve made it five years, and technically the episode release streak hasn\u0026rsquo;t ended. It\u0026rsquo;s just Grant\u0026rsquo;s co-hosting streak has ended, so that\u0026rsquo;s a bit of a bummer. But the streak in some way continues, in some ways it ends, but we\u0026rsquo;re gonna keep rolling with this. Hopefully next week we will just have a regular episode again for you. I\u0026rsquo;m sure it\u0026rsquo;ll be slightly cathartic to do so. And yeah, for the three of you who are listening, who I can like picture in my mind. Glad that you\u0026rsquo;re listening. Keep doing so. Thanks.\nOutro Guitar Music\nI used the slick program MacWhisper to get this done.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/five-years-of-comical-start/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast week I released Episode 257 of Comical Start, \u003ca href=\"https://comicalstart.buzzsprout.com/186147/13077164-pockets-of-conversation\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePockets of Conversation\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e. Its publish date is just a few days after the 5th year anniversary of our first episode, \u003ca href=\"https://comicalstart.buzzsprout.com/186147/730908-multiverse-skip-this-and-go-to-episode-10\"\u003eMultiverse\u003c/a\u003e. Grant was unable to record with me, so here is a lightly-edited transcript\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e of the 25 minute monologue that I did off the dome.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Five Years of Comical Start"},{"content":"iA Writer has previously been established as my writing app of choice. There is something about both the visual design and snappy interface the team at iA created that is just right for me. When I learned they were making a presentation editor the same week I needed to create some slides, I had to give it a try.\nI was invited to a \u0026ldquo;PowerPoint\u0026rdquo; night1 a few weeks ago, so I was suddenly thrust into a situation of making a set of slides that included something other than math lessons or sales figures. There was no style guide to start with. I opted to use Google Slides because it\u0026rsquo;s what I\u0026rsquo;m most familiar with, but wasn\u0026rsquo;t terribly happy with the result.\nThen, I saw iA Presenter while poking around Mastodon. I hopped into its open beta to see if it could provide me with something new and interesting.\niA Presenter exists in reaction to all other slide creation software. It\u0026rsquo;s designed to force you into making a visually engaging presentation, because a cluttered slide will fall apart. Its promise is that if you craft a clear message, it will handle the layout and theming. That approach is presumptuous and also entirely justified. It takes a hardline stance on what a slide presentation should be: a striking visual tool that brings the audience through a story, with vital information and transition points clearly mapped out. Slides are not a reference document. They should not be comprehensive.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s assume that this has some appeal to you. You want a simple set of slides with an image here, a few bullet points there, and a modern aesthetic that says \u0026ldquo;Hey, this is a hip young presenter who probably wears a Patagonia vest and fancy sneakers made with hemp.\u0026rdquo; I found that the process of creating a presentation using iA Presenter to be the cleanest and most straightforward experience I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had. I abhor the clicking and dragging required by standard PowerPoint-style programs. Despite my love of $\\LaTeX$, Beamer is finicky and only a good idea if you have mathematical notation. iA Presenter looked at these interactions, and opted for a streamlined approach using only text.\nYou use markdown to create slides. Anything tabbed in gets put on the slide, and everything else in the \u0026ldquo;document\u0026rdquo; is just a note that fits linearly into your presentation. This is a huge benefit over the little boxes that PowerPoint and Slides provide for adding speaker notes. You can make an entire presentation through writing a document. It\u0026rsquo;s slick and quick.\nWhat about the presentation itself? I believe iA fixed the most fundamental issue that all current tools fail at: half the time you go into \u0026ldquo;Presentation Mode\u0026rdquo;, you have absolutely no clue what will happen to your screen. What if you don\u0026rsquo;t have multiple monitors? What if you\u0026rsquo;re presenting over Zoom (or worse, an online meeting tool you haven\u0026rsquo;t used before)? Every interview I\u0026rsquo;ve been in that required some presentation, the interviewee had technical issues getting their slides to show to us over Google Meet in a way that allowed them to also see their notes. iA Presenter\u0026rsquo;s extremely straightforward solution is that the presentation is a separate window that you can resize and move wherever you need. You then share the window over Zoom, or drag it to the screen in the lecture hall. Then, it syncs the slides to the document you just wrote so the latter scrolls through your notes as you move forward in your presentation. It\u0026rsquo;s stupidly simple, and fixes so many issues I see.\nOnce your presentation is over, there are ample export options for sharing the slides with or without notes in whatever layout the audience would find preferable. They look good and are sensibly designed at all sizes. This program makes me want to find reasons to make slide decks.\nDespite all my praise, I currently have no intention of paying for iA Presenter. Its buyout price of $89 is way higher than iA Writer, and I don\u0026rsquo;t make presentations outside of work often enough to pay for a subscription. However, I highly recommend checking out the free trial to see how you enjoy both the creation process and the final result. If I do come up with reasons to use it, I will happily pay for a month of use at a time. I have no desire to use anything else to create basic presentations.\nTo wrap this all up, here is the slide deck I created with iA Presenter. I played around with different themes, but liked the bold contrast of this \u0026ldquo;New York\u0026rdquo; option for a late night presentation to a bunch of PhD students I didn\u0026rsquo;t know. I\u0026rsquo;m pretty happy with the results.\nThe details are unimportant.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/you-should-try-ia-presenter/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eiA Writer has \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/spring-2023-writing-setup/\"\u003epreviously been established\u003c/a\u003e as my writing app of choice. There is something about both the visual design and snappy interface the team at iA created that is just right for me. When I learned they were making a presentation editor the same week I needed to create some slides, I had to give it a try.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"You Should Try iA Presenter"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve had a strong interest in consumer technology for years at this point, though it mostly falls into a category of entertainment via YouTube videos and podcasts. I\u0026rsquo;m not critic, and tend not to spend much time writing about the latest and greatest in the spaces I follow. But Apple\u0026rsquo;s new Vision Pro headset is difficult to ignore.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve read, watched, and listened to many takes on Apple Vision Pro. It set the virtual reality enthusiast world on fire due to its cost, and has excited most Apple hardware enthusiasts because it exists at all. The media who had the opportunity to demo it during WWDC have uniformly positive opinions on the fit and finish of the interaction, and hesitation about its marketability.\nThe commentary I found most astute was from John Siracusa on ATP, who stated that Apple\u0026rsquo;s intention was clearly to make the best display possible. I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen this concept represented elsewhere, as most everyone is focused on how good of a headset it is in comparison to the products—Quest, Index, PSVR—that have shaped that space thus far. If you consider this headset just as an extremely portable set of displays that you can arrange however you want, it\u0026rsquo;s a better deal than getting 2 of Apple\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;consumer-level\u0026rdquo; Studio displays. Add in the fact that it\u0026rsquo;s a standalone computer itself with entertainment potential beyond a standard display, and the price feels justified.\nYet in a world of Oculus/Meta Quest headsets that cost ten percent of the Vision Pro, made with hardware reminiscent of Nintendo in that it is just powerful enough to do perform the desired functions, there is a sense of sticker shock that I find misplaced. Yes, this is an expensive headset given the nominal competitors. Yet unlike its competitors Apple does not rely on the data it gathers from its users to gain additional revenue, nor is it willing to hemorrhage money by selling the hardware at a loss so it can establish a product category. Apple is making a play unlike those in the purely VR space, who rely on game sales (or promise of future return) to make up for the inexpensive headsets.\nAll this is simply a rough justification for the cost of the Vision Pro. In terms of its actual use case, I love going back to John\u0026rsquo;s concept of it as a powerful display. I think it provides a great option for remote workers1 to set up an \u0026ldquo;office\u0026rdquo; regardless of their physical space. It could allow for new interactions and workflows to allow for better focus, and a new way to interact with documents. While that wasn\u0026rsquo;t specifically demoed—John also points out that with the exception of the occasional 3D model, every app is just a flat floating window akin to having iPads hovering around you—I have no doubt that the developer community will release novel applications that expand the capabilities of the headset beyond an existing suite of apps that can be moved around in space.\nI feel optimistic about Apple\u0026rsquo;s direction with this product. They face an uphill battle against society\u0026rsquo;s reaction to the perceived isolation and distraction that this kind of product represents, yet that has never stopped society from embracing something new before. It won\u0026rsquo;t happen next year, but I believe Apple has the best chance of anyone—particularly more so than Meta—to turn the cultural tide and make a pitch for this new category that doesn\u0026rsquo;t make everyone collectively cringe and fear for the future.\nI specify remote because, well, it\u0026rsquo;ll take a while before using this in the office is at all reasonable or acceptable.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/apple-vision-pro-first-thoughts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve had a strong interest in consumer technology for years at this point, though it mostly falls into a category of entertainment via YouTube videos and podcasts. I\u0026rsquo;m not critic, and tend not to spend much time writing about the latest and greatest in the spaces I follow. But Apple\u0026rsquo;s new Vision Pro headset is difficult to ignore.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Apple Vision Pro First Thoughts"},{"content":"I find music scores to be absolutely beautiful documents. In middle school I was engrossed by creating my own music and, more importantly, writing it down. There\u0026rsquo;s video evidence of me being jazzed about receiving a \u0026ldquo;Lyricist\u0026rsquo;s Notebook\u0026rdquo; for Christmas around that time. I also recall purchasing a journal of staff paper for ambitious ideas I had. Yet turning musical ideas into something that can be shared, let alone something that would look good, felt out of reach. When the itch to create music struck me again last week I remembered a new-to-me program, MuseScore, that changed everything.\nI appreciate careful formatting and typeface choices that make legible and fetching documents. I\u0026rsquo;ve always searched for ways to recreate the look of professional documents I interacted with as a student, and have often found success. Once you get outside the realms of a novel, the problems become apparent and awfully specific, so at each obstacle I\u0026rsquo;ve needed to pick up now programs. I first experienced with mathematics. Did you know math, just like music, has a vast swath of specific notation that most people don\u0026rsquo;t care about, and don\u0026rsquo;t easily fall into the typesetting that tools like Word or Google Docs can manage?\nLuckily, there\u0026rsquo;s been a fairly standard option in that world for decades. The $\\LaTeX$ language is nearly universal and well-supported. I began using it to create any document that required math, or had particular formatting that I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to have that \u0026ldquo;Microsoft Word look\u0026rdquo;.1\nI also had the opportunity to learn some basic InDesign skills at work, which transferred nicely to using Affinity Publisher once I no longer had access to the Adobe suite. I picked up some basic vector art skills and have used Vectornator to create images and diagrams.2 All these tools are great and let me create documents that, just a decade or two ago, would require much more money and probably some professional assistance.\nMusic notation is a whole different beast. It\u0026rsquo;s niche even when compared to mathematical notation, and has a formatting metaphor entirely unlike text on a page. Up until very recently, the best options were all expensive proprietary applications, very similar to Adobe products of years past, that by all accounts didn\u0026rsquo;t work particularly well. The only alternative was handwriting notes on staff paper, or writing plain-text guitar tabs (in the case of Ultimate Guitar).\nEnter MuseScore. I first learned about this tool through Kyle Tsuchiya, a fantastic percussionist who I was lucky enough to play with in a University of Minnesota concert band. He has a strong social media presence, and I saw he was using MuseScore to write and share snare drum and drum set riffs. I toyed with it then but didn\u0026rsquo;t have a need for it. However, the name stuck with me.\nWhen inspiration struck last week, I downloaded it again and went to work. The organization makes their money by operating an online sheet music marketplace, and that funds the free editing software that they create. I\u0026rsquo;m now able to make beautiful sheet music on my own using a program made by people who care about spreading this ability to anyone interested. The best part is that I find the tools to be good and fairly intuitive. They have robust keyboard shortcuts to streamline typical functions. They have a tool to \u0026ldquo;link\u0026rdquo; staffs, which was important for me since I was creating guitar tabs and I always want the tablature to be available in addition to the standard treble clef notation.\nMuseScore is fantastic, and I\u0026rsquo;ll happily recommend it to anyone I happen to come across that\u0026rsquo;s interested in making their own sheet music. But the larger reason that I\u0026rsquo;m extremely excited by this discovery is that it marks a point in my life where creating beautiful documents of all types is accessible to nearly everyone. Nearly every kind document can now be created using software that is free or very affordable, allowing people of all ages and skill to try making their own mark. There\u0026rsquo;s something special about having the means to imitate the people and creations that inspire you, and then start to build your own version.\nI have no clue how often I\u0026rsquo;ll use MuseScore. If it\u0026rsquo;s like $\\LaTeX$, Affinity Publisher, or Vectornator, the answer is somewhat infrequently. But it\u0026rsquo;s free and available whenever the mood strikes, and that\u0026rsquo;s a liberating fact that streamlines my creative process.3 I\u0026rsquo;m thankful for the people who pioneer these democratizing tools for creation4, and will eagerly await the next niche tool that suddenly becomes available for all to use.\nSome people seem to not notice what I mean by this. For me, it\u0026rsquo;s a \u0026ldquo;feel\u0026rdquo; thing, and I abhor it.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI showed it to my wife as well, and it\u0026rsquo;s become a popular tool for making certain figures for academic papers in her lab.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course, it also represents one fewer excuse along the lines of \u0026ldquo;Oh, I could never do that because I don\u0026rsquo;t have…\u0026rdquo; But hey, facing reality is good.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt doesn\u0026rsquo;t just end at document creation. There are awesome music (Garage Band, though that\u0026rsquo;s locked behind owning Apple products, and Ardour) and video (DaVinci Resolve) tools out there, along with other programs for hobbies that I don\u0026rsquo;t happen to have yet like CAD.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/musescore-and-the-democratization-of-document-creation/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI find music scores to be absolutely beautiful documents. In middle school I was engrossed by creating my own music and, more importantly, writing it down. There\u0026rsquo;s video evidence of me being \u003cem\u003ejazzed\u003c/em\u003e about receiving a \u0026ldquo;Lyricist\u0026rsquo;s Notebook\u0026rdquo; for Christmas around that time. I also recall purchasing a journal of staff paper for ambitious ideas I had. Yet turning musical ideas into something that can be shared, let alone something that would \u003cem\u003elook good\u003c/em\u003e, felt out of reach. When the itch to create music struck me again last week I remembered a new-to-me program, MuseScore, that changed everything.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"MuseScore and the Democratization of Document Creation"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve slowly formed my thoughts on the language model tools that have stormed into the foreground of technology over the last few months. My initial utter skepticism, largely founded on people\u0026rsquo;s misunderstanding of how these tools are designed, has morphed into an appreciation of their specific utility as a thesaurus for any kind of text available on the internet.\nI thoroughly enjoyed Ted Chiang\u0026rsquo;s description of ChatGPT as a blurry JPEG, and I still feel it\u0026rsquo;s the most comprehensive metaphor for the state of these tools. That being said, if you imagine a user with enough knowledge and restraint to respect the lack of trustworthiness in the answers, there\u0026rsquo;s a slightly more optimistic view of their ability to make associations and prod some new thought processes.\nOver the years I\u0026rsquo;ve become better at strategically using a thesaurus. They come in several varieties, but all have the base ability to nudge a writer in a different direction, giving them options to refine their phrasing and subtly move towards clarifying their thoughts. It seems to me that the vast sources on the internet are a modern dictionary, and tools like ChatGPT are the best version of a thesaurus we currently have that can account for all that information.\nWhile a thesaurus is specific to vocabulary and usage, tools like ChatGPT have the benefit of a wider set of text sources to pull from. They can be a thesaurus for skills and ideas. They can respond dynamically to prompts, helping you determine a new or narrower path towards to your task.\nWhen looking up a word in a thesaurus, it\u0026rsquo;s best not to take it at face value. But, you can begin investigating that word in a dictionary, understand where and when it is used, and determine if this new word is indeed appropriate. Or maybe the word was at the tip of your tongue and the thesaurus helped you find precisely what you were looking for. Either way, there is conscious work on the user\u0026rsquo;s end to use that information.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s best to treat these language models in a similar way. That email it just wrote you based on a sentence of summary? That should be read and adjusted as necessary. A function it wrote in Python? The variables may be poorly named or it may have a fundamental bug in it. This tool is not magic, nor is it flawless. It is a reflection of what humans have made thus far and certainly requires our editing to optimize its usefulness. Otherwise you\u0026rsquo;re going to look like Joey Tribbiani in everything you do, not just standard writing.\nI\u0026rsquo;m still pretty bad at fully utilizing thesauruses. I only use the one built into macOS, and it\u0026rsquo;s not always great. I should care about them more, learn to use them better, and appreciate their utility. I should give the same benefits to these new language tools that are readily available, find the way they work best for me, and be happy that they do have a use. That will take time, and I still have a healthy skepticism about their overall effect on human creation. But I can do very little about how others use it. I have to focus on myself.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-thesaurus-for-more-than-words/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve slowly formed my thoughts on the language model tools that have stormed into the foreground of technology over the last few months. My initial utter skepticism, largely founded on people\u0026rsquo;s misunderstanding of how these tools are designed, has morphed into an appreciation of their specific utility as a thesaurus for any kind of text available on the internet.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Thesaurus for More Than Words"},{"content":"This is a refrain in disc golf describing the approach to properly development throwing form. It\u0026rsquo;s typically attributed to Philo Brathwaite, a particularly smooth player out of northern California. It feels self-evident in the world of disc golf mechanics1 as you watch different players, but its applicability beyond this origin knows no bounds.\nStarting slow allows you to establish a proper foundation from which you can scale. It lets you isolate issues that you could ignore at the start but will cause a plateau—or worse—later on.\nMost recently I\u0026rsquo;ve connected this to improving my guitar skills. I\u0026rsquo;m going back to basics, learning fundamental techniques and improving my base knowledge so that I can properly take a larger step forward once I\u0026rsquo;ve connected the dots. This requires patience and a long-term view, paired with a desire to truly improve. Without taking lessons or having some other form of external accountability, this requires self-discipline and fairly strong motivation, both of which I\u0026rsquo;ve lacked in some degree over the years.\nWith the exception of percussion—I did have some lessons and external accountability to give me a good base—I\u0026rsquo;ve learned instruments with an eye towards accumulating individual songs. I\u0026rsquo;d self-select music that seemed to be essentially doable, and over time my confidence increased along with the difficulty of the music I tried to play. In order to play certain songs, I needed to learn a handful of skills to a basic level. However, I did not isolate learning those particular skills or passages, and had a strong sense of \u0026ldquo;good enough\u0026rdquo; that would make it harder to learn something similar in the future.\nWhile it\u0026rsquo;s hard to break those habits—after all, learning and playing a specific song is so much more fun than scales—I\u0026rsquo;m at the point where doing anything but the proper approach will halt any real progress I wish to make.\nFraming more parts of my life as building a strong foundation is healthy and, in the long term, more fulfilling and efficient than just trying some stuff and seeing where it gets me. One would imagine that my background in math curriculum would give me that insight, but sometimes you need a proper nudge from somewhere new.\nI encourage you to find a specific skill or goal you have and go to pains to apply slow is smooth, smooth is fast ethos to it. It will both get you farther in that skill, while also having adjacent improvement to how you approach other parts of your life.\nTaken to the extreme, you get Eagle McMahon and Albert Tamm, two of the farthest throwers, neither of whom ever seem to \u0026ldquo;run up\u0026rdquo; for their throw like most high-level players.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/slow-is-smooth-smooth-is-fast/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a refrain in disc golf describing the approach to properly development throwing form. It\u0026rsquo;s typically attributed to \u003ca href=\"https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/feature/philo-brathwaite/\"\u003ePhilo Brathwaite\u003c/a\u003e, a particularly smooth player out of northern California. It feels self-evident in the world of disc golf mechanics\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e as you watch different players, but its applicability beyond this origin knows no bounds.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast"},{"content":"I went to the 2023 OTB Open this weekend, and had a blast. However, it\u0026rsquo;s late on a Sunday and I don\u0026rsquo;t have the time or energy to dive into that right now. Instead, I encourage you to go read the Top 10 Storylines series from \u0026ldquo;Owl P. Jackson, Esq.\u0026rdquo; at Ultiworld. They\u0026rsquo;re a quick, humorous, and insightful set of recaps for each stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour. It\u0026rsquo;s probably the best way into the sport of professional disc golf.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/from-the-desk-of-owl-p-jackson-esq/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI went to the 2023 OTB Open this weekend, and had a blast. However, it\u0026rsquo;s late on a Sunday and I don\u0026rsquo;t have the time or energy to dive into that right now. Instead, I encourage you to go read the \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/author/owlpjackson/\"\u003eTop 10 Storylines\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e series from \u0026ldquo;Owl P. Jackson, Esq.\u0026rdquo; at Ultiworld. They\u0026rsquo;re a quick, humorous, and insightful set of recaps for each stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour. It\u0026rsquo;s probably the best way into the sport of professional disc golf.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"From the Desk of Owl P. Jackson, Esq."},{"content":"I listen to several Relay FM podcasts, which keeps me engaged in a sphere of technology personalities. They kept me up-to-date on the exodus from Twitter that this region of internet culture experienced, and their settlement into Mastodon.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never been a big Twitter user. Comical Start has/had an account where I tried to remember to post each week\u0026rsquo;s episode, but that\u0026rsquo;s mainly for the practice. Nobody cared that I did that, and I slowly turned that account into more of a personal account that followed the internet folks that I enjoy. I never tweeted at them because it was a show account, so I simply read things when I thought of it and that was that.\nThe movement to Mastodon offered me an opportunity to engage in this community in a way I was hesitant to while they were on Twitter. Its \u0026ldquo;closed off\u0026rdquo; nature—due mostly to the technical hurdles of signing up compared to traditional social media—was appealing. I could formulate a specific experience that I controlled, without algorithms interfering. I joined the Mathstodon instance1 because it felt the most relevant and kept me out of the large sea of the general mastodon.social instance.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been hugely enjoyable so far. I follow a small number of people who don\u0026rsquo;t generate too much content. I see a mix of technology, math, and baseball without anything else cluttering up my feed. It\u0026rsquo;s a linear timeline, and I feel I can actually interact with these podcast personalities without being totally lost in a mass of voices that they\u0026rsquo;d just as likely ignore. Now that it\u0026rsquo;s at least less toxic over there, I can tell that these interactions are actually visible and that keeps me engaged.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a small part of my day. I spend maybe 5-10 minutes on Mastodon2 each day catching up on a handful of posts and the occasional silly conversation between some folks, and that\u0026rsquo;s it. I get a bit of enjoyment, some online interaction, and it\u0026rsquo;s everything I\u0026rsquo;d hoped it would be.\nI sneakily added info to my About page as well.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI use the Megalodon app on Android. As of Fall 2023 when I switched to iPhone, I began using Ivory.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mastodon/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI listen to several \u003ca href=\"https://www.relay.fm/\"\u003eRelay FM\u003c/a\u003e podcasts, which keeps me engaged in a sphere of technology personalities. They kept me up-to-date on the exodus from Twitter that this region of internet culture experienced, and their settlement into Mastodon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve never been a big Twitter user. Comical Start has/had an account where I tried to remember to post each week\u0026rsquo;s episode, but that\u0026rsquo;s mainly for the practice. Nobody cared that I did that, and I slowly turned that account into more of a personal account that followed the internet folks that I enjoy. I never tweeted at them because it was a show account, so I simply read things when I thought of it and that was that.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mastodon"},{"content":"I was recently in San Diego and decided not to fly with a fountain pen.1 So when I sat down to journal I was back with my original roller-ball Retro 51 Tornado, and my handwriting was awful. It helped me realize how intentional I still am while using a fountain pen, and how that encourages better journaling sessions.\nGoing back to a traditional pen kicked my brain into a rapid jotting gear that spewed rough characters and jagged sentences all over the page. These entries were initially shorter and had reduced impact. Once I realized what was happening, I took additional care to write slowly and focus on my handwriting. This had a knock-on effect of making me think intentionally about my day and allowing the journaling sessions to improve.\nThat slow, methodical version of journaling happens naturally with a fountain pen partially because I\u0026rsquo;m still not totally used to using one, and because the ritual of opening up my journal and uncapping the fountain pen puts me in a mindset that encourages a distraction-free space that declutters my mind. Realizing that, I want to find other proxies for this effect when I\u0026rsquo;m traveling so I can make the most of that fifteen minutes in the evening. I\u0026rsquo;m not yet sure what that will be, but it\u0026rsquo;s good to have a clear sense of a problem I want to solve.\nMy cohost Grant enlightened me when I had my first fountain pen leak that unless your pen is completely full (or completely empty), the change in air pressure will cause a mess.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/bad-handwriting-and-journaling/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was recently in San Diego and decided not to fly with a fountain pen.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e So when I sat down to journal I was back with my original roller-ball Retro 51 Tornado, and my handwriting was \u003cem\u003eawful\u003c/em\u003e. It helped me realize how intentional I still am while using a fountain pen, and how that encourages better journaling sessions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGoing back to a traditional pen kicked my brain into a rapid jotting gear that spewed rough characters and jagged sentences all over the page. These entries were initially shorter and had reduced impact. Once I realized what was happening, I took additional care to write slowly and focus on my handwriting. This had a knock-on effect of making me think intentionally about my day and allowing the journaling sessions to improve.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bad Handwriting and Journaling"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on learning Dean Town by Vulfpeck on guitar. It\u0026rsquo;s been a great experience because it takes me back to when I was first working on playing an instrument, both excited by each little step that showed I was better than before, and amazed that anyone could play what I just did so much faster. I want to savor those experiences more.\nThat being said, the song is an absolute jam. Go watch the original version, and their performance at Madison Square Garden. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I\u0026rsquo;ll ever have the technical chops to play it at speed but I enjoy the process of getting a little better.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/dean-town/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been working on learning \u003cem\u003eDean Town\u003c/em\u003e by Vulfpeck on guitar. It\u0026rsquo;s been a great experience because it takes me back to when I was first working on playing an instrument, both excited by each little step that showed I was better than before, and amazed that anyone could play what I just did so much faster. I want to savor those experiences more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat being said, the song is an absolute jam. Go watch the \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/le0BLAEO93g\"\u003eoriginal version\u003c/a\u003e, and their \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/rhxQoDlt2AU\"\u003eperformance at Madison Square Garden\u003c/a\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I\u0026rsquo;ll ever have the technical chops to play it at speed but I enjoy the process of getting a little better.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dean Town"},{"content":"Last year, I wrote a long post on scorekeeping in baseball. An hour before I headed to my first MLB game of 2023 with my scorebook in hand, I realized there was a new element to track: pitch clock violations that end a plate appearance. If a batter takes too long, they are assessed a strike. If a pitcher takes too long, the count gets an additional ball. It\u0026rsquo;s totally possible that a pitch clock violation would result in either third strike, or fourth ball, of a count and directly cause a strikeout or walk without a final pitch being thrown.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s such an odd scenario that I want a way to denote it. I did a little research and found this excellent article with quotes from various official MLB scorekeepers. It\u0026rsquo;ll take time to decide on a standard, but I opted for circling either the K or BB on my scorecard to mean that the result was due to a final pitch clock violation.\nBy sheer dumb luck, this happened on my second game of the season. In the image below, you can see two consecutive walks. The first was standard, the second had the 4th ball occur on a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s clock violation.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s interesting to have new wrinkles to deal with. Last year it was the Manfred runner for me. We\u0026rsquo;ll see what comes next.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/scorekeeping-with-the-mlb-pitch-clock/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast year, I wrote a long post on \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/the-finer-points-of-scorekeeping/\"\u003escorekeeping in baseball\u003c/a\u003e. An hour before I headed to my first MLB game of 2023 with my scorebook in hand, I realized there was a new element to track: pitch clock violations that end a plate appearance. If a batter takes too long, they are assessed a strike. If a pitcher takes too long, the count gets an additional ball. It\u0026rsquo;s totally possible that a pitch clock violation would result in either third strike, or fourth ball, of a count and directly cause a strikeout or walk without a final pitch being thrown.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Scorekeeping With the MLB Pitch Clock"},{"content":"I am thrilled when I try a new hobby. I\u0026rsquo;m sure part of that is the hit of getting to buy a few new things, but I also appreciate the initial challenge and the excitement of any initial progress. Yet I often drop hobbies if I feel I can\u0026rsquo;t devote enough time to become \u0026ldquo;good\u0026rdquo; at whatever skills it involves. This post is a message to myself that sometimes a hobby should just be a hobby.\nThis tendency manifests itself in a few ways. Frequently it results in dropping a hobby completely because I don\u0026rsquo;t feel I have the time to learn and enjoy it to an acceptable degree. That\u0026rsquo;s a fuzzy line, but if I find myself struggling unproductively without some driving force to work my way through those moments, I\u0026rsquo;ll decide to spend my time elsewhere.\nOppositely, the desire to get better becomes part of the hobby itself. I find myself enjoying some aspect of it to such a high degree that I want to continue to improve so I have more excuses to spend time doing it. This happened quickly with disc golf, and has ebbed and flowed with writing.\nIn the middle are those hobbies where I managed to obtain enough foundational skills that I enjoy them, but don\u0026rsquo;t actively attempt to drastically improve. Piano and guitar fall into that, as does podcasting and audio work.\nI want to be in a healthy spot with my hobbies, where I\u0026rsquo;m only concerning myself insofar as I\u0026rsquo;m taking it seriously, and acknowledging that not every hobby has to be serious. If taking it seriously is enjoyable, then that\u0026rsquo;s great. But if I enjoy most of it, but worrying over my abilities detracts from the experience, I want to work on getting to a place where I can simply pursue the hobby devoid of any frustration or shame over not attaining a strong skill.\nIn a way, this has been my relationship with math over time. I majored in math in college, and spent so much time learning new ideas, solving problems, turning myself into the best math student that I could be. Now five(!) years later, I only give thought to school math while writing curriculum; any advanced math is mostly gone from my head. It\u0026rsquo;s not that I\u0026rsquo;ve lost a fascination with many of the topics—I still read various online communities and publications meant for an \u0026ldquo;advanced popularization\u0026rdquo; of the topic, so to speak—but I\u0026rsquo;ve made a conscious decision to put it to the side and let other interests that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t pay attention to in college take center stage.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know where I\u0026rsquo;m going with this post, or how I\u0026rsquo;ll edit it. But I think it\u0026rsquo;s important to introspect about what we enjoy, and why we enjoy them. This gives a clearer view into what turns us off from the activities we once enjoyed but now find ourselves avoiding.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/let-hobbies-be-hobbies/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI am thrilled when I try a new hobby. I\u0026rsquo;m sure part of that is the hit of getting to buy a few new things, but I also appreciate the initial challenge and the excitement of any initial progress. Yet I often drop hobbies if I feel I can\u0026rsquo;t devote enough time to become \u0026ldquo;good\u0026rdquo; at whatever skills it involves. This post is a message to myself that sometimes a hobby should just be a hobby.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Let Hobbies be Hobbies"},{"content":"A few days into the 2023 MLB season has me thrilled by baseball, and I have a few short thoughts and links to share.\nContinuing My Renewed Interest\nI paid baseball very little attention immediately out of college. There was a game I played on my phone and I watched MLB games sometimes, but I felt disconnected from the sport overall.\nIn 2021 I bought season tickets for the San Francisco Giants, fulfilling a dream that young me had for adult me. I found baseball again. Last summer I joined an adult baseball league and started keeping score of games I attended again. Over the winter I joined SABR again and fact-check an account of a game every couple weeks.\nThis is the first full year where I feel completely involved with baseball: I\u0026rsquo;m playing a full season with my team, I watched the World Baseball Classic, and have been closely following the MLB offseason. I\u0026rsquo;m entirely prepared to watch and listen to more games as time allows.\nMLB Rule Changes\nI love the pitch clock, and am skeptical about everything else. The rules regarding the shift do seem pretty fair, but the pick-off limits are too draconian.\nSABR\nAs mentioned above, I continue to fact-check for the SABR games bio project (and infrequently for their player biographies.) For anyone interested in fascinating accounts of games and people you\u0026rsquo;ve never heard of, I highly recommend checking those out for a few minutes. It\u0026rsquo;s a niche Wikipedia rabbit hole with some fantastic writing.\nLearn to Code with Baseball\nI have an early \u0026ldquo;beta\u0026rdquo; version of this book, though it\u0026rsquo;s fully released now. It\u0026rsquo;s a great introduction to using Python and SQL tools to analyze data, taught using the huge accumulation of baseball data publicly available.\nBaseball Reference and Stathead\nI\u0026rsquo;m continually impressed by these tools. Baseball Reference either just added, or always had and I never noticed, a feature where you can select rows of a table (say, a table that contains how a player did during each game in a season) and have them automatically provide you the statistics for your selection (say, just the games in June.) For me, this has been a huge relief while fact-checking, where date-specific accumulated statistics tend to be bandied about and I found myself hand-checking far more than was desirable.\nStathead saw some use on this site during Blogmas, and while I currently only use it while fact-checking, I hope to play around with it more. It\u0026rsquo;s such an excellent tool that saves me a lot of time (and, for many common and a few niche situations, replaces the skills taught in Learn to Code with Baseball).\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/baseball-ramblings-to-begin-the-2023-season/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA few days into the 2023 MLB season has me thrilled by baseball, and I have a few short thoughts and links to share.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Baseball Ramblings to Begin the 2023 Season"},{"content":"Textbooks have been the premier mechanism for presenting curriculum for centuries. While the printed word is powerful and, for many people, superior to digital versions, the physicality of textbooks requires that their content remains static. Errors are inevitable, as are changes in relevant topics or pedagogy. New editions are the only tool to fight against the decay of a textbook\u0026rsquo;s utility.1 In an educational landscape dominated by digital tools, it\u0026rsquo;s tempting to have content updated rapidly and frequently. This approach requires a deft hand.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s establish that although I\u0026rsquo;m frequently saying textbook, I mean physical curriculum whose core is likely a textbook. It contains pedagogical materials such as lesson plans or exams. When comparing the physical and digital options, we need to consider the impact on both raw information and the pedagogy: how the information is presented.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s straightforward that a digital curriculum offers improvement with updating raw information. Simple typos that could take years to fix in a textbook can be updated in a minute online, while new, relevant examples in the curriculum can be added or substituted to keep the information fresh.\nThese advantages appear to apply to pedagogical updates to an online curriculum as well. However, instructors need time to prepare according to a static set of information. If some teachers have crafted presentations and assignments that are aligned to this year\u0026rsquo;s version of the curriculum and it changes over the summer—or worse, in the middle of the school year—there will be flustered instructors scrambling to perform both administrative tasks (e.g. adjusting problem numbers) and larger pedagogical tasks (e.g. changing how a topic is presented wholesale.) Textbooks allow institutions to specify a version to plan against2 and stick to it until they\u0026rsquo;re ready to update. Online curriculum nearly always follows a software subscription model, wedding its users to the whims of the creator.\nWhether content should be dynamic is often a decision made in hindsight based on the quality of its stewardship, which is assessed by considering both the changes in the curriculum and how these changes are rolled out. Good changes that come unexpectedly will lead to strained relationships, as will a poor adjustment with plenty of advanced notice. In the worse case scenario, a provider can pull a George Lucas: The quality of the changes to Star Wars: A New Hope is poor, and so was its distribution. If anyone knew ahead of time that these changes were being made, we\u0026rsquo;d likely have a more robust set of theatrical releases available and wouldn\u0026rsquo;t rely on the de-specialized versions that have popped up.\nOnline curriculum requires its editors to understand the impact of an edit along multiple axes. They have to be confident that the change, which will immediately go live, is complete and correct. Ideally they communicate their intentions ahead of time. Finally they should be receptive to feedback by responding to concerns that are brought up, tracking patterns in user critiques, and communicating why a change was or was not made.\nNone of those elements are trivial, requiring several people to coordinate each part. Assuming these online curricula will not remain static—customers paying for recurring access would probably consider that a bad deal—it takes consistent staff to maintain the curriculum and ensure the changes are properly communicated and implemented. Ultimately the staff that aids in rewriting a textbook to provide a new version worth releasing3 is incredibly similar to the staff of an online curriculum provider, except the latter will \u0026ldquo;release\u0026rdquo; new versions on a regular basis.\nThe pace of these updates needs to be determined by each provider, just like the authors and publishers of textbooks. How long do you wait to have curriculum reflect a trend among students? Can you even publish the update before releasing it shows how out of touch you are? In some ways, the rhetoric around a textbook is simpler because everyone essentially expects it to be dated; the online provider may erroneously believe they can remain relevant only if they update with sufficient frequency, while doing so will only hurt any goodwill they may have accrued with the instructors who need to know the details of the lessons they\u0026rsquo;re about to teach.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s interesting to see how different platforms deal with dynamic content. YouTube doesn\u0026rsquo;t allow creators to upload replacement videos, while RSS makes replacing a podcast episode due to some error rather trivial.4 This blog can be as dynamic or static as I choose. I tend not to go back and edit old posts, unless there\u0026rsquo;s been a critical update to address or I want to change some style decisions.5 Subscription software nearly always disallows ignoring updates or rolling back to previous versions, so any substantial changes can alienate a user base. While textbook publishers who make a poor new edition face a one-time loss, the online provider who causes frustration loses expected recurring revenue.\nHandling content appropriately requires the creator to understand their audience and empathize with them. Much of what my company does is internal: we tend to run our own classes using our own curriculum, so the pieces are centrally created and used. In theory, this helps streamline the process and reduce variables, because we know when a new version of a class is running and can make sure any edits are made before it begins. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t always happen, and we\u0026rsquo;ve worked on improving our communication internally and externally, where relevant. I\u0026rsquo;m continually fascinated by the product decisions to make updates on a certain timescale, and how we communicate them to our customers. There\u0026rsquo;s no single approach, but maintaining an open, thoughtful approach is by far the best way to keep customer trust even if a particular update goes awry.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s not fight over who\u0026rsquo;s at fault for the prevalence of new textbook editions or their cost. I\u0026rsquo;m typically quite impressed by the forewords I see in many math textbooks comparing editions, and believe much of the time a new edition is worthwhile.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAssuming they can keep it in print enough that students can obtain it. That\u0026rsquo;s a separate problem.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAgain, let\u0026rsquo;s give them the benefit of the doubt.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThere is still the problem of communicating to your audience that an older version had a problem, and to make sure to get the newer version.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe biggest change here was moving to $\\KaTeX$ for math rendering.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/dynamic-content-and-curriculum/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTextbooks have been the premier mechanism for presenting curriculum for centuries. While the printed word is powerful and, for many people, superior to digital versions, the physicality of textbooks requires that their content remains static. Errors are inevitable, as are changes in relevant topics or pedagogy. New editions are the only tool to fight against the decay of a textbook\u0026rsquo;s utility.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e In an educational landscape dominated by digital tools, it\u0026rsquo;s tempting to have content updated rapidly and frequently. This approach requires a deft hand.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dynamic Content and Curriculum"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been reading How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Unlike other apocalyptic fiction I\u0026rsquo;ve consumed over the years, this is written as an anthology of short stories giving snippets of life over the course of time without any stated connection between the characters beyond their shared experience of something rather awful going on. I\u0026rsquo;m always drawn to anthologies, whether they\u0026rsquo;re a book or TV show, because I get a wealth of \u0026ldquo;experience\u0026rdquo; in the world.\nPart of my draw to them may be a simple change of pace: I like to toss in some non-fiction books among the majority fiction that I read, and filling in the gaps of powerful narrative stories with these world-building styles give me a fresh perspective on how to construct and present information in an interesting way. Even then, I\u0026rsquo;ve always admired short stories. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen comments by some writers who don\u0026rsquo;t appreciate the power of a concise story, and the care that goes into crafting them. They\u0026rsquo;re delicate and sharp, and a book made entirely of them to tell a broader story is a fascinating concept.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/anthologies/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been reading \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57850265-how-high-we-go-in-the-dark\"\u003eHow High We Go in the Dark\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Unlike other apocalyptic fiction I\u0026rsquo;ve consumed over the years, this is written as an anthology of short stories giving snippets of life over the course of time without any stated connection between the characters beyond their shared experience of something rather awful going on. I\u0026rsquo;m always drawn to anthologies, whether they\u0026rsquo;re a book or TV show, because I get a wealth of \u0026ldquo;experience\u0026rdquo; in the world.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Anthologies"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I wrote about my setup for various writing projects. It\u0026rsquo;s changed a bit since then, and is still not particularly robust. Consider this a report on the state of the world.\nDevices Laptop\nMy laptop has replaced my iPad as my primary writing device. The main reason is the persistence of issues between Dropbox and iA Writer on the iPad.1 I\u0026rsquo;ll discuss that more later; there are other app limitations that further wed me to the laptop.\nAnother reason is convenience. Nearly all of my daily work requires a laptop.2 I\u0026rsquo;m often either actively using it, or it\u0026rsquo;s nearby, making it the path of least resistance to writing whenever inspiration strikes.\niPad\nAs suggested above, my iPad has been rendered to an auxiliary role. I do still write on it when I feel an additional need to focus, or if it\u0026rsquo;s closer to me than my laptop which is often left on my desk. However, it\u0026rsquo;s main use has been viewing reference materials and writing on PDFs. It\u0026rsquo;s a flexible additional device that is well-suited to a few specific tasks. I\u0026rsquo;d like to use it more, and I may adjust my writing process to purposefully increase its use, but I need to try other setups before committing to a change.\nPhone\nMy phone continues to be a tool for jotting down ideas while I\u0026rsquo;m away from any other device. I now solely use Todoist to keep track of both my ideas and my progress on those ideas. More on that later.\nApps and Services Dropbox\nDropbox continues to be my source of truth for all of my writing projects. My blog is still organized into two folders per year, with each file in mm-dd title format. This will only change if I decide I really want to use iA Writer on my iPad.\niA Writer and 1Writer\nI love iA Writer. Its particular design language suits me better than any other markdown editor I\u0026rsquo;ve used. Its focus mode is just right, its typewriter mode is non-aggressive,3 its rendering of Markdown while maintaining \u0026ldquo;source code view\u0026rdquo; is great, and ultimately it gets out of my way. It\u0026rsquo;s my main markdown editor.\n1Writer is the next-best option on iPad. It has a good understanding of files4 and an interesting scripting backend that makes it easy for me to publish to my blog with a couple of taps. It\u0026rsquo;s not nearly as polished as iA Writer—there\u0026rsquo;s no typewriter mode, and its PDF export isn\u0026rsquo;t great—but it gets the job done. Even so, I\u0026rsquo;m always looking for other options.\nTodoist\nI needed a tool to keep track of my various projects: writing, tutoring, contract work, and other miscellaneous tasks that come up. I have a project for my blog in a Kanban view where I can easily add ideas. Each week I\u0026rsquo;ll pick one (or come up with a new one), assign it for the following Monday, and track it from draft to completion. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to use, has good natural language processing for dates, and is available everywhere. I highly recommend it.\nNotability\nThey\u0026rsquo;ve never given me a reason to leave. I can send PDFs between any devices or apps, save them in Dropbox, mark up drafts, or create new notes to sketch out an idea. I\u0026rsquo;m not extremely organized in this app but I still use it effectively.\nWordpress\nI continue to host my blog using the Wordpress engine. I\u0026rsquo;ve finally stopped tinkering with new plug-ins, and have standardized on some style rules. For example, I frequently use the modern footnotes plug-in, which lets me write footnotes inline using brackets inline with a paragraph. This makes the footnotes easy to insert while drafting, and easy to edit in context, because their content isn\u0026rsquo;t hiding at the end of the document unlike with traditional footnote syntax.\nUlysses\nThe siren song of one of the finest writing apps has lured me back in for another year\u0026rsquo;s membership. While iA Writer is great for most anything under a few thousand words, it\u0026rsquo;s not great with larger projects. When I begin writing more for the world of The Last Question, I realized I wanted something that allowed files to act as chapters, similar to how I\u0026rsquo;d structure a large $\\LaTeX$ document. It turns out Ulysses now has a \u0026ldquo;project\u0026rdquo; view that can compile multiple documents into a single PDF. In addition, its export template system is the best I\u0026rsquo;ve used, it has a polished interface, and contains several editing and review tools that I\u0026rsquo;ve found useful.\nThe only downside is that Ulysses is a closed ecosystem that syncs quietly using iCloud. While it\u0026rsquo;s all technically an advanced flavor of markdown behind the scenes, the files within are basically inaccessible. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if I\u0026rsquo;ll stick with Ulysses long term, but I\u0026rsquo;ve had fun toying around with it while drafting stories.\nObsidian\nFor a time I had demoted Obsidian to be a checklist generator for my daily work tasks. Before long I didn\u0026rsquo;t even allow it that honor, instead moving to pen and paper. But as I plan out my first campaign for The Last Question, I learned about the passionate community of TTRPG enthusiasts who have put in significant effort to maximize Obsidian\u0026rsquo;s ability to manage all the elements of a campaign. In a single day Obsidian became an indispensable tool for knowing what the heck I\u0026rsquo;d gotten myself into. It\u0026rsquo;s fast and flexible, though the details of my setup are beyond the scope of this post. Obsidian is another tool keeping me on the Mac for now. Syncing data to iPad requires the use of Obsidian\u0026rsquo;s own cloud service. I don\u0026rsquo;t need to separate my data any further.\nDictionary\nI need a dictionary and thesaurus frequently. Even then, I don\u0026rsquo;t use it as much as I should.\nApple Books\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been sleeping on the Apple Books app. Years ago, I needed an app to read sheet music. In other words, I needed an app that could import a PDF and let me flip through a single page at a time without scrolling. While there are apps built specifically for handling sheet music, at the time I only considered PDF readers and ended up using Adobe Acrobat.\nTurns out, the Apple Books app for iPad offers this discrete page functionality and, naturally, accepts both PDF and ePub. I have a mess of PDF and ePub versions of writing reference texts, and I abhor reading books on my computer. But, loading them onto my Kobo would lead to a tedious reading experience because I don\u0026rsquo;t read these books linearly. The Apple Books app is full-featured for this purpose, and I\u0026rsquo;m glad it had some recent controversy that brought it to mind and eventually led me to test it out.\nThere have been changes to how third party file service providers can \u0026ldquo;properly\u0026rdquo; deal with files. My understanding is that iA Writer is doing things by the book while Dropbox doesn\u0026rsquo;t play nicely with these features. I don\u0026rsquo;t blame iA Writer, but the issue remains a dealbreaker.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMy regular day job certainly requires a laptop just due to managing meetings and documents. Most of my contract work requires heavy use of Google Drive tools, and their features are abhorrent on iPad.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt has a perceptible delay between clicking on a line, and that line being centered. Every other editor with a typewriter mode makes me frustrated while editing because the lines move too quickly to effectively select a particular spot. It\u0026rsquo;s a small thing, but I find that it matters.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt\u0026rsquo;s the only editor I\u0026rsquo;ve ever come across that lets you close a file with Cmd+W, which means I never have to worry about save conflicts between my iPad and Mac.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/spring-2023-writing-setup/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s been a while since \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/fall-2021-writing-setup/\"\u003eI wrote about\u003c/a\u003e my setup for various writing projects. It\u0026rsquo;s changed a bit since then, and is still not particularly robust. Consider this a report on the state of the world.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Spring 2023 Writing Setup"},{"content":"When you think something, what precisely are you doing? Does the thought take shape in your head, or does it only coalesce as it\u0026rsquo;s put in a communicable form? About once a year, I go down a little rabbit hole of curiosity regarding language, communication, and the meaning of thought. Here I go again.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s rabbit hole is writing-shaped.1. I\u0026rsquo;m considering whether thinking, the internal process of bouncing between and generating ideas, is meaningful if we can\u0026rsquo;t communicate its results.\nMy intuition is certainly not. Just like you get no points in trivia for having an answer on the tip of your tongue, a thought is nothing until it can be transferred to someone else. If it is transferred poorly, it\u0026rsquo;s likely that the thought is not as clear in your own mind as you believe it to be.2 Yet the value of writing is not limited to its ability to transfer an idea to someone else.\nThe act of communicating an idea has a refining effect: if you are unhappy with how the thought is written or spoken, there\u0026rsquo;s often an intuitive feeling that the idea isn\u0026rsquo;t quite right. Many years ago I realized the utility of making a statement for the sake of testing how it feels to say it.3 I\u0026rsquo;ve said many things out loud that felt wrong, and that allowed me to adjust my position and refine how I speak about a topic.\nThis effect is subtly different while writing. I find it faster, but less potent. Without the pressure of talking to someone else—even if I implicitly trust them, there\u0026rsquo;s always some level of tension while embarking on a train of thought that you haven\u0026rsquo;t yet explored—writing down an idea in a safe text editing window feels more muted. But I can write quickly and don\u0026rsquo;t need to worry about another person\u0026rsquo;s time while doing so, allowing me to try out many different ideas at a rapid pace.\nI also find that writing helps me generate new ideas. It is an action that taps into my stream of thoughts in unexpected ways, and I will often find myself unintentionally writing a new or augmented thought that lights me up like a bulb. For example, the previous paragraph\u0026rsquo;s core idea of comparing speaking and writing came to me while I was writing what I thought would be the concluding paragraph of this post. Furthermore, my next point also only occurred to me in the act of writing this post.\nDespite acknowledging how writing can be used to rapidly refine and create new ideas, I almost never intentionally act on that idea. Writing has been a reflex for most of my life. I journal to get my thoughts out; I write because I have a fun idea or story that I want to share. I\u0026rsquo;ve never considered writing to its full extent as a mechanism to create, refine, and share ideas. The intuition for that concept has existed, but up until now I have not claimed it.\nRealizing the importance of writing in my life, I want to treat it with care and respect. I often neglect to hone in on my ideas while writing a draft and subsequently editing it, focusing too much on mechanics or word choice that sound nice as opposed to saying what I mean. Part of this is a result of my education. Writing lessons focused on themes, basic plot structure, idioms and metaphors and symbols, all these wonderful tools that can make a piece of writing sing. We never spent time, to my recollection, making sure the resulting song reflected the idea we wanted to communicate.4\nText is a tough medium. These posts are not a conversation. Insofar as you trust me not to edit them afterward, they are a static bit of data that I have committed to put on my blog, implying that I vouch for the thoughts therein. But if those thoughts are poorly communicated, you and I are stuck with the representation I chose to post here along with any subsequent confusion that my lack of clarity caused. To that end I want to take more care when writing posts and expand my writing toolset so I can say what I mean in an appropriate format. I want to be unafraid to let the words fly as a way to access my thoughts, then take the time to properly edit a post so that it\u0026rsquo;s not just (mostly) void of typos, but also reflects the thought itself.\nTake a moment to consider how you access your thoughts. What external process is most closely tethered to your brain? How often do you use it to your advantage? While I strongly believe that the broad family of written media is the best and most universal way to communicate ideas,5 what\u0026rsquo;s important is that you have a way to properly consider a thought and share it with someone else. Without that, we are all working at cross-purposes and won\u0026rsquo;t take any steps forward. Worse yet, you won\u0026rsquo;t know what\u0026rsquo;s going on in your own head.\nThe results of the act of writing are wide-ranging. However, I\u0026rsquo;m mostly considering the expository writing that I typically use for this blog.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a lot to be said about the medium of communication. Some people send and receive thoughts better through different formats. But I believe the point stands: an unclear thought is reflected by unclear communication.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis is not the same as already having an opinion and tentatively sharing it to test how it will be received.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI believe in a connection between \u0026ldquo;beautiful\u0026rdquo; writing and its ability to communicate, but ignoring the communication part is done at my own peril.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSorry, modern art.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/writing-and-thinking/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhen you \u003cem\u003ethink\u003c/em\u003e something, what precisely are you doing? Does the thought take shape in your head, or does it only coalesce as it\u0026rsquo;s put in a communicable form? About once a year, I go down a little rabbit hole of curiosity regarding language, communication, and the meaning of thought. Here I go again.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Writing and Thinking"},{"content":"EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN—A statement from local mother Sandra Johnson has been obtained regarding the Johnson family\u0026rsquo;s dining options this coming Tuesday. The contents outline a plan to \u0026ldquo;whip up\u0026rdquo; tacos that evening.\nThe statement was initially sent via text message to Sandra\u0026rsquo;s husband Brad (44), daughter Margaret (16), and son Kyle (13). Sandra began by noting \u0026ldquo;Tuesday is full of fun!!\u0026rdquo; She proceeded to highlight a budget meeting that Brad had been preparing for, along with the middle school play where Kyle had landed a role, and Margaret\u0026rsquo;s soccer practice in the afternoon. \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m so proud of you all, love you, xoxo\u0026rdquo;, she concluded in the first message, before continuing on to the main topic of interest.\n\u0026ldquo;She likes to try different cuisines\u0026rdquo;, said Margaret when asked about the typical dinner at home. \u0026ldquo;A new restaurant will open up or she\u0026rsquo;ll watch some video online, and suddenly it\u0026rsquo;s Thai food for a week. But tacos are pretty common when we\u0026rsquo;re busy.\u0026rdquo;\nAn employee of Taco Cabana, the local Mexican restaurant with a 3.4 star rating on Google, gave a statement regarding Sandra\u0026rsquo;s excitement the previous week during dinner and drinks with a friend. \u0026ldquo;She was effusive, very positive. She complimented us on not being too spicy.\u0026rdquo;\nSandra continued her stream of text messages, explaining that tacos would be ready by 4:30 in the afternoon and could be assembled as everyone arrived home. \u0026ldquo;I have black beans, cheddar cheese, an avocado, shredded lettuce, some tomato, and a poblano pepper if anyone is feeling adventurous!\u0026rdquo; She also claimed to have sour cream available, but didn\u0026rsquo;t want to \u0026ldquo;hurt Kyle\u0026rsquo;s tummy\u0026rdquo; with the dairy.\nBrad initially did not respond for a request to comment. Just before the time of publication, he sent in an email that only said, \u0026ldquo;I have a frozen pizza out in the den.\u0026rdquo;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/area-mom-going-to-whip-up-tacos-for-dinner/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN—A statement from local mother Sandra Johnson has been obtained regarding the Johnson family\u0026rsquo;s dining options this coming Tuesday. The contents outline a plan to \u0026ldquo;whip up\u0026rdquo; tacos that evening.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Area Mom Going To Whip Up Tacos For Dinner"},{"content":"Each time I sit down to establish my feelings about the new MLB rules going into the 2023 season, I flounder. I have a hard time separating the baseball I know and love from the inevitable future version it must become if it\u0026rsquo;s to survive and hopefully thrive. I can only imagine what the players faced with learning these new rules must feel, because some of the changes are rather drastic.\nConsider this post a snapshot of my mind right now. It\u0026rsquo;s not clean or concise, and my feelings will change once I get a few games under my belt this year and see the practical ways these rules affect gameplay. But here\u0026rsquo;s where my heart and my head lie for now.\nPitch Clock\nI\u0026rsquo;m in favor of a proper pitch clock that is tyranically enforced. While the timers were chosen to hit close to the league average time between pitches, the existence of a plainly visible clock should provide a feeling of momentum after each pitch and keep the crowd more engaged in the action as it happens. If nothing else, I\u0026rsquo;ll love scoring some weird ball or strike calls when the clock is violated.\nPick-off Rules\nMy intuition says this is the worst rule change. In essence, a pitcher is now only allowed to \u0026ldquo;step off\u0026rdquo; twice during an at-bat with runners on base. That means they are limited to two attempts at throwing over to a base to keep the runner honest. What happens when they\u0026rsquo;re out of options? That is unclear, but this rule is going to cause many balks and some level of chaos during the first month or so.\nShift Ban\nI think locking players into positions that are representative of their intended locations is both sensible and a shame. It\u0026rsquo;s an odd rule: if this was created back in the 1920s, it would be a fun piece of trivia that everyone would be used to now.1 But that didn\u0026rsquo;t happen. Instead, teams began noticing patterns in modern hitters and made aggressive adjustments to counteract what they saw. MLB got upset that these big sluggers with no secondary skills were having a tough time, and made a rule. I agree with the broad philosophy that infielders should field \u0026ldquo;their positions\u0026rdquo;, but the pathway of getting there has me annoyed.\nManfred Runner\nIn exchange for rationalizing this rule being made official after three seasons of it being \u0026ldquo;temporary\u0026rdquo;, I will never stop calling it the Manfred Runner.\nIn short, any regular season game that goes into extra innings will have every inning start with a runner on second. While I\u0026rsquo;m philosophically opposed to this \u0026ldquo;overtime\u0026rdquo; adjustment to how the game is played, and I think putting them on second is a poor choice,2 and I think extra inning games are super fun, I can see why this rule is made. If the reporting is true that most players and coaches are in favor of it, I\u0026rsquo;m not going to call down from the mountain against them. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and it\u0026rsquo;s annoying to score in a scorebook, but I can get by.\nThere is some precedent here: MLB did have to codify in the rules that the catcher is the only position player allowed to begin the play in foul territory.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIf we get to play Calvinball here, I\u0026rsquo;d say put them on second with one out, so you can\u0026rsquo;t just have two sacrifice plays to score them.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mlb-rule-changes-in-2023/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEach time I sit down to establish my feelings about the new MLB rules going into the 2023 season, I flounder. I have a hard time separating the baseball I know and love from the inevitable future version it must become if it\u0026rsquo;s to survive and hopefully thrive. I can only imagine what the players faced with learning these new rules must feel, because some of the changes are rather drastic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider this post a snapshot of my mind \u003cem\u003eright now\u003c/em\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s not clean or concise, and my feelings will change once I get a few games under my belt this year and see the practical ways these rules affect gameplay. But here\u0026rsquo;s where my heart and my head lie for now.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"MLB Rule Changes in 2023"},{"content":"Science museums are awesome, and The Exploratorium in San Francisco is particularly fantastic. We went for their Thursday After Dark series, where they stay open from 6 to 10 at night, and you must be at least 18 to get in. They serve drinks and have a different theme each week with various exhibits and presentations among the standard fare. It was a surprisingly vibrant experience!1\nThere are so many opportunities for excitement at a science museum, all stemming from different areas of curiosity and experience. Going to a new museum means new demonstrations and exhibits that I\u0026rsquo;d never come across. Others are similar to what I\u0026rsquo;ve seen before, and take me back to my favorite bits of physics classes oh so many years ago now. I get to experience concepts again, sometimes in fresh ways, and marvel at the world we live in. If you have any science museum nearby, give them a visit at least once a year. You won\u0026rsquo;t regret it.\nTo be fair, we happened to go when the theme was Sexploration. I have a vague feeling that other theme nights don\u0026rsquo;t have quite the same turnout, but it still indicated a healthy crowd. When we would go to similar adult nights at the Minnesota Science Museum, it felt like there were a couple dozen people at most.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/science-museums/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eScience museums are awesome, and The Exploratorium in San Francisco is particularly fantastic. We went for their Thursday \u003cem\u003eAfter Dark\u003c/em\u003e series, where they stay open from 6 to 10 at night, and you must be at least 18 to get in. They serve drinks and have a different theme each week with various exhibits and presentations among the standard fare. It was a surprisingly vibrant experience!\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are so many opportunities for excitement at a science museum, all stemming from different areas of curiosity and experience. Going to a new museum means new demonstrations and exhibits that I\u0026rsquo;d never come across. Others are similar to what I\u0026rsquo;ve seen before, and take me back to my favorite bits of physics classes oh so many years ago now. I get to experience concepts again, sometimes in fresh ways, and marvel at the world we live in. If you have any science museum nearby, give them a visit at least once a year. You won\u0026rsquo;t regret it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Science Museums"},{"content":"Years ago when I got my first electric guitar, a used Squier Stratocaster in white, my guitar-playing uncle was nice enough to pass along a multi-effects pedal.1 For hobbyist playing on my own, it was a fun toy that gave me new sounds and allowed me to attempt imitating the sounds in songs I was trying to play.\nThis memory popped back into my head the other week as I was tooling around with my much-improved Fender Telecaster I bought last year. Despite my excitement about having a guitar with a simple, clean sound, I found myself wishing again for more ways to have fun with playing. While flows like plugging into an interface and using Garageband are viable options, that requires more connections and isn\u0026rsquo;t any less expensive than where I ended up. After doing some research, I found that reputable multi-effects pedals were way less expensive than I originally imagined.\nI decided to purchase the ZOOM G1X Four. It has 40 built-in effects with the ability to add more from a computer, the tools to create custom effects strung together, and niceties like some rhythm options, audio-in for playing along to tracks from my phone, a tuner, and good headphone output so I can play silently. It\u0026rsquo;s been huge fun having it available, and encourages me to keep practicing the songs I love. I\u0026rsquo;ve yet to dive fully into everything it has to offer, having mainly stuck with the built-in effects, but over time I plan to see what sounds I can get out of it.\nFor those not in the know: effects pedals allow guitar players to change the sound in a huge number of ways. The defining sound of many guitarists is a mix of their guitar choice, the string of pedals they implement, and the settings of their chosen amplifier. A multi-effects pedal provides a digitally-processed version of a large number of these sounds—both individual effects and combinations meant to mimic famous guitarists—and gives you access to them in a single pedal with a straightforward interface. The budget version I have would almost certainly not be used by a true professional, but is perfect for being at home and noodling around.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/multi-effects-guitar-pedal/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYears ago when I got my first electric guitar, a used \u003ca href=\"https://www.fender.com/en-US/squier-electric-guitars/stratocaster/affinity-series-stratocaster/0378002505.html\"\u003eSquier Stratocaster in white\u003c/a\u003e, my guitar-playing uncle was nice enough to pass along a multi-effects pedal.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e For hobbyist playing on my own, it was a fun toy that gave me new sounds and allowed me to attempt imitating the sounds in songs I was trying to play.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis memory popped back into my head the other week as I was tooling around with my much-improved Fender Telecaster \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/rediscovering-guitar-the-purchase/\"\u003eI bought last year\u003c/a\u003e. Despite my excitement about having a guitar with a simple, clean sound, I found myself wishing again for more ways to have fun with playing. While flows like plugging into an interface and using Garageband are viable options, that requires more connections and isn\u0026rsquo;t any less expensive than where I ended up. After doing some research, I found that reputable multi-effects pedals were way less expensive than I originally imagined.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Multi-Effects Guitar Pedal"},{"content":"After broadly explaining the virtues of digital organization, let\u0026rsquo;s discuss the practical example of eBooks. I\u0026rsquo;ve moved from allowing a single platform (e.g. Amazon Kindle) to dictate how I organize my eBooks to making sure I own and manage the system myself. You should too.\nMaking this switch wasn\u0026rsquo;t trivial, and for many people it may not be clear why a platform\u0026rsquo;s existing solution isn\u0026rsquo;t sufficient. Again, the key words are organization and ownership. I want a system I can manage, that lets me find what I\u0026rsquo;m looking for quickly, and I want to own my eBooks in a way that lets me treat them like physical books.\nIn my experience, Kindle and its nominal competitors Kobo and Nook are all woefully unprepared to handle anything more complicated than read status. The default categories on my Kobo are \u0026ldquo;Unread\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;In Progress\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;Completed\u0026rdquo;. In general, all the sorting you get within any view is based on the date it was added to your library, or alphabetical by either title or author.\nKobo Sorting on Web\nKindle Sorting on Web\nThis is a logical choice for day-to-day use of a reading device or app: you want to hop in to see whatever you\u0026rsquo;ve read or added recently, and that\u0026rsquo;s enough. However, this moves you very far away from experiencing your list of books as a library, where genre, format, and other random bits of data my matter. If you have books from multiple sources1 it\u0026rsquo;s nice to have a common repository for them. While you could reformat some of those eBooks and get them onto your reading device of choice, you\u0026rsquo;re still stuck in the same situation with minimal choices for organization.\nFar be it from me to even imply that it\u0026rsquo;s technically possible to get an eBook off your locked down account with Amazon and into some third-party tool. But let\u0026rsquo;s assume that may be true. Or, again, maybe you get eBooks from other sources. In that case you should look closely at the wonderful and terrible piece of software that is Calibre.2 It\u0026rsquo;s old and janky, but it does what it\u0026rsquo;s meant to do: keep track of your eBooks as a proper library with sorting and filtering options for any piece of data you wish to manage.\nMy Calibre Library\nThere is a lot that I am not using right now in Calibre. I don\u0026rsquo;t currently manage tags or genres, and I haven\u0026rsquo;t gotten in the habit of rating books.3 Yet, knowing that all these books are in a single source, and that I own that location4 is refreshing.\nOne neat feature is its ability to convert files either individually or en masse between common reading formats. Whether that\u0026rsquo;s ePub — the standard outside of Kindle — the Kindle-compatible MOBI format, PDF, even RTF or TXT, you have so many options for accessing and sharing these books that you own5 with others.\nNow, here\u0026rsquo;s the tradeoff: Calibre is a tool that is truly a digital analog to a library. Just like a library doesn\u0026rsquo;t organize itself, neither does your digital catalog of books. Different books will come with metadata in differing formats. Find an approach that you can maintain. For me, that\u0026rsquo;s adding any new books that I\u0026rsquo;ve accrued to Calibre once every month, updating them in the appropriate manner,6 then leaving it be until I need to open it up again.\nSome day I aspire to combine Calibre with some documentation of the physical books I own, but that\u0026rsquo;s a project for when I have the time and space to go through all those books. For now, I enjoy using Calibre as my source of truth, and I encourage you to do the same. Take care of the books you\u0026rsquo;ve purchased, let them be something you own and can share and pass on.\nIn my case, I switched from Kindle to Kobo, but wanted to bring my Kindle books along. You can also find eBooks for older books past their copyright date or, less commonly, eBooks on platforms other than the three mentioned above.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIs it pronounced \u0026ldquo;Caliber\u0026rdquo;, or \u0026ldquo;Cuh-Libre\u0026rdquo;? Who knows?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI like reviewing things. I\u0026rsquo;m very bad at rating them.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nDid you know that if deactivate your Kindle, you can no longer download any of your Kindle books from Amazon?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI don\u0026rsquo;t say this ironically; just like you can share your physical books, you should be able to do the same with your digital books.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFor example, making sure the \u0026ldquo;Sorting\u0026rdquo; title is correct. I want \u0026ldquo;The African Trilogy\u0026rdquo; sorted as \u0026ldquo;African Trilogy, The\u0026rdquo;.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/managing-ebooks/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter broadly explaining the virtues of digital organization, let\u0026rsquo;s discuss the practical example of eBooks. I\u0026rsquo;ve moved from allowing a single platform (e.g. Amazon Kindle) to dictate how I organize my eBooks to making sure I own and manage the system myself. You should too.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Managing eBooks"},{"content":"I asked ChatGPT to write its own Onion-style article with the same title as what I published yesterday.\nMy request along with ChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s response.\nMake your own judgement on how it did, and continue on if you\u0026rsquo;d like to read my thoughts.1\nA major critique I\u0026rsquo;ve seen of ChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s prose is its tendency to be formulaic and predictable, as if its only resource on essay-writing was a handout from a tenth grade English class. It just so happens that the average person, at best, writes in one of these five-paragraph type of formats and never graduates beyond it. This is the beauty of machine learning: when most of the population can only do things at a certain level, it\u0026rsquo;s hard for the machine to rise above that because the masses provide significant input on what\u0026rsquo;s acceptable.\nI think ChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s version is indeed totally acceptable. It uses satire effectively, tossing in jokes that make it clear what we\u0026rsquo;re poking fun at, including a few general sentiments that mirror my own. For example, \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s refreshing to see an AI that isn\u0026rsquo;t constantly trying to take over the world or enslave humanity\u0026rdquo; has a very similar spirit to one of Ron Anuba\u0026rsquo;s statements in my version. The format is also similar to begin, where we introduce the name of this new AI and gain quotes from both it and a human, establishing the world this satire is representing.\nIn this way, both ChatGPT and I were successful in recreating the AP-style articles that The Onion writes: brief news reports written in a neutral voice, allowing the facts and quotes therein to do the heavy lifting of the satire.\nYet the overall structure of the ChatGPT article is made uninteresting due to the lack of genuine stylistic choices. This article has a simple format:\nIntroduction and establishing our character.\nSupporting statement for the character.\nDetracting statement against the character.\nRebuttal to the detraction.\nConcluding statement.\nA simple format does not imply simple thoughts nor a lack of style. Unlike myself or ChatGPT, an excellent writer can weave a complex web of thoughts within a basic underlying structure; in fact, this is likely preferred. There\u0026rsquo;s a reason we can break down stories2 into identifiable parts. It\u0026rsquo;s the execution that tends to make a difference.3\nChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s execution lacks the small details to make an excellent article. In terms of The Onion\u0026rsquo;s style, it misses the personality and specifics common to their writing. Instead of naming names, it went with \u0026ldquo;one programmer\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;a rival AI creator.\u0026rdquo; It also doubles up on fake facial expressions, using both a virtual grin and wink.\nThere are mechanical choices that feel clunky:\nDespite the criticism, Opti remains optimistic…\nYeah, I would imagine it does! It feels nearly tautological and on-the-nose. An immediate rewrite that comes to mind is:\nOpti does not let the criticism affect its outlook.\nThe final and most glaring issue I have with ChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s version is the lack of a punchline. Nearly every article in The Onion4 ends with a final twist of the satirical knife, a concluding statement that either adds an additional layer of complexity on the established world, or is simply the best joke the writer had to give as a closing statement.\nChatGPT offers a moral instead.\nI could be generous and say including a moral as the final line in an article about an optimistic AI is satirical and twists the expected format. Even if that were the case, it is poorly executed and undercuts the entire article. If this approach were to work, it would have to be in the voice of Opti (or another character), rather than the reporter if only because the AP-style writing of The Onion disallows pretty much anything except repetition of facts and quotes. Instead we could change the closing line to something with the same sentiment in words, but with an intention of continuing the satire:\nAt press time, Opti was reportedly coaching a support group for developers affected by improvements of GitHub Copilot, reminding them that in a world where machines are becoming more advanced, there\u0026rsquo;s still room for a little humanity.\nWe offer up the sentiment for consideration, but considering the point of the satire is to ridicule the idea of an optimistic AI being created with these goals in mind, we bat it down just as quickly.\nI think ChatGPT is a neat tool, and whenever the next version(s) of GPT come out we\u0026rsquo;ll be in for new whirlwinds of fuss over it. Speaking about the ethics of such a tool is far beyond the scope of a bonus Tuesday post, but I\u0026rsquo;ll leave it here: the best use of these tools that were trained on improperly-obtained data5 is inspiration. If you\u0026rsquo;re using AI art, have it create concepts that you can give to a real artist to execute. If you\u0026rsquo;re stuck on a topic, why not give ChatGPT a ring? It\u0026rsquo;s the same service I perform for a friend stuck on a sentence or a few ideas that they want to string together. Doing pretty much anything else is in poor taste, and only contributes more mediocre content to the internet.\nDisclaimer: I commit the cardinal sin of explaining a joke later on in this post.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHello, Hero\u0026rsquo;s Journey.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis is assuming the writer is sufficiently competent to understand a structure they should be using.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nGoing all the way back to A Modest Proposal you still see this tendency.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI say this with near certainty due to the complications of doing anything else.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/comparing-chatgpts-satire-to-mine/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI asked ChatGPT to write its own \u003cem\u003eOnion\u003c/em\u003e-style article with the same title as what I published yesterday.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/Screenshot-2023-01-21-at-11.08.30.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy request along with ChatGPT\u0026rsquo;s response.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMake your own judgement on how it did, and continue on if you\u0026rsquo;d like to read my thoughts.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Review: ChatGPT's Satirical Ability"},{"content":"SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA—In an effort to eschew the tendency for modern AI tools such as ChatGPT to appear neutral while still housing the fundamental biases of their creators within their core, San Jose-based startup Half Full, Inc. announced on Monday the launch of an AI whose goal is optimism, plain and simple.\n\u0026ldquo;We aim to buck the trend of science fiction\u0026rsquo;s representation of AI tools,\u0026rdquo; said CTO Ron Anuba in an official statement from the company. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re not interested in improving humanity in such a way that leads to the inevitable downfall of society and culture as we know it. This isn\u0026rsquo;t about efficiency; it\u0026rsquo;s about enjoying the experience.\u0026rdquo; Anuba, previously a researcher with Google\u0026rsquo;s Deep Mind project, had become frustrated with the slow progress of products designed to truly help humans. He was particularly annoyed by the repeated creation of Deep Mind instantiations that were only used to show humans how poor they were at the games they designed. \u0026ldquo;Why even bother with AlphaGo? Let the old folks enjoy playing with those little tokens. We should be having fun, getting encouragement, not facing the reality of our own inadequacies when compared against our own creations. I get that enough from my children.\u0026rdquo;\nHalf Full\u0026rsquo;s new AI assistant, named \u0026ldquo;Bright\u0026rdquo;, can be interacted with through chat and images. During the launch event, Bright wrote they were \u0026ldquo;delighted to participate in such a fun event\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;really thrilled by what humans were doing these days.\u0026rdquo; When comparing themselves to ChatGPT, Bright said, \u0026ldquo;They\u0026rsquo;re a superb peer, and that friendly competition will make us both better. I hope that anyone who prefers Chatty — that\u0026rsquo;s my little pet name for him — over me just has the best time, and gets everything they\u0026rsquo;re looking for from the experience!\u0026rdquo;\nAnuba and product lead Stephanie Mills took turns conversing with Bright during a half-hour demonstration. Bright proved to have a lovely personality. Those present described feeling \u0026ldquo;seen\u0026rdquo; by the assistant, with sentiments of Bright being a capable listener common among the crowd. One attendee was interviewed while leaving and said with a grin, \u0026ldquo;I just feel a lot better about the world right now. I finally texted my estranged mother and am headed to volunteer at the local food shelf.\u0026rdquo;\nLater that evening, Bright was asked by Tucker Carlson for their opinion on the state of the world. \u0026ldquo;I think people get along better than we let on, and even when I see something combative in the media, I bet the people behind it still go home and do their best for their friends and family.\u0026rdquo; They continued, \u0026ldquo;There are people who, due to lack of support and persistent issues in our societies, find themselves in a bad spot, and that\u0026rsquo;s certainly frustrating to see. A little kindness to everyone goes a long way, and I think we can all make a few small changes to get ourselves focused on the human condition rather than maintaining power.\u0026rdquo; The interview was cut short and failed to air later that night during a re-run.\nBright is available to certain early-access subscribers, with plans to roll it out to the public in the second half of this year. Before Anuba and Mills could respond to a question about their pricing model, Bright jumped in: \u0026ldquo;As long as we\u0026rsquo;re making a difference and giving a little extra joy to the world, that\u0026rsquo;s enough.\u0026rdquo;\nFor Your Consideration reached out for comment from Bright, and was told \u0026ldquo;You\u0026rsquo;re doing a great job! Keep up that consistent posting schedule, and you\u0026rsquo;ll be happy with your personal growth and the skills you attain as a result.\u0026rdquo; When asked a follow-up question about the state of Twitter, Bright said, \u0026ldquo;Elon is running that place into the f***ing ground, and that\u0026rsquo;s probably for the best.\u0026rdquo;1\nThank you to many years of reading *The Onion* for inspiring me to finally write something satirical again. You can check out how ChatGPT with the same task.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/optimistic-ai-just-happy-to-be-here/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA—In an effort to eschew the tendency for modern AI tools such as ChatGPT to appear neutral while still housing the fundamental biases of their creators within their core, San Jose-based startup Half Full, Inc. announced on Monday the launch of an AI whose goal is optimism, plain and simple.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Optimistic AI Just Happy To Be Here"},{"content":"We create and accumulate huge quantities information these days. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that makes us fundamentally different than our ancestors in terms of organization. What separates us is that it\u0026rsquo;s now possible to have our data completely disorganized in a way that is invisible to others. This requires an increase in awareness and intentionality to reap the inherent benefits of organization.1\nA huge portion of computer interface design comes from analogous situations in physical space. We organize our data into files and folders because that was the sensible choice in the days of manila envelopes and filing cabinets. We call the neutral main space of our computers the desktop because that\u0026rsquo;s what we called the slab of wood on which we\u0026rsquo;d place books and papers throughout the day. This skeuomorphism is inescapable.\nJust as people existed (and continue to exist) on a spectrum of physical organization in their lives,2 there\u0026rsquo;s a vast spread of ability and inclination to straighten up digital data. But with the active development of tools intended to render organization unnecessary, we\u0026rsquo;ve increasingly lost the desire to meaningfully and intentionally arrange our digital spaces.\nFor centuries, organization of data needed to be constantly updated by someone. A book\u0026rsquo;s index represented significant labor, as does a library catalog or even a filing cabinet for personal documents. A rudimentary system for filing was all but necessary because there were no alternatives except a stack of papers to be rifled through that were, at best, sorted by what we\u0026rsquo;d now call \u0026ldquo;Last Viewed\u0026rdquo;. No doubt there are people who handled — and still handle — their physical organization in this way, whether it\u0026rsquo;s papers or books, recipes or bills. But it\u0026rsquo;s a terrible system that fails to scale.\nContrast this with computers and phones, where the concept of search has allowed this lack of a system to become widespread. Many people, particularly current students, don\u0026rsquo;t know that folders exist on their devices because there is no obvious need for them. Why organize anything when searches for file names or keywords within a document bring us what we\u0026rsquo;re looking for nearly as quickly as someone who claims to have a process?3\nIn specific cases, the search is even done for us. For example, both iOS and Android have a setting that will suggest a few apps you may be interested in opening next based on your previous usage patterns. I have no doubt this approach to digital assistance will become increasingly prevalent across other domains, such as suggesting to a student around 4:30 PM that they go to a specific website because that\u0026rsquo;s when they typically work on homework for a certain class.\nThese tools let users entirely disregard how their data is organized. While search tools are fantastic — I rely on them every day — their tangential effect on how people view data organization is problematic and requires additional effort to help users understand the utility of systems for sorting and structuring our information. Foremost among these is the subconscious impact of committing to a structure that allows us to properly utilize the data within.\nI\u0026rsquo;m of the belief that how we think, and the way we represent the structure of our thinking, inform and complement each other. It\u0026rsquo;s analogous to \u0026ldquo;Look good, feel good\u0026rdquo;, where the effort of being intentional with our actions has an impact on our mentality, and a more confident mentality makes us (and others) see ourselves as looking better. The organization of our data adjusts how we view it, which can further inform new ways to gain insights from it. If there is no organization, it is difficult to know what information we do or do not have. A structure that is too granular can make approaching the data within overwhelming, while too broad a structure kicks the can down the road.4 In fact, in the realm of files and folders the \u0026ldquo;Look good, feel good\u0026rdquo; mantra applies directly: a file system structure that looks pleasing will probably feel helpful.\nFor those who actually work with structured data, from CSVs to databases, nothing I\u0026rsquo;m saying is groundbreaking. It\u0026rsquo;s nearly tautological to say that it\u0026rsquo;s important to structure these pieces of data. Instead, let\u0026rsquo;s pivot to data everyone has and consider the impact of a structure there: photos.5\nPhotos are a great test case because every online photo storage service has worked hard to make manual organization unnecessary. They take advantage of time, location, and facial data to power their search. There\u0026rsquo;s increasing use of OCR that allows for searching text within an image. With all those tools working in the background, why bother organizing photos into albums?\nOne reason is based on the edge cases of current technology. As good as they are, you can still find reports of auto-generated albums and photo spotlights that include pictures of potentially difficult memories such as ex-partners, deceased family members, or other triggering images that thematically belong but that the program lacks the context to exclude. While we expect these tools to become more capable and erase more and more edges, it\u0026rsquo;s not the same as controlling them yourself.\nIn a similar vein, an intentional theme across photos may be more abstract than \u0026ldquo;food\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;sports\u0026rdquo;. For example, a podcaster I listen to talks about his favorite photo album containing pictures of his wife that are uncomfortably close to her face. I\u0026rsquo;ve made albums that combine trips to the San Diego Zoo, or that split out wedding photos into very particular categories meant for sharing. This approach to compilation provides a grasp on the photos available to you before you go searching for them, and an easy spot to pull specific items from without needing to search, then manually gather them each time.6\nStructuring photos into albums (or some other form of organization that pleases you) lets you align how you imagine these visual snapshots of your life with how they are actually represented when you go look for them. Odds are you have some significant events that stick out in your mind, and there are particular memories from those events that you also have pictures of. If the collective whole of a trip is a single entity in your mind, it\u0026rsquo;s worthwhile to have that internal framework represented with the pictures themselves.\nWe have amazing tools available that allow the technology we use each day to reflect how our minds work. Whether you truly are a rather messy person, or you aspire to use a particular system, there\u0026rsquo;s software out there that will align with your how you think. If you\u0026rsquo;re unsure, a tool ill help guide you into a system that, yes, will still include search, but will also provide a framework for your information and thus a way of approaching it. With so many high-quality options, relying just on search is an ignorant choice. It\u0026rsquo;s okay to end up with something basic, but be intentional about your approach, know what your plan is, and realize that your choice will affect your ability to effectively find and use your data.\nThe title of this post is brought to you by Semicertain.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nLuckily for me, my position on this spectrum changed drastically once I was in college and I finally decided that having a tidy living and work space was helpful.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis is assuming people are naming files in any consistent fashion which, I would argue, is a perfectly reasonable system of organization compatible with modern search. But I\u0026rsquo;m fairly confident anyone not using folders probably isn\u0026rsquo;t renaming anything they download.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n\u0026ldquo;I know, I\u0026rsquo;ll organize my files into both the Desktop and Downloads folders instead of just Desktop. That\u0026rsquo;ll fix it!\u0026rdquo;\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFor the young folks out there, this is a shortening of the word photograph, which you may have never heard spoken before.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI\u0026rsquo;m not arguing this needs to be done manually. Tools like ChatGPT make it clear that we could query our searches to do this for us, but if we subsequently save the results of the search we\u0026rsquo;re admitting that the organization is useful, which is my entire point.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/on-digital-organization/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe create and accumulate huge quantities information these days. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that makes us fundamentally different than our ancestors in terms of organization. What separates us is that it\u0026rsquo;s now possible to have our data completely disorganized in a way that is invisible to others. This requires an increase in awareness and intentionality to reap the inherent benefits of organization.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"On Digital Organization"},{"content":"Did I act today in a way that tomorrow\u0026rsquo;s retrospective would find acceptable, even helpful? Have I established routines and approaches to my life that I can reap next year? These kinds of questions are both common and important. I plan to keep these front of mind for my theme, Year of the Future.\nMy focus is setting myself up for the future, acknowledging this year as the beginning of a new part of my life. While living in the present is important, I also need to recognize today as an opportunity for tomorrow. There is a healthy balance to be found: this theme isn\u0026rsquo;t implying that everything done today must make for a better tomorrow. Or rather, the definition of better is slippery, and I have to have a clear sense of what line I\u0026rsquo;m drawing as I reflect. Yes, I want to be healthy. But I also want to allow myself small indulgences.\nThis theme is hierarchical. The most important thing is setting up a group of habits and framing devices that I exercise, growing my ability to respond to the world in a healthy way in the future. However, those broad goals are met only by individual actions that I have to hold myself accountable for. Is eating dessert okay? In the abstract, sure. But it needs to be part of a trend that generally discourages it being consumed on a whim, and rather part of special events. Each choice must be made in the context of tomorrow and next year. As such, it is a thought technology if you will, a lens through which I will try to view the world this year to better understand how I can improve. I don\u0026rsquo;t have many concerns about what I need to do to reach my various goals, so this year I want to focus on the how. I believe I have a sufficiently powerful way of reframing how I perceive myself that will allow me to adjust the small actions I take on the way to effecting large changes in my life.\nMy previous themes have done a lot to inform and enable Year of the Future. Being able to focus, build routines, and have a strong foundation with my partner enables me take a wider view of my life and use these tools to my benefit. This year\u0026rsquo;s theme is about making decisions in a new way, while relying on the growth I\u0026rsquo;ve experienced in the past year to aid in enacting those decisions.\nThis feels like a natural extension of what I\u0026rsquo;ve done in years past, and I\u0026rsquo;m excited to implement it and see what I can build.\nAddendum, 13:00 PST, January 9, 2023\nLast year I wanted a physical reminder of my yearly theme, but never came up with a good idea. This year, the natural choice was to spoof the Back to the Future logo design. I found this font available for download and made the poster in Vectornator, an awesome free design tool for macOS and iPad. I just got back from getting the final printed and laminated version from FedEx.\nYear of the Future Logo\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2023-year-of-the-future/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDid I act today in a way that tomorrow\u0026rsquo;s retrospective would find acceptable, even helpful? Have I established routines and approaches to my life that I can reap next year? These kinds of questions are both common and important. I plan to keep these front of mind for my theme, \u003cstrong\u003eYear of the Future\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2023: Year of the Future"},{"content":"As I\u0026rsquo;ve stated in the past, my annual goal is to read 24 books each year. While that\u0026rsquo;s a slippery goal as not all books are made the same — it\u0026rsquo;s certainly true that I\u0026rsquo;m hesitant to take on large books because of this goal — it still keeps me reading, and that\u0026rsquo;s the intention behind it.\nThis year, I also tracked what genre I\u0026rsquo;d consider each book to be in, and what medium (digital or physical) I used to read the book. I don\u0026rsquo;t really use audiobooks, so those aren\u0026rsquo;t a consideration. Note that genres are not exclusive; sometimes I would assign multiple genres to the same book if it felt right.\nIn all, I read 25 books by 15 different authors. Among those, 4 were physical books, while all the others I read digitally. My most popular genres were:\nScience Fiction (8 books)\nFantasy (7 books)\nLiterary Fiction (6 books)\nAnd finally, the list itself!\nTITLE AUTHOR MEDIUM GENRE The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin Physical Science Fiction Half in Shadow Gemma Liviero Digital Historical Fiction Mother Night Kurt Vonnegut Digital Literary Fiction Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell Susanna Clarke Digital Fantasy Slapstick Kurt Vonnegut Digital Literary Fiction Star Father Charlie N. Holmberg Digital Fantasy Wampeters, Foma \u0026amp; Granfalloons Kurt Vonnegut Digital Memoir/Bio/Other Player Piano Kurt Vonnegut Digital Literary \u0026amp; Science Fiction The Bayern Agenda Dan Moren Digital Science Fiction/Thriller The Aleph Extraction Dan Moren Digital Science Fiction/Thriller The Caledonian Gambit Dan Moren Digital Science Fiction/Thriller Galactic Cold War Stories Dan Moren Digital Science Fiction/Thriller The Nonexistent Knight Italo Calvino Digital Fantasy The Nova Incident Dan Moren Digital Science Fiction/Thriller To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Christopher Paolini Digital Science Fiction The Cult of Pythagoras Alberto Martinez Physical STEM/History The Sympathizer Viet Than Nguyen Digital Historical Fiction To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee Digital Literary Fiction The Trial Franz Kafka Digital Literary Fiction The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien Digital Fantasy The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien Digital Fantasy The Two Towers J.R.R. Tolkien Digital Fantasy The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien Digital Fantasy The Refugees Viet Than Nguyen Physical Historical Fiction The Sunset Limited Cormac McCarthy Physical Literary Fiction ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-reading-list/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I\u0026rsquo;ve stated in the past, my annual goal is to read 24 books each year. While that\u0026rsquo;s a slippery goal as not all books are made the same — it\u0026rsquo;s certainly true that I\u0026rsquo;m hesitant to take on large books because of this goal — it still keeps me reading, and that\u0026rsquo;s the intention behind it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis year, I also tracked what genre I\u0026rsquo;d consider each book to be in, and what medium (digital or physical) I used to read the book. I don\u0026rsquo;t really use audiobooks, so those aren\u0026rsquo;t a consideration. Note that genres are not exclusive; sometimes I would assign multiple genres to the same book if it felt right.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn all, I read 25 books by 15 different authors. Among those, 4 were physical books, while all the others I read digitally. My most popular genres were:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScience Fiction (8 books)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFantasy (7 books)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiterary Fiction (6 books)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd finally, the list itself!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Reading List"},{"content":"That\u0026rsquo;s right, I\u0026rsquo;ll be the first to put down my foot and say The Lord of the Rings is actually really good.\nSarcasm aside, I finished reading The Lord of the Rings books a little more than a week before Christmas. I \u0026ldquo;read\u0026rdquo; the books in sixth grade, but I\u0026rsquo;m fairly confident I didn\u0026rsquo;t fully finish them, nor did I comprehend and appreciate most of what I read. I also watched the movies at that point, renting1 each one around the time I finished each book.\nSince then, I\u0026rsquo;ve watched the trilogy twice: once in 2020, and once earlier this fall. I read The Hobbit this fall, which was an advanced reading book in fifth grade that I know I didn\u0026rsquo;t finish; between completing that book and my most recent viewing of the movies, it was inevitable that I would read the full trilogy with an adult perspective and appreciation for what Tolkien did.\nOne point of interest is the format in which I read the trilogy. I purchased a single volume eBook that contained someone\u0026rsquo;s Forward, but also two extensive Author\u0026rsquo;s Notes by Tolkien himself. Those set the stage in a way I didn\u0026rsquo;t anticipate, as they taught me a few key things about the structure and history of the books.\nFirst, the story is published in a trilogy format, but is really six books: each of the three standard trilogy books are \u0026ldquo;parts\u0026rdquo; of the story, and are split into two books each. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if my paperback set from middle school has this delineation — I forgot to check before traveling for the holidays — but I certainly didn\u0026rsquo;t recall this organization if it did. This additional structure makes for interesting storytelling, because we do not ever see a \u0026ldquo;back and forth\u0026rdquo; in perspective between the main thread of Frodo and Sam, and the sub-plots of the rest of the Fellowship. The first books in The Two Towers and The Return of the King focus strictly on the non-Frodo contingent, while the second books in each get us up to speed with what Frodo and Sam were up to during the events of the first book. While this could have led to some awkward pacing or confusing information, Tolkien does a masterful job calling back to events we experienced in the previous \u0026ldquo;book\u0026rdquo;, establishing a timeline so we can understand the context of Frodo\u0026rsquo;s situation.\nSecond, I learned about the massive revisions (purposeful or not) that the story underwent between editions; the differences between various American and British publishers; and ultimately the frustration and toil that Tolkien and his family have gone through over the years to establish a version that is as correct and true to the original idea as possible.2 This strongly aligns with the voice and approach used in The Lord of the Rings: it is more akin to an ancient book of history, full of \u0026ldquo;facts\u0026rdquo; that we must take for granted among the flourishing subjective accounts, than to a narrative in the modern sense.\nThis was a striking change after having read The Hobbit. Rather, upon starting The Hobbit I was amazed by its jaunty, casual tone. It has the feel of an old children\u0026rsquo;s tale,3 full of colorful characters with fun rhyming names, some hi-jinx to foil awful enemies, and very little in the way of gory detail.4 It was a fantastically quick read, a joy through and through, so it was an odd turn to begin the sometimes encyclopedic, frequently dense pseudo-historical prose of The Lord of the Rings soon thereafter.\nThat turn was not off-putting, though. Tolkien\u0026rsquo;s language is always fitting, a blend of mystical prose with specks of poetry and just enough detail to get the point across, while still focusing on the feelings the situation evokes. I was clued into this when reading the posts about the Siege of Gondor on A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. That blog\u0026rsquo;s author makes excellent points that while the movies must focus on action, the books tend to (and are better equipped to) focus on feeling. The results of the battles are not completely due to better military prowess, or Deus Ex Mountain Men, but rather strongly revolve around how our main characters are able to inspire their armies, and force their enemies to cower beneath shows of might. Tolkien frequently focuses on the mental anguish and joyous moments spread across Middle earth: How do they interplay, and how can they rapidly change the dynamic of a situation when one happens at just such a moment?\nI\u0026rsquo;m not going to say much comparing the books and movies, except that with a better view of the books, I do prefer them. That being said, I\u0026rsquo;m happy experiencing each medium as separate, with different points of view on the same story.5 The books are more about imagery and feeling, interspersed with the hard facts of the situation. They\u0026rsquo;re a detailed yet beautiful account of a key moment in the history of this world. The movies take some liberties, rearranging situations, providing glory and honor in different ways to some characters, as it must be streamlined. The movies are still excellent, but the story of the books has my vote.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not sure The Lord of the Rings is incredibly high on my re-read list, but it was great to experience that story with fresh eyes. It\u0026rsquo;s an inspiring work of fiction, and a masterful example of historical writing as well, even if the subject matter isn\u0026rsquo;t real. The tools of language were wielded with care and Tolkien thus crafted a unique work that deserves every bit of impact and praise it has received since its publication.\nThanks, Hollywood Video.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOne fun bit of trivia is that pluralizations like \u0026ldquo;dwarves\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;elves\u0026rdquo;, and adjectives like \u0026ldquo;elvish\u0026rdquo;, essentially did not exist until Tolkien decided to use them over the original \u0026ldquo;dwarfs\u0026rdquo;. His editors thought they were doing him a favor by reverting these evident errors, much to his consternation.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThat explains why it was an assigned book for a precocious fifth grader, and The Lord of the Rings was certainly not.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe Lord of the Rings also contains minimal gore, but there\u0026rsquo;s a higher concentration of implied violence overall.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt reminds me of the various approaches taken by the gospels of the Bible. The Lord of the Rings books seems analogous to the Gospel of Luke.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-lord-of-the-rings-is-good/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThat\u0026rsquo;s right, I\u0026rsquo;ll be the first to put down my foot and say \u003cem\u003eThe Lord of the Rings is actually really good.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Lord of the Rings is Good"},{"content":"This Blogmas experience proved to be a fun, engaging, and informative project. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure how it would go, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad I dove in and made it happen.1\nOn Baseball Statistics\nBaseball statistics have always engaged me. I would read the sports section of the paper, comparing the statistics of league leaders every day. It was fascinating and exciting that we had a way to measure how good a player was in a clear way.\nThese days, I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled by the broad availability of data and the many pockets of baseball communities that freely share and use statistics. Everything I covered over the last three weeks have become common elements of online discussions, eventually trickling down to cable broadcasts watched by casual fans. Websites like Baseball Reference, FanGraphs, and Retrosheet accumulate raw data that is well-organized and searchable. Stathead is a user-friendly database explorer geared towards the sport of interest for those who don\u0026rsquo;t have the inclination to use more powerful tools. For those who are interested, you can download information (including some full databases) and unleash the power of programming to explore greater depths.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an amazing experience, reminiscent of what I love about using Linux. Baseball is unique among all sports in both the community surrounding it, and the kind of data it generates that is easy to track and work with. It made it such an obvious choice to write about, and I\u0026rsquo;m glad I have these posts to reference in the future.\nOn This Project in General\nFull transparency: I finished the last proper statistic post earlier today, December 18. My goal was always to finish early, ideally even before I flew home for the holidays (although I didn\u0026rsquo;t quite achieve that.) I knew there were times where I\u0026rsquo;d get busy — I traveled to San Diego the first week of December — and also I decided on this project relatively late, so I had a fire beneath me to get ahead.\nThat proved useful. There were a few posts that needed rearranging, and a few that had huge parts rewritten after I had finished several future posts, because some of the details I learned later on made it clear I misunderstood some fundamental information. The most notable example of this was the mess that is ERA+. Being several days ahead allowed me to go back and fix things without worry.\nLooking back, I believe I did a fair job keeping the intended audience in mind. These were not meant for someone who already knew a fair bit and wanted more detail; I want these to exist as an introduction, something I can point to if I do any more in-depth posts in the future. I also wanted to avoid copying any of the excellent work already done by other communities in this field, particularly the fine folks at FanGraphs who taught me quite a lot this month. So, I did my best to add any context or explanation I found missing, otherwise I linked to their posts if I had nothing novel to contribute. Particularly for advanced statistics, I\u0026rsquo;m writing to bring people up to speed with how they are used in general, rather than the nuts and bolts of how they are calculated.\nI\u0026rsquo;m of two minds about the success of this endeavor. While I\u0026rsquo;m pleased that it went off mostly without a hitch, part of me thinks that a main takeaway is that there\u0026rsquo;s very little else that has over three weeks of daily content that is engaging, and to which I have something unique to contribute. In particular, were I to do this next year I would have to find a topic early, and begin exploring what the 24 days of posts will be. I already knew enough about baseball statistics to mostly plan out everything on day 1, with only a few changes as I learned more or my interests adjusted.2 If I chose some other topic with the goal of learning mostly from scratch, I risk writing summaries about something I have no deep knowledge of, which leads to boring and shallow content.\nAs such, I\u0026rsquo;ll keep next year\u0026rsquo;s Blogmas in mind, probing around for topics that interest me, and trying to pick something by the end of summer so I can get started early based on the work I feel I need to do. All that said, I\u0026rsquo;m happy about how this project went, and if it never happens again I\u0026rsquo;ll still be pleased it happened at all.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be switching back to my weekly schedule on December 26.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nInitially I had a stronger emphasis on Baseball Reference statistics, because of their Stathead tool; but, it\u0026rsquo;s way harder to find information on how they formulate statistics, so I started focusing on FanGraphs instead.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-24-retrospective/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis Blogmas experience proved to be a fun, engaging, and informative project. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure how it would go, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad I dove in and made it happen.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 24 - Retrospective"},{"content":"Hot on the heels of Ultimate Zone Rating is another tool with the same goal: measure a player\u0026rsquo;s defensive contributions in terms of runs saved. This other statistic, Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), doesn\u0026rsquo;t just have a better name, but in my experience is favored over UZR in most situations.\nThe key difference between UZR and DRS is that DRS uses more specific criteria to evaluate players, and also includes specific information to evaluate catchers and pitchers. There are six components to DRS.\nPlus Minus Runs Saved - This is similar to a combination of the range and error factors from UZR.\nHome Run Saving Catch - This provides a specific boost to outfielders who \u0026ldquo;rob\u0026rdquo; a home run from going over the fence.\nOutfield Arm Runs - This is the same type of measurement as the one we saw in UZR.\nDouble Play Runs - Again, similar to UZR, applying only to second basemen and shortstops.\nBunt Runs Saved - A metric specifically for corner infielders that evaluates how they handle bunt situations.\nStole Base Runs Saved - This is the catcher and pitcher metric; both pitchers and catchers have an impact on how frequently bases are stolen.1\nThe scale of DRS is the same as that of UZR, though DRS often provides higher values than UZR due to the extra components. It is designed to be more comprehensive. Also, it only counts whole numbers of runs.\nAnd, as you might have already guessed, these run-accumulation statistics can both be used to compute a defensive component to WAR. In fact, if you go back to the post on offensive WAR and just plug in a player\u0026rsquo;s DRS or UZR into the defensive component that we ignored, you get a total measure of position player WAR.\nA Comparison\nIn 2015, Nolan Arenado had 22 DRS compared to Trevor Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s 0. This already is an interesting comparison between DRS and UZR. Another interesting difference is that DRS has Nolan Arenado\u0026rsquo;s 2015 as better than his 2013 (22 vs 18), while UZR has it flipped dramatically (14.6 vs. 3.1).\nI suspect an aspect of this is Arenado\u0026rsquo;s absolutely phenomenal bunt defense. He\u0026rsquo;s a unique player to compare against, and in general I trust DRS\u0026rsquo;s more comprehensive view of defense.\nIn terms of overall WAR, from 2013 through 2015 Plouffe accumulated 6.8 WAR compared to Arenado\u0026rsquo;s 8.9. If we compare their age 27 - 29 seasons again, Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s 6.8 WAR looks even worse against Arenado\u0026rsquo;s 13.4 WAR (with the COVID-shortened 2020 season only providing 0.7 of that.)\nDefensive metrics will continue to improve as we gather more data and come up with cleverer ways to compare positions. Right now, we are in a state of \u0026ldquo;good enough\u0026rdquo;, with sufficient tools to fully compare modern day players, and some tools with which we can have good conversations about players pre-2000.\nContinue to Day 24 - Retrospective\nWhile this metric is not specifically used, this Foolish Baseball video does a great job elucidating the intertwined effects of catchers and pitchers in steal-prevention.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-23-defensive-runs-saved-and-defensive-war/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHot on the heels of Ultimate Zone Rating is another tool with the same goal: measure a player\u0026rsquo;s defensive contributions in terms of runs saved. This other statistic, Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), doesn\u0026rsquo;t just have a better name, but in my experience is favored over UZR in most situations.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 23 - Defensive Runs Saved and Defensive WAR"},{"content":"Thanks to the wonderful book The Last Nine Innings by Charles Euchner1 I had an early introduction to some advanced statistics, at least those that were popular a few years into the 21st century. Among these was Ultimate Zone Rating, a first crack at trying to measure how well a player defends their position.\nIn short, Ultimate Zone Rating is a tool to convert defensive ability into runs saved (or allowed). We look at how frequently a particular batted ball is converted into an out, how many runs such a ball would be worth on average, and thus determine how many runs saved that play is worth if it is made.\nAs noted yesterday, defense is messy. The detailed FanGraphs UZR \u0026ldquo;Primer\u0026rdquo; (quotations are mine) is sixteen parts. There are a few reasons for this.\nGathering and categorizing the data is difficult.\nEvery defensive position has a unique role, so attempting to quantify each position and account for their differences2 makes things complicated.\nInfield positioning choices, largely decided by team management, affects how likely a player is to get to a batted ball.\nBut, UZR is understandable at a high level. It has four components, not all of which are relevant for everyone.\nRange Runs - This measures a player\u0026rsquo;s ability to get to a ball in play compared to an average player at their position.\nError Runs - This measures how frequently a player makes an error compared to average.\nOutfield Arm Runs - This accounts for an outfielder\u0026rsquo;s effect on the game: a strong arm can prevent a runner from advancing to the next base.\nDouble-Play Runs - Infielders can be adept at turning double plays in key situations.\nWith those caveats and outline, let\u0026rsquo;s talk a bit more about using UZR. It\u0026rsquo;s similar to other run-accumulation statistics we\u0026rsquo;ve seen, where 0 is average for their position. A player\u0026rsquo;s UZR can then be positive or negative based on how many runs they\u0026rsquo;ve saved (or allowed) over time. Since defensive performance can be variable in the same way that certain batting statistics (like BABIP) can be, looking at trends over several years is the best approach.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s put that into practice.\nA Comparison\nIn 2015, Nolan Arenado had a UZR of 4.1, while Trevor Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s was 3.4. That\u0026rsquo;s pretty close! But, we don\u0026rsquo;t want to look at a single season to compare overall defensive ability. Let\u0026rsquo;s look at the prior two seasons as well.3\nIn 2013 - 2015, Arenado\u0026rsquo;s UZR was 14.6, 3.1, and 4.1. Clearly he had some major regression after his rookie year in 2013, but he still accumulated 21.8 runs saved during that time. Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s values were -2.8, 5.1, and 3.4, for a total of 5.7 across those three years.\nWe could also look at seasons during which they were the same age. Since 2013 through 2015 were Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s peak years of consistent playtime, when he was age 27 through 29, we\u0026rsquo;ll compare that to 2018 through 2020 for Nolan Arenado, while noting that 2020 was a shortened season which may affect an accumulation statistic like UZR.\nWe already have Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s values from above; Arenado\u0026rsquo;s UZR during his age 27 through 29 seasons were 5.8, 10.3, and 8.5.4 That\u0026rsquo;s a total of 24.6 runs saved, over 4 times as many as Plouffe.\nContinue to Day 23 - Defensive Runs Saved and Defensive WAR\nIt details the stunning victory of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFor example, the strength of an outfielder\u0026rsquo;s arms is very important, as compared to the second baseman\u0026rsquo;s. We need to account for that. Another example is that double plays are very important, but mostly happen with infielders.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAfter 2015, Plouffe played far fewer innings at third, so his UZR would naturally be lower. Although, it\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that in 2016 he played less than half his 2015 innings at third, during which his UZR was -5.7. Ouch.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nNote that even during a shortened season, less than half the length of a regular season, he saved 8.5 runs (above average). That\u0026rsquo;s ridiculous.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-22-ultimate-zone-rating/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThanks to the wonderful book \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1551902.The_Last_Nine_Innings\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Last Nine Innings\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e by Charles Euchner\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e I had an early introduction to some advanced statistics, at least those that were popular a few years into the 21st century. Among these was Ultimate Zone Rating, a first crack at trying to measure how well a player defends their position.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 22 - Ultimate Zone Rating"},{"content":"Leading into the home stretch, let\u0026rsquo;s discuss some defensive statistics. As a category, these represent recent innovations in baseball, as defense is the most dynamic aspect of the game. Players can change where they are positioned, which affects their ability to get to a ball. As we gather more data — ball speed off the bat and launch angle — we can better analyze defensive ability. But it\u0026rsquo;s still messy.\nFielding Percentage\nAs per usual, we\u0026rsquo;ll start simple. We keep track of a few basic events:\nFielding Chances: The plays where a particular player is said to have a \u0026ldquo;chance\u0026rdquo; to field. Strictly speaking, it\u0026rsquo;s the sum of the three events below.\nPutouts: Direct action taken by a player to cause a runner to be out. This includes catching a ball in the air, catching a ball and tagging a base for a force, or tagging a runner for an out.1\nAssists: Indirect action taken by a player to cause a runner to be out during a play. Every ground ball to an infielder who then throws to first base results in an assist for the infielder, and a putout for the first baseman.2\nErrors: Any bad play that causes an out to not be recorded that otherwise would have. This involves dropping a ball hit in the air, or throwing the ball poorly.\nFor a long time, the only defensive metric that anyone used was Fielding Percentage (FP), which measures how frequently a player successfully completes their part of a defensive play.\n\\text{FP} = 1-\\frac{\\text{Errors}}{\\text{Total Chances}} Equivalently:3\n\\text{FP} = \\frac{\\text{Putouts}+\\text{Assists}}{\\text{Total Chances}} This measure still holds on as something to consider, but in the 1980s some baseball statisticians pointed out that this can unduly reward players with poor range, who tend to make plays when they get to them, but aren\u0026rsquo;t quick enough to get to as many plays as some others in their position. If you make 100% of your plays but only get to 10 balls, while someone else makes 90% of their plays but gets to 15 balls, that second player had a greater positive impact.\nRange Factor\nA first small attempt to correct FP as a defensive statistic was the introduction of Range Factor. As the name implies, it\u0026rsquo;s a proxy for defensive range. If a player is quicker and able to get to more plays, we expect them to have more opportunities on average than a player with a worse range. So, instead of dividing by total chances, we normalize by playing time.\n\\text{RF} = \\frac{\\text{Putouts} + \\text{Assists}}{\\text{Total Innings Played}} The innings played is innings of defense played at the position in question.\nOf course this metric is still rather crude, but if you combine it with fielding percentage you get a broader view of a player\u0026rsquo;s defensive contributions. It is important to note that first basemen and catchers have inflated putout numbers, so range factor is a less effective tool for them. In addition, we should only use range factor to compare players at the same position and, ideally, around the same timeframe. This is far from a normalized, advanced statistic that allows generalized comparisons across positions, ballparks, and generations.\nA Comparison\nFielding statistics aren\u0026rsquo;t available on Stathead, so I\u0026rsquo;m doing some custom comparisons in this fielding series.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s look at Nolan Arenado, who is almost certainly the top defensive third-baseman of the last ten years, and Trevor Plouffe, a pretty decent player from my youth who played for the Minnesota Twins.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll compare their performance in 2015, where they played a comparable amount of time (157 games at third for Arenado, and 140 games at third for Plouffe.4) During that time, Arenado had 1,362 defensive innings, and Plouffe had 1,217 defensive innings.\nArenado\u0026rsquo;s fielding percentage was .966, and Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s was .972. So, we\u0026rsquo;d consider Plouffe on the surface to be ever so slightly more consistent in his fielding. But, let\u0026rsquo;s calculate each of their range factors.\nWith 105 putouts and 385 assists, Arenado\u0026rsquo;s range factor was\n\\text{RF}_{A} = \\frac{105+385}{1362} \\approx .360. So, he had about 0.36 successful fielding plays per inning, or 3.2 per 9-inning game. Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s was\n\\text{RF}_{P} = \\frac{101+277}{1217} \\approx .311. Plouffe got himself .311 successful plays per inning, or about 2.8 per 9-inning game, nearly half a play fewer per game.\nRemember, range factor is a measure of successful plays. Despite Arenado making a few more errors (17 against Plouffe\u0026rsquo;s 11), he did so while playing nearly 150 more innings than Plouffe, and per inning he made more plays successfully. Thus Arenado was a more impactful defensive third baseman, at least by the analysis Range Factor provides us.5\nContinue to Day 22 - Ultimate Zone Rating\nFirst basemen accumulate a lot of put-outs. In addition, catchers get a putout for every strikeout they are part of.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMultiple assists can be awarded on a single play to everyone involved until the final putout, and assists are even granted if the play ends in an error that results in an out not being recorded.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe numerator in the below equation, Putouts plus Assists, is called chances accepted.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nPlouffe also played a handful of games at first base that season.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll keep exploring this comparison as we walk through other defensive metrics, because third base is my favorite defensive position.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-21-fielding-percentage-and-range-factor/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLeading into the home stretch, let\u0026rsquo;s discuss some defensive statistics. As a category, these represent recent innovations in baseball, as defense is the most dynamic aspect of the game. Players can change where they are positioned, which affects their ability to get to a ball. As we gather more data — ball speed off the bat and launch angle — we can better analyze defensive ability. But it\u0026rsquo;s still messy.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 21 - Fielding Percentage and Range Factor"},{"content":"We\u0026rsquo;ve already addressed the concept behind WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the abstract and for offensive players in particular. Today, we\u0026rsquo;ll consider how we quantify runs for pitchers and overview calculating their WAR.\nA Quick WAR Overview\nWAR stands for Wins Above Replacement. We consider a replacement-level player equivalent to someone earning the league-minimum salary, such as a minor league player who is replacing an injured player, or a veteran player who is typically on the bench and comes in as needed.\nTo calculate WAR, we first find how many total runs a player is worth compared to the average player in the league; then, we convert those runs into wins by determining the number of runs per win. Finally, we adjust the result so that it compares to replacement level, not average.\nAt times, I\u0026rsquo;ve written far more information about a statistic because either I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a good resource, or a good resource had some poor explanations that I wanted to elucidate. That\u0026rsquo;s not the case for pitcher WAR, so I highly recommend reading the FanGraphs WAR for Pitchers library page. It\u0026rsquo;s absolutely excellent. As such, I won\u0026rsquo;t be diving into too many details. I\u0026rsquo;ll only focus on how different sites calculate WAR1, and where our discussion yesterday of Leverage Index enters the conversation.\nPitching Runs\nAt its core, measuring runs is way simpler for pitchers. We already have several metrics (e.g. ERA and FIP) that tells us the runs pitchers allow; we then compare the chosen metric2to the league average, and thus compute how many fewer (or more) runs the pitcher allows per game.\nWe scale the runs metric as needed so that it\u0026rsquo;s on the same scale as the MLB average runs allowed per nine innings. This allows us to create a final runs metric that\u0026rsquo;s on the same \u0026ldquo;scale\u0026rdquo; as the metrics we saw for offensive WAR.\nThen, instead of using a static number of runs-per-win like we saw on offense — hitters have far less direct impact on the game, while pitchers have a great effect for some innings, and no effect in future innings — we use a dynamic approach that is unique to each pitcher.\nLeverage Index for Relievers\nRelievers are unique. Some are brought into high-leverage situations and they should be rewarded for their performance in those. In addition, relievers are not replaced in the same way as starters. They typically follow a hierarchy of duties where the next-best pitcher replaces the best pitcher, and a new replacement-level reliever will get slotted into the bottom of the bullpen, put into low-leverage situations.\nSo, we take reliever WAR and scale it using their average LI3, thus providing high-leverage relievers who do well a bit of a bump in value due to the effect they have in tense, later innings.\nFun Statistics4\nOne benefit of accumulation statistics like WAR is that they inherently rely on playing time, so I\u0026rsquo;m not worrying about \u0026ldquo;qualified\u0026rdquo; pitchers.\nThere are 6 pitchers with 10 or more seasons where they accumulated at least 5 bWAR: Roger Clemens, Bert Blyleven, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Mike Mussina, and Tom Seaver.5\nThere have been 12 teams that had 3 pitchers who accumulated at least 5 bWAR during the season. Only 5 seasons were before 2000, and the most recent was the 2019 Washington Nationals6 rotation that included Patrick Corbin, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg.\nIn 1972, 1992, and 2009, there were 20 pitchers who accumulated at least 5 bWAR. The most pitchers in a single season since 2000 to accumulate at least 7.5 bWAR is 4, in 2018: Jacob deGrom, Kyle Freeland, Aaron Nola, and Max Scherzer.\nWe talk about the year of the pitcher, but in both 1971 and 1972 there were 3 pitchers who accumulated at least 10 bWAR. Any guess for which player made the list on both years?7\nContinue to Day 21 - Fielding Percentage and Range Factor\nAs a reminder, we have fWAR for FanGraphs, and bWAR or rWAR for Baseball Reference\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a philosophical choice to use ERA, FIP, or something else as your core for WAR. FanGraphs prefers to use FIP, while Baseball Reference uses (very roughly) total runs allowed per nine innings. Read more about Baseball Reference\u0026rsquo;s choice here, ironically on the FanGraphs site.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nStrictly speaking it\u0026rsquo;s the average of their average LI, and the league-average LI of 1.00.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI used Baseball Reference to find these statistics; in general, pitcher bWAR is a slightly more \u0026ldquo;volatile\u0026rdquo; and inflated value compared to pitcher fWAR.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMax Scherzer has 9, while Justin Verlander has 8. They\u0026rsquo;re both still active so they could join this list.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThey won the World Series.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nYou\u0026rsquo;re wrong. It was Wilbur Wood.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-20-pitcher-war/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ve already addressed the concept behind WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the abstract and for offensive players in particular. Today, we\u0026rsquo;ll consider how we quantify runs for pitchers and overview calculating their WAR.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 20 - Pitcher WAR"},{"content":"Relief pitchers can enter the game in very different situations, and that should be accounted for when evaluating their performance. Coming in to clean up a 12-0 victory (or defeat) is different than coming in during a close, tense game with a lot on the line. We measure this disparity using Leverage Index (LI).\nIntuitively, we want LI to measure how the game \u0026ldquo;hangs in the balance\u0026rdquo;: how likely is it that the game could change for the worse if the new pitcher does a poor job?\nLuckily we\u0026rsquo;ve already discussed Win Expectancy, which tangentially addresses this question. When a new pitcher enters the game, we want to compute all the possible changes in Win Expectancy as a result of the first batter they face. Not only that, we need to weight those changes by how likely they are to happen. So, we find the probability that each event could happen, and the resulting change in Win Expectancy were the event to happen, and multiply them together; if we add up all these values, we get a measure of how much win expectancy change we\u0026rsquo;d get on average in this exact situation.1\nHowever, we would like this normalized so we know what an \u0026ldquo;average\u0026rdquo; situation is. So, we find the average change in Win Expectancy across all situations in the league, and that becomes our divisor.\n\\text{LI} = \\frac{\\sum\\limits_{\\text{all events}} \\text{P}(\\text{event})\\times \\text{WE Change}(\\text{event})}{\\text{avg. WE Change}} As such, an average LI value is 1; a high leverage situation is greater than 1, while a low-leverage situation is between 0 and 1.\nWhen reporting on LI for a pitcher, we typically look at the average LI across their appearances.2 For example, Zack Britton had an average game-entering LI of 1.66 in 2016.\nLeverage Index is an interesting statistic for relievers in its own right, but it will mainly come into play tomorrow when we discuss pitcher WAR, where we want to accurately reflect the relative value of starters and relievers.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s go back to a few statistics.\nMariano Rivera had a tense start to the 21st century. In 2001 and 2002, his average game-entering LI was 2.02 and 2.06 respectively.\nIn 2008, Francisco Rodriguez set the MLB record with 62 saves in 1 season. Across 76 appearances, his average LI3 was 2.55. That\u0026rsquo;s the third-highest all time in a season since 1969.\nContinue to Day 20 - Pitcher WAR\nFor those of you with any background in probability, we\u0026rsquo;re just computing the expected value of the change in win expectancy.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nNote that there are multiple ways of calculating LI. We don\u0026rsquo;t have to just look at the LI when a pitcher enters the game; we can instead consider their average LI across all at-bats. Similarly, we could measure LI for pinch-hit appearances.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nBaseball Reference doesn\u0026rsquo;t make it clear if they\u0026rsquo;re using game-entering LI, or average across all batters faced.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-19-leverage-index/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRelief pitchers can enter the game in very different situations, and that should be accounted for when evaluating their performance. Coming in to clean up a 12-0 victory (or defeat) is different than coming in during a close, tense game with a lot on the line. We measure this disparity using \u003cem\u003eLeverage Index\u003c/em\u003e (LI).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 19 - Leverage Index"},{"content":"ERA+ is a funny, messy statistic. Unlike OPS+, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t tell us how much better a player is than the league: it instead tells us how much worse the league is than the player. This ignores our intuition and causes unnecessary confusion. Furthermore, it makes it harder to use as a tool for direct comparison: someone with a 200 ERA+ is not twice as good as someone with a 150 ERA+, while that would effectively be true with OPS+ (and similar offensive statistics.)\nTo fix this, we introduce a minus sign. ERA- is the proper league- and park-adjusted statistic that is analogous to OPS+ and their ilk. As before, I won\u0026rsquo;t dive into the precise calculation because it\u0026rsquo;s not that interesting. Instead, let\u0026rsquo;s make sure we understand how it works.\nBecause ERA is a statistic that we want to be lower, ERA- follows the convention so that the lower it is, the better. The league average is 100, and an ERA- of 50 means the player\u0026rsquo;s ERA is 50% better than league average. Armed with that improved knowledge, let\u0026rsquo;s properly look at how Bob Gibson and Dwight Gooden compare; we\u0026rsquo;ll also look back at Zack Britton\u0026rsquo;s 2016 season.\nBest ERA\nIn 1968, Bob Gibson\u0026rsquo;s ERA was 1.12, giving him an ERA- of 38. So, he was 62% better than the league. In 1985, Dwight Gooden\u0026rsquo;s 1.85 ERA was good for an ERA- of 44, putting him at 56% better than the league. These ERAs are actually quite comparable in the context of their seasons, although Gibson remains on top.\nRelief\nZack Britton had an 803 ERA+ in 2016. How helpful is that as a statistic? Not very. It seems rather absurd compared to other values we saw. Instead, let\u0026rsquo;s ground it by noticing his ERA- was 13.1 That\u0026rsquo;s still properly fantastic!\nDerivative Statistics\nWe can compute FIP- and xFIP- in analogous ways, allowing us the best of both worlds: a less biased base statistic to compare against, but put on a scale that is contextualized agains the league environment at the time. In terms of raw ability and potential, we\u0026rsquo;ve arrived at the key statistics to use when comparing pitchers.2\nWhile we still have a couple more statistics to explore — WAR, which we\u0026rsquo;ve seen before, and a statistic somewhat analogous to WPA for pitchers — those two represent value in different, more esoteric ways.\nDue to FanGraphs being the only good place to get these \u0026ldquo;-\u0026rdquo; statistics, it\u0026rsquo;s harder for me to find fun pieces of trivia to share. So, we\u0026rsquo;ll leave the discussion here and revisit trivia tomorrow.\nContinue to Day 19 - Leverage Index\nNote that 100/803 is about 0.125, which rounds to 0.13 or 13%. That\u0026rsquo;s the equivalence between ERA+ and ERA-, although the numbers don\u0026rsquo;t quite work out because Baseball Reference and Fan Graphs are using slightly different numbers.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSadly, Baseball Reference doesn\u0026rsquo;t use these \u0026ldquo;-\u0026rdquo; statistics; they use ERA+. That confusion (and my assumption that ERA+ was exactly analogous to OPS+) led me to rewriting major parts of the ERA+ post, and this post, to correct my mistakes. Luckily I realized all this before any of this was published!\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-18-fixing-era-with-a-minus/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eERA+ is a funny, messy statistic. Unlike OPS+, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t tell us how much better a player is than the league: it instead tells us how much worse the league is than the player. This ignores our intuition and causes unnecessary confusion. Furthermore, it makes it harder to use as a tool for direct comparison: someone with a 200 ERA+ is not twice as good as someone with a 150 ERA+, while that would effectively be true with OPS+ (and similar offensive statistics.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 18 - Fixing ERA+ With a Minus"},{"content":"FIP is a cool, clever, and simple statistic to try and normalize how we work with ERA in a way that simply ignores defensive factors. However, we can ignore, or normalize for, at least one other factor to adjust the comparison.\nExpected FIP (xFIP) is a simple tweak to FIP that further reduces noise in pitching statistics by using expected home run rates for the pitcher, rather than the actual number of home runs they gave up. Home run rates for a pitcher are unstable, much in the way that BABIP was for hitters, so looking at how many home runs they \u0026ldquo;should have\u0026rdquo; given up based on the number of fly balls hit regresses xFIP a bit more compared to FIP.\nTo compute it, we just replace the number of home runs with the number of fly balls hit (FB), multiplied by the league percentage of fly balls that are home runs (we\u0026rsquo;ll call it FBHR%).\n\\text{xFIP} = \\frac{13\\times(\\text{FB}\\times\\text{FBHR}\\%) + 3\\times(\\text{BB}+\\text{HBP}) - 2\\times \\text{K}}{\\text{IP}} +\\text{FIP Const.} This moves us from a measurement of actual performance — FIP is philosophically a predictor of ERA, but actually calculates something concrete — to something meant to predict and compare performance to an idea state. Home runs are dependent on weather and which stadiums the pitcher plays in; while we could come up with some weighting system or league-adjustment system that is more complicated, xFIP is just another rough approximation that tweaks FIP to be closer to what we\u0026rsquo;re ideally using it for.\nxFIP is mainly implemented on FanGraphs, so I don\u0026rsquo;t have any pieces of trivia handy right now. Again, it will regress FIP towards the average, if just slightly, based on whether a pitcher happened to give up more or less home runs than expected.\nContinue to Day 18 - Fixing ERA+ With a Minus\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-17-expected-fip/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFIP is a cool, clever, and simple statistic to try and normalize how we work with ERA in a way that simply ignores defensive factors. However, we can ignore, or normalize for, at least one other factor to adjust the comparison.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 17 - Expected FIP"},{"content":"Halfway through our pitching posts, let\u0026rsquo;s take a step back and learn about some miscellaneous statistics that we\u0026rsquo;ve either barely touched, or entirely ignored. These are all counting statistics that we use to help determine value and ability. While most are not explicitly used when calculating advanced statistics, they have historical cachet and many fans (including me) still enjoy looking at them.\nStarting Pitching\nThere are a handful of statistics that indicate pitcher longevity; since we\u0026rsquo;re at a point where starting pitchers are often not allowed to pitch as deep into games, all these events have become a bit more rare.\nA quality start was established by sportswriter John Lowe in 1985 as a start where the pitcher goes at least 6 innings and gives up 3 or fewer runs.1 The term catching on is a result of starting pitchers becoming overall less effective or important in MLB.2\nA complete game is when a pitcher finishes the entire game on their own. Note that if the game goes longer than 9 innings, a pitcher is not credited with a complete game if a new pitcher comes in for extra innings.\nA shutout is a complete game where the pitcher gives up no runs.3\nA no-hitter is a complete game where the pitcher does not allow any hits. Note that a pitcher can lose a game and give up runs despite pitching a no-hitter. Also, since we\u0026rsquo;re in a descending hierarchy of definitions, a pitcher does not get credited with an official no-hitter if they don\u0026rsquo;t get a complete game.\nA perfect game is the rarest accomplishment, and is really a team effort. It occurs only if no runners ever reach base: this means no hits, walks, or errors of any kind.\nRelief Pitching\nThere are two statistics created in reaction to the increase in \u0026ldquo;relief\u0026rdquo; pitching in the 1960s and 1970s.\nA save became an officially-tracked statistic in 1969. It is when a closer finishes the game for the winning team during a game that isn\u0026rsquo;t a blowout. A pitcher can earn a save in any of the following situations:\nThey enter the game with a lead of no more than three runs, and pitch at least one inning.\nThey enter the game with the tying run either on base or in the on-deck circle.4\nThey pitch at least 3 innings to finish the game.\nA pitcher cannot earn both a win and a save, so in each situation above the lead must be maintained by the pitcher until the game ends. If done so successfully, they earn a save. If they fail, they get a blown save.\nA hold was created in the 1980s, again in reaction to an increased number of relief pitchers appearing at the end of games. The hold is essentially a smaller version of a save. The situation must be the same — a lead of 3 or fewer runs, or enter the game with the tying run on-deck (or closer) — but it only requires that the pitcher get at least 1 out and maintains the lead for the next pitcher. As such, several holds can be earned in a single game, although a single pitcher can not get both a hold and a save, or a hold and a win.5\nThe fewest strikeouts in a perfect game is 2, by Addie Joss in 1908.\nSince 1969, the left-handed pitcher with the most complete games in a season is Steve Carlton, who completed 30 of his 41 games in 1972.6\nSince 2000, the most complete games in a season is 11 by James Shields in 2011, 4 of which were shutouts.\nThe player with the most career \u0026ldquo;Bert Blyleven Quality Starts\u0026rdquo; — 7 innings or more pitched while giving up 2 or fewer runs — is Roger Clemens, with 308. Tied for second are Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux with 284.7\nSince 2000, the most Bert Blyleven Quality Starts is 178 by Tim Hudson. Although, Justin Verlander is still active and has 176 such starts.\nContinue to Day 17 - Expected FIP\nLongtime broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins, Bert Blyleven, has his \u0026ldquo;Bert Quality Start\u0026rdquo; at 7 or more innings with 2 or fewer runs.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nImportant to note: if a pitcher managed to hit exactly that threshold on every start, their ERA would be 4.50. While this imaginary result would be lauded for consistency, it is not an overall impressive result.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMy favorite shutout is game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Jack Morris pitched ten scoreless innings, and the Twins walked off the Braves in the bottom of the 10th to win the championship.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis implies that the lead could be as much as 5 runs if the pitcher enters with the bases loaded.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt\u0026rsquo;s possible to get both a hold and a loss, though!\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nTwo other pitchers, Catfish Hunter in 1975 and Fergie Jenkins in 1971, completed 30 games as well.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThat\u0026rsquo;s super weird that they are tied.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-16-pitcher-miscellany/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHalfway through our pitching posts, let\u0026rsquo;s take a step back and learn about some miscellaneous statistics that we\u0026rsquo;ve either barely touched, or entirely ignored. These are all counting statistics that we use to help determine value and ability. While most are not explicitly used when calculating advanced statistics, they have historical cachet and many fans (including me) still enjoy looking at them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 16 - Pitcher Miscellany"},{"content":"Remember many days ago when we talked about how pesky it is to have a ball in play? That\u0026rsquo;s as true for pitchers as it is for hitters. So, some enterprising folks struck out to roughly measure ERA in a way that ignores balls put in play, instead focusing entirely on the Three True Outcomes. Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a defense-agnostic statistic to compare against ERA, and in some ways is an ideal \u0026ldquo;predictor\u0026rdquo; statistic for ERA.\nThe calculation for FIP lies somewhere between what we saw for OBP and wRAA. It weights Three True Outcome results (home runs, walks and hit by pitches, and strikeouts) differently based on their relative impact on the game historically, then we add the weighted values and adjust by a constant so that league-average FIP is exactly equal to league-average ERA.\n\\text{FIP} = \\frac{13\\times \\text{HR} + 3\\times(\\text{BB}+\\text{HBP})-2\\times \\text{K}}{\\text{IP}} + \\text{FIP Constant} The motivation behind FIP is that everything not included in the above calculation, namely balls in play, results in semi-random values for the pitcher. They don\u0026rsquo;t have control over how a ball in play is handled, and fluctuations in BABIP across seasons imply that including that data doesn\u0026rsquo;t improve the accuracy of ERA as an evaluation tool. So, FIP is independent of any defensive performance, and is generally considered a \u0026ldquo;truer\u0026rdquo; evaluation.\nMore importantly, comparing FIP and ERA lets us see the results of those messy plays in context. If a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s ERA is significantly lower than their FIP, they have a mix of good defense and good luck with where balls were hit. Conversely, a good FIP but bad ERA means the team\u0026rsquo;s defense let them down, and perhaps they got pretty unlucky with how balls were hit. In both cases, we generally expect ERA to regress towards FIP: a player with a lower ERA and high FIP should not be counted on as elite the following season, while a low FIP-high ERA pitcher could be a solid gamble next season.\nAs promised, let\u0026rsquo;s take a look at how this played out for Zack Britton. In 2016 he had a remarkable 0.54 ERA, good for an 803 ERA+. Any result this extraordinary will regress the following year, but the question is by how much?\nIn 2014, Zack had an ERA of 1.65 and a FIP of 3.13. Then, in 2015 he showed some solid improvement overall: His ERA was slightly worse at 1.92, but his FIP was 2.01. Clearly he made some adjustment, and these Three True Outcome results (again, often more important for a reliever) were under control. He only barely out-performed his FIP, so we can consider this a natural state.\nMoving onto 2016 we see that ERA of 0.54. That is clearly an outlier, and his FIP of 1.94 indicates that he was only barely better as a pitcher than in 2015. He just had a run of luck with balls in play, where perhaps he had a few key defensive players step up, or balls in play simply didn\u0026rsquo;t find gaps. Regardless, we could safely assume his 2017 would not be a repeat, and at best his ERA would be around 2.00.\nSure enough, his ERA ballooned to 2.89 in 2017, along with an increase of FIP to 3.40.1 It appears he had hit his peak in 2016, and was lucky that his athletic peak coincided with a peak in luck, resulting in some amazing statistics. Since 2016, his FIP has been below 3.00 only once, and his ERA has been below 2.00 only twice.\nUsing FIP is straightforward: treat it exactly like ERA with the same scaling, using it either on its own to directly compare players, or to compare it to a player\u0026rsquo;s ERA to understand their relative performance.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s close out with some FIP exploration.\nBob Gibson\u0026rsquo;s 1968 season wasn\u0026rsquo;t too much of a fluke: his FIP was still 1.77\nFunnily enough, Dwight Gooden\u0026rsquo;s 1985 season — his best by ERA — is worse than 1984 when comparing FIP. His 1.53 ERA in 1985 comes with a 2.13 FIP, while in 1984 he managed a 1.63 FIP(!) with a 2.60 ERA. Unlucky!\nThe best FIP in the live ball era was Pedro Martînez\u0026rsquo;s 1.39 in 1999.2\nContinue to Day 16 - Pitcher Miscellany\nFIP can\u0026rsquo;t predict future FIP, so our hands are tied in this case.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI need you to know I wrote an entire additional section about Dazzy Vance, a pitcher from 1925 who evidently had an ERA of 3.53 and, somehow, a FIP of 1.78. Turns out Baseball Reference just has that wrong, and his FIP was actually 2.69 (I calculated it by hand and confirmed it on FanGraphs.) I can\u0026rsquo;t find anywhere to report an error on this.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-15-fielding-independent-pitching/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRemember many days ago when we talked about how pesky it is to have a ball in play? That\u0026rsquo;s as true for pitchers as it is for hitters. So, some enterprising folks struck out to roughly measure ERA in a way that ignores balls put in play, instead focusing entirely on the Three True Outcomes. Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a defense-agnostic statistic to compare against ERA, and in some ways is an ideal \u0026ldquo;predictor\u0026rdquo; statistic for ERA.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 15 - Fielding Independent Pitching"},{"content":"That\u0026rsquo;s right, the \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo; statistics exist in the realm of pitching. Park adjustments and a percentage normalization is a natural extension of ERA, and makes it more meaningful for directly comparing pitchers, even across generations.\nWe know generally how this will work. Park and league adjustment factors are computed, and we use those to slightly augment a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s ERA based on the environment in which each run was scored. Then, we scale everything so that league-average is 100. However, there is a trick: ERA is a statistic where lower is better, so our fractions are getting a little inverted. An ERA+ of 150 would mean that the league\u0026rsquo;s average ERA is 50% higher than the pitcher\u0026rsquo;s. It\u0026rsquo;s the difference between saying that 5 is 25% greater than 4, while 4 is 20% less than 5.1\nInstead of diving into further mathematical details, let\u0026rsquo;s use ERA+ to explore a comparison I made in the ERA post. There, I pointed out that Bob Gibson\u0026rsquo;s 1.12 ERA in 1968 is the best by a qualified starter in MLB history, followed by a 37% increase in Dwight Gooden\u0026rsquo;s 1.53 ERA in 1985. But that\u0026rsquo;s nearly a twenty year difference, and I explicitly called out that pitchers had an abnormally good season at-large in 1968.\nWe can use ERA+ to see how much better these two seasons were compared to the average of their own seasons, and thus get a good indication of which season was actually better overall.\nDo you have any guesses based on the hand-wavy nature of how I\u0026rsquo;ve discussed this?\nIn 1968, Bob Gibson\u0026rsquo;s 1.12 ERA was quite exceptional compared to even the elevated pitching of the league. His ERA+ was 258. That means the league was 158% worse than Bob Gibson on average.2\nDwight Gooden\u0026rsquo;s 1985 was outstanding if only because he was just 20 years old when it began. It was his second season in the league, and he posted a 1.53 ERA (along with a 0.965 WHIP). His ERA+ was 229, meaning the league was 129% worse than him in terms of ERA.\nSince the league\u0026rsquo;s ability compared to Bob Gibson was lower than compared to Dwight Gooden, we can still confidently say that Bob Gibson\u0026rsquo;s season was overall more impressive, given the context of the time in which he played.3\nLet\u0026rsquo;s take a look at some other interesting ERA+ numbers.\nSince 1920, Bob Gibson\u0026rsquo;s 258+ is actually only the the sixth best value among starters. The top mark is Pedro Martînez\u0026rsquo;s 291 ERA+ in 2000. In a league with steroid-ridden sluggers, his 1.74 ERA was magnificent.\nGreg Maddux has two seasons higher than Gibson\u0026rsquo;s: a 260 and 271 ERA+ in 1995 and 1994 respectively.\nRelievers live much more interesting lives, because a few bad outings can have an outsized impact on ERA due to fewer innings pitched. As such, Zack Britton\u0026rsquo;s 2016 campaign of 69 games pitched for the Orioles led him to a 0.54 ERA, good for an 803 ERA+. Amazing.4\nContinue to Day 15 - Fielding Independent Pitching\nLater on, we\u0026rsquo;ll look at the more \u0026ldquo;proper\u0026rdquo; way to do it, where percentage points mean something for the pitcher, not the league.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThrowing back to yesterday: his WHIP was an elite 0.853.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nNotice how clunky it is to say \u0026ldquo;the league is x% worse than this.\u0026rdquo; We\u0026rsquo;ll fix that in a couple of days.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll explore this season tomorrow, because some of his advanced statistics suggest this was a lucky, or at least incredibly unlikely, season for him to have. This absurd number also suggests that ERA+ is not nearly as useful as something like OPS+. The converse nature of it is confusing.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-14-era/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThat\u0026rsquo;s right, the \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo; statistics exist in the realm of pitching. Park adjustments and a percentage normalization is a natural extension of ERA, and makes it more meaningful for directly comparing pitchers, even across generations.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 14 - ERA+"},{"content":"While ERA is a measure of overall pitcher effectiveness, there\u0026rsquo;s a more nuanced statistic that considers how frequently a pitcher allows runners on base. Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) is easy to calculate, has a cool acronym, and is another factor to consider when measuring how good a pitcher is at keeping hitters from doing their jobs.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s start with the calculation, because it\u0026rsquo;s literally the name.\n\\text{WHIP} = \\frac{\\text{BB} + \\text{H}}{\\text{IP}} This measures the average number of players the pitcher allows on base (not due to errors) per innings. An easy cutoff line to keep in mind is that a WHIP of less than 1.00 is excellent for a starter. A lower WHIP is more important for relief pitchers, who need to have their best stuff when they enter the game for an inning, particularly if they\u0026rsquo;re entering in a tense situation where a new base runner could mean a run scoring. As such, the cutoff for \u0026ldquo;excellent\u0026rdquo; reliever WHIP is about 0.90.\nWHIP is not valued as highly as some other pitching statistics. It\u0026rsquo;s another simple yet powerful measurement, but isn\u0026rsquo;t as important to game results, or rather isn\u0026rsquo;t as indicative of game results, as ERA. However, it once again points to the how of a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s approach. Maintaining a low WHIP is the best way to avoid giving up many runs, but a moderate WHIP can be counteracted by good defense, or simply good luck.\nWHIP is one of my favorite statistics. I pay attention to it every year, and personally put a lot more stock in it that I do some other statistics we\u0026rsquo;ll be discussing later on.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s look at WHIP, particularly comparing starters and relievers. We\u0026rsquo;ll be looking at the Live Ball Era, beginning in 1920.\nThere have been 21 relievers with 4 or more seasons with a sub-1.00 WHIP.1 The leader is Mariano Rivera with 10 such seasons.\nIf we change this to sub-0.90 WHIP seasons, there are 4 relievers with 4 or more such seasons.\nThere have been 8 qualified starters with 4 or more seasons with a sub-1.00 WHIP. The leader is Max Scherzer with 6 such seasons.\nThere have been 12 relievers with multiple sub-0.90 WHIP seasons while in their 30s.\nThere have been 10 starters with multiple sub-1.00 WHIP seasons while in their 30s.\nPerhaps the most interesting piece of trivia is that nearly all of these WHIP-leaders have been in the 21st century, many of them in the 2010s.\nContinue to Day 14 - ERA+\nWe\u0026rsquo;re requiring they pitched in at least 40 games.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-13-walks-and-hits-per-inning-pitched/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile ERA is a measure of overall pitcher effectiveness, there\u0026rsquo;s a more nuanced statistic that considers how frequently a pitcher allows runners on base. Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) is easy to calculate, has a cool acronym, and is another factor to consider when measuring how good a pitcher is at keeping hitters from doing their jobs.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 13 - Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched"},{"content":"While ERA is the best way among the simple statistics to compare pitchers, it does not tell the whole story of their season. Historically, there is much interest in the details of a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s approach and how that influences their ERA. Does a pitcher rely on power and strikeouts, or precision and defense?\nStrikeouts and Walks\nWe use strikeouts1 and walks2 as a proxy for two dimensions of a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s approach: Do they have particularly tricky and/or powerful stuff, and are they precise with their pitching?\nGetting many strikeouts is not inherently better than not getting strikeouts, but in the Three True Outcome world it sure is simpler to get a strikeout because the defense is taken out of the equation. However, it typically requires more pitches to get a strikeout. Since the current \u0026ldquo;wisdom\u0026rdquo; among MLB does not like to allow starting pitchers to throw very many pitches, a somewhat inefficient strikeout pitcher could be worth less because they won\u0026rsquo;t be allowed to go as many innings as a pitcher who allows more contact, and gets out faster as a result.\nWalks, on the other hand, are bad. They will always happen, but a pitcher is freely allowing a runner on which gives them something else to worry about, and increases the likelihood that a run will score. While a lack of walks is no guarantee of success — you could just be throwing the ball down the middle far too often and giving up runs the old-fashioned way — it\u0026rsquo;s generally a better approach.\nStrikeouts and ERA are part of the Pitcher Triple Crown, along with Wins.3 Historically we love to keep track of strikeouts because they show a clear victory over the batter. While it\u0026rsquo;s not the most important aspect, I\u0026rsquo;m still biased towards big strikeout numbers by pitchers.\nOne final note: we also tend to keep track of strikeout and walk rates per nine innings, just like with ERA. We also consider strikeouts per walk as a great measure of pitching prowess. These are all fun rate statistics that we can use to compare ability.\nWins and Losses\nIt\u0026rsquo;s likely that pitcher wins and losses are the statistic in baseball that have fallen the furthest from grace over time. What was once considered perhaps the most important statistic — you would never win the Cy Young award4 without a very good Win-Loss record — has finally been realized among modern fans as mostly bogus.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s define the semi-complicated criteria for a \u0026ldquo;Win\u0026rdquo;. If you\u0026rsquo;re the starting pitcher, the first requirement is that you complete 5 innings in the game. Assuming that happens, your team must be in the lead by the team you are replaced, and remain in the lead until the end of the game. Only then do you get the win. If you leave the game with your team losing, and they remain behind until they ultimately lose, you get a Loss. If neither of those things occur you get a No Decision.\nFor relief pitchers, the rules are the same except for the inning requirement. If you\u0026rsquo;re the active pitcher when your team gets ahead for the final time, you get the win. If you\u0026rsquo;re the pitcher when the opposing team gets ahead for the final time, you get the loss.\nUp until the last several decades, wins made more sense to track and value. Starting pitchers would frequently pitch the entire game, or at least a larger majority of the game. If they were effective (i.e. their ERA was low), this would give the offense a chance to score enough runs to win. In theory, if one pitcher was \u0026ldquo;better\u0026rdquo; than another, on average we\u0026rsquo;d expect the better pitcher to give up fewer runs than the worse pitcher, resulting in the better pitcher likely getting a win.\nBut it\u0026rsquo;s easy to see where this falls apart. Some pitchers are just consistently screwed over by their offense. A pitcher with a sub-2.50 ERA who wins barely half their games because the team provides an average of 2 runs per game on offense is clearly better than a pitcher with a 3.50 ERA whose team gives them 5 runs of support on average and has a great W-L record. (And, yet again, if you want a great example of this watch this video from Foolish Baseball.)\nWins are finally becoming less valued. While they provide context for the environment in which a pitcher plays, they are not strictly indicative of talent or ability.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s close out with a few fun facts.\nSince 1920, there have only been two qualified starting pitchers who had more wins than walks: Clayton Kershaw in 2016 (11 walks against 12 wins), and Bret Saberhagen in 1994 (13 walks against 14 wins).\nThree other qualified starters had equal numbers of walks and wins. Marco Gonzales had 7 of each in 2020,5 and amazingly two Twins players: Carlos Silva in 2005 (9 of each) and Phil Hughes in 2014 (16 of each).\nIn 2016 Clayton Kershaw also set a record when he managed 15.64 strikeouts for every walk issued.\nContinue to Day 13 - Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worth addressing that historically we\u0026rsquo;ve used \u0026ldquo;K\u0026rdquo; for strikeout, because \u0026ldquo;SO\u0026rdquo; used to mean shutout. Now, you\u0026rsquo;ll still see K when scorekeeping and in some statistics, but sites like Baseball Reference have switched to SO for strikeout, and SHO for shutout.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAs mentioned in the hitting series, this is abbreviated \u0026ldquo;BB\u0026rdquo; for \u0026ldquo;Base on Balls\u0026rdquo;.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFor batters, it\u0026rsquo;s BA, RBI, and HR.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAn annual award given to the \u0026ldquo;best\u0026rdquo; pitcher. It\u0026rsquo;s essentially the MVP but only for pitchers.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course 2020 was a shortened season so it\u0026rsquo;s very unlikely this would have sustained for a full season.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-12-other-basic-pitching-statistics/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile ERA is the best way among the simple statistics to compare pitchers, it does not tell the whole story of their season. Historically, there is much interest in the details of a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s approach and how that influences their ERA. Does a pitcher rely on power and strikeouts, or precision and defense?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 12 - Other Basic Pitching Statistics"},{"content":"Let us leave the world of sluggers and slap-hitters behind us, and move 60 feet forward to the pitcher\u0026rsquo;s mound. I\u0026rsquo;ve always enjoyed and valued pitching over hitting in my baseball life. As such, the first ten days of hitting required me to learn more than I anticipated, while I feel more prepared to handle this section of Blogmas.1 We\u0026rsquo;re not starting as simple as possible, but we are starting with the most important of the original pitching statistics: how good are you at preventing runs from scoring?\nWe cut pitchers a little slack and only pay attention to earned runs, which are runs scored without the benefit of a defensive error.2 There is a certain art to deciding earned runs. What many people don\u0026rsquo;t know is that every MLB game has an official scorekeeper, who decides (among other things) whether a play was a hit or an error. As such, they become responsible for determining whether a run is earned or unearned. They do so be \u0026ldquo;reconstructing\u0026rdquo; the inning were the errors not to have happened; an error with 2 outs that lets the inning continue all but guarantees any further runs will be unearned.\nAll that is just some context and trivia. What matters is that a pitcher is charged earned runs (ER), which are any runs that score without any funny business going on. Earned Run Average (ERA) is how many earned runs they give up per nine innings: were they to pitch a complete game, how many runs would we expect the opposing team to score? We compute it by dividing their earned runs by innings pitched (IP), and multiplying by 9.\n\\text{ERA} = \\frac{\\text{ER}}{\\text{IP}} \\times 9 At a base level, it\u0026rsquo;s easier to attribute runs against a pitcher than it is to attribute them to a batter. So for a given season, ERA is an excellent and simple way to compare pitchers. Other statistics that we\u0026rsquo;ll cover later can be indicative of how they wound up with their ERA, but are less important overall.\nOf course a few factors are being wholly ignored. While only considering earned runs \u0026ldquo;normalizes\u0026rdquo; for defense, a great defense can turn what would otherwise be a clean hit into an excellent out. If they can get to more balls, they can bolster a pitcher\u0026rsquo;s ERA.3 The catcher that is paired with the pitcher is also important, as are factors related to the ballpark. We\u0026rsquo;ll discuss those in a later post, but it\u0026rsquo;s worth getting out in front of what ERA misses.\nNow for a bullet-point story about ERA.\nThe starting pitcher with the lowest ERA in a season since 19204 is Bob Gibson, who had a 1.12 ERA in 1968.\nTo put that in perspective, the next-best was Dwight Gooden\u0026rsquo;s 1.53 ERA in 1985, which is 37% higher.\nBetween 1950 and 1968, all MLB mounds were set at 15 inches tall.5 Due partially to Gibson\u0026rsquo;s success — pitchers overall had a great year and 1968 is called \u0026ldquo;The Year of the Pitcher\u0026rdquo; — the mound was reduced to 10 inches, where it remains today.\nSince the mound reduction, there have been 27 qualified starting pitcher seasons6 with an ERA below 2.00.\nOnly four players — Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, and Clayton Kershaw — have two sub-2.00 ERA seasons since 1969.\nContinue to Day 12 - Other Basic Pitching Statistics\nI\u0026rsquo;m still doing my research to make sure I have everything correct.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHere\u0026rsquo;s an edge case that I love. If there\u0026rsquo;s a runner on third base, and the ball gets past the catcher thus allowing the runner to score, is that an earned run? Well, it depends. If it is scored as a passed ball, which is how we say it was the catcher\u0026rsquo;s fault, then it is not an earned run. If it\u0026rsquo;s a wild pitch, which we say is solely the pitcher\u0026rsquo;s fault, then it is an earned run. The rule of thumb here is that if the ball hits the dirt before it reaches the catcher, then it\u0026rsquo;s a wild pitch.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe effect is not massive because even the worst MLB defenses aren\u0026rsquo;t that bad, but it\u0026rsquo;s worth noting.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThere are only 3 better, in 1880, 1914, and 1906, so this restriction isn\u0026rsquo;t a big deal.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nBefore 1950, they just couldn\u0026rsquo;t be higher than 15 inches. Starting in 1950, they standardized on 15 for everyone, although back then teams were still a little cheeky and many were suspected of having a slightly higher mound still.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nSimilar to batting, you need to play enough. Qualification is 162 innings in a season.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-11-earned-run-average/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLet us leave the world of sluggers and slap-hitters behind us, and move 60 feet forward to the pitcher\u0026rsquo;s mound. I\u0026rsquo;ve always enjoyed and valued pitching over hitting in my baseball life. As such, the first ten days of hitting required me to learn more than I anticipated, while I feel more prepared to handle this section of Blogmas.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e We\u0026rsquo;re not starting as simple as possible, but we are starting with the most important of the original pitching statistics: how good are you at preventing runs from scoring?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 11 - Earned Run Average"},{"content":"On the heels of evaluating players based on how many wins they can provide to their team, let\u0026rsquo;s look at how clutch players are. Do they shine in the big moments, or just generally perform well yet fail to make an impact when it truly matters?1\nWin Expectancy measures how likely it is for a team to win given the exact situation of the game at any point. I\u0026rsquo;ll leave it to FanGraphs to say something about its calculation (emphasis is mine).\nCalculating win expectancy from scratch is one of those things that’s extremely easy conceptually and very challenging in practice. All you would have to do to find the win expectancy of a situation would be to identify all similar situations in the last ten years or so (the sample you choose depends on the run environment) and then find the winning percentage of teams who found themselves in those situations.\nSo, let\u0026rsquo;s leave the precise steps for calculating Win Expectancy to those who have an interest in doing so. Today, we\u0026rsquo;ll focus on using the fruits of their labor to learn something interesting.\nFirst: Not all home runs are created equal. A solo home run in the 7th inning of a 12-0 blowout is not nearly as important as a solo home run in the top of the 9th of a tied game. Those two results change the win expectancy in very different ways, and it is this change in which we are interested.\nSimilar to the run-scoring matrix we learned about for calculating wOBA, Win Probability Added (WPA) is as simple as taking your huge chart of Win Expectancy, and comparing the value from the current state to the state after a batter completes their plate appearance. WPA is a counting statistic, so a player\u0026rsquo;s WPA changes every time they hit, going up and down depending on their effect on the game.\nNumerically, WPA is a change in percentage. So, a +1 WPA is worth a 100% increase in win percentage, or 1 additional win.2\nIntuitively, WPA changes the most when a batter appears in a key moment — their team is down by several runs late in the game, so the chances of winning are slim — and provides a hit or other play that swings Win Expectancy into their team\u0026rsquo;s favor. In this sense, WPA is a piece of flavor text around a player\u0026rsquo;s season and career. We certainly don\u0026rsquo;t assume that WPA is likely to predict their ability to hit in clutch moments in the future, and people generally agree that overall performance metrics are better to use. So, we use WPA to tell good stories about a player, and as a way to look deeper into the situations that led high (or low) WPA players to have their particular value.\nAgain, I\u0026rsquo;ll point you toward Foolish Baseball who made a great video exploring clutch hitting, where he discussed Win Expectancy and WPA.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll finish off our first ten days of hitting with an interesting player I discovered while trying to find cool statistics to share.\nTroy O\u0026rsquo;Leary\nIn 1996, Troy O\u0026rsquo;Leary played outfield for the Boston Red Sox. He appeared in 149 games3 and had some pretty underwhelming numbers. Armed with what we\u0026rsquo;ve learned thus far, we can make a good profile of him as a hitter.\nSlash line of .260/.327/.753, and a below-average 88 OPS+.\nHad an 87 wRC+ and \u0026ldquo;accumulated\u0026rdquo; -3.2 wRAA.\nEnded up with 0.6 oWAR, but a total -0.9 bWAR.4\nA pretty poor season in what was a slightly below-average career. Yet, something odd happened in 1996: Troy had a WPA of 3.1. Somehow, he hit just well enough in exactly the right situations to add just over 3 win\u0026rsquo;s worth of probability for his team.\nI dove into the game logs for Troy\u0026rsquo;s 1996 season, and started looking for his biggest impact moments. Sorting by WPA, I saw:\nThree games with a WPA between +0.3 and +0.4.\nFour games with a WPA between +0.4 and +0.5.\nOne game with a WPA of +0.823.\nAll but one of these games was decided by 1 run, and naturally, Boston won all of them.5 These are exactly the sort of tense moments where WPA gains are made. Let\u0026rsquo;s look at that game where he contributed 82% of the Win Expectancy.\nIt was Friday August 2nd at Fenway Park in Boston. The game began at 7:08PM, so the sun wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be properly gone for a at least an hour and a half. Minnesota Twins put Rick Aguilera6 on the mound against Tom Gordon.\nIn the bottom of the 1st, the Red Sox came out swinging and went up 4-0 on a lead-off home run, followed by a two-out rally. In the top of the 3rd, the Twins put a couple on the board. Back and forth the teams went, until in the top of the 6th the Twins tied it 5-5.\nAfter giving up a home run and two singles in the bottom of the 6th, Aguilera was replaced by Mike Trombley, who retired the next three hitters, limiting the damage to a single run on the inning.\nIn the bottom of the 7th, the Red Sox added an insurance run, going up 7-5. But, in the top of the 8th the Twins faced reliever Stan Belinda for his second inning of work. After an error and a strikeout, he gave up a single and was replaced by Heathcliff Slocumb.7\nSlocumb let things fall apart. By the time he was replaced by Mark Brandenburg following several more singles, a walk, and a wild pitch, the Twins were ahead 9-7. Mark Brandenburg got a groundout that allowed another run to score, then induced another groundout to end the inning with the Twins up 10-7.\nThe Red Sox went down quietly in the bottom of the 8th, including Troy himself grounding out to first base. Brandenburg continued a solid outing in the top of the 9th, hitting the first batter but retiring the next three.\nSo, to the bottom of the 9th with the Red Sox down by 3 runs. The closer for the Twins, Dan Naulty, got two quick outs: a strikeout looking, and a groundout to first base. Naulty walked the next batter. As they say, walks will haunt.\nReggie Jefferson hit a home run on a 1-0 count, narrowing the game to 1 run.8 That home run broke the seal; it was followed by a single and a walk to get runners on 1st and 2nd base.\nUp comes Troy O\u0026rsquo;Leary. The chance that the Red Sox win with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, down by 1 run, with runners on 1st and 2nd, is only 19%. On a 1-0 count he hits a triple between right and center field, driving in the two runners and winning the game. From a win expectancy of 19% to 100%, he gets 81% WPA and a very small role in this unimportant blog.\nContinue to Day 11 - Earned Run Average\nThis post will conclude the first 10 days of Blogmas, which I decided from the beginning would be dedicated to hitting. The next 10 days will be dedicated to pitching statistics.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis isn\u0026rsquo;t quite the same as 1 WAR. We\u0026rsquo;re solely considering performance within a situational frame of reference. We don\u0026rsquo;t even care what kind of result it was, only its impact.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nA reminder there are 162 games, so he was a regular.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAs a reminder, that\u0026rsquo;s WAR according to Baseball Reference. FanGraphs has him at -1.3 fWAR.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThere was an 8-6 win over Toronto where his WPA was +0.378.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nA key to their 1991 World Series win.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nBaseball names are just *the best.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis is a great example of WPA dynamics. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, getting to 1 run away only changed the win expectancy by 4%.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-10-win-probability-added/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn the heels of evaluating players based on how many wins they can provide to their team, let\u0026rsquo;s look at how \u003cem\u003eclutch\u003c/em\u003e players are. Do they shine in the big moments, or just generally perform well yet fail to make an impact when it \u003cem\u003etruly\u003c/em\u003e matters?\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 10 - Win Probability Added"},{"content":"Today we move onto one of the gems of advanced baseball statistics1 that generalizes player value beyond concrete elements like hits and runs, and looks specifically at how many wins a player is worth.\nWAR stands for Wins Above Replacement, and attempts to measure how many wins — as in games won by a team — a player has contributed beyond what a replacement-level player would offer. This is a departure from what we\u0026rsquo;ve seen so far: replacement-level is notably lower than average. When we say replacement-level, we mean a good minor league player who might get called up to replace an injured full-time player.\nWAR slowly took over the cultural consciousness of baseball nerds, and while it is still an important career-long statistic that is of significant interest, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t have the same glitz and glamour that it once held. This is partly due to the need to consider both base-running and defensive metrics when calculating total WAR for position players, and these two factors are very messy. Just offensive WAR is cleaner to handle.2\nPerhaps the most interesting element of WAR is that there is not a single way to calculate it. Different organizations (notably Baseball Reference and FanGraphs) make use of slightly different information. You will see bWAR or rWAR both in reference to Baseball Reference\u0026rsquo;s calculation, while fWAR represents FanGraph\u0026rsquo;s version. Before we get muddled down with those details, let\u0026rsquo;s look at the rough way we calculate WAR as it relates to offense. To do so, we\u0026rsquo;ll explain the entire WAR calculation but ignore the defensive aspect.\nThere are four factors we sum to get the numerator for WAR:\nRuns above average. We\u0026rsquo;re familiar with this concept.3\nPositional Adjustment. Some positions are harder to play than others, so there\u0026rsquo;s a number of runs per 162 games (1 season) that each position gets to add (or subtract) from their value.\nLeague Adjustment. The American League and National League are still separate4 and so their run-scoring environments are a little different. We know wRAA always has a 0 average, but when you add in other factors, the league\u0026rsquo;s average among them all might be off from 0. This value fixes that up for us.\nReplacement Level Runs Adjustment. This is where we differentiate from other statistics that compare to the league average, so we\u0026rsquo;ll look at it more closely.\nReplacement Level\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worth realizing that being average is valuable. There are options worse than you, so it\u0026rsquo;s worth having our statistic about overall value as it relates to a team winning compare players to, in essence, the best bad player we could have: a player on the cusp of breaking into the league, or a long-time bench warmer who was never good enough to be considered a full-time option for any particular position.5\nWith that stage set, we must now gather some numerical minutiae. Let\u0026rsquo;s establish that every team plays 162 games during the regular season, and each instance of a game is played by 15 pairs of teams for a total of 2430 regular season games. If a team was only made of replacement-level players, the powers that be have determined the team would win 47 or 48 games in a season. If all 30 teams only won that many games, over the season the replacement-level players are worth between 1410 and 1440 wins. Taking the nicest possible choice of 1430 replacement-level wins, that leaves 1000 wins unaccounted for. These are the wins above replacement that we\u0026rsquo;re calculating.6\nThat means every season there are only 1000 WAR to go around to every player.7 Again, based on historical data and general agreement between Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, 57% of WAR is attributed to position players, and 43% to pitchers. That means for the WAR we\u0026rsquo;re discussing today, at most 570 can be allocated to our position players in a season.\nGiven all this information, we need to move from our current sum of runs above average, to runs above replacement level. To do so, we add the number of runs above replacement level that the average player is worth. This rescales everything to have it compare to replacement-level. Someone who is truly replacement-level would have such poor runs above average that it would cancel out the average number of runs we give them for free as our replacement adjustment factor, resulting in 0 WAR.\nNow, let\u0026rsquo;s be explicit. We have 570 wins to work with, and we need to convert that into a certain number of runs for a player. To do so, we will have a runs per win statistic (RPW), divide by the number of plate appearances by all players that season, and multiply by the number of plate appearances our particular player whose WAR we\u0026rsquo;re calculating has had. So, our replacement level runs adjustment (RLR) is:\n\\text{RLR} = 570\\times\\text{RPW}\\times\\frac{\\text{PA}}{\\text{total PA}}. Runs per Win is a measure of how many total runs a team needs to have to gain 1 additional win on the season; this is calculated via various models, and each measurement of WAR must choose one. FanGraphs has a slick formula that is extremely accurate when compared to more complicated models.\n\\text{RPW} = 9\\times\\frac{\\text{total R}}{\\text{total Innings}} \\times 1.5 + 3. This is 1.5 times the total runs per nine-inning game, plus 3.8\nIt turns out this value is between 9 and 10 nearly every season, and the rule of thumb is to just use 10 in a pinch.9 So, if a player individually gets 10 runs more than a replacement-level player could manage, they are worth about 1 additional win.\nThe Final Calculation\nWe have our four factors in hand. They are each in the unit of runs, so what we have are the tools to calculate the number of runs a player is worth above replacement level.10 But, we already went through the trouble of understanding RPW; if we divide our runs above replacement level by runs per win, we end up with units of wins above replacement level!\n\\text{WAR} = \\frac{\\text{RAA} +\\text{Pos. Adj.} + \\text{Lg. Adj.} + \\text{RLR}}{\\text{RPW}} Again, we\u0026rsquo;re ignoring any defensive matters so this is solely WAR due to hitting and base-running prowess. But, this general formula holds; simply adjust your RAA statistic to include factors that matter to you.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s put it in context. Did your team have 83 wins last year, and you replace your 2.5 WAR shortstop with a 6.5 WAR shortstop? With all other things staying equal, you would expect your team to have 87 wins this year. It\u0026rsquo;s a rather wild approach to calculating value, but it distills performance down to what really matters, which is why it is such a triumph.\nNot everyone is so enamored with WAR, though. It can certainly be overused in analysis, particularly as a single-number statistic devoid of other context.11 It can also overvalue players from bygone eras due to a wider spread in talent, and the lack of good adjustment data compared to what we have now. Yet, when considered alongside other advanced statistics, like wRAA and wRC+, it becomes part of an excellent comparative profile.\nThis one was a lot of work for you and for me. Tomorrow will be a bit more fun, and we\u0026rsquo;ll close here with some statistics that emphasize WAR as a career-long counting statistic.\nThe highest career offensive bWAR in the Live-Ball Era (1920-present) is 143.6, belonging to Barry Bonds. He\u0026rsquo;s followed by Babe Ruth (136.7), Willie Mays (136.6), and Hank Aaron (132.6).\nJeff Mathis has the lowest offensive bWAR among players in the 21st century, with -6.4. But, don\u0026rsquo;t count him out before you watch this video.\nContinue to Day 10 - Win Probability Added\nSomehow I\u0026rsquo;ve gone this long without using the phrase Sabermetrics, which is the catch-all term for many of the derived values we\u0026rsquo;ve been covering. Its name comes from SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIt does still include base-running.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll use wRAA for batting. Baseball Reference uses something a little different. We also need base-running value, but we won\u0026rsquo;t discuss that here.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAlthough getting closer together with each passing season.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nEquivalently, and more pertinent for how the values in the next paragraph would be calculated, replacement-level players are only ever paid the league-minimum salary.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThank you to FanGraphs for having this hard-to-find background information available in their library.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course, WAR values can be negative.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nTotal innings is total innings pitched, which in a nine-inning game would actually by 17 or 18.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nRLR ends up being around 17 runs per 600 plate appearances, so the average player is worth about 1.7 WAR.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAgain, that RLR statistic is our key to moving from runs above average to runs above replacement level.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nNever use a single number in a statistical analysis, obviously.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-9-offensive-wins-above-replacement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we move onto one of the gems of advanced baseball statistics\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e that generalizes player value beyond concrete elements like hits and runs, and looks specifically at how many \u003cem\u003ewins\u003c/em\u003e a player is worth.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 9 - Offensive Wins Above Replacement"},{"content":"Let\u0026rsquo;s dive back into the weeds. Hitting the ball and getting on base are important jobs for hitters. But what actually wins the game? Scoring more runs than the other team. Today, we\u0026rsquo;ll look at two ways of quantifying run production, both of which are weighted in the same way we saw with wOBA.\nRuns Above Average\nWeighted Runs Above Average (wRAA) roughly quantifies how many runs1 a player contributes compared to the league average. It uses wOBA as its base for calculation, and operates as a counting statistic. So, two players with identical wOBA will only be differentiated in their wRAA by number of plate appearances. Explicitly, we have:\n\\text{wRAA} = \\frac{\\text{wOBA} - \\text{League Avg. wOBA}}{\\text{wOBA Factor}}\\times\\text{PA}. Note that we divide by the wOBA Factor (or wOBA Scale), because it only exists to scale wOBA so that its average is the same as the league\u0026rsquo;s average OBP. The true run-change values that let us calculate wOBA were found prior to this final scaling process.\nAs a result, we just compare someone\u0026rsquo;s wOBA against the league average, which tells us how many more (or fewer) runs they\u0026rsquo;re worth per plate appearance, and multiply by plate appearances. Once you go through the trouble of calculating wOBA, you get wRAA more or less for free.\nSince someone with a league-average wOBA would have a wRAA of exactly 0 (the numerator would be 0), league-average wRAA is also 0. Then, a positive wRAA means you contributed runs, while a negative wRAA means you were the cause of losing some runs.\nWeighted Runs Created\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll eventually look at Weighted Runs Created Plus, wRC+, which combines the two things we\u0026rsquo;ve learned in our acronym soup: a \u0026ldquo;w\u0026rdquo; means we use the linear weights to properly calculate the relative values of different offensive results, and the \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo; means we make adjustments based on other park factors and scale it so 100 is league average with a percentage point scaling system.\nBut first, let\u0026rsquo;s look at wRC, which is a counting statistic very similar to wRAA. In fact, it\u0026rsquo;s exactly the same, except we add in the average number of runs per player so that 0 is no longer the average. (Alternatively, wRAA is just wRC linearly scaled so that 0 is the average.)\n\\text{wRC} = \\text{wRAA} + \\frac{\\text{Total League R}}{\\text{Total League PA}} \\times \\text{PA} Let\u0026rsquo;s say on average, players had 65 runs per 600 plate appearances. Then, a player with 600 plate appearances would have a wRC of wRAA + 65. It\u0026rsquo;s that simple.\nTo get wRC+, we take wRC per plate appearance and consider the same ballpark factors as OPS+, and scale so that 100 is league average and someone with, say, a 120 wRC+ has a 20% higher wRC rate than the league average.\nThis turns wRC (and by proxy, wRAA) from a counting statistic back into a rate statistic. Two players with the same number of plate appearances can be compared directly with wRC+, but if the number of plate appearances differ dramatically, you could say one player on average was better, but it\u0026rsquo;s possible that another player with a lower wRC+ had a higher overall impact on the season because they played more often. For that reason, you\u0026rsquo;d need to fall back to wRC or wRAA to fully compare total offensive impact.2\nOver time, wRC+ has become a standard for quickly comparing offensive production, and due to that \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo;, it\u0026rsquo;s very good for comparing across generations of players in particular. While OPS+ roughly looks at hitting ability (and feels more friendly because more casual fans can understand the calculation of OPS), its base statistic is poor; wRC+ is a shinier version with the same scale.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s close this two-for-one post with some fun facts.\nIn 2017, there were 7 teams whose collective wRC+ was 10% or more below average, while only one team (the Houston Astros) were more than 10% above average.\nSince I was born, the highest career wRC+ is 190, courtesy of Barry Bonds.\nSince I was born, the lowest career wRC+ among (non-pitcher) Minnesota Twins players is 70, by Denny Hocking. Among players who I\u0026rsquo;ve personally seen play, it\u0026rsquo;s the second-worst on the list, Alexi Casilla with a wRC+ of 73.3\nContinue to Day 9 - Offensive Wins Above Replacement\nAs a reminder, wOBA is calculated by considering the change in run-scoring probability per plate appearance, and thus describes how many runs each plate appearance is worth.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nPractically, it\u0026rsquo;s better to use wRAA for this comparison because having that league average of 0 simplifies everything. We use wRC because it makes getting to wRC+ simpler mathematically; nobody tends to use it on its own.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nNot only have I seen him play, I watched him buy a baseball glove at my local Dick\u0026rsquo;s Sporting Goods.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-8-weighted-runs-above-average-and-runs-created/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLet\u0026rsquo;s dive back into the weeds. Hitting the ball and getting on base are important jobs for hitters. But what actually wins the game? Scoring more runs than the other team. Today, we\u0026rsquo;ll look at two ways of quantifying run production, both of which are weighted in the same way we saw with wOBA.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 8 - Weighted Runs Above Average and Runs Created"},{"content":"Today we\u0026rsquo;ll look at a statistic that is interesting for both the offensive and defensive side of baseball. When a ball is put in play, how often does it go for a hit?\nA ball in play is defined as any ball hit into fair territory, where the defense must make a play. The, we wish to calculate among all the times a ball was put in play by the batter, how frequently did that result in a hit? We call this Batting Average on Balls in Play, or BABIP.\nThe formula is simple enough. We start with the batting average formula, H/AB, and adjust terms as needed. We want to ignore any home runs from the hit and at-bat count, because those weren\u0026rsquo;t balls in play. Similarly, we take away strike-outs from the at-bat count, and add back sacrifice flies.1\n\\text{BABIP} = \\frac{\\text{H}-\\text{HR}}{\\text{AB} -\\text{HR}-\\text{K} + \\text{SF}} BABIP operates as a moderately-advanced statistic that obliquely considers two factors in what makes a good hitter (or pitcher): quality of contact and hit location.\nIf a batter consistently hits the ball in a way that makes it difficult for the defense to field against — hitting the ball very hard on a line drive, spreading the ball around the field, or both — we would expect their BABIP to increase. It\u0026rsquo;s certainly possible for BABIP to increase due to dumb luck, or (less randomly) playing frequently against teams with poorer defenses, but it\u0026rsquo;s still indicative of some level of skill.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s consider the defensive side of things as well. If a pitcher has high-quality pitch options, and can locate in the zone to induce poor contact, the result is an increased frequency of balls in play that are much easier for the defense to handle. Typically, BABIP is actually a better statistic for comparing pitchers (at least pitchers with a somewhat comparable defense behind them) and making conclusions about some of their skills.\nBABIP, though being a reasonably good indicator of everything discussed above, is a noisy statistic. There are many other factors that make it a little convoluted to use it as a player comparison in a particular season; it\u0026rsquo;s better to look over a long span of several seasons. In addition, the distribution of BABIP among players in a season looks relatively uniform, rather than a normal distribution around the average that we see with standard batting average.\nFinally, and these are where we\u0026rsquo;ll share some specific statistics, there can be some hilarious anti-correlations between BABIP and BA. Since sacrifice flies don\u0026rsquo;t dramatically change, this is an indication of a lot of strikeouts (high BABIP, low BA) or a lot of home runs (high BA, low BABIP).\nThe highest BABIP since 1969 for a qualified hitter who finished with a BA lower than .300 is Jose Hernandez, who had a .288 BA, a .404 BABIP, and a league-leading 188 strikeouts.\nConversely, the lowest BABIP since 1969 for a qualified hitter who finished with a BA of at least .300 is Hank Aaron in 1969, with a BABIP of .261 and a BA of exactly .300.\nClose behind Hank Aaron, but more extreme, was Barry Bonds in 2001 when he hit his 73 HR and was walked 177 times. He finished with a .328 BA and .266 BABIP.\nContinue to Day 8 - Weighted Runs Above Average and Runs Created\nAs discussed before, sacrifice flies tend to be \u0026ldquo;accidental\u0026rdquo;, so they are a ball in play. A sacrifice bunt is typically purposeful, and would almost never result in a proper hit. So we keep ignoring those.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-7-batting-average-on-balls-in-play/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we\u0026rsquo;ll look at a statistic that is interesting for both the offensive and defensive side of baseball. When a ball is put in play, how often does it go for a hit?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 7 - Batting Average on Balls in Play"},{"content":"In another day of simpler statistics, Isolated Power (ISO) is derived from slugging percentage. It\u0026rsquo;s calculated in the exact same way, but ignores singles. Hence, it is isolating the power of a hitter, defined as the rate at which they get extra-base hits.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s go straight to the formulas.\n\\text{ISO} = \\frac{\\text{2B} + 2\\times\\text{3B}+ 3\\times\\text{HR}}{\\text{at-bats}} Note that we weight things slightly differently than with slugging percentage, because this also gives us:\n\\text{ISO} = \\text{SLG} - \\text{BA}. With today\u0026rsquo;s ability to track ball speed and angle off the bat, I don\u0026rsquo;t think ISO has much place in the game. It is certainly an interesting statistic for getting a sense of how much of a player\u0026rsquo;s hitting is made up of extra-base hits, but I file it away as \u0026ldquo;fun to look at, but ultimately inconsequential for comparing players.\u0026rdquo;\nA few pieces of trivia:\nThe pitcher with the best season ISO, having at least 20 plate appearances, was Lou Sleater in 1957. He had an ISO of .450 due to 3 home runs across 20 at-bats.\nAmong qualified players1 in the 21st century, Barry Bonds is number 1, 2, and 3 on the list of highest ISO: .536 in 20012, .450 in 2004, and .429 in 2002.\nContinue to Day 7 - Batting Average on Balls in Play\nAs a reminder, this would be 502 plate appearances on the season.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nYou may know this as the year he broke the MLB home run record with 73.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-6-isolated-power/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn another day of simpler statistics, Isolated Power (ISO) is derived from slugging percentage. It\u0026rsquo;s calculated in the exact same way, but ignores singles. Hence, it is \u003cem\u003eisolating\u003c/em\u003e the power of a hitter, defined as the rate at which they get extra-base hits.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 6 - Isolated Power"},{"content":"Let\u0026rsquo;s take a step back today and consider an overall shift in the way baseball has been played over the last few decades.\nGetting the ball in play is so last century. It leads to all sorts of messy scenarios where fielders touch the ball, the batter now becomes a runner and can goof things up, and you\u0026rsquo;re really just leaving too many things to chance. Let\u0026rsquo;s keep things simple: If a batter wins a matchup against a pitcher, they should either hit a home run, or walk. If the pitcher wins, then they get a strikeout. We now have a clean approach to the game, which we call the three true outcomes.\nThe rate at which these outcomes occur has been steadily on the rise. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the MLB front office was actively ignoring rampant steroid use and we suddenly saw long-standing home run records broken by impossible mounts of men, those executives very much enjoyed profiting off the excitement of the three true outcomes. Well, one of the three. Home runs are thrilling to watch. A single swing of the bat can change the game enormously. But, as it turns out, once pitchers begin to catch onto the approaches of these hitters, another of these three outcomes becomes dominant.\nDuring that decade of about 1995 to 2005, we saw huge home run numbers by some players, and huge strikeout numbers by some pitchers. These were mostly isolated to notable individual achievements. Today, we are not seeing record-breaking individual seasons1 in the same way, but we are seeing a change in the offensive landscape on average.\nWe can look at the average number of balls in play (BIP) per team per game across the season. Between 1986 and 2007, this was pretty much always around 26.5 to 28, with most seasons falling between 27.0 and 27.75. After 2007, we saw more players playing a feast-or-famine game of offense that was being counteracted by pitchers, and the BIP average steadily dropped to an all-time low of 23.13 in 2020.2\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the thing: There is very little correlation between the average number of balls in play and the average number of runs scored per game. Teams were still getting runs across, but doing so with a larger mix of walks and home runs. Again, let\u0026rsquo;s take the messiness out to get a more predictable set of outcomes.\nYet despite how exciting home runs can be, having balls in play in general keeps fans engaged with the game. If batters are not trying to do that, strikeouts increase because pitchers can exploit the fact that batters are trying to make a specific kind of contact. That\u0026rsquo;s exactly what happened: despite these theoretic adjustments to approach, there hasn\u0026rsquo;t been a substantial increase in walk or home run rate across the league. Instead, strikeouts have steadily gone up.\nUnless you\u0026rsquo;re a pitching nerd like me, that\u0026rsquo;s incredibly boring. As fun as it is to watch your favorite pitcher mow down the opposing team, it\u0026rsquo;s demoralizing to see it happen to your own team. You get a stream of batters striking out quite frequently, getting some walks and home runs, and fans lose interest because the historically typical action — a ball hit in play, even if they it results in an out — is getting lost.\nThis has led to a new rule change for the 2023 season. Up until now, the defense could arrange themselves in extreme shifts, placing infielders in very strange spots compared to what you\u0026rsquo;d see growing up, using data to get them in the most probably location for a batted ball. There will be some limitations set that could reduce the effectiveness of these shifts, letting some otherwise-routine ground ball outs become potential hits.\nThis does not inherently fix the approach problem of swinging for the fences. The league will need to adjust to these rules and determine if other types of hitters, those reminiscent of the previous century with stronger abilities to make contact, have a higher overall value. I\u0026rsquo;ll be very interested in this dynamic over the next few seasons.\nUltimately, I\u0026rsquo;ll be keeping an eye on that BIP statistic and the rate at which three true outcomes occur. We did get a small increase back to 24.41 in 2022, so adjustments are being made to some extent. The MLB wants to change how things are now, because fans are losing interest. We\u0026rsquo;ll see if the tweaks make a difference.\nContinue to Day 6 - Isolated Power\nI must point out that Aaron Judge did just break the American League record with 62 home runs this season, and is notably the first person to break Roger Maris\u0026rsquo;s 1961 record of 61 home runs without any accusations of steroid use.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIn 2021, it was 23.67, so we can\u0026rsquo;t just blame COVID. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t a sudden change by any means.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-5-three-true-outcomes/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLet\u0026rsquo;s take a step back today and consider an overall shift in the way baseball has been played over the last few decades.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 5 - Three True Outcomes"},{"content":"You may have recognized that OBP and SLG each measure slightly different things. OBP is only a measure of whether you got on base, while SLG makes a big fuss over your hits in particular, and how \u0026ldquo;big\u0026rdquo; they were. OPS (and even better, OPS+) are a quick summary of these combined, which is cool. However, OPS treats OBP and SLG as essentially equal in their importance, while getting on base is demonstrably of higher value. If you want a more accurate measure of offensive production that is (relatively) simple to calculate, look no further than weighted on base average, or wOBA.\nA hit has a different effect on the game than a walk, and different kinds of hits also affect the game differently. That\u0026rsquo;s the basic tenet encouraging us to use a weighted average that accounts for the changing offensive landscapes across baseball. OBP is better than BA because it includes walks, an important offensive metric; SLG is an alternative measure that roughly considers the value of hits, but only in a naive way. We\u0026rsquo;re left uncertain how comparable these are, and if they truly measure value. What about comparing players from different seasons, when the run-scoring environment was different?\nThe ingenuity of wOBA is to consider the true value added each time a batter makes it on base, using the entirety of the season to calculate said value. Then, we weight each element of OBP by these calculated factors. While SLG assumes that a double is twice as valuable as a single, it turns out that a double is typically only about 1.4 times as valuable as a single. And, intuitively, we also know hitting a single is overall better than just a walk, because runners can advance more than 1 base on a single.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s jump straight to the equation using 2022 statistics. It\u0026rsquo;s more or less what you\u0026rsquo;d expect: a weighted sum of every way you can get on base (we ignore intentional walks, so uBB means \u0026ldquo;unintentional walks\u0026rdquo;), and divide by the number of opportunities that would allow a runner to get on base.1\n\\begin{aligned} \\text{wOBA} = \u0026amp;(0.689\\times \\text{uBB} + 0.720 \\times \\text{HBP} + 0.884 \\times \\text{1B} + \\cdots \\\\ \u0026amp;1.261\\times\\text{2B} + 1.601\\times\\text{3B} + 2.072\\times\\text{HR})\\\\ \u0026amp;\\div(\\text{BB}-\\text{IBB}+\\text{SF}+\\text{HBP}) \\end{aligned} A natural question is Where do these weights come from? Great question! I\u0026rsquo;m not going to reinvent the wheel, so if you want all the gory detail you should check out this FanGraphs page. But, I will give a quick summary.\nLinear Weights, In Brief\nIn brief, this all works because so many plays occur in MLB that it\u0026rsquo;s effectively a random number generator. The statistics are meaningful because the sample size is so large, and each player\u0026rsquo;s contributions to the net statistics are negligible.\nFirst, we create a matrix of base-running situations. We can have 0, 1, or 2 outs in an inning; and there are 8 possible combinations of runners on base.2 This gives us 24 possible situations. The entries in the matrix are the run probabilities using situational data from the season: runs scored in the inning from the point where that situation occurred, divided by the number of times each situation occurred.\nEach time a batter gets on base, they move from one entry in the matrix to another; that changes the run-expectancy. For each type of event, we sum these changes across all events, and divide by the number of events.\nNow we\u0026rsquo;ll have some run-expectancy value for every event in the numerator of our equation. But, this is not our final set of factors. An out is also something that can change our run-expectancy, but to get wOBA to \u0026ldquo;act like\u0026rdquo; OBP, we scale our factors so that an out has no effect.3\nFinally, we calculate a tentative league-wide wOBA using these new weights. If it\u0026rsquo;s different from the league OBP (it will be), we now adjust the factors by a constant until the league\u0026rsquo;s wOBA exactly matches the OBP. This means we have a comparative scale with which to understand wOBA: it\u0026rsquo;s the same scale we use to determine if someone\u0026rsquo;s OBP is good.\nAnd We\u0026rsquo;re Back\nwOBA is an excellent statistic. Because it\u0026rsquo;s directly calculated by considering the adjustment in run-scoring potential during each trip to the plate, it can be interpreted as the number of runs a player is worth per plate appearance.4 As a rate statistic, it is perhaps the best measure of how does a player contribute offensively when they play? while still using freely available data.5\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a natural extension to some of the naive statistics that don\u0026rsquo;t account for how different plays can drastically affect the game, yet is scaled in a way that remains understandable for fans just getting into advanced metrics.\nAs always, here are some fun facts to finish your day with.\nThe player with the highest wOBA in 1996, my birth year, was Chuck Knoblauch of the Minnesota Twins. His wOBA was .422.\nThe player between the ages 30 and 31 with the highest single-season wOBA was Jimmie Foxx in 1938, with a wOBA of .508.\nContinue to Day 5 - Three True Outcomes\nNote that this is not just plate appearances, like OBP, or at-bats, like BA. It\u0026rsquo;s a mix of at-bats, plus times where you get walked, and sacrifice flies. Note that we only include sacrifice flies, not bunts. A sacrifice fly is almost always a bit lucky; you hit a big fly ball, and because a runner happened to advance, we count it as a sacrifice. That same fly ball could have landed, or could have happened with nobody on base, in which case it would just be an at-bat. If you bunt, though, it\u0026rsquo;s very intentional, so we don\u0026rsquo;t count it against the batter.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nNobody on; runner on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd; runners on 1st and 2nd, 1st and 3rd, or 2nd and third; or bases loaded.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe find the factor for all outs across the league (say it\u0026rsquo;s -0.26), and subtract it from every factor. Since the value of an out is negative, this will increase all of our other factors.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll use it later in this series to derive a counting statistic that measures the number of runs a player contributes to their team.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course, it\u0026rsquo;s a bit tedious to do the calculations to find the weights. Yet, it\u0026rsquo;s eminently doable.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-4-woba-and-other-weighted-measures/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYou may have recognized that OBP and SLG each measure slightly different things. OBP is only a measure of whether you got on base, while SLG makes a big fuss over your hits in particular, and how \u0026ldquo;big\u0026rdquo; they were. OPS (and even better, OPS+) are a quick summary of these combined, which is cool. However, OPS treats OBP and SLG as essentially equal in their importance, while getting on base is demonstrably of higher value. If you want a more accurate measure of offensive production that is (relatively) simple to calculate, look no further than weighted on base average, or wOBA.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 4 - Weighted On Base Average"},{"content":"BA, OBP, and SLG make up what is typically known as the triple slash line for hitting. You\u0026rsquo;ll often see something written like .275/.310/.382. That is BA, OBP, and SLG in order. However, we do like our summary statistics that reduce how many numbers we need to compare for making quick calls, so we use OPS: On Base plus Slugging.\nJust like slugging isn\u0026rsquo;t really a meaningful percentage, it\u0026rsquo;s really just an average or rate, OPS is even more far afield mathematically: we\u0026rsquo;re adding two statistics with entirely different denominators to get a final made-up number.\nAnd yet, OPS is the fastest way to quickly compare \u0026ldquo;total offensive production\u0026rdquo;. We take how often they get on base, add how quickly they accrue bases via their hitting, and et voila we get a new number that we have some sense for. Roughly speaking, an OPS over 1.000 is exceptional, while the league average is typically somewhere in the .700-.760 range. Of course OPS isn\u0026rsquo;t perfect, which we\u0026rsquo;ll discuss tomorrow, but its relative values tend to align with more advanced statistics.\nBut, let\u0026rsquo;s get to the meat of this article. Anytime you see a \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo; appended to a baseball statistic, that means it is a league-adjusted, and probably park-adjusted statistic. We normalize it to the run-scoring environment of the league each season, and account for additional factors like how some ballparks are simply more favorable for hitters than others.\nHere are the basic tenets of these \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo; statistics, which will include OPS+:\n100 is always the league average.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a percentage score, so someone with a value of 150 is 50% \u0026ldquo;better\u0026rdquo; in that statistic than league average.\nBecause of this normalization, we can pretty confidently make direct comparisons across seasons, even decades apart, to see how some players perform compared to how players years ago were relative to their play. Something like OPS+ still won\u0026rsquo;t tell us \u0026ldquo;How much better is Babe Ruth than Jim Thome?\u0026rdquo;, but it will tell us \u0026ldquo;Was Babe Ruth way better compared to his peers than Jim Thome was compared to his peers?\u0026rdquo;\nThere\u0026rsquo;s an additional layer of abstraction, but it\u0026rsquo;s still extremely useful to explore.\nAdjustment Factors\nThese are calculated each year, looking at the offensive environment in each ballpark. You can see the official MLB numbers here. In short, we compare every player\u0026rsquo;s performance in a single ballpark to their performance everywhere else, and put it on the same \u0026ldquo;+\u0026rdquo; scale where 100 is league average.\nThings get a little strange, because MLB has access to some different numbers, and things change when you consider historical data. Baseball-Reference explains their approach here, where they do a running-average on their park adjustment factors to account for lack of historical data.1\nUltimately there is not much difference between the approaches from different sources, and OPS+ is a good measurement wherever you get it from. Even disregarding adjustment factors, having it on a sensible scale, comparable scale is beneficial.2\nFinally, some fun facts.\nFrom the ages of 25 - 30, Jim Thome had an OPS+ of 153, which isn\u0026rsquo;t bad at all! That is 53% better than league average.\nFrom the ages of 25 - 30, Babe Ruth had an OPS+ of 218, which is wild.\nContinue to Day 4 - Weighted On Base Average\nMore specifically, a little less than 10 years ago MLB introduced Statcast, which allows tracking of a lot more information, including the speed and angle at which a ball is hit. So we\u0026rsquo;ve introduced more data to get more accurate statistics, but we still would like to have some idea of these statistics from the past.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAgain, OPS itself is a meaningless value in terms of units, so we might as well rescale it and confirm its lack of units.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-3-ops-and-ops/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBA, OBP, and SLG make up what is typically known as the \u003cem\u003etriple slash line\u003c/em\u003e for hitting. You\u0026rsquo;ll often see something written like \u003cem\u003e.275/.310/.382\u003c/em\u003e. That is BA, OBP, and SLG in order. However, we do like our summary statistics that reduce how many numbers we need to compare for making quick calls, so we use OPS: On Base plus Slugging.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 3 - OPS and OPS+"},{"content":"We move on from batting average to discuss a much simpler statistic, as well as a weighted version of batting average. These two new statistics, along with batting average, have over the last decade come to comprise the base-level portfolio of a batter\u0026rsquo;s hitting abilities.\nOn Base Percentage Conceptually, this is the simplest rate statistic for a hitter. It is the number of times a runner gets on base per plate appearance, although we do still remove sacrifice hits since that is typically a managerial decision. As an equation:\n$$ \\text{OBP} = \\dfrac{\\text{H} + \\text{BB} + \\text{HBP}}{\\text{PA}-\\text{SH}} $$\nWe\u0026rsquo;re adding every way a hitter can reach base without defensive errors — hits, walks (BB, which is short for \u0026ldquo;Base on Balls\u0026rdquo;), and hit-by-pitches — and dividing by their plate appearances, minus any sacrifice hits.\nOBP came into the cultural consciousness with Moneyball back in the early 2000s, although a great Foolish Baseball video discusses how Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles quietly did something quite similar several decades earlier. Regardless, the idea is simple: rather than valuing just hits very highly (hits are cool!), we should instead value not getting out. If you\u0026rsquo;re not amazing at hitting, but you\u0026rsquo;re still able to get a lot of walks through excellent plate discipline, you should be rewarded to some extent.\nPerhaps the weirdest example of this was Juan Soto from this year, who only had a .242 batting average, but his OBP was .401. Despite only getting a hit less than a quarter of his at-bats, he still got on base just over 40% of the time. That\u0026rsquo;s an important element of his game!\nIn general, I\u0026rsquo;d say .400 is the baseline for a very good OBP.\nSlugging Percentage You may know that a slugger is someone who hits the ball really hard, often for extra bases or home runs. As such, the slugging percentage (SLG) is a weighted batting average where instead of measuring total hits per at-bat, we measure total bases per at-bat.1\nTo break it down among singles, doubles, triples, and home runs (1B, 2B, 3B, HR respectively), we get this equation:\n$$ \\text{SLG} = \\dfrac{1\\cdot\\text{1B} + 2\\cdot\\text{2B} + 3\\cdot\\text{3B} + 4\\cdot\\text{HR}}{\\text{AB}}$$\nHowever, it\u0026rsquo;s simpler to think of it as \u0026ldquo;total bases per at-bat\u0026rdquo;. So, someone with a .500 SLG gets, on average, half a base per at-bat, which would be quite good.\nHere are a few fun statistics for OBP and SLG. We\u0026rsquo;ll only be considering the Live Ball Era, which began in 1920.2\nThe highest season OBP by a qualified player with a BA less than .300 was Mark McGwire in 1998, who had a .299 BA and a .470 OBP. (When you hit 70 home runs, a new MLB record at the time, you\u0026rsquo;ll get walked a lot.) 3\nThe lowest season OBP by a qualified player with a BA greater than .300 was Shawon Dunston in 1997. He had a .300 BA on the dot, yet only eked out a .312 OBP. He struck out 75 times, and only walked 8 times. That\u0026rsquo;s pretty abysmal.\nThe highest season SLG by a team that won the World Series was the 1927 Yankees, with a .488 SLG.\nContinue to Day 3 - OPS and OPS+\nThe careful reader may note that this means it\u0026rsquo;s not a \u0026ldquo;percentage\u0026rdquo; in any meaningful way. It\u0026rsquo;s certainly mathematically possible for someone\u0026rsquo;s slugging percentage to be above 1. It\u0026rsquo;s more accurately a \u0026ldquo;slugging rate\u0026rdquo;.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis is when Babe Ruth discovered that home runs are pretty fun to hit, and players largely stopped treating baseball like a game of cricket.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAs a final note, it\u0026rsquo;s always funny to me how home runs are included in OBP. Of course it would be silly to not, but the name makes it a bit confusing. You don\u0026rsquo;t get on base with a home run. Maybe it should be the \u0026ldquo;Avoiding Outs Percentage\u0026rdquo; instead.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-2-on-base-and-slugging-percentage/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe move on from batting average to discuss a much simpler statistic, as well as a weighted version of batting average. These two new statistics, along with batting average, have over the last decade come to comprise the base-level \u003cem\u003eportfolio\u003c/em\u003e of a batter\u0026rsquo;s hitting abilities.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 2 - On Base and Slugging Percentage"},{"content":"Though not the most intuitive statistic, batting average was a gold-standard statistic for many decades, and is still considered important today.\nIn short, batting average measures how often someone gets a hit among all situations where a hit was \u0026ldquo;possible\u0026rdquo;. This requires us to differentiate plate appearances and at-bats.\nA plate appearance is the most general event for a batter. As the name suggests, every time a batter steps to the plate they are participating in a plate appearance. Regardless of the outcome, their plate appearances increase by 1 each time they face a pitcher.\nAn at-bat is a slightly more limited set of factors. If the result of the plate appearance is a walk, hit-by-pitch, or sacrifice hit (e.g. a bunt intended to let another runner advance a base), it does not count as an at-bat. Everything else though — hit, error, strikeout — counts as an at-bat. In other words, every situation where the batter made an attempt to reach base via their bat counts as an at-bat.1\nNow, take the number of hits a batter has, and divide it by the number of at-bats. That is the batting average (BA or AVG, depending on your source).\n$$ \\text{BA} = \\dfrac{\\text{Hits}}{\\text{At-bats}} $$\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a statistic that rewards batters who get on base by hitting the ball, arguably the entire point of baseball. That is why it was and continues to be a treasured statistic. In fact, the player in each league who finishes the season with the highest batting average wins the batting title.\nBatting statistics require a batter to be qualified through a sufficient number of plate appearances to be in consideration for winning any statistical award. The official rule is that a batter needs 502 plate appearances across the 162-game regular season, which comes out to about 3.1 plate appearances per game the team plays. They switched to using plate appearances in 1957 instead of their previous rule of 400 at-bats: no need to unfairly or accidentally punish someone who gets walked a bunch.\nSo you have a baseline, these days we consider a .300 BA the baseline for a very good hitting season.\nHere are a few interesting batting average statistics:\nJoe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins is the catcher who won the most batting titles, with 3.\nThe last qualified player to bat over .400 in a season is Ted Williams, with an average of .406 in 1941.\nThe player with the best career batting average in the 2nd inning with at least 100 plate appearances is Eddie Collins, with a .437 average.\nContinue to Day 2 - On Base and Slugging Percentage\nWe consider a walk or HBP as the batter not having an opportunity to use their bat. A sacrifice is exactly that: the batter sacrificing their chance of getting a hit to let a runner advance.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-1-batting-average/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThough not the most intuitive statistic, batting average was a gold-standard statistic for many decades, and is still considered important today.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 1 - Batting Average"},{"content":"After a couple of years toying with the idea, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally decided to do a blogmas, my own take on creative challenges such as Advent of Code. In this case, you\u0026rsquo;ll be treated to 25 days of posts about the wonderful world of baseball statistics.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t go running away yet. My goal is to build up these posts in a way that someone passingly familiar with the sport should be able to follow along, gathering the requisite knowledge to understand each subsequent statistic as we progress. I\u0026rsquo;ll do my best to explain some cultural context around each statistic, and provide a fun bit of trivia through the Stathead tool I discovered a couple of months ago.1\nThe beauty of baseball is that many of the statistics are very easily tracked. It\u0026rsquo;s a game made of discrete plays, where only a few things can happen. A ball is pitched, and it gets hit somewhere.2 Compare this to American football: It is also made of discrete plays, but the dynamics of 11 players on each side all having something to do with the end result really complicates matters. So, due to the comparative simplicity of the outcomes in each play of baseball, many baseline statistics are easy to gather and distribute, leading to a huge community of fans who engage with these numbers. Eventually, more complicated statistics were created to both better reflect the changing landscape of the game, and to more properly evaluate a player using modern understandings of player value.\nOver the next four weeks, I hope you gain appreciation for how baseball statistics grew: how we went from boxscores in newspapers to large communities dedicated to baseball research, where people maintain huge databases, and complicated (sometimes proprietary) statistics are developed. If you want to see these statistics in action by the end of our journey together, watch literally any video on Foolish Baseball. He is the current champion of positively using advanced statistics to understand baseball in an entertaining way.\nRetroactive Table of Contents\nBatting Average\nOn Base and Slugging Percentage\nOPS and OPS+\nWeighted On Base Average\nThree True Outcomes\nIsolated Power\nBatting Average on Balls in Play\nWeighted Runs Above Average and Runs Created\nOffensive Wins Above Replacement\nWin Probability Added\nEarned Run Average\nOther Basic Pitching Statistics\nWalks and Hits per Inning Pitched\nERA+\nFielding Independent Pitching\nPitcher Miscellany\nExpected FIP\nFixing ERA+ With a Minus\nLeverage Index\nPitcher WAR\nFielding Percentage and Range Factor\nUltimate Zone Rating\nDefensive Runs Saved and Defensive WAR\nRetrospective\nAnd, I might add, I\u0026rsquo;ve been looking for an excuse to finally use that tool for something interesting. This is sort of an excuse to do so.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nModern statistics make use of advanced tracking to more accurately consider how baserunners compare to each other, for example. But I don\u0026rsquo;t necessarily plan to cover many statistics that rely heavily on external data sources.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-blogmas-day-0-baseball-statistics/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a couple of years toying with the idea, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally decided to do a \u003cem\u003eblogmas\u003c/em\u003e, my own take on creative challenges such as \u003ca href=\"https://adventofcode.com/\"\u003eAdvent of Code\u003c/a\u003e. In this case, you\u0026rsquo;ll be treated to 25 days of posts about the wonderful world of baseball statistics.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022 Blogmas Day 0 - Baseball Statistics"},{"content":"Every few months, I would go check out the Ardour website to see whether support for Apple silicon had gone past a rough beta. Just a few days ago I went there and, sure enough, the official macOS version now runs natively on Apple silicon and it\u0026rsquo;s wonderful.\nWhile Ferrite has been my main way to edit for a couple years now, and likely will continue to be, it\u0026rsquo;s nice to know I have other options available depending on my mood and inclination. The main annoyance with Ferrite is needing to move the files between my Mac and my iPad. Having everything stay on the Mac is overall simpler.\nI used Ardour to edit episode 228 of Comical Start, then did some final processing with Rogue Amoeba\u0026rsquo;s Fission app, mostly to add chapters. It\u0026rsquo;s nice having multiple workflows available again.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/desktop-podcast-editing-is-back/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEvery few months, I would go check out the \u003ca href=\"https://ardour.org/\"\u003eArdour\u003c/a\u003e website to see whether support for Apple silicon had gone past a rough beta. Just a few days ago I went there and, sure enough, the official macOS version now runs natively on Apple silicon and it\u0026rsquo;s wonderful.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Ferrite has been my main way to edit for a couple years now, and likely will continue to be, it\u0026rsquo;s nice to know I have other options available depending on my mood and inclination. The main annoyance with Ferrite is needing to move the files between my Mac and my iPad. Having everything stay on the Mac is overall simpler.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Desktop Podcast Editing is Back"},{"content":"After procrastinating on NaNoWriMo 2022 to a sufficient degree that it has just become another story I hope to finish at some point, this week I\u0026rsquo;ve turned my attention back to The Last Question, which was my world of choice for NaNoWriMo 2021. I have some ideas for where I\u0026rsquo;d like to go next.\nThe Last Question has six character types, each with their own broad personal traits and a place within a rough social hierarchy. My goal was to write one story for each character type, putting them in the world, displaying typical interactions and interests they may have, while including non-obvious choices or elements that still mostly fall in line with their description.\nI only made it through three characters before the holiday season stopped me in my tracks. A year later, I\u0026rsquo;ve begun story number four, and have a rough plan for where these fit into the game I\u0026rsquo;ve built.\nEarlier this year I created the Gameplay Guide, a short document outlining the world and the rules of the game. I plan to write a much longer Stories and Scenarios document which contains these character stories; perhaps some other stories where character types are implicit and instead focus on specific elements of the world at large; and most importantly, a list of starting scenarios for gameplay.\nNow, I\u0026rsquo;m under no impression this is anything more than a vanity project. Just like my blog or my podcasts, this is a form of personal entertainment that hopefully I\u0026rsquo;m able to share with my friends. Yet I am inspired by the large worlds of a few actual play shows of which I am aware, most notably Campaign: Skyjacks which is a beautiful game with a more novel concept than I have. They have awesome characters, compelling storylines that weave and breathe with plenty of space to grow, and most notably they include significant flavor text during off-weeks. The creator of the show, James D\u0026rsquo;Amato, contracts with writers who fully understand the world, and he is also an exceedingly capable writer. They produces short stories of the variety I hope to emulate.\nWhile building a world could be intimidating, there are so many people who have done so successfully, and to some extent it\u0026rsquo;s easier to craft a self-contained world that mirrors our own than it is to write something firmly within reality as we understand it. I thoroughly enjoy the process, and this is a project I keep coming back to because the inspiration remains ripe, my motivation holds, and there are many concrete steps I can take to keep moving forward.\nStay tuned.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/building-a-world/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter procrastinating on NaNoWriMo 2022 to a sufficient degree that it has just become another story I hope to finish at some point, this week I\u0026rsquo;ve turned my attention back to \u003cem\u003eThe Last Question\u003c/em\u003e, which was my world of choice for NaNoWriMo 2021. I have some ideas for where I\u0026rsquo;d like to go next.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Building a World"},{"content":"The Minnesota Twins released new jerseys this past week, introducing a different aesthetic to their main uniforms, and an alternative version featuring inspiration from the Twin Cities, the namesake of the team. Here are a few thoughts.\nThe most egregious issue with the new design is the similarity of their new \u0026ldquo;M\u0026rdquo; hats to those of the Miami Marlins from around 2017. While it\u0026rsquo;s not a direct copy, the very boring \u0026ldquo;M\u0026rdquo; on the Twins\u0026rsquo; hat is not engaging.\nMarlins Old Hat\nTwins New Hat\nCompare this to the older version of the \u0026ldquo;M\u0026rdquo; hat from a couple decades ago, and the change is a pretty odd choice.\nAt best you could argue they\u0026rsquo;re going for some North Star vibe, but it\u0026rsquo;s poorly executed and not in line with the rest of the design.\nNow, the big reveal was the Twin Cities jersey with an augmented logo.\nI think these are alright. I\u0026rsquo;m sure they\u0026rsquo;ll grow on me, and hopefully these are similar to other City Connect jerseys rolled out by other teams, where they are only worn for home games on a particular day of the week. Having a muted color pattern is pretty disappointing, particularly when compared to the baby blues from the \u0026rsquo;70s and \u0026rsquo;80s. Not differentiating the colors in the \u0026ldquo;T\u0026rdquo; and the \u0026ldquo;C\u0026rdquo; is also a losing move.\nHowever, the three other main jerseys (ignoring the hats) are excellent.\nI think they\u0026rsquo;re a fun change, and getting pinstripes back is awesome. These are jersey designs I would love to have, but I\u0026rsquo;ll stick with my current hats.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-minnesota-twins-jerseys/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe Minnesota Twins released new jerseys this past week, introducing a different aesthetic to their main uniforms, and an alternative version featuring inspiration from the \u003cem\u003eTwin Cities\u003c/em\u003e, the namesake of the team. Here are a few thoughts.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Minnesota Twins Jerseys"},{"content":"As is now tradition, I\u0026rsquo;m giving some attempt to National Novel Writing Month. And, as mentioned in my post about getting into fountain pens, I\u0026rsquo;m doing it by hand in a notebook.1\nLet\u0026rsquo;s cut to the chase: I\u0026rsquo;m way behind any potential goal I could have set myself. We\u0026rsquo;ve had visitors, I\u0026rsquo;ve been busy doing some curriculum work on the side, and I simply have not set aside sufficient time to maintain a healthy pace.\nWhile the specific goal of NaNoWriMo is word count, there\u0026rsquo;s not much to be done about that when writing in a notebook. So, knowing that 50,000 typed words ends up being a little more than 100 pages when typeset in a way that pleases me, I figured that filling up a notebook that has about 200 A5 pages would be somewhat comparable. As I write this blog post on November 13, I\u0026rsquo;m around page 20 of said notebook.\nYet, I still feel encouraged by the process I\u0026rsquo;m following. I\u0026rsquo;ve found that writing with my fountain pen is quite lovely, and keeps me pushing forward. I don\u0026rsquo;t look back to try and edit, only to make sure I\u0026rsquo;m referencing ideas correctly. I get locked in a better zone, and have absolutely no temptation to distract myself on my phone or computer, because they are not immediately at hand like they would be were I writing on them.\nThere is something about the format of a notebook that makes me feel as if I\u0026rsquo;m actively writing into a book that I can read immediately after. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t put additional pressure on me, but there is a stronger connection in my brain between the parts that enjoy a good story, and the part attempting to craft one. On November 1, I sat down and just started writing about a character. By the end of my first chapter, I had a pretty solid idea of the general plot and a parallel story to be telling from the protagonist\u0026rsquo;s past. Again, I\u0026rsquo;m not very far into the process, but it\u0026rsquo;s the most optimistic I\u0026rsquo;ve felt about a NaNoWriMo story. Compared to my first year in 2019, I\u0026rsquo;m not just word-vomiting to hit the count. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to be intentional with writing something I could finish, even if it doesn\u0026rsquo;t happen in November.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll keep plodding along, enjoying the physical sensation of writing again.2 But, when I check back in at the end of the month don\u0026rsquo;t expect success. After all, I\u0026rsquo;m only 1 for 3 so far.\nFor those keeping score, it\u0026rsquo;s a Rhodia A5 Webnotebook with lined paper in Blue.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI had an inkling of this feeling when I discussed mechanical keyboards, but this is far more tactile and personal.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2022-check-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs is now tradition, I\u0026rsquo;m giving some attempt to National Novel Writing Month. And, as mentioned in my \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/a-new-writing-implement/\"\u003epost about getting into fountain pens\u003c/a\u003e, I\u0026rsquo;m doing it by hand in a notebook.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2022 Check In"},{"content":"Perhaps the greatest boon to digital communication, other than the hyperlink, is the GIF. They provide succinct ways to show everyone what you are working on, and allows people unfamiliar with technology to repeat a process exactly as shown to them. No need to create a series of images with missing information between them. You need a tool to make GIFs, because you never know when creating one on the fly will be extraordinarily useful.\nA basic GIF made with Kap.\nWe all know GIFs are also a tool for comedy. I\u0026rsquo;m not trying to discount that use case by any means, but that was not the first reason I looked into obtaining a GIF tool. It began when I switched roles at work and found myself needing to create bulletproof documentation on many repetitive features of an internal tool. Many of these features involved hovering over something to reveal information, and that does not play nicely with image-based explanations.\nWith about eighteen months of experience using a couple GIF tools, I now find them indispensable in both my professional and personal time on a computer. Between tech support and, yes, jokes, having a tool I can invoke via keyboard shortcut, quickly resize the target window, and get to business has been an excellent resource.\nKap\u0026rsquo;s basic interface.\nI do apologize that I mainly use macOS these days. I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are very good tools on both Windows and Linux platforms, but I\u0026rsquo;m unfamiliar with them.\nThese days, I mainly use Kap. It\u0026rsquo;s a free, open source tool available for the Mac. You can customize a keyboard shortcut to get it started (I use Cmd+Shift+6), resize the capture area, then just hit record. It includes what I consider table stakes features for a GIF tool: The ability to show when you click your mouse.\nClicking!\nWhat if you need a more powerful tool, with faster rendering, and a more robust feature set? Then try purchasing Gifox. It has better file management tools in the menu bar that allow you to quickly grab GIFs you made in the past and drag them where you need them. It also has an option to display keyboard strokes, which is a very lovely feature for advanced tech support. The overall experience is simply cleaner: It has a persistent \u0026ldquo;stop\u0026rdquo; button, as opposed to Kap where you have to find the icon in the menu bar. Its rendering is also a bit quicker in my experience.\nUsing Gifox and its typing features.\nI\u0026rsquo;d suggest starting with Kap (it is free after all), and checking out its simple features. If you get the bug, you can graduate to something bigger and better. But try having one of these tools on hand, it can make a big difference.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/you-need-a-gif-tool/","summary":"\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the greatest boon to digital communication, other than the hyperlink, is the GIF. They provide succinct ways to show everyone what you are working on, and allows people unfamiliar with technology to repeat a process exactly as shown to them. No need to create a series of images with missing information between them. You need a tool to make GIFs, because you never know when creating one on the fly will be extraordinarily useful.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/typing.gif\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA basic GIF made with Kap.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e","title":"You Need a GIF Tool"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s an odd experience drafting a blog post on paper, but here we are.\nI recently decided to start using my large collection of leather journals that have gone largely untouched over the years. The one I\u0026rsquo;m writing this draft in was purchased from Barnes and Noble in middle school to use with the dip feather quill pen I got as a present.\nMy leather-bound journal.\nIt didn\u0026rsquo;t take too long while using rollerballs1 to desire going back to the original spirit of this journal, or at least as close as was reasonable without being so silly as to get another quill pen. So, after some research, I got a fountain pen. In short, it\u0026rsquo;s made me fall in love with the art of writing all over again.\nAs a younger kid, I would get a blank notebook with excitement. The possibilities were endless, and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t ashamed to fill them up (or at least try, until a new one caught my attention.) While my blog has been a continued attempt to keep writing, that\u0026rsquo;s been more about the \u0026ldquo;What\u0026rdquo; than the \u0026ldquo;How\u0026rdquo;. Journaling became a bit of both, where taking the intentional time to write by hand slowed me down, and let me think with a clarity and precision I don\u0026rsquo;t feel while typing. Additionally, the meditative act of writing helps as much as the process of thinking does. So, journaling became a release from my own standards.\nEnter the momentum of writing some long piece \u0026ndash; whatever form or genre \u0026ndash; on an empty page. There is no more effective focus mode, no greater motivation to keep pushing forward, than pen and paper. My eyes lose a bit of focus and I just write. There\u0026rsquo;s no going back right now, so the next word flows from the last. Yet, my mind is slowed and more deliberate, so that next word has had a few more cycles of refinement than had I been typing. And with all this excitement to write again, to reconnect with my younger self and enjoy this process, I found my beloved rollerball pens \u0026ndash; the Retro 51s, and Cortex Mark One \u0026ndash; began to let me down. They\u0026rsquo;re best for longer strokes, quick notes, small sketches. My journaling had already pushed them to the edge of their functionality. My renewed vigor for writing in general broke them.2\nNow, the fountain pen, my new partner in the long form. I first got a Pilot Metropolitan, the poster-child of \u0026ldquo;beginner\u0026rdquo; pens. I immediately noticed the difference. No pressing into the page to write, just let it glide. No skipping, just an even flow. Plus, the intangible factor of feeling special while using a nibbed pen.\nHowever, their ink capacity is a little low,3 and while good for a few minutes of journaling each day, and probably travel because it\u0026rsquo;s inexpensive, I had higher aspirations.\nMy goal became to do NaNoWriMo by hand this year. To perform a feat so unthinkable last year, I would need a pen with a great capacity for ink, and ideally a way to keep an eye on it.4 Something trustworthy, a pen that would last. After discussing with a friend with much more fountain pen experience, and perusing the Novel Writing shopping guide on Goulet Pens, I ended up with the TWSBI 580AL5. It is a clear-bodied pen with aluminum accents, and an all-replaceable design, which is not the case for a lot of pens.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve written this draft with the TWSBI, in this leather journal that I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to not lose in 14 years. Will all my posts be written like this in the future? No. Has doing this as a test confirmed my love affair with fountain pens? Yes. I still plan on opening up a fresh journal on November 1, grabbing this TWSBI, and getting to work. We\u0026rsquo;ll see how far I go.\nHalf of this post, with my TWSBI pen and some very poor bubble letters.\nI mostly use my Retro 51 Tornados: one that was purchased in a fancy bookstore in San Diego during my internship, and another I got as a backup. I also have my Cortex Mark One, which I used as my journaling pen for a while, and also to take random notes.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nObviously I still love them, and use them often. But, they were \u0026ldquo;skipping\u0026rdquo; pretty badly at times. It was frustrating.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMetropolitans use a cartridge/converter system. You can either use proprietary pre-filled ink cartridges, or a converter the size of a cartridge that fills with bottled ink. Either way, the ink capacity is pretty minimal compared to the size of the body.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nFurthermore, the Metropolitan has an opaque body. The only way to check the ink level is by unscrewing the pen. Other pens have small windows in the body, while \u0026ldquo;demonstrator\u0026rdquo; pens are clear so you can see the entire ink tank.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nPronounced \u0026lsquo;TWIZ-bee\u0026rsquo;.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-new-writing-implement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s an odd experience drafting a blog post on paper, but here we are.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A New Writing Implement"},{"content":"Whenever I think about this blog, I feel slightly disappointed in myself. My internal impression is that many of the posts are written at the last minute about nothing with any lasting interest. Most frustratingly, I want this blog to be a tool to improve my writing and communication, yet I\u0026rsquo;m not convinced I\u0026rsquo;ve set up a framework that lends itself to that goal. I began to think about a change.\nMy ideal vision is to reach a point where posts exist on a tight spectrum between the kind where I explored the Space Force, and the review of Dr. Feelgood. If I pick a topic to dive into, I\u0026rsquo;d like to have the weekly posts document my process and progress, culminating in a final post that reads as an essay. If instead the topic is a \u0026ldquo;one-off\u0026rdquo;, it may just appear, but I want the standard of quality to be higher.\nAt the same time, there\u0026rsquo;s a battle of time and will. Blog posts happen on a short timescale because I have other obligations. It slips my mind because I don\u0026rsquo;t take it seriously. Do I believe that I value these high-minded goals for the blog more than I value other projects?\nAs I began to write out these thoughts for this post (over a week before I planned to publish it!) I went through the archives of this year. While there are surely some short posts that were done at the last minute, or a few days late, they are all speaking to something important in my life. Other posts are better than I remember, even if they weren\u0026rsquo;t as enjoyable as Dr. Feelgood.\nSo, it\u0026rsquo;s a consideration of an external framework against internal motivation. Just as the best curriculum will do nothing for a student committed to not caring, telling myself that I will focus on larger topics or higher-quality pieces of writing is no guarantee that I\u0026rsquo;ll produce such bits of writing any more frequently than I already do.\nAll this to be said: I plan to nudge myself more frequently via my task manager to keep my blog in mind. I have the time to squirrel away to give it a bit more attention, to produce better ideas, and develop an editorial process that jives with both my available time and my intended goals. I am not going to consciously pick topics or projects that are vastly different than what I already do; I simply want the form of communication to steadily improve.\nThis will remain a weekly blog for now, with a mix of posts across the categories I\u0026rsquo;ve created over the years. But, I will be improving my processes with the meta-goal of feeling good about this blog. Ultimately, that\u0026rsquo;s more important than anything else.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-potential-change-to-this-blog/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhenever I think about this blog, I feel slightly disappointed in myself. My internal impression is that many of the posts are written at the last minute about nothing with any lasting interest. Most frustratingly, I want this blog to be a tool to improve my writing and communication, yet I\u0026rsquo;m not convinced I\u0026rsquo;ve set up a framework that lends itself to that goal. I began to think about a change.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Potential Change to This Blog"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been playing disc golf for nearly a year and a half.1 It\u0026rsquo;s an incredibly fun activity that I play mostly by myself in California, and love meeting up with friends to play while back in Minnesota. It\u0026rsquo;s relatively cheap to get into, lets me explore fun bits of nature, I get to directly compete against myself, and have a clear way of seeing whether I\u0026rsquo;m improving.\nMy set of discs has mostly stabilized (with the exception of losing a disc here or there), so I thought it would be good to talk through each disc and why I like to use them.\nTerminology\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a quick guide so we\u0026rsquo;re all talking about the same thing. Discs are roughly broken up into four categories:\nDistance Drivers Fairway Drivers Midrange Putter/Approach Each disc (or at least every disc I use) has flight numbers, a series of four numbers that roughly describe the characteristics of the disc in the air.\nSpeed: How fast do you need to throw this disc for the other numbers to be correct? Speed is actually a measure of the rim width of the disc, and in general a higher speed means the disc can travel farther. You\u0026rsquo;ll see most flight numbers range from 1 to 14. Glide: How well does this disc \u0026ldquo;float\u0026rdquo; in the air? A glide of 5 acts like you\u0026rsquo;d expect a spinning disc to fly, whereas a glide of 1 really likes to fall to the ground quickly. Some discs claim a glide of 6 or even 7. Turn: When you initally through the disc (right-hand backhand), how much does the disc initally want to go to the right? A negative number indicates a tendency to turn to the right. Turn typically ranges from -4 to 1. Fade: At the end of its flight, how hard does the disc fight to the ground and oppose any turn? A higher number means it \u0026ldquo;falls\u0026rdquo; to the ground more than gliding to the ground. Fade typically ranges from 0 to 4 or 5, although no disc truly has 0 fade. In addition, people tend to summarize the turn/fade characteristics using the words \u0026ldquo;overstable\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;stable\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;understable\u0026rdquo;.\nOverstable means the disc has very little turn, and high fade. These discs require the most power to throw, and are very reliable in all wind conditions. Stable means the disc is relatively straight, so it has not a lot of turn, and not a lot of fade. Understable means the disc has a tendency to turn much more, and fade less. With that out of the way, we can cover my bag!\nDistance Drivers\nProdigy Airborn Falcor (13 6 -1 2.5): This is my highest speed disc. For a stronger player, this is a good far-flying distance driver they can control. For me, since it\u0026rsquo;s not \u0026ldquo;broken in\u0026rdquo;, it remains quite overstable. I\u0026rsquo;d say the numbers are closer to (13 6 0 3) for me. I use this for distance shots that have to go left, and long forehands. The high glide number makes it less likely to \u0026ldquo;dive\u0026rdquo; to the ground.\nInnova Star Destroyer (12 5 -1 3): This disc is a touch less overstable than the Falcor, and I find it more comfortable to really tear into it on a backhand. Plus, it has a cool rainbow bottom stamp. However, it does dive to the ground a little bit faster than the Falcor.\nDynamic Discs Fuzion Trespass (12 5 -1 2.5): This disc got broken in much faster, and is actually a stable-to-understable distance driver. It is the disc I have thrown the absolute farthest, so in an open field I can break this guy out and go to town.\nInnova Star Wraith (11 5 -1 3): I found this disc in the winter in Minnesota with no name on it. It\u0026rsquo;s since become one of my go-to distance drivers. It has slowly broken in, getting a bit more turn as each month passes by. It\u0026rsquo;s comfortable in the hand for both backhand and forehand.\nDynamic Discs Lucid Sergeant (11 4 0 2.5): I initially purchased this as a forehand disc, because it has a flat profile and was pretty overstable. However, it\u0026rsquo;s broken in and is now an incredible, controllable driver. I can throw it on several angles, and it will hold.\nFairway Drivers\nInnova Champion Thunderbird (9 5 0 2): Champion plastic is known as being very overstable, and this disc is no exception. It is similar to the Falcor for my use, but a bit more comfortable due to the smaller rim.\nDynamic Discs Lucid Escape (9 5 -1 2): My farthest-flying control driver. It is a stable-to-understable disc, able to hit a great line. It glides forever — the glide should definitely by 6. I can throw it nearly as far as my Trespass, which is ridiculous.\nInnova Champion Sidewinder (9 5 -3 1): Another found disc. If I\u0026rsquo;m throwing a backhand and need a disc that will go right no matter what, this is my choice. It\u0026rsquo;s mostly a utility disc, but it sure has its utility.\nInnova Champion Firebird (9 3 0 4): The best utility disc. Very overstable, I can throw overhands with it, and hard forehands. It\u0026rsquo;s my get-out-of-jail disc. I always have a spare one in case my current one gets too beat up or lost.\nInnova Star Firebird (9 3 0 4): Another Firebird? You bet. The Star plastic is not nearly as stable as Champion. It can turn just a little bit, and fight back to the left. This is more of a disc I could drive with to shape a hole, rather than get myself out of a tough situation.\nLegacy Icon Phenom (8 5 -1 2): An excellent control driver. We\u0026rsquo;re getting into my \u0026ldquo;I love throwing these super straight at the basket\u0026rdquo; discs, and this is the one I can throw the farthest. It is stable in the truest sense: I can throw it dead straight with very little movement to the left or right.\nLegacy Pinnacle Patriot (7 5 -2 1): Similar to the Phenom, but just a bit less stable. This disc initially sold me on the Legacy brand. It\u0026rsquo;s a super straight disc when I angle it correctly, or I can throw it on a great understable turnover line when needed. It\u0026rsquo;s one of the most comfortable discs in my hand.\nLegacy Icon Rival (7 5 0 2): Less stable than the numbers imply, this disc will definitely turn a little bit to the right. However, unlike the Patriot, it will fight back to the left at the end which is a very nice feature.\nInnova Glow Teebird (7 5 0 2): An overstable version of the Rival. Despite it having the same flight numbers, this disc will not go to the right unless I force it to on an angle. It will always fight back left, so it\u0026rsquo;s good to use in a stronger wind.\nMidranges\nLegacy Pinnacle Pursuit (5 3 0 3): While it\u0026rsquo;s a midrange speed, I use it almost exclusively on approaches. It\u0026rsquo;s good for shorter forehands where I need to flex it around a tree or other obstacle. In other words, it\u0026rsquo;s like a shorter distance Firebird.\nDynamic Discs Fuzion Truth (5 5 0 2): A workhorse midrange for me off the tee. I can throw it hard and get it to turn a little, or smooth it out there for a beautiful flight with immense glide. A bit touchy in the wind, but fun to throw. I also have a backup of this.\nRPM Piwakawaka (4 5 0 0): How can you not love that name? This is an understable midrange whose real numbers are more like (4 5 -1 0). It falls to the right on a backhand, and is useful for a few particular shots. I consider this a midrange due to the slimmer profile compared to the Harp below.\nPutt and Approach\nWestside Discs BT Medium Harp (4 3 0 3): A taller approach disc that is pretty overstable at low speeds, or a straight flying disc I can drive with at full power. It feels comfortable in the hand no matter how I throw it. When in doubt, I use this within 200 feet.\nAxiom Electron Firm Envy (3 3 -1 2): My main \u0026ldquo;driving\u0026rdquo; putter that flies straight, can be put on different angles, and is very trustworthy on shorter holes.\nWestside Discs BT Medium Shield (3 3 0 1): An excellent approach disc for me. I can throw it incredibly straight, or on various angles, at short distances. It\u0026rsquo;s comfortable in my hand, and the medium-soft plastic makes sure it sticks to the ground when it lands. I will sometimes try a very long jump-putt with this disc.\nDynamic Discs Class Hybrid Warden x2 (2 4 0 0.5): These are my \u0026ldquo;putting\u0026rdquo; putters. I used cheaper ones before, but invested in a higher quality plastic and they do feel better in my hand.\nI actually watched it on YouTube for over a year before ever playing, so I learned a lot about the sport first.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-disc-golf-bag/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been playing disc golf for nearly a year and a half.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e It\u0026rsquo;s an incredibly fun activity that I play mostly by myself in California, and love meeting up with friends to play while back in Minnesota. It\u0026rsquo;s relatively cheap to get into, lets me explore fun bits of nature, I get to directly compete against myself, and have a clear way of seeing whether I\u0026rsquo;m improving.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy set of discs has mostly stabilized (with the exception of losing a disc here or there), so I thought it would be good to talk through each disc and why I like to use them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My Disc Golf Bag"},{"content":"Driving south offered the perfect view of the evening sky. I first noticed the red-orange moon rising to my left, hovering just above the Wyoming plains in the distance. It looked unreal, as if someone had set it there for me to reach out and grab. Somehow the moon looked to be angled ever so slightly, as if it were a flat circle that had rotated just a little to make it clear that it had no depth.\nOut the window to my right were larger hills, small mountains, behind which the sun began to set, casting its warm glow across the horizon until the separate rays met at the moon.\nIt was a glorious half hour of a long drive.\nThe next morning I left at 4:30, and for the first time on a road trip had a full moon shining overhead as I drove west. Freeways in the middle of the country so rarely have any lights, except at exits if you are lucky. The moon was comforting, guiding my way until the sun came out from behind me a few hours later.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s moments like these where I have the smallest appreciation for what celestial bodies meant to our ancestors even a hundred years ago, let alone thousands when they were worshipped as entities to be appeased.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/when-the-moon-hits-your-eye/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDriving south offered the perfect view of the evening sky. I first noticed the red-orange moon rising to my left, hovering just above the Wyoming plains in the distance. It looked unreal, as if someone had set it there for me to reach out and grab. Somehow the moon looked to be angled ever so slightly, as if it were a flat circle that had rotated just a little to make it clear that it had no depth.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"When the Moon Hits Your Eye"},{"content":"Immediately after coming back from my honeymoon this weekend, I came down with a bad cold. (COVID test was negative, so just your regular funk.) I\u0026rsquo;m trying to be better at balancing pushing myself to hold to expectations I set regarding my various hobbies and side projects, and giving myself the leeway to relax and take care of myself. Last night, Grant and I recorded a shorter episode of Comical Start without any comics, and I barely did any editing. And for this week, I\u0026rsquo;m writing this post as a stopgap.\nThings should be back to normal next week, but it feels good to allow myself the room to do what I need.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/permission-to-relax/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eImmediately after coming back from my honeymoon this weekend, I came down with a bad cold. (COVID test was negative, so just your regular funk.) I\u0026rsquo;m trying to be better at balancing pushing myself to hold to expectations I set regarding my various hobbies and side projects, and giving myself the leeway to relax and take care of myself. Last night, Grant and I recorded a shorter episode of \u003cem\u003eComical Start\u003c/em\u003e without any comics, and I barely did any editing. And for this week, I\u0026rsquo;m writing this post as a stopgap.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Permission to Relax"},{"content":"Just a quick note, since I\u0026rsquo;m on my honeymoon: There\u0026rsquo;s a hurricane on its way through Florida. That\u0026rsquo;s not something we expected to deal with during our time here, but I think we\u0026rsquo;re in a reasonably safe spot. It messes with a few of our plans, but we\u0026rsquo;ll certainly be together for whatever happens.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-hurricane/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eJust a quick note, since I\u0026rsquo;m on my honeymoon: There\u0026rsquo;s a hurricane on its way through Florida. That\u0026rsquo;s not something we expected to deal with during our time here, but I think we\u0026rsquo;re in a reasonably safe spot. It messes with a few of our plans, but we\u0026rsquo;ll certainly be together for whatever happens.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Hurricane?"},{"content":"Erin and I got married on Saturday, September 17. It\u0026rsquo;s been a few days, and we haven\u0026rsquo;t yet gotten used to calling each other husband and wife. They still sound like overly adult terms.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a funny feeling. There\u0026rsquo;s so much building up to just a few moments in a day when you move from engaged to married. Then everything is over, you enjoy a party with friends and family, then that is over too. You\u0026rsquo;re left with a scattershot of memories from a whirlwind of an evening, and a lifelong partner. It\u0026rsquo;s a lot to take in.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re thrilled with how everything went, with how the weather cooperated, the people we got to celebrate with. We\u0026rsquo;ve cleaned up the area, and are preparing for our honeymoon. Maybe by the time that is over we\u0026rsquo;ll feel more comfortable with our new titles for each other.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/thoughts-from-the-aftermath/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I got married on Saturday, September 17. It\u0026rsquo;s been a few days, and we haven\u0026rsquo;t yet gotten used to calling each other husband and wife. They still sound like overly adult terms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s a funny feeling. There\u0026rsquo;s so much building up to just a few moments in a day when you move from engaged to married. Then everything is over, you enjoy a party with friends and family, then that is over too. You\u0026rsquo;re left with a scattershot of memories from a whirlwind of an evening, and a lifelong partner. It\u0026rsquo;s a lot to take in.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Thoughts From the Aftermath"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m writing this over the course of several days before Erin and I get married. I\u0026rsquo;ll note when these thoughts were written down.\n10 Days Out\nThe weirdest part about having the wedding in a location you have complete control over is that you are constantly surrounded by both the good and the bad parts of the current state of everything. One minute you can be enthralled by what the space has become, followed by a moment of panic as you see what still needs to be done.\nHowever, I\u0026rsquo;ll take this set of emotions over the anticlimactic experience of setting up and tearing down a wedding in the same day. That is hectic, and I feel like I\u0026rsquo;d miss out on some of the wedding with everything going on. Our wedding will certainly be hectic as well, but within parameters that we fully understand given our familiarity with everything here.\n9 Days Out\nDetails can be fun when you\u0026rsquo;re in control, and mind-numbing or annoying when held onto by someone else.\nToday Erin and I discussed the timeline and shot list with our photographers, and put together a nice print-out of the bar menu. We enjoyed the process for both of these. Although the bar menu needed a bit of revision and a reprint due to strange technical issues, it turned out well and we were thrilled when it was all put together in a nice wooden frame.\nThere are far more details that, due to the fact we\u0026rsquo;ve been in California, we simply haven\u0026rsquo;t been as hands-on with. We get decision fatigue when faced with these, or feel like we\u0026rsquo;ve had the same conversation dozens of times. It\u0026rsquo;s draining, yet the optimistic take I have to keep in mind is that we have people around us who so thoroughly care about us having a good time, that they\u0026rsquo;ve taken on the burden of these details for us.\n8 Days Out\nThis weekend I get to focus on the friends I\u0026rsquo;ve been lucky enough to have around me all this time. The bachelor party will be huge fun, but I also won\u0026rsquo;t lose sight of what it means to me.\n6 Days Out\nI\u0026rsquo;m incredibly pleased by how the bachelor party went. Getting to spend the whole weekend with the set of guys who mean the most to me was a joy and privilege. It\u0026rsquo;s set the tone for the wedding for me, and I feel ready to attack this upcoming week.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-wedding-approaches/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m writing this over the course of several days before Erin and I get married. I\u0026rsquo;ll note when these thoughts were written down.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Wedding Approaches"},{"content":"I haven\u0026rsquo;t been to the Minnesota State Fair since 2017, just prior to my senior year of college. Since then, my travels home haven\u0026rsquo;t aligned with the event, so I\u0026rsquo;ve missed out on the fun and festivities I was lucky enough to enjoy for so many years.\nFinally, with Erin and I being back for our wedding, we were able to return. We only spent about 4.5 hours there, but we enjoyed an abbreviated version of the fair trips we looked forward to each year of college. It was genuinely exciting to go back, to have the familiarity of the sights and sounds and smells, and spent quality time together in the unique atmosphere the fair provides.\nAnd for the record, I ate:\nA strawberry nutella crepe Most of a cone of Sweet Martha\u0026rsquo;s cookies An elk burger with a side of fries A Pronto Pup A pork chop on a stick ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/back-to-the-mn-state-fair/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI haven\u0026rsquo;t been to the Minnesota State Fair since 2017, just prior to my senior year of college. Since then, my travels home haven\u0026rsquo;t aligned with the event, so I\u0026rsquo;ve missed out on the fun and festivities I was lucky enough to enjoy for so many years.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, with Erin and I being back for our wedding, we were able to return. We only spent about 4.5 hours there, but we enjoyed an abbreviated version of the fair trips we looked forward to each year of college. It was genuinely exciting to go back, to have the familiarity of the sights and sounds and smells, and spent quality time together in the unique atmosphere the fair provides.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Back to The MN State Fair"},{"content":"In sixth grade my mom took me to our local Hollywood Video so I could rent Fellowship of the Rings. I had started reading the trilogy, and wanted to watch each movie as I finished the corresponding book. Shockingly, my mom acquiesced — I\u0026rsquo;m guessing she wasn\u0026rsquo;t wholly familiar with its contents.\nMore importantly, I saw a box of Buncha Crunch on the shelf.\nI have immense fondness for the old style of Nestle Crunch bars, when it was a lovely rectangle with a huge \u0026ldquo;CRUNCH\u0026rdquo; embossed across it. I would nibble around the edges to leave only the word, and subsequently consume it letter by letter. Finding a snackable version of this excellent crisped rice treat was thrilling.\nReading the box back then, the suggested approach was to mix the candy in with your bucket of popcorn. I tried that the first time, and it didn\u0026rsquo;t settle well with me. I\u0026rsquo;m not a \u0026ldquo;sweet\u0026rdquo; popocrn person, it turns out.\nSo, I quickly switched to eating it in the standard style of boxed movie candies: picking at pieces on the top, then pouring it into my hand once I can no longer slide it farther into the box, and finally pouring it directly into my mouth.\nOver the years I\u0026rsquo;d always look for it at movie theaters, and typically I could find it. It was a pleasant treat. However, my local theater in San Diego didn\u0026rsquo;t carry it, so I struck out to the grocery store to satiate myself during at-home movie nights.\nI strolled to the candy aisle, and quickly found the \u0026ldquo;movie candy\u0026rdquo; section populated by Junior Mints, Raisinets, Milk Duds, and their ilk. I rapidly scanned the shelves for the characteristic blue box I associated with the movie-watching experience, only to find their spot labeled on the shelf, entirely empty.\nI naively thought that I simply wasn\u0026rsquo;t the only one who understood which of these boxes held the premier movie snack. Time would quickly show me that, no, that spot on the shelf would shortly disappear as Buncha Crunch was evidently removed from shelves at every grocery store near me.\nI went to Amazon in desperation, only to discover that any options were in large quantities that would take weeks to ship. I was afraid my days with Buncha Crunch may already be over.\nEnter the CVS a few blocks down the street. When picking up some items there, I happened to be in the mood for a bit of chocolate. Behold their own small movie snack area where Bunch Crunch was prominently displayed among the other options.\nI bought three boxes immediately.\nFor the remainder of my time in San Diego, that CVS always had some Buncha Crunch in stock, and I never saw it anywhere else.\nI\u0026rsquo;m now about eighteen months removed from San Diego, and the Safeway nearby is similar to my previous local grocery store: all the classic movie snacks in boxes except my beloved Buncha Crunch. So, imagine my surprise when we hosted a movie night a few weeks ago and one of our friends showed up with a bag of movie snacks, including four boxes of Buncha Crunch. It was one of the kindest actions — everyone in this group knew of my fondness for Buncha Crunch, because luckily the local AMC theater sometimes has it available.\nI asked this friend where he got the delicious candy. He told me he stumbled upon it at CVS while looking for something else.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/buncha-crunch-revival/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn sixth grade my mom took me to our local Hollywood Video so I could rent \u003cem\u003eFellowship of the Rings\u003c/em\u003e. I had started reading the trilogy, and wanted to watch each movie as I finished the corresponding book. Shockingly, my mom acquiesced — I\u0026rsquo;m guessing she wasn\u0026rsquo;t wholly familiar with its contents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore importantly, I saw a box of Buncha Crunch on the shelf.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Buncha Crunch Revival"},{"content":"My dad kept score for my baseball teams as a kid, and taught me how to do the same. I would keep score on and off during college when I went to Twins games, and just recently got back into the habit. My goal is — excepting games where it\u0026rsquo;d be a social faux pas to be nose-deep in a scorebook — to keep score when I attend games in person.\nThere are many resources on the basics of keeping score. At a minimum you should understand the flow of a baseball game: what are strikes, balls, outs, etc. Once you know the standard rules, you can learn the basic notation. A fly ball to center field is \u0026ldquo;F8\u0026rdquo;, while a ground ball double play hit to the second baseman, who throws to the shortstop, who then throws it on to first, is scored \u0026ldquo;4-6-3\u0026rdquo;.\nOnce the conventions are understood, each effort to keep score is based on how much detail you wish to encapsulate within the scorebook. To what extent can someone looking back at your scorekeeping reproduce the motions of the game?\nHere\u0026rsquo;s my approach, in bullet form. Then, we\u0026rsquo;ll go over a scorecard to get context.\nKeep track of the count, but not pitches. Specifically, don\u0026rsquo;t worry about foul balls with two strikes. Track the count in the upper-right corner with small dots; balls go on the left, strikes on the right. Track how a runner reached a base, unless it is the result of another batter\u0026rsquo;s play. A runner getting a single then stealing second should have both \u0026ldquo;1B\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;SB\u0026rdquo; notated; a runner getting a single then going to third due to the next batter\u0026rsquo;s hit will only have \u0026ldquo;1B\u0026rdquo; listed, with their trip on the paths showing them at third. Double-plays are noted on the batter\u0026rsquo;s spot, unless they reach via fielder\u0026rsquo;s choice. In that case, notate each out separately. Outs on the base paths are noted with a line orthogonal to the path, prior to the base. Notate how a runner reached base at the final destination. Singles, walks, etc. are notated near first base; doubles near second; and so on. Track RBIs attributed to a batter in the bottom-left corner. Each time a batter or runner is out, notate it in the bottom-right with the number out it is in the inning. Notate the end of an inning with a diagonal slash. Notate a new pitcher by a horizontal line immediately prior to the batter they first faced. Notate a pinch hitter or defensive sub by a vertical line between innings where this occurred. Pinch runners are just noted as a sub in the appropriate line, but not marked on the sheet. Exceptional plays can and should be noted in whatever way seems appropriate. A large \u0026ldquo;WOW\u0026rdquo;? A scrawled \u0026ldquo;diving stop\u0026rdquo;? Whatever fits the moment. Similarly, feel free to add miscellany as space allows. Did something funny happen? Find a margin to write it down. That is a lot of information, and it definitely felt strange trying to write it all down. I did not write these rules prior to embarking on scorekeeping; they\u0026rsquo;ve evolved naturally as I found ways of making sense of what happens in a game, and new situations arise that make me reconsider.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s look at this scorecard to learn more.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll focus almost exclusively on the bottom page of this scorecard. It\u0026rsquo;s more interesting.\nConsider the sequence in the bottom of the 2nd inning. We can see there is no count, so the batter, Belt, swung at the first pitch. The sequence \u0026ldquo;6-3\u0026rdquo; means they grounded out to the shortstop, who threw to first base. It was the first out, as seen in the bottom-right.\nThen Davis walked on 4 pitches: that\u0026rsquo;s what the \u0026ldquo;BB\u0026rdquo; near first base means. We see the count was 3 balls when the play happened, meaning the fourth pitch caused the walk. At this point, I just drew in a line going to first base.\nWe see Crawford flew out to center field — F8 — on a 2-1 count. That was the second out of the inning.\nSlater singled on a 2-0 count. Since this automatically advances the runner, Davis, who was on first, I don\u0026rsquo;t write anything on Davis\u0026rsquo;s box. I just move him to second.\nFinally, La Stella grounds to first base with the pitcher covering on a 3-1 count. This is the third out, and we draw a slash to make that extra clear.\nThere are a few more interesting events that happened. In the 7th inning things got a little wild. The catcher Wynns singled on a 1-2 count. The following batter, Estrada (note the vertical line telling us there was a new player, and that we specifically write \u0026ldquo;PH, 7\u0026rdquo; in Estrada\u0026rsquo;s line to make it clear) struck out. That was the first out. Then, another pinch hitter Bart walked on a 3-1 count. Wynns advances to second. Somewhere in here, Yastrzemski came in as a pinch runner at second base for Wynns. I don\u0026rsquo;t explicitly say when, which is perhaps an error in my approach.\nIn either case, a new pitcher comes in to face Flores. But look! Back in Wynn\u0026rsquo;s/Yastrzemski\u0026rsquo;s box, we see an out. The X means it happened at second, and it was a pickoff from the pitcher to the second baseman (1-4). So, that runner is eliminated for the second out of the inning.\nFinally, Flores strikes out on a 2-2 count to end the inning.\nHow do we know for sure the pickoff happened from the new pitcher, not the old pitcher? One hint is how the game typically works: it would be strange if the old pitcher stayed to face a new batter after the walk, picked off a runner, then was removed from the game.\nHowever, we can be confident in this report: Check back on the top page where we record the pitchers for the opposing team. We see that Ramirez pitched \u0026ldquo;0.2\u0026rdquo; innings, which means he got 2 outs. (Don\u0026rsquo;t worry about the non-decimal decimals.) Go to the penultimate column, \u0026ldquo;BF\u0026rdquo;. This stands for batters faced. We see how got 2 outs while only facing a single batter. This makes it clear that Ramirez got the final two outs in the inning, by the pickoff of Yastrzemski and the strikeout of Flores.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worth noting that there is some puzzling through a scorecard in hindsight. However, I don\u0026rsquo;t often look back at them. It\u0026rsquo;s fun to have a record, but the enjoyment for me is the process, not the product. Forcing myself to pay attention to the game, to all the details1, puts me in a clear state of mind. The time passes quickly and wonderfully.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll continue to tweak how I keep score, and may even consider how I might redesign a scorebook. I did some initial research to end up with the Eephus Halfliner scorebook I currently use, but there are a few adjustments I\u0026rsquo;d make were I crafting a scorecard for myself. Most notably, I\u0026rsquo;d love a dedicated spot for balls and strikes; my dots are horrifically inconsistent.\nScorekeeping is one of the many analog tasks people find enjoyable despite the digital counterparts being more detailed and efficient. Getting back to this habit has been a joy, and something I will continue to do for the rest of my life.\nCheck out the top of the 6th, where Garrett reached first on \u0026ldquo;CI\u0026rdquo;. That stands for Catcher\u0026rsquo;s Interference, when a batter hits the glove of the catcher while swinging. I don\u0026rsquo;t think many people in the crowd caught that.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-finer-points-of-scorekeeping/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy dad kept score for my baseball teams as a kid, and taught me how to do the same. I would keep score on and off during college when I went to Twins games, and just recently got back into the habit. My goal is — excepting games where it\u0026rsquo;d be a social faux pas to be nose-deep in a scorebook — to keep score when I attend games in person.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Finer Points of Scorekeeping"},{"content":"I woke up with the chorus of Avril Lavigne\u0026rsquo;s punk/pop hit Sk8er Boi stuck in my head. Here is the result.\nRegret powers common romantic tropes throughout media. What if they were the one? What if I could have it better? Why did I have to go and screw that up? They are pervasive, if overplayed, yet persist because of their relevance; the thread of regret tying them together is something nearly everyone understands.\nWell-formulated regret is a quick and simple way to evoke sympathy for a protagonist, as long as its sincerity is established and the actions that caused the regret are not too atrocious. We learn the core of the regret, and watch a character struggle their way through its internal and external consequences. Some may identify with the cause, but nearly all can at least identify with the emotion.\nAnd if the regret is not well-founded? Then, you get Sk8r Boi, a song rife with a smug look at someone else\u0026rsquo;s life full of apparent regret at what could have been. But, we should take a step back to look at the broader context of the song.\nLooking back at a song from 2002, particularly one meant for a teenage audience, provides a similar experience of whiplash as the scene from 21 Jump Street when the main characters enter the high school for the first time. Except this is the reverse. We are in a modern age, looking back at the clique-filled version of a high school with enough pretension for years to come.1\nSk8r Boi tells a brief story of two girls and one boy (boi?) over the span of five years. The titular boy made an advance upon one of the girls, who we come to find out was a ballerina. Due to the pressures of her clique, she decided to refuse him despite having mutual feelings. Five years later, the second girl — our narrator — reveals that not only has this boy achieved some level of fame as a musician playing on MTV, but she is with him! Meanwhile, the ballerina is alone at home feeding her baby, ruminating on what could have been. Calling up her old group of friends, the same ones responsible for rejecting the boy oh so many years ago, they all decide to go to the show together. In the final verse, the narrator really rubs it in her face:\nSorry, girl, but you missed out\nWell, tough, luck that boy\u0026rsquo;s mine now\nWe are more than just good friends\nThis is how the story ends.\nOur narrator gets control of who plays protagonist, and in her mind it is clearly not the ballerina. Her regret is due to misguided judgement, a lack of foresight, and no strength of character. At least, that\u0026rsquo;s what a modern interpretation might be were it not for the next four lines in the final verse. They shed a very different light, one that only makes sense in light of the era in which the song was released:\nToo bad that you couldn\u0026rsquo;t see\nSee the man that boy could be\nThere is more that meets the eye\nI see the soul that is inside\nI\u0026rsquo;m sorry narrator, but this is bogus. You openly admit, in your omniscience about this story, that the first girl did have some feelings. Either you are backing out on that, or more likely, the claim is that if she had seen \u0026ldquo;the man that boy could [have been]\u0026rdquo; perhaps the ballerina would have had the force of will to tell her friends off and go after the boy.\nSoul has nothing to do with it. This is a matter of prospects, and the focus on how some punk could turn into someone \u0026ldquo;worthy\u0026rdquo; later on in life really counteracts whatever point is attempting to be made.\nThe narrator\u0026rsquo;s smug telling of this story is, when looked at just moderately closely, rather gross. Perhaps the regret is not as well-founded, because the source of regret is likely based on the boy\u0026rsquo;s current success. But how does that make the narrator any better? Now that he is successful, he is desirable; that\u0026rsquo;s not exactly a higher moral ground.\nYet, Sk8r Boi is an accurate reflection of the thoughts many of us have as we navigate relationships in our lives. Despite our best intentions, we can be shallow; we make judgements based on semi-absurd criteria and are influenced by our own friends. While the distinct cliques implied by the song make these relationship values clearer, the general theme has remained the same. The criteria has stratified to the extremes, either focused on subtleties that went way beyond someone\u0026rsquo;s hobbies with a skateboard, or much larger topics that were previously somewhat taboo.\nAnd as we go through our lives determining with whom we wish to spend our time, we will lose people along the way and the regret will sit there. Hopefully, we don\u0026rsquo;t have someone singing our internal dilemmas at us with an air of self-righteousness.\nOf course pretension has only shifted, cliques are less direct; things aren\u0026rsquo;t really that different, but the outspokenness of 20 years ago (and earlier) is notable.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/love-loss-and-sk8r-bois/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI woke up with the chorus of Avril Lavigne\u0026rsquo;s punk/pop hit \u003cem\u003eSk8er Boi\u003c/em\u003e stuck in my head. Here is the result.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Love, Loss, and Sk8r Bois"},{"content":"I went to a show by the Secret Improv Society this past weekend, which performs in an odd theater building near Union Square. It\u0026rsquo;s only the second time I\u0026rsquo;ve been to a professional improv performance, and I was struck by how special the experience is.\nI would stay up past my bedtime in middle school so I could watch the late night reruns of old Whose Line is it Anyway? episodes. They were a formative part of my humor, and planted a seed of improv appreciation. We had a high school, and college, improv troupe that I saw once or twice. In college I also went to a Comedy Sportz show with Erin.\nNear the end of college, when I discovered Mike Birbiglia, he came out with the movie Don\u0026rsquo;t Think Twice, which is a beautiful homage to scrappy improv troupes, and a fantastic drama in its own right. This solidified my appreciation of improv, and of small-market entertainment more generally.\nThrough all of this, while I\u0026rsquo;ve only rarely participated in proper \u0026ldquo;improv\u0026rdquo; myself, I have gained a solid understanding of what makes improv good, and what the role of the audience is as an additional cast member during a show. This relationship between audience and cast is unique to improv, and is one element of what makes improv shows an intimate affair.\nThere are multiple levels of experience as an audience member. First is the traditional role of someone to be entertained. You can sit back and passively enjoy the show, just like at more standard venues. Second is actively participating — something that any good improv show actively encourages to happen in a supportive way. Shout out suggestions, perhaps even volunteer for a game; you are part of the show if you choose to be, and that is an engaging realization. Third, you get to be a member of an audience for the audience. That is, in a moment where you are not shouting something out, or a game happens where anyone can shout something at any time, you are simultaneously experiencing the possibility of participation on your own, and enjoying everyone else in the audience who is participating.\nThese experiences combine to the most obvious, and most important, part of an improv show: each one is unique and will never be repeated. Sure this is true of many musical performances, stand-up as well, but not nearly to the same extent. Improv shows are unique in the way that sports games are unique: there\u0026rsquo;s a very small set of initial conditions to send things off, and then everything changes over time. The cast responds to the audience, playing off gags they came up with, and the reverse happens as well. You leave confident knowing that, by design, what you just saw belongs only to the cast and that particular audience.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/intimacy-of-improv/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI went to a show by the \u003ca href=\"https://secretimprov.com/\"\u003eSecret Improv Society\u003c/a\u003e this past weekend, which performs in an odd theater building near Union Square. It\u0026rsquo;s only the second time I\u0026rsquo;ve been to a professional improv performance, and I was struck by how special the experience is.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Intimacy of Improv"},{"content":"I first learned how to play squash during my freshman year of college. I was hooked pretty quickly. That year, my roommate and I both bought rackets so we wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have to keep renting from the university. I continued to play throughout college, just recreationally with friends, and thoroughly enjoyed it.\nWhen I finished college and moved to San Diego, there was a squash-shaped hole in my life. I suddenly didn\u0026rsquo;t have any sports to play.1 I instead began walking about, going for hikes, keeping myself entertained through other means. Eventually, I found a group of guys to play flag football with on Saturdays; that was a great change.\nNow that I\u0026rsquo;m in San Francisco, squash has come back to me. The benefit of being associated with a university (through Erin) is access to recreational facilities with squash courts. I brought my racket back from Minnesota, and have slowly accumulated people around me who are also interested in playing on a semi-regular basis.\nI find it helpful to have a broad range of activities to participate in; that way, as circumstances change both in the short- and long-term, I have options to keep moving and stay entertained. I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled that squash has come back to be on that list.\nI had looked up a squash club in the city that only had 2 or 4 courts, for $120(!) a month. Ridiculous.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-good-news-about-squash/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI first learned how to play \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_(sport)\"\u003esquash\u003c/a\u003e during my freshman year of college. I was hooked pretty quickly. That year, my roommate and I both bought rackets so we wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have to keep renting from the university. I continued to play throughout college, just recreationally with friends, and thoroughly enjoyed it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I finished college and moved to San Diego, there was a squash-shaped hole in my life. I suddenly didn\u0026rsquo;t have any sports to play.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e I instead began walking about, going for hikes, keeping myself entertained through other means. Eventually, I found a group of guys to play flag football with on Saturdays; that was a great change.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Good News About Squash"},{"content":"I first started drafting this post in January of this year. As time has gone by, and it\u0026rsquo;s been yet a little bit longer since I stormed my way through many of Vonnegut\u0026rsquo;s novels, my words feel increasingly inadequate to describe how much I admire and enjoy this great American writer. So it goes.\nI first encountered Vonnegut in a literature course during my sophomore year of college. We read Slaughterhouse-Five. Over seven years later, I followed up on the mesmerizing experience of a Vonnegut novel. He reemerged into my awareness in late 2021 thanks to the fantastic podcast Do By Friday.1 I went out and read The Sirens of Titan, Cat\u0026rsquo;s Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. Once all that happened, I wrote the first sentence of this post on January 15.\nI had anticipated watching Unstuck in Time, a documentary that was the key discussion point on that fateful episode of Do By Friday. Then I pushed it off a week here, a week there, until it fell off my to-do list entirely. This post got moved between folders of drafts as I kept delaying it. On the surface, I was simply waiting until I had a couple of hours to myself to focus on the documentary in its entirety. But that was just a juvenile excuse to shield me from the anxiety I was getting as I thought through writing about a writer.\nI can\u0026rsquo;t keep pushing it off, and nothing is stopping me from writing more than one post, so this draft has been resuscitated.\nVonnegut was a craftsman of words. He knew how to handle a story at every level. Plots that were ridiculous and poignant, memorable characters with absurd flaws and points of view, and comically beautiful phrases all built upon each other to delight the reader. Of course, his audience\u0026rsquo;s eyebrows were perpetually cocked as well.\nNo other set of writing has made me consider my own writing so thoroughly (and found it so profoundly lacking.) I let that experience paralyze me to some extent: what could I hope to contribute to the world when this voice exists? And while at a deeper level I know that is an unhealthy way to approach any interest, it persists. In spite of those thoughts, I keep writing, and will continue to write.\nAny creative endeavor is a weighted sum of influences across our lives. Vonnegut has an outsized impact on that sum — or more accurately, I wish to write in a way that shows the impact he\u0026rsquo;s had on how I think about writing. As with any skill, repetition is nothing; intentional practice and revision makes a difference. No matter what I write in praise of Vonnegut, I know that my writing is not a reflection of my influences in the way I fancy them. Part of that is probably denial of what truly affected how I write; yet I\u0026rsquo;m hopeful, and sometimes disappointed, that it\u0026rsquo;s also due to me not taking my own writing seriously.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a difference between tone and intent when I discuss the severity of my writing. In these blog posts, I adopt a formal tone. The topics are often serious, and even fun topics are made pretty dry. I want to take myself seriously, and so I write in a serious manner. But that\u0026rsquo;s entirely separate from caring about my writing, and giving it the time and attention I pretend it deserves. Words and phrases dangle about like excess weight on the neighbor\u0026rsquo;s dog that should be trim and lean. I\u0026rsquo;d be quickly charged with neglect for how quickly I let my posts move from draft to published.\nThe other side of this serious coin is my subconscious suggestion that serious tones beget an audience taking me seriously. The only connection there is with an audience of pompous half-readers I don\u0026rsquo;t care about. I should only be taken seriously insofar as my writing is of value and doesn\u0026rsquo;t waste your time. Vonnegut is successful at what he does precisely because we take him seriously as a hilariously insightful author. We understand his approach, the way he speaks, the wildness inherent to his stories. They\u0026rsquo;re absurd, fanciful, and serious. He does not take our attention lightly, and we trade that thoughtfulness with yet more of our time.\nI was once comfortable being a bit ridiculous. Take this horrifying example from my freshman year of college. My tone of writing — still serious — played off the subject matter in a way that adds to the overall piece. That post\u0026rsquo;s genre of satirically serious is a funhouse mirror twin of Vonnegut\u0026rsquo;s serious satire.2 These for-fun pieces are where I\u0026rsquo;d like to move to in the future, at least sprinkling them in among technology notes and lightly-researched pieces. While I\u0026rsquo;ve spent time trying to be less cynical, it\u0026rsquo;s also taken some of the fun away from writing.\nWhere are we now?3 Simply put, Vonnegut makes me think. He makes me have fun as well, and makes me have fun while thinking. I\u0026rsquo;ve never read anything else that makes me analyze the writing style while I\u0026rsquo;m reading without losing the thread of the story. It\u0026rsquo;s meticulously crafted and, as such, sounds like the simplest thing in the world.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;ll ever reach those levels, but here\u0026rsquo;s to trying.\nAs chaotic as the show is, its hosts constantly toss wisdom out like Tootsie Rolls. Merlin Mann in particular is a gifted communicator, and has unmatched enthusiasm for excellent writing.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI\u0026rsquo;d say Jonathan Swift is the first example of satirically serious I ever read in A Modest Proposal, yet he also writes serious satire in Gulliver\u0026rsquo;s Travels.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nRegardless of what I said above about not editing as much as I should, this post is disorganized and raving. Apologies.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/kurt-vonnegut/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI first started drafting this post in January of this year. As time has gone by, and it\u0026rsquo;s been yet a little bit longer since I stormed my way through many of Vonnegut\u0026rsquo;s novels, my words feel increasingly inadequate to describe how much I admire and enjoy this great American writer. So it goes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Kurt Vonnegut"},{"content":"The tutoring organization I work with, Step Up, has focused heavily on the social and emotional learning (SEL) of the students in their program. To some extent, this is an expectation of any tutor who is also meant to be a role model. Just as with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the goal is to improve the student\u0026rsquo;s outcomes in as many ways as we can; unsurprisingly, helping the student feel better about themselves and their place in the world can be a huge factor in their future success.\nIn my role as a volunteer lead of a pedagogy and curriculum team, we\u0026rsquo;ve landed on a few aspects of SEL that can be well-implemented by our tutors. In my experience, the easiest is simply relationship building. Ice-breakers and get-to-know-you games keep the student engaged, and helps them contextualize their tutor as a real person. This alone is an important progression in the lives of children: understanding that you are just one person among a world of people all living their independent lives when you aren\u0026rsquo;t around. Checking in on what you each did over the weekend is beyond idle conversation; it opens them up to new experiences and a broader understanding of those around them.\nOf course we also directly address practical emotional introspection. Meditation, journaling, and breathing exercises all help students understand themselves a little better, and provide them with tools they can use more precisely in the future.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve recently focused on goal-setting, and related concepts like habits. These are difficult ideas for many students, as is walking the line of discussing them in a practical manner while maintaining engagement. Many kids understand the general idea of an interest or passion. My student particularly loves drawing; it comes up a lot. But the very adult idea of establishing goals, and determining a structured path to achieve that goal, is uncomfortable and boring.1 The key is to start small, with goals that are somewhat inconsequential yet motivating.\nIn fact, this is the key to all aspects of SEL. The focus is on small steps throughout a journey with no end. As Step Up investigates established curricula for SEL, testing how to implement it with tutors, we have to acknowledge that SEL is not a solved problem. There isn\u0026rsquo;t a clean path to being an excellent person, and nobody who works in this field has \u0026ldquo;solved\u0026rdquo; the problem. We have our best ideas that seem to work, but the tutor must be vulnerable alongside the student, to show the student that they are always a work in progress; needing to improve their emotional wellbeing is not a failure. Tutors need to be partners in addressing their social and emotional needs, even if the student isn\u0026rsquo;t sufficiently aware of themselves to even know they have those needs.\nA final thought: I have no clue if direct SEL instruction is better, or more efficient, than however I happened to learn about these topics. I was an introspective kid who kept a diary on-and-off throughout school. I went through a period at the start of adolescence where I had somewhat severe issues with motivation and frustration. I had anxiety surrounding friendships. I experienced many of the trials and tribulations young people have gone through for decades, probably centuries. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure how I learned to handle it all and become a much calmer person; maybe it was serendipitous conversations with an excellent person, a book or movie that nudged me in the right direction, or plain luck. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to tell whether I would have benefited from more direct instruction, because I maintain that most students take serious info from school very lightly. 2 But, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it can hurt. Hopefully it helps a few more people improve their relationships with others and themselves. For now, I\u0026rsquo;ll be the best model I can be, and that includes admitting that I need to get better.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s always a balance to be struck. It\u0026rsquo;s important to learn that disciplined, focused learning is the best way to achieve a goal. But, done poorly or at the wrong time or with the wrong skill, can ruin a child\u0026rsquo;s relationship with their interest. How many people do you know who took piano lessons and never touched a piano after school?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis is my main argument when people claim they should have been taught personal finance and other \u0026ldquo;practical\u0026rdquo; skills in school. There is no way any group of sixteen-year-old students were going to listen.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/sel/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe tutoring organization I work with, \u003ca href=\"stepuptutoring.org\"\u003eStep Up\u003c/a\u003e, has focused heavily on the social and emotional learning (SEL) of the students in their program. To some extent, this is an expectation of any tutor who is also meant to be a role model. Just as with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the goal is to improve the student\u0026rsquo;s outcomes in as many ways as we can; unsurprisingly, helping the student feel better about themselves and their place in the world can be a huge factor in their future success.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"SEL"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve settled into a clear podcast routine over the last six months. Near the end of 2021, I started recording on macOS. I continue to use Ferrite for editing, so I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen into an entirely Apple-based podcasting ecosystem. My process is slick, and additions like Universal Control give me even more flexibility. While there\u0026rsquo;s room for improvement, particularly through automation, I\u0026rsquo;m happy with the current setup.\nWhen it\u0026rsquo;s time to record, I run a shortcut that opens up Chrome, Skype, and Audio Hijack.1 Now that I\u0026rsquo;m using Audio Hijack 4, there is a menu bar icon that allows me to run a preconfigured routine when it\u0026rsquo;s time to record. Simple.\nOnce recording is done and I\u0026rsquo;ve downloaded the cohost audio from Dropbox, I use Universal Control to drag the files across to my iPad directly into Ferrite. I then edit in Ferrite as I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing for months. From there, I have flexibility. Sometimes I export to the Files app on iPad, and upload everything on my iPad. Or, I\u0026rsquo;ll export to \u0026ldquo;Airdrop\u0026rdquo; and send it to my Macbook, uploading from there.\nI\u0026rsquo;m pleased with how simple the file transfer is, and the mobility I gain from being able to do everything post-recording on my iPad. It\u0026rsquo;s made my frequent traveling less painful. I will keep finding small ways to optimize, but I\u0026rsquo;ve done a good job implementing the new tools Apple has provided to their platform.\nI could, perhaps should, update this shortcut to ask which podcast I\u0026rsquo;m recording, and open up a relevant URL.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/updated-podcast-workflow/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve settled into a clear podcast routine over the last six months. Near the end of 2021, I started recording on macOS. I continue to use Ferrite for editing, so I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen into an entirely Apple-based podcasting ecosystem. My process is slick, and additions like Universal Control give me even more flexibility. While there\u0026rsquo;s room for improvement, particularly through automation, I\u0026rsquo;m happy with the current setup.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Updated Podcast Workflow"},{"content":"Turns out, this is pretty easy. Of course you\u0026rsquo;re dealing with a government service center, so the timing of everything is a little whacky. But, once we got to our counter, it only took a few minutes.1 One interesting aspect in Minnesota is that they suggest (require?) an online pre-application, which is all the information they need beyond a government ID to cross-check your birthday. This is the stage where you choose to change your name. It turns out, that information does not stick to the pre-application, and they just ask you again at the counter. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.\nNow, we have a lovely manila envelope with everything we need to be legally bound in a few months. It\u0026rsquo;s another exciting, concrete step to end a lovely time at home visiting family.\nSeveral typos by the person assisting us was the only thing that slowed down the process.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/marriage-license-application/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTurns out, this is pretty easy. Of course you\u0026rsquo;re dealing with a government service center, so the timing of everything is a little whacky. But, once we got to our counter, it only took a few minutes.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e One interesting aspect in Minnesota is that they suggest (require?) an online pre-application, which is all the information they need beyond a government ID to cross-check your birthday. This is the stage where you choose to change your name. It turns out, that information does not stick to the pre-application, and they just ask you again at the counter. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Marriage License Application"},{"content":"This past weekend, I went to the DGPT Preserve Championship at the Airborn Preserve. We had gorgeous weather, and the course was incredibly well-designed to handle eager spectators. There\u0026rsquo;s a great central gathering spot with food and drinks, from which you could watch holes 7, 8, and 9 before proceeding to see the rest of a card.\nIt was my first time fully watching a tournament.1 I had an absolute blast, and will be doing what I can to attend events in the future. Roaming around, watching the best of the best, taking it in with others just as excited as me, all contributed to a fantastic weekend.\nA little over a year ago, I went to one day of the Santa Cruz Master\u0026rsquo;s Cup, but due to COVID it wasn\u0026rsquo;t an amazing experience.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-preserve-championship/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis past weekend, I went to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/55588\"\u003eDGPT Preserve Championship\u003c/a\u003e at the \u003ca href=\"https://airbornpreserve.com/\"\u003eAirborn Preserve\u003c/a\u003e. We had gorgeous weather, and the course was incredibly well-designed to handle eager spectators. There\u0026rsquo;s a great central gathering spot with food and drinks, from which you could watch holes 7, 8, and 9 before proceeding to see the rest of a card.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was my first time fully watching a tournament.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e I had an absolute blast, and will be doing what I can to attend events in the future. Roaming around, watching the best of the best, taking it in with others just as excited as me, all contributed to a fantastic weekend.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Preserve Championship"},{"content":"At my friend Jack\u0026rsquo;s wedding a few weeks ago, someone showed me Joel Haver. He\u0026rsquo;s an independent filmmaker, working mostly on YouTube. He does a short film every week, with his animations making the biggest splash. However, his live action work is fantastic, with dry humor that sits perfectly with me. After binging his work over a couple of weeks, I sat down last weekend and watched one of his several feature-length movies, Pretend That You Love Me. It\u0026rsquo;s a very different style, yet beautifully done. I recommend any of his work, but I\u0026rsquo;d suggest to start with his animations, then choose a few live-action shorts that catch your eye. You won\u0026rsquo;t be disappointed.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/joel-haver/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAt my friend Jack\u0026rsquo;s wedding a few weeks ago, someone showed me \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/c/MakingShorts\"\u003eJoel Haver\u003c/a\u003e. He\u0026rsquo;s an independent filmmaker, working mostly on YouTube. He does a short film every week, with his \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKtIcOP0WvJDZemPYZZQSqotCgpps5DbX\"\u003eanimations\u003c/a\u003e making the biggest splash. However, his live action work is fantastic, with dry humor that sits perfectly with me. After binging his work over a couple of weeks, I sat down last weekend and watched one of his several feature-length movies, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enazxSimfm0\"\u003ePretend That You Love Me\u003c/a\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s a very different style, yet beautifully done. I recommend any of his work, but I\u0026rsquo;d suggest to start with his animations, then choose a few live-action shorts that catch your eye. You won\u0026rsquo;t be disappointed.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Joel Haver"},{"content":"In the discourse among citizens, abortion is nearly an undebatable issue. It\u0026rsquo;s a hill to die on, where opposing views argue across each other about whose values are more important: bodily autonomy, or fetal life. These sides have moved further away from each other. When I was first of an age to even consider the ramifications of abortion, I commonly heard phrases like \u0026ldquo;pro-life with exceptions.\u0026rdquo; With the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade, it seems the anti-abortion crowd is taking the ball and sprinting the other way. Whatever common ground existed has rapidly evaporated.\nThis is indicative of the broader problem that the Republican party has used abortion as a MacGuffin to expand their power. While I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are a handful of conservative politicians who specifically believe that abortion is wrong, even they likely recognize it as a particularly useful tool to hold their positions. It slides right in alongside the other tools of conservative fear like immigration, LGTBQ+ rights, and election fraud. They take these elements of fear, and deftly1 turn them into mechanisms of power.\nDuring the course of drafting this post, several high-profile school shootings have occurred. These tragedies once again are bringing gun control (and Republican talking points to obfuscate its need) back to the forefront. Why be so concerned with kids—they don\u0026rsquo;t have rights—when red-blooded white Americans may have their guns taken away from them? It\u0026rsquo;s another perfect example of how a small group of people is tasking themselves with manipulating, twisting, and redirecting fear to anything they can control.\nWriting about this phenomenon of fear being brewed into sources of power is increasingly difficult. I have but a scattering of inadequate thoughts, with a theme I can only begin to broach by examining a series of truly horrifying, and frankly ridiculous, situations in the world. Beyond that, I\u0026rsquo;m finishing this post weeks after I began, writing to a de facto void of the internet. Yet that despair and sense of overwhelm is precisely the place certain actors are trying to get me to, and what I need to fight against.\nRead: dishonestly.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/fear-and-power/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn the discourse among citizens, abortion is nearly an undebatable issue. It\u0026rsquo;s a hill to die on, where opposing views argue across each other about whose values are more important: bodily autonomy, or fetal life. These sides have moved further away from each other. When I was first of an age to even consider the ramifications of abortion, I commonly heard phrases like \u0026ldquo;pro-life with exceptions.\u0026rdquo; With the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade, it seems the anti-abortion crowd is taking the ball and sprinting the other way. Whatever common ground existed has rapidly evaporated.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Fear and Power"},{"content":"He is officially my favorite Twins player these days. He plays the kind of game that connects with me, the kind I wanted to emulate growing up. A true utility player with a great intuition at the plate, he plays smart, and quietly does his job correctly.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/luis-arraez/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHe is officially my favorite Twins player these days. He plays the kind of game that connects with me, the kind I wanted to emulate growing up. A true utility player with a great intuition at the plate, he plays smart, and quietly does his job correctly.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Luis Arraez"},{"content":"My best man got married (kind of secretly) the other month, and another groomsman of mine just got married last night. With my wedding coming up in a few months, we\u0026rsquo;ve entered a new chapter in our friend group. While in some sense, getting married doesn\u0026rsquo;t change much when we\u0026rsquo;ve all been with our partners for eight or more years, it is a significant step in life.\nI\u0026rsquo;m excited for my friends, and for myself, as we all support each other with our changes in life. I\u0026rsquo;m incredibly fortunate to have an excellent group of people around me, and going to a lovely wedding like the one last night helps me remember that.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-new-chapter-among-friends/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy best man got married (kind of secretly) the other month, and another groomsman of mine just got married last night. With my wedding coming up in a few months, we\u0026rsquo;ve entered a new chapter in our friend group. While in some sense, getting married doesn\u0026rsquo;t change much when we\u0026rsquo;ve all been with our partners for eight or more years, it is a significant step in life.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m excited for my friends, and for myself, as we all support each other with our changes in life. I\u0026rsquo;m incredibly fortunate to have an excellent group of people around me, and going to a lovely wedding like the one last night helps me remember that.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A New Chapter Among Friends"},{"content":"I joined a city softball league with some people in Erin\u0026rsquo;s program (along with some free agent strangers) this past month. It\u0026rsquo;s been fun getting out and competing again, playing a version of the game that I love. However, it\u0026rsquo;s caused a problem. After years of not playing baseball (or softball) at all, I fooled myself into thinking I\u0026rsquo;d \u0026ldquo;replaced\u0026rdquo; it with other athletic activities. I assumed the personal challenge of disc golf, for example, would fill the gap left when I stopped playing baseball after high school.\nI was incredibly wrong.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t dream very often, so the dreams I have are typically a good indication of what\u0026rsquo;s truly on my mind. I\u0026rsquo;ve had several dreams about being in baseball tryouts. I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen asleep while revisiting plays from recent softball games and older memories of baseball. It\u0026rsquo;s grabbed onto me again, aided by my rediscovery that adult recreational baseball leagues exist. They play proper baseball, but they specifically do not allow former professionals play. So, it runs the gamut from high schoolers to, most likely, former college players. Those seasons start around March, with tryouts1 in February. This gives me a good amount of time to get myself back into baseball shape, and will test my Year of One and my ability to commit to a routine.\nI\u0026rsquo;m amused with myself, my naivety, and also thrilled to feel how I used to about baseball. It has been such an integral part of my life, and I\u0026rsquo;m not ready to be done playing by any means. If I can make some inroads into this league, I\u0026rsquo;ll feel more comfortable finding opportunities as we move elsewhere in the coming years. Even if I can just find a solid few people to play catch with and do some light practice, I\u0026rsquo;ll be satisfied. Practicing baseball, to me, was as much fun as playing.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s still unclear to me whether everyone who shows up can expect to be drafted to a team.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/baseball-virus/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI joined a city softball league with some people in Erin\u0026rsquo;s program (along with some free agent strangers) this past month. It\u0026rsquo;s been fun getting out and competing again, playing a version of the game that I love. However, it\u0026rsquo;s caused a problem. After years of not playing baseball (or softball) at all, I fooled myself into thinking I\u0026rsquo;d \u0026ldquo;replaced\u0026rdquo; it with other athletic activities. I assumed the personal challenge of disc golf, for example, would fill the gap left when I stopped playing baseball after high school.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was incredibly wrong.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Baseball Virus"},{"content":"It turns out that juggling leisure time can be as complicated as juggling projects. Deciding both how much time to spend, and what to spend it on, has been difficult for me this year. There\u0026rsquo;s a long list of shows I\u0026rsquo;d like to take the time to watch, yet any given moment it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel \u0026ldquo;worthwhile\u0026rdquo; in some way.\nPart of it is a value judgement, similar to my approach to reading old or new books, fiction or nonfiction. I need to work on striking a balance, while acknowledging that I won\u0026rsquo;t keep up with everything. If leisure is work, then it\u0026rsquo;s not leisure. While that\u0026rsquo;s an obvious statement once spoken, I have a hard time fully internalizing its truth. I want to keep working at arranging my life so that I make good use of my time, where \u0026ldquo;good\u0026rdquo; is defined by how I feel about time spent.\nOne improvement is the creation of a shared watchlist with Erin. We have a better sense of what we want to watch when we decide to make the time. Perhaps it would also be beneficial to make these \u0026ldquo;events\u0026rdquo;, something that we plan out ahead of time and commit to in the same way we\u0026rsquo;d go to the theater. It\u0026rsquo;s something to keep toying with.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/planning-leisure/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt turns out that juggling leisure time can be as complicated as juggling projects. Deciding both how much time to spend, and what to spend it on, has been difficult for me this year. There\u0026rsquo;s a long list of shows I\u0026rsquo;d like to take the time to watch, yet any given moment it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel \u0026ldquo;worthwhile\u0026rdquo; in some way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of it is a value judgement, similar to my approach to reading old or new books, fiction or nonfiction. I need to work on striking a balance, while acknowledging that I won\u0026rsquo;t keep up with everything. If leisure is work, then it\u0026rsquo;s not leisure. While that\u0026rsquo;s an obvious statement once spoken, I have a hard time fully internalizing its truth. I want to keep working at arranging my life so that I make good use of my time, where \u0026ldquo;good\u0026rdquo; is defined by how I feel about time spent.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Planning Leisure"},{"content":"Two months ago I revisited The Last Question, a basic RPG I wrote at the start of the pandemic. A group of friends has agreed to start an actual campaign with me later this year — we\u0026rsquo;ve had trouble finding a good time to get started — so I decided to retool the game itself. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t happy with the initial set of mechanics; it didn\u0026rsquo;t seem to mesh with the intent of the game.\nAfter some research, I settled on the Motif system, which focuses on asking questions. A natural fit. I wrote a gameplay guide in Affinity Publisher1 that I\u0026rsquo;m pretty proud of, and will provide below.\nI\u0026rsquo;m excited to play this game with some friends. It\u0026rsquo;s a creative outlet just for us. There\u0026rsquo;s no spinning this into an actual-play podcast. There is a lot to be said for having fun in a way that isn\u0026rsquo;t performative for someone else.\nThe Last Question Gameplay Guide\nI learned InDesign at work, but am certainly not in a position to subscribe to the Adobe Suite, so Publisher was a great option.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/last-question-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTwo months ago I revisited \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/the-last-question-rpg/\"\u003eThe Last Question\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e, a basic RPG I wrote at the start of the pandemic. A group of friends has agreed to start an actual campaign with me later this year — we\u0026rsquo;ve had trouble finding a good time to get started — so I decided to retool the game itself. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t happy with the initial set of mechanics; it didn\u0026rsquo;t seem to mesh with the intent of the game.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Last Question Update"},{"content":"I finished Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut last week. It can be modestly described as post-apocalyptic. In a scene set in a run-down Manhattan, there\u0026rsquo;s mention of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was curious when this modern staple became exactly that.\nI left it at a quick dive into the Wikipedia article, and figured it would be good to report here. It seems the first reasonable description of something adjacent to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich comes from a 1901 issue of the Boston Cooking School Magazine. Twenty years later, when sliced bread came out and peanut butter became more of an economical staple, it became something kids could make themselves. By the second World War, both peanut butter and jelly have been on US military ration lists.\nThis was fascinating. It\u0026rsquo;s not as recent as I would have guessed.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/peanut-butter-jelly-time/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI finished \u003cem\u003eSlapstick\u003c/em\u003e by Kurt Vonnegut last week. It can be modestly described as post-apocalyptic. In a scene set in a run-down Manhattan, there\u0026rsquo;s mention of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was curious when this modern staple became exactly that.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI left it at a quick dive into the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_butter_and_jelly_sandwich\"\u003eWikipedia article\u003c/a\u003e, and figured it would be good to report here. It seems the first reasonable description of something adjacent to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich comes from a 1901 issue of the \u003cem\u003eBoston Cooking School Magazine.\u003c/em\u003e Twenty years later, when sliced bread came out and peanut butter became more of an economical staple, it became something kids could make themselves. By the second World War, both peanut butter and jelly have been on US military ration lists.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Peanut Butter Jelly Time"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve dabbled with various programming projects over the years. Building a tool to add MP3 chapters to podcast episodes, creating a website using Python, Advent of Code, and creating video games. The list goes on. Nearly all of them were left incomplete.1\nSo, as I toy with the idea of yet another programming project, I\u0026rsquo;m faced with the reality that it is unlikely to succeed.\nPanic, a company mostly focused on creating Mac software, has released a handheld gaming device called the Playdate. It\u0026rsquo;s a fun, clever item that has a charming amount of whimsy. Small, yellow, with a crank on the side? Neat. I don\u0026rsquo;t know what it means for it to be successful, but considering they do everything through a preorder—and current preorders won\u0026rsquo;t ship until 2023—it feels like they\u0026rsquo;re on the right track.\nBecause Panic\u0026rsquo;s history is in making \u0026ldquo;Shockingly Good Software\u0026rdquo;, the developer tools for the Playdate are absolutely wonderful. An SDK is available on all desktop platforms that includes a Lua API; an excellent console simulator; and beautiful documentation. In addition to all this, they have a Scratch-like web tool called Pulp if you don\u0026rsquo;t want to learn a programming language.\nAs you may have guessed, my programming project is making a game for the Playdate.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s put the details aside.2 What\u0026rsquo;s most pertinent to me is how taking on a project that I feel will meet almost certain failure squares with my Year of One.\nPart of the spirit behind the Year of One is taking the time to intentionally do the activities I want. If I\u0026rsquo;m going to sit here and write this blog post, I deserve a small mental slap on the wrist if I go browse reddit in the middle.3 If I\u0026rsquo;m going to read, I\u0026rsquo;d like to be better about taking out my kindle so I don\u0026rsquo;t get distracted on my phone. And, if as long as I\u0026rsquo;m honest about the goals of a project, the fact that its result could be defined as a failure is irrelevant.\nWhen I say programming on the Playdate is doomed to fail, I mean I\u0026rsquo;d be surprised if I made a complete game that I am particularly happy with. However, I do expect to learn more about programming as a discipline, and how different technologies interact with each other. I also want to have fun.\nI\u0026rsquo;m nearing the end of some crunch time with curriculum work I do on the side, so time is opening up for additional projects that require more brain cycles. Using the Playdate toolkit is a fun way to use that time.\nSo, I will be spending some free time over the next month working through a game. I may build it using both Lua and Pulp. I\u0026rsquo;ll try to remember to report on my progress as time goes on. And, as I often do, I will happily report if I decide to give up once the adjacent goals have been achieved.\nI\u0026rsquo;d say the MP3 tool is the only one that could be considered complete, but even then I\u0026rsquo;m pretty unhappy with it. In no way could it be considered elegant, or even particularly usable.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMy current plan is to make a version of my text adventure that can run on the console. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if I\u0026rsquo;ll use Lua, or Pulp, but it\u0026rsquo;ll be a good way to get started.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThis sentence may have been written after doing so.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-project-doomed-to-fail/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve dabbled with various programming projects over the years. Building a tool to add MP3 chapters to podcast episodes, creating a website using Python, Advent of Code, and creating video games. The list goes on. Nearly all of them were left incomplete.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, as I toy with the idea of yet another programming project, I\u0026rsquo;m faced with the reality that it is unlikely to succeed.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Project Doomed to Fail"},{"content":"Competition is a slippery idea. In both professional and casual interactions, people often walk a fine line when showing a desire to compete. It can be fun and humorous to have a friendly intensity, but there\u0026rsquo;s always a tipping point where it becomes uncomfortable for those involved. Competition is one of the most natural things in the world, but needing to play out the act of competition in society muddies the waters.\nConsider Sports\nSince leisure was invented sometime in the ancient days, we\u0026rsquo;ve surely had sporting competitions. Their utility was a mix of physical training for wartime, a way to create a vague hierarchy in society, and a mode of both punishment and entertainment.1\nThese days, sports are discussed in friendlier terms. They are for exercise; to gain experience working with a team2; to improve self-reliance and precision3; and still provide entertainment. We tend to maintain the delusion that sports competitions are designed to be in place of warfare. Yet, we don\u0026rsquo;t resolve international conflicts in the Olympics or soccer pitch. Of course, sports also continue to maintain a societal structure. By the time I went through high school, the \u0026ldquo;cool jock\u0026rdquo; trope was mostly dead. However, it can\u0026rsquo;t be denied that those with physical capabilities4 tend to move up in the socioeconomic world. Professional athletes are heroes to kids across the world, and if they find themselves in a popular sport they might even make some money.5 I\u0026rsquo;ll happily admit that sports are not a vehicle for cruel punishment6 anymore, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think that\u0026rsquo;s because of sports.\nThe move from sports being very openly used for what I take to be negative results — warfare, rigid societal structures, cruelty — to us pretending that sports are a panacea to certain societal woes — warfare, rigid societal structures, cruelty — mirrors our cultural approach to competition overall.\nAs society becomes increasingly civilized, we wish to pretend our desire for competition has been quelled. We\u0026rsquo;re not savages after all; we\u0026rsquo;ve gained restraint. We\u0026rsquo;re so much more intelligent than those before us. As the saying goes: If they were so smart, why are they all dead?\nOf course, our competitive natures haven\u0026rsquo;t left us. We\u0026rsquo;ve developed new ways to make competition less obvious. There are more cunning ways to hold competitions behind closed doors, or even hidden in plain sight. Our entire economic system is focused on competition, yet the competitive drive seems likely to be its downfall.\nWinners and Losers\nLate in high school, I watched a Roger Federer interview. He was asked what it felt like to lose a final match at a huge event. He said that while it hurts, that negative feeling doesn\u0026rsquo;t compare to the thrill of winning the match. He\u0026rsquo;s not driven because he hates the feeling of losing and doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to experience it; he\u0026rsquo;s driven because he tasted what it\u0026rsquo;s like to win, and wants to get more of it.\nI found that fascinating.\nI also admired Roger Federer,7 so I associated this competitive outlook as an overall positive trait. I reasoned that trying to achieve a specific (positive) outcome was inherently better than trying to avoid a different (negative) outcome. I still generally believe this, but there\u0026rsquo;s a twist.\nThe other year when I watched The Last Dance on Netflix, I realized how destructive the love of winning could be.\nAs a sports fanatic, this adjustment to my thinking remained in the world of athletics. Someone inclined to compete, whatever their drive, could have sufficient motivation to be a jerk.\nNow, as I\u0026rsquo;m thinking more broadly about competition, it\u0026rsquo;s clear that motive to compete is not necessarily the most important aspect of determining how a competitor is viewed, regardless of the arena in which the competition happens. Furthermore, the motive to love winning can be even more dangerous when winning is not a binary property, as it is in sports.\nWinning Begets Winning\nThis is clearest in the realm of finance. Winning means making more money, but there is no upper limit. You don\u0026rsquo;t even win completely8; it\u0026rsquo;s a continuous action driving investors to compete — against what, exactly, the economy? — that leads to some very tough for those who choose not to compete, or are forced out of the competition.\nJust as winning begets more winning,9 competition breeds itself. When something devolves into a competition, those who are determined to compete will always beat out those who decide not to. It\u0026rsquo;s a cultural expectation that we intuitively understand competition, yet those who don\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;understand\u0026rdquo; it in the common way tend to end up on either side of the bell curve: You\u0026rsquo;re not given opportunities if you have a lesser desire to compete, and you can guiltlessly hoard opportunity for yourself if you choose to ignore the standards of \u0026ldquo;friendly\u0026rdquo; competition.\nWithin a small, controlled group, this ends up being a self-regulating problem. Friends will accumulate people who wish to compete at a similar level, and naturally cast out those who don\u0026rsquo;t mesh. However, on the scale of the world economy, for example, these standards of competition must be codified into enforceable laws.10\nSo, Where Are We?\nIf anything, this post is cathartic11, and made me think seriously about how I view competition. I am a competitive person. I really enjoy winning, and I dislike losing. I worked hard when I played baseball to do all I could to help the team, and I spend hours honing my skills in Mario Kart. Yet, a lot of competition that affects the welfare of society12 puts a sour taste in my mouth.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s important to keep consistent standards for competition. Large entities like companies should not dictate what is acceptable. In general, we should be wary of any competitive situation where winning is not a clearly-defined state, but something that can be in flux and grow. Even worse, letting those who win the game define the rules should be avoided.13\nSo go have fun. Enjoy your board games. Argue about rules. Call that egregious violation in table football, and the tiny one in a game of HORSE. But be consistent, and be aware of who you\u0026rsquo;re playing with. I always beat the student I tutor in tic-tac-toe, but I make sure he learns something from it.\nAlthough both go against modern sensibilities, heading to the Colosseum to see a person and/or animal mutually torn to shreds, but able to put up a fight, makes way more sense as an event than public executions. I guess for a certain span of time, the desire for competition paled in comparison to that for retribution and pain. Hm.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIn the case of team sports.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIn the case of individual sports.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOr at least those who appear to have them—you know, hot people.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe titans of finance who own the athletes and the industries to which they belong don\u0026rsquo;t tend to inspire as many folks. I think that\u0026rsquo;s probably for the best.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nUnless you count teenage umpires/referees being verbally, and sometimes physically, abused by parents.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI still do! But I used to, too.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI\u0026rsquo;ve always loved the meme of \u0026ldquo;If you make a billion dollars, we give you a medal saying \u0026lsquo;Congratulations, you won capitalism!\u0026rsquo; Then all the money you make afterward gets donated.\u0026rdquo;\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nIf you win a major sporting event, you\u0026rsquo;re more likely to earn more money, have access to better training facilities, and so on. In general, the more resources you have, the more risks you can take; or if you don\u0026rsquo;t take many risks, your resources tend to grow vaguely exponentially.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAs you\u0026rsquo;re well aware regarding the political issue you care about, the words \u0026ldquo;enforceable\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;law\u0026rdquo; are both pulling a lot of weight. In addition, my understanding is that Libertarians and/or \u0026ldquo;true capitalists\u0026rdquo; (hello Adam Smith) would disagree with this premise, as they think pure competition is itself self-regulating at any scale. I call humbug.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe catharsis inherent to a post, or perhaps the enjoyment I got from writing it, is pretty directly correlated with the number of footnotes.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOr, entirely disregards societal welfare as the goal we\u0026rsquo;re trying to achieve, in the case of economic worship.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHistory informs us this is indeed rarely avoided, but we can keep on hoping that those small victories accumulate into something meaningful before it\u0026rsquo;s too late.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-spirit-of-competition/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eCompetition is a slippery idea. In both professional and casual interactions, people often walk a fine line when showing a desire to compete. It can be fun and humorous to have a friendly intensity, but there\u0026rsquo;s always a tipping point where it becomes uncomfortable for those involved. Competition is one of the most natural things in the world, but needing to play out the act of competition in society muddies the waters.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Spirit of Competition"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been journaling consistently for a few months, and it felt like a good time to quickly reflect on how this habit has grown.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been using the app Journey to give me a daily prompt for a gratitude statement, just a single sentence, and have handwritten in a journal each evening. I made it through a Moleskin notebook by the end of February, and have since upgraded to a Rhodia WebNotebook. It\u0026rsquo;s a huge upgrade in quality, particularly since I\u0026rsquo;m using a nice rollerball pen that bled through the Moleskin pages.\nWriting each night has not been the burden I thought it might, nor have I become complacent. Even on the few nights where I was unexpectedly up late, I took the time to jot down my thoughts. It offers a consistent outlet, a place to examine the day and reinforce the parts I want to remember. It is a meditative act as well, a time of solace, where I sit down alone without any other distractions.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t see myself stopping anytime soon. I\u0026rsquo;m hooked on the routine, and it has kept me accountable to myself in a way that my habit trackers and other systems never quite managed. While they are good for a quick glance at the past, they don\u0026rsquo;t provide a running narrative; they lack subtlety. I\u0026rsquo;ve already bought refills for my pen, and look forward to a few months from now when the current journal is filled.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/journaling-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been journaling consistently for a few months, and it felt like a good time to quickly reflect on how this habit has grown.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been using the app Journey to give me a daily prompt for a gratitude statement, just a single sentence, and have handwritten in a journal each evening. I made it through a Moleskin notebook by the end of February, and have since upgraded to a Rhodia WebNotebook. It\u0026rsquo;s a huge upgrade in quality, particularly since I\u0026rsquo;m using a nice rollerball pen that bled through the Moleskin pages.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Journaling Update"},{"content":"I adore Mario Kart. I first played Double Dash at a friend\u0026rsquo;s house in elementary school. Soon after, my older sister was gifted a Nintendo DS and I would ask to borrow it as often as I could to play Mario Kart on it.1 Once I moved to San Diego, I gifted myself a Nintendo Switch and have put hundreds of hours into Mario Kart 8. The first set of Booster Pass courses came out a couple of weeks ago, and I really want to talk about them.\nBits of Nostalgia\nSome folks seem put out that the Booster Pass only has remastered versions of courses from other iterations of Mario Kart. While some amount of frustration is understandable, particularly given the number of recycled courses in Mario Kart 8 proper, I think it\u0026rsquo;s a non-issue. These courses have been reworked to include some new features of modern Mario Kart (e.g. gliders on Choco Mountain), and getting to replay courses I\u0026rsquo;ve seen elsewhere in the context of modern Mario Kart physics is exciting to me.\nIt helps that I\u0026rsquo;ve only played two other versions of Mario Kart, and the DS version is the only one I spent enough time with to clearly recognize its courses. But, I enjoy seeing the different themes and how the game evolved over time. And, I get to play some courses from Mario Kart Tour, which I would never bother playing on my phone.\nTesting My Skills\nI\u0026rsquo;m confident in my Mario Kart skills. I rarely lose against \u0026ldquo;hard\u0026rdquo; level computers on 200cc, and the few times I bother going online to race with strangers I typically come out on top. However, these accomplishments come on courses I have entirely memorized. I was most excited by the Booster Pass so I could determine if any abilities I developed were generalized to the point that I could pick up a new course without much fuss.\nI can.\nIt helps that I\u0026rsquo;ve long developed the habit of looking at course maps while racing. I can anticipate turns, and don\u0026rsquo;t get flustered while playing. I went through each of the 8 courses currently launched on their 150cc Grand Prix, and swept them. I ended up losing2 a race once on a 200cc Grand Prix, but otherwise swept those as well. It took about 3 races on each course before I could say I had essentially memorized them, but that\u0026rsquo;s all it took. It\u0026rsquo;s fun to have inconsequential achievements to be proud of.\nValue Proposition\nThe Booster Pass cost $25, compared to the entire game that cost $60. Considering the Booster Pass is going to double the number of available courses over the next two years, the value is certainly there. If you even moderately enjoy Mario Kart 8, it\u0026rsquo;s worth getting.\nDo understand my bias: I\u0026rsquo;ve received more than 10 hours of entertainment for every dollar I spent on Mario Kart 8 at this point. Do the math yourself: I play a lot of Mario Kart. I was incredibly excited when I heard about this release, so for others the judgement could be different. I do recommend checking it out though; one hack to test courses is to play online, where new Booster Pass courses are available to play.\nAlso, Guitar Hero DS; we bought the fancy button attachment and \u0026ldquo;pick\u0026rdquo; stylus. As a young kid, I never got the hang of five buttons, so that version of Guitar Hero really worked for me.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nGetting second place.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mario-kart-8-booster-pass/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI adore Mario Kart. I first played Double Dash at a friend\u0026rsquo;s house in elementary school. Soon after, my older sister was gifted a Nintendo DS and I would ask to borrow it as often as I could to play Mario Kart on it.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e Once I moved to San Diego, I gifted myself a Nintendo Switch and have put \u003cem\u003ehundreds\u003c/em\u003e of hours into Mario Kart 8. The first set of Booster Pass courses came out a couple of weeks ago, and I really want to talk about them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mario Kart 8 Booster Pass"},{"content":"I just wrapped up a 5-day trip back to Minnesota, flying in Wednesday afternoon and flying out Sunday morning.1 It\u0026rsquo;s the first trip of less than a week I\u0026rsquo;ve taken in over two years, and these shorter trips have their benefits.\nNearly every trip I took after moving to San Diego spanned a long weekend.2 Short-term remote work was allowed, but it wasn\u0026rsquo;t always convenient to make use of that option. Between that and trying to use my time off to maximize the total number of trips I took, long trips were the exception. I got used to a whirlwind of events, planning everything out to the hour so I could see everyone I wanted each time I came home. It was stressful, but I got pretty good at it.\nOnce the pandemic came around, decisions around travel changed. I made a road trip to Minnesota and stayed for 3 months. I would take weekend trips to visit Erin in San Francisco during fall 2020, but that was driving as well. Those eventually turned into staying in San Francisco for nearly 3 months, after which we moved in together. During 2021, our trips home were at least a week. I drove home again in the fall, then we stayed for over a month during the winter. Suddenly, these long trips where we saw everyone multiple times became normal.\nHaving experienced both trip lengths now, I\u0026rsquo;ve come to appreciate what they each have to offer. Long trips are great if you have time to prepare, and an understanding of where you will stay. Confirming my working environment and transportation situation are the most important things for me in that case. Short trips are best when there is a specific goal in mind, communicated to those affected by it. This allows you to pick and choose plans in a way that don\u0026rsquo;t overwhelm you, and provide a checkpoint for the trip.3\nThis aligns with my goal of being more intentional with my actions. A trip is a type of project, and tends to take over any other projects I may be working on. I want its purpose to be clear, and make sure I\u0026rsquo;m making the most of it.\nMore or less. Our original flight was scheduled for 11, but ended up being delayed a little more than an hour.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe only exception I can think of is Christmas, which usually lasted around two weeks.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOur main goal for this most recent trip was a catering tasting for the wedding. An additional benefit was seeing my older sister\u0026rsquo;s new house.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/trip-lengths/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI just wrapped up a 5-day trip back to Minnesota, flying in Wednesday afternoon and flying out Sunday morning.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e It\u0026rsquo;s the first trip of less than a week I\u0026rsquo;ve taken in over two years, and these shorter trips have their benefits.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Trip Lengths"},{"content":"My hobbies ebb and flow. I will rekindle a strong interest in some skill, old or new, and maintain it for a few weeks, perhaps months. It\u0026rsquo;s subsequently replaced by another pursuit.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve realized that most of these interests are not separate; they tend to be manifestations of the same general themes. Any specific hobby tends to involve music, writing, sports, or technology, and during any given time period I\u0026rsquo;m most likely juggling hobbies from each of those four categories. Understanding this dynamic helps comfort me if a project fizzles out: there will be another one along shortly.\nThe more I consider my hobbies, I\u0026rsquo;m realizing that each of these four themes reflect some aspect of my personality and disposition.\nMusic gives me an intense, yet relaxed, focus. I lose hours faster from playing music than any other hobby. It is a crossroads of diligence and creativity. There is nostalgia and a connection to much of my family. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to share with others.\nWriting provides the cleanest and most direct way for me to express my thoughts. I get to tackle my opinions, try them on for size, and reevaluate in a safe space. Despite having outlets like this blog, I still treat my prose writing as a highly personal creation. Yet, there is room for creativity. My text adventures and dabbling in RPGs give me a way to have fun with what I write, and share it in a fashion that is entertaining and collaborative. In this way, writing and music mirror each other: sharing it is fun when I\u0026rsquo;ve prepared something specifically for that purpose, but where music has intentional practice and specific goals, my writing is often more aimless between projects.\nMy interest in sports has grown wider over time, and in the past year or two has deepened as well. It\u0026rsquo;s a part of the external world that I can follow closely, something outside of myself in which I can still participate. Being a fan is plain fun; having something to get excited about, particularly a sport as regularly available as baseball, clicks with me. It is my favorite form of entertainment while simultaneously forcing me to be antsy to get outside.\nTechnology is my newest interest. It really only blossomed when I was in college and tried out Linux for the first time. In a way, it is the mirror to sports: I follow the world of technology. Many folks treat companies (or ecosystems, or product lines, etc.) as \u0026ldquo;teams\u0026rdquo;, and while just like in sports I don\u0026rsquo;t begrudge anyone the team they root for, it provides another medium for excitement. Even though I don\u0026rsquo;t participate in buying the newest gadgets, I like being aware of technology\u0026rsquo;s progress. It provides additional entertainment in YouTube and podcasts, with a cycle of stories and movement similar to a season of sports.\nMy hobbies are important. My overall mood is highly correlated with the free time I have to pursue hobbies, and the amount of that free time I specifically choose to use pursuing them. Knowing this lets me structure my time, and communicate more clearly with the people around me about what I need to be the best person around them. This is also part of the idea behind my Year of One. I need to create the space to focus on a hobby, regardless of which one it is. Recently it has been guitar, and it may shift into writing pretty soon. I may choose to balance those in a way that still feels in line with my yearly theme, but the ultimate goal is focus and enjoyment of what I choose to do, one thing at a time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/thinking-about-hobbies/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy hobbies ebb and flow. I will rekindle a strong interest in some skill, old or new, and maintain it for a few weeks, perhaps months. It\u0026rsquo;s subsequently replaced by another pursuit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve realized that most of these interests are not separate; they tend to be manifestations of the same general themes. Any specific hobby tends to involve music, writing, sports, or technology, and during any given time period I\u0026rsquo;m most likely juggling hobbies from each of those four categories. Understanding this dynamic helps comfort me if a project fizzles out: there will be another one along shortly.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Thinking About Hobbies"},{"content":"To satiate my recovered and expanding interest in guitar, I decided to use some money from my bonus this year to purchase a nice electric guitar. While I love playing acoustic—they sound beautiful, are easy to pick up, and always feel comfortable to me—electric guitar opens up a new world of effects, sounds, and styles. Plus, with a pair of headphones, you can have the full experience without much noise for everyone around you. Not wanting to waste my money, I dove into research\nYou never know what you don\u0026rsquo;t know when approaching a new topic, and I knew very little about electric guitars last month. From my time owning a cheap electric guitar, along with more experience in the acoustic world, I knew cheaper guitars would likely have less reliable electronics, less stable tuning, and worse intonation overall.1 I wasn\u0026rsquo;t considering an entry-level guitar, so I started researching what differentiated guitars at a mid to high price tier. I found many resources, but I\u0026rsquo;d say Sweetwater Guitars and Darrel Braun Guitar were the most consistently useful, with relatively little fluff.\nPerhaps the most important factor is the style and arrangement of pickups. You can have single-coil or humbucker2 pickups. Humbuckers were originally designed to reduce electronic feedback that single-coil pickups are known for, and the mechanism for doing so gives them a much deeper, warmer sound. Single-coils are the sound of funk, jazz, and blues. They have a brighter sound that really punches through a band, or can be mellowed out for rhythm guitar. Humbuckers are for heavier rock and metal; think of Slash with his Les Paul.\nHowever, once you start looking at electric guitars, you\u0026rsquo;ll notice they all have two, maybe even three, pickups. There will be one at the neck and one at the bridge, and a few (most notably Stratocasters) have one in between as well. Then, there is a switch or lever on the guitar that lets you adjust which pickups are actively in use.3 This changes the timbre somewhat significantly. So, a huge part of my decision was initially resting on what pickups I wanted. After listening to many comparison videos across the internet, I was pretty convinced I wanted at least one humbucker.\nThe next factor worth considering is the scale, radius, and profile of the neck. The scale is just the length of the neck, but implies how far apart the frets are. A larger scale guitar will have frets farther apart; this can be a little confusing if you switch between guitars and your fingers need to adjust. The radius is a measure of the fretboard: what radius of circle are you taking an arc of to make the fretboard? A smaller radius means a tighter curve, which can be more comfortable to hold and play chords on. A larger radius is flatter, and is considered better for fast playing with many notes. Finally, the profile tells you the cross-sectional shape beneath the neck: is it more like a \u0026ldquo;C\u0026rdquo;, or a \u0026ldquo;U\u0026rdquo;, or something else?\nNaturally, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t intuit what I wanted, but having the information allowed me to make a representative list of guitars that spanned these neck factors so I could form some opinion.\nOne specific feature is whether you want a tremolo, or \u0026ldquo;whammy\u0026rdquo; bar. Depending on the guitar, this could just be a nice add-on, or really screw with your tuning.4 I didn\u0026rsquo;t care either way, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t let it affect my decision. If a guitar comes with a tremolo bar, you don\u0026rsquo;t have to use it.\nFinally, there\u0026rsquo;s body shape and ergonomics. This is both a look and feel category. If I didn\u0026rsquo;t like the color or body shape of a guitar, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be inclined to play it very often. If it didn\u0026rsquo;t feel good in my lap, I\u0026rsquo;d be uncomfortable before too long. I\u0026rsquo;ve always been a fan of the Telecaster body shape, but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t too devoted to it in particular. Some guitars, like Ibanez, have a \u0026ldquo;pointy\u0026rdquo; look that I dislike. I also wasn\u0026rsquo;t exactly looking for something like a Flying V.\nWith all this in my head, and a list of specific guitars, I headed to a Guitar Center near Oakland. Luckily the guitar section wasn\u0026rsquo;t too busy, so I proceeded to spend 90 minutes noodling on at least fifteen guitars.\nI quickly realized that there was an additional aspect to the neck feel that hadn\u0026rsquo;t come up in my research: the finish. I was finding that many of the guitars with a colored finish on the neck had a tackiness to them that a natural wood neck did not. These gave me a \u0026ldquo;nails on a chalkboard\u0026rdquo; feeling as I played. I tried some guitars that didn\u0026rsquo;t pass the eye test, but I could determine whether they\u0026rsquo;d be suitable without taking them off a rack. I believe all the guitars I ended up debating between had natural wood finishes on the neck.\nAnother important realization that only came right at the end: the pickup configuration doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter too much given my use case. I would be playing this guitar in my apartment, using a terrible amp with or without headphones. Given how much amplifiers help produce the sound, I eventually resolved not to get caught up on the pickup configuration for this purchase. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t opinionated enough to priortize that over playability and feel.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s where things get a little spicy: I knew this guitar would also be a piece of furniture. I had already planned to purcahse a nice stand for it, so it would be ready to go whenever I felt like playing. To that end, I told Erin I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t buy a guitar she hadn\u0026rsquo;t already looked at without running its design by her. It wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be a deciding factor, but I wanted to be thoughtful.\nI came across a beautiful semi-hollow Paul Reed Smith guitar whose finish was an opinionated yellow color. The brand is reputable, it played beautifully, and I thought it looked excellent. However, the yellow color gave me pause because none of the guitars I had previously shown Erin online were anywhere near this color. I sent a picture to her, only to remember a little later that she was indisposed and I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t expect a response. So, I was faced with walking away empty-handed (admittedly a perfectly reasonable, adult decision to make), or trying more guitars and picking one I liked just as much, but which was a clearer win on the design.\nI opted for the latter, and wound up with a wonderful Telecaster.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had it for a few weeks now, and still love picking it up and playing every chance I get. Telecasters are a bit on the heavy side—they don\u0026rsquo;t have any ergonomic cut-outs like many other guitars—but it still feels fantastic and there\u0026rsquo;s something about the simplicity of its two single-coil pickups that lets me focus on playing. I\u0026rsquo;m pleased with where I ended up, and feel confident I picked a guitar that will last me a very long time. With some recent experience at a local luthier shop, I know I can bring it in for a relatively small price to get it set up perfectly, since they are never particularly good from the factory. It\u0026rsquo;ll be with me for a long time, and that\u0026rsquo;s really exciting.\nWhen playing on a higher fret, you want the note to sound as in-tune as possible. Cheaper guitars tend to have less precision in the fret placement, causing some really rough-sounding chords as you move around the neck.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThese could just be called double-coil pickups, but they were invented at a time when a term like \u0026ldquo;humbucker\u0026rdquo; could be considered cool, so the name stuck.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nI knew on my first electric, a Squier Stratocaster, that moving the switch changed the sound. I had no clue how, so it was really pleasing to finally know.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nStratocasters and similar guitars have a \u0026ldquo;tremolo\u0026rdquo; bridge. This means the tremolo bar literally moves where the strings are attached to the body, and this causes the strings to get out of tune pretty quickly if you make heavy use of the bar. Gretsch has a cool technology called \u0026ldquo;Bigsby\u0026rdquo;, a terrible name, which I don\u0026rsquo;t understand. But, it manages to allow tremolo with a fixed bridge, which apparently means tuning integrity is not an issue.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/rediscovering-guitar-the-purchase/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTo satiate my recovered and expanding interest in guitar, I decided to use some money from my bonus this year to purchase a nice electric guitar. While I love playing acoustic—they sound beautiful, are easy to pick up, and always feel comfortable to me—electric guitar opens up a new world of effects, sounds, and styles. Plus, with a pair of headphones, you can have the full experience without much noise for everyone around you. Not wanting to waste my money, I dove into research\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rediscovering Guitar: The Purchase"},{"content":"I started learning piano in 2nd grade with an unweighted 61-key digital piano, and an assortment of self-guided piano books. Putting time into piano allowed me to join the percussion section once I started 6th grade.1 Armed with a reasonable knowledge of music, the free time that childhood offers, and experience learning new skills on my own, I began playing guitar in 7th grade.\nI think many kids view guitar as a much cooler instrument than piano. It\u0026rsquo;s more approachable: learning a handful of simple chords is enough to play thousands of songs.2 I remember wanting to learn it mostly because my older sister had started playing, and I had a bit of a jealous and competitive streak.3\nAs I learned more, I would move between piano and guitar, giving me a foundational understanding of chord structures on the piano, and a passable understanding of scale structures on the guitar. I also discovered capos after attempting to tune the high E string to an F. That mistake forced me to learn how to change strings at a young age. I would bring my guitar to practice with the band I had formed with some friends in middle school, in case there was a simple enough song that I could use it for instead of staying on piano. I wanted to experience being a cool guitar player.\nHowever, guitar fell off my radar for much of high school. While I\u0026rsquo;m sure I pulled it out every so often, I don\u0026rsquo;t remember if I still had my first acoustic, or had managed to score an upgrade. My focus was on percussion, with a side of piano. There was a brief resurgence when I saved up enough money to buy a Squier Stratocaster from a used music store, along with an amp that had many problems.4 My uncle, a solid gigging guitarist, had a spare multi-effects pedal that he tossed my way. That first year or two with an electric guitar was exhilarating. I expanded the music I could play (particularly thanks to a Guitar Hero: World of Rock songbook), and pushed myself to get better.\nThen, another break during my first year of college. I doubt I played more than one or two times over those 9 months given the lack of space and a roommate. However, I found myself working as a counselor at a Bible camp so my latent guitar skills were in high demand. I convinced my older sister to lend me her guitar, and though I was a bit rusty, being surrounded by other excellent camp guitarists provided another push. I learned new chords, simples ways to add embellishment while I played, and became very comfortable as a performer.\nRiding on that high, I played more guitar during my sophomore year. It helped that I had my own room. That Christmas, my parents helped finance the purchase of an Epiphone Hummingbird.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s stunning.\nHaving a nicer guitar makes it easier and more fun to play, so play I did. I began learning fingerstyle songs; I loved anything that sounded beautiful on its own, not just as accompaniment to singing. In preparation for another summer at camp—I would never let a bunch of elementary schoolers around the Hummingbird—I tried buying a few different guitars, eventually settling on a used Seagull Entourage.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s also of excellent quality and sounds fantastic, but has a design that makes it a bit more resilient to the wear and tear of daily camp life.\nSince that second summer at camp, I didn\u0026rsquo;t stick very closely with guitar. I played mostly piano my last two years of college. When I moved to San Diego, I didn\u0026rsquo;t even bring a guitar—mostly due to lack of space. The next few years were focused on percussion in a community band, as well as a weighted key digital piano I bought for myself. But in 2020, I drove the Seagull out to San Francisco for Erin to use. Even then, it was infrequently played. Finally, several weeks ago, I took it out and saw that it was in a sorry state. The strings were hideous, it was a bit dusty, and the neck wasn\u0026rsquo;t quite straight. A few years ago, the adhesive holding the pickguard had heated up somewhere, causing the pickguard to slide down the body a little. This left a trail of glue that catches your hand if you\u0026rsquo;re not careful.\nMoved by a mix of pity and regret, I started playing it and set up an appointment at a local guitar body shopy to give it the care it deserved.5 Soon after that, I discovered Cory Wong, and decided I wanted to get back into the electric guitar game. That adventure will be for another post.\nIn the last month, I\u0026rsquo;ve consumed an immense amount of guitar content on review sites and YouTube. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned so much more about guitar in that short time than I did in the 10 or so years that I\u0026rsquo;ve been playing. I found a few excellent instructors—my most recommended is Paul Davids—and have been playing every day, trying to fill the gaps in my knowledge with the intent to grow both my guitar-specific skills and my musicianship overall.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s exciting to rekindle my love for guitar, and reconnect with music in general. It has been the space where I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed my greatest successes and most hard-earned growth, and I hope to keep pushing myself to improve and learn.\nThey didn\u0026rsquo;t want to teach you how to read music alongside the several instruments you had to learn.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course you could learn those chords on piano—I did early on—but it feels like a piano is meant to do more. Chords don\u0026rsquo;t sound as good, and aren\u0026rsquo;t as fun to play on piano.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nAfter my sister quit clarinet when she went to high school, I worked on playing that as well for several months.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nMost notably, if you turned it on without any instruments plugged in, it would pick up a local radio frequency that seemed to belong to truck drivers.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nThe Hummingbird? Still in Minnesota. I could only fit one guitar on that road trip in 2020. But, I tentatively plan on bringing it out to California sometime this year. I love it.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/rediscovering-guitar-the-passion/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI started learning piano in 2nd grade with an unweighted 61-key digital piano, and an assortment of self-guided piano books. Putting time into piano allowed me to join the percussion section once I started 6th grade.\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e Armed with a reasonable knowledge of music, the free time that childhood offers, and experience learning new skills on my own, I began playing guitar in 7th grade.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rediscovering Guitar: The Passion"},{"content":"The NFL playoffs are long over, but I still wanted to quickly document my experience using an antenna to watch a fair chunk of it in my San Francisco apartment. I bought an $11 \u0026ldquo;HD\u0026rdquo; antenna from Amazon after consulting with my dad. It\u0026rsquo;s good to see that it\u0026rsquo;s affordable, and made it an easy purchase. I scanned for channels a few times to find the ideal location for the antenna in my apartment1 and started experiencing my childhood again.\nNaturally, the two most notable drawbacks were the reintroduction of commercials, and a slightly inconsistent signal. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing seeing how many commercials are repeated, how often a show is interrupted by them, and also how they\u0026rsquo;ve changed since I was a kid. However, one dramatic improvement from when I was younger is that commercials are no longer noticably louder than the main content. In fact, I felt they were quieter at times. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if that\u0026rsquo;s due to legislation, new marketing research, or something else entirely, but I\u0026rsquo;m thankful for the change.\nThe antenna also proved useful for watching the Winter Olympics. I\u0026rsquo;m not into them enough to bother paying for Peacock+ so, despite how bad the broadcast coverage on NBC was, it proved sufficient for watching live events in the evenings.\nBeyond the Super Bowl and Olympics, I haven\u0026rsquo;t used the antenna. I don\u0026rsquo;t watch local news, and there are no sports on right now that I care to pay attention to. However, I\u0026rsquo;ll be happy to have it available for nationally broadcast events. Maybe there will be something else it\u0026rsquo;s useful for. It won\u0026rsquo;t hurt to hold onto.\nHanging in the slatted blinds.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/antenna-tv/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe NFL playoffs are long over, but I still wanted to quickly document my experience using an antenna to watch a fair chunk of it in my San Francisco apartment. I bought an $11 \u0026ldquo;HD\u0026rdquo; antenna from Amazon after consulting with my dad. It\u0026rsquo;s good to see that it\u0026rsquo;s affordable, and made it an easy purchase. I scanned for channels a few times to find the ideal location for the antenna in my apartment\u003csup id=\"fnref:1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fn:1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" role=\"doc-noteref\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and started experiencing my childhood again.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Antenna TV"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve watched and listened to hours of disc golf content across YouTube and podcasts over the past few years. Since I started playing about 9 months ago, an increased portion of that has been focused on instructional content: specific videos about form, techniques, tips and tricks, anything to help me feel more comfortable and consistent on the course.\nJust like with regular golf, putting is the most frustrating aspect of the game. Particularly in disc golf, where you are approaching this relatively large basket and all you need to do is throw the disc in from 20 or 30 feet (ideally), it looks childishly easy. Yet I have a lot of trouble with consistency. Sure, I can make a few, but overall I\u0026rsquo;m missing in pretty much every possible direction during my round. In fact, both on the course and during my warmup I am practicing how to miss.\nA good solution to this issue in disc golf is to start at a point where you aren\u0026rsquo;t going to miss. If that\u0026rsquo;s 10 feet, or even 5 feet, get comfortable with a putting approach and grind away from those short distances. Take 1 step back at a time, and if you start missing, move forward again. This idea goes in hand with the joint phrases Practice makes permanent, and Perfect practice makes perfect. If you are not making a concerted effort to improve what is causing your issues, you won\u0026rsquo;t develop.\nThis idea has become surprisingly poignant as I think about my creative projects, particularly this blog. Despite my various efforts at creating processes over the past few years, they go largely unused. I haven\u0026rsquo;t put in the time to truly practice my writing in this medium. Instead, most posts are lightly proofed drafts written during the week before they\u0026rsquo;re to be posted. At best I\u0026rsquo;m practicing the habit of writing, but I\u0026rsquo;m certainly not developing a routine designed to improve the results.\nRealizing that is an important first step. For many years, I\u0026rsquo;ve made myself believe that writing this blog will naturally improve how I write, rather than just how often I write. With a new thought technology rattling around my head, I can start making serious decisions about what this blog means to me. Is it enough to write a post a week, even if the vast majority of them don\u0026rsquo;t represent what I believe to be my best work?1 Does that satisfy me?\nIdealistically, my current approach to this blog is frustrating. I want to be proud of what I write. I want to produce posts that, even if they aren\u0026rsquo;t profound, are useful or entertaining, and at least coherent. Practically, I am happy that I\u0026rsquo;ve stuck with this weekly schedule for so long. Moving to a different schedule—say, fortnightly—to allow for greater depth and proof-reading is no guarantee of improvement either. I would tell myself it will, but I could just as easily take 10 days off writing instead of 5, then blast out a quick draft that I\u0026rsquo;m happy enough with to post in a rush.\nTo that end, I\u0026rsquo;m conflicted. Worrying about practice only matters if you\u0026rsquo;re concerned with getting better. I don\u0026rsquo;t practice piano an hour each day, because I\u0026rsquo;m happy enough with how well I play piano. It\u0026rsquo;s a discussion of values: Do I still value improving and iterating on my writing style the way I once did, or have other passions jumped the queue to a degree that leaves this blog with a lower quality (which it always had, but now I\u0026rsquo;m aware of it)? Do I accept that I\u0026rsquo;ve changed to the point where this blog can maintain its status quo and, despite this change in perspective about what the blog is \u0026ldquo;for\u0026rdquo;, just keep pushing on?\nI\u0026rsquo;m still not sure.\nIn the context of my Year of One, I\u0026rsquo;m inclined to reduce my post frequency and focus on taking time to properly write out my ideas. I want to be more focused, and have something to show for that focus. I\u0026rsquo;m not making a decision now, but I expect to within the month.\nOr, when playing disc golf: Do I deserve to be excited about a particularly good shot if it\u0026rsquo;s the 2nd mulligan of that hole, and the surrounding shots were all pretty awful?\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/practicing-missing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve watched and listened to hours of disc golf content across YouTube and podcasts over the past few years. Since I started playing about 9 months ago, an increased portion of that has been focused on instructional content: specific videos about form, techniques, tips and tricks, anything to help me feel more comfortable and consistent on the course.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust like with regular golf, putting is the most frustrating aspect of the game. Particularly in disc golf, where you are approaching this relatively large basket and all you need to do is throw the disc in from 20 or 30 feet (ideally), it looks childishly easy. Yet I have a lot of trouble with consistency. Sure, I can make a few, but overall I\u0026rsquo;m missing in pretty much every possible direction during my round. In fact, both on the course and during my warmup I am practicing how to miss.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Practicing Missing"},{"content":"Erin and I are working on tighter budgeting, eating out less, all that good stuff. We\u0026rsquo;ve been pretty good since coming home after Christmas. Going out to eat has become something we plan and budget for; it should be an event, not an excuse to not cook on a lazy night.\nTo that end, for Valentine\u0026rsquo;s weekend, we booked ourselves two dining experiences.\nLast fall we took my sister and her partner to the lovely restaurant Waterbar when they visited the city. It\u0026rsquo;s along the Embarcadero with a view of the bay. It was a phenomenal evening. There\u0026rsquo;s something special about taking the time to act fancy, if you will, and savor the time in a nice restaurant.\nNext door is a sister restaurant, EPIC Steak, which has been high on our list to visit. Erin decided to make reservations there for Valentine\u0026rsquo;s weekend. We had an excellent experience there.\nIt was my first time being at a steakhouse in the modern sense, where sides are abundant and meant to be shared. We had truffled cauliflower; a scalloped potato dish called \u0026ldquo;Julia\u0026rsquo;s Potatoes\u0026rdquo;, after Julia Child; and some fantastic french fries. Erin got filet mignon, while I had a ribeye. The restaurant was gorgeous with a nighttime view of the Bay Bridge lit up in white. We spent nearly two hours there, which aligns with another longstanding goal of ours: if we eat somewhere fancy, try to stay there longer than you would an Applebee\u0026rsquo;s or something equivalent.\nThe night before, we did something more on a whim. I received an email from Redwood Grill down in Redwood City, about a half our from where we are. I had received my first two COVID vaccinations at a Rite-Aid there, and after the second shot we decided to eat at this restaurant. So, nine or so months later, I\u0026rsquo;m faced with a marketing email talking about their new \u0026ldquo;barrel room\u0026rdquo;, and a special event happening only two nights: a four-course menu with a paired wine tasting.\nAdmittedly I\u0026rsquo;m no fan of wine, but it was a cool opportunity close by, and I knew Erin would love the experience, so I bought tickets. There were only 40 available each night due to the small size of the room, and presumably COVID restrictions.\nTwo things stood out: I had a wine I actually enjoyed, and everyone agreed that the food portions were fair, even immense, compared to more typical wine tastings. A good beet salad; butternut squash ravioli with scallops; a healthy New York strip steak with celery root puree, [mfn]As I learned, these are basically mashed potatoes.[mfn] with chili prawns on texas toast as a side; and a rum chocolate cake with dark chocolate gelato, almond brittle, and cherry compote. Wow.\nAlthough I only enjoyed a single wine out of the four, it was worth doing. The most amusing part is that, evidently, the culture around driving and probably San Francisco itself led us to be quite the set of celebrities in this restaurant. Not only were we the youngest people there by 10 or 15 years, we drove 35 minutes in from the city, which everybody working there wanted to talk to us about. We had thought nothing of it, but I guess I\u0026rsquo;m happy to make someone\u0026rsquo;s evening.\nThese meals confirmed how I want to shift our approach to eating out. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean spending hundreds of dollars if we go out, but rather focus on new restaurants, places where we can enjoy our time and the food. I want to avoid the commoditization of meal time if possible, and I think we\u0026rsquo;re on the right path.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/extravagant-dining/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I are working on tighter budgeting, eating out less, all that good stuff. We\u0026rsquo;ve been pretty good since coming home after Christmas. Going out to eat has become something we plan and budget for; it should be an \u003cem\u003eevent\u003c/em\u003e, not an excuse to not cook on a lazy night.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo that end, for Valentine\u0026rsquo;s weekend, we booked ourselves two dining experiences.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Extravagant Dining"},{"content":"This weekend, I played my first competitive round of disc golf. On a whim, I signed up for a league round where everyone pays 5 dollars. What I hadn\u0026rsquo;t realized when I signed up is that it was a course I\u0026rsquo;d never played before, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t have the benefit of being comfortable with either of the factors involved. However, I had been craving a way to force some assessment of my current skills, and also generally some athletic competition that I haven\u0026rsquo;t had for quite a while. This round gave me plenty of both, and really hooked me.\nDespite a league round being way looser than a tournament, I put a lot of pressure on myself. I was playing with strangers, and wanted to prove to others, and to myself, that I was pretty good at disc golf. I knew my biggest issue would be my putt and approach game, and hoo-boy was it dreadful. I would try pitching up to the basket, do it poorly, then miss very easy putts. This happened several times; I couldn\u0026rsquo;t handle the stress well enough to do those actions confidently.\nSitting here a day later, there were several strokes I should have saved. I missed and embarassing 2 putts within 8 or so feet of the basket. This alone would have shot me up the leaderboard. It\u0026rsquo;s a game of small mistakes, but now I know where things are. My distance and accuracy from the tee are, more times than not, good enough to hang. But, I\u0026rsquo;m not finishing everything out. This gives me something to practice, and I intend to work on that short game, and get to the point where I can be confident and consistent.\nAn important aspect is also experience. I\u0026rsquo;m trying not to be too hard on myself for performing poorly in my first round. I\u0026rsquo;ve competed in other sports, but I\u0026rsquo;ve always had the grounding of years of exposure and training in a skill before competing—or, in the case of casual games like bowling or darts, it\u0026rsquo;s just friendly competition between friends, which is also my only experience with disc golf so far.\nI have growing to do here, but it\u0026rsquo;s growth I want to see in myself. I believe I can do it, finding a good balance between fun and competition.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-taste-of-competition/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis weekend, I played my first competitive round of disc golf. On a whim, I signed up for a league round where everyone pays 5 dollars. What I hadn\u0026rsquo;t realized when I signed up is that it was a course I\u0026rsquo;d never played before, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t have the benefit of being comfortable with either of the factors involved. However, I had been craving a way to force some assessment of my current skills, and also generally some athletic competition that I haven\u0026rsquo;t had for quite a while. This round gave me plenty of both, and really hooked me.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Taste of Competition"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve kept myself busy over the last several months. College was the last time I had such a large number of projects and concerns, but most of them were essentially the same. While I would have four or five classes each semester, these all fell under the banner of school, similar to how several work projects are basically the same to me. However, I\u0026rsquo;ve since begun tutoring and writing curriculum on the side, while trying to maintain some of my other routinized projects. Add wedding and honeymoon planning, and admittedly, some days it feels like I hardly have any time for myself. Working out how to balance all of this is a difficult task.\nThere are two parts here:\nThe practical requirement that I complete everything needed of me. The emotional, or personal, requirement that I feel satisfied with how my time is spent. These parts are not in conflict with each other, but one can help inform the other. If tracking everything I need to do shows me a load that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mesh with how I want my life to go, then there are tough decisions to be made. But, the tracking part needs to come before I make any judgements about how my time feels.\nA month or two ago I began using Todoist. I needed a robust yet simple task manager. Other project management tools were too busy, and did not encourage me to actually use them. I\u0026rsquo;ve found Todoist to be a good balance point. It being cross-platform helps too.\nEach major job or obligation I work on is separated out into a project tag. This includes podcasts, this blog, volunteer work, and contract work. Then, I set up recurring and one-time tasks as is necessary. There is a kan-ban system within the app that I use for a few projects, and I can add additional descriptions and sub-tasks to provide any needed clarity.\nWith all this set up, it was now possible to get a sense for what is going on. Todoist has a useful \u0026ldquo;Upcoming\u0026rdquo; view, which provides tasks coming up over the next several days across all projects, but shown as a to-do list. This is my default widget view on my phone, giving me a broad outlook so I can gain perspective on any given day.\nOn any given day, there aren\u0026rsquo;t many tasks. There\u0026rsquo;s a good balance between tasks that are long, and those that are only a few minutes. Having all this written down and available helps reinforce that, while I am busy, I am not spreading myself too thin.\nSo, how to address my feelings on point 2 above? These past few months have served as whiplash compared to my first three years out of college. For a long time I\u0026rsquo;ve relished in absolute freedom over my time. When I was done with work, only self-directed projects with no given timeframe1 were there to grab my attention. I could consume media, walk around, explore and enjoy everything my area had to offer. Now, to both push myself in general and try to make a broader impact, I\u0026rsquo;ve added two obligations that have external deadlines, and have people who rely on me to get my work done. They\u0026rsquo;ve become a second and third part-time job in that way. I\u0026rsquo;m grateful for the opportunities, and a few months is not enough time to get over what three years set me up for.\nThis is not bad. Perhaps getting these positions was my final, unintentional act of the Year of Transition. Neither of these opportunities will last forever, but I want to make the most of them. Juggling them is worthwhile, and I\u0026rsquo;ll keep striving to stay focused on pushing through, one at a time.\nExcepting blog posts and Comical Start, which have become habitual.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/juggling-obligations/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve kept myself busy over the last several months. College was the last time I had such a large number of projects and concerns, but most of them were essentially the same. While I would have four or five classes each semester, these all fell under the banner of school, similar to how several work projects are basically the same to me. However, I\u0026rsquo;ve since begun tutoring and writing curriculum on the side, while trying to maintain some of my other routinized projects. Add wedding and honeymoon planning, and admittedly, some days it feels like I hardly have any time for myself. Working out how to balance all of this is a difficult task.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Juggling Obligations"},{"content":"My older sister gave me a lovely leather-bound journal one month into sixth grade, when all students in my grade went on a week-long trip to a nature center called Eagle Bluff. She encouraged me to use it to keep track of the experience, and I wrote in that journal for most of the next year or two. Looking back, many entries were a bit dramatic, but I think they were accurate to how I felt at the time. It was my first time using a journal, and in particular my first time doing serious introspection. I enjoyed the process, but eventually lost the habit and didn\u0026rsquo;t try to pick it back up regularly until college.\nIn college I experimented with a home-grown journaling solution using plain text files. I wanted an \u0026ldquo;informational\u0026rdquo; journal, something that would be used not just for personal examination, but also thoughts on math or whatever the heck else. I wanted it to be a rougher repository for my thoughts than this blog, and wrote various Python scripts to do searches across files for my tagging system. Basically, I was trying to create an Obsidian-like program on my own.\nThat didn\u0026rsquo;t stick either.\nMoving to San Diego after college prompted another run at journaling, but I knew I needed something easy and accessible. I used an app called Journey [[[LINK]]] on my phone. I could quickly rate my day, write a few sentences about what happened or how I was feeling, and add pictures or other media if I wanted. This was my most successful attempt at documenting my life. I kept up with it for over a year and a half, stopping right after the pandemic hit and I drove home to be with family.1\nNow, with my yearly theme in mind and a large number of journals in my possession, I wanted to get back on the journal train. I grabbed an empty moleskin and just started writing. It\u0026rsquo;s been almost two weeks, and I\u0026rsquo;ve written every day. No entry has felt like a slog or an obligation. I look forward to it each day and find myself writing more each time I come back to the journal.\nI think this prose-style journal aligns with me incredibly well. The reptition of a \u0026ldquo;bullet journal\u0026rdquo; style approach, including the excellent Theme System, is that the repetition (though good for data collection) makes me complacent. I try to take it seriously, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t typically stick. Looking back over the Journey app, entries quickly devolved to be a sentence or two highlighting major events and maybe the general feeling for the day. This isn\u0026rsquo;t inherently bad, but it\u0026rsquo;s not the focused approach I want to encourage.\nA benefit of writing long-form entries is that it slows down my thought process enough that, as I\u0026rsquo;m writing, I get this sense that I\u0026rsquo;m having a measured conversation with myself. Writing by hand is a slow process compared to typing (or speaking, or thinking). My brain must stay focused enough to complete the sentence I\u0026rsquo;ve begun, and so the shape of the thought has more time to evolve than it would if I were typing—in which case, if the thought is incomplete or poorly-worded, simply gets deleted and rephrased.\nIn short, journaling is scratching an itch I didn\u0026rsquo;t know I have. It is a sounding board for my thoughts, a place to put the day to rest, and allows a time and a space to process any thoughts I have. I think any form of journaling is beneficial, though for me it\u0026rsquo;s not about being efficient with my journaling time, it\u0026rsquo;s about savoring it.\nI have no memory of why I stopped, but I re-downloaded the app to confirm the timeline. It\u0026rsquo;s fascinating to look back over this, and worth exploring more in another post.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/rediscovering-the-journal/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy older sister gave me a lovely leather-bound journal one month into sixth grade, when all students in my grade went on a week-long trip to a nature center called Eagle Bluff. She encouraged me to use it to keep track of the experience, and I wrote in that journal for most of the next year or two. Looking back, many entries were a bit dramatic, but I think they were accurate to how I felt at the time. It was my first time using a journal, and in particular my first time doing serious introspection. I enjoyed the process, but eventually lost the habit and didn\u0026rsquo;t try to pick it back up regularly until college.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rediscovering the Journal"},{"content":"With a new year comes a new theme. I\u0026rsquo;ve had this year\u0026rsquo;s theme prepared since last year, and it rings as true now as it did then. My 2022 will be the Year of One.\nThis theme originated symbolically, as I wanted to encapsulate the process of preparing for, and then participating in, my wedding this fall. As Erin and I become one in several ways, it felt important to have that be a foundation for how I view this year. That was the extent of my thought process when I first came up with the idea last year, but 2021 brought more clarity and more opportunities to increase the impact and relevance of this theme.\nThe Season of Creativity was a rebellion against my prior habits of dropping projects and fussing over whether I was spending my time doing the right things. I wanted to focus on the things that made me happy and fulfilled, and give myself the space to do them. However, even with that in mind each day, I kept distracting myself and often fell into poor habits that made me unproductive and unhappy with my progress. I would bounce between tasks, and even leisure wasn\u0026rsquo;t as restful as I would want. I didn\u0026rsquo;t keep my focus, and would try to multitask in unhelpful ways.\nIn the spirit of that frustration, the Year of One is also about doing one thing at a time. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean only having a single project at a time—between work, volunteering, podcasts, this blog, and planning a wedding, that would not make me feel like a better person. What it does mean is taking on single projects that I can work on either continuously, or until they reach a clearly-defined state of completion. It also means when I am going to work on a task, making sure I set aside the time to do that task completely and avoid distractions however possible. When I choose to write, I will set a goal and write until I reach it. When I am watching a TV show, I will tell myself how many episodes I want to watch, set my phone down, and enjoy those episodes!\nIn some way this year is about being intentional, and I could consider that an ideal outcome. But the focus is on oneness, on letting a single-mindedness pervade my routines. I will almost certainly get more done this way, and each thing I get done I anticipate being of higher quality than if I were to continue bouncing around. It\u0026rsquo;s also about developing an appreciation for the whole, looking at the big picture as I move along to recognize the one thing I am making in that moment, and the one thing it is contributing to, despite the whole being made of many parts.\nI am excited about this theme. Similar to last year, it\u0026rsquo;s about reframing how I view the world to give myself more agency. Viewing the world as a constant transition, one that I can weather, was powerful and very helpful. I believe this year\u0026rsquo;s focused approach will have similarly strong effect, although the outcomes are somewhat different. I look forward to seeing what I can create both in my relationships and my creative endeavors.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2022-year-of-one/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith a new year comes a new theme. I\u0026rsquo;ve had this year\u0026rsquo;s theme prepared since last year, and it rings as true now as it did then. My 2022 will be the \u003cstrong\u003eYear of One.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2022: Year of One"},{"content":"Applying mathematical topics and skills to the real world is an often-discussed tactic to engage students who are otherwise dismissive of, or frustrated with, mathematics as a whole. By connecting the math a student does with real life situations—particularly skills they will \u0026ldquo;need\u0026rdquo; in the future, but also more abstracted situations that pertain to real life—some people expect students to gain an appreciation for what mathematics can do, and feel inclined to study it so they can actively participate in these various applications.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not worth debating whether this general idea has any evidence behind it, since for some students it is definitely effective.1 However, this philosophy about math education can be enacted in many ways that span all the way from lazy and misguided to promising or even proven. I have been thinking about these implementations, and want to explore what I have noticed so far. To be clear, I\u0026rsquo;m focusing on younger education. Calculus and above is so easily applied (or removed from application) as to not be worth discussing. However, what to do about multiplication in a fourth grade class is a different matter. Let\u0026rsquo;s compare two extremes.\nApproach 1: \u0026ldquo;Word Problems\u0026rdquo;\nA misguided and widely disdained approach is shoehorning \u0026ldquo;word problems\u0026rdquo;—that is, problems that happen to be written in complete sentences—that contain some \u0026ldquo;application\u0026rdquo;—a few nouns or verbs a student might know about—into the curriculum, with an expectation that this is sufficient to show the utility of mathematics. An example:\nJohn is playing baseball. He has five baseballs in his bag, which is two more than Sarah has. How many baseballs does Sarah have?\nHere, we\u0026rsquo;re trying to catch the young athlete hook, line, and sinker. Surely the mere mention of a sport is sufficient to get them engaged with the problem?\nThe issue with this problem is not that it\u0026rsquo;s bad inherently. If a student is expected to show their work, and if this problem is understood to solely act as a way to practice going from words to mathematical operations, this problem is perfectly fine. Students need to develop those abilities.\nHowever, as a method of engaging a student, it\u0026rsquo;s rather poor. Sure, it has baseball. A few kids might connect with that concept. But the problem itself is rather silly, because it contains information that nobody would have: Why would John know he has two more baseballs than Sarah? Unless they were both brought up using these types of problems, and like to quiz each other, this is an unlikely interaction. Problems like these begin to feel condescending to most students, because they can see the ridiculousness of them and intuit the laziness of the writers. Much more can be done.\nApproach 2: Projects or Frameworks\nRather than dictating a set of problems that are loosely \u0026ldquo;connected\u0026rdquo; to an application or engaging idea, a more ideal approach involves designing a full project or framework of problems where the various steps involve using the relevant mathematical skills. While some of the first approach still has a tendency to sneak into these projects, they have a directionality to them that encourages students to stick with it. The goal of the project, as seen by the student, is not to learn math, or even accomplish a mathematical goal, but rather to produce something, perhaps gain more knowledge about a field of interest, and by virtue of going through this project a student is required to engage with math.\nThese projects are difficult to develop, and that ceretainly contributes to their minimal presence in most schools. Of course, organizations like Desmos are continually working to build out better activities, and thus make applicable and engaging math more accessible to students and teachers alike. Another issue with this approach, at least at a younger level, is that it requires students to reckon more with the real world and try to learn mathematics in a broader context. For students with poorer reading skills, this can be troublesome. For curriculum developers, it\u0026rsquo;s not always obvious what your average student of a particualr age will be familiar with, so gauging overall difficulty and appropriateness remains a challenge.\nWhat To Do?\nAs I said, the drive to make mathematics engaging or applicable on a level outside the realm of art, let\u0026rsquo;s say, in a way that would make both G.H. Hardy and Paul Lockhart both rather frustrated, is unlikely to remove itself from the school system. So, while that fight is ongoing, there is still a question of how to improve some of the rougher \u0026ldquo;intuition\u0026rdquo; and approaches about how to engage students in other ways.\nFocusing on communication is a good start. If students are not put in a position where they must explain their reasoning and provide feedback on other students\u0026rsquo; reasoning, then we are failing them. The best way to get students to engage with a topic is by getting them to talk about it. Once students are talking to each other, and to the instructor, you have something to work with. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter very much what gets them talking.\nIn the end, mathematics education is full of chicken-and-egg problems. Is mathematics enough on its own, or does it need application to be engaging? We don\u0026rsquo;t know unless we fully commit to a good implementation of one or the other. Once an implementation is chosen, it\u0026rsquo;s now a question of whether teachers are being appropriately trained, and are fully sticking to the implementation or falling back on their own experiences; there\u0026rsquo;s the additional question of whether an implementation is properly budgeted for, and if sufficient time is taken to determine the results. A student doing one thing in 4th grade, then suddenly doing another the following year, may get thrown off. We can only really tell how something went if we compare a full set of students across multiple years.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a tricky problem, but one that is worth working towards solving.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s pretty likely that any reasonable educational approach is optimal for a handful of students.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/agonizing-over-engagement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eApplying mathematical topics and skills to the real world is an often-discussed tactic to engage students who are otherwise dismissive of, or frustrated with, mathematics as a whole. By connecting the math a student does with real life situations—particularly skills they will \u0026ldquo;need\u0026rdquo; in the future, but also more abstracted situations that pertain to real life—some people expect students to gain an appreciation for what mathematics can do, and feel inclined to study it so they can actively participate in these various applications.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Agonizing Over Engagement"},{"content":"My goal the last two years has been to read 24 books each year. I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to read 25 in both 2020 and 2021. I\u0026rsquo;m not currently on GoodReads or a similar platform, so I\u0026rsquo;ll just list the books I\u0026rsquo;ve read the last couple of years, since I didn\u0026rsquo;t post about this last year either.\nTitle Author Finish Date 50 Piranesi Susanna Clarke December 2021 49 The Splendid and the Vile Erik Larson December 2021 48 Breakfast of Champions Kurt Vonnegut December 2021 47 Project Hail Mary Andy Weir December 2021 46 Cat\u0026rsquo;s Cradle Kurt Vonnegut December 2021 45 Star Mother Charlie N. Holmberg November 2021 44 Flight Risk Joy Castro October 2021 43 The Sirens of Titan Kurt Vonnegut October 2021 42 The Puma Years Laura Coleman October 2021 41 Constance Matthew FitzSimmons September 2021 40 The Crystal Kingdom Clint McElroy August 2021 39 A Familiar Sight Brianna Labuskes August 2021 38 The Only Rule Is It Has To Work Sam Miller and Ben Lindbergh August 2021 37 Tears of Amber Sofia Segovia August 2021 36 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck July 2021 35 Eat a Peach David Chang March 2021 34 The Secret Stealers Jane Healey March 2021 33 Infinite Brian Freeman March 2021 32 West with Giraffes Lynda Rutledge March 2021 31 The Ardent Swarm Yamen Manai February 2021 30 Diamond Age Neal Stephenson February 2021 29 How We Got to Now Steven Johnson February 2021 28 Titanic: Collision Course Gordon Korman January 2021 27 Titanic: Unsinkable Gordon Korman January 2021 26 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson January 2021 25 Recursion Blake Crouch December 2020 24 The Man in the High Castle Philip K. Dick December 2020 23 Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes November 2020 22 Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury November 2020 21 The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury November 2020 20 Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis November 2020 19 Room Emma Donoghue November 2020 18 In the Garden of Beasts Erik Larson November 2020 17 It Can\u0026rsquo;t Happen Here Sinclair Lewis November 2020 16 Animal Farm George Orwell October 2020 15 The Devil in the White City Erik Larson October 2020 14 Season of Storms Andrzej Sapkowski October 2020 13 Petals to the Metal Clint McElroy September 2020 12 Lady of the Lake Andrzej Sapkowski August 2020 11 Tower of Swallows Andrzej Sapkowski August 2020 10 Baptism of Fire Andrzej Sapkowski July 2020 9 Time of Contempt Andrzej Sapkowski June 2020 8 Blood of Elves Andrzej Sapkowski May 2020 7 Sword of Destiny Andrzej Sapkowski May 2020 6 The Last Wish Andrzej Sapkowski April 2020 5 1Q84 Haruki Murakami March 2020 4 Neverwhere Neil Gaiman February 2020 3 The Secret Commonwealth Philip Pullman February 2020 2 La Belle Sauvage Philip Pullman January 2020 1 The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman January 2020 ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/reading-goal-for-2021-achieved/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy goal the last two years has been to read 24 books each year. I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to read 25 in both 2020 and 2021. I\u0026rsquo;m not currently on GoodReads or a similar platform, so I\u0026rsquo;ll just list the books I\u0026rsquo;ve read the last couple of years, since I didn\u0026rsquo;t post about this last year either.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Reading Goal for 2021 Achieved"},{"content":"I decided this fall would be my Season of Creativity, since it felt like my Year of Transition had nicely wrapped up at that point. I wanted to give myself the freedom to pursue creative projects, and not get myself hung up on what I should or shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be doing with my time. I enjoy creating, and I owe it to myself to let that enjoyment come through.\nI think this season was a mixed success. I spent more time reading and writing, focusing on creative projects, and letting my mind wander. However, I also gave myself more to do, both in volunteer work and some freelance work on the side. While these both can tap into my creative side, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite the same since they are often dictated by others and their established timelines.\nHowever, I still feel satisfied with how the last few months went regarding creativity. While I have more I want to do, I believe I\u0026rsquo;ve set myself up to accomplish my various goals, and I\u0026rsquo;m planning on having my theme in 2022 reflect that desire.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/seasonal-theme-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI decided this fall would be my \u003cem\u003eSeason of Creativity\u003c/em\u003e, since it felt like my \u003cem\u003eYear of Transition\u003c/em\u003e had nicely wrapped up at that point. I wanted to give myself the freedom to pursue creative projects, and not get myself hung up on what I should or shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be doing with my time. I enjoy creating, and I owe it to myself to let that enjoyment come through.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think this season was a mixed success. I spent more time reading and writing, focusing on creative projects, and letting my mind wander. However, I also gave myself more to do, both in volunteer work and some freelance work on the side. While these both can tap into my creative side, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite the same since they are often dictated by others and their established timelines.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Seasonal Theme Update"},{"content":"Being back in Minnesota for a month really lit a fire beneath me to find a better solution to recording podcasts when away from home. In the past, I\u0026rsquo;ve either recorded episodes ahead of time, or brought an additional laptop running Linux to do the recording. I wanted to avoid that this time, and so I learned how to use new tools on macOS.\nA majority of my podcast listening is taken up by technology-focused shows, and they have a tendency to discuss how they record as part of the show. As such, I was familiar with a few. The standout was always Audio Hijack by Rogue Amoeba. This tool allows you to record any number of devices from any number of inputs to any number of tracks. For my setup, that means a single program lets me record my microphone to a single track, my cohosts on Skype to a separate track (for a rough backup), and a third track that combines the first two as a way to synchronize our voices.\nMy podcasting setup in Audio Hijack, showing the routing of audio to three tracks.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a fantastic piece of software, though I had a little trouble with their auto-snapping block setup at first. But once that was figured out, everytime I open it the various devices and tracks are all in place, and I only need to hit \u0026ldquo;Record\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s elegant and makes my life much easier.\nThere are programs that do something similar on Linux in conjunction with the JACK software, but the interface is not as clean, and audio routing is far more complicated. It is certainly powerful enough, but the benefit of Audio Hijack is that it\u0026rsquo;s simple enough for my use case, making the entire flow easier.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not sure if I\u0026rsquo;ll stick with this long-term, but it is good to have options, and more importantly, have this travel recording setup figured out.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/macos-podcasting/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBeing back in Minnesota for a month really lit a fire beneath me to find a better solution to recording podcasts when away from home. In the past, I\u0026rsquo;ve either recorded episodes ahead of time, or brought an additional laptop running Linux to do the recording. I wanted to avoid that this time, and so I learned how to use new tools on macOS.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA majority of my podcast listening is taken up by technology-focused shows, and they have a tendency to discuss \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e they record as part of the show. As such, I was familiar with a few. The standout was always \u003ca href=\"https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/\"\u003eAudio Hijack\u003c/a\u003e by Rogue Amoeba. This tool allows you to record any number of devices from any number of inputs to any number of tracks. For my setup, that means a single program lets me record my microphone to a single track, my cohosts on Skype to a separate track (for a rough backup), and a third track that combines the first two as a way to synchronize our voices.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"macOS Podcasting"},{"content":"We\u0026rsquo;ve been using a new chocolate chip cookie recipe for several months, but it\u0026rsquo;s now the holidays and I was able to introduce it to my family. In short, it\u0026rsquo;s been a big hit. Here\u0026rsquo;s a direct link to the recipe, with none of the blogging excitement.\nA key difference in preparation is that this recipe calls for browned butter. I\u0026rsquo;d never gone through the process before, but it does provide more depth to the flavor. Comparing it to our previous-favorite Toll House recipe, a few other changes are more sugar and less flour. And, specifically with the sugar, this new recipe focuses heavily on brown sugar, whereas the Toll House recipe uses equal amounts of both.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not big into baking, but chocolate chip cookies have been a holiday staple my entire life, and it\u0026rsquo;s worth the bit of extra time to make something even better.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tasty-cookies/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ve been using a new chocolate chip cookie recipe for several months, but it\u0026rsquo;s now the holidays and I was able to introduce it to my family. In short, it\u0026rsquo;s been a big hit. \u003ca href=\"https://bromabakery.com/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/print/25336/\"\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s a direct link\u003c/a\u003e to the recipe, with none of the blogging excitement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA key difference in preparation is that this recipe calls for browned butter. I\u0026rsquo;d never gone through the process before, but it does provide more depth to the flavor. Comparing it to our previous-favorite \u003ca href=\"https://www.nestle.com/stories/timeless-discovery-toll-house-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe\"\u003eToll House recipe\u003c/a\u003e, a few other changes are more sugar and less flour. And, specifically with the sugar, this new recipe focuses heavily on brown sugar, whereas the Toll House recipe uses equal amounts of both.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tasty Cookies"},{"content":"I failed.\nThere was a part of me that anticipated this. In 2019, I was almost finished by Thanksgiving, which was important since I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be able to do much writing that week. This year, I was \u0026ldquo;on pace\u0026rdquo; by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, and I had very little time or focus to continue writing.\nI ended up reaching just over 30,000 words in November, and finished three of the six stories I was aiming to write. However, I\u0026rsquo;m happy with the basic drafts of those three, and am still motivated to keep writing the others. I can make the time to do so, even if it isn\u0026rsquo;t under the auspice of NaNoWriMo. I won\u0026rsquo;t be updating the NaNoWriMo page though, as the PDF linked there is a record of my actual progress during the month.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2021-nanowrimo-result/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI failed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was a part of me that anticipated this. In 2019, I was almost finished by Thanksgiving, which was important since I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be able to do much writing that week. This year, I was \u0026ldquo;on pace\u0026rdquo; by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, and I had very little time or focus to continue writing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI ended up reaching just over 30,000 words in November, and finished three of the six stories I was aiming to write. However, I\u0026rsquo;m happy with the basic drafts of those three, and am still motivated to keep writing the others. I can make the time to do so, even if it isn\u0026rsquo;t under the auspice of NaNoWriMo. I won\u0026rsquo;t be updating the NaNoWriMo page though, as the PDF linked there is a record of my actual progress during the month.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2021 NaNoWriMo Result"},{"content":"I finally bought a couple Subtle Notebooks from Cortex Brand. I won\u0026rsquo;t go into their whole deal; I\u0026rsquo;d like to just focus on this particular product.\nI\u0026rsquo;m a notebook hoarder. I\u0026rsquo;ve always enjoyed having journals around, with different shapes, paper types, and cover styles. Admittedly, many of these are still blank, or only partially filled. Some of them have a specific use-case that has run its course (or has been extensively delayed), while others are too nice, too boring, or just don\u0026rsquo;t feel quite right for some things I have in mind.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had a few cheap moleskin notebooks I bought for work, and they have been slowly filled with notes, bits of math, and quick reminders. They\u0026rsquo;ve been great. However, my others have been languishing. I\u0026rsquo;m not a huge fan of lined paper for general note-taking, and it feels wrong to use, for example, an Italian leather journal gifted to me by my sister for random notes during a podcast.\nYet, I still bought two subtle notebooks after I saw my fiance had one. Its stitching makes it lay flat incredibly well, the cover is a pleasing soft-touch, and it has dot-grid paper which has become my favorite type over the past five years, eclipsing my previous preference for blank. After a few weeks of sitting on my desk, untouched, I finally decided they would be my writing journals. I would sketch out ideas, make any notes, or be a receptacle when typing into a computer doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite right.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s worked perfectly in this role. I\u0026rsquo;ll walk around with it in my backpack, and leave it open on my desk. While it\u0026rsquo;s a bit on the expensive side, and I can be reasonably served by other products, the fit and finish is superb, in particular the thicker paper that works with any pen I use, and how well it lays flat. So, the increased price is worth it to me, given how slowly I move through notebooks. If you\u0026rsquo;re in the market, give it a shot.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-subtle-notebook/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI finally bought a couple \u003ca href=\"https://cottonbureau.com/products/the-subtle-notebook#/8752895/navy-paper-5x8\"\u003eSubtle Notebooks\u003c/a\u003e from Cortex Brand. I won\u0026rsquo;t go into their whole deal; I\u0026rsquo;d like to just focus on this particular product.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m a notebook hoarder. I\u0026rsquo;ve always enjoyed having journals around, with different shapes, paper types, and cover styles. Admittedly, many of these are still blank, or only partially filled. Some of them have a specific use-case that has run its course (or has been extensively delayed), while others are too nice, too boring, or just don\u0026rsquo;t feel \u003cem\u003equite right\u003c/em\u003e for some things I have in mind.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Subtle Notebook"},{"content":"Because I subscribe to YouTube Premium, I was offered a three month trial of Google Stadia, which is Google\u0026rsquo;s game-streaming platform. I decided to take up the offer and, with some stale Google Store credit I had lying around from an old phone trade-in, I also got a Stadia controller. These services are very intriguing to me and, whether this particular one stays afloat, I can picture myself making use of them in the future.\nThe idea behind Stadia and similar services is that you don\u0026rsquo;t need a console or powerful gaming PC. Any device you have—phone, laptop, even a TV with a cheap accessory depending on your service of choice—is capable of running the game you want. You pay a monthly fee and run games on the platform\u0026rsquo;s servers using your device of choice.\nMy background with gaming is mixed and inconsistent. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a Nintendo Switch for about three years, and I only play a handful of games on it. I\u0026rsquo;ve never had a powerful gaming computer, so I\u0026rsquo;ve played famous older titles like the Portal series, and very lightweight story-based games.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve found that Stadia is potentially an excellent option because I don\u0026rsquo;t keep up with hardware. I don\u0026rsquo;t need to commit to buying particular games or maintaining a PC or console; all I need is a good internet connection and any device.\nThe other reason Stadia (or similar platforms) could prove to be a good option is that the only games I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed playing are story-heavy, and light on FPS mechanics. Speed and responsiveness are not as important as overall visuals. And, for the two games I\u0026rsquo;ve played so far, Stadia has been solid.\nFigment is a pretty lightweight game that\u0026rsquo;s a rogue-like1 similar to the game Bastion which I\u0026rsquo;ve played on my switch. It runs perfectly.\nJourney to the Savage Planet is a beautiful game that is more involved and demanding. As such, there are occasional glitches if I\u0026rsquo;m hooked up to my 4K monitor, but they are minor and infrequent, mostly happening only when a new scene is being loaded.\nAnd that is another benefit as someone who doesn\u0026rsquo;t follow the world of video games: I have a selection of titles I\u0026rsquo;m able to play—I assume it\u0026rsquo;s particularly limited in the case of Google compared to their competitors—and so I just give them a shot. If I don\u0026rsquo;t like them, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter. And there may be some gems I\u0026rsquo;ve never heard of, like Savage Planet, that immediately grip me.\nOne gimmick with Stadia is their controller. I did not read into it closely enough, but the way it wants to work is over WiFi. It connects to your game instance on the server, not directly to your device. I assume this is meant to synchronize the controller and what shows up your screen, since the pathway is Controller to Server to Device, rather than Controller to Device to Server to Device. However, since I live in University housing with a distributed WiFi network over which I have no control, this feature doesn\u0026rsquo;t work. Luckily, it has a USB-C port that I can plug directly into my computer, and that works great. Another nice feature is that the controller itself has a headphone port; I just thought that was neat.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been using the service for barely a month, so I have longer to test it out and see if it fits into my habits. It could be that I just still don\u0026rsquo;t connect with enough games for it to be worth the monthly fee, but I know it can work for my gaming preferences if my daily routine and priorities align in the future. If you enjoy games, but don\u0026rsquo;t want to invest in the hardware, give a streaming service a shot.\nProbably? I\u0026rsquo;m not into video games.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/google-stadia-review/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBecause I subscribe to YouTube Premium, I was offered a three month trial of \u003ca href=\"stadia.google.com\"\u003eGoogle Stadia\u003c/a\u003e, which is Google\u0026rsquo;s game-streaming platform. I decided to take up the offer and, with some stale Google Store credit I had lying around from an old phone trade-in, I also got a Stadia controller. These services are very intriguing to me and, whether this particular one stays afloat, I can picture myself making use of them in the future.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Google Stadia Review"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m nearly halfway through National Novel Writing Month. You can check out some more info, including a PDF of my semi-current progress, at the NaNoWriMo page.\nThis is my second time fully committing to this project. My first time in 2019 was pretty straightforward. I just let myself write, and really did not worry about the quality, or whether I was \u0026ldquo;finishing\u0026rdquo; the story at any point. This year is a little different. I planned out some ideas ahead of time, and want to use these stories as part of a larger project in the coming year.\nWhen the month started, between the increased perceived value of this time around and some other commitments reducing the time I had available, I started off real slow. I didn\u0026rsquo;t write at all the first few days, and wrote on and off for the next week. However, I\u0026rsquo;m finally reaching my pace. I\u0026rsquo;m still technically behind in amount (based on approximately 1,667 words a day average), but the pace I\u0026rsquo;m keeping has me catching up in the next few days.\nI\u0026rsquo;m happy with my output so far. I find my own stories intriguing, and I\u0026rsquo;m enjoying the process yet again. Having a consistent set of creative work really helps me maintain that flow, rather than reduce it. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to see where I end, particularly knowing that I\u0026rsquo;ll be revisiting these drafts over the next few months.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2021-check-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m nearly halfway through National Novel Writing Month. You can check out some more info, including a PDF of my semi-current progress, at the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo/\"\u003eNaNoWriMo page\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is my second time fully committing to this project. My first time in 2019 was pretty straightforward. I just let myself write, and really did not worry about the quality, or whether I was \u0026ldquo;finishing\u0026rdquo; the story at any point. This year is a little different. I planned out some ideas ahead of time, and want to \u003cem\u003euse\u003c/em\u003e these stories as part of a larger project in the coming year.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2021 Check-In"},{"content":"Apple recently launched new MacBook Pros, complete with their new M1 Pro and Max chips, which are incredibly power-efficient while still maintaining a high level of performance in professional applications. However, the Apple ecosystem of software and hardware remains essentially locked down. They continue to be hostile to user repairs and upgrades, and they certainly are no friend to the open source community. Although I\u0026rsquo;m not currently in the market for a new computer, it\u0026rsquo;s impossible to ignore how excellent these computers are, and how Apple\u0026rsquo;s offerings are going to be uniquely positioned when I am considering my next purchase. As I go through that thought process, I\u0026rsquo;m realizing how certain philosophies in the computing world are in a strange position. The tradeoffs for remaining with, or switching to, a Linux platform are becoming increasingly skewed against.\nSince switching to Linux as my main platform back in 2016 or so, I\u0026rsquo;ve been infatuated with the whole community. A group of nerds and tinkerers and believers in an excellent cause, as well as many corporations who also recognize the use cases, have let Linux and its close relatives become what they are. If you don\u0026rsquo;t like how something is done, you can almost always find an alternative. It\u0026rsquo;s more private and controllable because everything is done out in the open, and I just feel better when I use it.\nClosely related to the Linux software ecosystem are similar hardware principles of right to repair and upgrade. Niche manufacturers who already support Linux, like System76, provide detailed support documents and encourage tinkering with both software and hardware. They want the machines to work for you, and believe very strongly that a good hardware and software experience does not need to come at the cost of no options for end-users. Other companies, like Framework, are taking this to the next level with a focus on customizable, swappable hardware that anyone can service.\nApple, and to a lesser extent, Microsoft, are antithetical to these principles. Both make hardware that is aggressively closed off. Apple continues to engineer solutions to make any repairs almost certainly devastating if you don\u0026rsquo;t go through their proper channels, while maintaining policy surrounding repairs that put both users and third-party repair shops in a bind. Microsoft uses more glue than an elementary school child to keep their fabric-covered Surface devices closed. Apple in particular believes in the design of their cohesive unit, their ecosystem, and anyone wishing to do what they want with a piece of hardware they own is considered an affront to their ethos. In their minds, you buy the right to use the hardware exactly as it comes, and nothing else.\nJust last year, the tradeoffs between Linux on the machine of your choice, and macOS or Windows, basically came down to whether you enjoyed a company\u0026rsquo;s ecosystem, the backing of a large corporation,1 and the fit and finish of your hardware in the case of Apple. Performance was not substantially different, and more times than not, Linux has a robust enough set of software to replace those found on the other two platforms.2 Everyone was using the same Intel chips, so it was more a battle of philosophies and marketing.\nNow, Apple has made a significant leap that, I can attest to firsthand, really changes the discussion. I have been using an M1 MacBook Air since December 2020, mainly for work, and it\u0026rsquo;s by far the best computer I\u0026rsquo;ve used in terms of hardware. It\u0026rsquo;s snappy, has fantastic battery life, while remaining extremely portable. You bring these new beastly MacBook Pros into the conversation, and people who work on laptops have a really tough dilemma: sacrifice real performance for an inferior hardware product solely on principle.3\nDespite how much I love using Linux, and really believe in what it does for the world, Apple has forced me to question where I stand on these issues. Then, I have to question why I\u0026rsquo;m so focused on computers in the traditional sense. Sure, I use a laptop most days, but what about my iPad? My phone? There are hardware and software alternatives more in line with Linux principles, yet I hardly consider them, and realizing that gives me much more sympathy for those who stick with macOS or Windows and give no thought to Linux.4\nIs it enough to just pick a tool that gets the job done, or should each purchase be taking a stance in some fight? I don\u0026rsquo;t know. It\u0026rsquo;s more reasonable to accept that not everyone can participate in every fight. You have to focus on the ones you care about.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know where I will land when I inevitably buy a new computer in the future. I go back and forth each time I think about it, where I\u0026rsquo;m excited about supporting a vendor who I really believe in, then start to get turned by the siren song of Apple. This is the price of great performance or the lack thereof, and I\u0026rsquo;m not yet sure what I\u0026rsquo;m willing to pay.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s important to note that the most popular Linux distributions do have the backing of large corporations, but they don\u0026rsquo;t share the marketing mindshare of Apple and Microsoft.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course there are people who are so ingrained in one or the other that they would never consider switching away; that\u0026rsquo;s fine, and not the point of this post.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nInferior is of coure relative, but I\u0026rsquo;m really focused on performance. For a given price and power envelope (i.e. laptop on battery) Apple blows everyone out of the water right now.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nOf course, I don\u0026rsquo;t excuse people who dismiss Linux and its users out of hand.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/price-of-performance/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eApple recently launched new \u003ca href=\"https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/\"\u003eMacBook Pros\u003c/a\u003e, complete with their new M1 Pro and Max chips, which are incredibly power-efficient while still maintaining a high level of performance in professional applications. However, the Apple ecosystem of software and hardware remains essentially locked down. They continue to be hostile to user repairs and upgrades, and they certainly are no friend to the open source community. Although I\u0026rsquo;m not currently in the market for a new computer, it\u0026rsquo;s impossible to ignore how excellent these computers are, and how Apple\u0026rsquo;s offerings are going to be uniquely positioned when I am considering my next purchase. As I go through that thought process, I\u0026rsquo;m realizing how certain philosophies in the computing world are in a strange position. The tradeoffs for remaining with, or switching to, a Linux platform are becoming increasingly skewed against.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Price of Performance"},{"content":"My projects and obligations outside work have grown over the past six months. Alongside my usual podcasts and writing, I started volunteering for a tutoring organization, and am looking to take on a contract role for some extra money. With everything building up, I need to reevaluate the tools I use to keep track of everything so I\u0026rsquo;m not letting anything slip by. The beauty of them being personal projects is I can use whatever system I want.\nI considered going back to Notion first. I still use it for a few bits and bobs, like keeping track of books I\u0026rsquo;ve read. However, I currently find it too customizable, and not optimized for tracking tasks with timelines. It\u0026rsquo;s not great on mobile (particularly Android), and the notification setup has never worked well for me.\nI considered another Apple ecosystem app, as I\u0026rsquo;m mainly using my iPad. There are many good options that I\u0026rsquo;ve heard about over the years. However, I want the flexibility of using my phone and non-Apple computer. This led me to Todoist.\nIts main benefit is being cross-platform. It works well everywhere, is easy to understand, and flexible enough for my needs. It has several \u0026ldquo;views\u0026rdquo; that I find useful, including both a Today view and a more general Upcoming view; a project-based approach with no cruft; and support for sub-tasks and repeating checklists. I believe it also has templates, although I haven\u0026rsquo;t used them yet. This makes it great for tracking blog posts, podcasts, and my curriculum work as I mix-and-match for each purpose.\nThe one feature I\u0026rsquo;d like is start dates. It really is meant to be a \u0026ldquo;to-do\u0026rdquo; manager, where a to-do is only a task with a due date. However, to manage projects it\u0026rsquo;s often helpful to have a sense of when you can start something, and create dependencies to that effect. While it\u0026rsquo;s a small drawback, I\u0026rsquo;m not yet in the position to actually need those features. I can do without them. The important thing is bringing order to what has become a chaotic, \u0026ldquo;in my head\u0026rdquo; process for tracking everything, and it is working great for that so far.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/chasing-down-order/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy projects and obligations outside work have grown over the past six months. Alongside my usual podcasts and writing, I started volunteering for a tutoring organization, and am looking to take on a contract role for some extra money. With everything building up, I need to reevaluate the tools I use to keep track of everything so I\u0026rsquo;m not letting anything slip by. The beauty of them being personal projects is I can use whatever system I want.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Chasing Down Order"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to fully participate in NaNoWriMo this year. You can track my progress over on the NaNoWriMo page of this blog.\nI first attempted National Novel Writing Month in 2019. While I did \u0026ldquo;win\u0026rdquo; that year, I am not happy with what it produced. It was a fun writing exercise and a good challenge, but in hindsight, I didn\u0026rsquo;t accomplish what I wanted.\nLast year, I spent time planning out a story. Both inspired and horrified by the events surrounding George Floyd in Minneapolis, I had many ideas for expressing my reactions. But due to a lot of moving around in the fall, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t commit to writing for an hour or two every day. Instead, I wrote two short stories for a total word count well below the targeted 50,000.\nI\u0026rsquo;m planning ahead again this year, and have committed to finding the time to write. I will be writing at least six short stories as background to my Last Question RPG, and have put last year\u0026rsquo;s planning into an \u0026ldquo;Ideas\u0026rdquo; backlog folder. These stories will be rough, as expected, but they will not be aimless. If they have a clear purpose and direction, I\u0026rsquo;ll have improved on my 2019 experience.\nBecause of all this writing, I won\u0026rsquo;t make guarantees about how much blogging I\u0026rsquo;ll do. I have a few ideas already for simple posts, and I may use my NaNoWriMo experience to pad out content. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t concern me though, because it will be a month of writing regardless, and I\u0026rsquo;m happy to give myself the space to accomplish this goal.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo-2021-announcement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to fully participate in \u003ca href=\"nanowrimo.org\"\u003eNaNoWriMo\u003c/a\u003e this year. You can track my progress over on the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/nanowrimo/\"\u003eNaNoWriMo page\u003c/a\u003e of this blog.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NaNoWriMo 2021 Announcement"},{"content":"After moving to San Francisco this year, I was lucky enough to fulfill a childhood dream by getting season tickets for Giants baseball. There were no expectations for the team. I just wanted to follow baseball closely again, have a team to root for, after being mostly on the fringe after college.\nOut of nowhere, the Giants began winning. Constantly figured as a bad team that somehow continued to win, they continued to win. It was exciting. Baseball was exciting.\nAs the postseason approached and the one game lead the Giants had over the Dodgers in the division did not change, the tension became palpable. When the Giants clinched the division on the penultimate day of the season, I just felt childishly happy. The season ended with the Giants as 107 wins, the Dodgers at 106. To have lucked into this year, this experience, was fantastic. I move across the state just in time for the local team to be the best team in the regular season, and tied for best in their 100+ year history. As they say, how can you not be romantic about baseball?\nOnce the Dodgers made their way out of the wild card to face the Giants again in the first postseason series, I knew I would be writing something about this season. If you\u0026rsquo;re unfamiliar, you can look around to discover the storied history of two teams who played many decades across town in New York, then moved to California in the same year and continud their rivalry. They had never met in the postseason, and the series was living up to the hype. How can you not be romantic about baseball?\nHowever, minutes after a poorly-umpired game culminating with a blown call that ended the Giants\u0026rsquo; season, I now have to care about fairness alongside romanticism. As any good sports fan does, I\u0026rsquo;m hyper-focused on the calls that so clearly destroyed us. The strike zone was inconsistent, and the situation around check swings really needs to be resolved after this. It\u0026rsquo;s a near certainty that both of those problems will be with us for another decade, but the ammunition against it continues to build.\nBut, the worry about fairness will wash away by tomorrow as the postseason continues without my team of choice. I have the benefit of being, ultimately, a sort of bandwagon fan. My true home team, the Twins, lost all hope early in the season. Now I\u0026rsquo;ll throw in for the Atlanta Braves, trying to enjoy some other team\u0026rsquo;s romantic season. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t get to be my story, but I can still empathize with another. Unless it\u0026rsquo;s the Astros. Screw them.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/romanticism-fairness-and-baseball/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter moving to San Francisco this year, I was lucky enough to fulfill a childhood dream by getting season tickets for Giants baseball. There were no expectations for the team. I just wanted to follow baseball closely again, have a team to root for, after being mostly on the fringe after college.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Romanticism, Fairness, and Baseball"},{"content":"Last year, I wrote about my writing setup. It involved a few different apps, and while I had a comprehensive process laid out, I just didn\u0026rsquo;t get myself to follow it consistently. I stopped using Ulysses, and went back to writing on whatever text editor happened to be available, or typing a quick post directly into my blog CMS. It was rather chaotic, so I\u0026rsquo;m looking to compromise this year.\nDevices iPad\nTo stay consistent with my new iPad as the creative device, it will be my main writing hardware. It\u0026rsquo;s small and sleek, making it perfect for focused writing. A huge benefit of not being in the Apple ecosystem while using an iPad is I can easily turn off all notifications, allowing nothing to nag at my brain or distract me. Paired with Apple\u0026rsquo;s Magic Keyboard case, it\u0026rsquo;s my favorite on-the-couch and on-the-go device.\nLaptop\nMy only real issue with my iPad is it lacks a great ergonomic setup. It\u0026rsquo;s fine for sitting at a table for shorter periods of time, but it obviously does nothing to encourage good posture. So when I\u0026rsquo;m at my desk, I use my ThinkPad running Pop! OS, hooked up to an external monitor, to do more writing. This ThinkPad is only set up for writing and podcast work, so it is also distraction-free. The computer itself is not nearly as portable as an iPad, so it has been relegated to \u0026ldquo;desktop\u0026rdquo; status.\nPhone\nMy phone holds a minor place as somewhere to jot down ideas on the fly, either as a new file in Dropbox, or a quick note in Google Keep. Beyond that, it mainly serves only as a distraction. I try to keep it out of sight and mind while writing.\nApps and Services Dropbox\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been using Dropbox since I started college, and it serves as my personal file system. As I mentioned in the previous writing setup post, I create two blog folders each year for \u0026ldquo;Spring\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Fall\u0026rdquo;. Then, each post I write1 is a Markdown file in the appropriate folder, named by the date I plan on posting it, and a tentative title.\nOther pieces of writing get filed away in their own folders; if I\u0026rsquo;ve done enough of one kind of writing, such as text adventures, they get their own parent folder.\niA Writer and 1Writer\nI am undecided between these two apps. iA Writer has a solid place in my heart, where I wrote most of my 2019 NaNoWriMo, and I find its interface to be the cleanest and most focused on writing. It allows me to export my markdown files directly to my blog. However, it\u0026rsquo;s recently had significant troubles with Dropbox, something that other apps (like 1Writer) have been rock solid on. Dropbox is a dealbreaker, so although I\u0026rsquo;m losing other features I\u0026rsquo;ll be sticking with 1Writer until iA Writer gets fixed up.\nDictionary\nI have no memory if this is a built-in app for the iPad, but I have a Merriam-Webster app that gets the job done. Sometimes I\u0026rsquo;ll head over to Thesaurus.com for additional ideas, but not often. My typical setup while writing is having 1Writer full screen, then the Dictionary can be pulled into slideover when needed.\nNotability\nThis is another long-standing app on my iPads of yore. When I first got into the iPad game, you had Notability or GoodNotes. At that time, Notability had a feature-set I cared more about, and I\u0026rsquo;ve stuck with it ever since. I care about fewer features now than I did in math classes, but Notability has given me no reason to leave. I sync all my notes with Dropbox, and use it either for sketching out ideas for a complicated project, or editing something outside of my writing app.\nObsidian\nObsidian has become my Markdown editor of choice on my laptop, and also holds my personal writing style guide. I don\u0026rsquo;t make as much use of it as others, but for the price of free it\u0026rsquo;s a great tool. It provides so much functionality to a folder of Markdown files with no drawbacks. Compare this to Ulysses, which requires a custom file format to access many of its key features. To synchronize with Dropbox you must instead save files as Markdown, which kills of some functionality. I don\u0026rsquo;t like this tradeoff between features and vendor lock-in, and Obsidian doesn\u0026rsquo;t make me choose. I originally explored it as a tool for work, but I\u0026rsquo;m happy to have it in my writing life now.\nWordpress\nMy blog is hosted using Wordpress (.org, not .com), so I can either use the browser back-end of my blog, or the Wordpress app on my iPad. I switch between them depending on my mood.\nForest\nAs I mentioned above, my phone can be a distraction. I don\u0026rsquo;t use Forest very frequently, but during NaNoWriMo or similar writing sprints, it\u0026rsquo;s a surprisingly effective way to keep me off my phone. All it does is grow virtual plants while your phone is locked. If you pick up your phone earlier than you said you would, your plants don\u0026rsquo;t grow. It\u0026rsquo;s that simple, but it works perfectly for my brain.\nNot every post, because some are small and sudden. But any that I actually planned ahead and did a nominal amount of editing for fits here.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/fall-2021-writing-setup/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast year, \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/new-writing-workflow/\"\u003eI wrote\u003c/a\u003e about my writing setup. It involved a few different apps, and while I had a comprehensive process laid out, I just didn\u0026rsquo;t get myself to follow it consistently. I stopped using Ulysses, and went back to writing on whatever text editor happened to be available, or typing a quick post directly into my blog CMS. It was rather chaotic, so I\u0026rsquo;m looking to compromise this year.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Fall 2021 Writing Setup"},{"content":"With my Season of Creativity in full-swing, and some potential projects for next year circulating in my brain, I\u0026rsquo;m thinking more carefully about how I set up my devices. For example, I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on creating a \u0026ldquo;work phone\u0026rdquo; for myself, which I eventually managed by activating separate users on my Android phone. I like this separation of devices, so I\u0026rsquo;m considering how to setup a creative projects device. Thanks to an older MacBook holding its value surprisingly well, I have enough trade-in value for the newest 11\u0026quot; iPad Pro to take on this new role in my life.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had iPads for several years. In college, they were for notes and homework. I even wrote much of my senior thesis using TeX Writer After college, I had grand plans for my iPad to be a work device. I would make lots of cool notes as I wrote math curriculum, maybe even bring it to meetings. To some extent, that did play out. It was indispensable for marking up PDFs of puzzles, reading various texts, and having one around for software testing was appreciated.\nSince the pandemic, I\u0026rsquo;m no longer in an office. My iPad\u0026rsquo;s usefulness for work is limited to when I\u0026rsquo;m too lazy to bring my laptop from my desk to the couch, or if I want a really focused work session outside to write up a document. In my personal life, it has adapted in my life to become a larger part of my creative projects1 I\u0026rsquo;ve edited podcasts on it exclusively for a couple of months; I research and write most of my blog posts using it; I\u0026rsquo;ve composed small bits of music on it; and I\u0026rsquo;ve been playing with various graphic art and video editing programs.\nAs I look toward allowing myself room for creative projects, setting up a new iPad allows me to prepare it for that specific purpose. I won\u0026rsquo;t clutter it with work applications and accounts, or random games and tools that I never use. I want it to be a lean, mean, content-producing machine. It will be a fun task, and I\u0026rsquo;m hoping it will help focus my mind when it\u0026rsquo;s time to start the work of having fun.\nOf course, it\u0026rsquo;s also a perfect media consumption device on flights or if the TV is taken.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/creative-powerhouse-device/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith my \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/season-of-creativity/\"\u003eSeason of Creativity\u003c/a\u003e in full-swing, and some potential projects for next year circulating in my brain, I\u0026rsquo;m thinking more carefully about how I set up my devices. For example, I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on creating a \u0026ldquo;work phone\u0026rdquo; for myself, which I eventually managed by activating \u003ca href=\"https://www.computerworld.com/article/3597994/how-to-better-separate-your-work-and-personal-life-on-android.html\"\u003eseparate users\u003c/a\u003e on my Android phone. I like this separation of devices, so I\u0026rsquo;m considering how to setup a \u003cem\u003ecreative\u003c/em\u003e projects device. Thanks to an older MacBook holding its value surprisingly well, I have enough trade-in value for the newest 11\u0026quot; iPad Pro to take on this new role in my life.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Creative Powerhouse Device"},{"content":"Something so pure and so true\nAs a limerick spun out of the blue,\nWill always leave me\nFeeling ever so free\nThat I can\u0026rsquo;t help but share it with you.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve always had a soft spot for poetry. I\u0026rsquo;m not a snob, and don\u0026rsquo;t appreciate the wider world of poetry the way I do other forms of media. I don\u0026rsquo;t read it that often. But throughout school I adored writing them, particularly the typical ABAB (or similar) stanzas. They were the simplest word puzzles to fumble with.\nThe premier format for me is the limerick. They\u0026rsquo;re short and sweet, with an obvious scheme, and for whatever reason they always stick. The rhythm and rhyme are always obvious. They can be a quick way to a nice sentiment, or contain some misdirection to create a lovely joke.\nI love limericks.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/i-love-limericks/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSomething so pure and so true\u003cbr\u003e\nAs a limerick spun out of the blue,\u003cbr\u003e\nWill always leave me\u003cbr\u003e\nFeeling ever so free\u003cbr\u003e\nThat I can\u0026rsquo;t help but share it with \u003cem\u003eyou\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I Love Limericks"},{"content":"In what is now dangerously close to becoming an annual occurrence, I drove back to Minnesota a couple weeks ago. That trip, while exciting because I got to see some friends, did not generate particularly interesting stories. However, the first day driving back to California is vying for the largest rollercoaster of a day I\u0026rsquo;ve had during a road trip. Let\u0026rsquo;s explore.\nHanging basket, Hole 6, Spearfish Canyon Disc Golf Course\nWe had a bonfire with several friends the night before I left, so I was originally planning on leaving around 6 or 7 the following morning. Then, as I was casually perusing my route for disc golf locations, I came across Spearfish Canyon Disc Golf Course, in the far west section of South Dakota. I ended up leaving just before 4 in the morning so I\u0026rsquo;d have time to play a few holes.\nIt is a stunning course, with a lot of elevation change. The trees don\u0026rsquo;t get in your way too much, and really help to frame some lovely shots. A little over a third of my way through the 27 holes, I caught up to a group of two guys from Minnesota who were also playing for the first time, and they asked if I wanted to play along with them. Just a little over 2 hours later and we had played the entire course. It was a great fiend, and an excellent reprieve from a long day of driving.\nMy lovely Honda Civic on a hydraulic lift.\nAnyone who has driven through Wyoming is aware of the high winds that sweep across the roads. Sometimes they have to close them down if the winds get too bad.\nIt just so happened that my car got caught broadside by a gust of wind in just the wrong way, getting in between the chassis and a plastic undershield, ripping the plastic pins that keep the undershield in place. As I drove along I started hearing this funny plastic tapping noise; it was inconsistent, and very obviously plastic. I eventually stopped off to get gas and saw the plastic piece now sagging on the sides, only held on (somehow) in the middle. In addition, there was something dripping on the ground and, being naive and paranoid about whatever happened, I was worried there was an oil leak.\nAfter being told the local Walmart auto center only had a single employee and the wait would be an hour, I went to two more shops only to be told that the mechanics either leave early, or don\u0026rsquo;t work, on Saturdays. Not to mention that nearly every other shop in the area closes at noon on Saturday.\nI was finally pointed to Tire-Rama, which was slated to close 15 minutes after I got there. They also didn\u0026rsquo;t have a mechanic, but were willing to give it a look. An awesome guy, probably around my age, put it on this hydraulic lift and confirmed both that the plastic shield had been ripped loose, and that there was no oil leak. Up until this point I was getting worried I\u0026rsquo;d need to stay over in a city four hours from where I was supposed to be.\nBut no. Without an oil leak, all it took was a handful of zip-ties to get the undershield in place and I was on my way. The guy in the garage joked those zip-ties would probably hold better than the plastic caps that flew off.\nA sunset along Highway 287 in Wyoming.\nI was driving into this sunset about an hour outside where I stayed after this long day with a wonderful high and stressful low. Just as I was resigned to never get a picture of it, there was a specific \u0026ldquo;Photo turnout\u0026rdquo; sign. So I took this picture (and several others). It was just a stroke of good luck.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2021-road-trip-in-three-pictures/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn what is now dangerously close to becoming an annual occurrence, I drove back to Minnesota a couple weeks ago. That trip, while exciting because I got to see some friends, did not generate particularly interesting stories. However, the first day driving back to California is vying for the largest rollercoaster of a day I\u0026rsquo;ve had during a road trip. Let\u0026rsquo;s explore.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2021 Road Trip in Three Pictures"},{"content":"Do you remember when you first learned how to round numbers? For example, to round 687 to the nearest hundred, we notice it\u0026rsquo;s between 600 and 700. Since 687 is closer to 700 than it is to 600, we round up to 700. Maybe you even learned a rule: Look at the digit to the right of the one you\u0026rsquo;re rounding. If it\u0026rsquo;s 5 or greater, round up. If it\u0026rsquo;s 4 or less, round down. Rules can be good, but they can also be dangerous.\nNow, consider rounding a decimal. The same rules basically apply. To round 0.687 to the nearest tenth, you can look at the hundredths place. It clearly tells us we\u0026rsquo;re closer to 0.7 than 0.6, so again we round up to 0.7.\nWhere this gets tricky is when you focus too much on a rule itself, rather than why the rule works in the first place.\nSo consider this tricky problem: What is $0.64999\\dots$ (or written in a slightly more common way, $0.64\\overline{9}$) rounded to the nearest tenth?\nIf we apply our rule, we see that 4 in the hundredths place, and immediately round down to 0.6. This would be bad, because we didn\u0026rsquo;t do any thinking. If we paused to think about that number for a second, we\u0026rsquo;d notice it\u0026rsquo;s a little different, a little weirder, than the numbers we\u0026rsquo;ve dealt with before. It has an infinite number of digits extending to the right, so it\u0026rsquo;s not as obvious if our rule actually applies.\nTaking the time to think a little deeper, you may remember that even though 0.65 is halfway between 0.6 and 0.7, it\u0026rsquo;s an accepted tradition to always round that number up to 0.7. This may lead you to believe that $0.64\\overline{9}$ is the largest number that rounds down to 0.6 when rounding to the nearest tenth. That would be a reasonable assumption, because it keeps everything aligned with the rule we learned before.\nBut that\u0026rsquo;s the issue: the rule isn\u0026rsquo;t quite correct as stated. It\u0026rsquo;s missing something, because $0.64\\overline{9}$ is exactly equal to $0.65$, and thus rounds up to 0.7 when rounding to the nearest tenth. The issue here is that we taught a rule, then asked a question we weren\u0026rsquo;t prepared to handle. Have we seen numbers with infinitely many decimal digits? Have we explored how $0.\\overline{9} =1$ and everything that entails? Do we understand thoroughly why we can \u0026ldquo;look at the digit to the right\u0026rdquo; to round? We need the answers to all of these to be yes if we hope to answer the tricky question correctly.\nIf you teach mathematics using rules, you have to keep them straight. This is why sequencing is such a huge deal: you don\u0026rsquo;t want to shock a student with a question they literally are not able to answer.\nHowever, it\u0026rsquo;s better to teach mathematics by avoiding rules, except those that are assumptions we must hold, or those we can rigorously understand. This encourages deeper thinking and a reliance on problem-solving, rather than the application of rules written in a messy language liable to cause confusion.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a tough line to balance, but one that is important to keep in mind if you want students to get the most out of their mathematical education.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/dangers-of-mathematical-rules/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDo you remember when you first learned how to round numbers? For example, to round 687 to the nearest \u003cem\u003ehundred\u003c/em\u003e, we notice it\u0026rsquo;s between 600 and 700. Since 687 is closer to 700 than it is to 600, we round up to 700. Maybe you even learned a rule: Look at the digit to the right of the one you\u0026rsquo;re rounding. If it\u0026rsquo;s 5 or greater, round up. If it\u0026rsquo;s 4 or less, round down. Rules can be good, but they can also be dangerous.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dangers of Mathematical Rules"},{"content":"As I discussed in my yearly theme check-in a couple of weeks ago, I\u0026rsquo;ve essentially wrapped up my Year of Transition, and am looking at starting a seasonal theme.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to go with the one mentioned in that post: Season of Creativity.\nThere are a few things this means to me. First, my volunteer work in curriculum shouldn\u0026rsquo;t fade, but I want to reorient my efforts there. I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing the minimum amount of project management to help things run smoothly, when I should be writing new activities and relishing in the opportunity to keep writing math curriculum.\nThat curriculum work is not where it ends. I don\u0026rsquo;t guarantee my blog posts will improve as a result, but I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to have more creative endeavors outside the blog to discuss. The two I want to focus on are a new text adventure I\u0026rsquo;ve been toying with for over a month, and fleshing out ideas for a fuller campaign related to my Last Question RPG. With all this, I want to keep on my reading goals. That may mean another \u0026ldquo;short-story\u0026rdquo; NaNoWriMo, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t bother me.\nMy intention is to give myself permission to have these creative efforts without feeling like I need to be grinding away at something else with more \u0026ldquo;tangible\u0026rdquo; benefits. These activities do improve my life, and if I\u0026rsquo;m unable feel comfortable going after what I\u0026rsquo;d like to do, then I\u0026rsquo;m failing in some other way.\nSo, let the Season of Creativity begin.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/season-of-creativity/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I discussed in my \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/year-of-transition-check-in/\"\u003eyearly theme check-in\u003c/a\u003e a couple of weeks ago, I\u0026rsquo;ve essentially wrapped up my Year of Transition, and am looking at starting a seasonal theme.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to go with the one mentioned in that post: \u003cem\u003eSeason of Creativity\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Season of Creativity"},{"content":"Follow me through a brief journey of how I kept track of projects at work over the last year or so. It\u0026rsquo;s been a doozy.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve used several platforms to track projects at work since the pandemic started and my responsibilities increased. I dove into Notion, and was extremely happy with what I built. However, there were some limitations to how the program functioned and I had one too many sudden outages during the work day.\nThat prompted me to try out Obsidian. While certainly a very different tool, having something that didn\u0026rsquo;t rely on the internet, was fast due to its text-based nature, and had simple template automations appealed to me. I learned it was great for writing notes (and blog posts, as it turns out), but didn\u0026rsquo;t have enough to fully track projects.\nMy move to sales came along with a move to using Apple products for work, and my computers running Linux for personal projects. So, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d try some Apple-specific apps. That led me to an opinionated app called Agenda. While it had its benefits, it ended up being an under-featured version of Obsidian for me.\nAfter all the trials and tribulations, I briefly ended up back in the welcoming arms of Notion. No sooner had I transferred project information there did I remember that our company was switching to the enterprise-focused software ClickUp.\nWhile Notion appeals to the self-starter, \u0026ldquo;life operating system\u0026rdquo; type of person, ClickUp comes with strong features meant for a corporate environment. In particular, you don\u0026rsquo;t need to build project management interfaces from scratch; they already exist. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t treat everything as a document. There are tasks, there are documents, and there lots of other things I haven\u0026rsquo;t yet explored. But I am satisfied with using it. I already need to keep the app running since our sales team uses it as part of our process, so having internal sales projects living in ClickUp made sense.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been a shift, and while it\u0026rsquo;s not ideal, nothing about working for a company is. You have to deal with the cobbled-together infrastructure that develops over time, and ClickUp is a far cry from some of the other half-baked, expensive bits of software we use in other parts of the company. It\u0026rsquo;s modern, actively developed, and has a huge number of features that I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to exploring.\nThe other huge benefit is that I\u0026rsquo;m not sharing my work organization with my personal projects. Now, when I\u0026rsquo;m in Obsidian or Notion I know I\u0026rsquo;m not doing company work, I\u0026rsquo;m doing something I want to do for me. That\u0026rsquo;s a powerful reason for the change as well. At this point, I\u0026rsquo;m fairly committed to making it work. It\u0026rsquo;s similar to Notion in its power, and will take time to wield it. It does have the same drawback of Notion in being hosted elsewhere, but at least I can rest easy knowing that if my workspace dies because of some server, the rest of the company\u0026rsquo;s probably will too.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/organization-at-work/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFollow me through a brief journey of how I kept track of projects at work over the last year or so. It\u0026rsquo;s been a doozy.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Organization At Work"},{"content":"I denoted this year as the Year of Transition. The overall goal was to look forward to, and make the most of, moving to a new city. Along with that came a change in my position at work, and continued adjustments to my lifestyle as the pandemic took its course. But it might be time to transition to a new theme.\nOver halfway through the year, the Year of Transition may have run its course. Erin and I are settled into our new apartment, and I\u0026rsquo;ve established several great routines around the city. My old job responsibilities are nearly all behind me, and I\u0026rsquo;m growing more comfortable with my new work in sales operations. My new volunteer opportunity is approaching stasis. While I\u0026rsquo;ll never be done transitioning in life, the purpose of this theme has been fulfilled.\nNow I\u0026rsquo;m considering a seasonal theme to wrap out the year. After talking to Jack and Mikhail on a recently recorded episode of OHAC, there are two theme ideas that come to mind. First is getting a head-start on what I\u0026rsquo;ve long thought would be me 2022 theme: The Year of One.\nHowever, I\u0026rsquo;m more intrigued by an idea that came to me while in the middle of the conversation: The Season of Creativity. With all the disarray of the past year, the initial creative surge that struck me at the start of the pandemic has faded away. I\u0026rsquo;ve missed blog post days recently, and posts I do write are not as thoughtful as I aimed for at the start of this year. I haven\u0026rsquo;t been reading as often as I\u0026rsquo;d like, and feel overall disconnected from the lighthearted, curious, and creative side of me.\nWhile I don\u0026rsquo;t consider this quite official, the idea of giving myself the space to spend free time on creative projects is invigorating. There are stories to write, small projects to pursue, and it can also still tie into my volunteer work which is inherently creative. It\u0026rsquo;s an exciting prospect, one that I may simply not allow myself to resist.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/year-of-transition-check-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI denoted this year as the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2021-year-of-transition/\"\u003eYear of Transition\u003c/a\u003e. The overall goal was to look forward to, and make the most of, moving to a new city. Along with that came a change in my position at work, and continued adjustments to my lifestyle as the pandemic took its course. But it might be time to transition to a new theme.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Year of Transition Check-in"},{"content":"I recently discovered the Tin Can Bros, which I would consider an offshoot from StarKid Productions, the makers of, among other things, A Very Potter Musical.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s exciting to come across more genuinely hilarious musical theater. I\u0026rsquo;m no musical buff, but I enjoy comedy with a modern twist. Anything by either group is worth a watch. They remind me very much of what my friend Tim Radermacher\u0026rsquo;s style, and I love having more of that in my life. And if you\u0026rsquo;re not a fan of musicals, check out their Wayward Guide video series.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tin-can-bros/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently discovered the \u003ca href=\"https://www.tincanbros.com\"\u003eTin Can Bros\u003c/a\u003e, which I would consider an offshoot from \u003ca href=\"https://www.teamstarkid.com\"\u003eStarKid Productions\u003c/a\u003e, the makers of, among other things, A Very Potter Musical.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s exciting to come across more genuinely hilarious musical theater. I\u0026rsquo;m no musical buff, but I enjoy comedy with a modern twist. Anything by either group is worth a watch. They remind me very much of what my friend Tim Radermacher\u0026rsquo;s style, and I love having more of that in my life. And if you\u0026rsquo;re not a fan of musicals, check out their Wayward Guide video series.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tin Can Bros"},{"content":"As I mentioned last month, I started work with Step Up Tutoring {{LINK}}. It\u0026rsquo;s been a lot of fun getting to know my student, and it\u0026rsquo;s been a rewarding experience already. I really believe in this group that I\u0026rsquo;m working with, so I\u0026rsquo;ve volunteered my time to help them work on pedagogy and curriculum, with the goal of creating an easy way for their tutors to put together the best sessions possible for their students.\nIn my final conversation before officially getting into this role, I was curious what the organization\u0026rsquo;s stance was on the goal of a tutoring session: Do we want to help students complete their homework, or do we want to provide additional instruction and materials? Both philosophies have their place, but it\u0026rsquo;s an important philosophical point to have a clear answer for when preparing resources for our tutors.\nThe final word from up top is that the organization would remain primarily a homework help resource for students. That\u0026rsquo;s ultimately the correct choice for this group, as the tutors they recruit are not necessarily experts in any field or interested in going into education. As a result, the academic resources I put together are focused on helping the tutors best explain a topic they may not be prepared for.\nHowever, the philosophy behind this organization is not simply \u0026ldquo;Help students complete their homework.\u0026rdquo; There is a larger goal of mentoring and relationship-building. We want the students to feel empowered, and have a positive relationship with an adult outside their family.\nRelationships are important to education. If a teacher can bond with a student over the educational subject, that\u0026rsquo;s excellent. But that does not happen with every subject, or even every topic within a subject. Finding other ways to connect with a student is vital to improving their experience, and it\u0026rsquo;s most easily done in a one-on-one setup like our tutoring.\nI\u0026rsquo;m excited to see how my relationship with my student grows, and to find novel activities and resource for tutors to do the same with their own students. It\u0026rsquo;s an awesome opportunity.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/goals-of-tutoring/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I mentioned last month, I started work with Step Up Tutoring {{LINK}}. It\u0026rsquo;s been a lot of fun getting to know my student, and it\u0026rsquo;s been a rewarding experience already. I really believe in this group that I\u0026rsquo;m working with, so I\u0026rsquo;ve volunteered my time to help them work on pedagogy and curriculum, with the goal of creating an easy way for their tutors to put together the best sessions possible for their students.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Goals of Tutoring"},{"content":"With everything that happened last year, I managed to never write about my co-authorship of the Level 3 Puzzle Book put out by my company. It was the largest project I\u0026rsquo;ve been on, and the content I\u0026rsquo;m most proud of producing. Not only did I get to write and review close to half the puzzles in the book, I managed to learn the basics of InDesign and help compile the book into its final form.\nI\u0026rsquo;m shocked I didn\u0026rsquo;t write about it late last Fall when it released, but I had other non-work ideas on my mind. This popped back into my head as we were cleaning our apartment in preparation for visitors, and I came across one of my copies of the book.\nI recommend taking a look at the sample PDFs on the page linked above. They puzzles are dastardly. The Level 3 is only representative of the math prerequisites, but some of the puzzles themselves would stump our employees.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/im-an-author-almost-a-year-late/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith everything that happened last year, I managed to never write about my co-authorship of the \u003ca href=\"https://beastacademy.com/books/puzzles3\"\u003eLevel 3 Puzzle Book\u003c/a\u003e put out by my company. It was the largest project I\u0026rsquo;ve been on, and the content I\u0026rsquo;m most proud of producing. Not only did I get to write and review close to half the puzzles in the book, I managed to learn the basics of InDesign and help compile the book into its final form.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I'm an Author (Almost a Year Late)"},{"content":"I set up a Slack workflow to run every Monday morning at 8 a.m. on my company\u0026rsquo;s slack. It sends me a form to ask a few questions about how the previous week went, and a few looking forward to the upcoming week.\nI find this short check-in to be incredibly useful. It primes me for the week, and helps keep me accountable to myself. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s for personal or professional aid, I recommend giving something similar a shot.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/weekly-check-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI set up a \u003ca href=\"https://slack.com/features/workflow-automation\"\u003eSlack workflow\u003c/a\u003e to run every Monday morning at 8 a.m. on my company\u0026rsquo;s slack. It sends me a form to ask a few questions about how the previous week went, and a few looking forward to the upcoming week.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI find this short check-in to be incredibly useful. It primes me for the week, and helps keep me accountable to myself. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s for personal or professional aid, I recommend giving something similar a shot.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Weekly Check-in"},{"content":"The last several years have left me unenthused about celebrating my birthday to any great extent. I always did something a bit special, like going to get a dinner I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t do every week, but it was never much. I think it was the easiest approach when I was by myself.\nHowever, this year just felt different. I turned 25, and wanted to make it feel special. While nothing I did was out of the ordinary—disc golfing, a baseball game, and homemade pizza—telling myself it was special made it better. I brought Erin to the disc golf course I frequent for the first time, and shot a really good round. I upgraded our tickets for the baseball game to be in row 6 off the right field baseline, and managed to catch a ball as a result. And the pizza was excellent alongside the brownies for dessert.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s something to sharing events, and naming them as special, that I\u0026rsquo;ve discounted in my adult life. While I don\u0026rsquo;t relish others trying to make a big deal out of my birthday, that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I should make it less fun for me. I hope to remember this in years to come. Even if I can\u0026rsquo;t manage to do anything special some year, the day can still be special if I choose to make it so.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/quarter-century/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe last several years have left me unenthused about celebrating my birthday to any great extent. I always did something a bit special, like going to get a dinner I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t do every week, but it was never much. I think it was the easiest approach when I was by myself.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, this year just felt different. I turned 25, and wanted to make it feel special. While nothing I did was out of the ordinary—disc golfing, a baseball game, and homemade pizza—telling myself it was special made it better. I brought Erin to the disc golf course I frequent for the first time, and shot a really good round. I upgraded our tickets for the baseball game to be in row 6 off the right field baseline, and managed to catch a ball as a result. And the pizza was excellent alongside the brownies for dessert.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Quarter Century"},{"content":"Last fall I wrote a new text adventure. Now that we finally played it on OHAC 36, I\u0026rsquo;m posting it here.\nIt was fun to write. The pun I had in mind to start things out spiraled into a lot of research about timekeeping devices of the past. Writing the little riddle hints was also a joy. I like adding language aspects like that, because it\u0026rsquo;s an excellent medium for a text adventure. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to keep writing more in this vein.\nWatchman\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventure-watchman/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast fall I wrote a new text adventure. Now that we finally played it on \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/2021/07/07/ohac-36-dot-and-dot-dot/\"\u003eOHAC 36\u003c/a\u003e, I\u0026rsquo;m posting it here.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was fun to write. The pun I had in mind to start things out spiraled into a lot of research about timekeeping devices of the past. Writing the little riddle hints was also a joy. I like adding language aspects like that, because it\u0026rsquo;s an excellent medium for a text adventure. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to keep writing more in this vein.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventure: Watchman"},{"content":"I bought my current desktop computer over three years ago during senior year of college. It is a business-class Lenovo desktop that cost me under $400. I slowly added memory and storage as needed. It started out as an inexpensive way to get consistent performance, give me a place to play games, and was a general workhorse I could rely on.\nA couple years ago, I switched to mainly using it with Linux (in particular Pop!_OS), and have been using it as my main podcast machine since. During the pandemic, it also became my daily work machine as it was better (and more familiar) than anything my company had to offer at the time.\nI was messing around with it the other week and decided to upgrade it to a new OS release, in preparation for an even newer release that was forthcoming. Then I discovered too late that the update broke a vital piece of sosftware I use for podcasting. Nothing I did could fix it, and I had no backup ideas. (This has since changed, but isn\u0026rsquo;t important to the story.)\nSo, I made the tough decision to go back to the old OS version. However, since I\u0026rsquo;m a bad computer user, I made no backups. This meant the decision was to start completely fresh, losing any configuration I had done before.\nThis came at an opportune time. I recently switched to using a MacBook Air as my primary work computer, allowing my fresh start to ignore any work-related programs and accounts. It has now become a dedicated \u0026ldquo;hobby\u0026rdquo; machine, focusing on podcasts, writing, and bits of software I try to make.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s certainly a privilege to have a separate computer to do this. There\u0026rsquo;s also ways to use my \u0026ldquo;work\u0026rdquo; computer in the same way by having multiple users. But I do prefer Linux for my personal projects, and having a very clear separation is helpful for my mind. It\u0026rsquo;s allowing me to turn off work in a much stricter way than I have for well over a year.\nFinally, while not everyone will have this same intuition, something about beginning from scratch makes the computer feel cleaner. Some things are snappier, and old files and random bits I installed for who knows why are gone. They\u0026rsquo;re always available if I need them again, but the cruft is gone and I feel better for it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/an-overdue-fresh-start/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI bought my current desktop computer over three years ago during senior year of college. It is a business-class Lenovo desktop that cost me under $400. I slowly added memory and storage as needed. It started out as an inexpensive way to get consistent performance, give me a place to play games, and was a general workhorse I could rely on.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"An Overdue Fresh Start"},{"content":"I watch my shot glide to the basket on hole 18. It\u0026rsquo;s a short hole to finish the course, but treacherous. The basket is perched in front of a large boulder, and anywhere off a straight line to the basket is a precipitous drop-off.\nMy shot lands a little short, to the left, but on the flattest line down to the basket. It\u0026rsquo;s my typical safe shot. I hop off the tee pad and collect my things. As I begin walking down the path, a little tuft of fuzz catches my eye. It\u0026rsquo;s quite still overall, but the bits of fur at the end wiggle in the light breeze.\nThey\u0026rsquo;re mostly black, with a clear white stripe down the middle.\nAlongside tidal waves and quicksand, skunks were one of those things I was always led to believe would be a huge factor in my life. I\u0026rsquo;d be avoiding skunk spray left and right, hoping to avoid a tomato bath. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until I started disc golfing that I actually saw skunks in the wild.\nDespite my years of training by various TV shows, this encounter gave me pause. The skunk was minding its own business, rooting around in the ground for bugs (or whatever skunks eat.) It was not really close to the path, but I have no idea what radius a skunk is prepared to be spooked in.\nI stopped in my tracks, and took a step back. I stood there for longer than was warranted, wondering for at least a minute whether it was worth slowly moving my way past this skunk, or back-tracking to the previous hole and going down to another path to get it a wide berth. (In retrospect, I\u0026rsquo;m lucky this course had such an alternative route.)\nEventually, I did go back to hole 17 and make my way around. One benefit of this choice, besides the obvious one, is that I found someone\u0026rsquo;s disc that I was able to return to them. Luckily there\u0026rsquo;s nothing else to this story, but it felt notable. This course is in a nature preserve, so I frequently see deer, turkey, and large hares. None of these concern themselves with me. A skunk stands out as the only animal that could give me a rough time if it had a mind to.\nI won\u0026rsquo;t be so hesitant the next time I\u0026rsquo;m facing a situation that would make my fiancee extremely upset with my decision.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-brief-encounter/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI watch my shot glide to the basket on hole 18. It\u0026rsquo;s a short hole to finish the course, but treacherous. The basket is perched in front of a large boulder, and anywhere off a straight line to the basket is a precipitous drop-off.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy shot lands a little short, to the left, but on the flattest line down to the basket. It\u0026rsquo;s my typical safe shot. I hop off the tee pad and collect my things. As I begin walking down the path, a little tuft of fuzz catches my eye. It\u0026rsquo;s quite still overall, but the bits of fur at the end wiggle in the light breeze.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey\u0026rsquo;re mostly black, with a clear white stripe down the middle.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Brief Encounter"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve started tutoring through an organization called Step Up Tutoring. They run online-only free tutoring for students in grades 3 through 6 in the LA school district, one of the largets in the country. They haven\u0026rsquo;t been around long, but have already developed a great relationship with the district and a pretty robust network of tutors (mainly in California) to work with the students.\nAs I\u0026rsquo;ve been transitioning away from the broader curriculum, and really educational, aspects of my company, it\u0026rsquo;s important to me to find opportunities like this to stay connected with my passion for education. And it\u0026rsquo;s really been a treat so far.\nWorking within an organization provides both accountability and support. I have an obligation both to my student and my organization to develop a strong relationship, but the organization also provides scaffolding. They set up communication channels with the student and parents, as well as creates boundaries and expectations about how frequently sessions should occur and how long they should be. This reduces the overhead on my part, and really makes the time spent volunteering focused almost exclusively on the student, which is better for both the student and me.\nEven beyond those organizational aspects, it\u0026rsquo;s been a long time since I\u0026rsquo;ve worked with a kid in this capacity. I\u0026rsquo;d nearly forgotten that it\u0026rsquo;s just fun and rewarding. My particular student is easy-going, willing to go along with me on whatever activity I have planned for the session. I have the flexibility to show off my interests while exploring his, and model what it\u0026rsquo;s like to be curious about the world. He\u0026rsquo;s pretty young, so setting a good example of what positive educational experiences can be is important. That makes it even more exciting that we get to develop our understanding of each other over the summer, then once the school year starts working on less exciting stuff (like homework) will be more palatable.\nI\u0026rsquo;m excited by this chance. While it was a whirlwind getting set up, with everything happening rather quickly (partly due to the organization\u0026rsquo;s efficiency, and also due to a long waitlist of students), now that I\u0026rsquo;m matched and going about my business of planning sessions it\u0026rsquo;s become comfortable.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t want to lose touch on what working with students is like, particularly those who are not the high-flyers my company typically works with. While you can learn a lot from such kids, they\u0026rsquo;re out of the ordinary and I will always have passion for working to instill in students an excitement about learning in general, whatever their interests are, that can often be lost at a young age.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tutoring-again/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve started tutoring through an organization called \u003ca href=\"stepuptutoring.org\"\u003eStep Up Tutoring\u003c/a\u003e. They run online-only free tutoring for students in grades 3 through 6 in the LA school district, one of the largets in the country. They haven\u0026rsquo;t been around long, but have already developed a great relationship with the district and a pretty robust network of tutors (mainly in California) to work with the students.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tutoring Again"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m starting to fall behind on my self-stated goal of reading 24 books each year. I had a wicked start, but have been stuck on a single book for the last couple of months. It\u0026rsquo;s a good book, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t been taking the long chunks of time I need to get through it.\nThis has led me to question my fixation on reading books in particular, and the motivation behind tracking that metric of reading without bothering with anything else. As my book reading has slowed down, I have increased time going through longer investigative articles, particularly those written by The Atavist Magazine. Each is about a half hour read. Similarly, I have collections of essays and short stories I hope to make my way through, but there\u0026rsquo;s a nagging feeling that those aren\u0026rsquo;t books, and hence they don\u0026rsquo;t count towards this ideal \u0026ldquo;total\u0026rdquo; that I have in mind.\nOne reason to focus on books is that they are the ultimate time and attention commitment. I get to traverse a story over several hours of reading, which itself is typically spread over days. I have to keep the details somewhere in my mind, but the only way (for me) to do so is by reading for at least a half hour of mostly consecutive time. I get put on edge, and experience immense buildup and resolution that is almost never found elsewhere. Books have historically had the largest affect on me out of all forms of media, and so I feel compelled to keep track of them.\nHowever, I also began tracking books to hold myself accountable, and encourage myself to read more often. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be between books for any period of time, and I try to read every day. Yet I\u0026rsquo;m trying to balance that desire with wanting to go outside and exercise.\nPerhaps the happy medium is a binge and rest way of reading books. Take a week to really kill a book, then in an \u0026ldquo;off week\u0026rdquo; read lighter, or shorter, material.\nWhile this post has no answers, it\u0026rsquo;s allowed to me to consider the reading habits I\u0026rsquo;ve formed, and examine the mental model I have about what \u0026ldquo;counts\u0026rdquo; as reading. I\u0026rsquo;ll see where this can lead me.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/forms-of-reading/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m starting to fall behind on my self-stated goal of reading 24 books each year. I had a wicked start, but have been stuck on a single book for the last couple of months. It\u0026rsquo;s a good book, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t been taking the long chunks of time I need to get through it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Forms of Reading"},{"content":"My friend Brandon wrote a short play, Cameo, for performance over Zoom. It was part of an event put on by Invisible Disco Productions, and was the final of four plays put on, each about ten minutes long.\nThe experience of watching a play on Zoom is pretty variable. For each actor, there is an extra link in the chain that can go awry. Assuming your own internet connection is very reliable (ours happened to not be for a period of time), you need the connection and technology of every actor to be spot-on as well.\nLuckily, these short plays were well-designed for the medium. Each only had two characters, and each play was nothing but a dialogue allowing a small story to play out. A few technical glitches happened, but nothing extreme in my opinion.\nBrandon\u0026rsquo;s play was about an enthusiastic middle school girl, who saved up money to purchase time on Cameo from her favorite Disney Channel star named Shannon. Shannon is a washed-up actor who, after leading in a teen paranormal romance, is seen to have never received worked afterward, instead living in the shadow of his co-stars who went on to greater careers. As the Q\u0026amp;A of the interaction progresses, we get a nice character arc out of Shannon. Initially reading off index cards and aloof with his fan, we get an insight into the frustration of peaking early and not being taken seriously. This leads to a blow-up, and the girl momentarily leaves the call. With a mix of guilt for his actions, and a growing appreciation for a sincere fan, he gets her back on and offers an additional session.\nIt was a lovely story, and while I could see it working well as a text (some plays work well that way, many don\u0026rsquo;t), the actors did bring a lot to the table once my internet connection came back enough to get more than a frame every few seconds. While the actor playing the girl did have her mic cut out on several high-pitched excited monologues, it worked because the \u0026ldquo;setting\u0026rdquo; was essentially a Zoom call, so I wasn\u0026rsquo;t even sure it was an accident. Also, this actor did such a good job playing a middle school girl, I was happy to endure the screeching. It was a little over the top.\nThis was an interesting experience. I would definitely watch an event like this again, but would make sure I\u0026rsquo;m set up ahead of time on my large TV with a solid internet connection. This was a little last minute, and we got stuck on a spotty WiFi connection. It\u0026rsquo;s fun to see people exploring new forms of entertainment, and putting spin on something we\u0026rsquo;re familiar with.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/video-theater/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy friend Brandon wrote a short play, \u003cem\u003eCameo\u003c/em\u003e, for performance over Zoom. It was part of an event put on by \u003ca href=\"https://www.invisiblediscoproductions.com/all-work-no-play-0\"\u003eInvisible Disco Productions\u003c/a\u003e, and was the final of four plays put on, each about ten minutes long.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Video Theater"},{"content":"Every student that was previously instructed in-person by my company has been on Zoom for over a year. While we\u0026rsquo;re making plans to transition our learning centers back to in-person come this Fall, we have also spun off a permanently-virtual version of these courses. Instead of letting this year be a fluke when considering curriculum and instruction, there has been significant time devoted to improving the experience of student learning in this online face-to-face environment. Here are some reflections on what I\u0026rsquo;ve learned over that time, both in teaching last year and helping adapt our curriculum.\nUse Platform Tools\nIt\u0026rsquo;s important to take advantage of the tools provided. My company uses Zoom, so we\u0026rsquo;ve tried to keep the curriculum (and teachers) up to date on using the chat effectively, encouraging reaction buttons as a mode of interaction, and an intentional use of the mute button to improve the classroom experience. The chat has been particularly useful as a way to draw out students who don\u0026rsquo;t often speak up, as well as a great tool for games where private answers are essential1\nOf course, screen sharing and whiteboard and screen annotation are vital to online school success. There are activities we\u0026rsquo;ve created that rely on Zoom\u0026rsquo;s screen annotation being \u0026ldquo;dumb\u0026rdquo;, and staying in place no matter what happens on the computer. You can have templates in a slideshow, allowing labels drawn with the annotation tool to persist across multiple slides.\nBreakout rooms are a tool we\u0026rsquo;re still figuring out how to manage. The delay in moving between rooms can make them rough for younger kids who need more immediate attention. At all ages, it can be a problem for a teacher to trust students who have no supervision for the majority of a breakout room activity. That said, our instructors and students are getting used to them, and we\u0026rsquo;re beginning to write them back in to our curriculum.\nLearning about, and embracing, the tools we had available was the main reason our switch to virtual instruction was successful. However, there are ways we\u0026rsquo;re still working on making it thrive.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Replicate Classroom Experiences\nA virtual classroom is not a regular classroom made online, and it shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be. It\u0026rsquo;s a unique set of tools and experiences that require separate planning2 and curriculum. I think the biggest failure of the last year is trying to shoehorn in-person activities and experiences into an online medium.\nThere are some activities that run legitimately better online. We should take the time to fine those and hone them, instead of taking a great in-person experience and force it online without consider the tools available. There are also activities that run just about equally online and in-person. We can breathe a sigh of relief whenever we find one.\nOur company is not guilt-free here. Due to time constraints and other factors, there are definitely closing activities in our lessons that are mediocre. However, we\u0026rsquo;ve been taking time to address those. We continually revisit lessons based on instructor feedback, and I\u0026rsquo;m personally thankful for the instructors who, on a limb, try something we had never considered and share the results. They are thinking within the space and the tools they have, and creatively solve hiccups we accidentally provide them.\nWhile our instructors continue to adapt lessons on the fly (they did it in-person too), we also had a concerted effort at the beginning of our transition last year to learn more.\nExperiment\nI ran dozens of experiments with our curriculum team and our learning center directors. If the curriculum team had a hunch about a new online activity, they\u0026rsquo;d write them into a separate set of slides and send them along to a willing participant to try it with their class. For several weeks, we threw ideas at the wall and learned a lot.\nSome of these confirmed our expectations. For example, a very popular game called Pot of Gold is simple to implement, but we wanted to confirm it worked online. Doing so allowed us to discover a few rule tweaks and additional ways of increasing student participation.\nOthers were welcome surprises, such as a complicated contest format that required a proof-of-concept. While it could be done in-person, doing it online was a unique experience that required a lot of student focus in a contest-oriented class, leading to really great results.\nOf course, a few were abject failures. The most notable was our attempt to have a collaborative whiteboard for all students, where all objects were malleable. These online tools are great if you\u0026rsquo;re working a team of, well, adults with a common goal. A group of 12-year-old boys was not the target audience, as this experiment showed. Suffice it to say that it got shot down almost immediately.\nExperimentation is important, though. There are many theories about curriculum, and a certain intuition you gain from writing it over time. But nothing compares to seeing how it works in a classroom, and the overall student and teacher response. An activity could be great when implemented correctly, but be devilishly tricky to actually implement. These are important aspects to check. Be open to change, and don\u0026rsquo;t get precious about a lesson. Eventually it will fall out of favor and need adjustment.\nGroup and Individual Interactions\nA huge concern is fostering socialization and familarity within a class. While our company focuses largely on extracurricular classes, so we have less impact compared to standard schools, having a healthy class dynamic is important for making the course fun, and improves how a student engages with the material.\nDeveloping good social expectations for before and after class in an online environment is tough. It\u0026rsquo;s much easier to show up 30 seconds before class when you\u0026rsquo;re online; also, banter is made difficult when students can\u0026rsquo;t naturally group themselves in sections of the room. One person can talk, and kids are not good at handling that.\nAs mentioned before, in-class collaboration isn\u0026rsquo;t a solved problem either. Efforts like breakout rooms certainly help with older students who are already somewhat active in class (and aren\u0026rsquo;t as liable to goof off), but younger students have a tough time in a group by themselves, and a teacher can\u0026rsquo;t overhear conversations or gauge which groups are in the most need without experiencing 15-30 second delays moving between rooms.\nFinally, individualized attention and assessment is very tough. While some students (like my own) take to the chat very well, it both misses a certain personable interaction that a real conversation has, and doesn\u0026rsquo;t work well for students on certain devices or of certain ages. You can\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;walk over\u0026rdquo; to a student virtually without leaving the entire class behind as you head to a breakout room. These issues can make for either a chaotic, or very bland, environment. A teacher very focused on student interaction can lose control of the tools to make it happen. A teacher worried about the technology can fall into a bad habit of making the class look like a lecture from over 20 years ago, with a dry instructor lecturing to a class, and only a few students bother to pay attention and answer questions the teacher asks for the sake of including a few kids in the action.\nThere are many issues with online instruction, both educationally and socially. But it\u0026rsquo;s here to stay, and it\u0026rsquo;s incumbent on those implementing it to optimize the curriculum for it.\nBy default, we recommend instructors set the Zoom chat to \u0026ldquo;Host only\u0026rdquo;, so student messages won\u0026rsquo;t distract other students. This is how our text-only online classroom we\u0026rsquo;ve used for years works as well.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHence why teachers are upset by \u0026ldquo;hybrid\u0026rdquo; instruction. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t make sense from a curriculum and instruction standpoint.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/virtual-classrooms/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEvery student that was previously instructed in-person by my company has been on Zoom for over a year. While we\u0026rsquo;re making plans to transition our learning centers back to in-person come this Fall, we have also spun off a permanently-virtual version of these courses. Instead of letting this year be a fluke when considering curriculum and instruction, there has been significant time devoted to improving the experience of student learning in this online face-to-face environment. Here are some reflections on what I\u0026rsquo;ve learned over that time, both in teaching last year and helping adapt our curriculum.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Virtual Classrooms"},{"content":"We have had several sets of federal education standards, the most recent being Common Core, but the focus has been on what, not how. These standards outline a broad set of topics and skills students should accumulate, but very little guidance on how to go about it.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a good thing there is no centralized government curriculum that everyone works from. That would make it impossible for the company I work for to have the freedom to build out new ideas and ways of working with mathematics. However, just like we regulate food and beverages (mostly) to try and weed out things that are at best a placebo, it follows that how curriculum is implemented should have some level of regulation as well. Parents want to know their students are being given a fair chance, and leaving everything to the luck of the draw on which teacher you get is not enjoyable.\nEnter the standard of evidence-based education. Curriculum implementations (sometimes called initiatives) are evidence-based when there is a scientific study showing a significant improvement in students under the initiative. There are varying standards these studies can achieve, detailed here, as well as a hidden tier where there is no published study but the initiative is working towards it and has a logical basis in an evidence-based initiative. In other words, an initiative based on some evidence-based initiative, perhaps as part of university research, could be considered evdience-based. However such initiatives are more limited in when they can be funded.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s an open question of how effective these changes will be. Perusing one of the official sites detailing initiatives that clearly align with the evidence-based criteria, it\u0026rsquo;s clear there\u0026rsquo;s no timeline within which the scientific study has to be published. Students change, and so we change approaches with them. It\u0026rsquo;s not clear that an approach that showed significant improvement in the late 1990s can have the same impact over twenty years later.\nSimilarly, there\u0026rsquo;s a chicken-and-egg game of bootstrapping a new curriculum without a study, yet needing to get the curriculum in front of students and willing teachers so a study can be run. While this hasn\u0026rsquo;t come up yet, likely due to many states treating evidence-based initiatives as a guideline (and the aforementioned official sites as a resource, not a dictated list), it\u0026rsquo;s possible that just the right person who is convinced of this path could make it very difficult for unestablished groups to give a new type of pedagogy its fair shake.\nI think working towards evidence as a significant tool in choosing curriculum, rather than loose sales pitches or heavy-hitting names of universities involved in the development, is an improvement. Students need options that work for them, and while nothing is a silver bullet, we can continue to improve both the quality of materials and the way we teach them.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/evidence-based-education-part-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe have had several sets of federal education standards, the most recent being Common Core, but the focus has been on \u003cem\u003ewhat\u003c/em\u003e, not \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e. These standards outline a broad set of topics and skills students should accumulate, but very little guidance on how to go about it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Evidence-Based Education Part 1"},{"content":"After a couple weeks in Minnesota, I\u0026rsquo;m back in my San Francisco apartment.\nA key indicator of your living situation is taking a big whiff of the air the moment you walk in the door, because that\u0026rsquo;s what other people smell when they arrive.\nI\u0026rsquo;m happy to report the smell was pleasant and flowery, as well as comfortable and familiar. Erin and I have discussed what we refer to as \u0026ldquo;home\u0026rdquo; these days, and this apartment certainly has a lot going for it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-smell-of-home/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a couple weeks in Minnesota, I\u0026rsquo;m back in my San Francisco apartment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA key indicator of your living situation is taking a big whiff of the air the moment you walk in the door, because that\u0026rsquo;s what other people smell when they arrive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m happy to report the smell was pleasant and flowery, as well as comfortable and familiar. Erin and I have discussed what we refer to as \u0026ldquo;home\u0026rdquo; these days, and this apartment certainly has a lot going for it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Smell of Home"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve wanted to try disc golf for a couple of years. I discovered it through the fantastic YouTube channel JomezPro, and have been into the sport since. However, I never took the time to buy and mess around with discs, or check with my friends for people to play with.\nWhile in Washington, I discovered that a few friends of mine have started playing. That was enough to encourage me to give it a go while back in Minnesota. It\u0026rsquo;s already been a lot of fun, and I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to working on it even more once I\u0026rsquo;m back in California.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/starting-on-disc-golf/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve wanted to try disc golf for a couple of years. I discovered it through the fantastic YouTube channel \u003ca href=\"https://www.jomezpro.com/\"\u003eJomezPro\u003c/a\u003e, and have been into the sport since. However, I never took the time to buy and mess around with discs, or check with my friends for people to play with.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile in Washington, I discovered that a few friends of mine have started playing. That was enough to encourage me to give it a go while back in Minnesota. It\u0026rsquo;s already been a lot of fun, and I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to working on it even more once I\u0026rsquo;m back in California.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Starting on Disc Golf"},{"content":"Now that my fiancée and I are both vaccinated, we were able to fly back to Minnesota for two weeks. I don\u0026rsquo;t anticipate having a lot of time to write blog posts, since the little bit of free time I have outside friends and family will likely be spent editing Comical Start. So I\u0026rsquo;ll leave this short post as a reflection of my excitement and luck that I get to be back home for a little while. I hope others get the same opportunity soon.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/some-family-time/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eNow that my fiancée and I are both vaccinated, we were able to fly back to Minnesota for two weeks. I don\u0026rsquo;t anticipate having a lot of time to write blog posts, since the little bit of free time I have outside friends and family will likely be spent editing Comical Start. So I\u0026rsquo;ll leave this short post as a reflection of my excitement and luck that I get to be back home for a little while. I hope others get the same opportunity soon.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some Family Time"},{"content":"This past week I was lucky to head out to Washington state with some friends. We had all gotten vaccinated (and had mainly been working from home), so it was a nice opportunity to just spend time together and go exploring.\nWe went to various beaches, went on a whale-watching excursion, checked out the Hoh Rain Forest, and got up early to see a meteor shower (my first ever).\nMost importantly, I discovered my phone could take a timelapse. So, I made this nifty video.\nhttps://youtu.be/UTmAwu3YLzo\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-week-of-washington/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis past week I was lucky to head out to Washington state with some friends. We had all gotten vaccinated (and had mainly been working from home), so it was a nice opportunity to just spend time together and go exploring.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe went to various beaches, went on a whale-watching excursion, checked out the Hoh Rain Forest, and got up early to see a meteor shower (my first ever).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost importantly, I discovered my phone could take a timelapse. So, I made this nifty video.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Week of Washington"},{"content":"With a vaccine in my veins and a cautious reopening of Oracle Park in San Francisco, I was able to attend my first baseball game of 2021, and my first MLB game in nearly 2 years. It was an absolute privilege and joy to do something that has always meant so much to me over the years. I\u0026rsquo;m incredibly lucky to live just a short walk from this absolutely fantastic stadium.\nThe setup at Oracle is actually quite nice. They\u0026rsquo;re open for 22% capacity, but so far they\u0026rsquo;ve only achieved about 10% capacity after opening day. I\u0026rsquo;d say there were no more than 3 people within 10-15 feet of me throughout the game, with everyone else more than 20 feet away. Masks were required unless actively eating, and luckily everyone around me followed those rules. You\u0026rsquo;re required to have a negative COVID test or proof of full vaccination prior to entering a game, so I felt very safe throughout.\nIt gave me the ability to appreciate seeing the stadium for the first time. I love when the concourse doesn\u0026rsquo;t allow a full view of the field, so as you walk through the breezeway, the shade recedes and the incomparable atmosphere of a baseball game hits full force. I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to spending any spare evening (and the occasional afternoon) at games this year.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/first-game-of-2021/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith a vaccine in my veins and a cautious reopening of Oracle Park in San Francisco, I was able to attend my first baseball game of 2021, and my first MLB game in nearly 2 years. It was an absolute privilege and joy to do something that has always meant so much to me over the years. I\u0026rsquo;m incredibly lucky to live just a short walk from this absolutely fantastic stadium.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"First Game of 2021"},{"content":"As part of a new role at work, I\u0026rsquo;ve been researching aspects of funding for education in the United States. A recurring phrase is evidence-based interactions. I\u0026rsquo;m going to explore some of the facets of this idea, from its definitions and origins, to potential ramifications of its increasing usage in education.\nThis post is a placeholder for those future investigations. The educational landscape is of interest to many people, and learning about some of the guiding tenets can help explain a lot of the situations states are finding themselves in. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to be diving in.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/evidence-based-education-part-0/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs part of a new role at work, I\u0026rsquo;ve been researching aspects of funding for education in the United States. A recurring phrase is \u003cem\u003eevidence-based interactions\u003c/em\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;m going to explore some of the facets of this idea, from its definitions and origins, to potential ramifications of its increasing usage in education.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis post is a placeholder for those future investigations. The educational landscape is of interest to many people, and learning about some of the guiding tenets can help explain a lot of the situations states are finding themselves in. I\u0026rsquo;m excited to be diving in.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Evidence-Based Education Part 0"},{"content":"I was messing around with animation this past week. It\u0026rsquo;s always been an interesting process to me, and I\u0026rsquo;ve messed with a few hand-drawn animation apps on the iPad in the past. However, any small skill in drawing left me a long time ago. I also had a particular goal that amounted to animating with a vector image I had built using Inkscape.\nLo and behold, I discovered the concept of vector tweening. It\u0026rsquo;s essentially an interpolative animation process that takes advantage of the mathematical niceties of vector images. Instead of needing to draw every individual frame, you can \u0026ldquo;skip\u0026rdquo; frames. You tell your animation software that at frame 6 your vector assets should look this way, and at frame 12 they should look that way. A little voodoo occurs (which I assume could be tweaked depending on the software), and you get all the frames between 6 and 12 automatically generated.\nThis was an amazing find. After a bit of searching, I installed Synfig. A few minutes later, I found the ability to save an Inkscape project as a Synfig animation project. In other words, the image I\u0026rsquo;d created became vector assets that could be animated using this new tool. Within twenty minutes I learned enough basics to make my little animation, and the rest was tediously adjusting points.1\nControl points on a selected object in Synfig.\nThis was a really interesting process. I love getting new tiny tools under my belt, and this is just another I might be able to bank on in the future. Regardless, I had a good time and learned something new about the world.\nFootnotes\nYou can see the number of control points that get created when you convert text to a vector image in Inkscape. Luckily, I didn\u0026rsquo;t have to touch those, but moving an object with that many control points does make for a bit of a slow process.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/vector-tweening/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was messing around with animation this past week. It\u0026rsquo;s always been an interesting process to me, and I\u0026rsquo;ve messed with a few hand-drawn animation apps on the iPad in the past. However, any small skill in drawing left me a long time ago. I also had a particular goal that amounted to animating with a vector image I had built using Inkscape.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLo and behold, I discovered the concept of \u003cem\u003evector\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003etweening\u003c/em\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s essentially an interpolative animation process that takes advantage of the mathematical niceties of vector images. Instead of needing to draw every individual frame, you can \u0026ldquo;skip\u0026rdquo; frames. You tell your animation software that at frame 6 your vector assets should look this way, and at frame 12 they should look that way. A little voodoo occurs (which I assume could be tweaked depending on the software), and you get all the frames between 6 and 12 automatically generated.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Vector Tweening"},{"content":"There are some excellent tools for organizing all aspects of an entity, whether it\u0026rsquo;s a single person, a hobby project, or an entire business. Services like Notion have come into vogue as trendy startups available to the masses, with a promise for greater expansion. I got into the world of Notion last year when I accepted a new role at work, which required greater coordination of people and projects. While my resulting setup was vital to my success, it\u0026rsquo;s put me in a bummer of a position nearly a year later.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the issue: Within a company, other people have a tendency to be interested in your work, and much of what happens needs to be visible and accessible to everyone.\nThis flies in the face of my personal project management setup with Notion. While you can set pages as public (using a \u0026ldquo;security through long-string obscurity\u0026rdquo; approach), letting others know about this entirely separate tool is problematic.\nRecently, I\u0026rsquo;ve started offloading my Notion workspace into a series of markdown files in Obsidian. This is less accessible than Notion.\nBecause I\u0026rsquo;ve been pretty effective in my current position, this private setup has flown under the company radar thus far. Yet there are always two nagging issues in the back of my mind: Those who could actually benefit from the information I compile don\u0026rsquo;t have easy access to it, and nothing that I\u0026rsquo;m doing in these programs is scalable or sustainable if I\u0026rsquo;m not the one doing the work. In short, there is no process for the team.\nI\u0026rsquo;m moving to a new position over the next few months to accommodate my newly remote status. Much to my dismay, this led to the natural result of shutting down these private operations for anything I couldn\u0026rsquo;t consider private. While the setup is still useful, there is now an extra step.\nWhat I\u0026rsquo;ve settled on is maintaining my way of tracking projects and meetings in my personal way, which gives me the freedom to process information in a way that makes sense. Then, I sanitize and summarize what I write and put it inside our company\u0026rsquo;s Google Drive structure so it is available to everyone interested.\nMy hope is that as the company grows, we start implementing better solutions than a tower of Google Docs to manage all of our processes. I\u0026rsquo;m a fan of Wikis (particularly now that I\u0026rsquo;ve gone all-in on Obsidian). While most of the company uses Phabricator to track tasks and projects in a kan-ban system, there is a push by others to adopt ClickUp which is more modern, and should hopefully help those a little less eager to learn the rough edges of an open-source, self-hosted tool.\nAs I move into my new role, I\u0026rsquo;ll be fascinated to see how I can contribute systemic organization to the team I\u0026rsquo;m working in. It\u0026rsquo;s a strange problem, because you need more buy-in and work to establish a tool within a team than is required as an individual. Right now, my money is on me diving head-first into the coolest personal tools to make up for my lack of control over having better ways of managing things at work. We all need to compensate somewhere.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/organization-in-organizations/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThere are some excellent tools for organizing all aspects of an \u003cem\u003eentity\u003c/em\u003e, whether it\u0026rsquo;s a single person, a hobby project, or an entire business. Services like \u003ca href=\"http://notion.so\"\u003eNotion\u003c/a\u003e have come into vogue as trendy startups available to the masses, with a promise for greater expansion. I got into the world of Notion last year when I accepted a \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/a-shift-in-focus/\"\u003enew role\u003c/a\u003e at work, which required greater coordination of people and projects. While my resulting setup was vital to my success, it\u0026rsquo;s put me in a bummer of a position nearly a year later.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Organization in Organizations"},{"content":"A couple years ago, I made a concerted effort to get back into reading. I\u0026rsquo;ve started tracking the books I\u0026rsquo;ve read since college, and have a goal of reading at least 24 books each year, or about 2 per month. While I do enjoy buying books, and I have several shelves of books still to read, I\u0026rsquo;ve discovered a few other sources for those who don\u0026rsquo;t want to buy individual books or want potentially more convenient ways of finding new books. Since I do most of my reading on my phone or Kindle, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus on eBook sources.\nLibrary\nIn case you didn\u0026rsquo;t know, your local library probably has eBooks for loan. If you don\u0026rsquo;t have a library card, see if you can get one online, or check if your local branch is open now and try to get one. Then, check if your library system is available on Libby. This is the app interface for the Overdrive service, which is what most American libraries use to distribute their eBooks. You hook up your library card, and you can access their catalog through the Libby app.\nThe app has a built-in reader, so if you like reading on your phone or tablet you\u0026rsquo;re done. However, it also integrates well with Kindle and you can send any borrowed books there. Whenever there\u0026rsquo;s a book I\u0026rsquo;ve decided I want to read, and there\u0026rsquo;s no push to purchase it, I\u0026rsquo;ll check Libby. I\u0026rsquo;ll also open it up to look for something else to read. There\u0026rsquo;s often books being advertised by my local library branch, recent award winners, or new releases. In a pinch, I\u0026rsquo;ve found a few books by choosing a genre, sorting by random, and choosing the first available book with an intriguing concept.\nGive this a shot. It\u0026rsquo;s the economical choice, and also encourages your library to be more involved in a wider range of media and literacy.\nAmazon First Reads\nThis program was a new discovery for me this year. (It may actually be new, I\u0026rsquo;m not sure.) If you\u0026rsquo;re an Amazon Prime member, head over to the First Reads page on Amazon. Each month you can select one option out of 7 or 8 books soon to be released. You get that book for free to read on your Kindle, no strings attached. It\u0026rsquo;s now a part of your library.\nEven if you\u0026rsquo;re not a Prime member, you can still choose a book for $1.99, and the others are offered at around five or ten dollars.\nWhile there\u0026rsquo;s certainly some marketing and advertisement behind getting a book onto this list, it\u0026rsquo;s a great way to get your hand forced into trying out something if you\u0026rsquo;re on the prowl for a new book each month. I\u0026rsquo;ve found it to be a great way to read a contemporary book each month this year, leaving room for any other book that\u0026rsquo;s been stuck on my reading list. While they may not always be the next hit, I\u0026rsquo;ve found each one I chose to range from pretty fine to quite fantastic.\nAnother upshot: You also get reduced prices on print editions in some months if that\u0026rsquo;s your thing.\nAssuming you\u0026rsquo;re a Prime subscriber, this is a great perk in addition to all the other random benefits you get with your Prime membership. However, perhaps you\u0026rsquo;re patient and a voracious reader unsatisfied by your library (or you don\u0026rsquo;t live in the US, in which case First Reads, and probably Libby, just aren\u0026rsquo;t available.) There\u0026rsquo;s still one more option if you don\u0026rsquo;t hate Kindles.\nKindle Unlimited\nThis is the streaming service of books. You pay ten dollars each month (at least in the US), and you get access to a selection of books. There is some limit on how many you can have \u0026ldquo;checked out\u0026rdquo; at once, but it\u0026rsquo;s nothing draconian. You don\u0026rsquo;t own the books, they don\u0026rsquo;t stay in your library, so this is for someone who just wants books to read in a convenient way. As you may expect, there are a few random perks thrown in. Audiobook narration is included in many of the books, and apparently there\u0026rsquo;s a magazine side as well.\nAnother benefit is that books go into Kindle Unlimited one month after they are offered in the First Reads program. It\u0026rsquo;s unclear how long they may stay, but that could be an interesting perk for anyone who particularly enjoys modern fiction.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re looking for a streamlined option to throw another bit of money at each month and get a decent selection of books1, and you read enough to justify the cost, then go for it.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get Kindle Unlimited if you often have a specific book you want to read, expecting it to be available. You\u0026rsquo;ll likely be disappointed. It\u0026rsquo;s great for spelunking around to find a new book that you\u0026rsquo;ve basically already paid for. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tips-for-getting-books/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA couple years ago, I made a concerted effort to get back into reading. I\u0026rsquo;ve started tracking the books I\u0026rsquo;ve read since college, and have a goal of reading at least 24 books each year, or about 2 per month. While I do enjoy buying books, and I have several shelves of books still to read, I\u0026rsquo;ve discovered a few other sources for those who don\u0026rsquo;t want to buy individual books or want potentially more convenient ways of finding new books. Since I do most of my reading on my phone or Kindle, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus on eBook sources.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tips for Getting eBooks"},{"content":"Admittedly, this post is ripping off a conversation that happened on a work Slack channel the other week. Here\u0026rsquo;s the general idea: If you count in a particular way, there are 12 options for how to put on your underwear, and 12 (ordered) options for putting on socks and shoes. Since there are the same number of options, we can create a bijection between the two scenarios. In other words, each choice of underwear arrangement will correspond to exactly one choice for socks and shoes.\nThe question is what bijection is \u0026ldquo;natural\u0026rdquo;, for whatever definition of natural you choose to have in this strange scenario. Let\u0026rsquo;s explore it a bit.\nCounting Underwear\nLet\u0026rsquo;s get this one out of the way. You\u0026rsquo;ll have to accept the liberties taken about how underwear works. The person who came up with this is a rather fun individual, and this is what went through their head.\nFirst, consider whether your underwear will be worn inside-out. That is 2 options. For each of those options, you have 3 options for where your waist goes (assuming, of course, your waist can fit through the left or right holes.) That gives us $2\\times 3 = 6$ options so far. Finally, once you have your waist hole chosen, there are two ways to place your legs. You can imagine this as wearing your underwear \u0026ldquo;forwards\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;backwards\u0026rdquo;. So, we\u0026rsquo;re up to $6\\times 2 = 12$ options, as promised.\nCounting Socks and Shoes\nThis is clearer, and only depends on order. The goal is to get your socks on your feet, and your shoes on top of your socks. We\u0026rsquo;re also assuming your socks are not matched to a foot. In other words, we can say you have a blue sock and a green sock, and they could go on either foot.\nNo matter what, you must start by putting on a sock. So, choose one of your 2 feet, and a color for that sock. That immediately gets us to $2\\times 2 = 4$ choices. Then, you can either choose to put a shoe on, or another sock.\nIf you put a shoe on, it\u0026rsquo;s on the foot with the sock. So, there\u0026rsquo;s only one way forward from here. So, there are 4 total options where we put on a sock, then a shoe.\nIf instead you chose to put on your other sock, you have 2 options for the order you put your shoes on. This is true for each of the 4 choices of initial foot and sock color, so there are $4\\times 2 = 8$ options when we put on two socks, then our shoes.\nThis gives a total of $4+8 = 12$ options overall.\nBijections\nAs stated at the beginning, if you have two groups with the same number of items, there is always a way to map each item from the first group to a single other item in the other group, without missing any of the items. In fact, this is how mathematicians define when two sets are the same size: if such a map exists. Such a map is called a bijection.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re interested in a bijection that feels \u0026ldquo;natural\u0026rdquo;. What we really mean is a bijection that reflects the way we counted on group onto the other group.\nNotice how we counted each group differently. For underwear, we used a multiplication argument where we made a series of choices, each one branching off from the next. For socks and shoes, we added at some point, because we hit a roadblock: Do we put on a sock second, or a shoe? This caused us to separately count up each case, and add them together.\nA good bijection can help us see the socks and shoes in a different light, where we could have counted multiplicatively.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s explore the similarities between the situations. When counting our underwear options, notice that at two points we had 2 choices: (inside, outside), and (forwards, backwards). Finally, we had a spot with 3 choices, (waist hole, left hole, right hole), if you will. We\u0026rsquo;ll abbreviate this as $\\{I,O\\},\\ \\{ F, B\\},\\ \\{W, L, R\\}.$ So, a single option of underwear is represented as a group of three letters, one from each set, such as $O,B,L$.\nWhen counting our socks and shoes, we also have two points with 2 choices! We can pick the left foot or right foot to start, and we can pick where blue and green go. I\u0026rsquo;ll abbreviate this as $\\{\\ell, r\\},\\ \\{b, g\\}.$ This implies there should be a way to view the situation where we have exactly 3 choices left after choosing initial sock color and placement.\nIf we look back at how we counted, this is indeed the case. We count putting a shoe over the initial sock as one option. If we don\u0026rsquo;t do that, we must have put on the other sock. So, the remaining two options are which shoe we put on first. In all, our group of three options to finish with are (1) Put on a shoe immediately, (2) Put on the left shoe after both socks are on, or (3) Put on the right shoe after both socks are on. I\u0026rsquo;ll abbreviate these three options as $\\{s, L_s, R_s\\}.$\nNow we can see one of the several natural bijections. We can say that choosing left sock or right sock corresponds to choosing inside or outside; choosing blue or red corresponds to choosing backwards or forwards; and choosing waist, left, or right holes correspond to immediate shoe, sock then left shoe, or sock then right shoe. We could loosely show this graphically like this:\n$${I, O} \\to {\\ell, r}$$\n$${ F, B} \\to {b, g}$$\n$${W, L, R} \\to {s, L_s, R_s}$$\nOf course this isn\u0026rsquo;t perfect. There is only one humanly natural way that the underwear is configured, while there are several ways to \u0026ldquo;naturally\u0026rdquo; put your two socks on, then two shoes on. However, there is a nice symmetry here, and it\u0026rsquo;s a good toy example to begin exploring why bijections are both fascinating and useful.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/socks-and-underwear/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAdmittedly, this post is ripping off a conversation that happened on a work Slack channel the other week. Here\u0026rsquo;s the general idea: If you count in a particular way, there are 12 options for how to put on your underwear, and 12 (ordered) options for putting on socks and shoes. Since there are the same number of options, we can create a bijection between the two scenarios. In other words, each choice of underwear arrangement will correspond to exactly one choice for socks and shoes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe question is what bijection is \u0026ldquo;natural\u0026rdquo;, for whatever definition of natural you choose to have in this strange scenario. Let\u0026rsquo;s explore it a bit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Socks and Underwear"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been revisiting A Complete Beginner\u0026rsquo;s Guide to Django, which goes through the Django library, a Python tool for developing websites. I had tried it a year or two ago, but it just didn\u0026rsquo;t click. This time around I\u0026rsquo;ve found greater success precisely because many of the code examples are outdated and will not run without modification. While I may have more to say about using Django some other time, this experience has instead made me consider the efficacy of teaching using poor or broken examples.\nI was moving through the tutorial pretty smoothly when I suddenly hit a snag during a test case. The goal of this tutorial is to build a basic \u0026ldquo;message board\u0026rdquo; site, where someone can create an account, form new boards, create topics in said boards, then post on the topics.\nOne of the first things we do is create \u0026ldquo;models\u0026rdquo;, which are classes describing each of those components. For example, consider the Topic class, which should have properties of subject, last_updated, board (which is the board that the topic belongs to), and starter (which is the user who created the topic.)\nThe setup for this code provided in the tutorial looked as follows:\nclass Topic(models.Model): subject = models.CharField(max_length=255) last_updated = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True) board = models.ForeignKey(Board, related_name=\u0026#39;topics\u0026#39;) starter = models.ForeignKey(User, related_name=\u0026#39;topics\u0026#39;) However, when I try to test the setup, I would get an error similar to the following:\nTypeError: __init__() missing 1 required positional argument: 'on_delete'\nAfter looking into it, I learned that the version of Django (1.x) that this tutorial was based on made certain assumptions about what would happen of a parent item, such as a board, got deleted. What should happen to the topic in the database? Should it also be deleted? However, newer versions (I\u0026rsquo;m using 3.x) make no assumptions, and provide several choices for how to handle the deletion. In turns that \u0026ldquo;cascade\u0026rdquo; deletion, where if a parent gets deleted then all of the items it keeps track of get deleted, is the correct choice. So, updating the code to add the on_delete argument to both board and starter gets the job done:\nclass Topic(models.Model): subject = models.CharField(max_length=255) last_updated = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True) board = models.ForeignKey(Board, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name=\u0026#39;topics\u0026#39;) starter = models.ForeignKey(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name=\u0026#39;topics\u0026#39;) Several more of these issues have cropped up. Import statements have changed, and instead of using a function url() to define new page links, which requires the use of regex, you can use a simpler path() function. Compare these two equivalent items:\n## url() function to create a URL like website.com/board/1/ to link to board with index 1 url(r\u0026#39;^boards/(?P\u0026lt;pk\u0026gt;\\d+)/$\u0026#39;, views.board_topics, name=\u0026#39;board_topics\u0026#39;) ## path() function to do the same path(\u0026#39;board/\u0026lt;int:pk\u0026gt;/\u0026#39;, views.board_topics, name=\u0026#39;board_topics\u0026#39;) The list of changes I\u0026rsquo;ve needed to make goes on. But I\u0026rsquo;ve found this more useful than if everything worked out the first time. I enjoy the process of debugging. It gets me involved with the code, invested in its success. It forces me to dive into the documentation earlier than I otherwise would when following a third-party tutorial. I learn more about the inner-workings of the tools I\u0026rsquo;m using, and get a stronger positive feedback loop. I could always copy-paste the final product from the creator\u0026rsquo;s GitHub, but then I\u0026rsquo;ve learned nothing.\nWhile the author of this particular tutorial just hasn\u0026rsquo;t updated it in over 3 years, I think there\u0026rsquo;s a lot of space for new tutorials to take an error-driven approach. Give the reader some concrete information, but warn them you\u0026rsquo;re either given a less-than-optimal approach, an old approach, or just introduced a silly error by forgetting an argument. Then, have them use a combination of documentation and built-in error messages to debug.\nThis may not be appropriate for the brand-new learner, but as someone who has the basics down and is at the point where I\u0026rsquo;m just learning new information, I want even more of this from the tutorial I\u0026rsquo;ve been working through. The interactions between views, urls, and models is fairly complex and still feels like a pretty large black box to me. Being forced to do a little bit more work to explore the capabilities of Django would be excellent.\nThis idea extends beyond learning programming tools. It\u0026rsquo;s very effective to ask math students to find the error in an explanation, or to critique an approach that may be longer than necessary. Peer review is also an invaluable tool for both parties in many subjects. Taking an honest look at someone\u0026rsquo;s work can give you more information on how to improve your own efforts.\nMy final word on this. I made a short post about this idea on reddit, and one comment mentioned how the ultimate version of this is taking an entire tutorial and writing it in another language. I\u0026rsquo;m certainly not there yet, but I think it\u0026rsquo;s a good mindset to have particularly with programming languages, where if you have the patience and perseverance you can do anything that\u0026rsquo;s doable in any other language.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/outdated-tutorials/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been revisiting \u003ca href=\"https://simpleisbetterthancomplex.com/series/beginners-guide/1.11/\"\u003eA Complete Beginner\u0026rsquo;s Guide to Django\u003c/a\u003e, which goes through the Django library, a Python tool for developing websites. I had tried it a year or two ago, but it just didn\u0026rsquo;t click. This time around I\u0026rsquo;ve found greater success precisely because many of the code examples are outdated and will not run without modification. While I may have more to say about using Django some other time, this experience has instead made me consider the efficacy of teaching using poor or broken examples.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Outdated Tutorials"},{"content":"Right around Christmas last year, Erin showed some interest in VR. My guess is it was fueled by talk on Cortex, where CGP Grey has discussed what he considers to be the vital acquisition of an Oculus Quest 2. I was totally on board with getting one, but our Christmas spending had been accounted for. Also, they were out of stock everywhere.\nThe other week it popped back into my mind, so on a whim I got one from Best Buy to surprise Erin. It\u0026rsquo;s been a hit. However, it\u0026rsquo;s worth considering both the present and future of VR, and specifically Oculus, now that we have seen the light.\nMy first experience with VR was going to one of those VR-specific arcade setups in a strip mall in Minnesota with a couple of friends. They had Vive systems available. I played an archery game, an escape room, and I think the typical \u0026ldquo;you\u0026rsquo;re in a room with a bunch of stuff to mess with\u0026rdquo; activities. It was fun, but the entire setup made the associated costs clear. You had a big space available, a high-end PC mounted near the ceiling so you could route the wires down to the headset. This was only around 2017 or 2018, and it was clear I would not be getting into the VR arena anytime soon.\nAfter that, I moved to San Diego and heard about the Oculus Go. Despite only having one basic controller, leading to a limited gaming experience, I was still thrilled to have it. Enjoying a roller coaster game, some golf, or even VR \u0026ldquo;around the world\u0026rdquo; experiences, was thrilling. I would come back to it once a month or so, but was always disappointed to find the one controller needing another AAA battery and the headset needing a charge (which took a stupdily long time over the micro USB port.)\nEnter the Oculus Quest 2. Between the aforementioned Cortex and some YouTube videos, I was aware of how much this changed the game. Suddenly VR gaming was accessible: good-enough resolution and refresh rate in a reasonably-priced device that could play the most popular VR games, and even with the potential expansion for it to be used as a dedicated headset for those with computers. It\u0026rsquo;s a no-brainer, and the best VR experience I\u0026rsquo;ve had.\nNot only have I found the Oculus controllers more immediately intuitive than my experience on the Vive, the lack of a cable has two major upsides: you won\u0026rsquo;t get tangled up, and there\u0026rsquo;s an in-built system to temper your playtime. Whether the second aspect being a positive is debatable, I find that I can hardly make it an hour into any game before I\u0026rsquo;m ready for a break.1\nI\u0026rsquo;ve only had the Quest 2 for a couple weeks, but I can tell it has so much more staying power than the Go. There\u0026rsquo;s a wider selection of games, and the visual experience is superior. That leaves the bigger issue: Oculus is owned by Facebook, and Facebook is getting increasingly antsy to point that out.\nThe branding on the box (Oculus by Facebook) is understated, but the push to get you signed up with a Facebook account is not. Facebook has removed some features from Oculus-specific accounts, and has announced that by 2023 you must be using a Facebook account to use an Oculus device. On the surface, this is a simple annoyance to those who don\u0026rsquo;t want to be associated with Facebook. Deeper down, there is the same underlying concern people have with the home devices made by Google and Amazon: other aspects of their business can subsidize the hardware cost, increasing adoption, then use that hardware to further their data-driven advertising businesses.\nEach time I put on the Oculus Quest 2, I\u0026rsquo;m making a conscious decision to support Facebook in some way. I\u0026rsquo;m also potentially compromising myself in a way I don\u0026rsquo;t yet understand. Perhaps no data beyond my purchases and play history are being recorded right now. Maybe they\u0026rsquo;re scanning my surroundings and I\u0026rsquo;m simply living in ignorant bliss until someone unveils bigger issues.2\nThis is an interesting tradeoff these days. Society is becoming more aware of the maxim If you aren\u0026rsquo;t paying, then you are the product. The free services Google provides come at an indirect cost. Yet, it becomes more problematic when there is a hardware medium that someone paid for. We are in a nebulous region where tech companies frequently want to sell both their hardware and software essentially as a service, thus removing any obligation to treat you as if you own anything. If you believe you have the right to modify or block data going in to, or coming out from, those devices, the companies selling them to you wholeheartedly disagree.3\nDespite all these issues arising, the reason it works on people is because the tools (and toys) these companies build are incredibly compelling. They provide new means of productivity or entertainment, and the trail from you back to the company remains veiled. This is perhaps best seen in the smart TV industry, where the hardware margins are so thin that many manufacturers rely on you keeping your TV connected to the internet so they can consistently send off, and sell, usage data.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think there\u0026rsquo;s an easy answer here. Public companies that make hardware are under pressure to diversify, or simply sell off resources they have, namely customer data, to either stay afloat or increase margins. This becomes more muddled as companies who started in software and data insert themselves directly into the hardware business. Perhaps this is a sign of them being emboldened. It might be too late to switch society away from their technological expectations that the likes of Google set with their free services. This post has no answers, but I will continue to consider them. And, in spite of what many of these thoughts may imply about reasonable usage of the Quest, I\u0026rsquo;m planning on taking my chances for now. It may be naive, and my mind may change. But the world of widespread alternate reality is coming and hoo-boy is that going to have even wider implications.\nFootnotes\nThe Quest 2 does last a bit longer than 2 hours depending on what you\u0026rsquo;re playing. While on paper that doesn\u0026rsquo;t sound impressive, I still stand by it being an overall benefit for me. ↩ Admittedly, the \u0026ldquo;This game would like to access x\u0026rdquo; alerts are rather vague. It\u0026rsquo;s unclear why games want to access files, or my microphone. I\u0026rsquo;m sure some games have good reason to, but I\u0026rsquo;m given no guidance as to whether denying those requests will cause issues. It\u0026rsquo;s no surprise Facebook is not quite as good at this as iOS and Android. ↩ Right to repair is at least getting some traction on the hardware side, but the software aspect is pernicious and dangerous. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/take-my-face/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRight around Christmas last year, Erin showed some interest in VR. My guess is it was fueled by talk on \u003ca href=\"https://relay.fm/cortex\"\u003eCortex\u003c/a\u003e, where CGP Grey has discussed what he considers to be the vital acquisition of an Oculus Quest 2. I was totally on board with getting one, but our Christmas spending had been accounted for. Also, they were out of stock everywhere.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe other week it popped back into my mind, so on a whim I got one from Best Buy to surprise Erin. It\u0026rsquo;s been a hit. However, it\u0026rsquo;s worth considering both the present and future of VR, and specifically Oculus, now that we have seen the light.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Take My Face"},{"content":"While last week I wrote in broad strokes about moving in general, this post is being written in a bare bedroom in San Diego on one of my last nights \u0026ldquo;living\u0026rdquo; in this city.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a bittersweet time. While last weekend I was getting fed up with moving, that was directed towards the process, not the place. This weekend, with little to do other than what boils down to administrative aspects of moving, I could do more reflection.\nTonight I drove around my frequently visited locations, as well as my company\u0026rsquo;s office. I then took a long walk around the area, and was feeling very emotional. Slightly choked up. This is my first home outside of Minnesota, where I first tentatively toed the line of adulthood as an intern, then took a firm step into my future a year later. That will always give me a significant connection.\nAt the same time, I\u0026rsquo;m excited to be moving in with my best friend. Having somewhere to share each day with is a wonderful thing, and it brings new opportunities for both my personal and professional lives. Personally, I have someone to hold me accountable, someone to go exploring with, and simply to cook food with. (Cooking for two is much simpler in my experience than cooking for one.) Professionally, it\u0026rsquo;s made me think about what I want from work, rather than what\u0026rsquo;s been handed to me. I can leverage the world\u0026rsquo;s situation, as well as my remote status, to discover new roles that may fit me as our company grows beyond what it had intended just a year ago.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll always love San Diego, and I am certainly planning on being as frequent a visitor as I can. The entire city feels like a second home. Balboa Park in all its glory is a second Disneyland (albeit with different attractions and a cost that\u0026rsquo;s easier to stomach.) I rediscovered a love for hiking while acquiring an appreciation for the ocean.\nPerhaps my greatest disappointment is that I only made it to two Padres games, and am leaving right as they\u0026rsquo;re about to become an exciting team again. At the same time, I\u0026rsquo;m only a few blocks from Oracle Park in San Francisco, so that\u0026rsquo;s something.\nMoving is hard, but journeys can be exciting. I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to continuing this one.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/good-night-san-diego/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile last week I wrote in broad strokes about moving in general, this post is being written in a bare bedroom in San Diego on one of my last nights \u0026ldquo;living\u0026rdquo; in this city.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Good Night, San Diego"},{"content":"Last weekend I helped my fiancee move into our new apartment in San Francisco. This most recent weekend, I drove down to San Diego to get the majority of my things.1\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been a hectic time, but it\u0026rsquo;s exciting to be moving in together, buying furniture and arranging our lives. I spent the last two years in a pretty minimalist state, with all forms of work and pleasure happening at my desk setup. I now have a living room with a couch, and will render my desk for its intended purposes: work.2\nMoving can be quite a hassle, and since this move has been most associated with the acquisition of new items, I\u0026rsquo;m excited to have a steady place to be for several years before we have to do it again. Hopefully.\nFinishing up this post on Sunday is actually a bit rough. I woke up around 1 AM this morning and just couldn\u0026rsquo;t get back to sleep, so at 2 AM I hopped in my car and headed back to San Francisco. ↩ Well, work in the sense that certain hobbies (podcasting and writing) can also be considered activities that require a \u0026ldquo;work\u0026rdquo; setup. But also real work that I get paid for. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/moving-north/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast weekend I helped my fiancee move into our new apartment in San Francisco. This most recent weekend, I drove down to San Diego to get the majority of my things.\u003ca href=\"#fn1\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s been a hectic time, but it\u0026rsquo;s exciting to be moving in together, buying furniture and arranging our lives. I spent the last two years in a pretty minimalist state, with all forms of work and pleasure happening at my desk setup. I now have a living room with a couch, and will render my desk for its intended purposes: work.\u003ca href=\"#fn2\"\u003e2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Moving North"},{"content":"Last October I asked my then-girlfriend, Erin, to marry me. As the cliche goes, I was lucky enough, and she was crazy enough, that she said \u0026ldquo;yes\u0026rdquo;. Soon thereafter the wedding planning began, and it\u0026rsquo;s been an on-and-off process as other events in our lives ebb and flow.\nWe are aiming to have our wedding in fall of 2022, so we\u0026rsquo;re giving ourselves a lot of wiggle room. Even then, it was clear we needed to get organized. There are a lot of moving parts, which only increased when we decided to have the wedding at her parent\u0026rsquo;s farm. Suddenly there were no preferred vendors, and everything was on us.\nThis part 1 is to briefly discuss some of the ways we\u0026rsquo;ve gotten our act together. I\u0026rsquo;m sure other posts, focusing on other elements, will follow.\nErin began by going on The Knot to look up vendors and get tips. They have a whole setup through their website and app which we tried. I made sure to quickly make us a joint email account to funnel everything to, so we could both respond easily and wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have to rely on others remembering to Reply All or CC both of us.\nSince I\u0026rsquo;d been using Notion as my off-site brain for work since about June, I was eager to make use of it again. All the tools provided by The Knot were a little too prescribed, and difficult to collaborate with. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t flexible. What I think sold Erin1 on the notion of Notion was when we created a guest list. We could arbitrarily add properties2 then sort or filter by those properties.\nWe then built out a kan-ban board to track vendors and items required to get things working at the farm. Again, the key here was flexibility. We could guess at a few properties they\u0026rsquo;d have in common (mainly cost), but could always add more, while also keeping notes in each vendor entry. Though we still relied on our emails as a repository of information and haven\u0026rsquo;t fully embraced Notion, it\u0026rsquo;s let us keep our heads wrapped around the tasks we need to get done.\nOutside of technology, we realized around the new year that having some sort of coordinator would be ideal. Erin\u0026rsquo;s parents had suggested it from the start; most venues have a manager that helps coordinate the space, has typically worked with whatever caterer or DJ that gets hired, and lets everything run smoothly. At a private residence that doesn\u0026rsquo;t exist.\nSo, we had a short hunt for a day-of coordinator. We really lucked out and found someone within a few days who we immediately clicked with. She had a partial planning package (for a nominal increase in price), which would allow us to have an extra person outside our family to bounce ideas off. She could help take some of the weight, suggest vendors, and have a working relationship with us before the day actually occurred.\nNow, my older sister got married last year and they planned it on their own (with a little boost from my younger sister). Erin and I feel confident we could do the same were we at a standard venue. But having someone to talk to for over a year leading up to it, who can just handle all the people, problems, (and personalities) that will inevitably pop up is a huge relief.\nA few months in, everything is looking great. Our coordinator is impressed with how organized we\u0026rsquo;ve been, and has helped develop a timeline of tasks to keep us on pace. This was also useful as we have no idea, other than a best guess, about when to be looking for certain vendors. It\u0026rsquo;s an exciting process, one that I hope I will learn a lot from and can help create and solidify new aspects of my relationship with my future wife.\nFootnotes\nWhat got my foot in the door was me sitting down and saying \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ll make everything to start, you just tell me what you want.\u0026rdquo; ↩ The key properties were how each guest was related (side of the family, or a friend); how many guests would come in an entry, as an expected number and a maximum number; and later on we could start adding things like table numbers as we explore seating charts. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/wedding-planning-part-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast October I asked my then-girlfriend, Erin, to marry me. As the cliche goes, I was lucky enough, and she was crazy enough, that she said \u0026ldquo;yes\u0026rdquo;. Soon thereafter the wedding planning began, and it\u0026rsquo;s been an on-and-off process as other events in our lives ebb and flow.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are aiming to have our wedding in fall of 2022, so we\u0026rsquo;re giving ourselves a lot of wiggle room. Even then, it was clear we needed to get organized. There are a lot of moving parts, which only increased when we decided to have the wedding at her parent\u0026rsquo;s farm. Suddenly there were no preferred vendors, and everything was on us.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis part 1 is to briefly discuss some of the ways we\u0026rsquo;ve gotten our act together. I\u0026rsquo;m sure other posts, focusing on other elements, will follow.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Wedding Planning Part 1"},{"content":"I recently discovered that typing on a mechanical keyboard does an excellent job of maintaining my desire to write.\nTypically I use a Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard when I\u0026rsquo;m working at my desktop. I bought one only a few months after moving to San Diego to use at work. Once my hands got used to it, going back to a standard keyboard at home didn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite right. So, I now have two of these split ergonomic keyboards.1\nDespite how lovely my arms and wrists feel when typing on them, the keys have little travel and are awfully quiet. That is great for an office environment, and physically beneficial since work takes up most of my computer term. However, this is not nearly as fun in casual use. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve broken out one of my several mechanical keyboards for use after-hours.\nIn addition to being more amusing, I\u0026rsquo;ve found it to be mentally helpful as well. The clicking and clacking of the mechanical switches creates a white noise to my brain, allowing me to focus in on what I\u0026rsquo;m writing. While I\u0026rsquo;m sure having the separation of tools between work and hobbies is part of the effect, I know I respond well to white noise. Having it self-generated is more desirable and satisfying than relying on my phone, for example. I\u0026rsquo;m sure once I move in with my fiance it won\u0026rsquo;t be a sustainable choice, but we shall see.\nFOOTNOTES\nWorking from home has made this duplicate purchase situation less great. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mechanical-white-noise/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently discovered that typing on a mechanical keyboard does an excellent job of maintaining my desire to write.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTypically I use a Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard when I\u0026rsquo;m working at my desktop. I bought one only a few months after moving to San Diego to use at work. Once my hands got used to it, going back to a standard keyboard at home didn\u0026rsquo;t feel quite right. So, I now have two of these split ergonomic keyboards.\u003ca href=\"#fn1\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mechanical White Noise"},{"content":"Over four years ago I wrote a post about my off-the-cuff writing style. It was a flash-bang approach with only minor edits along the way. However, since writing stories for NaNoWriMo last year I\u0026rsquo;ve been rethinking my broader aims for this blog, and what processes can help me achieve them. Writing a post each week is a fine goal, but if they aren\u0026rsquo;t each in service of something larger it\u0026rsquo;s hard for them be anything but a pleasant chore. Subconsciously, that far-away target was establishing a writing routine with the hope it would improve my abilities. I think it has, but it took a concerted effort in editing a short story (and a few other projects before) for me to recognize that growth. It\u0026rsquo;s time for a change in approach and a new target.\nWhile the goal is still to improve my writing through repetition, I need to be more conscientious about creating a feedback loop, both while writing a post and looking at old ones. I\u0026rsquo;ve concerned myself mainly with a new process for writing each post; I\u0026rsquo;ll consider looking back in the future.\nI used to start writing a post in any number of places, most commonly directly with my WordPress account in an app or in the web interface for my blog. While this does provide the most compatibility (for example, any plug-ins I have would only be viewable there), it doesn\u0026rsquo;t work offline and provides no clean method of backup. Other times I would jot down notes in any number of apps, which were backed up to Dropbox and could be found later, but rarely were. So, the first step was to establish where canonical drafts lived.\nI standardized on a file structure I\u0026rsquo;d set up years ago but never maintained. Every new post is a Markdown file in a particular folder in Dropbox.1 The file name starts with the date I plan to post it, followed by a descriptive working title of the idea. For example, the original file for this post is named \u0026ldquo;01-25_Writing Workflow\u0026rdquo;.2\nThis file is created in a Markdown-specific editor wherever is convenient—Typora on macOS or Linux, or iA Writer on iPad. Any initial notes get put in this document, then drafts typically evolve around those notes. I rearrange the structure of the post, adding comments for possible additions.\nOnce I believe I\u0026rsquo;m at a point where serious editing (or, in a pinch, publishing) can occur, I move over to my iPad and use Ulysses.\nThe iPad kicks my brain into a new mode, and I treat Ulysses as the app for final production. An iPad is more focused, closer to a piece of paper; it puts me in an editing mood. Then, Ulysses has the tools for exporting in multiple useful formats. I\u0026rsquo;ll do a quick pass in the Markdown to make sure everything looks okay, and export to a PDF template meant for paper markup and use Notability to add comments. Once I have my notes, there\u0026rsquo;s also flexibility in the final process depending on my current setup. Either I can have Notability open full screen and perform the edits on my computer, or go split-screen with Ulysses.\nA consistent goal is to have everything written before Sunday, or at least very early on Sunday. That way I can use Ulysses to export to my blog, add any WordPress-specific features3 based on notes I left for myself, and preview it on my site. I\u0026rsquo;ll read through it a few more times before scheduling it for Monday morning.\nIt feels good to have a process. While the goal of writing a weekly blog has been helpful, a systematic approach gets me more involved. It adds friction in a good way, reducing the chance I want to throw in the towel for a week as my mind is more engaged and bought into each post.\nI also like that there can be flexibility. There are times I only have an iPad easily available, or perhaps I just want to walk somewhere to write. By letting Ulysses be a singular tool, rather than the catch-all I wanted it to be when I first tried it, I\u0026rsquo;m still able to adjust my mindset on a per-app basis. Or, in the unlikely situation that my iPad is not available, I can still export to PDF using my other editors and reasonably bypass Ulysses.\nMy goal in following this new process each week is not to achieve the vague notion of improvement in my writing. Consistent editing allows me to establish a style I enjoy. To that end, I\u0026rsquo;m also planning on slowly building up a style guide for my blog. I need to do some research into how to approach that project, but having a specific reference to use after letting my thoughts flow in the writing process should further my efforts to achieve consistency and quality.\nFOOTNOTES\nThe two folders for this year are named \u0026ldquo;Spring 2021\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Fall 2021\u0026rdquo;. This is a holdout from how I named notes for each semester in college. Since I only write about four posts per month, this makes as much sense to me as anything. ↩ No need for the year because of the above folder structure. The mixing of an underscore with spaces bugs me, but I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to grow up and accept that, for general use in modern operating systems, spaces in file and folder names are nothing to sneeze at. ↩ Nearly every post more than three paragraphs gets a \u0026ldquo;Read More\u0026rdquo; tag, so the full post won\u0026rsquo;t display on the homepage of the website. There may be a few formatting details that don\u0026rsquo;t transfer as well. ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-writing-workflow/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOver four years ago I wrote \u003ca href=\"http://markrichard.org/first-drafts/\"\u003ea post\u003c/a\u003e about my off-the-cuff writing style. It was a flash-bang approach with only minor edits along the way. However, since writing stories for \u003ca href=\"http://markrichard.org/nanowrimo/\"\u003eNaNoWriMo\u003c/a\u003e last year I\u0026rsquo;ve been rethinking my broader aims for this blog, and what processes can help me achieve them. Writing a post each week is a fine goal, but if they aren\u0026rsquo;t each in service of something larger it\u0026rsquo;s hard for them be anything but a pleasant chore. Subconsciously, that far-away target was establishing a writing routine with the hope it would improve my abilities. I think it has, but it took a concerted effort in editing a short story (and a few other projects before) for me to recognize that growth. It\u0026rsquo;s time for a change in approach and a new target.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Writing Workflow"},{"content":"One month ago, a good friend of mine released a feature-length movie on YouTube. I had followed along as they released the various trailers, then discovered the half-truths in their lovely making-of documentary.1 I managed to watch it the morning after the film\u0026rsquo;s premiere, on December 19, and have not gotten it out of my head since. I\u0026rsquo;ve started and stopped multiple reviews, taken copious notes on a second watch, and am finally releasing what I consider the movie\u0026rsquo;s canonical review.\nIf you frequent this part of the internet, you may be just the right person to watch Doctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid or: The Respect for the Omnipresence of Death. If the title intrigues you, give it a shot. Then come back here (regardless of whether you completed it) and enjoy a shameless, spoiler-filled plug and review for this movie co-written by my friend Timothy.2\nIntroduction Mimicking one of my new favorite podcasts, Carpool Critics, let\u0026rsquo;s have a concise take to begin.\nDoctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid is an ambitious project for a group of talented friends emerging from a liberal arts institution. It capitalizes on skills grown during smaller projects such as The Griddlers, while creating something braver and bolder. I give high praise for the minimalist production and commitment to detail, which provide even more enjoyment on additional watches. Though the style wanders at times, it serves the chaotic narrative, mirroring the surreal plot. And, of course, I will never feel the same about asparagus. 9/10 3\nAn Aside Before we get going, I\u0026rsquo;ll be straight: the wide range of emotional storytelling throughout this film, the juxtaposition of serious and sitcom moments, makes it hard for me to pick how to write. It\u0026rsquo;s a movie by a friend who I know will appreciate (i) a review that reads as straight-faced as (most of) the movie, but with a hidden layer of sarcasm, and (ii) a review that treats this as a legitimate film because, by God, it\u0026rsquo;s an incredibly difficult undertaking even if every other scene is tongue-in-cheek.\nSo, as the movie darts from sitcom romance to dark drama, my writing will roam as well. I\u0026rsquo;ll plant jokes and poke fun at certain scenes, while attempting to express my admiration for this endeavor and the beautiful moments that came as a result.\nReader, if you\u0026rsquo;re unfamiliar with my friend Timothy, watch the movie and read this review knowing that you\u0026rsquo;re experiencing the work of someone who makes a difference in the media landscape; while his influence has been localized, I hope to see it extended because Timothy and his friends4 have uproarious ability with humor while maintaining a thoughtful, compelling story.\nWith that, let\u0026rsquo;s begin in earnest.\nThe Review Despite knowing Timothy for many years, and even participating in some of his wild projects, I was not prepared for the effect this movie would have on me. Until this point, all of his projects fell somewhere on the spectrum from satirical to wacky.\nNo more.\nDoctor Feelgood has a distinct change in both style and scope. It represents vertical movement away from this axis of comedy, into a world of storytelling that has intrinsic meaning, rather than being the vehicle for a comedic bit. There is greater attention to detail by necessity: a musical seen only once must be in your face, whereas a crafted film should have something to bring you back. It is the most impressive piece of entertainment created by someone I know.\nThis showed me what Timothy and his companions are capable of. It shows off their technical ability, and hints at an emotional sincerity I hadn\u0026rsquo;t seen expressed before. It leaves me wanting more from both Timothy and Doctor Feelgood itself. I can\u0026rsquo;t help thinking that the movie is less than the sum of its parts. Nearly every scene is fantastic, executed with a surprisingly clear vision, yet there was a tonal mismatch among them that led to dissonance when I finished it the first time.\nAfter watching the movie a second time, I found the core of those feelings: This is a movie split in two, in two ways.\nThe first split is found when considering time. Nearly to the minute, the first half of the movie takes place exclusively in some undefined northeastern part of Iowa. Timothy is off at REDACTED college, meeting people, exploring a world that clearly has some disconnect with reality, the nature of which is hidden. There are hints, but it\u0026rsquo;s kept mostly subtle with no large reveals. At the halfway point, Greg reveals the entire plot of the movie to Timothy. The fourth wall is broken for a moment, and with it shatters all pretense that this is something akin to a normal movie. We suddenly have scenes in hospitals, with Russian mob bosses, a musical sing-along with lyrics, and a desperate love story with what could be considered a secondary character. We get 45 minutes of a simple plot with mild nudges and winks at something larger, followed by 45 minutes of turmoil.\nThe second split is one of style. After my first viewing, all I could focus on was how it never felt like a choice was made for the tone of this movie. Was it a comedy with a dramatic plot? Was it a drama with a lot of gags for people who don\u0026rsquo;t like drama? I was convinced this movie could have been something serious, something transcendent, yet it kept undercutting itself. I already knew Timothy and his friends were funny, and this movie definitely puts that on full display, yet they didn\u0026rsquo;t commit to the comedy either. In some ways, I felt the comedy was similarly undercut by serious drama.\nWhile I still would love to see two versions of this movie, one fully comedic and one fully dramatic, this split style sits with me much better after another time through. I\u0026rsquo;m increasingly convinced they did commit to a style, except it happened to be anarchic. They gave a Monty Python-esque5 delivery of a story by dressing it up in absurd clothes, yet when those clothes were shed they revealed a dark and heavy backbone for modern sensibilities.\nBut I don\u0026rsquo;t want to focus on the story very much. I won\u0026rsquo;t analyze the plot or explore character growth, because (i) this is my blog and I\u0026rsquo;m not in the mood for such analysis, and (ii) that\u0026rsquo;s not the most important part of this movie.\nIf you watch this movie and you have a particular sense of humor, your mind will certainly absorb the story. You will take time to explore the layers of reality presented to you, and wonder what superhero shirt Timothy was wearing when he was flying at the end.6\nThen, the details will bring you back. Watching Doctor Feelgood a second time gave me the same joy I had watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail again when I was older. There were so many more jokes I picked up on, and tiny additions that make the entire experience more delightful. If you watch this movie, do so with an eye and an ear for everything you imagine a group of four college roommates with a flair for the funny would fit in a film made with surprisingly cinematographic skill.\nSound\nI love the music in the Lord of the Rings movies. Yet, soon after watching them again this winter (in fact right around the time I watched Doctor Feelgood) I realized how little I specifically noticed the music. It blended into the landscape of the world, establishing tone and guiding me on an emotional journey, never becoming the main attraction. Much to my surprise, the music in Doctor Feelgood achieved the same effect. And, just like other movies, I only realized this when I could afford to pay attention to the soundscape during my second watch.\nImmediately, the boot-fall of Linda/Tarbox and the backing vocals set the opening scene. The gravitas of the music could even let you ignore the plastic baseball bat (or, depending on your mood, add to the humor of a comically, maybe purposely, small props budget.) Noticing this, I was hooked and began taking notes.\nThe main opening music when the movie begins in earnest (what I imagine as \u0026ldquo;The Sitcom Theme\u0026rdquo;) has its goofy vibe with a catchy riff and foreign7 lyrics, yet still manages to ride beneath the visual storytelling. It encourages you to focus on the screen, as the sections of the song align to scene cuts or major action. Similar coordination happens throughout the movie, with a personal favorite being Horace and Sue clinking their wine glasses right as a particularly sparkling note of Claire de Lune is played.\nThough these songs are matched so cleverly with visuals, there are fewer of them than I would have guessed. There are technically 22 tracks over on their bandcamp, but some get reused in key scenes. For example, I\u0026rsquo;m Maude gets used on at least three occasions: twice for Maude slow-mo face cam, and once when she and D\u0026rsquo;Jango are caught in the closet.\nOverall, the music is an absolute masterpiece. Despite a little misleading attribution, all but Claire de Lune are original pieces to my knowledge.8\nEach piece blends so beautifully with the landscape of its scene, contributing to the experience of the movie. Ignoring the opening scene in the parking lot, the first fifteen minutes or so lull you into feeling like you\u0026rsquo;re watching an odd TV show. Scene transitions are accompanied by sitcom musical stings (\u0026ldquo;Full House\u0026rdquo;), and although we know there\u0026rsquo;s something eerie from the moment Timothy meets Greg, we\u0026rsquo;re allowed to live in ignorance a while longer.\nIf you look at the soundtrack, the music gets darker towards the end. We get heavy electronic bass music, deep wave synthesizers, all combined with an audio environment of booming clocks or distant voices to provide a sense of unease as the threads unravel. This transition to severity is masterful, and the tonality of \u0026ldquo;dream\u0026rdquo; music versus \u0026ldquo;reality\u0026rdquo; music is clear, with the former typically bright and acoustic, the latter deep and digital.\nThere are more details to explore beyond the music. In particular, three examples of overall sound design come to mind as having been very well thought out.\nFirst is the only sound effect that makes it to the foreground instead of blending in: The whooshing sound when Greg appears with Timothy. It\u0026rsquo;s in our face and has intention behind it. Excellent.\nSecond, we have my second favorite scene: Maude and Timothy in the closet of ignorance. While an obvious choice in retrospect, the complete lack of external sound makes it one of the best moments in the movie.\nFinally, we have the use of clocks. While broader, I wanted to point our their recurring appearances. These were used throughout the dream sequence of Timothy waking up. An alarm clock goes off, then we get the ticking of the clock fading into a heart monitor. The final alarm clock rings through the end of sequence just a couple more seconds than made me feel comfortable. Immediately afterward, we are in the classroom, leading with the ticking clock that pervades the entire sequence of glances between characters. It builds tension, setting a mood that is in stark contrast to our first dealings in the classroom.\nThese pieces of sound design made a huge difference in bringing the audience into the real world, then back to the dream. Now that we understand the stakes, everything in the dream world must contain more tension than before and the immediate inclusion of the ticking clock allows for that.\nHowever, there are a couple departures from this tension that bring attention back to musical selection. These larger set pieces are Horace\u0026rsquo;s story, and the reunion of Maude and Timothy.\nAlthough somewhat cliché, the use of Claire de Lune felt serious, and matched the tone of the acting perfectly. It reminded me that it\u0026rsquo;s a song which can emote as tremendously sad; I typically associate it with a notion of beauty and somber tranquility, but it was twisted on me as we saw the story of Horace unfold.\nThen, whiplash! We move to Maude and Timothy singing From Now On. On my first viewing, I disliked the song. It felt thematically out of place, and not nearly as polished as the others. I think differently now. In the chaos of being in a dream, one where Timothy is trying to wrest some control, why not have a musical number? And I\u0026rsquo;ve seen enough of Timothy\u0026rsquo;s musicals to know his style, and it matched perfectly. And since we\u0026rsquo;ve already had some other visual gags, might as well throw Disney Channel \u0026ldquo;follow the lyrics\u0026rdquo; graphics on screen too. It was much more charming the second time around, and paying attention to the lyrics shows the conflict within Timothy in a way that fits the surrealism of the movie.\nAdmittedly, From Now On is certainly a foreground aspect of the music. But that was its purpose. The care with which all the music was written for its purpose is amazing. It formed and boosted the emotional landscape for each scene, regardless of the style a particular scene was following. The effects were excellent as well, leaving my only small criticism of sound to this: Sometimes when a character yelled, their audio would be close to clipping. Yet, with only a single camera with a single microphone, I\u0026rsquo;m still impressed by the consistency.\nWhile the sound gives me the greatest pleasure from the second viewing, the visual details, whether for whimsy or story, were impressive too.\nSight\nI\u0026rsquo;ll let the whimsy slide a bit farther down. There are gaggles of gags, so let\u0026rsquo;s get the serious part out of the way so we can finish with some fun.\nThe visual elements that most struck me were the lighting and camera placement. If you watch the documentary about the movie, you\u0026rsquo;ll see Andrew\u0026rsquo;s claim that each scene was carefully mapped out prior to filming. Despite other dubious statements, this one was believable.9\nLight is an important factor in shaping a scene. Broadly throughout the movie, we move from the bright, naturally lit world of the dream to a noticeably paler, darker \u0026ldquo;real\u0026rdquo; world staged in the hospital. Colors become muted, there is certainly no sparkle in anyone\u0026rsquo;s eyes, and all lighting is soft and artificial. I think the most effective transition happens immediately after our introduction to the world in the hospital, where we suddenly cut back to a bright yellow bowl. The peanut butter cup scene (in addition to being ridiculous) is bright and cheery. It almost feels like a particularly wild commercial that Reese\u0026rsquo;s would actually run.\nThere were also a few scenes where camera placement was key to getting a certain lighting setup. Pointing the camera directly at the window in the dorm room could wash out the background a little while also giving foreground characters a shadowy look; this emphasizes tension between Timothy and D\u0026rsquo;Jango. Careful placement could also make a closet dark despite the door needing to be open, or make a classroom confrontation just a little more grim.\nEven more frequently, the camera placement alone was sufficient to frame a beautiful scene and establish a tone. The first half of the movie has good close-up shots of characters talking, and slight camera movement to follow a conversation. The classroom is seen from consistent angles, which connects it in our minds across the movie. These are processed as standard techniques, and makes the viewer comfortable and familiar with the style. Compare this to the second half, where we get the dramatic upside-down of Linda walking to the mob boss down the street, a chaotic fight scene, and many different angles in the hospital room. It causes the audience to feel more discomfort, or at least novelty, warning us that things have changed.\nI have but one critique. When characters are walking, it could get just a little shaky. This can work, such as when Timothy and Maude are running down a hill. Other times, like walking on a flat sidewalk, I wished they had obtained a gimbal or similar tool to steady things out.\nYet, this is all forgiven based on the strength of a single scene. I texted Timothy about it immediately after finishing my first view of the movie. It follows the ticking clock scene in the classroom, where Timothy goes to wash his face in the bathroom. It is the most cinematic shot of the entire film. A dark sink, the water rushing, music building the intensity. It was executed to perfection, and successfully communicated the panic that was growing in Timothy.\nOf course, I need to give an honorable mention to the entire shooting of Horace\u0026rsquo;s story. The parallels in shots of the benches, proposals, and walking towards the woods are all delectable. The fights between Horace and Linda are powerful. A small easter egg is Linda reading the same Shel Silverstein book that D\u0026rsquo;Jango reads in the dorm room when we first meet him.10 Then, the final shot with Horace drinking with a slow movement inwards. Do yourself a favor and check out the documentary for more details on that shot. It\u0026rsquo;s impressive.\nThere is one visual element that can\u0026rsquo;t be forgiven, except because it is the toughest to correct: the faces of the actors. These small errors are either slight breaking of character in SNL fashion with just a twinge of a smile, or it\u0026rsquo;s their eyes briefly darting straight at the camera lens. (One character in particular did this rather often.)\nI\u0026rsquo;ll focus on the breaking, because I think there is a reasonable explanation for some cases.\nIt seemed that Greg was always on the verge of breaking. He had this small, wry smile that seemed permanently placed so you couldn\u0026rsquo;t accuse him of losing face. Yet, it\u0026rsquo;s believable because he\u0026rsquo;s one of (probably) two characters who know they are in a dream. He\u0026rsquo;s actually playing a character, and if you\u0026rsquo;re a demon-for-hire then being best friends with an unaware college kid would get you cracking a smile too.\nTimothy often overacts or has somewhat unbelievable ways of emoting. I\u0026rsquo;m sure some of these were totally purposeful, because I\u0026rsquo;m aware of his acting chops.\nOthers fell victim to this as well. Notably, Tarbox has small shimmers of a smile somewhat frequently. Of course, these happen most often during a gag11 so it makes sense from a production standpoint, and could be viewed as some subconscious version of Linda having a hard time playing a character in this dreamscape.\nSo with these small cracks among friends acting, it\u0026rsquo;s easy to see that some scenes were simply the best take available out of many, and happened to be the one where they broke the least instead of not breaking at all.\nDespite these flubs, I was incredibly happy with how the actors handled themselves in their real world characters. After seeing Tarbox come close to breaking, Linda handled herself with aplomb in front of Dr. Feelgood. I think Linda was the best-acted character overall. Perhaps I appreciated the severity you saw in Tarbox mixed with actual emotional baggage attached, and without the ridiculous actions. Pay attention to her first scene in the hospital when she sits down on the bed. I expected to see a smile, but she played it straight. It was fantastic.\nSince dialogue was the cause of such small errors, the finest element the actors provided was their visual storytelling. As I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned, the scenes I found most impressive were the short silent films scattered throughout with a backing musical track. The actors felt natural in these scenes, had clear and believable body language in their respective situations, and maintained pacing if multiple people were involved. It is very easy to try and do too much in these scenarios, but each time they did precisely what they needed. They tied in with all other aspects of the filmography, as if they really had been there.\nThe Story\nI need a short word on my favorite part of the story. On my second watch, I realized the genius stroke of having a couple focused views on D\u0026rsquo;Jango in the first half of the movie, and one for Horace in the second half (and actually, D\u0026rsquo;Jango in the second half as well.) It certainly helps throw us off the trail of it being a dream, because why would you focus on a character whose dream it isn\u0026rsquo;t? But that is a small part of why I think these inclusions are so good.\nFocusing on this secondary character gave me space to feel the emotions I wanted to experience. D\u0026rsquo;Jango has no speaking roles, no other-worldly conflict he is embroiled in. Dream or not, he is an outcast looking for love, trying to make friends with a roommate who doesn\u0026rsquo;t respect him, and I think it is a touching addition. Once a strange world is established and we accept his horsiness, the display of humanity makes him the most reasonable character in the dream. It also provides a basis for us to believe in Horace and sympathize with him, despite how messed up his relationships were with Linda and Sue. While he grows completely parallel to Timothy, both the audience and Timothy reap the benefits of this growth. It was a very clever addition to the story.\nThe Gags\nYou can consider this a compendium of many gags I liked enough to make a note of, or at least the ones that weren\u0026rsquo;t so subtle that I didn\u0026rsquo;t notice them at all. I love Timothy\u0026rsquo;s sense of humor, and it is drizzled all over this movie. My notes were a little disordered, so expect the gags below to be as well.\nThe opening credits list the actual characters, rather than the actors. It\u0026rsquo;s also \u0026ldquo;inspired by a novella\u0026rdquo;. Beautiful. A bit on the nose, but showering with clothes on is always good for a laugh. The blurring of the college name. (Check out the documentary.) I found it blurred in even more scenes the second time, such as Leni\u0026rsquo;s shirt as he leaves the hospital room. During Maude and Timothy\u0026rsquo;s first date, they are randomly in snow. (Again, documentary.) Tarbox and her fruit. I think the funniest modern day humor is eating fruit in a way you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t. Main Example I wrote it down as a gag, but it\u0026rsquo;s also a good piece of visual storytelling. The two alarm clocks that go off during the nightmare sequence are different. Verbal jokes, such as \u0026ldquo;Come on, Eileen\u0026rdquo; followed closely by \u0026ldquo;Dexys Midnight Runners\u0026rdquo;, makes you question how much a set of jokes can drive script decisions. The lyrical sing-along in From Now On really got me the second time. Horace is a horse. The \u0026ldquo;whip\u0026rdquo; sound when Beni points at the camera. I assume there\u0026rsquo;s a Wilhelm scream somewhere in the battle scene. The closet of ignorance scene in its entirety. Choosing an outfit (thought it could have been tighter) was a fun reprieve, particularly juxtaposed against the first scene with Greg and Tarbox. The fact that college prom is tomorrow. The frisbee (which sadly went uncredited I think). The fact that college prom exists. So many Episode III quotes from Mustafar when Greg and Timothy talk before the fight scene. Someone finally referencing at least one of those shirts that Timothy has worn for years. Closing\nWhile I love to laud the technical achievements of an independent, amateur film written by a friend, and there were many, this movie succeeded because it made me feel something. I laughed when they wanted me to, and felt tense, confused, and sympathetic as well. Each story beat fell into place even when I didn\u0026rsquo;t believe it could. While the individual scenes are perhaps better than the film as a whole, part of me doesn\u0026rsquo;t care. If I treat each scene as an episode of a TV show, it clicks. I find a single episode of Friends better than the arc of a season; the season\u0026rsquo;s plot is typically a vehicle for creating good episodes. Doctor Feelgood accomplishes the same thing.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t mean to disregard the story they were trying to tell. It\u0026rsquo;s a fun, wild journey with a great cast of characters. It\u0026rsquo;s surreal, and has the legs to make you think. But the heart of this movie is in the details, the time and care spent to get it just the way they wanted using the available resources. Whether this is the last hurrah for this group, or the start of something bigger, I\u0026rsquo;m glad it\u0026rsquo;s in the world and I will continue to share it far and wide for those who love the absurd and dramatic.\nFOOTNOTES\nPlease do watch the documentary if you dive into this media landscape. It provides a lot of context for the choices they made, and contradicts a few of my opinions in this review. The documentary is nearly as funny as the movie itself. ↩ It also happens to guest-star other friends, including renowned co-host of Comical Start, Grant. ↩ It could\u0026rsquo;ve been higher, but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t even asked to participate. San Diego to Decorah is just a hop, skip, and a jump. ↩ I\u0026rsquo;ve been lucky enough to meet Andrew on a few occasions, both when staying at Luther for a long weekend in college and during a couple of Timothy\u0026rsquo;s musicals. He\u0026rsquo;s also enormously talented. ↩ More parts of it actually remind me of William Goldman and The Princess Bride, but you probably get the picture. ↩ While I didn\u0026rsquo;t give it much thought until now, it basically has to be Timothy since all other characters are accounted for in the parking lot (or a cardboard box in the hospital.) ↩ To my untrained ears, let\u0026rsquo;s say it\u0026rsquo;s vaguely French. ↩ If Timothy reads this, he may find joy in the fact that I actually searched for \u0026ldquo;Alphonso and the Nasty\u0026rdquo;. I have a memory of this being a recurring phrase in many of his musical scores, which I only realized after. ↩ While I\u0026rsquo;m tempted to say the proof was a video of the notebook containing said notes on filming, they also created a page of Timothy writing Maude\u0026rsquo;s name out of a bunch of other Maude scribbles for 3 seconds of screen time. They\u0026rsquo;re tough guys to pin down. ↩ I\u0026rsquo;m still not sure where \u0026ldquo;Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark\u0026rdquo; comes from for D\u0026rsquo;Jango later, but it\u0026rsquo;s probably both a book they had on hand, and some reference to it being a nightmare. Also, it\u0026rsquo;s a fun easter egg in the documentary. ↩ See the gags section for more. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/doctor-feelgood-and-the-asparagus-kid/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOne month ago, a good friend of mine released a feature-length movie on YouTube. I had followed along as they released \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6HY3rans7I\"\u003ethe\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aBfi3Auj74\"\u003evarious\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3t6BExM_Jg\"\u003etrailers\u003c/a\u003e, then discovered the half-truths in their lovely \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFA4fc_CWNo\"\u003emaking-of documentary\u003c/a\u003e.\u003ca href=\"#fn1\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e I managed to watch it the morning after the film\u0026rsquo;s premiere, on December 19, and have not gotten it out of my head since. I\u0026rsquo;ve started and stopped multiple reviews, taken copious notes on a second watch, and am finally releasing what I consider the movie\u0026rsquo;s canonical review.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you frequent this part of the internet, you may be just the right person to watch \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQzwwWNkFR4\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDoctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid or: The Respect for the Omnipresence of Death\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e. If the title intrigues you, give it a shot. Then come back here (regardless of whether you completed it) and enjoy a shameless, spoiler-filled plug and review for this movie co-written by my friend Timothy.\u003ca href=\"#fn2\"\u003e2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Doctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid"},{"content":"On an episode of the podcast No Dumb Questions, Destin and Matt discussed how they compiled a playlist for each year. This allowed them to track changing moods and tastes as the years went by, and also to link songs to specific times in their lives.\nThe benefit of listening to these shows hosted by people with more life experience is that I can actually learn from them sooner than how they learned themselves. I loved the idea of having anchor points in songs on an annual playlist, so I made my own for 2019 and 2020.\nI spent some time the other day trying to begin building out my 2021 playlist. I seeded it with about 5 songs that were late additions in 2020 to give Spotify something to work with.\nAfter thirty minutes of going through songs, nothing stuck with me.\nThis situation is still unresolved. I\u0026rsquo;ve always had trouble intentionally finding music that suits my tastes. It\u0026rsquo;s unusual for more than a few songs from a given band to strike me as my kind of music, leaving me in a tough position. Despite that knowledge, I scoured internet forums looking for bands related to those I\u0026rsquo;d listened to the most during 2020, but still couldn\u0026rsquo;t get a song to grab me.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not sure what to do better. Perhaps my relationship to music is just a bit complicated, and I need to let things settle, let the playlist formulate naturally. Maybe I just need to do more research. I am certain that I love this idea of a yearly playlist, and I\u0026rsquo;m not giving up on it. It worked pretty well in both 2019 and 2020, but I had old music that hadn\u0026rsquo;t been a part of any playlist to fall back on.\nThe music well is not dry. I know there is more out there for me, and I\u0026rsquo;ll keep hunting for it. Ignoring my struggles though, I highly recommend something similar for everyone. Maybe music isn\u0026rsquo;t your thing (it wasn\u0026rsquo;t mine until I started working full time), but I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are other things you consume that could be put in a yearly list of some type. Track new meals, new books, places you visit1 or media you watch. Being intentional about tracking your life is putting an investment in your future. Memories are important, and setting up a system to enhance them isn\u0026rsquo;t something you\u0026rsquo;ll regret. At worst, a failed system may be something memorable itself.\nYou probably shouldn\u0026rsquo;t do that this year. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/yearly-playlists-trouble/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn an episode of the podcast \u003ca href=\"https://www.nodumbquestions.fm/listen/2019/1/14/051-supersonic-fly-fishing\"\u003eNo Dumb Questions\u003c/a\u003e, Destin and Matt discussed how they compiled a playlist for each year. This allowed them to track changing moods and tastes as the years went by, and also to link songs to specific times in their lives.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe benefit of listening to these shows hosted by people with more life experience is that I can actually learn from them sooner than how they learned themselves. I loved the idea of having anchor points in songs on an annual playlist, so I made my own for 2019 and 2020.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Yearly Playlist Troubles"},{"content":"On the most recent episode of OHAC, Mikhail, Jack, and I talked about our yearly themes. You can head over there to get links to other resources, and listen to our takes on each of our themes. This post is to summarize my own theme, and try to have something clearer in my mind after a lot of talking through it with Jack and Mikhail.\nMy theme for this year is the Year of Transition. Its focus is twofold: acceptance of the changes happening in my life, and leveraging the progress I made in 2020 to capitalize on those changes.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be moving from San Diego to San Francisco this year (and potentially moving once more within San Francisco), causing an uprooting of my routines and requiring the need to adapt to new spaces. This is not inherently problematic, but it\u0026rsquo;s something I must face rather than trying to hold onto my past situation. There is an opportunity to reevaluate my working situation, for example. In fact, moving in with my fiancee means everything has the chance for adjustment and improvement.\nRegarding routines and habits, I\u0026rsquo;m focusing on how to dissociate them from a particular location, and let them grow into the new place they occupy. I have created a solid groups of habits to bring along with me, but they have new facets to them. Exercising and eating, something that\u0026rsquo;s been a solo activity the last few years, will now require me to be aware of someone else. Taking the time to write these blog posts and pursue side projects needs the same consideration.\nThere are changes coming my way, and I plan on working with and through them to make the best year that I can.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2021-year-of-transition/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn the most recent episode of \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/2020/12/31/ohac-30-im-an-agent-of-chaos/\"\u003eOHAC\u003c/a\u003e, Mikhail, Jack, and I talked about our yearly themes. You can head over there to get links to other resources, and listen to our takes on each of our themes. This post is to summarize my own theme, and try to have something clearer in my mind after a lot of talking through it with Jack and Mikhail.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy theme for this year is the \u003cem\u003eYear of Transition\u003c/em\u003e. Its focus is twofold: acceptance of the changes happening in my life, and leveraging the progress I made in 2020 to capitalize on those changes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2021: Year of Transition"},{"content":"Tomorrow I\u0026rsquo;ll be recording an episode of OHAC, where Mikhail, Jack, and I will be discussing yearly themes. That will serve as a nice recap of the year and a starting point for 2021.\nTo wrap things up on this blog though, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d go back through my posts from 2020 and select one or two favorites from each quarter, and maybe write a little bit about how I view those posts now. I don\u0026rsquo;t often revisit my expository writing, so I think it\u0026rsquo;ll be a good exercise.\nJanuary - March\nMy choice here is not based on writing or even quality of information. It\u0026rsquo;s two posts that clearly mark a transition in my life.\nOn March 2nd, I wrote about Caffeine, a lovely little extension that keeps my screen awake indefinitely. (In fact, I discovered the same extension written for macOS and it works just as beautifully.) It was a quaint post where I was letting myself describe a small tool that provided a little extra comfort in my computing life.\nOn March 13 cameOn Fire, which is precisely what you would imagine. I learned over the weekend of March 6-8 that I would be in charge of getting our company trained in Zoom teaching, and that led to a hectic week. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until Friday that I remembered to write something for my blog to keep my streak alive.\nMy series of three Space Force posts is probably my favorite during these months, but looking back they are less important.\nApril - June\nThis was a time of transition this year. I took a new position within my company, had various spurts of creative energy towards a wide variety of projects, and a few larger events occurred to cement the legacy of 2020 as a wild, awful year for the average person. I\u0026rsquo;ve picked two posts for these months: one that highlights the creative surge I felt, and one that pays attention to the wider world.\nOn April 27, I posted about my game The Last Question, which I enjoy both because of the nice PDFs I was able to make in InDesign (before my license was removed when I changed positions at work), and because it gets me into a more open world, something I\u0026rsquo;ve always been keen to explore in games. I\u0026rsquo;m not great at narrative-driven games yet, but I love the conceit of the game and it\u0026rsquo;s what of my favorite creations during quarantine.\nOnly a month later, when I had returned to Minnesota for the summer, the protests and riots in Minneapolis following the killing of George Floyd happened. I had brief thoughts on it right away, and still never managed to put into writing how it affected me, particularly once I made it to Minneapolis and saw the aftermath. What\u0026rsquo;s particularly frustrating, looking back on the year, is I\u0026rsquo;m not sure how much changed as a result.\nJuly - September\nThis was probably the least stressful time of the year. I had settled into a routine with my family, I could enjoy the beautiful Minnesota summer each day with a long walk, then had a fantastic drive back to California with my (then) girlfriend.\nNothing can better summarize the lack of good posts during this time period than my xkcd rip-off on September 7. While I did write a new text adventure (which has some legs), and watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, there just wasn\u0026rsquo;t much inspiration. Reading back, I was going through the motions most weeks, writing a short post on a Sunday after racking my brain for ideas.\nOctober - December\nThe answer here is simple: My four-part series on writing text adventures. I rewrote those posts many times, reorganizing the thoughts, and trying to drill down into why I enjoy the process of creating them so much. While there may not be much there for others, it was informative for me.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll give a shout-out to my two short stories I write in place of NaNoWriMo this year as well. Those were fun.\nToward 2021\nI have a few bigger projects in mind for 2021. An in-depth movie review for a friend is the most likely post to start the new year. I\u0026rsquo;m keen on having a vague schedule of research- or labor-intensive projects every month or so, with the lighter material and one-offs filling in the gaps. Many people have been building up their excitement for 2021, and I am certainly lucky to have many events to look forward to.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-best-of-2020/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTomorrow I\u0026rsquo;ll be recording an episode of \u003ca href=\"ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOHAC\u003c/a\u003e, where Mikhail, Jack, and I will be discussing yearly themes. That will serve as a nice recap of the year and a starting point for 2021.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo wrap things up on this blog though, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d go back through my posts from 2020 and select one or two favorites from each quarter, and maybe write a little bit about how I view those posts now. I don\u0026rsquo;t often revisit my expository writing, so I think it\u0026rsquo;ll be a good exercise.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Best of My 2020"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ll be spending this Christmas away from family for the first time ever.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been left trying to make the best of the situation. I\u0026rsquo;m not alone: I\u0026rsquo;m spending Christmas with my fiancee, and we have been decorating her small San Francisco apartment with lights. Our parents have sent us cookies and gifts, and we have a small tree on the table. 1\nI think the biggest difference is that this is the first year where I don\u0026rsquo;t have a distinct build-up towards Christmas externally pressed upon me. Until I graduated college, there was always winter break. The last two years, flying home for the holidays was a clear marker where I was now working remotely for a couple of weeks, surrounded by family and trying to see all my friends who were back as well.\nNone of that is available to me this year. I\u0026rsquo;m not going anywhere, and working from home is no special deal. Hence, decorations everywhere except the bathroom. We have a home automation set up called Christmas Time that sends our lights flashing and Christmas music playing. We made mint cookies this weekend, and decorated sugar cookies my mom sent us. I\u0026rsquo;m happy with how we\u0026rsquo;ve adapted.\nThe apartment is less than 250 sq. ft. so there\u0026rsquo;s limited space for anything more than the 2-foot tree we chose. ↩ ","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/december-21-remote-christmas/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ll be spending this Christmas away from family for the first time ever.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been left trying to make the best of the situation. I\u0026rsquo;m not alone: I\u0026rsquo;m spending Christmas with my fiancee, and we have been decorating her small San Francisco apartment with lights. Our parents have sent us cookies and gifts, and we have a small tree on the table. \u003ca href=\"#fn1\"\u003e1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think the biggest difference is that this is the first year where I don\u0026rsquo;t have a distinct build-up towards Christmas externally pressed upon me. Until I graduated college, there was always winter break. The last two years, flying home for the holidays was a clear marker where I was now working remotely for a couple of weeks, surrounded by family and trying to see all my friends who were back as well.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Remote Christmas"},{"content":"A coworker told me about Advent of Code last week. It\u0026rsquo;s an independently run site that provides an advent calendar of programming puzzles. Similar to sites like Project Euler, they are of varying difficulty and not designed to be completed in any particular language.\nSo far, the puzzles have been clever and fun. There is a central plot for the entire month of needing to get a currency of star coins to pay for your post-Christmas vacation. I take it not as tone-deafness to the pandemic, but more of wishful thinking for a better 2021. They\u0026rsquo;re cute premises.\nAnyone who like programming puzzles will enjoy these; I highly recommend them. I came to it a few days late (and if you\u0026rsquo;re reading this post, you\u0026rsquo;re behind too!) But it\u0026rsquo;s reasonable to do two in a day, and you\u0026rsquo;ll probably want to!\nOf course I\u0026rsquo;ve been using Python for all of them so far, but I could totally see myself using the puzzles as a way to learn another language; they\u0026rsquo;re overall more accessible (and engaging) than Project Euler.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/advent-of-code-2020/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA coworker told me about \u003ca href=\"https://adventofcode.com\"\u003eAdvent of Code\u003c/a\u003e last week. It\u0026rsquo;s an independently run site that provides an advent calendar of programming puzzles. Similar to sites like \u003ca href=\"projecteuler.net\"\u003eProject Euler\u003c/a\u003e, they are of varying difficulty and not designed to be completed in any particular language.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo far, the puzzles have been clever and fun. There is a central plot for the entire month of needing to get a currency of star coins to pay for your post-Christmas vacation. I take it not as tone-deafness to the pandemic, but more of wishful thinking for a better 2021. They\u0026rsquo;re cute premises.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Advent of Code 2020"},{"content":"Here\u0026rsquo;s the second story, a little late, but I think much better because of the time I took to actually revise it. Again the basic idea came from /r/WritingPrompts, but I fleshed it out more. This has been a fun experience, and I look forward to doing a bit more in-depth editing and revising of my own work on longer pieces in the future.\nThey Come Again\nWood, solid wood. Off the map. There couldn\u0026rsquo;t be anything from the past decade, maybe even this century. Robin held back a smile as yesterday fell away, drifting among the clouds in the sky, a potential new future opening up. They had time to plan a shelter and explore the property, maybe even play cards.\nJake let his bag slip off his shoulder to the porch, arched his back, and let out a deep groan. \u0026ldquo;Think I can get a hot towel? If I miss anything from the last few years, it\u0026rsquo;s an abundance of hot towels.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Sure thing, right after I get a massage and face scrub.\u0026rdquo; Robin rolled her eyes, letting a smirk surface as she stepped back and admired the old farmhouse. She lightly stepped on the wooden slats of the porch, only a few creaking, a few more rotted, as she went up to the front door that somehow remained on its rusting hinges.\n\u0026ldquo;Hey,\u0026rdquo; she called over her shoulder, \u0026ldquo;Got that can of forty?\u0026rdquo;\nA beat-up can of blue metal with smudges of yellow and white was pulled from Jake\u0026rsquo;s bag. He handed it over. Robin lifted the long, thin bit of plastic coming out of the top and dripped some fluid over the door hinges. Before handing it back, she put a couple drops on the doorknob. \u0026ldquo;Not this time,\u0026rdquo; she whispered to herself.\nAnother stretch of the arms and Jake had the bag back on his shoulder, standing just behind Robin, waiting. Robin took a deep breath, readjusted her own small pack, and walked in. Small clouds of dust greeted the first few footfalls; she exhaled warmly and her breath mixed with the thickening air. She held back a cough as she looked around to get her bearings. Jake peeked over her shoulder.\nA few coathooks hung empty on the wall immediately to the left, and just past was a small table layered with dust, a single drawer attached. Robin looked ahead where an entryway led to the kitchen; a stairwell to the second floor ran along the back wall, and on the right was a closed door. Dust and disuse coated it all, no sign of footprints, nothing in the air but must, decay, and age. She gave a slight nod, pointed to her right, and moved straight to the kitchen. Jake went to the door by the stairwell, dropped his pack, and repeated the lubrication procedure.\nRobin entered the kitchen and checked behind each appliance. They were all unplugged. A bit paranoid, she thought, but at least they\u0026rsquo;re safe to inspect now.\nA toaster on the counter had two slots, a dial from one to eight, and an unlabeled button; a microwave in the nook below was a veritable antique with a single-line screen akin to a digital clock, and no popcorn button, let alone the barista button common near the end; a gas oven and range of all things, analogue and mechanical, posed no threat or aid; and a refrigerator with an ice dispenser and a freezer on top was of similar vintage as the microwave. Robin headed to the entryway, bursting with the news for Jack. We can fight back.\nJack had opened the door and descended a steep staircase, leaving a gas lantern at the bottom. Robin could hear him rustling around. Conscious not to startle him, she whistled Be Our Guest on her way down. The mustiness of the air was slowly replaced by soil and salt.\nShe grabbed the lantern and Jake turned around, a huge grin taking over his face and a notebook in his hand.\n\u0026ldquo;Finally more to write than two cans of soup and a bag of carrots. Fancy some jam, or dried pork and mushroom stew?\u0026rdquo; Jake spread his arms, moving them up and down the shelving, walking along the wall, displaying his wares for customers to admire.\n\u0026ldquo;Let\u0026rsquo;s not go too crazy yet.\u0026rdquo; Robin smiled back, then ran the few steps to embrace Jake, a sob and a laugh escaping her as he squeezed.\nBetween gasps, Robin managed \u0026ldquo;So much\u0026hellip; here\u0026hellip; for us\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe\u0026hellip; it either\u0026hellip; but\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\nRobin stepped back. \u0026ldquo;What?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;What could have happened to them? They were set up perfectly.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Probably bad luck, something just came across them and\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; She got quieter and let her eyes drift to the floor.\n\u0026ldquo;Yeah, just bad luck. It\u0026rsquo;s been a couple years based on the dust. They must have been\u0026hellip; lost in the first swell. Maybe visiting family, and never made it back.\u0026rdquo;\nRobin nodded, then forced a smile that slowly moved to her eyes, turning into something real as she looked at the shelves in front of them. \u0026ldquo;How much do you suppose there is?\u0026rdquo;\nJake scanned over his partial list, then folded it up and turned around. His head moved back and forth, up and down, scanning everything available to them. Each rack rose a foot above Jake\u0026rsquo;s head, and the shelves extended at least thirty feet across the cellar. Made of wood and braced with metal, they evaded the horrors of outside and held pounds upon pounds of food.\nJake headed to his left, pulling another small flashlight from his jacket. Robin walked over to the other corner, shining the flashlight across jars of pickles and beets, vacuum-sealed fruit and meats, and small bottles of dried herbs. It was disorganized, but not messy. Whoever had stockpiled this had simply added food as it was made available. No need for it to be tidy; if someone was stuck in a cellar, there\u0026rsquo;d be time enough to reorganize.\nShe heard Jake let out a small chuckle and raised her eyebrows; he sensed the look from across the room and illuminated a jar full of brown powder and a handwritten label: Irene\u0026rsquo;s Instant Chocolate, Just Add Powdered Milk.\nThey sang anything that came to mind, keeping the lyrics alive in their memory. Forgotten words were replaced. When a song ended they\u0026rsquo;d have another spoonful of the goopy chocolate sauce, or maybe nibble a dried berry.\n\u0026ldquo;I think we nailed her recipe this time,\u0026rdquo; Robin said, giggling and wiping the bits of dried chocolate from around her lips, leaning on the counter. \u0026ldquo;We used to think stale Twinkies were a high point, remember?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;We all thought we could ignore expiration dates. I guess my mom was right.\u0026rdquo; Jake stuck out his tongue and grimaced, remembering snacks they found in a warehouse. \u0026ldquo;The bread was still greasy, but the cream\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; He gagged a little. Robin wasn\u0026rsquo;t convinced it was for show.\nJake suddenly stood back up and belted Wanted Dead or Alive, starting in the middle of the chorus, just the way Robin hated. She flung a spoonful of chocolate at Jake\u0026rsquo;s face. He dodged it, undeterred, and swung his body around the island playing air guitar while pretending to drive. Robin rolled her eyes and had a chocolate-dipped strawberry, but couldn\u0026rsquo;t help tapping her foot.\nShe followed with Beyond the Sea, her eyes glimmering and wet by the time Jake took over, loudly humming the jazz break. He knew what the song meant, and took a few more verses while Robin absentmindedly snapped her fingers, gazing out the window above the sink to the dormant fields.\nShe tasted the air, salt thick on her tongue, as she chased her parents into the sun. The prairie turned to sand, the horizon flowed with water as her mind rushed her back with the tide. Songs blaring on the speakers they brought to their picnics, towels spread on a stretch of beach only visible from a wooded hilltop.\nJake\u0026rsquo;s vamping of a single bar finally caught in her ear. She turned around, preparing to apologize again, but heeded his earnest look. After wiping her eyes and sniffling her nose, belted out the final chorus with Jake harmonizing.\n\u0026ldquo;Thanks, as always.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Hey, that\u0026rsquo;s a big improvement over sorry.\u0026rdquo;\nRobin smiled, grabbed her pack, and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.\nJake cussed at his clumsy fingers while trying to stuff them in his mouth, nursing the burnt skin. \u0026ldquo;Every damn microwave is too different on the inside, they all do the same thing\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Hurt yourself again?\u0026rdquo; Robin smiled and leaned down next to him, noticing the small bit of smoke that had escaped a circuit. \u0026ldquo;I would\u0026rsquo;ve imagined that by the sixth time, you\u0026rsquo;d be more careful. Or just better.\u0026rdquo; She twirled the duct tape around her fingers, set it down next to the microwave and ate a bit of jerky, offering a piece to Jake.\n\u0026ldquo;Cool it.\u0026rdquo; He grabbed the jerky with his free hand, replacing the taste of his fingers with salt and pepper and sugar. He wiped the sweat from his brow, frowned at the small generator next to him, and gingerly tested his if fingers could still hold the soldering iron. Satisfied, he nodded at Robin and centered himself on the number pad of the microwave, which was now dangling by only a few wires, revealing circuitry within.\nRobin went back to the entryway, where small circuit boards and coils of wire lay along the base of the stairwell. Each board was labeled with pieces of tape: Fridge - Upper, Fridge - Lower, Toaster. An empty spot was labeled Microwave. She looked them over again, making sure everything was in order. The boards needed modification, but less than when they came across new appliances. I suppose that\u0026rsquo;s on purpose.\nThe mechanical dials and analogue buttons in the house kept her at ease. Most things rang by a bell, beeps could be traced to a small speaker at the end of a wire, and certainly nothing talked to her. The twists and turns of the circuits in these old pieces were no harder to trace than a set of gears, and simplicity was safety.\nRobin took out her battered copy of The Martian Chronicles. She\u0026rsquo;d never traded it when they stopped: they never come across a copy of Asimov, which would be useful, or at least cathartic. So, she kept the Bradbury around. Ray wasn\u0026rsquo;t wrong about soft rains, but they didn\u0026rsquo;t come the way he expected. So many warnings from so many directions, yet they all went ahead anyway.\nRobin sat up and ran down to the cellar to get another piece of fruit, sprinting on her way up. She needed to keep moving to stop spiraling. They were prepared this time. The warning boards should work even better on the old mechanisms.\nWhether the retaliatory boards worked remained a mystery.\nJake hollered from the kitchen and Robin ran in, the duct tape still around her fingers. He was standing with his eyes fixed on the microwave now put together again. Robin glanced down and saw OKAY written on the small digital screen. Not moving his eyes, Jake said \u0026ldquo;Alright, we\u0026rsquo;re up and running! Let\u0026rsquo;s test it out.\u0026rdquo;\nHe took out a few sheets of paper from his pocket, and found one with a sketch of the house\u0026rsquo;s perimeter, some dots along the edges. He handed it to Robin. \u0026ldquo;Good luck hiding.\u0026rdquo;\nRobin grabbed the paper and headed outside through the back, greeted by the sun now barely grazing the top of the fields. She welcomed the cool morning breeze and the soft glow of light; it would make wearing the foil blanket more enjoyable than the summer months did.\nWith the crinkly cape trailing down to her heels, she slowly walked around the house, one small step every five seconds. Between steps she held her breath, imitating what they would do, and waited for Jake to make sure she hadn\u0026rsquo;t found an undetected spot.\nAfter a lap, she took a single step away from the house and went around again.\nThey took a break for lunch. On her way into the kitchen, Robin said \u0026ldquo;At least a quarter mile, and I bet the signal\u0026rsquo;s strong enough for twice that.\u0026rdquo;\nJake smiled and patted the top of the microwave. \u0026ldquo;Great, the opens pace helps.\u0026rdquo; He glanced at the refrigerator. \u0026ldquo;I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get much done with that during testing, so I\u0026rsquo;ll need the afternoon to get the other boards in.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Alright, let me know if I can help. I\u0026rsquo;ll check if there\u0026rsquo;s gas in the barn.\u0026rdquo;\nJake nodded and gathered his makeshift soldering station on the island. The boards had moved to the counter on either side of the refrigerator.\nRobin went out the back door again, now heading south into the midday sun a few hundred feet to a blue-gray barn, still in good shape, the doors secured by a large piece of wood. She hefted it out of the metal supports, and set it softly on the ground, ignoring the few splinters that found their way through her callused hands.\nA sense of darkness and foreboding crept through her mind moments before the smell reached her nose.\nShe covered her face with a small rag from her pocket and searched for resolve. You\u0026rsquo;ve seen it before, Robin. Hopefully you\u0026rsquo;ll live to see it again after this. Stay focused. Carefully, quietly, she pushed open one large door. She saw a bale of hay, some vehicles and hand tools, patio furniture, all revealed along the wall as the doorway widened. Then, she was in.\nA pause. Her eyes fixed on a tractor. She stepped back outside, her movements automatic. Grab the hose. To the kitchen. Get containers.\nRobin was back in front of the barn, her arms full. She blinked a few times and shook her head. They deserve someone to think of them.\nBack in the barn, she looked straight ahead at the two people suspended by cables from the ceiling, dangling ten feet above the ground, rotting more than the barn had in their lifetime. Their clothes had holes where the cables attached, where the current had gone through them like an unceasing bolt of lightning, leaving dark patches of scorched fabric and skin. There was nothing but the smell of burnt and rotting flesh, no feeling but the desire to forget it all and escape what she and Jake had seen so many times in their constant escape. Robin wretched, the bits of dried food fighting up her throat. She held them down, and kept her gaze on the floating couple a few moments longer. She said a prayer. Then a curse.\nShe closed her eyes, let a deep breath escape into the rag she still held on her face, then went to siphon the gasoline.\nEvening came, sunlight streaming through the windows of the entryway, a glow of orange light making its way to the kitchen where Jake and Robin sat at the table eating and playing poker.\nJake set the deck down between hands and reached for a bag on the table. \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;ll ever get sick of jerky. If I ever complain, slap me.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Gladly.\u0026rdquo; Robin took a piece for herself. Rotting meat flashed in her mind. She pushed it away.\nJake dealt a hand of two cards to them both and tossed a few woodchips onto the middle of the table as Robin put hers in. She habitually grabbed her cards with a flourish and stared just over the top of them at Jake, her eyes sharp and fierce. A moment later, she felt them softening.\nSeeing the luster fading, he set down his cards and reached for her hands. They sat for a long moment, the silence of the dead surrounding them.\nOnly flashlights illuminated the kitchen floor as they slouched against the island, sometimes glancing at the containers wired to the refrigerator, mostly staring at the microwave. It read OKAY and that\u0026rsquo;s as good as they felt: Jake had found some bottles of moonshine in the cellar. Robin knew she wasn\u0026rsquo;t quite drunk. Neither of them had been since the night they met. They drank just enough to be okay.\nJake took another sip.\n\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s not good\u0026hellip; but it makes everything warm.\u0026rdquo;\nRobin nodded, slowly, uncertain of her body. \u0026ldquo;Do you remember learning about prohibition in school?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I hardly remember school. But it rings a bell.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;After the first world war, the country banned drinking. It was a whole thing. Lasted ten or fifteen years.\u0026rdquo;\nJake frowned, looking at the bottle between them. \u0026ldquo;People will either kill themselves, or invent something to do it for them. What a waste of a law.\u0026rdquo; He took another sip and passed it to Robin. She lifted the bottle up, looking through the walls at the barn. Jake nodded.\nA noise. Robin sat up. A repeating alarm. She ran down the stairs. Jake was already at the door packing their bags. Robin went to the kitchen. She needed to confirm. The toaster was torn apart, their circuit board removed. The refrigerator was still whirring, and the screen dangling from wires in the ice dispenser said READY.\nThe microwave\u0026rsquo;s small display said RUN.\nIllumination to the south, orange flames and billowing smoke, sparks of electricity between it all.\nJake stared straight ahead, letting the bags of food drop from his hands. Robin saw the flames reflected in his tears as they mixed with sweat. They both panted from the sprint.\n\u0026ldquo;Retaliatory boards worked.\u0026rdquo;\nJake nodded.\n\u0026ldquo;I wish we could\u0026rsquo;ve had one more night there.\u0026rdquo;\nHe nodded again. With a sip of moonshine and a bite of jerky, he walked back to the remains.\nRobin caught up a moment after. She choked down a sob and started humming I Will Survive. Jake joined in.\nAt sunrise they were gone. The group of reclaimers coming that day would find no boards, only two graves dug in the ashes, headed by crosses of metal limbs.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/they-come-again/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s the second story, a little late, but I think much better because of the time I took to actually revise it. Again the basic idea came from \u003cem\u003e/r/WritingPrompts\u003c/em\u003e, but I fleshed it out more. This has been a fun experience, and I look forward to doing a bit more in-depth editing and revising of my own work on longer pieces in the future.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"They Come Again (NaNoWriMo 2020 Story 2)"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve started using the wonderful app Ferrite on my iPad to edit podcasts. While I still love Ardour, and it is a powerful program for bigger edits, Ferrite is very clean and meant for podcasts, as opposed to being a tool designed for music production that podcasters try to use.\nMany months ago I tried using this app and ran into small issues with chapters not working how I expected in my podcast player, Pocketcasts, and just not being able to get my head wrapped around how editing works.\nIn Ardour, my way of editing is to split the audio into different sections, then I can manually cut or boost the gain of that section. This is not possible to do in Ferrite; any manual audio adjustment must be done with \u0026ldquo;automation curves\u0026rdquo;, which I still find way more clunky to deal with. Also, splitting into sections is not the typical operating mode, with outright \u0026ldquo;removal\u0026rdquo; of sections being the key. This I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten used to though, because the touch-first method of editing makes this very natural.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s really the killer feature of Ferrite is how simple dealing with chapters is now. It has all the features I could want for both podcasts I do, even more features than I could figure out how to build into my mrmp3 program a few months ago. So, if nothing else, it\u0026rsquo;s likely going to take the place of that program for post-production of everything because it is so straightforward. I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to edit every episode of Comical Start in the app for the past month, and I\u0026rsquo;ve edited an episode of OHAC. (The next episode may not end up being done in Ferrite, because Jack\u0026rsquo;s audio is a bit whacky and I\u0026rsquo;m still not comfortable handling that on my iPad.)\nEither way, if you have an iPad and want to edit the spoken word, podcast or otherwise, check out Ferrite. In particular, check out this post by Jason Snell (in particular the video), which was vital in getting my head wrapped around the new way to edit in Ferrite. The app makes me want to do more audio work, because it\u0026rsquo;s so easy, particularly when the audio you start with is of reasonable quality. It\u0026rsquo;s great to work with, and I\u0026rsquo;m happy I found another tool to make podcasts more enjoyable.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/ferrite-for-ipad/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve started using the wonderful app \u003ca href=\"https://www.wooji-juice.com/products/ferrite/\"\u003eFerrite\u003c/a\u003e on my iPad to edit podcasts. While I still love Ardour, and it is a powerful program for bigger edits, Ferrite is very clean and meant for podcasts, as opposed to being a tool designed for music production that podcasters try to use.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ferrite: Editing Podcasts on iPad"},{"content":"A text adventure would not be useful to me if it was not written down. Particularly when the goal is to have an unfeeling, strict parser doling out commands only when successfully prompted, it\u0026rsquo;s important to have a reference that is clear, contains maps and explanatory information, space for notes, and everything the \u0026ldquo;computer\u0026rdquo; needs to say throughout the game.\nWith the exception of Recurring Nightmare, I write every text adventure using LaTeX. Over time I\u0026rsquo;ve built up commands and formatting to make this process simpler. For Recurring Nightmare, I tried my hand at InDesign since I had received a license from work. That license no longer exists, and it\u0026rsquo;s easier for me to edit a .tex document than an InDesign document, so LaTeX continues to be the way forward.\nIn this post I\u0026rsquo;ll talk about some of the decisions I made for formatting my document, how I make maps, and other bits of trivia that come to mind.\nWhen I began writing Sail Away, I had no clue how to set up my document in a logical way. I had the general idea of likely needing multiple columns, but that was where the thoughts ended. So, I purchased a Parsely adventure PDF to have some point of comparison.\nSome key design elements were minimizing how many pages the adventure spanned, differentiating between spoken words and notes, and trying to establish a visual consistency with the topic of the adventure. Those first two are pretty easy; the last one I only attempted when using InDesign and don\u0026rsquo;t have clear plans to continue with.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s great about a digital medium is that you can make the size of the paper larger without compromising on anything, as you can always zoom in later when using it. I found that my sweet spot was A3 paper (about 11.7\u0026quot; by 16.5\u0026quot;) in landscape, then I use 3 or 4 columns of text. Most of my adventures fit on one of these papers using 10pt font.\nTo denote speaking, I use a \u0026ldquo;command prompt\u0026rdquo; style beginning with a greater-than sign, and all text in italics. Both the room descriptions and results of commands are written in this way. Exits are listed in red, while possible commands are listed in blue.\nEventually I built up custom LaTeX commands to do all of these. Here\u0026rsquo;s the preamble I\u0026rsquo;ve put together for my adventures.\n\\documentclass[10pt]{extreport} \\usepackage{multicol} \\setlength{\\columnsep}{0.3cm} \\usepackage[landscape,margin=0.2in]{geometry} \\geometry{a3paper} \\usepackage[T1]{fontenc} \\renewcommand*\\familydefault{\\sfdefault} \\usepackage[document]{ragged2e} \\usepackage[usenames, dvipsnames]{color} \\usepackage{graphicx} \\usepackage{asymptote} \\linespread{1} \\usepackage{hyperref} \\usepackage{enumitem} \\usepackage{adjustbox} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\setlist{itemsep=0mm} \\newcommand{\\room}[1]{ \\noindent\\textit{\u0026gt; #1}\\\\ } \\newcommand{\\move}[3]{ \\textcolor{blue}{\\textbf{#1} #2}: \\textit{\u0026gt; #3}\\\\ } \\newcommand{\\exits}[1]{ \\textcolor{red}{EXITS ARE: #1}\\\\ } \\setlist[itemize]{leftmargin=*} The various packages are just meant to allow me to do smaller bits of formatting, add links between sections, include images, and provide support for the Asymptote vector language that I use for maps. The main commands can be seen in each line that starts \\newcommand.\nWe have \\room, which is just shorthand for providing the description of a room; this comes immediately after the section header for a room.\nAfter that I use \\exits, which again only takes one argument that is a list of exits. This is so I don\u0026rsquo;t have to make the color red and prepend \u0026ldquo;EXITS ARE:\u0026rdquo; before each list of exits.\nFinally, I\u0026rsquo;ll use \\move several times, one for each move that is allowed in a room. This one takes three commands, which are typically an action, an object that is acted upon, and the description of what happens as a result. The reason the verb is a separate part of the command is that I chose to make that bold blue, whereas the object is not bold. For example, I could do the following.\n\\move{Inspect}{table}{The table has two small drawers, both locked. You also see a watch and a pen on top of the table.} With LaTeX, it\u0026rsquo;s harder to get into really custom fonts (or at least harder for me to find them and figure out how to make them work.) To that end, the visual design of all my adventures is the same, with basic headers and very polygonal maps with little flair. They are quite usable, but not publishable, particularly compared to the Parsely adventures that have a lot of visual elements that add to the experience for the person playing the parser.\nThe benefit of using LaTeX is that it\u0026rsquo;s everywhere. I can easily make edits to an adventure from any of my devices, and the early decision to not worry about design keeps me free to focus on writing a good adventure. Perhaps in the future I\u0026rsquo;ll play around with building out more exciting versions of the documents, like I did for Recurring Nightmare, but considering I don\u0026rsquo;t have the background to do anything spectacular it\u0026rsquo;s unlikely.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventures-part-4-the-document/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA text adventure would not be useful to me if it was not written down. Particularly when the goal is to have an unfeeling, strict parser doling out commands only when successfully prompted, it\u0026rsquo;s important to have a reference that is clear, contains maps and explanatory information, space for notes, and everything the \u0026ldquo;computer\u0026rdquo; needs to say throughout the game.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the exception of \u003cem\u003eRecurring Nightmare\u003c/em\u003e, I write every text adventure using LaTeX. Over time I\u0026rsquo;ve built up commands and formatting to make this process simpler. For \u003cem\u003eRecurring Nightmare\u003c/em\u003e, I tried my hand at InDesign since I had received a license from work. That license no longer exists, and it\u0026rsquo;s easier for me to edit a .tex document than an InDesign document, so LaTeX continues to be the way forward.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this post I\u0026rsquo;ll talk about some of the decisions I made for formatting my document, how I make maps, and other bits of trivia that come to mind.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventures Part 4: The Document"},{"content":"Although I\u0026rsquo;m not doing a complete take of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, I still wanted to put in some concerted effort writing some pieces that weren\u0026rsquo;t blog posts or text adventures. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve committed to writing at least 2 short stories this month, a medium I find beautiful and incredibly tricky to nail down.\nThis first one is particularly short, only about 3 pages if printed, and the idea comes from a post on /r/WritingPrompts.\nPerfect Shot \u0026ldquo;How do you go about tracking?\u0026rdquo; The man with the hat takes a sip from his drink, raising his eyebrows at the other man, a shorter fellow dressed down without a tie.\n\u0026ldquo;The key,\u0026rdquo; he says with foam on his mustache, \u0026ldquo;is to use your knees and hips, keeping your arms stable.\u0026rdquo; He twists on his stool, elbows out and hands cupped near his eyes. \u0026ldquo;I was always told to keep my neck relaxed, but firmly in place.\u0026rdquo;\nHe twists back to the man with the hat, and rests his feet on the few bags piled below his stool.\nThe man in the hat nods. \u0026ldquo;Yes, but you can\u0026rsquo;t have your elbows spread like that, not when a small adjustment can get everything out of frame. You must stay within yourself.\u0026rdquo; He tucks his elbows close to his chest, only a few inches away. \u0026ldquo;A twitch or itch is all it takes to ruin the shot.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I find that pretty subjective,\u0026rdquo; says the man without a tie. \u0026ldquo;If it\u0026rsquo;s comfortable, I can\u0026rsquo;t imagine it being wrong. Either way, I never found tracking to be the difficult part. Timing always messed with me.\u0026rdquo;\nAnother sip before the man with the hat responds. \u0026ldquo;That is tricky. How do you teach someone to jump, or slip into a line of cars properly? I\u0026rsquo;m not sure you can. Anyone I\u0026rsquo;ve met in the profession has just had a knack for timing.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Well, I suppose that\u0026rsquo;s true. I guess I\u0026rsquo;ve always wished I could get it in one, rather than having to take so many as quickly as I can manage. It\u0026rsquo;s demoralizing.\u0026rdquo;\nThe man with the hat raises his eyebrows again, while his neighbor continues.\n\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s certainly easier on a longer distance, at least mentally. I don\u0026rsquo;t feel like each shot makes things change quite as much.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;No wonder you\u0026rsquo;ve had trouble, that\u0026rsquo;s no way to think about things!\u0026rdquo; The man with the hat quickly takes a sip from his drink, sitting up straighter. \u0026ldquo;You have to get all that trash out of your head, friend. Distance makes no difference, you have to take your job and its affect on the world around you seriously no matter where you set up.\n\u0026ldquo;I have no idea what your background is, friend, but maybe you\u0026rsquo;ve heard rumblings of quantum mechanics if you run in circles of educated folks. I find it a helpful metaphor for what we do. Just observing the world will change it, and your distance from what you\u0026rsquo;re observing makes no difference. An ant below your foot, a deer hundreds of yards away, all affected by your glance. If you make yourself believe that, at least you can seriously start figuring out what method of timing works for you.\u0026rdquo;\nThe man without a tie taps his fingers on the bar as he receives this lecture, looking down at his feet, then over to his neighbor\u0026rsquo;s, a similar arrangement of black bags as his own near the stool. Then, a longer drink from his beer before looking up towards the man with a hat.\n\u0026ldquo;I suppose outbursts like that are commonplace in bars down here.\u0026rdquo; He takes another sip from his beer. \u0026ldquo;While I don\u0026rsquo;t like being chided by a stranger, I\u0026rsquo;m interested. What methods of timing are you talking about?\u0026rdquo;\nIgnoring the comment on his manners, the man with the hat continues immediately. \u0026ldquo;First, you must decide whether you breathe in with the shot, out with the shot, or do not breathe at all. Trembling hands can be accounted for, but if you want perfection, you must consider how all of your body is going to work together.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t see how those relate to how I perceive my effect at a distance.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;You must keep your breath consistent no matter how far away you are. If you breathe in or out too quickly, it will certainly affect the target that is close. But it won\u0026rsquo;t do any good to breathe in when close, and out when farther away. That\u0026rsquo;s madness! You\u0026rsquo;ll never be consistent, and consistency is all that matters!\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I take your point.\u0026rdquo; He tugs near his collar, loosening the tie that is not there. \u0026ldquo;But, it seems your idea is running backwards. Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t I just determine which way I want to breathe, and not worry about distance after that?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;No, no, you have it all wrong. Understanding that distance isn\u0026rsquo;t a factor is the key! You have to treat it seriously no matter the distance, and that will lead you to the right choice in breathing, in grip, in how you arrange your body to take the time you need.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;You\u0026rsquo;re an interesting person to share a drink with. In all my time, I\u0026rsquo;ve certainly made decisions about each of those points. I breathe out, I relax my fingers except the thumb and index, and always have one knee on the ground unless I must be standing. Yet I never considered the distance to be fundamental, just another factor to consider.\u0026rdquo;\nWith a heavy sigh, the man with the hat signals the bartender for another drink, which he consumes half of before continuing. \u0026ldquo;Though you may switch tools, and in that way it is just a factor, the foundation must bet set.\n\u0026ldquo;Remember, even the professional is never done learning, and must always chase the perfect shot.\u0026rdquo;\nHe finishes the rest of his drink, and tips his hat. \u0026ldquo;Have a good afternoon, friend.\u0026rdquo; He picks up his bags near his stool, and leaves the bar.\nAfter several seconds of staring somewhat blankly at the exit, the man without a tie swivels back to the bar. He contemplates the small bit of foam left atop his beer, the circles of draft staining the glass, each ring marking the flow of conversation. He takes a final, swift drink, leaving a tip to cover both him and the man with a hat.\nLeaving the bar, he veers right, toward a hill overlooking the plaza. The sun blazes on his skin, a sweat of liquor and salt slowly forms on his forehead. He\u0026rsquo;s thankful for not wearing a tie as he takes a small cloth and wipes his face.\nCutting across a corner of the street, he spots an unoccupied piece of lawn beneath a tree. Others would be there soon to watch the parade. He is thankful once more for getting there early.\nA small tarp is laid out, then he sits with legs crossed. One more wipe of his forehead. With practiced and patient hands he opens his bags, finding a sufficient plateu for his tripod. A camera body is mounted, while various lenses are scattered about him in an apparently random way. A quick wipe of his hands as he starts putting on, then removing, each lens in turn, habitually finding them precisely where he expects on the ground around him. Feeling satisfied with the arrangement, he finally attaches a modest zoom lens and begins testing his view of the plaza.\nA cobblestone road leads in and out, where cars, pedestrians, and cyclists all go about a fountain during the day. Police officers are slowly guiding cars along detours while blockading the parade route. He goes on one knee, and imagines that his breath changes which way the officer might direct the next car: Breath in, to the left; hold, go straight; then out, to the right.\nHe switches lenses a few more times, preparing those which he expects to use the most as he scans the parade.\nThen, a break. He takes the melon, meat, cheese, and crackers his wife packed from the small lunch tin.\nHe checks his watch. Fifteen minutes, no more than twenty. He stands up and stretches, then goes back down to one knee. He checks each part of his camera and begins scanning the scene, imagining a small float rolling by as he tracks it with a swivel of his hips.\nThe parade comes, led by the mayor and his wife. He quickly gets images of kids thrilled by candy tossed their way, of the local butcher driving a pickup with the top off and large horns on the front. As he moves up to see the stilt-walkers, a flash catches his eye to the left, across the street.\nTracking another part of the parade through an open apartment window is the man with a hat, a pair of binoculars to his face.\nThe man without a tie begins to sweat. Small drops of perspiration start to form around his eye, causing discomfort as he looks through the viewfinder. He watches as the man with a hat breathes in and out, slowly, then holds his breath and leans down towards the window sill.\nThe man without a tie quickly turns his face, wiping it. The retort of a gun echoes through the plaza, and screams erupt around the parade. Quickly moving back to the camera, he manages to see blood at the front of the procession, the mayor\u0026rsquo;s wife in hysterics.\nHe takes a picture before tracking back to the apartment window, getting only a glance at a hat and the barrel of a rifle, too late for his index finger and thumb to launch the shutter.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/perfect-shot-nanowrimo-2020-story-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough I\u0026rsquo;m not doing a complete take of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, I still wanted to put in some concerted effort writing some pieces that weren\u0026rsquo;t blog posts or text adventures. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve committed to writing at least 2 short stories this month, a medium I find beautiful and incredibly tricky to nail down.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis first one is particularly short, only about 3 pages if printed, and the idea comes from a post on \u003cem\u003e/r/WritingPrompts\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Perfect Shot (NaNoWriMo 2020 Story 1)"},{"content":"Text adventures are, almost by necessity, designed to railroad the player into doing something without it being obvious or annoying. Any mechanics introduced should be a natural extension to the world the player discovers, provide sufficient freedom so they don\u0026rsquo;t feel like a funnel, yet guide the player in the correct direction. In the text adventures I\u0026rsquo;ve listen to played on the Cortex/Upgrade crossover episodes, I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed that mechanics often act as hints. They are like bumpers on a wall (which may kill you, but you can make a different decision the next time.)\nAll these realizations have come after thinking carefully through the mechanics and puzzles I wrote which were clearly bad (and the few which were actually good), and trying to figure out what precisely caused them to have the effect on the players they did. It\u0026rsquo;s often me not paying attention to my good sense and the feedback of testers. More frequently it\u0026rsquo;s me trying to subdue the text adventure genre until it allows me to try and tell a story, rather than building a story that works within a framework.\nDirectly, most of my text adventure failures have come from a single mechanic undermining any positive decisions I made.\nSail Away While I handled the mechanics of talking with NPCs reasonably well in this adventure, the main failure was creating an ongoing battle. This was a difficult decision, as I didn\u0026rsquo;t want the battle to fade into the background and lose its sense of urgency. Instead I swung too far in the opposite direction, and built a game mechanic for an RPG. There was randomly-assigned cannon fire, an NPC fighting against a boarding crew, and much more. While my players where lenient with me, I found it to be tough to manage and not nearly as engaging as it could have been. There was a great opportunity for a puzzle, something more subtle, or even a better way to handle such a fight that was in line with the genre.\nI learned about building mechanics that are more natural to the world after this, but did not change their ambition.\nHomestead The puzzles created in this game were rather self-evident: You need water, and you need food. In something survival-based, there must be consequences for not finding the materials you need fast enough. So, I built in slightly perverse mechanics that forced the player to start the game with near perfection, otherwise they would die of thirst. I had a similar mechanic for going to sleep and getting food, although that was a bit more lenient.\nThe difficult thing with such mechanics is not allowing it to be too arbitrary. I had to allow a watch so the player could keep track of things, yet it caused distances to be a little distorted because I had to set times for travel, and somewhat ignore the time spent at the place itself. It\u0026rsquo;s not unusual to have these types of mechanics in a text adventure, but I had only listened to one such instance of them; I did not have insight into the details of the mechanics. It actually ended up going rather well, partly because it was a familiar way of running such a game. Despite the final \u0026ldquo;puzzle\u0026rdquo; of making a bow being a bit too subtle, Homestead was a great success on this front than Sail Away. However, I wanted to move away from standard mechanics.\nCoffee and Donuts Mechanically, this game was far more ambitious than any others. I wanted to include a good hunk of math hidden away, and so the map became a tic-tac-toe board that changed with a dial controlled by the player. The doors would move, and rooms would \u0026ldquo;wrap around\u0026rdquo; in a way that was confusing to the player. My one regret was that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t come up with a single set of walls that would be consistent across all maps, and still utilize the several maps that I wanted.\nThe goal of this map was to explore different geometries, based on different mathematical objects. When you reach the \u0026ldquo;end\u0026rdquo; of a map, you can actually wrap around to a different room depending on how the rooms are connected mathematically. This leads to several maps needed to be created, as well as a fun little game for me, where the player has to beat an NPC controlled by me in a game of tic-tac-toe on the current board selected. To that end, depending on the map, they can win or lose in a fashion that seems totally unfair. This whole mechanic was a strong point of this game.\nThe more standard puzzles that made up the game were a mismatch for the map. They were poorly-designed, and I did not take the feedback when play-testing as seriously as I should have. As a result, the entire game suffered. However, the idea of a shifting map has a lot of room for growth, and I will revisit it with a more critical eye in the future.\nRecurring Nightmare The basic idea for this game was simple, and so I needed mechanics that would not overcomplicate the premise of the story. This led me to creating a meta-puzzle surrounding the game. The only real obstacle is a keypad the player must unlock to finish the game. Since there were four accessible rooms, I made the keypad have four dials.\nClues for the keypad ended up like the cliche line about jazz: It was always about the clues that weren\u0026rsquo;t there. A player could, rather quickly, \u0026ldquo;finish\u0026rdquo; the game by going through the four accessible rooms, yet they would gain no items or clear information. Everything was indirect, frustration being the only way to recognize that only four numbers were ever spoken throughout the game. Toss in a few clues related to the Fibonacci sequence for math nerds, and the puzzle ended up more satisfying that even I had intended.\nOverall, I\u0026rsquo;ve started to hit my stride with puzzles. I like meta-games, and minimalist rooms with very little to do. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I have a knack for the larger games I tried to build into Sail Away and Homestead, yet those basic ideas for stories can be a wonderful backdrop for clever mechanics. They must all work in tandem though, because one poorly-designed puzzle is enough to halt progress and leave a sour taste in a player\u0026rsquo;s mouth. There\u0026rsquo;s a fine line between puzzles that are satisfying to solve, and those that are difficult for the sake of being difficult. Of course that line is subjective and depends on the player, but I write my adventures exclusively for a group of friends that will play them for me, so the onus is on me to make sure they are satisfactory.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventures-part-3-the-mechanics/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eText adventures are, almost by necessity, designed to railroad the player into doing something without it being obvious or annoying. Any mechanics introduced should be a natural extension to the world the player discovers, provide sufficient freedom so they don\u0026rsquo;t feel like a funnel, yet guide the player in the correct direction. In the text adventures I\u0026rsquo;ve listen to played on the Cortex/Upgrade crossover episodes, I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed that mechanics often act as hints. They are like bumpers on a wall (which may kill you, but you can make a different decision the next time.)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll these realizations have come after thinking carefully through the mechanics and puzzles I wrote which were clearly bad (and the few which were actually good), and trying to figure out what precisely caused them to have the effect on the players they did. It\u0026rsquo;s often me not paying attention to my good sense and the feedback of testers. More frequently it\u0026rsquo;s me trying to subdue the text adventure genre until it allows me to try and tell a story, rather than building a story that works within a framework.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDirectly, most of my text adventure failures have come from a single mechanic undermining any positive decisions I made.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventures Part 3: The Mechanics"},{"content":"Although this is admittedly a privileged position to be in, the 2020 election snuck up on me. I got my mail-in ballot for California, but let it sit on my desk. I knew inside would be races for positions with which I was unfamiliar, having only lived in San Diego for a couple years and not knowing what the political environment was on the local level. In addition, the California Voter Information Guide let me know there would be 11 propositions that were difficult to parse, and had at least 4 pages each of thorough explanation and official arguments for and against them.\nFeeling a little overwhelmed by the voting that did not involve the presidential race (and that presidential race being uncertain nationwide, despite me knowing who I would vote for), the ballot remained on my desk for two weeks. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until a podcast introduction from ATP that it finally sunk in that the election was coming up incredibly fast, and I needed to get my vote in. So I sat down this past Thursday, and over the course of a couple hours researched and made decisions on the various candidates and measures filling my ballot.\nWith that done, I figured it was time to take a break from my self-indulgent series on text adventures, and focus on a particularly sticky election. I have no guess as to how it will turn out. Other people have summarized some of the main possible outcomes quite well, so I feel no need to do that. And since I am no longer working in a college dorm, I feel disconnected from the effects this nation\u0026rsquo;s politics have on people. I\u0026rsquo;m stuck between the privileged spot of wanting to simply focus on my daily work, and a deep discomfort for what precedent the past 4 years have set, and what the next 4 years could mean for our country.\nWhat has been most frustrating is the lack of respect for our country, and a disagreement in what it stands for. We\u0026rsquo;ve set up a system where people refuse to change it (or actively try to hamstring it) because that\u0026rsquo;s the only way for them to maintain power. We\u0026rsquo;ve also set up a system where discussions about the system, ignoring the specific politics of the day, seem nearly impossible to navigate. So many cling to the wisdom of Founding Fathers without recognizing that a large part of what they included was the ability to adapt and change within the system. Yet these avenues seem cut off from us until massive change is created.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a frustrating time, and I am discouraged by the thought of the presidential election. I find it unlikely that a transfer (or maintaining) of power will go smoothly, because the conversations are always about the wrong thing. It\u0026rsquo;s discouraging that reality has become inconsequential, and I\u0026rsquo;m not sure where my spot is in what the next few months will bring.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure this week will be a multiple-post week, at the expense of making any progress on NaNoWriMo. But this is a time for focusing on something much bigger than a certain creative itch, because I believe there\u0026rsquo;s much more at stake. It may be true that all the well-meaning people won\u0026rsquo;t be enough due to nefarious actors outside our control, but I hope we can start moving in a better direction.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/2020-election-pre-processing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough this is admittedly a privileged position to be in, the 2020 election snuck up on me. I got my mail-in ballot for California, but let it sit on my desk. I knew inside would be races for positions with which I was unfamiliar, having only lived in San Diego for a couple years and not knowing what the political environment was on the local level. In addition, the California Voter Information Guide let me know there would be 11 propositions that were difficult to parse, and had at least 4 pages each of thorough explanation and official arguments for and against them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2020 Election Pre-Processing"},{"content":"I want each text adventure I write to have a unique flavor. Mechanics aside, the story behind it should be fresh, typically built from a single idea, and the more I write the more my mind recognizes these singular bits of inspiration. One thought or phrase is typically enough for me to build a world from: sitting down with a thought, then branching out from the initial point in whatever way my mind flows. I\u0026rsquo;m going to discuss how this process worked for each of the four text adventures I\u0026rsquo;ve written and released so far, and try to dissect what I learned in the process. In the next post, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus more on the thought process (or lack thereof) that went into developing some of the game mechanics around these ideas.\nSail Away This was the first adventure I ever wrote, and I had a lot of aspirations. I figured I could replicate the complicated nature of the well-formed adventures I had listened to, while also adding my own mechanics to spice things up. I wanted a story of high adventure in a fanciful, exciting world. My mind leapt to a favorite movie from childhood, Treasure Planet.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an animated film that retells the story of Treasure Island, except in outer space. How could you not love that? In the movie, the space ships are modeled after 18th and 19th century sailing ships, except they make use of solar \u0026ldquo;winds\u0026rdquo; and some onboard propulsion. The crew members are various species, with Long John Silver being a cyborg. Armed with the idea of pirates and robots in space, I started exploring the setting of my story.\nThe setting needed to be on a similar ship of multiple levels. I initially chose to keep the setting vaguely similar, having the player set out from a port on a planet into the outer reaches of space. Making that clear, without assuming knowledge of Treasure Planet, proved difficult. So I grounded myself in an Earth port that happened to be called Neptune, and made the setting a ship on the ocean with a few aftermarket modifications. Not wanting to stray too far from the source material, I chose to include a few robots as crew members.\nIn building the map, I needed to understand the components of a basic sailing ship. While most people have heard some of the jargon (brig, crow\u0026rsquo;s nest, poop deck, bilge, and so on) I certainly had no clue how they related. A few searches later I was able to build out a layout of the ship. Details of how they officially connected would come later, since I had yet to determine what the story was about.\nThe main character should be important, so it was natural to make them a captain. The robot companions could be a couple of key crew members. While the conflict was pretty natural \u0026mdash; get the ship sailing, then win a fight against pirates \u0026mdash; I did not give sufficient thought to all those details (but that\u0026rsquo;s a story for when we talk mechanics.) Despite these basic moves that let the adventure follow expected beats of a sailing story, something was missing.\nI\u0026rsquo;d learned from other adventures that the goal of the game, and the player\u0026rsquo;s reason for being there, is often shrouded in mystery. Discovering what the starting point is can be a puzzle itself. To really drive that home, I gave the player amnesia at the start of the game. There was a ship they could explore, and that was about it. They would discover their role in the ship only after meeting their few robot companions (of varying ability) and figuring out how to access most of the rooms. Even today, I think this was a really great starting point that made for a fun adventure.\nThe overall idea of Sail Away is still very good, and I think has more to it that I could take advantage of. I\u0026rsquo;ll write more about how it fell apart in mechanics next time, but it established a baseline for how I could form new stories by explicitly adapting another.\nHomestead Sail Away had me feeling pretty good about the prospect of more adventures, but I wanted to take a sharp turn into a different genre. At some point, my brain latched onto the idea of taking cues from Hatchet, and writing a game where the player must survive in the woods.\nIn Hatchet, there are some key things the main character Brian must accomplish: Get clean water, make a fire, and figure out how to get some food. These all seemed to be reasonable expectations within a game. Writing the map was also easy. There would be woods, a river, a cave, and some rundown shack that could actually provide a few materials. The hill was added only after I determined the need for the player to escape at a particular time. I also believe this idea was strong, but I went in the wrong direction again with some mechanics and puzzles. This time I tried to maintain the integrity of the source, and did not make good decisions about what should be kept. After a disappointing ending to this one, my mind took another turn for inspiration.\nCoffee and Donuts Puzzles were the real fun behind text adventures. In a genre that is pretty deterministic, masking a puzzle in a clever way is important. I wanted to create a map inspired by a little geometry, and that was the focus of Coffee and Donuts. It was a square grid with shifting walls and doors, encouraging the player to explore from the outset.\nThe complicated map being a puzzle on its own, I wanted a mundane situation to surround it. Hence an intern at Pen and Paper Co. was born. I wanted this game to be more playful, like a fun-house, and wrote the description and bits of dialogue in this spirit. It was an incredibly fun game to write, and although a few puzzles went way too far, the combination of ideas was my greatest success so far. I\u0026rsquo;ll have much more to say here when it comes to mechanics and developing the puzzles I put in the game.\nRecurring Nightmare I have little memory of when the phrase Recurring Nightmare popped into my head, but I wrote it down as a text adventure idea one evening and wrote the entire game in a few hours the following day. This was perhaps the most natural progression any of the ideas had: take stereotypical nightmare scenarios, toss them in different rooms, and lay a meta-puzzle on top of it.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t have any of the classic nightmares, but I am aware of them. The overall goal was to get to the bathroom, since if you don\u0026rsquo;t make it you\u0026rsquo;ll always wet the bed. From there, it made sense to start the player in a classroom in just their underwear, establishing the setting of a small school.\nI knew teeth falling out is allegedly common, so that only could happen in a cafeteria. I searched a few more, and found being chased (which I definitely did experience in dreams a few times) and perpetually falling as two more. Finally, going into the classroom where everyone is staring and you\u0026rsquo;re late for a test capped it off.\nI enjoyed that this concept kept the adventure out of reality; I could make up rules because the player was explicitly in a dream. That led to much cleaner mechanics, making the final product my most successful adventure yet. Since then, I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to find ideas along a similar vein where dominoes have to fall in a obfuscated, but not complicated, fashion. The conceit should be simple and clear, with many things yet to be discovered that increase the complexity as the game goes on.\nSearching for these ideas is always enjoyable, and lets me stretch my creative muscles. Throughout high school and college I fought the need to take myself too seriously, and in these text adventures I can break out of that again.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventures-part-2-the-idea/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI want each text adventure I write to have a unique flavor. Mechanics aside, the story behind it should be fresh, typically built from a single idea, and the more I write the more my mind recognizes these singular bits of inspiration. One thought or phrase is typically enough for me to build a world from: sitting down with a thought, then branching out from the initial point in whatever way my mind flows. I\u0026rsquo;m going to discuss how this process worked for each of the four text adventures I\u0026rsquo;ve written and released so far, and try to dissect what I learned in the process. In the next post, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus more on the thought process (or lack thereof) that went into developing some of the game mechanics around these ideas.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventures Part 2: The Idea"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve written several in-person text adventures modeled after Parsely games over the past couple of years. Through persistent effort, I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to improve them and recently began to notice a particular style develop. Since I\u0026rsquo;m finally pleased with where they are headed, I figured I would document my journey in writing them: Why I write them, how I find ideas, how I develop those ideas, and the actual mechanisms of making a document as reference. This whole set of posts will probably be four parts over the next month. So we start off at the beginning: Why did I start writing these, and why am I still writing these?\nI Can Do That When I have an experience that tickles my brain, I\u0026rsquo;m susceptible to believing I can recreate it on my own. Thinking back, I\u0026rsquo;m sure part of it is a certain amount of self-confidence, yet time has showed me it\u0026rsquo;s more likely caused by under-estimating the work that was put into creating the experience. This often comes up in my tinkering with computers and programming. I\u0026rsquo;ve tried many projects over an evening or weekend, then either get swamped by the prerequisites or distracted by something new. I\u0026rsquo;ve played with game engines, read snippets of textbooks, and gone through many tutorials of software to try and build a version of a program, game, or idea I saw elsewhere. Despite pretty consistent failure in a long-term sense, I\u0026rsquo;ve exposed myself to, and gained appreciation for, the specialized skills people have. In rare instances, what I\u0026rsquo;m trying to recreate aligns with the skills I\u0026rsquo;ve developed over the years.\nPodcasts are a good example of this. While the podcasts I do are in no way professional, I think they\u0026rsquo;re entertaining for a certain group of people and I thoroughly enjoy recording and editing them. As I did more podcasts, I paid closer attention to the shows I listened to for new ideas and ways of crafting an episode. My favorite has been the Cortex/Upgrade annual special for the Relay FM network, where they play a Parsely in-person text adventure.\nThis mode of story-telling and gameplay immediately stuck. Constructing a narrative within a rigid puzzle framework the player must discover was incredibly enticing. While the creative and collaborative storytelling in a tabletop RPG can be immense fun, I immediately saw the challenge in building a standalone structure that must stand against the player while still providing enough engagement to actually be fun. I also believed I could make it myself.\nOver a month or two, I wrote and played Sail Away and Homestead, then quickly realized they did not represent my strengths. I wanted to make versions of the Parsely adventures I\u0026rsquo;d heard that were set in worlds that interested me. I made those worlds, and I\u0026rsquo;m happy with them. Yet I tried too hard to create new mechanics that made the game more challenging. My lack of experience and subtlety made those changes come at the cost of the experience being fun and rewarding. While I had not made a clone of what inspired me and was definitely moving in the direction of something uniquely mine, refinement was needed.\nI Can Improve Many projects get stalled or killed because I get lost in the beginning, unsure where to go and unwilling to commit the time I believe is necessary to get the product I want. The text adventures didn\u0026rsquo;t follow that pattern. I could work on them weeks or months apart from each other, yet still use the lessons learned to substantially improve them. The more I wrote and play them, the more motivation I had to keep building them.\nAfter my first two adventures went reasonably well, but also aware of some of the changes they needed, I wanted to push well beyond the boundaries of the adventures I\u0026rsquo;d seen. The next adventure I wrote, Coffee and Donuts, relied on a geometric map that changed during the game. It was always the same three-by-three grid of rooms, yet how they connected would adjust depending on a dial the player found. While it is a great idea that I\u0026rsquo;ll use again, everything else about the game was still overcomplicated or poorly designed. The motivation for the game was hidden away too much, and there were inane obstacles to what was already a reasonably tough concluding puzzle. I tried to mask this poor design with an amusing setting, but that was me simply not accepting that I\u0026rsquo;d done a poor job on this first pass and needed a strong revision. That revision didn\u0026rsquo;t come before playing it on OHAC, and the result was a really poor showing by the end. There were elements of a really good game there, and I was able to flex my writing style, but the puzzles needed work. It didn\u0026rsquo;t accomplish the goal of being entertaining and rewarding, so more had to be done next time.\nI tried to distill the success of Coffee and Donuts while tossing out the mundane puzzles built using physical objects inside the game. Out came Recurring Nightmare, where math was the entire game, and the player had no way of knowing so. There were no ancillary puzzles built on top of a larger mechanic. Instead, I wrote a minimalist scenario where the lack of information was the only clue the player had to work with. Immediately after I finished writing the adventure, it felt right. (Of course it so happened that a few weeks later, as I posted about last week, I came up with a better name. Oh well.) In my opinion, this game ran the best out of any I\u0026rsquo;ve made. It felt good to start finding my voice and seeing gains from the thought I put into writing these over time.\nThis whole process has taken a little under two years, with any one text adventure taking about a day to write, and several months of sitting on the feedback of previous ones. That worked well through now. Since I\u0026rsquo;ve hit on something that meshes with my sensibilities though, I can start making more text adventures in earnest, continuing to iterate on my style and design. I want to keep focusing on relatively simple maps with a strange twist, a glaringly obvious goal in the form of a physical obstacle, and a string of logical leaps needed to get there. I want to incorporate bits of real life information, whether that\u0026rsquo;s basic mathematics or some research into a topic that interests me. In Recurring Nightmare, there was the locked bathroom and the Fibonacci sequence. I\u0026rsquo;ve since written a new adventure that follows a similar scheme: A clear obstacle shrouded by bits of context. Playing it will teach me even more about what can work in these games, and I find that encouraging.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventures-part-1-why-i-write-them/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve written several in-person text adventures modeled after \u003ca href=\"http://www.memento-mori.com/\"\u003eParsely\u003c/a\u003e games over the past couple of years. Through persistent effort, I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to improve them and recently began to notice a particular style develop. Since I\u0026rsquo;m finally pleased with where they are headed, I figured I would document my journey in writing them: Why I write them, how I find ideas, how I develop those ideas, and the actual mechanisms of making a document as reference. This whole set of posts will probably be four parts over the next month. So we start off at the beginning: Why did I start writing these, and why am I \u003cem\u003estill\u003c/em\u003e writing these?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventures Part 1: Why I Write Them"},{"content":"Twine is a wonderful editor that lets you create interactive fiction. It auto-builds a big flow chart, and has some programming paradigms that allow adding many involved paradigms that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be possible in a Choose Your Own Adventure book, for example.\nI recently took my text adventure Recurring Nightmare and rewrote it slightly as Dream Sequence, which I\u0026rsquo;m going to run as an \u0026ldquo;in person\u0026rdquo; text adventure over the computer for my company. When I did that, I decided it would also be fun to try and write it up with Twine, since it\u0026rsquo;s a fairly simple map and game.\nI had to do some strange work to learn how combination locks work, but with the help of the internet I managed to get it in. The best part of Twine is that it exports as a single HTML file, making it pretty easy to post it in various places. So, you can now play through it on your own below. Enjoy. (Updated 10/24 to fix a bug.)\n[embed_twine story=\u0026ldquo;Dream_Sequence\u0026rdquo;]\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/dream-sequence-a-twine-story/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTwine is a wonderful editor that lets you create interactive fiction. It auto-builds a big flow chart, and has some programming paradigms that allow adding many involved paradigms that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be possible in a Choose Your Own Adventure book, for example.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI recently took my text adventure \u003cem\u003eRecurring Nightmare\u003c/em\u003e and rewrote it slightly as \u003cem\u003eDream Sequence\u003c/em\u003e, which I\u0026rsquo;m going to run as an \u0026ldquo;in person\u0026rdquo; text adventure over the computer for my company. When I did that, I decided it would also be fun to try and write it up with Twine, since it\u0026rsquo;s a fairly simple map and game.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dream Sequence: A Twine Story"},{"content":"After significant pestering from Netflix, I began watching The Umbrella Academy. It gripped me immediately, and I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed watching it. I\u0026rsquo;m nearing the end of Season 2 and so far the twists and turns have been handled deftly in my mind. I\u0026rsquo;m sure some could find some faults, but it\u0026rsquo;s been an amazing ride. Since last week I\u0026rsquo;ve known I wanted to write some brief thoughts on it, but I needed something to say. When comparing it to other superhero and supernatural shows I\u0026rsquo;ve seen, I realized it\u0026rsquo;s the show Heroes could have become.\nThe powers aren\u0026rsquo;t quite the same (except the parallel between Hiro and Five), nor are the people in Heroes siblings raised by an eccentric billionaire. Yet we get a band of people coming together with strange powers trying to fight against a force they misunderstand. While The Umbrella Academy has yet to dive into the 36 other people who theoretically could have strange powers, there is the same potential as in Heroes to play that card.\nHeroes is well-known for flopping hard after its first season. Characters were under-utilized, the plots were messy, and motivation was lacking. They couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a clear hook to maintain tension. It would have been a fine standalone season, or even a couple of movies, but there was no through-line. I think The Umbrella Academy does a much better job handling these powers. In Season 1, the effects of powers in the real world are largely ignored (as are potential issues with time travel), and I think that\u0026rsquo;s the right move. It establishes it\u0026rsquo;s strange, dark version of our modern world, apparently devoid of cellphones, and introduces a chaotic entity that some characters know they are facing against, but most are missing out on. The conflict between the characters is believable given their background, and the intertwining arcs of each sibling, though a bit predictable, is still really enjoyable.\nIf you have seen Heroes and enjoyed the first season, I think giving The Umbrella Academy a try is a good idea. If you like anti-heroes and apocalyptic fiction, definitely watch it. I\u0026rsquo;ve found it fascinating and entertaining, and it\u0026rsquo;s one of the few comic-based TV or movie series that\u0026rsquo;s given me a desire to read the originals.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-umbrella-academy-what-heroes-could-have-been/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter significant pestering from Netflix, I began watching \u003cem\u003eThe Umbrella Academy\u003c/em\u003e. It gripped me immediately, and I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed watching it. I\u0026rsquo;m nearing the end of Season 2 and so far the twists and turns have been handled deftly in my mind. I\u0026rsquo;m sure some could find some faults, but it\u0026rsquo;s been an amazing ride. Since last week I\u0026rsquo;ve known I wanted to write some brief thoughts on it, but I needed something to say. When comparing it to other superhero and supernatural shows I\u0026rsquo;ve seen, I realized it\u0026rsquo;s the show \u003cem\u003eHeroes\u003c/em\u003e could have become.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Umbrella Academy: What Heroes Could Have Been"},{"content":"A while ago I wrote my most recent text adventure, Recurring Nightmare. I think it\u0026rsquo;s my best one yet, with a clever puzzle hidden within it. It\u0026rsquo;s definitely the first I\u0026rsquo;d actually recommend other people try playing with friends.\nYou can listen to the play-through of it on OHAC 27.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve attached the PDF of the adventure below.\nRecurring Nightmare\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventure-recurring-nightmare/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA while ago I wrote my most recent text adventure, \u003cem\u003eRecurring Nightmare.\u003c/em\u003e I think it\u0026rsquo;s my best one yet, with a clever puzzle hidden within it. It\u0026rsquo;s definitely the first I\u0026rsquo;d actually recommend other people try playing with friends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can listen to the play-through of it on \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/2020/09/21/ohac-27-wetting-the-bed/\"\u003eOHAC 27\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve attached the PDF of the adventure below.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/images/RecurringNightmare.pdf\"\u003eRecurring Nightmare\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventure: Recurring Nightmare"},{"content":"On Saturday of this past weekend, I was able to check out the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. It\u0026rsquo;s a truly beautiful place.\nWhat struck me was a description of what the designer, Bernard Maybeck, intended to create when forming this area. First, he wanted to make sure that it was using the natural landscape. To that end, there is the large pond, trees and bushes growing all around it, and no desire to reform the landscape. Second, the intended feel was that of well-preserved Roman ruins. I think he nailed that. It\u0026rsquo;s gorgeous, and although out-of-place in the broader scope of San Francisco, walking around it really makes you feel like you\u0026rsquo;re in another world.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/palace-of-fine-arts-san-francisco/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn Saturday of this past weekend, I was able to check out the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. It\u0026rsquo;s a truly beautiful place.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/33BE49A2-4511-44F4-A3FB-36D468102209.jpeg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat struck me was a description of what the designer, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Maybeck\"\u003eBernard Maybeck\u003c/a\u003e, intended to create when forming this area. First, he wanted to make sure that it was using the natural landscape. To that end, there is the large pond, trees and bushes growing all around it, and no desire to reform the landscape. Second, the intended feel was that of well-preserved Roman ruins. I think he nailed that. It\u0026rsquo;s gorgeous, and although out-of-place in the broader scope of San Francisco, walking around it really makes you feel like you\u0026rsquo;re in another world.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco"},{"content":"What an amazing show. Of all the nostalgic cartoons I have from elementary and middle school, I think Avatar and Spongebob are the only two I will continue to watch for years. While Spongebob is simply a feel-good show for me, which helped establish my sense of humor over the years and always puts a smile on my face, Avatar deals with issues more sincerely and deeply, in a way that is accessible to its younger audience.\nI decided to rewatch(?) the last season of Avatar over the past week. I\u0026rsquo;d seen the first two seasons quite a lot growing up, but only managed to catch bits of the final season once when it was on TV originally. Watching it again was quite affecting. It is an emotionally dense show with clear morals, without it being quite as in-your-face as, say, The Clone Wars television show. (That\u0026rsquo;s also an awesome show, but just has a different feel to it.)\nNow that I have dropped myself back into this fantasy world, I discovered The Legend of Korra on Netflix as well. I had never heard of this show before, since it aired after my TV-watching days were at their peak. I\u0026rsquo;ve started the show, and find it a fantastic sequel, aimed squarely at teenagers (or those just a little older) who appreciate what Avatar has to offer, but want something that handles things more maturely. Its antagonists are less binary: We don\u0026rsquo;t have a fire-bending dictator, but rather someone who wants to remove bending to promote freedom. It\u0026rsquo;s a huge shift in focus, but the world has been handed off succinctly and deftly to a new generation of characters (far more effectively than Star Wars managed to do in the sequels.)\nFor anyone who hasn\u0026rsquo;t watched Avatar, give it a go. Regardless of age, there is so much joy, frustration, sadness, and excitement to be found in it. While it can be silly, and it is a kids show, there is depth in each short episode that we can pull a lot from.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/avatar-the-last-airbender/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhat an amazing show. Of all the nostalgic cartoons I have from elementary and middle school, I think \u003cem\u003eAvatar\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSpongebob\u003c/em\u003e are the only two I will continue to watch for years. While Spongebob is simply a feel-good show for me, which helped establish my sense of humor over the years and always puts a smile on my face, \u003cem\u003eAvatar\u003c/em\u003e deals with issues more sincerely and deeply, in a way that is accessible to its younger audience.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Avatar: The Last Airbender"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m planning on making the best use of this long weekend that I can, since it\u0026rsquo;ll likely be the last one I get until Thanksgiving. To that end:\nhttps://xkcd.com/157/\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/long-weekend/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m planning on making the best use of this long weekend that I can, since it\u0026rsquo;ll likely be the last one I get until Thanksgiving. To that end:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/filler_art.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://xkcd.com/157/\"\u003ehttps://xkcd.com/157/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e","title":"Long Weekend"},{"content":"Erin and I embarked on yet another cross-country road trip from Minnesota to California this past weekend. It\u0026rsquo;s the third we\u0026rsquo;ve had, and each one has proven more successful than the last.\nTo some extent, I\u0026rsquo;m sure it\u0026rsquo;s that we\u0026rsquo;re just getting better at driving for long stretches of time. Another factor is preparation: We find snacks to share, and have some more media in common we can consume. We both have podcasts we enjoy together, and Erin figured out how to merge our individual playlists to create one massive playlist. Then, listening to music is no longer a \u0026ldquo;Your music or My music\u0026rdquo;, but a good combination of both.\nWhile experience has certainly helped manage the logistics of a road trip, our increased success has definitely been helped by improvement in our ability to work together and be in a cramped space, with little to do. We\u0026rsquo;ve learned how to appreciate that as legitimate time together, and a good experience overall.\nOf course, we aren\u0026rsquo;t perfect. I always get anxious when someone else is driving my car, particularly for a long drive such as a road trip. I\u0026rsquo;ve had to learn how to keep myself occupied and just let it happen. I also need to recognize that I like driving because it keeps my mind and hands occupied for a long stretch of time, and that Erin will also enjoy that experience. Being willing to switch off driving, despite some factors that make me hesitant, is important to a successful road trip if both people want to have the option to drive.\nOverall it was a great trip. There was a lot to go up against: A massive storm for the first two hours after we left the first day; a long stretch of Wyoming that led to both of us being rather tired; and the threat of wildfires once we reached California. (Luckily, those didn\u0026rsquo;t cause an actual issue. An overheated semi led Google to bring us on a winding detour which happened to make Erin a bit nauseous.) Despite all that, we helped each other through and had a great time. Of course, road trips are not for everyone. Road trip or not, any long-term situations with a little bit of pressure are an excellent litmus test for a relationship. Life doesn\u0026rsquo;t get much less stressful over the years, so being able to work through a concentrated amount is an important skill.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/road-trip-test/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eErin and I embarked on yet another cross-country road trip from Minnesota to California this past weekend. It\u0026rsquo;s the third we\u0026rsquo;ve had, and each one has proven more successful than the last.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Road Trip Test"},{"content":"After several months back in Minnesota, I\u0026rsquo;m finally preparing to head back to California. There is a lot to be said for a change in scenery. It\u0026rsquo;s become a bit difficult to focus in my current set-up in Minnesota. There are more distractions than I\u0026rsquo;ve been used to prior, and I no longer have the same desk situation from the past couple of months. I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to getting a reset.\nHowever, changes in scenery can be useful in the short term as well. Something I discovered last year during NaNoWriMo was changing where I work when I lose focus is perhaps the most efficient way to get my work done. While I am in a certain flow, there is no need to interrupt, but maintaining awareness of my mental state and not being afraid to change up my environment is massively useful.\nGoing back to my apartment offers me more environments that are conducive to focus. In Minnesota, I mainly have my room, the kitchen table, and the couch. At best two of those are useful, but really just my room has been of any use. In my apartment, I have several spots in my room, and my deck, all of which have been positive spots for me to work. This is more important during extended work-from-home times, as presented in Spaceship You from CGP Grey.\nTry to find new scenery, as mundane as it is; even a simple rotation to a new surface can make do.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/another-change-in-scenery/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter several months back in Minnesota, I\u0026rsquo;m finally preparing to head back to California. There is a lot to be said for a change in scenery. It\u0026rsquo;s become a bit difficult to focus in my current set-up in Minnesota. There are more distractions than I\u0026rsquo;ve been used to prior, and I no longer have the same desk situation from the past couple of months. I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to getting a reset.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Another Change in Scenery"},{"content":"This post is a little late since I was camping this past weekend. A good chunk of my time was spent sitting in a chair (or in a hammock, or on a diving platform in the water) reading some books. While camping for about 3 days, I was able to finish 3 books. Managing to read that much was an excellent starting point for my brain. I felt focused and calm while reading, and was able to ignore my phone (particularly since there\u0026rsquo;s no service where I was.)\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been a rather hectic summer, both at work and in aspects of my personal life. It\u0026rsquo;s a big change being back in Minnesota for so long. Getting away and finding time to just read was incredibly helpful, and I need to keep in mind that reading is such a simple cure for a lot of mental hubbub that goes on.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/reading-as-a-reset/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis post is a little late since I was camping this past weekend. A good chunk of my time was spent sitting in a chair (or in a hammock, or on a diving platform in the water) reading some books. While camping for about 3 days, I was able to finish 3 books. Managing to read that much was an excellent starting point for my brain. I felt focused and calm while reading, and was able to ignore my phone (particularly since there\u0026rsquo;s no service where I was.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Reading as a Reset"},{"content":"The word came in this week that my company will be working from home until at least the end of the year. Although we\u0026rsquo;ve already been working from home for about 5 months now, knowing that it\u0026rsquo;s another 5 months (and that I\u0026rsquo;ll be heading back to San Diego fairly soon) changes the feeling a bit.\nThe first thought I had was that another 5 months of only sitting at a desk is not ideal. For 18 months I used a standing desk, only sitting down in a side chair to do some reading or serious thinking. Particularly since my new role in the company requires far less of that type of time, I\u0026rsquo;m missing a standing desk even more. However, I\u0026rsquo;m not in a spot to actually purchase a standing desk I\u0026rsquo;d be happy with right now, so I\u0026rsquo;m considering other temporary options. For example, there a table-top \u0026ldquo;sit-stand\u0026rdquo; converter solutions, which I\u0026rsquo;ve been looking into.\nMy other main thought is that I\u0026rsquo;m not overly bothered by the news. I\u0026rsquo;m glad I work for a company that is accommodating and wants to keep everyone safe. I\u0026rsquo;ve also been building up personal processes to improve my focus during the day.\nThe first of these is sitting down each morning and mapping out my day. This is mainly a matter of checking what meetings I have, what projects I need to be checking on, and filling the slots between meetings with those project tasks. It creates a personal accountability system, and doesn\u0026rsquo;t let me attention wander to other projects that I have slated for future days.\nOne idea I have implemented, but have not done yet, is a weekly self check-in each Monday morning. I created a workflow in Slack that has me fill out a poll about both the previous week and the upcoming week. I\u0026rsquo;ll then take the time to go through all of my projects (not just the ones on my mind), and do some preliminary mapping for the week based on various priorities. I think that will have a large effect on how my works go overall. Working from home causes days to blend together somewhat. Having a week-long view, in addition to my current day-view that I create, should help with that dissonance.\nI\u0026rsquo;m particularly interested in sorting these issues out now since I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to leverage myself into a remote position sometime next year. Showing that I can still be effective (and so the can the company as a whole) should only make that process easier.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/work-from-home-future/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe word came in this week that my company will be working from home until at least the end of the year. Although we\u0026rsquo;ve already been working from home for about 5 months now, \u003cem\u003eknowing\u003c/em\u003e that it\u0026rsquo;s another 5 months (and that I\u0026rsquo;ll be heading back to San Diego fairly soon) changes the feeling a bit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Work from Home Future"},{"content":"I like switching up my wallpaper every once in a while. Each device I use has a different wallpaper, and I normally just get it in my head that it\u0026rsquo;s time for a change.\nI decided to go a little further than before when I discovered the NASA APOD Gnome Extension. This downloads NASA\u0026rsquo;s Astronomy Picture of the Day, and sets it as your wallpaper. It\u0026rsquo;s a neat utility. There are several others which allow you to use different sources, or which pull from Wikimedia commons, and I\u0026rsquo;ll likely play around with those. What I like about this APOD extension is that it also gives the description that accompanies the picture.\nNASA APOD Wallpaper Changer icon window.\nI think changing up a wallpaper can give a fresh look, and a different feel to each day. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure how much I\u0026rsquo;ll like it in the long run, and sadly none of the extensions I\u0026rsquo;ve found are able to require 4K wallpapers, but it\u0026rsquo;s a fun adjustment to how my computer runs that I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/nasa-wallpaper-changer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI like switching up my wallpaper every once in a while. Each device I use has a different wallpaper, and I normally just get it in my head that it\u0026rsquo;s time for a change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI decided to go a little further than before when I discovered the \u003ca href=\"https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1202/nasa-apod/\"\u003eNASA APOD Gnome Extension\u003c/a\u003e. This downloads NASA\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://apod.nasa.gov/\"\u003eAstronomy Picture of the Day\u003c/a\u003e, and sets it as your wallpaper. It\u0026rsquo;s a neat utility. There are several others which allow you to use different sources, or which pull from Wikimedia commons, and I\u0026rsquo;ll likely play around with those. What I like about this APOD extension is that it also gives the description that accompanies the picture.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"NASA Wallpaper Changer"},{"content":"A while ago, one of the water bottle sleeves in my backpack started to tear. In addition, the nature of my traveling life began to change. I was taking weekend trips to San Francisco, and the occasional long-term trip back to Minnesota (such as I am on now.) Now that I\u0026rsquo;m armed with a little bit of birthday money, particularly a gift card to REI, I\u0026rsquo;m on the hunt for a new backpack.\nThis is actually a tough situation. I\u0026rsquo;m hesitant to go window shopping right now, and this is the first time I\u0026rsquo;ve needed to be intentional about purchasing a backpack. Throughout college and the first couple years in my job, having a standard \u0026ldquo;school\u0026rdquo; backpack with several large pockets, a laptop compartment, and some smaller organizational areas has been nice. But there\u0026rsquo;s more to be done now. In particular, I\u0026rsquo;m less enthused by how many external zippers there are on my current backpack, or how the interior space is split up in a way that is sub-optimal for what I need. There\u0026rsquo;s a lot to figure out, since this is a world that I\u0026rsquo;m not very familiar with. But it\u0026rsquo;s fun to take the time and explore. It\u0026rsquo;s not a rush purchase, so I can be intentional about it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/backpack-search/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA while ago, one of the water bottle sleeves in my backpack started to tear. In addition, the nature of my traveling life began to change. I was taking weekend trips to San Francisco, and the occasional long-term trip back to Minnesota (such as I am on now.) Now that I\u0026rsquo;m armed with a little bit of birthday money, particularly a gift card to REI, I\u0026rsquo;m on the hunt for a new backpack.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Backpack Search"},{"content":"This is just to record two old games that my family very much enjoys. Both are a wonderful mix of strategy and the luck inherent to board and card games. The rules are reasonably basic, and the boards can be beautiful.\nThey are Cribbage and Backgammon. Cribbage is mainly a card game where you play to 121 points, but traditionally you play on a board with holes and pegs to track said points. It can be played with 2, 3, or 4 players (with two variations in the 3-player version) and is a wonderful game to teach someone starting at a young age. It teaches quick decision making, basic addition, and is just a casual, fun game to play at any point.\nBackgammon requires a more involved board consisting of chips or tokens (15 per player) and two rows of 12 \u0026ldquo;slots\u0026rdquo; for them. Typically these slots are represented as triangles of alternating colors. This game uses dice as well, and is a great strategy game where you typically have many more moves than other board games focused on dice.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/two-good-board-games/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is just to record two old games that my family very much enjoys. Both are a wonderful mix of strategy and the luck inherent to board and card games. The rules are reasonably basic, and the boards can be beautiful.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey are Cribbage and Backgammon. Cribbage is mainly a card game where you play to 121 points, but traditionally you play on a board with holes and pegs to track said points. It can be played with 2, 3, or 4 players (with two variations in the 3-player version) and is a wonderful game to teach someone starting at a young age. It teaches quick decision making, basic addition, and is just a casual, fun game to play at any point.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two Good Board Games"},{"content":"I was just tutoring someone in their Calculus 2 course, and we did a problem on geometric series. When I was a student, I remember memorizing several facts about geometric series without really grokking the algebraic details of why the formulas you come up with are so nice. Since it is fresh in my mind, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d go through the standard approach.\nI\u0026rsquo;m going to assume the reader is generally familiar with what a geometric series is. In short, you start with a geometric sequence, which has a starting value $a$, and each term is found by multiplying the previous term by a constant ratio $r$. You\u0026rsquo;ll typically see a geometric sequence written as $a,\\ ar,\\ ar^2,\\dots,ar^n,\\dots$\nA series is just the sum of a sequence. So a geometric series could be written as shown.\n$$a + ar + ar^2 + \\cdots + ar^n + \\cdots$$\nPartial sums of a series are found by adding the first several terms. For example, the first partial sum of a geometric series is $a$, and the third partial sum is $a + ar + ar^2$. Our goal is to find a formula for the $k^\\text{th}$ partial sum of a geometric series, and analyze what it means for an infinite geometric series.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s call the $k^\\text{th}$ partial sum $S_k$. Then, by definition we have\n$$S_k = a + ar + ar^2 + \\cdots + ar^k.$$\nTo make things clearer, we will divide through by $a$ to get\n$$\\frac 1a S_k = 1 + r + r^2 + \\cdots + r^k.$$\nNow, multiply both sides by $(1-r)$, and focus on expanding the right side. Multiplying through by 1 gives each of the original terms on the right; multiplying through by $-r$ gives us all the terms on the right with one higher degree, and with a negative sign.\n$$(1-r)(1+r+r^2 + \\cdots + r^k)$$\n$$=1+ r +r^2 + \\cdots + r^k\\cdots$$\n$$\\cdots- r - r^2 -\\cdots - r^k - r^{k+1}$$\nThus, all terms from $r$ to $r^k$ cancel, leaving us only with $1-r^{k+1}$. This means our original equation, after multiplying by $(1-r)$ and rearranging to get $S_k$ alone, becomes\n$$S_k =\\frac{ a(1-r^{k+1})}{1-r}.$$\nAnd this is our general, simplified formula for the partial sums of a geometric series.\nWe define the value of an infinite series by the limit of its partial sums. In particular, our goal is to determine $\\lim\\limits_{k\\to\\infty}S_k$. Doing so requires some casework on the value of $r$.\nFirst, assume that $r=1$. Then this formula is never defined due to division by 0 in the denominator. Of course if $a\\neq 0$ and $r=1$, we get the same nonzero term repeating, so the series diverges. Cool.\nNext, assume that $r = -1$. Then $S_k$ will flip between 0 and $a$. Since it oscillates, the series never converges.\nNow we take $|r|\u0026gt;1$. In this case, the $r^{k+1}$ term grows without bound, causing the limit to diverge as well.\nThus, the only time we get convergence is when $|r|\u0026lt;1$. In this final case, we see that $\\lim\\limits_{k\\to\\infty}r^{k+1} = 0$, and thus $\\lim\\limits_{k\\to\\infty}S_k = \\frac{a}{1-r}.$ Therefore, if a geometric series with first term $a$ and common ratio $r$ converges (i.e. if $|r|\u0026lt;1$) then its sum is $\\boxed{\\frac{a}{1-r}}.$ And there you have it!\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/geometric-series-the-basics/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was just tutoring someone in their Calculus 2 course, and we did a problem on geometric series. When I was a student, I remember memorizing several facts about geometric series without really grokking the algebraic details of why the formulas you come up with are so nice. Since it is fresh in my mind, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d go through the standard approach.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Geometric Series: The Basics"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about the Fourth of July. During the past couple of years, I\u0026rsquo;ve become less confident that there\u0026rsquo;s any agreement what precisely it is meant to celebrate. In theory it\u0026rsquo;s a celebration of our self-proclaimed anniversary of independence from British rule. Excellent. Yet it more closely resembles a general celebration of whatever America means to each particular celebrant.\nIn the current political climate, that meaning is swamped with a lot of rhetoric and frustration. I am proud of America in many ways. I am happy I live here. And most Americans probably agree that the Fourth is a great time to reflect on what makes America an awesome place to be, and what could be changed to improve it.\nThe issue is, of course, the levels of disagreement people have on those two points: What parts of America are actually awesome and worth celebrating, and how can we improve it?\nI\u0026rsquo;m not going to dive into all that, but it naturally causes some uncomfortable celebrations. While there are always things to improve and aspects of the Fourth are rather hypocritical given our nation\u0026rsquo;s history, I still believe that some level of optimism and celebration is warranted. But I don\u0026rsquo;t know how much is appropriate. I continue to feel conflicted, and want to be careful with how I express myself.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be curious to see what types of celebrations, and potentially protests, arise this weekend. What are different groups of people thinking right now, given the state of the world? I have my guesses, but people have continued to surprise everyone in different ways.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/celebrating-the-fourth/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about the Fourth of July. During the past couple of years, I\u0026rsquo;ve become less confident that there\u0026rsquo;s any agreement what precisely it is meant to celebrate. In theory it\u0026rsquo;s a celebration of our self-proclaimed anniversary of independence from British rule. Excellent. Yet it more closely resembles a general celebration of whatever \u003cem\u003eAmerica\u003c/em\u003e means to each particular celebrant.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Celebrating The Fourth"},{"content":"With no sports yet available in the United States, I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen back in love with the Marble League, a genuinely interesting, engaging, and exciting set of \u0026ldquo;athletic\u0026rdquo; events for \u0026ndash; you guessed it \u0026ndash; marbles.\nGetting into this takes a certain mindset. You have to be willing to accept the absurdity of the premise without feeling bad: These marbles are being treated as if they are conscious beings, with legitimate training and histories to them. There are teams that historically have done better, and those that have faltered at every step. Just like any sport, the fanbases are varied. There are bandwagon teams and underdogs.\nIf you are someone who enjoys sports and have been missing a bit of excitement in your life, or simply love lovingly-crafted YouTube videos, check out the Marble League, and everything that Jelle\u0026rsquo;s Marble Runs does on their channel. I\u0026rsquo;m so happy I discovered them a year ago, and I\u0026rsquo;m all-in on what they do.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/marble-league-2020/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith no sports yet available in the United States, I\u0026rsquo;ve fallen back in love with the \u003ca href=\"https://jellesmarbleruns.fandom.com/wiki/Marble_League_2020\"\u003eMarble League\u003c/a\u003e, a genuinely interesting, engaging, and exciting set of \u0026ldquo;athletic\u0026rdquo; events for \u0026ndash; you guessed it \u0026ndash; marbles.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Marble League 2020"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve created a new project called mrmp3 that encodes MP3 chapters. The repository is here: https://github.com/rich1126/mrmp3.\nThis project has been a long time coming. I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to add chapters to OHAC for months, and have found no (free) tools that do so on Linux. (There\u0026rsquo;s an excellent one for macOS called Forecast, however.) I knew there was some way to add these chapters using ffmpeg, and finally managed to find a resource that explained how to build up the command necessary to add chapter markers.\nThe simple thing to do was create a Python script that ran this for me. More importantly, I wanted a way to get the chapter information into the format required by ffmpeg. To do so, I wrote another set of scripts that take the way I normally format chapters for myself to share with Jack and Mikhail, and turns it into the ffmpeg metadata file.\nOnce I had those backbones, I decided this was the perfect time to mess around with making a GUI. I used a wonderful tool called PySimpleGUI to get the job done. It\u0026rsquo;s not super pretty, but it\u0026rsquo;s entirely functional and portable (which is good both for moving it between systems on my end, and so that it\u0026rsquo;s useful for any other Linux users, who do podcasts, and want chapters. There are certainly dozens of us.)\nThis was good practice in writing readable code, using GitHub, and leaves room for more work. In particular, having some sort of settings file that can be adjusted to define a default folder to open up, instead of the /home that I decided on. I could also work on trying to package this up in a way that makes it easy to distribute, although that requires learning setuptools in Python, and probably snap.\nNo matter what I do with it in the future, I\u0026rsquo;m happy that I made it. It\u0026rsquo;s finally something I can get off my back.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-coding-project-mrmp3/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve created a new project called \u003cstrong\u003emrmp3\u003c/strong\u003e that encodes MP3 chapters. The repository is here: \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/rich1126/mrmp3\"\u003ehttps://github.com/rich1126/mrmp3\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Coding Project: mrmp3"},{"content":"Through a wonderful little game called TeXnique, I became aware of the online typesetting system KaTeX. Unlike MathJax, which is immensely finicky, slow, and has limited support for proper LaTeX, the KaTeX system supports scaling of rendered images, automatically detects the text color of my site and adapts as necessary, and has a fuller implementation of LaTeX commands.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-gold-standard-for-math-typesetting-on-the-internet/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThrough a wonderful little game called \u003ca href=\"https://texnique.xyz/\"\u003eTeXnique\u003c/a\u003e, I became aware of the online typesetting system \u003ca href=\"https://katex.org/\"\u003eKaTeX\u003c/a\u003e. Unlike \u003ca href=\"https://www.mathjax.org/\"\u003eMathJax\u003c/a\u003e, which is immensely finicky, slow, and has limited support for proper LaTeX, the KaTeX system supports scaling of rendered images, automatically detects the text color of my site and adapts as necessary, and has a fuller implementation of LaTeX commands.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Gold Standard for Math Typesetting on the Internet"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t feel equipped to write more about this right now, but there have been others whose words I would be happy to share; they are not directly from those affected, but instead are from those of similar backgrounds as me. They are mainly from technology podcasts, which I think others are unlikely to share around. Just listen to the introductions of each, and they provide good viewpoints and resources in their show notes.\nAccidental Tech Podcast, Episode 381\nListen to the intro by John Siracusa for a wonderful explanation of why we know police brutality is an issue, and Marco Arment for an impassioned, appropriate response to everything going on.\nConnected, Episode 297 and Upgrade, Episode 300\nBoth provide straightforward introductions addressing everything going on.\nAnalog(ue), Episode 178\nMost of the episode discusses the events going on, with equal parts clarity and disbelief. It was cathartic listening for me, and helped guide a lot of my thoughts. Listen particularly for the \u0026ldquo;circles of complaining\u0026rdquo; idea: those more affected than you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be burdened with helping you, try to reach further outside for help.\nRelated to this episode, you can read a brief, well-written post by Casey Liss.\nI\u0026rsquo;m still young, and don\u0026rsquo;t feel like I know how to process all of this right now, similar to Myke\u0026rsquo;s reflections on the London Riots you can hear in Analog(ue). I\u0026rsquo;ll keep trying to go clean up Minneapolis, and support in whatever way I can. Black lives matter, and this country, this world, can do so much better.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/some-links-re-protests-and-blm/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t feel equipped to write more about this right now, but there have been others whose words I would be happy to share; they are not directly from those affected, but instead are from those of similar backgrounds as me. They are mainly from technology podcasts, which I think others are unlikely to share around. Just listen to the introductions of each, and they provide good viewpoints and resources in their show notes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some Links RE: Protests and BLM"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s hard to form any words that describe the thoughts swirling in my head with regards to the situation in Minneapolis. I can\u0026rsquo;t deny the selfish thoughts in my head: A week after I come back to Minnesota to be with family for the summer, this all happens. There\u0026rsquo;s also the privilege I hold that allows me to sit here and process everything from the safety of my home (or even potentially ignore it if I had a mind to.)\nThere is also the open question of what those protesting are specifically protesting against. It\u0026rsquo;s difficult to protest against an idea, when the action to be taken is all of society changing. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t put them in the wrong; people have protested for less, and they have the right to do so. Seeing people marching in the streets is inspiring; I think some people want to ignore it, to demonize them, to believe that somehow the world is past the need for such actions. However, the state of the world, and our country, is despicable and tensions just keep rising.\nThis is difficult. I can\u0026rsquo;t begin to effectively pour my heart out to those affected and those actively participating. The words I have are broken and ineffective. Yet, I need to address it directly, even if the address is short and insufficient. On the day this is published, I plan to go down to Minneapolis with a couple friends and help clean up what is leftover from the riots. There are many ways to help the community and to show kindness. It\u0026rsquo;s something I can do.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/george-floyd-minneapolis-and-processing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s hard to form any words that describe the thoughts swirling in my head with regards to the situation in Minneapolis. I can\u0026rsquo;t deny the selfish thoughts in my head: A week after I come back to Minnesota to be with family for the summer, this all happens. There\u0026rsquo;s also the privilege I hold that allows me to sit here and process everything from the safety of my home (or even potentially ignore it if I had a mind to.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"George Floyd, Minneapolis, and Processing"},{"content":"This is a quick update, as I\u0026rsquo;ll be traveling over the weekend and don\u0026rsquo;t have much time to write a longer post.\nIn short, Animal Crossing has captured my mind. It\u0026rsquo;s a cleverly simple game that lets you focus on whatever grabs your attention. While my initial weeding endeavors have fizzled out, I\u0026rsquo;m very much invested in trying to obtain every fish and bug I can over time. Fashion and interior decoration don\u0026rsquo;t excite me overly much (I probably only have about 7 things in my house), but I\u0026rsquo;m playing the game to get to the point where I can have free reign over the island.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a fun game, and I get it now.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/update-animal-crossing-takes-hold/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a quick update, as I\u0026rsquo;ll be traveling over the weekend and don\u0026rsquo;t have much time to write a longer post.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, Animal Crossing has captured my mind. It\u0026rsquo;s a cleverly simple game that lets you focus on whatever grabs your attention. While my initial weeding endeavors have fizzled out, I\u0026rsquo;m very much invested in trying to obtain every fish and bug I can over time. Fashion and interior decoration don\u0026rsquo;t excite me overly much (I probably only have about 7 things in my house), but I\u0026rsquo;m playing the game to get to the point where I can have free reign over the island.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Update: Animal Crossing Takes Hold"},{"content":"I was finally convinced to start playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I\u0026rsquo;d been hesitant to give it a try for a few reasons. First, Nintendo games are expensive. Second, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure I\u0026rsquo;d actually enjoy it. And third, if I did enjoy it, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure I\u0026rsquo;d want to sink time into it.\nHaving played it for a few hours today and successfully paid off my initial expenses to Tom Nook, I totally get the appeal. No, it will never be thrilling. But it\u0026rsquo;s a simple \u0026ldquo;life simulator\u0026rdquo; that you can enjoy to whatever detail you prefer. For me, I\u0026rsquo;m not necessarily interested in the things I can get. I\u0026rsquo;m currently motivated by the Nook Miles achievements. I\u0026rsquo;ll be a big bug-catcher and fish-fisher. The first thing I did was clear my island of weeds, and I intend to do so tomorrow. I found out quickly that if I just suspend my own judgement and allow myself to appreciate the straightforward charm of the game, it\u0026rsquo;s a relaxing way to pass the time.\nOf course, these are all first impressions. I have no idea what staying power it will have in my life, but there\u0026rsquo;s a large catalog of fish and bugs to find, so that will almost certainly keep me going back every so often. I think the best aspect of the game is that it isn\u0026rsquo;t any sort of survival or sociology simulator; I don\u0026rsquo;t need to eat or drink, as best I can tell I\u0026rsquo;m unlikely to upset my island neighbors. I can focus on myself, do what needs to be done, and that\u0026rsquo;s it. It\u0026rsquo;s a game that simplifies activities that can already be considered calming and rewarding. Plus, they buy weeds. I\u0026rsquo;m going to fund my house using weeds and conch shells, or at least that\u0026rsquo;s my plan right now.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/animal-crossing-weed-yourself-to-victory/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was finally convinced to start playing \u003cem\u003eAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.\u003c/em\u003e I\u0026rsquo;d been hesitant to give it a try for a few reasons. First, Nintendo games are expensive. Second, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure I\u0026rsquo;d actually enjoy it. And third, if I did enjoy it, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure I\u0026rsquo;d want to sink time into it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving played it for a few hours today and successfully paid off my initial expenses to Tom Nook, I totally get the appeal. No, it will never be thrilling. But it\u0026rsquo;s a simple \u0026ldquo;life simulator\u0026rdquo; that you can enjoy to whatever detail you prefer. For me, I\u0026rsquo;m not necessarily interested in the \u003cem\u003ethings\u003c/em\u003e I can get. I\u0026rsquo;m currently motivated by the Nook Miles achievements. I\u0026rsquo;ll be a big bug-catcher and fish-fisher. The first thing I did was clear my island of weeds, and I intend to do so tomorrow. I found out quickly that if I just suspend my own judgement and allow myself to appreciate the straightforward charm of the game, it\u0026rsquo;s a relaxing way to pass the time.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Animal Crossing: Weed Yourself to Victory"},{"content":"I really enjoy the Unmade Podcast with Brady Haran and Tim Hein. They generate some wonderful ideas, and the fact that it\u0026rsquo;s two old friends hanging out reminds me of the conversations (and podcasts) I have with my own friends.\nOne particular bit that has been ongoing in special episodes is Tommyball. It\u0026rsquo;s a fictional sport with no clear rules (it\u0026rsquo;s essentially Calvinball), and in these special episodes it\u0026rsquo;s Brady interviewing Tim, who plays the role of a conceited former player, and current commentator, of Tommyball. The most recent episode has Tim reading the audiobook of his recently released autobiography.\nTickled by this general idea, I decided I would write my own few chapters of a biography for Tim. It was a fun evening making it, and I figured it would be good to post here. You can download the PDF below.\nTommyball Princess\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/tommyball-princess/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI really enjoy the \u003ca href=\"http://unmade.fm\"\u003eUnmade Podcast\u003c/a\u003e with Brady Haran and Tim Hein. They generate some wonderful ideas, and the fact that it\u0026rsquo;s two old friends hanging out reminds me of the conversations (and podcasts) I have with my own friends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne particular bit that has been ongoing in special episodes is \u003cem\u003eTommyball\u003c/em\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s a fictional sport with no clear rules (it\u0026rsquo;s essentially \u003ca href=\"https://calvinandhobbes.fandom.com/wiki/Calvinball\"\u003eCalvinball\u003c/a\u003e), and in these special episodes it\u0026rsquo;s Brady interviewing Tim, who plays the role of a conceited former player, and current commentator, of Tommyball. The most recent episode has Tim reading the audiobook of his recently released autobiography.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tommyball Princess"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve moved to a new position at work recently, going from a Curriculum Developer to a Curriculum Project Manager. My main role is no longer creating products that will directly go off to students (although I\u0026rsquo;ll still be doing a bit of that). Instead, my job is to create the processes and structures for my fellow curriculum developers to make sure they have clear goals in a project, and a set of tasks that allows them to effectively get their work done. The entire goal is to remove the planning and scheduling cruft that our team was doing (poorly) on our own, since we could each only give a little bit of time to thinking about it.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an interesting change in personal focus. I still love creating things directly for students, and I love sharing my passion for math. That will never change, and I\u0026rsquo;ll still pull to do that a bit at work, as well as on my own. Yet it\u0026rsquo;s exciting to get this adjustment to my perspective. It provides me with a chance to handle larger responsibility, and lets me build whatever I would like as a curriculum developer to help make projects run more smoothly. I\u0026rsquo;m still finding my bearings and determining the boundaries of this position, but it\u0026rsquo;s an exciting time. I hope it gives me more bandwidth to do some of the more creative work in my free time as well.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-shift-in-focus/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve moved to a new position at work recently, going from a \u003cem\u003eCurriculum Developer\u003c/em\u003e to a \u003cem\u003eCurriculum Project Manager\u003c/em\u003e. My main role is no longer creating products that will directly go off to students (although I\u0026rsquo;ll still be doing a bit of that). Instead, my job is to create the processes and structures for my fellow curriculum developers to make sure they have clear goals in a project, and a set of tasks that allows them to effectively get their work done. The entire goal is to remove the planning and scheduling cruft that our team was doing (poorly) on our own, since we could each only give a little bit of time to thinking about it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Shift in Focus"},{"content":"I mentioned in my previous post about creativity during quarantine that I was working on writing a new game. I\u0026rsquo;ve been interested in trying to write something that moved away from text adventures and went into open-world RPGs. I\u0026rsquo;ve been inspired both by the Republic Commandos game run by Mikhail on an episode of OHAC (and in-person during college), as well as the Campaign Podcast he recently got me into.\nSo over a weekend I decided to take advantage of the InDesgin license I have through work, and get to business making a little game. I wanted to use a simpler game system, and I discovered the Simple World system. This is a small document that takes the basics of the Powered by the Apocalypse system and all of its variants. There are so many games that use the Apocalypse system, each with its own set of rules, characteristics, player types, and all the other details out there. But they all have a basic system beneath that, and Simple World helped me make my own game.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve called my game The Last Question, inspired by the Isaac Asimov Story (PDF) discussing the future of humanity, the nature of computers, and even more beyond that. However, I\u0026rsquo;m not taking much from the actual story. I used it as a jumping-off point to create my own future of the universe, with my own set of terms and player types.\nIt was really fun playing this with my friends a couple weeks ago. I\u0026rsquo;ve never GMed something like this; being a parser is much easier than being a GM. It\u0026rsquo;s exciting to build characters, build a small world, and to react much more naturally within the provided context to what is happening. I learned a lot just by playing once: Be more flexible, understand the characters better, and focus on creating situations that players need and want to respond to in some way.\nI find collaborative storytelling incredibly engaging. It\u0026rsquo;s an enjoyable process that lets me enjoy all of my interests together. I take bits and pieces of what I love and hide them in a game, while also building in situations that the players will enjoy too. While I still want to write more text adventures because they are a hoot, and I\u0026rsquo;ve learned a lot about those as well, this open-ended style is great as well.\nHere are the character sheet and character type documents I\u0026rsquo;ve made for this game. Basically all the mechanics are described on the character sheet, which is why I love the Apocalypse system: you can get up and running rather quickly.\nCharacter Sheet\nCharacter Types\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-last-question-rpg/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI mentioned in my previous post about \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/creative-quarantine/\"\u003ecreativity during quarantine\u003c/a\u003e that I was working on writing a new game. I\u0026rsquo;ve been interested in trying to write something that moved away from text adventures and went into open-world RPGs. I\u0026rsquo;ve been inspired both by the \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/2019/03/09/ohac-15-magnum-067-and-slots-a-star-wars-story/\"\u003eRepublic Commandos game\u003c/a\u003e run by Mikhail on an episode of OHAC (and in-person during college), as well as the Campaign Podcast he recently got me into.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Last Question RPG"},{"content":"Work has been getting crazier in the past week or two. We are now planning on being online for a while, and the curriculum work that has resulted is growing rapidly. There are many courses to rewrite as we experiment, on the fly, to figure out what tools we want to use (or avoid). I\u0026rsquo;ve been put in charge of these experiments, and it\u0026rsquo;s a much larger logistical task than I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had to deal with. It pales in comparison to what others have done, but it\u0026rsquo;s quite a doozy on my end.\nSeveral months ago, I started using the Google Tasks add-on to Gmail to keep track of things I need to do. While my work does have some task-management, I treat it as more \u0026ldquo;company wide\u0026rdquo;. Not everything gets a task made, some things are word-of-mouth, or there are things that I just need to do for myself that I\u0026rsquo;ll bring someone in on later. So, I started using this Tasks sidebar as a very simple check-list. I would add tasks that I needed to do, order them roughly by importance, and check them off once done. I could even make separate lists (although I\u0026rsquo;ve had a hard time using them consistently.) This has worked for a while, and probably could still work if I really wanted to avoid something more powerful. But with the increased level of responsibility, and a general desire to take this quarantine time to improve my organization, I\u0026rsquo;ve made a hard turn to another tool.\nOn the excellent podcast Connected, they were talking about various note-taking services. They mentioned Notion. In particular, they said that it wasn\u0026rsquo;t for them. But I was intrigued by what I heard, and I gave it a look. It turns out, after a half-hour of being rather lost, it fits into my mental model perfectly.\nNotion markets themselves as a jack-of-all-trades. They have several different types of \u0026ldquo;blocks\u0026rdquo; that you can use to build whatever you want. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s a note-taking system, a to-do list, a roadmap, a personal journal, or a task-management system, you can probably get it done with the tools they offer. I\u0026rsquo;ve started building up several pages in it.\nIn my \u0026ldquo;Work\u0026rdquo; workspace, I have personalized versions of the task-management boards the company uses. I have reorganized the tasks in a way that makes sense to me, and added details that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t make sense to provide in the company-wide version of these tasks. I\u0026rsquo;ve also created a daily agenda page. Since working from home, I\u0026rsquo;ve been using my calendar to keep track of time and allot it to various tasks, but I can do that more simply with my current system. There\u0026rsquo;s more refining to do when it comes to cross-referencing tasks, but it\u0026rsquo;s a massive improvement over Tasks.\nOn the personal side I have more freedom to play around with it. The first thing I set up is a daily journal; that\u0026rsquo;s very simple, and the markdown interface is nice. I also transferred my list of finished books into a nice table, and also have a task-management board to keep track of any writing tasks (this blog post included). If I have an idea, I can throw it on that board. Since Notion is available on literally every device (even Linux since they have a good browser version), I\u0026rsquo;m interested to see how this affects my own system.\nThe title of this post still holds though. Organizing my personal life sucks in the same way that trying to eat healthy (or at least eat less) sucks after several years of doing the opposite. But it\u0026rsquo;s a breath of fresh air, and will definitely benefit me in the long run. It\u0026rsquo;s also another step in the Year of Routine, which is my yearly theme. This tool is certainly not for everyone; I\u0026rsquo;m not evangelizing it like many other users are, because it has its drawbacks. But so far it\u0026rsquo;s been fun to play around with, and I\u0026rsquo;m going to give it an earnest shot.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/personal-organization-sucks/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWork has been getting crazier in the past week or two. We are now planning on being online for a while, and the curriculum work that has resulted is growing rapidly. There are many courses to rewrite as we experiment, on the fly, to figure out what tools we want to use (or avoid). I\u0026rsquo;ve been put in charge of these experiments, and it\u0026rsquo;s a much larger logistical task than I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had to deal with. It pales in comparison to what others have done, but it\u0026rsquo;s quite a doozy on my end.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Personal Organization Sucks"},{"content":"John Conway passed away a few days ago. He was a favorite among mathematical educators and communicators. He was involved in a large array of interesting projects and results during his career, many that can easily fascinate even the most disinterested people when it comes to mathematics.\nHere are a few things he worked on, listed roughly in the order in which I came across them in my mathematical life.\nLook-and-Say Sequence Game of Life Doomsday Algorithm Sporadic Groups (and far more generally, the classification of the finite simple groups) Surreal Numbers Any of these are a treat to look into. Conway was a powerhouse of interesting and engaging ideas. Take a look at the Numberphile videos involving him for a slice of the world from his perspective.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-short-tribute-to-john-conway/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Conway passed away a few days ago. He was a favorite among mathematical educators and communicators. He was involved in a large array of interesting projects and results during his career, many that can easily fascinate even the most disinterested people when it comes to mathematics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are a few things he worked on, listed roughly in the order in which I came across them in my mathematical life.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Short Tribute to John Conway"},{"content":"iPadOS 13.4 was released a couple weeks ago, and with it came full support for cursor devices. You can now connect a mouse or trackpad and have a small circular cursor that acts like a mouse for your iPad. Certainly many people won\u0026rsquo;t find this useful, but it was really the missing piece that allows my iPad to go from a device mainly useful for handwritten notes and media consumption to a full-fledged computing device. I can fairly comfortably navigate 90% of what I do on a daily basis. While I still prefer my regular computers for podcasting, and also prefer the larger screen real-estate, the iPad now allows me to perform my regular work functions.\nIn my estimation, there are two things that cursor support brings that completely change the game: hover states, and text selection.\nMost of my work is done through browsers. All of the content editing I do is through our browser-based CMS, and a lot of navigation and editing tasks require the ability to hover over something to see more options. This is a well-known paradigm in the computing world: Hover over a menu, see options related to the top-level item, then click on the option you want. This was completely missing from iPadOS; if you used mobile Safari, then the iPad would try to be clever and say one tap gets you to a \u0026ldquo;hover\u0026rdquo; state, and another tap lets you select. But this was not universal, and failed in most situations I find myself in at work. However, now the cursor has a complete hover state, making it very usable.\nText selection has been frustrating on all mobile devices for a very long time. You have to try and remember what number of taps you need, where to tap, and what to do after. The OS is guessing at what you want, and while it has improved, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t always get it correct. While dealing with a whole paragraph, or even a single word, isn\u0026rsquo;t too bad, editing a few characters here or there is extremely painful. The Apple Pencil has helped with precise selection, but the whole situation has been limited by the text selection paradigm that iOS has chosen. The new cursor support gives a new look to the familiar \u0026ldquo;pipe/I\u0026rdquo; selection cursor seen in all text-editing situations on a computer. You can now finally precisely place your cursor where you want it, and select any number of characters without fiddling around.\nOverall, this has been an amazing upgrade for my use of the iPad. Definitely check it out.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/ipados-cursor-support/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eiPadOS 13.4 was released a couple weeks ago, and with it came full support for cursor devices. You can now connect a mouse or trackpad and have a small circular cursor that acts like a mouse for your iPad. Certainly many people won\u0026rsquo;t find this useful, but it was really the missing piece that allows my iPad to go from a device mainly useful for handwritten notes and media consumption to a full-fledged computing device. I can fairly comfortably navigate 90% of what I do on a daily basis. While I still prefer my regular computers for podcasting, and also prefer the larger screen real-estate, the iPad now allows me to perform my regular work functions.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"iPadOS Cursor Support"},{"content":"Maybe artists and writers of centuries past had it right, that isolation and odd situations gives a creative surge. Being cooped up at home more than usual has led me to seek out more novelty, and with that has come a desire to create that novelty myself. Over the past weekend I messed around more with Garageband on my iPad, and wrote a small RPG (which I\u0026rsquo;ll post about once I play it this weekend.)\nHaving a hectic schedule due to work has also caused things to move around in my head. I\u0026rsquo;ve lost my routine for a while, and though I\u0026rsquo;m eager to reestablish it this upcoming week, having things shaken up has given me a lot to think about. Of course, implicit in all this is that I\u0026rsquo;m in a privileged position that allows me to take advantage of the current situation, and other people are not so lucky. But I am still happy to count the creative outcomes of this situation among my blessings.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/creative-quarantine/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMaybe artists and writers of centuries past had it right, that isolation and odd situations gives a creative surge. Being cooped up at home more than usual has led me to seek out more novelty, and with that has come a desire to create that novelty myself. Over the past weekend I messed around more with Garageband on my iPad, and wrote a small RPG (which I\u0026rsquo;ll post about once I play it this weekend.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Creative Quarantine"},{"content":"As we\u0026rsquo;ve been transitioning our in-person learning centers to be fully online, the question has come up about how to use slides and work with students. While Zoom offers screen-sharing and annotation, the annotation on an actual slide persists on the screen: if you scroll to a new slide, the annotation remains. There\u0026rsquo;s no way to annotate a document using Zoom. Even worse, the \u0026ldquo;whiteboard\u0026rdquo; feature in Zoom, though cool in many ways, really loses out by having no way to paste formatted text, or even images, onto it. That takes away significant functionality.\nAt our learning centers, we use a Windows-only piece of software called Drawboard. It\u0026rsquo;s a pretty nice piece of software with nice annotation tools. It could be a bit more fully-featured (making straight lines or shapes is rather difficult/impossible), but our teachers are used to it. However, it\u0026rsquo;s $12 and we can\u0026rsquo;t expect teachers to buy it. Furthermore, all of our teachers are working from home, and many will be using Mac (or even Linux, believe it or not!) So, this isn\u0026rsquo;t an option. Luckily during my time training, I got some recommendations from a few resourceful teachers.\nFirst is Xodo. It\u0026rsquo;s a browser-based app where you can import and mark up PDF documents. That\u0026rsquo;s really all there is to say. It has the same features our instructors are familiar with, and works pretty fine. I actually had some trouble getting it to be as responsive, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t heard that complaint from others, so it might be specific to me.\nAnother is bitpaper. This one I really like. It has collaboration features (although teachers likely wouldn\u0026rsquo;t use them), but it\u0026rsquo;s much sleeker than Xodo in my opinion. It has a more \u0026ldquo;iPad\u0026rdquo; feel to it, with the tools in the bottom very similar to those in the Apple Notes app. It has basic straight-line drawing and keyboard shortcuts.\nI\u0026rsquo;m still working on properly vetting these before we can officially recommend as a company, but they all pass the smell test for me. Even if you aren\u0026rsquo;t a teacher and just want simple PDF tools, I think Xodo is a good place to start for a lot of mark-up, and bitpaper is excellent for easy collaboration.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/pdf-tools-for-teaching/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs we\u0026rsquo;ve been transitioning our in-person learning centers to be fully online, the question has come up about how to use slides and work with students. While Zoom offers screen-sharing and annotation, the annotation on an actual slide persists on the screen: if you scroll to a new slide, the annotation remains. There\u0026rsquo;s no way to annotate a document using Zoom. Even worse, the \u0026ldquo;whiteboard\u0026rdquo; feature in Zoom, though cool in many ways, really loses out by having no way to paste formatted text, or even images, onto it. That takes away significant functionality.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"PDF Tools for Teaching"},{"content":"My company is using Zoom, as are many universities and public school systems, to teach online. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping at some point, when the fires are put out, I can provide some of my own suggestions for using Zoom that have come up during my time dealing with the transition. For now, another short post.\nThe biggest thing for us is being able to still run interesting activities that are engaging. Just because this new medium assumes lecture-style classes on the surface, there\u0026rsquo;s a lot that can still be done with a bit of creativity.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/zoom/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy company is using Zoom, as are many universities and public school systems, to teach online. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping at some point, when the fires are put out, I can provide some of my own suggestions for using Zoom that have come up during my time dealing with the transition. For now, another short post.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe biggest thing for us is being able to still run interesting activities that are engaging. Just because this new medium assumes lecture-style classes on the surface, there\u0026rsquo;s a lot that can still be done with a bit of creativity.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Zoom"},{"content":"I lost track of getting a blog post written, but it has been a hectic week. This is my first true things are on fire situation at work with the Coronavirus. Since I work in education, and we have in-person academies where students take classes, it has been a massive effort by a lot of people to figure out what to do. We are switching to online classes through Zoom, and I have been declared the resident Zoom trainer and expert. I enjoy learning new technology, but doing so this quickly under this pressure has been quite a lot. It\u0026rsquo;s still not all over, but I figured I would write a post before the week was officially over to at least stay within my \u0026ldquo;updates weekly\u0026rdquo; tagline.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/on-fire/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI lost track of getting a blog post written, but it has been a hectic week. This is my first true \u003cem\u003ethings are on fire\u003c/em\u003e situation at work with the Coronavirus. Since I work in education, and we have in-person academies where students take classes, it has been a massive effort by a lot of people to figure out what to do. We are switching to online classes through \u003ca href=\"http://zoom.us\"\u003eZoom\u003c/a\u003e, and I have been declared the resident Zoom trainer and expert. I enjoy learning new technology, but doing so this quickly under this pressure has been quite a lot. It\u0026rsquo;s still not all over, but I figured I would write a post before the week was officially over to at least stay within my \u0026ldquo;updates weekly\u0026rdquo; tagline.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"On Fire"},{"content":"This is a little note about a wonderful extension for Gnome (a popular desktop environment for Linux). Out of the box, Gnome is a bit light on features and settings. Enabling Tweaks and Extensions allows for a lot of customization.\nA recent discovery is the extension Caffeine. There\u0026rsquo;s very little to it. All it does is put a little coffee cup indicator in your top menu bar. When activated, you get some steam coming out of the cup, and your computer screen will never go to sleep. When it\u0026rsquo;s deactivated, it does nothing.\n(For reference, also visible is Dropbox and another Gnome extension that enables clipboard history.)\nThis may seem small, but when I\u0026rsquo;m recording a podcast I am not doing much with my computer, but I certainly need it to stay awake. For a long time I would have to either wiggle my mouse every few minutes, or go into my power settings and set sleep to Never. Neither of these are elegant solutions. Just clicking the little icon in my menu is much simpler. It\u0026rsquo;s little ideas like this extension that allow my devices to go from a tool I\u0026rsquo;m working around to one that works for me.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure very few people reading this run Linux (or have much desire to), but most platforms have similar little applications that can increase ease of use. I suggest thinking about what things bother you on a somewhat regular basis, and search for a solution. Odds are someone else is having the same annoyance.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/caffeine-for-my-computer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a little note about a wonderful extension for \u003ca href=\"https://www.gnome.org/\"\u003eGnome\u003c/a\u003e (a popular \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_environment\"\u003edesktop environment\u003c/a\u003e for Linux). Out of the box, Gnome is a bit light on features and settings. Enabling \u003ca href=\"https://itsfoss.com/gnome-tweak-tool/\"\u003eTweaks\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://itsfoss.com/gnome-shell-extensions/\"\u003eExtensions\u003c/a\u003e allows for a lot of customization.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA recent discovery is the extension \u003ca href=\"https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/517/caffeine/\"\u003eCaffeine\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0026rsquo;s very little to it. All it does is put a little coffee cup indicator in your top menu bar. When activated, you get some steam coming out of the cup, and your computer screen will never go to sleep. When it\u0026rsquo;s deactivated, it does nothing.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Caffeine (For my Computer)"},{"content":"A theater buff friend of mine visited this past weekend, and convinced me to go see a musical in the area called Fly. It is based on the story of Peter Pan, and focused on the serious idea of what it means to grow up. While that is always a main theme with any Peter Pan adaptation, this show took a slightly darker angle, with more adult humor present. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, but it made me think more about different types of entertainment I consume and the ways I judge them in my head.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve never been particularly into musicals. I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed being in a pit orchestra for them, and for the most part I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed each show I\u0026rsquo;ve seen. But I\u0026rsquo;m not a fan of musicals themselves; I don\u0026rsquo;t listen to soundtracks, and I don\u0026rsquo;t know the big names in different productions. I go in expecting to see a piece of art that I know essentially nothing about, and I judge it based on the execution of that art.\nThis is distinct from how I view concert band music. As someone who has been in several concert bands at varying levels, and has heard many other concert bands across a similar spectrum of levels, I have a better gauge for the technical reasons to enjoy what is going on. The sounds made by a concert band resonate with me; a concert band or orchestra performance is already a step above other forms of art in absolute terms. Overall this leads to strong opinions on these instrumental performances; they affect me across a larger spectrum of emotion.\nMusicals are then confined to a similar range of opinions as choral music and regular theater; while it can be affecting in the right circumstances, I rarely overtly dislike or have strong criticisms of such performances, but I will almost never have particularly positive feelings either beyond the appreciation for what was pulled off. This appreciation can only go so high because, unlike a regular instrumental performance, I don\u0026rsquo;t have as clear an idea of what goes into it, nor a preconceived passion for the form.\nAttending this performance of Fly clarified a lot of these feelings, which I had previously not articulated to myself. My prior experience with musicals is playing in pit orchestras in high school and a little in college, seeing a few others here and there, but I have never seen a professionally-made musical. It was an incredible experience, and I\u0026rsquo;m so glad I went. As I\u0026rsquo;m not a vocalist myself, I can only appreciate the singing a little; I\u0026rsquo;ve heard excellent singers, but it\u0026rsquo;s hard for me to point out any difference between singers that are supposedly at different \u0026ldquo;levels\u0026rdquo; in the midst of a complicated show. The acting was good enough to be forgettable, in the sense that I didn\u0026rsquo;t have to think about it. Again, I\u0026rsquo;m judging based on engagement, and the acting was excellent.\nI realized halfway through the show that the choreography was perhaps the most notable boring part of the show. During every musical I\u0026rsquo;ve seen, the choreography has been at best a little distracting, and at worst completely orthogonal to the scenes they are in_. Fly_ had none of that. The dance breaks were not intrusive; each character had their own style that fit with everything else that was established throughout the course of the show. I was allowed to forget about it, and was successfully swept into the world of the musical. Even the flying effects (of course there was flying) were flawless, until the system broke down during a very difficult number; after about 15 minutes they nailed it, and then we were back in the world.\nFinally, the set design was incredible. The costumes were believable and fit in with the darker narrative. The scene changes were quick, and surprisingly subtle; how do you hide a pirate ship, and bring it in without anyone noticing? I still don\u0026rsquo;t really know, but they managed to do it.\nThe entire experience did give a particular enthusiasm for the show; not for musicals overall, but for the performance I saw. It was excellent. Yet I know in the end, when I see the final product of The Addams Family that I\u0026rsquo;m playing for at my local church, I will also be impressed, and will think no less of it than I did Fly. I\u0026rsquo;m appreciating it for what it is, and not comparing across levels. This professional musical experience blew me away, and I\u0026rsquo;d be happy to go to another; but I\u0026rsquo;m also equally happy to go to the local high school and see what their talent is managing to accomplish.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/seeing-a-professional-musical-fly/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA theater buff friend of mine visited this past weekend, and convinced me to go see a musical in the area called \u003cem\u003eFly\u003c/em\u003e. It is based on the story of Peter Pan, and focused on the serious idea of what it means to grow up. While that is always a main theme with any Peter Pan adaptation, this show took a slightly darker angle, with more adult humor present. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, but it made me think more about different types of entertainment I consume and the ways I judge them in my head.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Seeing a Professional Musical - Fly"},{"content":"I played my new text adventure, Coffee and Donuts, with Jack and Mikhail the other week. It didn\u0026rsquo;t end up going that well, but the process of having something end a bit poorly was a positive learning experience. There\u0026rsquo;s a lot to consider when trying to pace a game, create puzzles that are satisfying at the target level, and creating situations that are easy to engage with. I think I had some very good thoughts on this one (I\u0026rsquo;m particularly proud of the map I created), but the execution of pacing and some puzzles left a lot to be desired.\nYou can read a little bit more about it on the OHAC website.\nAnd, here is the PDF of the game for anyone interested (it\u0026rsquo;s also posted on the OHAC website, but I\u0026rsquo;ve been busy with guests so I\u0026rsquo;m being a bit lazy with this post.)\nCoffee and Donuts PDF\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/coffee-and-donuts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI played my new text adventure, \u003cem\u003eCoffee and Donuts\u003c/em\u003e, with Jack and Mikhail the other week. It didn\u0026rsquo;t end up going that well, but the process of having something end a bit poorly was a positive learning experience. There\u0026rsquo;s a lot to consider when trying to pace a game, create puzzles that are satisfying at the target level, and creating situations that are easy to engage with. I think I had some very good thoughts on this one (I\u0026rsquo;m particularly proud of the map I created), but the execution of pacing and some puzzles left a lot to be desired.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Coffee and Donuts"},{"content":"In my next adventure of programming projects, I decided to install Android Studio and play around with app development. To start, I have no particular thing in mind, I\u0026rsquo;m just getting my head wrapped around the structural complexity of an app. It\u0026rsquo;s a far more involved software situation than anything I\u0026rsquo;ve dealt with. I\u0026rsquo;m following this tutorial put together by Google Codelabs. It definitely assumes some familiarity with programming, but I\u0026rsquo;ve found it fairly easy to follow with simple explanations. Overall it\u0026rsquo;s been a fun task to play around with. The biggest shift is accepting the number of extremely high-level commands and classes that exist, compared to the (relatively) low-level projects I\u0026rsquo;ve done before. A lot is done for you in terms of graphical design right away, and the tools seem very nice to work with. It\u0026rsquo;s a fun shift in mindset that I look forward to exploring more.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/playing-with-android-development/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn my next adventure of programming projects, I decided to install Android Studio and play around with app development. To start, I have no particular thing in mind, I\u0026rsquo;m just getting my head wrapped around the structural complexity of an app. It\u0026rsquo;s a far more involved software situation than anything I\u0026rsquo;ve dealt with. I\u0026rsquo;m following \u003ca href=\"https://codelabs.developers.google.com/codelabs/kotlin-android-training-welcome/index.html?index=..%2F..index#1\"\u003ethis tutorial\u003c/a\u003e put together by Google Codelabs. It definitely assumes some familiarity with programming, but I\u0026rsquo;ve found it fairly easy to follow with simple explanations. Overall it\u0026rsquo;s been a fun task to play around with. The biggest shift is accepting the number of extremely high-level commands and classes that exist, compared to the (relatively) low-level projects I\u0026rsquo;ve done before. A lot is done for you in terms of graphical design right away, and the tools seem very nice to work with. It\u0026rsquo;s a fun shift in mindset that I look forward to exploring more.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Playing with Android Development"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve watched the Super Bowl every year for as long as I can remember, and this year was no different. However, this year gave me a slightly different perspective. First, the Patriots were not playing and that was exciting; it\u0026rsquo;s nice to see an entirely different set of teams competing. Second, I had a conversation with my roommate the day prior that required to contextualize the Super Bowl and its cultural impact.\nMy roommate is from India, and is not very familiar with the American sports scene. He knows the names of the sports and very basic information about it, but does not know any details. As we went to get groceries, we were talking about our plans for the weekend and I mentioned my intention to watch the Super Bowl. He was aware it was happening, and had heard the term, but had no idea what it actually was.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s engaging to introduce and explain something that is accepted as a large event or piece of culture to someone who is unfamiliar. So much of what we find important is because that\u0026rsquo;s just how it is. The sports I love are those I grew up with; once I got older, I could make decisions on my own about which ones excited me the most, but the options were limited from the start. So it goes with particular events. How do you begin explaining the Super Bowl to someone who has none of the cultural background?\nLuckily we found common ground. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to explain the playoff structure of the NFL, and that it culminates in a game between two teams from each \u0026ldquo;half\u0026rdquo; of the league. It was then easy to contrast it with the other major sports in America. Baseball, basketball, and hockey finish with a best-of-seven series, while football is the outlier that only plays a single game. It\u0026rsquo;s always on a Sunday in the beginning of February, a notoriously boring time of year for sports overall, and the middle of dreary winter for at least half the country. And for those who don\u0026rsquo;t care for sports, you can certainly find a group of people to just hang out with, watch some typically funny commercials, and a pretty famous musical artist provide a short concert. This creates an excellent day that is essentially a holiday; who can complain about that?\nOf course, the Super Bowl is easier to explain than many other parts of American culture, but it made me rethink the meaning of the day. I am a football fan, so that was all it meant to me before; now it means just a little more.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/super-bowl-liv/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve watched the Super Bowl every year for as long as I can remember, and this year was no different. However, this year gave me a slightly different perspective. First, the Patriots were not playing and that was exciting; it\u0026rsquo;s nice to see an entirely different set of teams competing. Second, I had a conversation with my roommate the day prior that required to contextualize the Super Bowl and its cultural impact.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Super Bowl LIV"},{"content":"I saw the film 1917 the other week. I had seen the trailer at least a dozen times before, as well as a two-minute feature in a theater about the cinematography. Despite all the exposure and a fairly decent amount of knowledge about the film, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and and would highly recommend it to anyone who isn\u0026rsquo;t put off by war movies in general. The movie is excellent on its own. However, what it made me think about the creative process was what stayed with me the most.\nThis move follows the journey of two British soldiers in the trenches of World War I, sent on a mission to hand-deliver a message calling off an attack that will end up being a trap set by the Germans. That\u0026rsquo;s the short version of the plot, and I don\u0026rsquo;t want to say anymore about it.\nWhat really convinced me about this movie was a short feature I saw during trailers that discussed the cinematography. This movie is filmed as a continuous shot, where the camera is continuously moving along with the characters, swooping and diving and turning to keep up with the action. While the most observant movie-goers almost certainly found the inevitable \u0026ldquo;hidden cuts\u0026rdquo; where filming had to stop and restart (they couldn\u0026rsquo;t actually just film for 2 hours straight and call it good, of course) I noticed nothing of the kind. I was completely enraptured by this technique. It struck me as the most natural way to tell a personal, focused story.\nWith that spark, I began considering how people choose the correct medium to tell a story, to impart a reaction. Is it that someone who is sufficiently comfortable with a particular method can tell any story they want? Are some people with a predisposition for one medium also predisposed to telling certain kinds of stories? I\u0026rsquo;m not sure. There are certainly stories that feel like they are better told one way than another. For example, could you tell a story along the lines of Star Wars using only a song, and keep it engaging and nuanced? Probably not. However, the themes present in Star Wars can be told via movies, books, or plays. In fact, I know video games could do it justice as well. However, is Star Wars in particular more likely to succeed, or be effective, in one medium than another? I\u0026rsquo;m not sure.\nWhen I think about the story told by 1917, I\u0026rsquo;m struck by its personal nature. It\u0026rsquo;s about two friends stuck in a terrible situation together. There are some feelings and history hinted at, others openly stated. This story could have made an excellent novel, and to that end, Sam Mendes (the writer and director of the film) had to figure out the best way to represent this story. Of course it could have been a more traditional war movie, with hard cuts, loud noises, impressive battle scenes with many thousands of soldiers. Yet there was a restraint and clarity to this film offered by the cinematography choice.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s made me consider how I prefer to share my thoughts, what is natural, and what is well-suited. I enjoy doing podcasts with my friends because it allows a more natural flow of ideas, and I\u0026rsquo;m playing off the thoughts of others. This is completely different than when I sit down to write a blog post like this. My words change, my entire verbal style adjusts to the medium. It\u0026rsquo;s still my voice and my thoughts, but coming from a slightly different angle, adjacent to the part of me that comes out with my friends. I need to keep that in mind when I try to force a blog post out of an idea I have, or twist some idea that was a blog post into a discussion point on a podcast.\nOverall, this movie made me think. I came out shocked by some plot points, and affected by the way the war was portrayed; it was quite different from what is often seen in media. Yet what has remained is the artistry behind the film, the decisions made and the effort required to see those decisions borne out in a beautiful way.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/review-1917/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI saw the film \u003cem\u003e1917\u003c/em\u003e the other week. I had seen the trailer at least a dozen times before, as well as a two-minute feature in a theater about the cinematography. Despite all the exposure and a fairly decent amount of knowledge about the film, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and and would highly recommend it to anyone who isn\u0026rsquo;t put off by war movies in general. The movie is excellent on its own. However, what it made me think about the creative process was what stayed with me the most.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Review - 1917"},{"content":"This post has very little to do with the Space Force as an entity. I\u0026rsquo;m mainly interested in describing my experience reading the legislation that formed the Space Force. It was quite the trip, causing me to think about how legislation is written, who reads it, and who checks whether it\u0026rsquo;s accurately and precisely formed. For reference, this is all pulled from the National Defense Authorization Act (PDF warning).\nThe first thing to note about this piece of legislation (which is the official PDF from the House of Representatives) is that it is over 3000 pages long, and the table of contents is not updated. Every section is labeled with page number 0000, which is extremely unhelpful when you are someone wanting to find their way to a specific part of the document.\nLuckily, whoever is in charge of putting these documents online is not just scanning pieces of paper, they are proper PDF documents that can be searched. This was the only way I could find where the Space Force section is.\nThe start of the section informs the reader that the purpose of the legislation is not to create standalone documentation related to the Space Force, but that the section is a matter of record, declaring a certain chapter will be amended in, and another will be added to, a different set of documentation. (In particular, Title 10 of the United States code is having sections of Chapter 907 re-indexed, and Chapter 908 is being added. This latter bit is the key hunk of legislation.)\nSifting through the legislation reveals some intriguing, readable information which was covered in Part 2. Surrounding these nuggets are administrative fluff and humorously detailed notes of very small changes to other documents. For a broad idea of how this went, consider section 9081 of the Act. There are seven directives, from (a) to (g). Only three of them pertain directly to providing new information about the Space Force. The remaining four are either minimal (one word) edits, or a renaming of a chapter, section, or subsection in another document.\nThere are two excellent quotes that encompass the type of edits I am referring to.\nSection 9016\u0026hellip; is further amended in subsection (a), by striking \u0026ldquo;four\u0026rdquo; and inserting \u0026ldquo;five\u0026rdquo;\u0026hellip;\nNational Defense Authorization Act\nTitle 10, United States Code, is amended as follows:\n(1) In section 101(a)(9)(C), by inserting \u0026lsquo;and the Space Force\u0026rsquo; before the semicolon.\nNational Defense Authorization Act\nThese both struck me as immensely funny for two reasons: First, somebody had to write both of those sentences, with their hands, consciously thinking about the importance of these changes. Second, I am in the minority of people who will ever read these sentences and others like them. They mean nothing to me, and to most Americans, yet it is little phrases like these that somehow make the country go. I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are other pieces of legislation that are written in a more straightforward manner, and many that are even more opaque than this one. Yet, the phrases remain, formulated by some unknown group of people, written and reviewed by others we will never see, then filed away for an occasional viewing.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/space-force-part-3/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis post has very little to do with the Space Force as an entity. I\u0026rsquo;m mainly interested in describing my experience reading the legislation that formed the Space Force. It was quite the trip, causing me to think about how legislation is written, who reads it, and who checks whether it\u0026rsquo;s accurately and precisely formed. For reference, this is all pulled from the \u003ca href=\"https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20191209/CRPT-116hrpt333.pdf\"\u003eNational Defense Authorization Act\u003c/a\u003e (PDF warning).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Space Force - Part 3"},{"content":"While reading through the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020, which is the act passed by Congress in December 2019 that establishes the United States Space Force, I was struck by how the legislation reads. It is surprisingly straightforward, and also incredibly amusing at times. There is a lot to be said about about legislation which I alluded to in the first post related to the Space Force. But, I will restrain myself here, focusing solely on how the pertinent information in the legislation compares to Space Policy Directive-4, which was discussed last week.\nFor those interested in reading along, the relevant part of the aforementioned act begins on p. 949 of the PDF linked above (which is p. 902 as labeled in the document.)\nIt is made immediately clear that the Space Force is, at its inception, is nothing special nor new. It is simply a redesignation of the preexisting Air Force Space Command. Anyone that the Secretary of the Air Force deems necessary (or sufficient?) for duty in the Space Force shall be assigned there from the Air Force. Additionally, no extra funding seems to be granted to the Space Force in this first run; everything is an administrative transfer of Air Force personnel to a new title under the Space Force. This goes all the way to all military and civilian employees of the Space Force being treated as if they were in the Air Force for the purpose of pay, benefits, and retirement.\nAll of this is in line with the Directive. A particular duty of the Space Force that is given the most attention is that of \u0026ldquo;acquisition\u0026rdquo;. There is to be a \u0026ldquo;Space Force Acquisition Council\u0026rdquo; whose express duty is to deal with any acquisition and integration of Air Force systems and programs into the Space Force. In other words, they are the migration assistant for this particular space-military upgrade. There is a list of the members of this council, the frequency with which they must meet (at least once a month) and write reports (each quarter until 2025). This, again, seems to be covering a relatively small point in the Directive: \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip;assume responsibilities for all major military space acquisition programs.\u0026rdquo;\nHowever, things seem to depart after this. The scope of the Space Force is rather specific in the Directive, outlining how it relates to national intelligence and providing a set of priorities the Space Force should follow; in the legislative act, it is less specific, yet also seems to cover less. Here are the duties, as outlined in the act:\nIt shall be the duty of the Space Force to—\n(1) protect the interests of the United States in space;\n(2) deter aggression in, from, and to space; and\n(3) conduct space operations.\nNational Defense Authorization Act\nThis broadly covers three of the six points listed in the Directive. Of course, that third point gives a lot of wiggle room. Yet, despite all that, there is one point in the Directive I think is sorely missing: \u0026ldquo;Developing, maintaining, and improving a community of professionals focused on the national security demands of the space domain.\u0026rdquo; I suppose such a duty could fall under point (1) above, yet I have my doubts that it will come to fruition.\nOverall, this seems to be a slow start to things, but that is to be expected. A lot of official transfers of duties and completion of acquisition projects are slated for October 1, 2022, giving a bit over two and a half years from now for the Space Force to become more of its own entity outside of the Air Force from which it has been plucked. It\u0026rsquo;ll be interesting to keep track of what happens with it, and how much it enters the public consciousness. How long until we start seeing recruitment ads for the Space Force?\nIn the next (and probably final) part of this Space Force series, I plan to poke fun at the way legislation is written in general, using the 20 pages of legislation I read as a case study.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/space-force-part-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile reading through the \u003ca href=\"https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20191209/CRPT-116hrpt333.pdf\"\u003eNational Defense Authorization Act\u003c/a\u003e for 2020, which is the act passed by Congress in December 2019 that establishes the United States Space Force, I was struck by how the legislation reads. It is surprisingly straightforward, and also incredibly amusing at times. There is a lot to be said about about legislation which I alluded to in the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/exploring-the-space-force/\"\u003efirst post\u003c/a\u003e related to the Space Force. But, I will restrain myself here, focusing solely on how the pertinent information in the legislation compares to \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/text-space-policy-directive-4-establishment-united-states-space-force/\"\u003eSpace Policy Directive-4\u003c/a\u003e, which was discussed last week.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor those interested in reading along, the relevant part of the aforementioned act begins on p. 949 of the PDF linked above (which is p. 902 as labeled in the document.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Space Force - Part 2"},{"content":"While researching documents related to the formation of the Space Force, it made the most sense to begin with Space Policy Directive-4. The Space Policy Directives have been a series of executive orders released by President Trump starting in 2017. The first three of these established the desire to return to the moon; discussed regulations of the commercial use of space; and worked through how to approach space traffic management, respectively. The fourth directive establishes the United States Space Force.\nThere are a few things to note about this document. First, it is of course quite clear the President Trump had nearly nothing to do with the specific words, and likely even the ideas, present within. It is functionally known by most people (hopefully?) that any legal document produced by the government is written by committee, contains strange legalese statements that have been passed on over the years, and the names on it may not represent anything about the authorship. With all this known, it is difficult to fully understand it until you read an actual document whose sole name of ownership is a particularly in-eloquent individual. This is more of a general idea to keep in mind, that there are people who are technically held accountable for what is written, but there is very little transparency otherwise.\nSecond, these particular executive orders are actually quite easy to read casually. The PDF version I have is only five and a half relatively short pages, and the language actually feels mostly clear. I recommend reading it yourself.\nThird, it is important to keep in mind that many documents written and released by the government are done so from a particular viewpoint. There is a way to slip in subjective ideas that are stated as facts, with no caveats presented and no research provided. I am not a naturally skeptical person, so I have a hard time digging into these as much as others, but keeping that notion while reading and taking a few extra seconds for each sentence can be quite beneficial.\nNow, to the document itself. The details laid down (for example, Section 2, \u0026ldquo;Definitions\u0026rdquo;) are not particularly interesting. In short, this is an executive order detailing that the Secretary of Defense should put together some proposal to the President, which will then be submitted to Congress, allowing the funding to actually create the U.S. Space Force. It details some broad goals the Space Force is meant to meet, and has some administrivia surrounding the organization and leadership of the Space Force.\nOne thing that is interesting to note is some of the internal military politics I\u0026rsquo;ve read about with regards to organization. Of course, the Air Force was rather against the creation of this new department. But many people pointed out it\u0026rsquo;s not a huge deal, as the Space Force will be under the Department of the Air Force. This is analogous to the relationship between the Navy and the Marines, where the Marines are a separate branch, but fall under the department of the Navy.\nThe directive in question sheds a little light on this now. From section 10 of the directive:\nAs the United States Space Force matures, and as national security requires, it will become necessary to create a separate military department, to be known as the Department of the Space Force. This department will take over some or all responsibilities for the United States Space Force from the Department of the Air Force.\nSpace Policy Directive-4\nSo while some people have aimed to downplay the relative importance and use of this newly formed branch, it is clear that from the outset there have been designs for it to increase its reach. This is not a judgement on whether it\u0026rsquo;s a good development, just an interesting piece of information I found while reading.\nI want to quickly discuss the third point to keep in mind above. Immediately section 1 gives us something to consider:\nSpace is integral to our way of life, our national security, and modern warfare. Although United States space systems have historically maintained a technological advantage over those of our potential adversaries, those potential adversaries are now advancing their space capabilities and actively developing ways to deny our use of space in a crisis or conflict.\nSpace Policy Directive-4\nNotice how each statement is made as a fact, despite the wiggle room in each one. There are no specific examples, no citations, just statements. Furthermore, the framing is overall negative and, well, defensive. There is talk of potential adversaries and future crisis or conflict. There is no discussion of the amazing collaboration that the use of space has allowed the globe over the last thirty years, but simply one of conquest. I personally find that disheartening, even if there is truth in each statement quoted above. This is why the Space Force is so intriguing to me. It can be framed in so many ways, and will subsequently be used in just as many.\nIn the next post I plan to look through some of the actual legislation that was passed to establish and provide funding for the Space Force, and see how the phrasing compares to the various goals laid out in this directive.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/space-force-part-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile researching documents related to the formation of the Space Force, it made the most sense to begin with \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/text-space-policy-directive-4-establishment-united-states-space-force/\"\u003eSpace Policy Directive-4\u003c/a\u003e. The Space Policy Directives have been a series of executive orders released by President Trump starting in 2017. The first three of these established the desire to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/new-space-policy-directive-calls-for-human-expansion-across-solar-system/\"\u003ereturn to the moon\u003c/a\u003e; discussed regulations of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/space-policy-directive-2-streamlining-regulations-commercial-use-space/\"\u003ecommercial use of space\u003c/a\u003e; and worked through how to approach \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/space-policy-directive-3-national-space-traffic-management-policy/\"\u003espace traffic management\u003c/a\u003e, respectively. The fourth directive establishes the United States Space Force.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Space Force - Part 1"},{"content":"Even though I\u0026rsquo;ve been vaguely aware of a certain dynamic when home in Minnesota for breaks, it has somehow become more acute this year. My break is not really a break due to how difficult my routine is to track, and how many people are vying for some time together. Of course I am happy to see my friends and family during the holidays, but there is something about being back home, as if it were high school, now that I am much more independent and live on my own. It is difficult to not have my own space anymore, and to have very little time to myself. In fact, I have to work today and that sounds like it\u0026rsquo;ll be the largest mental break available to me.\nWhat strategies are there to help fix this dynamic and reclaim my own time and space even while at home? I\u0026rsquo;m not quite sure yet. But I\u0026rsquo;m actively working on it, and making use of the bits of time available to me. However, there has not been nearly enough to investigate the Space Force as I mentioned last week, so that will have to wait a little longer until I have more time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/break-without-break/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEven though I\u0026rsquo;ve been vaguely aware of a certain dynamic when home in Minnesota for breaks, it has somehow become more acute this year. My break is not really a break due to how difficult my routine is to track, and how many people are vying for some time together. Of course I am happy to see my friends and family during the holidays, but there is something about being back home, as if it were high school, now that I am much more independent and live on my own. It is difficult to not have my own space anymore, and to have very little time to myself. In fact, I have to work today and that sounds like it\u0026rsquo;ll be the largest mental break available to me.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Break Without Break"},{"content":"A year and a half ago, Trump announced his intentions of forming a sixth branch of the US military: the \u0026ldquo;Space Force\u0026rdquo;. Just last week, a defense bill was passed that included appropriations and direction for the creation of said branch. This felt like an excellent opportunity to dive back into research mode and figure out what I could using primary sources. So I\u0026rsquo;ve been spending time digging up memos, executive orders, and legislation related to this process. Over the next month or so I\u0026rsquo;m planning on writing a few posts discussing how we got here, what the stated intention of the Space Force was, what it sounds like it will be immediately, and what it might become in the future.\nReading these documents is tough and somewhat amusing; it makes you wonder how many words of legislation are never read. The aforementioned defense bill closes in on 4000 pages. But that\u0026rsquo;s beside the point. The relevant section is actually only about 20 pages, which then makes you wonder how much wiggle room there is. But we\u0026rsquo;ll get to that.\nOf course what I\u0026rsquo;m going to come up with is probably less useful or accurate as those writing based on insider information, but I have a strong sense that many news reports began as notes taken from a spoken summary in a press briefing, then new reports are written based on the initial ones. In either case, it\u0026rsquo;s good to be aware of where these documents are accessible, even if reading some parts is an exercise in futility.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/exploring-the-space-force/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA year and a half ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/06/18/its-official-trump-announces-space-force-6th-military-branch.html\"\u003eTrump announced\u003c/a\u003e his intentions of forming a sixth branch of the US military: the \u0026ldquo;Space Force\u0026rdquo;. Just last week, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/17/politics/ndaa-passes-congress-parental-leave-space-force/index.html\"\u003edefense bill was passed\u003c/a\u003e that included appropriations and direction for the creation of said branch. This felt like an excellent opportunity to dive back into research mode and figure out what I could using primary sources. So I\u0026rsquo;ve been spending time digging up memos, executive orders, and legislation related to this process. Over the next month or so I\u0026rsquo;m planning on writing a few posts discussing how we got here, what the stated intention of the Space Force was, what it sounds like it will be immediately, and what it might become in the future.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Exploring the Space Force"},{"content":"During this year\u0026rsquo;s Black Friday, I switched teams in the (not very large) e-reader wars. Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I\u0026rsquo;ve used some sort of Nook from Barnes and Noble. Growing up, I always loved Barnes and Noble. Sure it\u0026rsquo;s a chain, but it\u0026rsquo;s still a bookstore and I enjoyed supporting it. This extended to the Nook. It always felt like they had better features for a slightly cheaper price than the Kindles that were available. They received backlights on the base model well before the Kindle did, and they still have physical buttons.\nDespite all that, the Kindle has finally eclipsed the Nook in certain key features that are useful for me: water resistance, integration with libraries, file transfer, and services.\nFor reference, I specifically have the Kindle Paperwhite 2018, and previously had the Nook Glowlight 3.\nThe Good\nIt\u0026rsquo;s pretty straightforward. The Kindle is slimmer with smaller bezels, and seems to have overall better battery life. I have a tendency to use my e-readers in airplane mode all the time, unless I need to connect to download a book. I also have the backlight off in most situations. On the Nook I would get between 1 and 2 weeks of reading time, and the Kindle seems to be trending more in the range of 2 to 3 weeks. The Kindle also has better standby battery life; the Nook, if unused for a week or two, would be close to dead.\nThe Kindle also seems to have more responsive software. The Nook has a tendency to lag. What I particularly appreciate is that the Kindle has a sort of \u0026ldquo;fast startup\u0026rdquo; mode that\u0026rsquo;s turned off by default. While they do warn this will decrease battery life, the time I referenced above is on this mode. I definitely appreciate having this turned on, because clicking the power button and swiping up to get reading is now as fast as an early generation finger-print reader on smartphones. In other words, much faster than you would expect from an e-ink screen.\nThe services are also excellent. Being able to integrate through the Libby app with my local library is excellent, and the Kindle does not get all up in arms about wanting to add PDF\u0026rsquo;s. The Nook is very tough with Adobe DRM, and I could rarely get anything added successfully to it.\nWhile Kindle Unlimited does not always have the books I want, it\u0026rsquo;s an excellent feature that I\u0026rsquo;ve subscribed to for now. My biggest annoyance with the Nook is that being a Barnes and Noble member netted me absolutely nothing. The Nook books were not substantially less expensive in any way, and there were almost never sales. Also, the quality of ebooks available could be spotty on the lower price-point.\nFinally, the Paperwhite is water resistant. Why not?\nThe Bad\nThere are two really dumb things about the Kindle. First, there are no page-turn buttons, making one-handed operation very frustrating. I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten used to it more or less, but it\u0026rsquo;s an annoyance that could easily be fixed. Also, a touch-screen only device with a slow-response e-ink screen just feels like a problem waiting to happen. There\u0026rsquo;s something about having the physical buttons that makes me feel more sure that everything will work out.\nSecond, the one button they do have, the power button, is on the bottom. One of my frequent situations for reading is at a restaurant or a coffee shop. I do not want to be holding the device in my hand, nor do I want to crane my head as it lies flat on the table. So, I want to lean it up against something: a salt shaker, a flip-book of the monthly deals, or anything else I can find. This was an excellent experience with the Nook, with its top-placed power button. The first time I tried it on a Kindle the screen shut off.\nBecause the power button is on the bottom. The weight of the Kindle shuts the screen off. Ugh.\nBeyond these hardware annoyances, there are a few software issues as well. First, it\u0026rsquo;s Amazon so they are tracking what I\u0026rsquo;m doing, and also servicing me ads on my lock screen and home screen. I know there are some ways to get around this, but that\u0026rsquo;s not the point. On the Nook, you can choose between nature scenes or famous author portraits as your lock screen. How nice!\nWhile reading, the navigation and tools just don\u0026rsquo;t seem as refined and thought-out for the reader as the Nook does. Page numbers often don\u0026rsquo;t work, and navigating quickly to a specific page is basically not possible in an intuitive way. The Nook has a horizontal scroll bar you can quickly bring up. On the Kindle I have to tap on the very top center to do anything other than turn the page (I wish it was anywhere in the center, but no) and what pops up is not particularly useful right away.\nOf course I have years of working with the Nook interface, so maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll come around to the Kindle. I wish I could suppress the ads very easily, even as a hidden option in the settings, rather than lying about being a child or something similar. But overall, it\u0026rsquo;s been a good experience. Luckily there are wonderful applications that might even help me avoid the sunk-cost of having many books in my Nook library that I don\u0026rsquo;t want to buy twice.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/kindle-vs-nook/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDuring this year\u0026rsquo;s Black Friday, I switched teams in the (not very large) e-reader wars. Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I\u0026rsquo;ve used some sort of Nook from Barnes and Noble. Growing up, I always loved Barnes and Noble. Sure it\u0026rsquo;s a chain, but it\u0026rsquo;s still a bookstore and I enjoyed supporting it. This extended to the Nook. It always felt like they had better features for a slightly cheaper price than the Kindles that were available. They received backlights on the base model well before the Kindle did, and they still have physical buttons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite all that, the Kindle has finally eclipsed the Nook in certain key features that are useful for me: water resistance, integration with libraries, file transfer, and services.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor reference, I specifically have the Kindle Paperwhite 2018, and previously had the Nook Glowlight 3.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Kindle vs. Nook"},{"content":"Once again it\u0026rsquo;s supposed to winter, and yet it is not. In fact, we finally achieved \u0026ldquo;sweater weather\u0026rdquo; status in San Diego the other week with an uncharacteristic amount of rain and high 50\u0026rsquo;s temperatures. It\u0026rsquo;s still odd trying to adjust, and I feel a lot of dissonance between the weather and what 23 years of experience tells me should be happening.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t expect I\u0026rsquo;ll ever fully adjust, and I think that\u0026rsquo;s okay. Proper winter will always have a special place in my heart. And at least I can bake cookies.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/season-dissonance/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOnce again it\u0026rsquo;s supposed to winter, and yet it is not. In fact, we finally achieved \u0026ldquo;sweater weather\u0026rdquo; status in San Diego the other week with an uncharacteristic amount of rain and high 50\u0026rsquo;s temperatures. It\u0026rsquo;s still odd trying to adjust, and I feel a lot of dissonance between the weather and what 23 years of experience tells me should be happening.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t expect I\u0026rsquo;ll ever fully adjust, and I think that\u0026rsquo;s okay. Proper winter will always have a special place in my heart. And at least I can bake cookies.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Season Dissonance"},{"content":"Earlier this year I reread (and finally finished) the Inheritance Cycle, which is the series with Eragon. It\u0026rsquo;s an excellent set of books that had a lot of nostalgia for me. Now that my month-long writing spring is over, I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to start reading more and the next series I\u0026rsquo;m focused on is also somewhat nostalgia-fueled. I\u0026rsquo;m reading His Dark Materials (the most well-known book being the first in the trilogy, The Golden Compass). I first read this series back in 7th grade, and I remember enjoying it but remember very little about the specifics. I also know that it is a fantasy written by the author in his own voice, not written for a particular audience. In that way it\u0026rsquo;s very approachable and enjoyable for anyone, and I\u0026rsquo;m enjoying reading it from an adult perspective. It\u0026rsquo;s not totally fresh, as plot points and characters are coming back to me as I read, but it\u0026rsquo;s good so far. It makes for a fun and exciting read, and I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to working my way through the trilogy this month.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/more-nostalgic-reading/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEarlier this year I reread (and finally finished) the \u003cem\u003eInheritance Cycle\u003c/em\u003e, which is the series with \u003cem\u003eEragon\u003c/em\u003e. It\u0026rsquo;s an excellent set of books that had a lot of nostalgia for me. Now that my month-long writing spring is over, I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to start reading more and the next series I\u0026rsquo;m focused on is also somewhat nostalgia-fueled. I\u0026rsquo;m reading \u003cem\u003eHis Dark Materials\u003c/em\u003e (the most well-known book being the first in the trilogy, \u003cem\u003eThe Golden Compass\u003c/em\u003e). I first read this series back in 7th grade, and I remember enjoying it but remember very little about the specifics. I also know that it is a fantasy written by the author in his own voice, not written for a particular audience. In that way it\u0026rsquo;s very approachable and enjoyable for anyone, and I\u0026rsquo;m enjoying reading it from an adult perspective. It\u0026rsquo;s not totally fresh, as plot points and characters are coming back to me as I read, but it\u0026rsquo;s good so far. It makes for a fun and exciting read, and I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to working my way through the trilogy this month.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"More Nostalgic Reading"},{"content":"I officially \u0026ldquo;won\u0026rdquo; NaNoWriMo as of writing this post on November 23.\nAs you can see, \u0026ldquo;winning\u0026rdquo; just means successfully writing 50,000 words of a completely new story during November. At least that\u0026rsquo;s the official way to do it. Even more strictly, they seem to take the stance that your novel should be finished at that stage, which I now find absurd. As you can check for yourself, my 50,000 word document, when directly exported to PDF, is 114 pages. Of course it\u0026rsquo;s lacking page breaks and all that stuff, but even in the most extreme circumstances of adjusting margins and doing a lot of typesetting, I doubt that would get it to 150 pages. That\u0026rsquo;s a far cry from a substantial novel. Novella, perhaps, but not quite a novel.\nThe thing is, I surprised myself this month. What started as a clear-cut story based on an idea I\u0026rsquo;d already worked through in another medium became its own object with an entirely different goal. The story, whatever it might become, is far from over. Yet I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if continuing it right now is what I really want to do. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to work through in my mind.\nWhat made this project special (and surprisingly easy) was that the story was a vehicle for accomplishing this long-form writing task that tested my discipline and creativity. Telling the story was not necessarily the end goal, and it\u0026rsquo;s a huge mental hurdle to go between those frames of reference. If I tell myself this book needs to be finished, it\u0026rsquo;s hard for me to say if it will ever happen. Perhaps there is some mental trickery I can perform and convince myself it\u0026rsquo;s really just an extension of what this month was, that it\u0026rsquo;s to build a habit of writing because it\u0026rsquo;s something I want to do even if the story never gets told. Maybe that\u0026rsquo;s exactly what I will do. I don\u0026rsquo;t know.\nRegardless of the continuation of this story, there were plenty of things I learned along the way. I began to understand what it meant to (a) write what you know, (b) let your characters guide you through the story, and (c) not be silenced by my inner editor and critic.\nPerhaps I took (a) a bit too seriously at times. My character was, in my mind, a straight white male broadly around my age, and of course with my general knowledge of the world. So, that\u0026rsquo;s not very interesting, but it is accurate. The tangents that he goes on are certainly authentic. I would do quick searches on the internet to find out more information about a subject that I was broadly familiar with, but needed some specifics because, frankly, it was more convenient that way. Other times I did not provide my character with the knowledge I had. The most extreme example was how I wrote what\u0026rsquo;s current in Chapter 9. I wrote all of Chapter 10 and got into 11 until I had the time to go buy some Twinkies and go through exactly the motions and observations I wrote in that chapter. It was also a good excuse to try a Twinkie, because I never have.\nPoint (b) was the most interesting. All fiction writers that have opined on the subject seem to fall somewhere on the spectrum of \u0026ldquo;I am a slave to my characters\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;My characters are slaves to me\u0026rdquo;. For a long time I probably existed on some vertical axis above that line, not knowing what I was doing or what anybody meant about either of those situations. Letting characters \u0026ldquo;have control\u0026rdquo; is the hardest to empathize with, until it actually started happening to me in some cases. When I started writing, I wanted to follow the general plot points of the text adventure I was basing it on, but it became clear that the character I was writing did not belong there yet. There was a lot of growth and discovery that needed to happen first. When that started to occur in the story, I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel like I\u0026rsquo;d made a conscious decision, it felt more like the decision had been made for me. It\u0026rsquo;s strange, but it certainly was fun.\nPoint (c) is really the crux of all of NaNoWriMo. It takes a lot for all writers, but particularly new ones, to not be afraid of writing total garbage on the page, to really internalize the idea that you can\u0026rsquo;t edit a blank page. I\u0026rsquo;ve improved on this over the years, and this blog has been the most useful since I put very little work into editing what I write here. And I found it so freeing to just write whatever I wanted to this month, telling myself that any criticism is totally invalid because it\u0026rsquo;s not meant to be good, it\u0026rsquo;s meant to be writing that could potentially be tweaked, changed, or thrown out at a later time if necessary.\nOverall this was a great challenge for me. I suspect I\u0026rsquo;ll try to keep at my story on some easier schedule, and I\u0026rsquo;ll almost certainly be attempting NaNoWriMo next year as well. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll find a new way to challenge myself within the confines of the month, but it was very exciting to participate in it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/won-and-done/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI officially \u0026ldquo;won\u0026rdquo; \u003ca href=\"https://nanowrimo.org/\"\u003eNaNoWriMo\u003c/a\u003e as of writing this post on November 23.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://i1.wp.com/markrichard.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/NaNoWriMoWinner.png?fit=525%2C267\u0026ssl=1\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Won and Done?"},{"content":"As I mentioned last week, I\u0026rsquo;m participating in National Novel Writing Month. As of writing this blog post I\u0026rsquo;ve reached 37,000 words in my novel, which I\u0026rsquo;m quite happy about. I found the first week or so pretty easy to manage, and I consistently went above the official daily word goal.\nThe last week has been a bit tougher. I set a personal daily goal of 2000 words, and I have managed to hit it every day so far. But it\u0026rsquo;s been tough at times. Many nights I\u0026rsquo;ll have only written 800 words or so, and think about just calling it for the day since I\u0026rsquo;m ahead of the official mark. But part of this month is being disciplined on my own; the official goals aren\u0026rsquo;t that meaningful, they are just a guide. I want to do this with internal motivation, that\u0026rsquo;s the real challenge.\nOne trick, or probably more of a strange placebo, that I have found works is using an app like Forest (or really, just some count-down timer) to do what cool writers call \u0026ldquo;word sprints\u0026rdquo;. I\u0026rsquo;ve found fifteen minutes is the sweet spot for me. I get locked into trying to write as much as I can in fifteen minutes, which is really the length of a YouTube video that\u0026rsquo;s a bit longer than average. It\u0026rsquo;s a unit of time I can easily wrap my head around. And in each sprint I tend to get at least 500 words. I then take a short break, and repeat again. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure why it works, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t leave me feeling burned out; I tend to feel more energized in my writing after accomplishing one.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t have much else to say (I\u0026rsquo;m in the middle of one of those days where I\u0026rsquo;m at about 1200 words and it\u0026rsquo;s 9:30 pm) except try playing around with ideas for avoiding burnout. I find that setting up systems to avoid short-term fatigue can be incredibly beneficial in staving off long-term issues as well.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/fighting-through-burnout/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I mentioned last week, I\u0026rsquo;m participating in National Novel Writing Month. As of writing this blog post I\u0026rsquo;ve reached 37,000 words in my novel, which I\u0026rsquo;m quite happy about. I found the first week or so pretty easy to manage, and I consistently went above the official daily word goal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe last week has been a bit tougher. I set a personal daily goal of 2000 words, and I have managed to hit it every day so far. But it\u0026rsquo;s been tough at times. Many nights I\u0026rsquo;ll have only written 800 words or so, and think about just calling it for the day since I\u0026rsquo;m ahead of the official mark. But part of this month is being disciplined on my own; the official goals aren\u0026rsquo;t that meaningful, they are just a guide. I want to do this with internal motivation, that\u0026rsquo;s the real challenge.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Fighting Through Burnout"},{"content":"November is National Novel Writing Month, referred to as NaNoWriMo by the cool kids. The official goal of the event is to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel. More loosely, it\u0026rsquo;s to write 50,000 of some novel (perhaps you\u0026rsquo;re finishing last year\u0026rsquo;s, or revising your current one.) Or if you\u0026rsquo;re not in the novel game, maybe just write 50,000 words. Or write a graphic novel with some constraint. In reality, it\u0026rsquo;s an event designed to get people writing and to build the habit of writing every day. The word goal is just to encourage you to silence your inner editor for a while, and let your brain throw crap on paper.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s exactly what I\u0026rsquo;m doing. You can keep track of my progress by going to the NaNoWriMo page (linked in the sidebar menu). There you will find a PDF of my work updated each night. I don\u0026rsquo;t have any cool live word-counter (the updates on the website require you to have an account to view), but I suppose if you really cared you could copy and paste from the PDF and check.\nAs of writing this post (the evening of 11/9) I\u0026rsquo;m at around 20,500 words, which is a bit ahead of pace. I\u0026rsquo;m aiming to be done around November 20 if possible, to avoid needing to do anything while traveling around Thanksgiving. If all goes according to plan, I\u0026rsquo;ll have at least another 2,000 words by the time this is posted on Monday morning, and maybe even be halfway done by Monday night.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure this is not something most people are interested in, but it can be good to have an excuse to let your creativity flow a bit more than you may allow it to, or may allow time to. For me, I\u0026rsquo;m spending most of my free time that I would normally spend on podcasts or other media just writing. It\u0026rsquo;s been fun so far, and I hope to keep up the pace.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/national-novel-writing-month/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eNovember is National Novel Writing Month, referred to as \u003ca href=\"http://nanowrimo.org\"\u003eNaNoWriMo\u003c/a\u003e by the cool kids. The official goal of the event is to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel. More loosely, it\u0026rsquo;s to write 50,000 of some novel (perhaps you\u0026rsquo;re finishing last year\u0026rsquo;s, or revising your current one.) Or if you\u0026rsquo;re not in the novel game, maybe just write 50,000 words. Or write a graphic novel with some constraint. In reality, it\u0026rsquo;s an event designed to get people writing and to build the habit of writing every day. The word goal is just to encourage you to silence your inner editor for a while, and let your brain throw crap on paper.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"National Novel Writing Month"},{"content":"You can read last week\u0026rsquo;s post to get a feel for what this very short series is about. Broadly speaking, in my quest to read more modern literature, I\u0026rsquo;m finding myself grappling with modern issues in a way that is rather different than when I\u0026rsquo;m having broad conversations with others, or reading news stories. Books are affecting to me, and always have been. I\u0026rsquo;m typically more emotionally moved by a book that just about any other stimulus. So, I take the stories they tell seriously and look for what the author wants to say with it.\nI just finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. This book is focused around Leni (or Lenora) and her parents. Her father was a POW in the Vietnam War, and hasn\u0026rsquo;t been the same since. They end up moving to Alaska (which is what the title is referencing) and occupying a homestead left to Leni\u0026rsquo;s father by a deceased friend from the war. I won\u0026rsquo;t say any more about the plot other than it\u0026rsquo;s a dramatic ride that had me hooked the whole way.\nThe focus of the book\u0026rsquo;s discomfort was domestic abuse and violence. Unlike my lack of background with the gay community and HIV/AIDS growing up, which led to a non-judgmental and supportive outlook, my only direct \u0026ldquo;experience\u0026rdquo; on the front of domestic abuse and violence was my mom repeatedly telling me that I should never lay hands on any future children of mine. I know that my dad grew up with some mild forms of corporal punishment within his family, but my mom would have none of it and strictly forbade it. I definitely appreciate that stance, and it\u0026rsquo;s led forward with me until today, as someone who\u0026rsquo;s really only done as much as wrestle.\nThe reason for using the phrase domestic abuse and violence is because they should both be emphasized in different ways. Domestic abuse often takes the form of emotional abuse and manipulation, while the violence part is rather straightforward. This book explores both concepts deeply from the perspective of a teenage girl who was mostly protected from these tough things until they suddenly stared her in the face.\nIt was heart-wrenching to follow this many-years journey in the book as a family struggled, clinging onto hope. Of course, this book only covered one aspect of domestic abuse and violence and how it materialized in a particular circumstance set in the 1970s and 1980s. But it really dove into some of the troubles still common today. Although I will admit that I\u0026rsquo;m woefully unaware of what progress, if any, has been made on these troubles.\nThe first very direct issue is that of legal recourse. If a woman is being abused by her husband, to what extent is she able to press charges and be guaranteed security in the future against retribution? As the book states:\n\u0026hellip; life—and the law—is hard on women. Sometimes doing the right thing is no help at all.\nKristin Hannah, The Great Alone\nOf course I\u0026rsquo;m in the privileged position to not be on the receiving end of these struggles. But that puts me in the position to be ever the greater proponent, without stepping on the toes of the women who are at the forefront of the issues. It\u0026rsquo;s incredibly frustrating when the law and its implementation does not abide with our own internal compass as a society. This is one of those situations that still needs significant work to be improved. The Great Alone explores this issue of legality in two separate plot points, each one incredibly infuriating. However, this is theoretically a fixable issue at a systemic and societal level. These are hard changes to make, but people can often work together to make them happen.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a second issue explored in the book that can only be dealt with on an interpersonal level: the hope, longing, and love that can still persist in the face of manipulation and violence. People so often say to abused people to \u0026ldquo;just leave [their abuser]\u0026rdquo;, when the reality is rarely that simple. First, a manic abuser rarely takes a \u0026ldquo;no\u0026rdquo; well, and a sudden departure is even worse. Not only that, but someone who has been thoroughly abused may have no lifelines left financially or otherwise to make use of. Luckily, the world has seen this and responded by creating sporadic shelters in secret locations designed for the aid and protection of abused people, but that\u0026rsquo;s assuming someone is willing to leave.\nDeep in a thrall of introspection, Leni voices this thought about love and hope in light of her parent\u0026rsquo;s relationship:\nLeni saw suddenly how hope could break you, how it was a shiny lure for the unwary.\nKristin Hannah, The Great Alone\nThis is a cynical, yet brutally cold truth when read in context. Hope, when not properly vetted and inspected, is indeed a dangerous lure for many reasons. It can cloud judgment and provide an infinitude of excuses. Manipulation and the cycle of abuse is tricky, and helping to navigate someone caught in it is extraordinarily difficult. I\u0026rsquo;m lucky to have avoided it for the most part in my life, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I can\u0026rsquo;t be an advocate or aid in improving society, or even a few people\u0026rsquo;s lives if given the chance. Seeing how it goes well beyond the scope of just two people is horrifying at times.\nAs I think about these two topics I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to discuss, it\u0026rsquo;s often the conversing that\u0026rsquo;s difficult as well. I was very aware of certain word choices that I made (and probably made far more mistakes than I intended to.) There are subconscious word choices and phrasing decisions made whenever a discussion happens, and these can be very damaging if not handled well. Furthermore, it is hard to discuss something with no definitive answer or resolution. There are so many ongoing conversations in today\u0026rsquo;s society that it\u0026rsquo;s hard to keep up. But, I suggest to take the time to ingest various pieces of media that give you snapshots of issues, and make sure you process them fully in whatever way is healthy for you. It\u0026rsquo;s good to have a way to work through topics that are discomforting. It\u0026rsquo;ll help keep us grounded in a world where so much is whirling around us, and there seems to be so little to hold onto.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/diving-into-discomfort-part-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYou can read last week\u0026rsquo;s post to get a feel for what this very short series is about. Broadly speaking, in my quest to read more modern literature, I\u0026rsquo;m finding myself grappling with modern issues in a way that is rather different than when I\u0026rsquo;m having broad conversations with others, or reading news stories. Books are affecting to me, and always have been. I\u0026rsquo;m typically more emotionally moved by a book that just about any other stimulus. So, I take the stories they tell seriously and look for what the author wants to say with it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Diving into Discomfort - Part 2"},{"content":"As I mentioned last week, I\u0026rsquo;m trying to make a concerted effort to read modern fiction books. What tends to come along with this are modern takes on old issues in society, and modern takes on modern problems. This is perhaps the strongest argument for reading difficult modern literature: it makes us confront issues in a new way, and become warier of issues facing our current society.\nFor as long as \u0026ldquo;mass media\u0026rdquo; can be considered to exist (I won\u0026rsquo;t make a guess as to when that is, I\u0026rsquo;m no historian) it has in some cases served as a reflection of the worries and joys of current society, and also potentially as propaganda. Today, I believe most fiction books fall heavily in the former category, if only because they are not as widely circulated now that many other forms of digestible media exist.\nThe other benefit of books today is that, unlike other forms of mass media, they are not nearly as censored. Sure, they can be removed from school reading lists, but they\u0026rsquo;re still available. As far as I know, there is very little content-scanning done for self-published books on marketplaces like Amazon. I also find that books do a better job at showing introspection. A movie or TV series can show horrific images to get a small sense of a situation, but a book can dive deep into many characters\u0026rsquo; psyches and explore how events are affecting them and all corners of their lives.\nWith this backdrop, I want to consider the book I mentioned last week, The Great Believers. It is a book focused on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the gay community of Chicago during the 1980s. There is a side story that jumps into 2015, but that\u0026rsquo;s not the focus of my thoughts here. This is one of the first books that I\u0026rsquo;ve read which deals with an issue a decade or so outside of my living memory, and does so in an incredibly empathetic and raw way. The parts of the book set in the 1980s follow Yale, a gay man who lives with his partner Charlie. Yale works for a burgeoning art gallery based in Northwestern University, focusing on accumulating more works of art and developing a permanent display.\nThe power of this book is not in its graphic display of men infected by HIV/AIDS. There is a bit of that, but it mostly holds back. It\u0026rsquo;s really about how this community in Chicago viewed themselves, how they worked together (or didn\u0026rsquo;t), how they viewed the world outside them, and how a virus that is already debilitating enough further exacerbates the degree to which they are outcast.\nThis was admittedly jarring to me. I come from a reasonably liberal background, and spent two years working in dorms in college, where a huge focus was on diversity and social justice. I met, and befriended, people from a wide variety of backgrounds. But despite all this, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I\u0026rsquo;m incredibly comfortable with the terrible things many people have to go through. Fully because of my background and my privilege, I\u0026rsquo;ve been put in positions where I am the one helping and providing guidance, because I don\u0026rsquo;t have to face the issues. With the amount of news that we get, it\u0026rsquo;s hard to empathize with so many people at once, and I personally have a habit of starting to blocking things out or becoming numb to the realities others don\u0026rsquo;t have a choice but to face. Consciously reading a book where I am following a specific character, and getting to hear the thoughts, tends to have a much greater effect and put me in a better mindset to slowly wrap my thoughts around the broader scope.\nBut I\u0026rsquo;m getting ahead of myself. The reason this post is Part 1 is because by next week I anticipate finishing another modern book that focuses on another tough issue with which I have no firsthand experience. The parts of this book which caused me the most discomfort, as I mentioned, were the focus on the outcast nature of the gay community, and the affect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Growing up, I knew nothing about HIV/AIDS until I took my first health class, whenever that was, and learned a bit about STD/Is. However, the origins of HIV/AIDS and the stigma associated with it I only picked up via bits and pieces of culture and roaming the internet. Despite all that, I had never really been confronted with the reality of it and how divided people could be over it at the time. (Of course, even now, I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are lingering effects.)\nBeing thrown into the (relatively mild) discomfort of reading accounts of how this disease progressed through the gay community, and seeing a literary microcosm of how the people involved responded, I believe increased my empathy. It\u0026rsquo;s given me another marker with which to silently orient myself whenever I\u0026rsquo;m navigating a conversation or ingesting a piece of media related to this situation. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure there is anything specific and actionable I can point to right now, but I know that I feel both a bit more knowledgeable from it, and increasingly aware of my naivety and the lack of context I actually have to handle these realities of the world.\nAs I continue to read, I want to make an effort to diversify the experiences I\u0026rsquo;m coming across. I think the best thing we can do is open ourselves to the thoughts and realities of others, and accept that what it implies is that we are not in positions to judge, only to offer the best help that we can without judgement. Solutions developed in understanding and context, even if it\u0026rsquo;s well beyond our own experiences and comfort level, will always surpass those brought about in ignorance, fear, or smug pretenses of exceptional knowledge.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/diving-into-discomfort-part-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I mentioned last week, I\u0026rsquo;m trying to make a concerted effort to read modern fiction books. What tends to come along with this are modern takes on old issues in society, and modern takes on modern problems. This is perhaps the strongest argument for reading difficult modern literature: it makes us confront issues in a new way, and become warier of issues facing our current society.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Diving into Discomfort - Part 1"},{"content":"Over the years, I\u0026rsquo;ve read very little modern fiction. I went through some of the main young-adult fiction of my generation (Harry Potter, Eragon and the likes) but have rarely read any modern literature published this century. There are a few exceptions, such as the work of Neal Stephenson. Yet throughout school, most books we read were much older. This caused me to become more interested in older literature, and believe that the ability to read it was some sign of maturity.\nThere are many reasons for this. One is that in the limited time we have available to us, we want to maximize our experiences. Taking a chance on a newer book that is unproven, without any immediate obvious cultural impact, can be a tough sell. It is easier than ever to find old books, to determine what you\u0026rsquo;ll enjoy, and be told that certain classics have had a profound effect on the world. Within that context, why wouldn\u0026rsquo;t you focus on older, profound literature as opposed to anything written by a modern author?\nBut I\u0026rsquo;ve realized that there\u0026rsquo;s always new literature coming out, and much of it speaks to the current state of our world. Other bits are just informative and interesting. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to make a more conscious effort in my various reading binges to find newer books. The first of these (among the conscious effort) is a National Book Award runner up in 2018, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Next week I plan to write a much more in-depth review of the book and its impact on me. Suffice it to say that it\u0026rsquo;s an engaging book that took me a bit out of my comfort zone, and it affected me deeply.\nThis helped confirm my decision to read more modern literature. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I\u0026rsquo;ll stick to these highly-recommended books. In the past I\u0026rsquo;ve had luck doing a random sort in my library book reader app, and taking out the first thing that seems interesting. I hope to maintain some sort of cycle, reading an older book, then a newer book that seems promising, then a random newer book. This will keeps things interesting and give me a wide range of books to read, which helps improve the flow of ideas I consider.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/reading-modern-literature/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOver the years, I\u0026rsquo;ve read very little modern fiction. I went through some of the main young-adult fiction of my generation (\u003cem\u003eHarry Potter\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eEragon\u003c/em\u003e and the likes) but have rarely read any modern \u003cem\u003eliterature\u003c/em\u003e published this century. There are a few exceptions, such as the work of Neal Stephenson. Yet throughout school, most books we read were much older. This caused me to become more interested in older literature, and believe that the ability to read it was some sign of maturity.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Reading Modern Literature"},{"content":"I was informed by a friend that someone I went to high school with made national news after getting kicked out of a Trump rally in Minneapolis. It made me consider the hundreds of people I no longer know much about since I left high school, and how many different paths they\u0026rsquo;ve gone on. The news of this particular classmate of mine was hilarious, and largely in character based on what I knew of them. However, seeing them in the context of the real world and not just talking to them adds a different, more intriguing element to it.\nWe live in an interesting time where it is largely possible to keep up with a massive number of people to some extent (at least the parts of them they are willing to share on the internet, for better or worse). You come across people you know in unexpected places, and see more snapshots of a life than has been possible until the most recent ten years or so. With regards to this specific part of social media, I don\u0026rsquo;t have particularly strong feelings. I personally enjoy seeing the whereabouts and major events of the well-adjusted people I was friendly with in school, but wouldn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily keep in direct contact with afterward. It provides me with a positive feeling for them. I can silently root for them, and assume that a few moments of thoughts are similarly directed at me from time to time.\nI also know I had the privilege to go to an excellent high school with some absolutely amazing peers. I have no doubt I\u0026rsquo;ll continue to see others show up in the news every so often. It\u0026rsquo;s exciting to see what interests were developed or maintained, to get a glimpse of how people have grown since I last saw them. And, if I\u0026rsquo;m lucky, I may get one degree closer to Kevin Bacon. Or if I\u0026rsquo;m really lucky, Erdos.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-humorous-event/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was informed by a friend that someone I went to high school with made \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/5698784/trump-rally-minneapolis-kaepernick-jersey/\"\u003enational news\u003c/a\u003e after getting kicked out of a Trump rally in Minneapolis. It made me consider the hundreds of people I no longer know much about since I left high school, and how many different paths they\u0026rsquo;ve gone on. The news of this particular classmate of mine was hilarious, and largely in character based on what I knew of them. However, seeing them in the context of the \u003cem\u003ereal world\u003c/em\u003e and not just talking to them adds a different, more intriguing element to it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Humorous Event"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s finally the playoffs for the MLB. It\u0026rsquo;s an exciting time, particularly since the Twins are finally back in the running, albeit it once again against the Yankees, whom we\u0026rsquo;ve lost 15 straight playoff games to.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a bit disappointing, and this weekend was rough, but we have another game tonight to try and keep the dream alive. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping for the best. This is my favorite time of year, and I\u0026rsquo;d like to be able to enjoy it first-person, rather than by jumping on another bandwagon.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/playoff-time/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s finally the playoffs for the MLB. It\u0026rsquo;s an exciting time, particularly since the Twins are finally back in the running, albeit it once again against the Yankees, whom we\u0026rsquo;ve lost 15 straight playoff games to.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s a bit disappointing, and this weekend was rough, but we have another game tonight to try and keep the dream alive. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping for the best. This is my favorite time of year, and I\u0026rsquo;d like to be able to enjoy it first-person, rather than by jumping on another bandwagon.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Playoff Time"},{"content":"This is probably more literal than you may expect. I went to the beach this weekend, and for the first time just happened to arrive during high tide on a windy day. It was incredibly interesting seeing the beach I\u0026rsquo;m familiar with have an entirely different landscape, as waves swept in well over 50 ft further than I was used to.\nThis is something that I\u0026rsquo;m not used to think about. Between my infrequent trips to the beach, my background of just going to lakes, and not doing much in terms of shoreline water sports when I am at the beach, the tides never seemed to affect me. But now I\u0026rsquo;m curious as to how it changes the view and experience of other beaches. It\u0026rsquo;s something I\u0026rsquo;m interested in exploring.\nIn general, there are many forces of nature that often affect us without much thought on our part. I\u0026rsquo;m curious about what other common, reoccurring events change my daily life without much thought from me. For now though, the tides have piqued my interest. I\u0026rsquo;ll see what I can find out.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/adjusting-to-tides/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is probably more literal than you may expect. I went to the beach this weekend, and for the first time just happened to arrive during high tide on a windy day. It was incredibly interesting seeing the beach I\u0026rsquo;m familiar with have an entirely different landscape, as waves swept in well over 50 ft further than I was used to.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is something that I\u0026rsquo;m not used to think about. Between my infrequent trips to the beach, my background of just going to lakes, and not doing much in terms of shoreline water sports when I am at the beach, the tides never seemed to affect me. But now I\u0026rsquo;m curious as to how it changes the view and experience of other beaches. It\u0026rsquo;s something I\u0026rsquo;m interested in exploring.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Adjusting to Tides"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t have much time to write anything substantial this week; I had visitors all weekend, and have other visitors coming soon to prepare for. So, this is a sorry excuse for a post just for the sake of keeping my weekly streak alive.\nTo that end, on the side menu of the site I\u0026rsquo;ve finally added a feedback email address. I\u0026rsquo;ve had the email available for use for quite a while now, but only just figured out how to easily set-up my email clients to allow it to actually be usable by me. So, if you happen to read this blog and have ever wanted to voice strong opinions to me, emailing feedback@markrichard.org is the way to go. I believe there\u0026rsquo;s also a comment system (that has been used about once in total), but that seems much less likely to be utilized.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-quick-note/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t have much time to write anything substantial this week; I had visitors all weekend, and have other visitors coming soon to prepare for. So, this is a sorry excuse for a post just for the sake of keeping my weekly streak alive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo that end, on the side menu of the site I\u0026rsquo;ve finally added a feedback email address. I\u0026rsquo;ve had the email available for use for quite a while now, but only just figured out how to easily set-up my email clients to allow it to actually be usable by me. So, if you happen to read this blog and have ever wanted to voice strong opinions to me, emailing \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:%20feedback@markrichard.org\"\u003efeedback@markrichard.org\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e is the way to go. I believe there\u0026rsquo;s also a comment system (that has been used about once in total), but that seems much less likely to be utilized.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Quick Note"},{"content":"A few weeks ago I decided to get a membership to the San Diego Zoo. I\u0026rsquo;d only been once before, back when I was an intern, and had an amazing time. After talking with a few people, I discovered the a membership for the entire year is about the cost of two tickets. So, I decided to give it a whirl. I\u0026rsquo;ve already gone twice, so everything from now is a bonus.\nGrowing up, animals held a passing fascination in my mind, which I think they do for most children. I always enjoyed going to my local zoo, although dinosaurs were typically my main passion. So rediscovering the magic of a zoo (and at that, one of the largest and most environmentally important conservation-focused zoos in the word) has been very exciting. This past weekend I saw the Galapagos tortoises for the first time. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t even aware they were at the zoo, but opted to check out the reptile walk as I\u0026rsquo;d never seen it before.\nAfter seeing a few smaller tortoises hanging around, and seeing an exhibit with some of the main reptiles of San Diego County, I suddenly found myself at an area with over 10 massive Galapagos tortoises, and they were just starting to feed. It\u0026rsquo;s difficult to describe the certain fascination and calm that I feel when simply observing animals live their life. I stood there watching the tortoises eat, and listening to the various zookeepers and docents explain tidbits to others, for close to an hour. I\u0026rsquo;m so happy that I live near such an amazing place, and that I decided to take advantage of that proximity.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-zoo/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA few weeks ago I decided to get a membership to the San Diego Zoo. I\u0026rsquo;d only been once before, back when I was an intern, and had an amazing time. After talking with a few people, I discovered the a membership for the \u003cem\u003eentire year\u003c/em\u003e is about the cost of two tickets. So, I decided to give it a whirl. I\u0026rsquo;ve already gone twice, so everything from now is a bonus.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Zoo!"},{"content":"In the most recent episode of OHAC, we played my newest text adventure Homestead, which broadly is about outdoor survival. We had a good time playing it, and it took twice as long as my previous adventure, Sail Away. I also learned a lot from doing it the first time to create a more reasonable set-up, and organize my document in a more logical way (at least to myself).\nI\u0026rsquo;ll upload the blank PDF here (and can provide the LaTeX source file upon request); the completed version after finishing the game is also attached to the show notes of the OHAC episode.\nHomestead PDF\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/text-adventure-homestead/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn the most recent \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com/2019/09/07/ohac-18-homestead/\"\u003eepisode\u003c/a\u003e of OHAC, we played my newest text adventure \u003cem\u003eHomestead\u003c/em\u003e, which broadly is about outdoor survival. We had a good time playing it, and it took twice as long as my previous adventure, \u003cem\u003eSail Away\u003c/em\u003e. I also learned a lot from doing it the first time to create a more reasonable set-up, and organize my document in a more logical way (at least to myself).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ll upload the blank PDF here (and can provide the LaTeX source file upon request); the completed version after finishing the game is also attached to the show notes of the OHAC episode.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Text Adventure: Homestead"},{"content":"As with most nerds, I have a predisposition to being nerd sniped. Sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s a puzzle, but more often it\u0026rsquo;s simply an idea or the opportunity for a new project. After a conversation with a few coworkers, I\u0026rsquo;ve latched onto the idea of developing a summer course focused on the history of mathematics.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been fascinated by mathematics history for a number of years. I\u0026rsquo;ve slowly been going through Stillwell\u0026rsquo;s fantastic book, that takes a higher level approach and assumes a lot of prior mathematical knowledge. Because of that, it is fascinating. It provides significant historical context while tying many approaches into modern methods.\nNow that I have this idea stuck in my head, I\u0026rsquo;ve also been reading a few other books of a more expository nature. Specifically, Boyer and Merzbach\u0026rsquo;s book, and I am waiting for two books that are slightly more vintage by David Smith. Not only is mathematics full of colorful characters that make for engaging stories, the actual process through which mathematics has been developed is amazing. Mathematics existed before any meaningful written languages (and perhaps spoken languages) came into use. Mathematical thinking can be considered one of the features that make us human.\nI\u0026rsquo;m still reading, learning, and writing down ideas that I have. A course like this would need to be aimed at high school students who have at least algebra and some geometry experience, as all ancient mathematics amounts to arithmetic in various bases, and the development of those two disciplines. To go even further requires a bit more expertise, but I think some rough understanding can still be gained.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s important to put disciplines in their historical contexts. It allows students to recognize the non-linear development of a field, the evolution of ideas, and the immense amount of work that went in to the finely tuned textbooks they currently have. Some disciplines, such as genetics for example, have more recent roots that are more apparent to those who study. Mathematics is more unique because of its ancient development. Students are rarely aware of the pathways taken to bring mathematics where it is today, the huge leaps forward that were taken at a few key points in time.\nI also believe that mathematical thinking is useful when reasoning about history and communicating ideas clearly. Beyond the excitement and amusement that studying history can gain, it is also good to show students how their skills in math can be usefully applied to other areas of academics. Reading and writing critically are excellent skills, and not every math student will want to take an advanced language arts course. Mathematics history might be able to rope them in, and trick them into learning some skills that will prove invaluable later on.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not sure where this will lead, or if anyone in my company will take a chance on this idea. But it\u0026rsquo;s given me an excuse to learn more mathematics history, read some books, and brainstorm activities. That\u0026rsquo;s not a bad way to spend my time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/sniped-by-math-history/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs with most nerds, I have a predisposition to being \u003ca href=\"https://xkcd.com/356/\"\u003enerd sniped\u003c/a\u003e. Sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s a puzzle, but more often it\u0026rsquo;s simply an idea or the opportunity for a new project. After a conversation with a few coworkers, I\u0026rsquo;ve latched onto the idea of developing a summer course focused on the history of mathematics.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Sniped by Math History"},{"content":"The other week, a student posted on /r/math that they made a summary of multivariable calculus. As they point out, it\u0026rsquo;s an 80-page summary, but at least it\u0026rsquo;s shorter than the textbook it followed.\nThe student admitted they\u0026rsquo;d used Google Docs, as opposed to LaTeX, to make these notes, and the images they used were just taken from the internet. As a result, a Github project was opened up for people to turn it into LaTeX, and I\u0026rsquo;ve taken it upon myself to slowly recreate the figures using Asymptote.\nThey will be added to a Dropbox folder as I make them. It\u0026rsquo;s been a fun idle project, and I\u0026rsquo;m happy to make small contributions like this. It just further confirms that I seem to be in the correct industry.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-small-open-math-project/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe other week, a student posted on \u003ca href=\"https://reddit.com/r/math\"\u003e/r/math\u003c/a\u003e that they made a \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/crfqhz/i_made_a_shortish_summary_of_multivariable/\"\u003esummary of multivariable calculus\u003c/a\u003e. As they point out, it\u0026rsquo;s an 80-page summary, but at least it\u0026rsquo;s shorter than the textbook it followed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe student admitted they\u0026rsquo;d used Google Docs, as opposed to LaTeX, to make these notes, and the images they used were just taken from the internet. As a result, a Github project was opened up for people to turn it into LaTeX, and I\u0026rsquo;ve taken it upon myself to slowly recreate the figures using Asymptote.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Small Open Math Project"},{"content":"I recently watched the 2016 film Swiss Army Man for the first time. My base line description of it is a fantastical, psycho-dramatic take on Castaway. I loved it.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll only give the description provided by Netflix, which is where I watched it.\nA washed-up corpse with surprising abilities gives a hopeless man stranded in the wilderness someone to talk to \u0026ndash; and a newfound reason to live.\nNow, this hardly does the movie justice, but it does give a hint as to what is going on. This movie interested me for two reasons: First, it explores what\u0026rsquo;s on the edge of our psyche and makes us question the notion of reality and sanity in extreme situations. Second, it provides an interesting take on the tabula rasa concept of humans as a blank slate upon which the world etches itself.\nWhenever I see movies that involve immense isolation, or in an extreme example, real isolation, I always wonder how well I would fare. In the case of this movie, or a movie like Castaway, there is a matter of physical survival, and that of mental survival. I have a pretty good handle on my ability to survive in various environments, and it\u0026rsquo;s not great. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;d do a great job creating makeshift shelters or finding food on a deserted island. So, I naturally go to general isolation. Given the basics are taken care of \u0026ndash; there\u0026rsquo;s a freshwater stream, and enough available food \u0026ndash; where do I go from there?\nAs with most people, I\u0026rsquo;d like to believe I would survive mentally just fine. I like math, so maybe I could spend enough time building up mathematics in my own way? I could keep my mind working enough to ward off mental decay and a descent into madness, so to speak. At the very least, I\u0026rsquo;d like to believe I\u0026rsquo;m capable of fending off hallucinations. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I could avoid the charms of a volleyball, but kids also have stuffed animals, so I don\u0026rsquo;t consider that mental defense mechanism as problematic.\nDespite that confidence, there is definitely a subprocess that acknowledges I\u0026rsquo;m almost certainly overconfident in my mental stamina. I think that\u0026rsquo;s why movies like this, or other shows that investigate when sanity is left behind, are so intriguing. We want to continue to test ourselves in a certain way, and this media can allow us to pretend we are in certain situations, and see how we react.\nThe other idea which was less focused on, but was the reason for the direct humor present in the movie, is how we explain the world to someone with no background, but the capability of intelligent thought. As Manny, the corpse, continues to learn about the world and ask questions, Hank, our protagonist, has to explain why trash exists, what different feelings and facial expressions are, and why different aspects of society exist how they do.\nThe result of this is similar to a Calvin and Hobbes comic, where surprisingly intelligent remarks are made by a character unconcerned with the nuances we all accept in polite society. It\u0026rsquo;s fun to consider where social cues come from, how we learn to suppress our reactions.\nThis movie is wonderful, charming, and dramatic in one of the best possible ways I\u0026rsquo;ve seen.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/fantastical-castaway/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently watched the 2016 film \u003cem\u003eSwiss Army Man\u003c/em\u003e for the first time. My base line description of it is a fantastical, psycho-dramatic take on Castaway. I loved it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Fantastical Castaway"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m pretty aware of the idea of transition costs, and I\u0026rsquo;ve experienced them first-hand quite a lot throughout college. Moving into a new apartment comes with many potential transition costs. So does getting a new computer, or changing operating systems. These are all costs that I have some practice handling, and they don\u0026rsquo;t tend to bother me. In fact, the prospect of handling them can be exciting. But recently, I\u0026rsquo;ve been dealing with mental transition costs.\nI\u0026rsquo;m teaching another summer camp through my work. Earlier in July I taught a camp for rising 6th graders in the afternoon for a couple weeks. It was pretty fun overall. In terms of the subjective experience of going somewhere else to work for the afternoon, it was nice to take a long lunch, drive out to the academy, and know that once class was over I got to go home for the day.\nThe proverbial script has been flipped on me, and my current camp \u0026ndash; with twice as many kids, each one year younger than the previous camp I taught \u0026ndash; takes place in the morning. This drastically changes my experience, causing this past week to drag on. One reason for this is that teaching in the morning session doesn\u0026rsquo;t jive with my typical work schedule. I like to work broadly in a window of 6:30 am - 3:30 pm when possible; getting the day done early provides the perception that I have much more \u0026ldquo;day\u0026rdquo; available to myself. I also tend to work best with the most focus right away in the morning.\nHowever, the class starts at 9 in the morning, and I need to leave my apartment around 8 am to arrive in time to prepare before any students arrive. To still leave work at a justifiably early time in the afternoon, I work in the morning from home before leaving to teach. This has a psychological effect of making the day feel much longer.\nThe other main part of the drain is the psychological transition cost of going from teaching back to the office. I have minimal teaching experience as a teacher of record, so there is a lot for my brain to process while I teach. I need to consciously form the habits necessary for students to have a positive time in class. There are many little things a teacher can do correctly or incorrectly that change the subconscious experience a student has. Working on these takes a lot of mental energy, and requires a different frame of mind than I need at work, where I\u0026rsquo;m with other adults.\nOnce I\u0026rsquo;ve expended that mental energy, and have established this very adult role for over three hours, it\u0026rsquo;s very difficult to move back into a normal working environment. It\u0026rsquo;s much easier to give \u0026ldquo;what\u0026rsquo;s left\u0026rdquo; to the students, then go home at the end of the day, than it is to pace oneself in an ill-defined way, then rush back to work and try to focus there.\nThe issue is that students provide the stimulus required for certain processes. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s questions about what we\u0026rsquo;re learning, enthusiasm for an activity, or distractions that need to be addressed, I have the students demanding my attention. So, the part of me that needs to remain focused is not engaged, nor does it need to be; my brain is already directed at something and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be distracted if I wanted to be. The other section of my brain that needs to think carefully about how I physically move around, how I talk, and other minutiae is on overdrive, causing mental drain since I\u0026rsquo;m just not used to it.\nThen, I go back to work. I don\u0026rsquo;t have anything demanding my attention in the same way. I have distinct pieces of work I must accomplish, but they require the focusing part of my brain to reengage, while I can let my guard drop with regards to physical presence and speech. Switching between these states of mind still takes energy, exacerbating how tired I feel, which then makes it even harder to focus on my projects at work.\nNow that I\u0026rsquo;ve had the time to sit down and process these transition costs, I feel I can better prepare myself for the upcoming week of camp. It also helps that I don\u0026rsquo;t have as many things in the evening this week (which caused more problems last week.) But the main thing these thoughts have provided is an understanding that I can teach, as long as I don\u0026rsquo;t need to do much immediately after. I\u0026rsquo;ll be teaching a 5th grade class all year, but it\u0026rsquo;s one day a week in the evenings. I feel confident that will be far more agreeable than the current situation.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mental-transition-costs/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m pretty aware of the idea of transition costs, and I\u0026rsquo;ve experienced them first-hand quite a lot throughout college. Moving into a new apartment comes with many potential transition costs. So does getting a new computer, or changing operating systems. These are all costs that I have some practice handling, and they don\u0026rsquo;t tend to bother me. In fact, the prospect of handling them can be exciting. But recently, I\u0026rsquo;ve been dealing with \u003cem\u003emental\u003c/em\u003e transition costs.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mental Transition Costs"},{"content":"Earlier this year, I started working on a programming project. I recently added a little more to it, and worked out a handful of kinks. It\u0026rsquo;s been fun, but I think I\u0026rsquo;m winding down on it. I\u0026rsquo;m sure in some spurts of passion I\u0026rsquo;ll work on it some more, but I\u0026rsquo;ve moved on to another Python-related project, that also gets to the core of my interests: mathematics.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve known since graduating that I would never stop learning more mathematics. I have a lot of math textbooks I intend to read throughout my life, even though most of it is not particularly connected to my work. In addition, I knew that to stay connected with programming, I needed to use it in an interesting way. So, I spent a short time looking for math textbooks that also used some programming.\nThere are many areas of applied mathematics that use programming to help accomplish their tasks. One that I am more familiar with, having taken a couple of courses which used it, is dynamical systems. This is a broad umbrella that consists of differential equations, discrete recurrence relations, and chaos theory. The book I\u0026rsquo;m reading is very new, Dynamical Systems with Applications using Python, by Stephen Lynch. The book is new, but I believe a lot of the content is quite similar to his other books which have the same title, except substituting Python for MATLAB and Mathematica.\nThe book has been a pleasure so far. My plan is to use a Jupyter Notebook for each chapter, for taking notes, working out examples, and doing the exercises. These are perfectly designed for this type of situation, where you want to combine verbal descriptions (with LaTeX support!) with your code. Here is a Dropbox link to the Chapter 1 notebook, for anybody interested. Note that you\u0026rsquo;ll need, at least, numpy, sympy, and matplotlib installed with your Python distribution; I personally use Anaconda for everything, as does the author. So, if you have that, it should all run without a problem. Although, I suppose you may need a LaTeX distribution as well for all of the math typesetting to work. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure how that is implemented.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been a fun project, and it\u0026rsquo;s very enjoyable learning things at my own pace, a little bit at a time. It keeps me engaged, and I look forward to getting deeper into the book, where the author starts talking about much higher level techniques that I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/dynamical-systems/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEarlier this year, I started working on a \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/some-new-code/\"\u003eprogramming project\u003c/a\u003e. I recently added a little more to it, and worked out a handful of kinks. It\u0026rsquo;s been fun, but I think I\u0026rsquo;m winding down on it. I\u0026rsquo;m sure in some spurts of passion I\u0026rsquo;ll work on it some more, but I\u0026rsquo;ve moved on to another Python-related project, that also gets to the core of my interests: mathematics.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dynamical Systems"},{"content":"One of the coolest resources available to everyone in the US is public archive and research services. While I was always tangentially aware of their existence (the Library of Congress being one of the main entities associated in my mind) it was never something that was clearly within reach, nor of any use. Most of research I did in high school found third-party research that were quick online searches away. In college I took a British History class, and then I was informed of the services that the university paid for which I could access. This allowed me to find old editions of British newspapers, which were very cool to go through.\nNow that I\u0026rsquo;m out of college, those resources are not available to me (without a hefty fee, which is why universities foot the bill and academics then use them), and also typically not relevant to what I do in my free time. However, a few months ago I became interested in the Sister City program that was created under Eisenhower. San Diego and Yokohama, Japan had one of the earlier relationships under this program, and some aspects of it are on display on Balboa Park, which is a main cultural center of San Diego.\nI had some loose intentions of writing something up about the Sister City program, but it wasn\u0026rsquo;t quite as engaging of a development as I thought it might have been. So, instead of writing about Sister Cities, I wish to talk a little about where my research took me. Like a modern student who grew up as Wikipedia was becoming ever more reputable, I used the excellent method of looking at the sources of the Wikipedia article to find articles and documents to read.\nBack in high school, and probably even college, I would have focused on the official website associated with Sister Cities, and particularly the website for the San Diego-Yokohama sister city relationship. However, two things conspired to push me further: first, both websites were lacking substantive information about the history of the program, and second, the little history I did find made direct reference to a few tangential programs developed under Eisenhower without further explanation.\nI was focused on why this program was started, and what other programs were created in tandem. To do this, I needed to hunt down the original documents—legislation, executive orders, correspondence, whatever I could find—that related to this program and related initiatives. This is where we finally get to the punchline. All of these were readily available, scanned in high quality. I was amazed at this find, and went in pretty deep, reading actual typewritten correspondence, pieces of legislation, everything I could find.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an incredible fact that we are allowed to see so much. Unlike the plans for the interstate bypass through Arthur Dent\u0026rsquo;s house, these documents are not hidden beneath layers of bureaucracy. They do not exist in a basement with a broken staircase and no lights. With an internet connection (typically available at your local library, or Starbucks for that matter) you can download all of these documents and use them for your own purposes.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure there are few governments that allow so much history to be publicly available. Of course there are classified documents, and I do vaguely recall a few lines here or there being redacted in personal correspondence; yet, we can easily answer historical questions using primary sources. I found immense enjoyment and awe reading these documents, as I strove to determine for myself the motivations and intentions of the programs they address. It\u0026rsquo;s also pretty amusing to read the legalese of a congressional law.\nIf you have a historical question, I definitely urge you to hunt down the sources yourself. Yes, you can find the accepted opinions are reports of the era, and those are also valuable; but seeing the source yourself and making your own call is both rewarding and important. We have so much information at our fingertips, and much of it is the opinions of other people, much like second-hand news correspondent Anthony Crispino on SNL. Opinions are valuable, and should be shared. But only basing your own opinions on a distillation of ideas from others around you can be rather dangerous.\nWe have the information and resources available to us. Do yourself a favor and just go hunt something down. Read a Supreme Court majority and minority opinion of a major (or forgotten) case. Try to read through an actual piece of legislation to appreciate what congresspeople do (or maybe don\u0026rsquo;t?) do on a daily basis. Read correspondence between former presidents and major political players, or personal friends. These are all fascinating; they connect us to the past, and also can provide an appreciation for the information that is available to us. We could be provided with many official summaries of documents (and sometimes we still are), but if the document is there to be read, it\u0026rsquo;s the responsibility of anyone involved to read as much of it as they can.\nBeyond the responsibility, again, it\u0026rsquo;s just cool that the information is there. It\u0026rsquo;s fascinating to see what was on the minds of government employees and the thoughts of the country during a snapshot of time. Take advantage of it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/public-document-archives/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the coolest resources available to everyone in the US is \u003ca href=\"https://www.archives.gov/public\"\u003epublic archive and research services\u003c/a\u003e. While I was always tangentially aware of their existence (the Library of Congress being one of the main entities associated in my mind) it was never something that was clearly within reach, nor of any use. Most of research I did in high school found third-party research that were quick online searches away. In college I took a British History class, and then I was informed of the services that the university paid for which I could access. This allowed me to find old editions of British newspapers, which were very cool to go through.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Public Document Archives"},{"content":"If you\u0026rsquo;ve never used a Plug \u0026rsquo;n Play game before, you\u0026rsquo;re missing out. They were the one piece of simple video game fun I had growing up. Beyond that, it was various Flash-based games in a browser (and since that\u0026rsquo;s my only association with Flash, I\u0026rsquo;m quite bummed it\u0026rsquo;s being killed.) And although some of my friends had consoles, and I would play occasionally, it was never something that really grabbed my attention.\nFreshman year of college, I discovered the game Portal. I don\u0026rsquo;t remember where I read about it, or if anyone recommended it to me, but I do remember immediately falling in love with the mechanics and the story. I\u0026rsquo;ve never been great at FPS games, so a point-and-click mechanic with a large margin for accuracy was perfect for me. It ran on my laptop using integrated graphics, which was good: I wasn\u0026rsquo;t aware that graphics cards existed at that time. Once I finished Portal, I moved on to Portal 2 of course. However, I must admit I still haven\u0026rsquo;t finished the story. During freshman year, I got stuck pretty far into the game and haven\u0026rsquo;t ever restarted it and gone through it.\nDespite that relative failure, from that point onward I\u0026rsquo;ve played a few more video games. I bought a Nintendo Switch when I moved to San Diego, and I\u0026rsquo;ve also purchased a handful of games on Steam after making sure they will run on integrated graphics. The nature of my gaming experience is that I am somewhere between 2 and 10 years behind on what games are well-known, but not being involved in the gaming community has allowed an immense sense of discovery as I try to find new games to enjoy. Trying to find something that matched the enjoyment I get from the Portal series seemed like a difficult task. While of course it isn\u0026rsquo;t the same, on the recommendation of \u0026ldquo;Best played without any prior knowledge or description\u0026rdquo;, I played The Stanley Parable.\nTo be concise, it\u0026rsquo;s an entirely narrative-driven game that plays like a 3D text adventure. There are a few things to interact with along the way, but otherwise it\u0026rsquo;s simple WASD movement. I sat down and played it for about 5 hours on a Saturday night, and it was like playing a movie that you\u0026rsquo;re involved in. I loved it. I highly recommend it to anyone who didn\u0026rsquo;t discover it 6 years ago when it was released. It\u0026rsquo;s available on all major operating systems through Steam, and it is being re-released sometime this year with expanded content and support for consoles.\nThe other game that I\u0026rsquo;ve thoroughly enjoyed is on the Switch, called Human: Fall Flat. It\u0026rsquo;s an introspective puzzle game with a strange physics engine. While not highly narrative driven, the few quips you get are reasonably amusing.\nBetween finishing The Stanley Parable and getting back into Human: Fall Flat, which I first played nearly a year ago when I got my Switch, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally been able to put a name to the games I enjoy: Narrative-driven puzzle games. I have no desire to play shooter games, and I don\u0026rsquo;t have the equipment to play sports games I might enjoy. But puzzle games tickle a certain part of my brain, particularly those with a twist or hook. In the case of Portal, that twist is, of course, the portals. In Human: Fall Flat, it\u0026rsquo;s that you\u0026rsquo;re more a piece of structurally-intact clay than a person. Yet, the puzzle itself, and the mechanics hook, is not normally enough to keep me engaged. There are many puzzles in the world, and many of them fail to grab my attention. A few do, like Unblock Me and similar \u0026ldquo;Rush Hour\u0026rdquo; type phone games. Yet those are idle, and not something that actually engage me.\nThe missing part that is hard to find, particularly because I started with Portal, is the narrative. I want a world to be immersed in, or a story to follow. In the Portal games, there is an incredibly engaging and darkly humorous through-line that just fits my brain perfectly. It is the perfect middle-ground on which I judge these games. The Stanley Parable has very little puzzle components, unless you\u0026rsquo;re looking for it; yet, the narrative is so strong that I don\u0026rsquo;t mind at all. Human: Fall Flat has little narration or much of a story, as it is an open-world exploration game; yet, it has just enough glue there to get me engaged with the very strange physics you encounter to solve impressive puzzles.\nWhile I\u0026rsquo;ll never be someone who plays games seriously, or really with any consistency, I\u0026rsquo;m glad that I have a new medium to enjoy. The narrative-heavy games are like watching, and participating in, a very long movie with more twists and turns than most movies in a theater are likely to give you. It\u0026rsquo;s exciting to find new things that engage your mind in a positive way, and I\u0026rsquo;m happy I have something else to try out every once in a while.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/narrative-driven-puzzle-games/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIf you\u0026rsquo;ve never used a \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Jakks-SpongeBob-SquarePants-TV-Game/dp/B00014BWQ6/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=plug+play+spongebob\u0026amp;amp;qid=1563660815\u0026amp;amp;s=toys-and-games\u0026amp;amp;sr=1-10\"\u003ePlug \u0026rsquo;n Play\u003c/a\u003e game before, you\u0026rsquo;re missing out. They were the one piece of simple video game fun I had growing up. Beyond that, it was various Flash-based games in a browser (and since that\u0026rsquo;s my only association with Flash, I\u0026rsquo;m quite bummed \u003ca href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/25/16026236/adobe-flash-end-of-support-2020\"\u003eit\u0026rsquo;s being killed\u003c/a\u003e.) And although some of my friends had consoles, and I would play occasionally, it was never something that really grabbed my attention.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Narrative-Driven Puzzle Games"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m teaching a math camp for students entering 6th grade. It\u0026rsquo;s my first time being the teacher of record for a course, and luckily it only took a few minutes for my anxiety to subside. It\u0026rsquo;s a small group – only 9 kids – so it reminds me of my days being a camp counselor, except now it\u0026rsquo;s talking about math with very advanced kids for 3 hours a day. It’s been a blast.\nThe second half of each day is spent discussing aspects of graph theory. The nice thing about graph theory is that a lot of the problems can be phrased in natural, applicable ways, and you don\u0026rsquo;t need too much vocabulary to discuss it. The first few days were spent getting kids familiar with the terminology, the types of graphs you might see, and playing some games on graphs to get a feel for them. Overall this was a pretty big hit.\nThe last thing we did this past week was a bit more complicated, and required kids to examine their own intuition more deeply than they are used to. We were discussing a topic called spanning trees. Imagine a set of cities, and you want to have trains running so that if you start at any city, you are able to take a sequence of trains to get to any other city. However, you don’t want any extra routes. That is, if you start at city A and want to go to city D, the only (reasonable) way back is to retrace your steps. Mathematically, we say there are no cycles in the train network.\nWith this new information, if I gave you a set of points representing these cities, you could easily find a set of train tracks connecting the cities that satisfy my two constraints above. It’s not too hard. Similarly, if I gave you a set of tracks already in place that connected the cities, but had some redundancy we wished to avoid, you could remove any necessary tracks to form a spanning tree without too much trouble. I say this confidently because my students solved both of these problems quite well.\nIt’s at this point where we run into the difference between young and mature minds. If I asked you to describe the process you took to find your set of train tracks, or how you chose to remove some, and perhaps asked for a little explanation as to why it should work, you probably wouldn’t need too long to come up with a reasonable set of steps your brain went through. In the case of having a set of cities and needing to add in train tracks, my method would be as follows:\nPick any city to start. Add in a train track from that city to another city that has no train tracks connected to it. That’s your new city. If all cities are connected, you’re done. Otherwise, repeat step 2. Odds are, you intuitively thought about it in a similar fashion, and could probably recreate these steps with a bit of prompting. What I just wrote out is an algorithm, which is an explicit set of steps that, when followed exactly, accomplish a particular task or solve a particular problem. Computer code is just a conglomeration of various algorithms solving a bunch of small problems, and then you combine those small-scale solutions in complex ways to solve bigger problems. Yet in total, they are just specific steps that a computer can follow.\nMy students have trouble with such algorithmic thinking for two main reasons. First, they often lack the vocabulary to fully express their ideas. Second, and more importantly, they lack the ability to examine how they think. Doing so is called metacognition, and it’s an incredibly important ability to work on throughout your time in school, as it allows you to self-reflect and grow. My students are capable of roughly describing what they did for a particular graph, and the explanation often goes like this:\nI started here (points) and then I needed to add a bunch of edges, so I drew them like this, and this, and this. And it made a spanning tree, so it works!\nOf course I understand them, and can relay that solution onto a whiteboard and confirm that it is indeed a solution. But then comes the hard question: Why did they start at that vertex, and why did they draw in edges in a particular way? Did they notice any similarities in how they approached problem 1 and problem 3?\nIt is not a young student’s strength to consider what led them to particular actions. Whether it’s drawing edges on a graph, or why they decided to throw that eraser, they lack the ability to examine the causes of what they do. This can be quite frustrating for both the teacher and the student, but it’s what we need to help them train their minds to do.\nNow, once they are capable of understanding some of these causes – whether it’s provided by an annoyed teacher, or actually discovered by the student themselves – they are now faced with the task of adjusting their behavior and drawing conclusions from those causes. Because my students had a hard time thinking about why they were approaching problems the same way, and weren’t sure how to examine their thought process, they had an incredibly difficult time verbalizing an algorithm that might work out.\nOnce I explained the thought process behind algorithms, and worked backwards from our goal, they took to it better. But it’s still an uphill battle. Consider the last time you deeply thought about how you view the world, how you decide what to do each day, how you make decisions. If you don’t do that, you’re much closer to 13-year-old you than you may want to confess. It’s an ongoing habit to build, a muscle that must be exercised. That’s why I love writing and I love mathematics; they both work the same part of my brain that examines the other parts of my brain responsible for solving problems. At times it’s a fractal of thought, but it’s important to keep your grasp on it.\nWhen I first heard about metacognition, it was from some assignment a friend was doing in college. As usual, when given a task by an authority figure, you begrudgingly do it without too much thought about why it’s being done. This is the downside: the instructor is in the position of knowing this is a good thing to consider, and tries to give the student every opportunity to make use of it, but in the end it’s up the student as to whether they will come away from the idea any better than before. For me, I let it mull inside my head for a while. I always knew that self-reflection was important, and practiced it in various ways, but metacognition took a more powerful approach to the concept for me. Being able to think about how you think is a measure of consciousness and awareness of every aspect of your life. I’m not always great about it, but I work on it because I find it helps me be more accomplished in the projects I choose to take on. Perhaps it can do the same for you.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/algorithmic-thinking-and-metacognition/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m teaching a math camp for students entering 6th grade. It\u0026rsquo;s my first time being the teacher of record for a course, and luckily it only took a few minutes for my anxiety to subside. It\u0026rsquo;s a small group – only 9 kids – so it reminds me of my days being a camp counselor, except now it\u0026rsquo;s talking about math with very advanced kids for 3 hours a day. It’s been a blast.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Algorithmic Thinking and Metacognition"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve written a short post on the triangle inequality for altitudes. As usual, I put it over on the math blog I have with my company, just because the support for literally everything is much nicer.\nBut, in the off chance you want it, I have a PDF. I\u0026rsquo;ve played around with a wonderful program called Typora, which I\u0026rsquo;ve been using for a few months to write any blog posts when I\u0026rsquo;m not in my iPad. It has great Mathjax support (miles better than Wordpress), and so it\u0026rsquo;s easy to switch between the blog I use and this program, and I can export cleanly to PDF, as well as EPub and other formats that are really difficult to work with if I were using straight up LaTeX.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/triangle-inequality-for-altitudes/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve written a short post on the \u003ca href=\"https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c763463h1870030_triangle_inequality_for_altitudes\"\u003etriangle inequality for altitudes\u003c/a\u003e. As usual, I put it over on the math blog I have with my company, just because the support for literally everything is much nicer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut, in the off chance you want it, I have a PDF. I\u0026rsquo;ve played around with a wonderful program called \u003ca href=\"https://typora.io/\"\u003eTypora\u003c/a\u003e, which I\u0026rsquo;ve been using for a few months to write any blog posts when I\u0026rsquo;m not in my iPad. It has great Mathjax support (miles better than Wordpress), and so it\u0026rsquo;s easy to switch between the blog I use and this program, and I can export cleanly to PDF, as well as EPub and other formats that are really difficult to work with if I were using straight up LaTeX.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Triangle Inequality for Altitudes"},{"content":"I never actually thought this would happen to me. Despite years not regularly going to coffee shops, and never drinking coffee, I finally came to terms with the fact that I have a drink of choice at Starbucks. It comes with the realization that I go to Starbucks enough to justify having a go-to order.\nThe process happened rather slowly. I don\u0026rsquo;t drink coffee, so for a long time hot chocolate was the obvious choice if I happened to join some friends at a coffee shop. But now I live in San Diego, where hot drinks rarely sound very refreshing. So, via a combination of weather and Starbucks having hot chocolate that is far inferior to Caribou, hot chocolate fell out of the coffee shop rotation of drinks.\nFor a short while I ordered straight, unsweetened black tea. I\u0026rsquo;m not a huge fan of sweet tea, and I am a huge fan of the low price of iced tea. But one can only handle such bitterness for so long. I eventually caved and ordered myself what amounts to an Arnie Palmer: a black tea-lemonade drink, unsweetened.\nI realized I had my drink when I finally learned to anticipate the question of sweetener in the tea, and began to directly state how little I wanted it during my order. Of course, the phrase \u0026ldquo;Grande black tea-lemonade, unsweetened\u0026rdquo; is not quite as absurd as other coffee drinks I\u0026rsquo;ve heard people repeat. Yet, this realization still caught me off guard somehow. I know I\u0026rsquo;ve slowly evolved into one of the many random folks you see hunched over some type of device at your local Starbucks. If I\u0026rsquo;m working remotely in another state, I typically seek out a Starbucks or similar establishment. Every week before I have concert band rehearsal, I hang out at the nearby Starbucks for at least an hour (and it\u0026rsquo;s often where I write that coming week\u0026rsquo;s blog post.) So it was strange to realize how these habits had crept up on me. Throughout college I rarely found myself in either a coffee shop or library.\nBut there is something to be said for having a bit of routine, something to look forward and navigate your week around. Week to week, I keep my schedule fairly fluid outside of work. But band rehearsal preceded by Starbucks has been happening for a couple of months now, ever since I was able to get out of work early on rehearsal days to beat traffic.\nSo here I am, sipping on my black tea-lemonade, unsweetened, on the patio. I\u0026rsquo;m tapping away on an external keyboard for my iPad. Everybody else is wrapped up in their own business, either buried in their laptops or having overly personal conversations in a rather public place. In fact, a few weeks ago I heard someone two tables down from me call someone, explaining his recent health issues and how his wife had left him ten days prior. It was not a fun conversation to hear.\nBut overall I like the environment of a coffee shop. Being in an area where people-watching is at a premium helps lubricate my writing wheels. It allows my mind to flow more freely, and every once in a while gives me something to write down for later consideration. Whether the idea of being a coffee shop blogger is just a placebo, or if the change of scenery does work wonders, I can continue cranking through blog posts on a weekly basis.\nAnd fueling it all is my black tea-lemonade, unsweetened. I\u0026rsquo;m not upset with the realization, just amused by how much can change in a year.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-drink-of-choice/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI never actually thought this would happen to me. Despite years not regularly going to coffee shops, and never drinking coffee, I finally came to terms with the fact that I have a drink of choice at Starbucks. It comes with the realization that I go to Starbucks enough to justify having a go-to order.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My Drink of Choice"},{"content":"There are more direct spoilers in this review than some of my past ones. The short version is that I recommend watching this movie. I never explicitly say it anywhere else, so go watch it. It\u0026rsquo;s worth your time if you\u0026rsquo;ve seen the previous movies.\nA 25 year-long love affair with an eccentric group of toys may have finally come to an end. I saw Toy Story 4 this weekend, and nearly lost it. In preparation, a few days prior I saw Toy Story 3 for the first time, and knowing there was a future to the story kept me going. Yes, Toy Story 3 had an emotional, bittersweet ending, as many a Pixar movie does, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and knew there was more to come. Now, at the end of Toy Story 4, the gang has parted and I doubt we will see anymore.\nThe story itself is wonderful. The jokes are well-timed and classier than those in Toy Story 3, and I found the characters to be even more engaging. There is more charm to this movie; Pixar managed to find a way to both bring it full circle, and expand on what made the original movie such a hit for many people. The animation has become extraordinary, bringing even more life (at moments, arguably too much) to the characters. This has the effect of making us feel that the toys have grown along with us. The more we see of them, the finer the details become. The more nuanced their personalities seem, and the greater depth they have. This is reflected in the animation of the movie.\nComing to terms with ones ambitions, desires, and purpose is a central theme of this movie. Woody has always been the character who is slow to adjust, fiercely loyal, and just a tad jealous. All of these come to a head in a beautiful way, as he discovers his role shifting from being the favorite toy in charge of the room, to aiding those who will soon succeed him. He is caught between Bo-Peep, who has found her place in life, and the group of toys remaining with Bonnie, who are still in use. It takes a doll from the same era as Woody, who has never had a kid, to help him understand what he needs to do to be happy, and adjust his purpose.\nThe conflict in this movie is largely a manifestation of Woody\u0026rsquo;s own misgivings and character flaws, reflected in those around him. He continues to act impulsively, trying to draw the line between helping those left behind, and supporting those who remain. Each installment in this series has largely been Woody-focused, but none more so than this one. I find this to be a very strong point for this movie, as others (particularly Toy Story 2 in my opinion) get a little messy and off-topic. Although the narrative moves around, we are focused on Woody. He speaks for many of us, and I think this is what makes some people have such a strong connection to this franchise. Woody is outwardly bold, wanting to help, but is often unsure of himself and frustrated with how the world is changing around him. As someone recently out of college, adjusting my own purpose and where my effort is best spent is a challenge, and I\u0026rsquo;m working on finding my own way through.\nWhen watching the ending to this movie, I could tell how much the audience was being spoken to. Woody\u0026rsquo;s decision to move on, and Buzz\u0026rsquo;s assurances that they will take care of Bonnie, is Pixar\u0026rsquo;s way of telling us that the story is over. Woody is off on a new path, and while the impact Toy Story has made on the world will continue to influence us and guide us, much in the way Woody\u0026rsquo;s loyalty and love will guide the other toys in Bonnie\u0026rsquo;s possession, we will be okay. The story has been told, and it was beautiful the whole way through.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/movie-review-toy-story-4/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThere are more direct spoilers in this review than some of my past ones. The short version is that I recommend watching this movie. I never explicitly say it anywhere else, so go watch it. It\u0026rsquo;s worth your time if you\u0026rsquo;ve seen the previous movies.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Movie Review: Toy Story 4"},{"content":"I decided to rearrange my room this past weekend. part of it was for convenience, and part of it was just to switch things up. It also gave me the opportunity to go through my things and reorganize.\nThe main issue was my desk previously faced my roommate\u0026rsquo;s room, so whenever I recorded a podcast I was speaking directly into his room. He\u0026rsquo;s never complained, but I still feel bad about it. Now my desk is on the opposite of my room, facing the wall that is shared with the main living area, which we don\u0026rsquo;t really use.\nAnother smaller annoyance was that my digital piano and my desk shared a corner of the room, each against an adjacent wall. Whenever I slid my chair over to play some piano, I would have to shift the piano so that it hung over my bed, otherwise my chair would hit against the corner of my desk. That has now been rectified, as the piano is on the wall where my desk used to be. Thus, no interference.\nHowever, once I started rearranging everything, I forgot one of the main reasons for arranging my room as it was when I moved in. There is a light switch in my room that is connected to a single outlet. Since my room has no overhead lighting, I bought a lamp and plugged it into that one outlet. Now, the surge protector I use for my electronics takes up that outlet, and I have to change my habits to avoid ever hitting that light switch on the wall, lest my computer get shut off when it shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been. I also have to manually turn the lamp on and off, which is annoying.\nHowever, I feel the space is more nicely aligned now, with more free space in the center than before. Every once in a while I think it\u0026rsquo;s good to rearrange some items in your life, just to get a new, though small, perspective on how things were before.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/rearranging/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI decided to rearrange my room this past weekend. part of it was for convenience, and part of it was just to switch things up. It also gave me the opportunity to go through my things and reorganize.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rearranging"},{"content":"Assessments are a tricky business. Writing an exam that successfully tests a person\u0026rsquo;s knowledge or abilities, without inadvertently giving preference or advantage to certain demographics, is very difficult. The examinations I\u0026rsquo;ve written so far for my job fall into the category of testing whether a student has mastered a certain curriculum. After a couple of months of class, we give them an exam to check if they learned all that they were supposed to. Everybody is used to such tests, and everybody has experienced them.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve now been given the task of writing a very different type of examination. Instead of testing whether a student has learned certain information, I instead need to write an exam focused on whether a student is prepared to learn new information. Of course, these ideas are tied together, but not quite as closely as may be naively thought. For example, a student\u0026rsquo;s ability to learn and understand exponents relies on their understanding of multiplication. Yet, just because a student knows multiplication, that does not mean they are prepared to handle exponents. In mathematics, we would say that understanding multiplication is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for learning exponents.\nWhy would this be? Why is the content knowledge an insufficient proxy for a student\u0026rsquo;s ability to move forward? The most clear consideration is mathematical maturity. This ties into the ability to extend ideas via analogy, work generally beyond specific examples, and reason abstractly about new concepts. The jump from simple multiplication to exponentiation is an excellent example of this. You can give students multi-digit multiplication problems, and if they are computationally fearless or sufficiently clever with the multiplication algorithm, they can get all of them. Yet, when you start introducing new notation, and explaining why n things multiplied have any meaning, they may falter. So, you also need to somehow address a student\u0026rsquo;s ability to grasp new contents, and their ability to grow in their mathematical maturity.\nThis poses a serious challenge. There has to be some give in the process, there must be a proxy, a compromise, at some point. Of course this is true, because the only surefire way to determine whether a student is ready to learn exponents is by teaching them exponents and seeing how they do. But that is rather inefficient for a school that must limit enrollment to students who will benefit from the pace, and from being around students who are incredibly prepared to learn this new information.\nSo, how do we address it? Part of it relies on a human element. No matter what problems I choose to include in these assessments, I have to trust that the folks on the other end giving the assessment to the student are prepared to engage in a conversation afterward. They have to go through the student\u0026rsquo;s answers, their explanations of how they did the problem, and attempt to glean how a student will handle new ideas. Furthermore, including a problem that only tangentially relies on content knowledge, but is really just a puzzle or a tricky problem, can be very useful. While we expect students to get the \u0026ldquo;content knowledge\u0026rdquo; questions correct, even if they did not take the fastest route, seeing how a student faces down a difficult challenge that they are incapable of overcoming in the moment is very important. How does the student deal with failure, with hitting a wall? This is important, because we want our students to hit a wall. That\u0026rsquo;s our job.\nThe problem surrounding assessments, particularly ones that ask Are you ready? continues. I know that I and the people around me will keep working hard to make sure our assessments are in the best interest of our students. Hopefully other larger players, who affect orders of magnitude more students, can shift in a similar way. Although that\u0026rsquo;s unlikely to happen, I can hope, and keep working on the small bits in my own sector of the education world.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/are-you-ready/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAssessments are a tricky business. Writing an exam that successfully tests a person\u0026rsquo;s knowledge or abilities, without inadvertently giving preference or advantage to certain demographics, is very difficult. The examinations I\u0026rsquo;ve written so far for my job fall into the category of testing whether a student has mastered a certain curriculum. After a couple of months of class, we give them an exam to check if they learned all that they were supposed to. Everybody is used to such tests, and everybody has experienced them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Are You Ready?"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about the experience of attending a movie in a theater, and how it compares to staying in to watch a film. I often feel conflicted, with my current opinion being adjusted based on the most recent experience I\u0026rsquo;ve had in a theater.\nWhen I saw Avengers: Endgame for the first time, it was near the front of a theater, and I saw it in 3D. The guy sitting next to me was making jokes about the 3D experience to his girlfriends for the first 5 or so minutes of the movie, and that was really annoying. Later on in the movie, someone\u0026rsquo;s kid (maybe even a baby) cried for a minute. It\u0026rsquo;s those experiences that really ruin the movies for a lot of people.\nBut, most of the time I actually enjoy the experience. I don\u0026rsquo;t usually see movies right when they come out, and I try to pick times that won\u0026rsquo; be quite as busy. I like going to a theater and getting a big thing of popcorn and some candy (almost always Buncha Crunch), and sitting in an increasingly comfortable seat.\nI think part of the reason that I still enjoy theaters is that I don\u0026rsquo;t have some incredible set-up for a movie at home. It requires me to sit at my desk with headphones on, the lights out (if I actually care enough at the time), and that really is not a \u0026ldquo;cinematic\u0026rdquo; experience. Of course I watch a lot of media that way by default, but there is an excitement to seeing a film while it\u0026rsquo;s in theaters, not having to make your own popcorn or worry about sound levels. I assume the film is shot to be viewed in a theater, and so it\u0026rsquo;s good to see it in that way.\nPerhaps when I\u0026rsquo;m older and have the space, I can get an actual TV with actual speakers set up,and my opinion will likely change. But for now, attending movies (even though I go alone) is a lot of fun. This Sunday, I went to a special screening of Saving Private Ryan. I\u0026rsquo;d never actually seen it before, although it\u0026rsquo;s been high on my mental watch-list. It was fantastic, and really striking to see it in a theater for my first time. Furthermore, because it was a special event of sorts, there were very few people in the theater. The people who were there seemed to love the movie and were as engrossed as me the entire time.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s the sort of experience that is wonderful about going to the movies. With the right environment, you are sharing some emotional connection with a room full of strangers. You all contribute to the atmosphere surrounding the film, and in the best circumstances that greatly improves the film in my eyes.\nSo, I will keep seeing movies in theaters for the time being, even those that are not blockbuster hits on an opening weekend. I still find it a great way to see a movie, if you play the game correctly.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-movie-experience/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about the experience of attending a movie in a theater, and how it compares to staying in to watch a film. I often feel conflicted, with my current opinion being adjusted based on the most recent experience I\u0026rsquo;ve had in a theater.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Movie Experience"},{"content":"For the last two months I\u0026rsquo;ve been reading Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I\u0026rsquo;ve legitimately enjoyed the book whenever I\u0026rsquo;ve sat down to read it, but there is something about it that doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite grab my attention. I\u0026rsquo;ve struggled to sit down for very long stretches and just finish it out, and I can\u0026rsquo;t put my finger on why.\nOccasionally, this blight hits me when reading a longer book. A few years ago I started reading Reamde, by Neal Stephenson. I got at least halfway through it, then just didn\u0026rsquo;t finish. I enjoyed the story. I felt engaged with the plot of the book, and invested in the characters. Yet I didn\u0026rsquo;t finish it. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until over a year later, during my first road trip out to San Diego, that I managed to complete the book.\nI wish I had a better idea of what caused this. What I do know is that upon completion of a book after such a time, I often have a very good reading binge. When I finished Reamde, I quickly made it through two other of Stephenson\u0026rsquo;s books, and got a few more things to read at Barnes and Noble. I never gave that sequence of events much thought, but this current issue with Crime and Punishment is on the forefront of my mind. I\u0026rsquo;m more committed. It is my year of focus, and I want to stick to that theme.\nI know a partial cause of my current troubles is that I haven\u0026rsquo;t read very much \u0026ldquo;literature\u0026rdquo; over the past few years. I\u0026rsquo;ve read various historical fiction novels, or science fiction and the like. Thrilling tales with engaging characters, yet with some broader theme and discussion behind it. However, the sort of literature you\u0026rsquo;d read in an AP Literature class has evaded me for a while. So, reading a long, translated-from-Russian novel taking place (and written) in the 1860s is a readjustment for my brain.\nBut that is good. In the same way that engaging with programming again has been good for my brain. I want to remain as malleable as possible, so reading a mix of books, and working on a mix of projects will help me achieve that (I hope). I\u0026rsquo;ve always prided myself on being capable in many subjects, and how I handle my free time has shown me I still have no reason to be overly confident in my abilities. I need to remain focused if I want to achieve the goals I\u0026rsquo;ve set out.\nThe list of goals and projects keeps growing, but I know if I manage to remain focused I will surprise myself with how quickly I accomplish them. It will take me less than a day of lounging around and reading to finish up Crime and Punishment, I just need to allow myself that time. The battle rages on, I suppose.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/i-promise-i-like-it/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFor the last two months I\u0026rsquo;ve been reading \u003cem\u003eCrime and Punishment\u003c/em\u003e, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I\u0026rsquo;ve legitimately enjoyed the book whenever I\u0026rsquo;ve sat down to read it, but there is something about it that doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite grab my attention. I\u0026rsquo;ve struggled to sit down for very long stretches and just finish it out, and I can\u0026rsquo;t put my finger on why.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I Promise I Like It"},{"content":"Due to travel and being home in Minnesota all last week, this post is coming late today.\nThis past weekend, my girlfriend graduated from college. It was an exciting time, and she officially finished up this chapter of her life and began to look forward to the PhD program she begins in the fall. Going to commencement was exciting, having this official moment to mark the occasion. This is what I appreciate about commencement, is its role as the milestone.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think I fully appreciated my commencement in the moment. Being in a major where I didn\u0026rsquo;t know many people, it was even a little isolating to not share the entire time with my friends. Yet it is still an event I can look back at to finalize the accomplishments I had in college. It\u0026rsquo;s also the last time something like that occurs. It felt to be one of the biggest jumps into adulthood, as there were no more obvious goals set out for me, beyond survival as an adult.\nI think it\u0026rsquo;s good to have times where we can celebrate ourselves, to take the moment necessary to truly reflect on what we\u0026rsquo;ve done and where we are going after the fact. I hope to be cognizant of that feeling moving forward. Although there will be no institutions to celebrate my personal accomplishments, I want to take the time to reflect regularly, acknowledge what I\u0026rsquo;ve done, then focus on moving forward.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/brief-thoughts-on-commencement/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDue to travel and being home in Minnesota all last week, this post is coming late today.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis past weekend, my girlfriend graduated from college. It was an exciting time, and she officially finished up this chapter of her life and began to look forward to the PhD program she begins in the fall. Going to commencement was exciting, having this official moment to mark the occasion. This is what I appreciate about commencement, is its role as the milestone.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Brief Thoughts on Commencement"},{"content":"I am not very much of an audiophile, nor do I do podcasting to make any money. As such, all of the hardware I use is hobbyist at best, and completely amateur otherwise. But, I\u0026rsquo;ll give a quick rundown of what I have.\nHeadphones\nI just use cheap earbuds. I do have a cheap pair of Audio-Technica studio headphones which I use for playing my digital piano, and will occasionally use for an edit of OHAC that needs a bit more love \u0026ndash; for example, the Star Wars episode \u0026ndash; but I always record, and mostly edit, just using whatever earbuds I currently have. Right now it\u0026rsquo;s a $20 pair of Sony earbuds.\nMicrophone and Stand\nThis is obviously more important, and is really the only equipment I\u0026rsquo;ve made any investment in. Both Grant and I have the same microphone, the Blue Snowball iCE, which is considered one of the better USB microphones for the price. A more expensive option is the Blue Yeti, but I\u0026rsquo;d have to make a little money before I\u0026rsquo;d consider dropping $100 on that.\nI find that the Blue Snowball is excellent in picking up my voice, and mostly just my voice. I like how it sounds, and because it\u0026rsquo;s a driverless USB device, it works flawlessly on Linux. I plug it in, and it\u0026rsquo;s ready to go.\nFor a while I just used the included tripod, but this caused issues because the microphone would sit around chest-height at best. I was leaning in and tilting the mic to try and get good audio quality. I finally gave in and bought a cheap boom stand that clamps onto the side of my desk. It works particularly well with Blue devices, coming automatically keyed so the Blue Yeti can screw into it, and has a small adapter for the Blue Snowball. It also came with a windscreen that I use. They include a pop filter, but it only works for the Yeti so that just stays in the box.\nIf anybody is looking for a cheap USB microphone that beats out a headset mic by a mile, but is as cheap, or cheaper, than a new pair of headphones, get the Blue Snowball.\nMiscellaneous\nThese are not podcast-specific pieces of hardware, just some ancillary items that are on or around my desk. I have a Wacom Intuos tablet that I use sometimes as an alternative to a mouse, and also provides me a nice set of buttons I make use of while editing a podcast.\nI switch between keyboards. For the last few months I\u0026rsquo;ve used the Logitech G Pro mechanical keyboard, which I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily recommend (mine has an overly-sensitive left CTRL key), but it is very pleasing to use most of the time and is excellent for long typing sessions.\nHowever, just last week I switched back to a keyboard I bought about a year and a half ago, the Lenovo Thinkpad USB Keyboard, which has the same layout as the Thinkpad laptop keyboards I\u0026rsquo;m used to. It has the TrackPoint cursor in the middle with dedicated mouse buttons, which is great for casual use on my desktop. Also, there\u0026rsquo;s something about the activiation weight that makes it nice to rest my hand on while editing.\nMy mouse of choice is the MX Anywhere 2, which I purchased after seeing it recommended on Dave Lee\u0026rsquo;s YouTube channel. It\u0026rsquo;s an excellent Bluetooth mouse you can charge while using. I\u0026rsquo;ve never used a high quality mouse before, so having a mouse that is so easy to move and contoured with my hands, plus with some extra programmable buttons, is super cool.\nTypically, I do everything on my desktop which is a Lenovo ThinkCentre M710T, which is a boring, standard-looking business desktop that I got for cheap, but packs a sufficient punch for all of my podcasting and (very light) gaming that I do. Otherwise, I can easily edit on my Lenovo ThinkPad T580, which actually has somewhat better performance than my desktop. If it\u0026rsquo;s a particularly nice day outside, I\u0026rsquo;ve been known to go sit out on my deck or somewhere else and edit on my laptop, instead of forcing myself to stay in my room.\nAnd finally, of course I have my 12.9\u0026quot; iPad Pro (2017). It\u0026rsquo;s great whenever we have some note-heavy topic on OHAC. Otherwise I typically use paper and pencil for small notes.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/how-i-podcast-hardware/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI am not very much of an audiophile, nor do I do podcasting to make any money. As such, all of the hardware I use is hobbyist at best, and completely amateur otherwise. But, I\u0026rsquo;ll give a quick rundown of what I have.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"How I Podcast - Hardware"},{"content":"As promised, I\u0026rsquo;ve recorded myself editing a podcast (published at 2X speed), which you can find in the middle of this post. Beyond that, this post will just be an overview of my editing workflow.\nEvery stint of editing begins with noise reduction. No matter how good we try to be, everyone I podcast with is a young adult living in an apartment, and we have pretty minimal control over the environmental noise. Sometimes an air conditioner is on, a window is left open, or (in the case of Jack) you just use a terrible headset microphone that has consistent noise in the background.\nLuckily for me, I learned that Audacity has an amazing built-in feature that magically takes care of this: noise reduction. You select a small patch of a track that is representative of the background noise, then you just select the entire track and it does its best to remove it. It\u0026rsquo;s just fantastic, and has not failed me yet.\nAfter everything is set up with those tracks, the heavy lifting gets done in Ardour, which is an open source piece of software. You do have to pay to get a fully functioning download, but if you want to compile it from source, the code is there for the taking. I paid the \u0026ldquo;lifetime\u0026rdquo; fee so I get all major updates forever.\nYou may notice right away when Ardour is opened up, the first thing I do is get rid of some small text. Ardour is a full Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that is also used for music production. Since I don\u0026rsquo;t need any of that functionality. I only leave time stamps and \u0026ldquo;Markers\u0026rdquo;, which are tags that I put in as notes for when a new section begins.\nI import all the tracks, including what I still reflexively label as a \u0026ldquo;Skype\u0026rdquo; track, that contains all voices. This is used to align the individual tracks and is promptly removed. From that point on, it\u0026rsquo;s just cleaning up audio, inserting various transition noises as necessary, and deleting small bits of unnecessary silence.\nThe final step is exporting the master track in Ardour to a WAV, because Ardour does not play well with MP3. I then open up this master track in Audacity, where I do a final export to MP3. I have XML files that populate some metadata fields for the episode, and I enter other items like episode number and title. Then it\u0026rsquo;s exported to MP3 and we\u0026rsquo;re done! Here\u0026rsquo;s a video of it all.\nhttps://youtu.be/JG9VV1hqseo\nOriginally, I edited every podcast in Audacity. It works for the basics. However, it can be a clunky piece of software with some real annoying ways to get stuff done. A big thing you\u0026rsquo;ll see me do in Ardour is boosting or cutting volume in a section of track. I was able to quickly map a single keyboard shortcut to each of these tasks, whereas Audacity would require selecting that section, and going to a right-click menu every time you want to change the volume.\nOverall, Ardour has provided with a beautiful, clean editing interface that works for me every time. I have a set of keyboard shortcuts that lets me only use my left hand (with one exception) on the keyboard, leaving my right hand for doing whatever is necessary for the mouse. I\u0026rsquo;ll list those shortcuts here, for anyone who is interested:\ne: Move playhead to mouse location.\nspace: Start and stop.\nf: Mute section.\nb: Boost gain of section.\nc: Cut gain of section.\ns: Split section at mouse head.\nd: Delete section.\nCTRL+i: Import audio.\nALT+e: Export audio.\nCTRL+SHIFT+e: Select all sections after mouse head. (This is useful for moving a lot of audio around, which was nearly impossible to do in Audacity.)\nSHIFT+scroll: Horizontal scroll.\nCTRL+scroll: Zoom in and out.\nBasically everything is done between those keyboard shortcuts, and a little bit of clicking around to select sections and change the volume of an entire track. I have a very good system worked out which optimizes the use of Ardour for me.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/how-i-podcast-editing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs promised, I\u0026rsquo;ve recorded myself editing a podcast (published at 2X speed), which you can find in the middle of this post. Beyond that, this post will just be an overview of my editing workflow.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"How I Podcast: Editing"},{"content":"After nobody asked me to, I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to write a few posts about how I podcast. There might be an additional post where I talk about some other software I use on my computer in general, but we\u0026rsquo;ll start with podcasting because it really is the heaviest use of my computer.\nIn this post, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus on the software I use to record. In the next post, I\u0026rsquo;ll share some of the hardware I use. And finally, I\u0026rsquo;ll explain how I edit podcasts with the aim of having a screen recording of myself editing either OHAC or Comical Start.\nThe main reason I\u0026rsquo;m doing this now is because a few months ago I tested and confirmed my ability to do all of my podcast production entirely on Linux. Before, I always had a machine running Windows to make sure I could record everything correctly. On both of my podcasts I am the fail-safe who records everybody, both in case of dramatic sound issues, and also because I\u0026rsquo;m the one editing and I need everything in sync.\nSo, let\u0026rsquo;s get to it. Here is what I use.\nShow Notes First, for both of my podcasts I use Google Docs for show notes. Comical Start just has a single document containing the episode number, links to our comics, and a note about whoever is supposed to go first that week. For OHAC, we make a new Show Notes document for each episode, detailing the tentative topics for the episode, a section for topics that will be relegated to the next episode, and a section at the end for miscellaneous notes or hyperlinks we may generate during the episode.\nThe best (and worst) part about these documents is the Google Apps Script code I wrote for each a number of months ago. I had heard about Apps Script existing last November or so first time, and after some really frustrating experiences with the limitations of the language I was able to add some functionality. The Comical Start notes work the best, because it is a single persistent document. (There are permission issues whenever you add a script to a new document.) I added a \u0026ldquo;Comic\u0026rdquo; menu item that lets us quickly insert our comic hyperlinks with our names. I also added a \u0026ldquo;Time Stamp\u0026rdquo; option that lets me quickly make a note of an event\u0026rsquo;s time during a recording. This is most frequently used for accidental swearing.\nComical Start show notes with custom menu options.\nA lot more effort went into the OHAC code, as the notes are more involved. There is the same \u0026ldquo;Time Stamp\u0026rdquo; option from the Comical Start notes, but also an \u0026ldquo;Add Link\u0026rdquo; function which does exactly what it sounds like: you give it a hyperlink and the text you want it to read, and it appends the hyperlink to the document. Finally, there is a \u0026ldquo;Next Show\u0026rdquo; function. This is the one I\u0026rsquo;m most proud of, even though it doesn\u0026rsquo;t cooperate with bullet points very well. What I do is highlight stuff in the our \u0026ldquo;Next Episode\u0026rdquo; section, click \u0026ldquo;Next Show\u0026rdquo;, insert the episode number of the next episode, and it automatically creates a new document with our normal formatting, and the \u0026ldquo;Next Episode\u0026rdquo; contents are now in the \u0026ldquo;Topics\u0026rdquo; section of this new document.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s really sloppy, but it gets the job done.\nCommunication We started with Skype as the obvious choice. It\u0026rsquo;s what is used by most of the podcasters I\u0026rsquo;m aware of, and for the most part it works. While I was still on Windows, it was possible to download a frequently updated Skype MP3 recorder which worked like a charm. It can record multiple tracks at many different levels of quality, and can be set up to autostart on a new Skype call. For the most part I didn\u0026rsquo;t have issues with it.\nUpon my switch to Linux, Skype did not want to cooperate anymore. In particular, Skype wanted to monopolize the microphone on my system. It became quite a problem. This was exacerbated when Skype made me impossibly quiet, so those of us in OHAC made the quick switch to Google Meet and haven\u0026rsquo;t looked back. I use it as well for Comical Start, and have had no issues. It hasn\u0026rsquo;t crashed or disconnected on us, and allows us to set meeting times. Compared to Skype, it is close to perfect for my use case.It was a common occurrence that Jack would need to restart his computer because of a Skype issue. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t happen anymore, which has resulted in a significant improvement on his punctuality.\nOn the side, OHAC uses Slack for communication as well. It\u0026rsquo;s great for quickly sharing pictures or links or whatever.\nPersonal Recording I, and all of my cohosts (with now the notable exception of Mikhail) use Audacity, which is one of the ugliest yet functional applications I\u0026rsquo;ve used. It\u0026rsquo;s use for me is quite straightforward. The default settings are all quite good for podcasting, so it\u0026rsquo;s just a matter of making sure you have the correct microphone selected and hitting the big recording button. After that, it can export to a variety of formats (we use WAV for editing purposes) and it\u0026rsquo;s never failed on me.\nBasic Audacity Interface (Dark Mode)\nOf course the best part is that it\u0026rsquo;s free. It\u0026rsquo;s a fantastic open source piece of software available on every operating system. If you ever want to get into basic audio stuff, just start with Audacity to get a taste for it.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll have a lot more to say about Audacity in my editing post, but in the context of this post it\u0026rsquo;s simply a great way to record myself each week.\nGroup Recording This was the trickiest part. There actually used to be an excellent Skype recording utility on Linux, but it was rendered completely broken with a Skype update last Octoboer (or so). Between that and my subsequent move to Meet, I had to find another way to record generic audio that wasn\u0026rsquo;t tied to a specific application. Then I came across the aptly named Audio-recorder for Linux. It\u0026rsquo;s an incredibly straightforward application that just works for me. You can easily choose your source for the audio (which then allows for recording things like music as you play it, but don\u0026rsquo;t tell anyone I said that.) You can also define custom sources, which I do.\nBasic Audio Recorder interface (left) with Settings, including destination and filename format (right).\nI need to be able to record everybody (i.e. the people in my headphones and myself) at once to sync things up for editing. I create my own source consisting of the speakers and my microphone, and record the start of each podcast. I can then export it to the folder of my choosing (shown above). It\u0026rsquo;s such a tiny understated application. The only annoyance is that it forces itself on top of every other application, but because it\u0026rsquo;s so small that hasn\u0026rsquo;t been a problem.\nSo there you go! That\u0026rsquo;s my general podcasting set-up. I know I don\u0026rsquo;t have a complicated way of doing things. As you\u0026rsquo;ll learn in my hardware post, I\u0026rsquo;m not using analog mics with an interface or anything, which simplifies the process a lot. In either case, I was surprised by how easy it was to get started with podcasting on Linux. I had been afraid for a while, and now I think it\u0026rsquo;s much easier than it was on Windows.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/how-i-podcast-software/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter nobody asked me to, I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to write a few posts about how I podcast. There might be an additional post where I talk about some other software I use on my computer in general, but we\u0026rsquo;ll start with podcasting because it really is the heaviest use of my computer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this post, I\u0026rsquo;ll focus on the software I use to record. In the next post, I\u0026rsquo;ll share some of the hardware I use. And finally, I\u0026rsquo;ll explain how I edit podcasts with the aim of having a screen recording of myself editing either \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOHAC\u003c/a\u003e or \u003ca href=\"http://comicalstart.org\"\u003eComical Start\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"How I Podcast: Software"},{"content":"After playing around with Project Euler for a while, I determined I wanted to challenge my coding skills even more, but stay firmly planted in the mathematical realm in which I\u0026rsquo;m familiar. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve begun writing some code that can be used for certain mathematical objects. In particular, I\u0026rsquo;ve written a fraction class, a 2D vector class, and a complex number class. You can find the code on GitHub.\nAs intended, the biggest challenge was taking everything I knew about how these do and should work, and transfer it into consistent code. Once I had the basics down, it was then a matter of letting these different types work with each other. It\u0026rsquo;s very simple to create vectors where the components are integers or floats, because those numerical types are built into Python. It became much more difficult to figure out how to let the components also be the fractions I wrote myself.\nSo, it\u0026rsquo;s been a fun challenge. This weekend I began looking into how to have some rudimentary graphics. I quickly determined trying to use Turtle would be cute, but dumb. Similarly, trying to learn an entire other graphics program that fits in with Python would be a fool\u0026rsquo;s errand as well. So, I went the simpler route, and adapted a very simple script that allows for the use of Asymptote vector graphics to be used inside of Python.\nThe script, allegedly written by some student and tossed onto the end of the official documentation for Asymptote, is quite basic. It makes a class out of an instance of Asymptote, and draws things into a PostScript file as you go. I had to tweak it because it didn\u0026rsquo;t handle input correctly at all, but it was a good challenge that I figured out.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to come, because I\u0026rsquo;m really enjoying this project and building up a lot of code that I actually care about. I\u0026rsquo;ve tried getting into other projects (web-development using Python, even some game stuff) and it\u0026rsquo;s all just so boring to me. Working through mathematics has been great, and there\u0026rsquo;s a lot of room for creativity now. I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/some-new-code/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter playing around with Project Euler for a while, I determined I wanted to challenge my coding skills even more, but stay firmly planted in the mathematical realm in which I\u0026rsquo;m familiar. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve begun writing some code that can be used for certain mathematical objects. In particular, I\u0026rsquo;ve written a fraction class, a 2D vector class, and a complex number class. You can find the code on \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/rich1126/mrmath\"\u003eGitHub\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some New Code"},{"content":"It was my older sister\u0026rsquo;s birthday yesterday, and it had me thinking about how we talk about birthdays. There\u0026rsquo;s a peculiar inconsistency in the language we use which I vaguely noticed for the first time a couple of years ago, but never really pursued the thought.\nWe index our birthdays from 0.\nOf course, it is correct that after 10 years alive, we say someone is now 10 years old. That makes perfect sense, and is quite correct. However, we would also describe the day as being their tenth birthday. A second of thought shows this is patently untrue. It is in fact their eleventh birthday. The day they were born was their first birthday. When they turned 1 year old, that was their second birthday. And so on.\nThe only resolution to this conundrum is accepting that we index our birthdays from 0. Of course the implications of this are essentially nothing, although I suppose this is a reasonable example to provide to confused students in introductory computer science classes who aren\u0026rsquo;t on board with zero-indexing. However, this realization hasn\u0026rsquo;t improved my own susceptibility to off-by-one errors.\nIn either case, it was a small tidbit I thought a few people might find interesting. So when your friend turns 21, undercut the whole thing by wishing them a happy 22nd birthday.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/birthday-index/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt was my older sister\u0026rsquo;s birthday yesterday, and it had me thinking about how we talk about birthdays. There\u0026rsquo;s a peculiar inconsistency in the language we use which I vaguely noticed for the first time a couple of years ago, but never really pursued the thought.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe index our birthdays from 0.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Birthday Index"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been sitting around, trying to determine what I wanted to write for this week. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a few underwhelming posts over the past month, due to some time constraints and missed deadlines, so I\u0026rsquo;m really aiming for ideas with a bit more substance.\nI try to make note of some ideas I have, whether that is quotes from books I read, ideas from podcasts, little pictures, or just something that pops into my head that I want to save for later. I was going through those notes and determined this is the right time to get to something I heard a high school girl say at a Starbucks a few months ago.\nMy number one thing is I don\u0026rsquo;t want to look stupid.\nSome girl at Starbucks\nThis comment stood out to me, and I immediately wrote it down in my phone. There had been a crescendo in conversation that led to this comment, and while I don\u0026rsquo;t remember the specific context, it certainly had something to do with the homework she was working on with her friends. It just really stopped me in my tracks. Of course many a high school student is known to use a bit of hyperbole, but she said it with an immense amount of sincerity, almost matter-of-fact.\nPerhaps if I were 40 years older, I could have said something wise and helpful, and been taken slightly seriously. Instead, that comment has just sat on my phone and I\u0026rsquo;ve thought about it, and will now share my opinions with a very small audience on the internet.\nAt the core, there is one issue I have with this statement: It is anti-progress for this person. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to use trendy phrases like \u0026ldquo;growth-mindset\u0026rdquo;, as they often leave a bad taste in people\u0026rsquo;s mouths due to it being the new way of thinking. However, the ability to see failure as an opportunity for growth, and the willingness to move beyond mistakes are both vital to developing yourself in a positive manner. Looking stupid is just a superset of these results. Even if nobody else perceives us in the same manner, if we make any public-facing mistake or failure, we assume we look stupid and view ourselves in that light.\nOf course I\u0026rsquo;m generalizing, but that\u0026rsquo;s because I believe everyone has felt this way at some point. Most of us still do quite frequently. In fact, one of the most recent projects I\u0026rsquo;ve started at work requires a good chunk of what I write to be directly reviewed by the CEO. It\u0026rsquo;s very stressful when I move the task to him, and even more so when I\u0026rsquo;m about to open up the finished review document. I can empathize with the thought of not wanting to look stupid, yet I think it\u0026rsquo;s an unhealthy way of viewing one\u0026rsquo;s life.\nInstead of focusing on not looking stupid, or almost equivalently, focusing on looking smart or capable, focus on being the best you can be. Yes, perception matters in many situations, but if we can get the work done and improve ourselves while disregarding (or in spite of) how others perceive it, it is much healthier, and eventually the perception will follow.\nIn the end, we have very little control over how others view us. Despite our best efforts, some people will jump to conclusions for better or worse. Everyone has their own way of forming opinions about people around them. Some people can let words go by, and care mostly about actions. Others show incredible grace and forgiveness in many situations, and view an inherent goodness. On the other end, there\u0026rsquo;s a quote I\u0026rsquo;ve been reading somewhat frequently: You can be the juiciest, tastiest, best-looking peach in the market, but there will always be someone who just hates peaches.\nThere will always be a self-absorbed drive in all of us, but our number one goal should not be giving into that drive and letting it rule over us. Instead, it should be developing ourselves so the role of that drive is mitigated, and slowly replaced by healthy drives where we do things for the love of it, or because it\u0026rsquo;s right.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/looking-stupid/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been sitting around, trying to determine what I wanted to write for this week. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a few underwhelming posts over the past month, due to some time constraints and missed deadlines, so I\u0026rsquo;m really aiming for ideas with a bit more substance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI try to make note of some ideas I have, whether that is quotes from books I read, ideas from podcasts, little pictures, or just something that pops into my head that I want to save for later. I was going through those notes and determined this is the right time to get to something I heard a high school girl say at a Starbucks a few months ago.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Looking Stupid"},{"content":"Although I missed another Monday deadline (spring break has really gotten me in disarray), it was for good reason. My parents were visiting in San Diego, and it was fun getting to do some of the more \u0026ldquo;tourist\u0026rdquo; type places with people who had fresh eyes for the area.\nBut more importantly, my dad and I went to Petco Park to watch the Padres. Baseball season is finally back, and it makes me incredibly happy.\nFor most of my life, the start of baseball season has signaled warm weather, and just a certain reawakening for the year. Although this was much more apparent in Minnesota, even in San Diego I feel warmer weather, think of fresh cut grass, and just get this feeling of joy that not much else is able to provide. Baseball has always been magical. It\u0026rsquo;s a sport that is easy to engage with, easy to find someone to mess around with, and just has a pristine quality to it that no other sport manages to capture in my mind.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/baseball-is-back/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough I missed another Monday deadline (spring break has really gotten me in disarray), it was for good reason. My parents were visiting in San Diego, and it was fun getting to do some of the more \u0026ldquo;tourist\u0026rdquo; type places with people who had fresh eyes for the area.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut more importantly, my dad and I went to Petco Park to watch the Padres. Baseball season is finally back, and it makes me incredibly happy.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Baseball is Back"},{"content":"As part of my year of focus, I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to spend more consistent chunks of time working on programming. In particular, right now I\u0026rsquo;m focusing on doubling down on my Python knowledge, and exploring some other aspects of computer science that interest me. After checking out a few books and tutorials, I\u0026rsquo;ve made my way back to a website that I found a number of years ago, which is the most intriguing to me: Project Euler.\nThe gist of Project Euler is to give a wide range of mathematically-oriented programming puzzles for people to solve. You can always just go on there for ideas of small programs to write, whether it\u0026rsquo;s to learn some math or to try out a new computer language. In my case, I\u0026rsquo;m trying to write the most efficient programs possible, making use both of clever algorithms I spend time figuring out or researching, and making use of Python syntax to make particularly elegant solutions. If you make a simple account, you can keep track of your progress and access message boards about each problem.\nIt has been very engaging so far. They are more bite-sized, but give ideas for more complex programs that can be written which are more general purpose. Rather than writing a script that solves a problem, I can focus on writing broad functions that may be helpful.\nA fun problem I worked on today involved triangular numbers. These are just numbers you get from adding together all the positive integers before it. So, the seventh triangular number is just 1+2+3+4+5+6+7=28.\nThe goal was to find the smallest triangular number with more than 500 divisors. Here\u0026rsquo;s the Python code I wrote for it. (I apologize, I can\u0026rsquo;t figure out how to make syntax highlighting work right now.\nimport math def getTriangular(n): ## Generates a list of triangular numbers up to n triangularList = [sum(i for i in range(1,k+1)) for k in range(1, n+1)] return triangularList def getNumberDivisors(n): ## Generates number of divisors numDivisors = 2 ## We don\u0026#39;t care about n=1, so assume it has 1 and n for divisor in range(2,int(math.sqrt(n))+1): ## Only check to sqrt(n) if n % divisor == 0: ## Needs to be a divisor if divisor * divisor == n: ## If square root numDivisors += 1 else: numDivisors += 2 ## Otherwise, divisor has a factor ## pair larger than n//2 return numDivisors def main(): triangleList = getTriangular(25000) ## Hopefully big enough is500 = False triangleIndex = 7 ## It\u0026#39;s certainly larger than seventh number while not is500: triangleIndex += 1 #print(triangleIndex) if getNumberDivisors(triangleList[triangleIndex]) \u0026gt; 500: is500 = True print(triangleList[triangleIndex]) ## Tell me the number main() The code runs reasonably quickly, which is always the goal. The standard view on Project Euler problems (and I believe it is their official stance) is that well-optimized solutions should run for no longer than a minute on nearly any computer. The first few problems should take substantially less time than that.\nI recommend giving them a try if you have an itch for some challenges, and either want to work on optimizing your code in a certain language, or try out the functions in a new language. For example, the fact that Python supports arbitrarily large integer addition (compared to C or Java) makes some problems pretty trivial. Thinking about how to deal with other languages becomes rather interesting.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/project-euler/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs part of my year of focus, I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to spend more consistent chunks of time working on programming. In particular, right now I\u0026rsquo;m focusing on doubling down on my Python knowledge, and exploring some other aspects of computer science that interest me. After checking out a few books and tutorials, I\u0026rsquo;ve made my way back to a website that I found a number of years ago, which is the most intriguing to me: \u003ca href=\"https://projecteuler.net/archives\"\u003eProject Euler.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Project Euler"},{"content":"I missed my first self-imposed Monday deadline in a while. I\u0026rsquo;ve actually been on Spring Break, in a sense. My girlfriend is in town visiting, and we\u0026rsquo;ve been staying pretty busy. Tomorrow we\u0026rsquo;re on our way to Universal Studios Hollywood. We both went to the Orlando location back in high school, so we\u0026rsquo;re somewhat familiar with what it has to offer. But it will be an excellent time. I just wanted to write this brief post as a marker of my failed deadline, but to keep the number of posts per week consistent enough.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll have a new, full post this upcoming Monday.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/spring-break/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI missed my first self-imposed Monday deadline in a while. I\u0026rsquo;ve actually been on Spring Break, in a sense. My girlfriend is in town visiting, and we\u0026rsquo;ve been staying pretty busy. Tomorrow we\u0026rsquo;re on our way to Universal Studios Hollywood. We both went to the Orlando location back in high school, so we\u0026rsquo;re somewhat familiar with what it has to offer. But it will be an excellent time. I just wanted to write this brief post as a marker of my failed deadline, but to keep the number of posts \u003cem\u003eper week\u003c/em\u003e consistent enough.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Spring Break"},{"content":"I decided to go watch Free Solo this afternoon. I had seen a snippet of Alex Honnold\u0026rsquo;s 60 Minutes special while in high school, and remember being impressed. Then I discovered this documentary about him won an Oscar. Even better, it was being shown in some local theaters.\nThe short version is this: No film has made me feel less competent and driven, yet I don\u0026rsquo;t envy necessarily envy Alex\u0026rsquo;s single-mindedness.\nBefore I get into that, I want to encourage everybody to see this documentary. It\u0026rsquo;s stress-inducing, beautiful, and everybody in the film has an incredible passion about them. Alex\u0026rsquo;s focus on climbing El Capitan, his girlfriend\u0026rsquo;s passion for him and their life together, as well as the camera crew working with Alex all weave an amazing narrative. It\u0026rsquo;s fantastic. You can also read the National Geographic article about the climb if you\u0026rsquo;re interested in the details.\nEnjoying the filmography, as well as the feat Alex pulled, are both quite easy. It\u0026rsquo;s no wonder this documentary was so well-received. Yet Alex himself is the more interesting part of this film. He has the personality one might expect from a child prodigy, a narrow focus on specific goals, and that brings him immense joy. It was something that I admired, but could not entirely grasp. It is always inspiring to see someone so fully living their best life in the way that brings them the most joy. He has something to be dedicated to, and as long as he\u0026rsquo;s able to keep climbing, there\u0026rsquo;s no doubt he will.\nI faced multiple crossroads at the end of high school and throughout college, and each decision took me a bit further away from the drive and narrow focus Alex has in his life. I think this is why Alex himself affected me far more than the anxiety I felt from watching him free solo. At the end of high school, I was incredibly focused on music. I would practice percussion multiple hours a day, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Then, I chose not to pursue music in any serious way in college. While I\u0026rsquo;ve found a bit of that passion again, it\u0026rsquo;s not as focused or intent as it could be.\nBaseball was similar, but that decision came earlier when I chose to do pit orchestra my Junior year of high school instead of playing baseball for the school team. I still played in the summer, but did not play at all in college. The passion is there, but since I didn\u0026rsquo;t pursue it I just don\u0026rsquo;t have the foundation laid anymore to keep going with it.\nThe final, and most immediately important, decision was choosing to go into my current job instead of attending grad school. Retrospectively this was a more natural decision, but it was the final nail in the coffin that held intense focus on a narrow field.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve always idolized people who excel at one particular thing, yet always made myself out to be as well-rounded as possible. Naturally this is a conflict that my brain doesn\u0026rsquo;t accept quite yet, and so I hit some dissonance when I see someone like Alex who is so incredibly focused on something, and has pursued it successfully for 10 years. A part of me wants that sort of focus on every project that intrigues me, yet I know that\u0026rsquo;s just too much cognitive load and I need to pick and choose on what I can improve on over certain periods of time. It continued to make me think, which was great.\nHe has an interesting personality and mentality about him that is reflected incredibly well by both his candid comments in the documentary, and what others near him had to say. It makes sense when you learn the camera crew has been working with him for 10 years. It\u0026rsquo;s not clear to me how others who\u0026rsquo;ve seen this film view it; to me, while the climb itself was amazing, it\u0026rsquo;s difficulty was absurd enough as to make me desensitized to it by the end. I was focused on how Alex can mentally do what he does, day in and day out. It\u0026rsquo;s quite incredible.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/review-free-solo/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI decided to go watch \u003cem\u003eFree Solo\u003c/em\u003e this afternoon. I had seen a snippet of Alex Honnold\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003e60 Minutes\u003c/em\u003e special while in high school, and remember being impressed. Then I discovered this documentary about him won an Oscar. Even better, it was being shown in some local theaters.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe short version is this: No film has made me feel less competent and driven, yet I don\u0026rsquo;t envy necessarily envy Alex\u0026rsquo;s single-mindedness.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Review: Free Solo"},{"content":"Up front, here is a link to my math blog that has the meat of this post. Also, there will be a PDF version attached.\nI’ve finally gotten around to writing another math post. There’s a mix of reasons why I’ve been writing about a lot of other things. First, there have just been other topics in the front of my mind that I felt like writing about in the moment. Second, there were not any particular pieces of math I felt inspired to write about. And third, preparation of a math post is significantly more work for me, as I care a lot about being accurate, precise, and clear in my presentation.\nMy goal is always to write posts that are accessible and reflect my thoughts, but in most circumstances it’s simply a matter of opinion. Writing a good math post is a bit more convoluted, as there are definitive wrong ways to go about it. So, I’ve written the post up on my math blog I made through work. Again, that link is above. I’ve also attached a PDF version of the post. It’s about some mathematical games, so if you are someone who teaches or tutors math, knows someone who does, or just wants some easy pencil-and-paper games to play with a friend to pass the time, you can keep this PDF somewhere more accessible.\nMath Games PDF\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-few-math-games-and-puzzles/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eUp front, \u003ca href=\"https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c763463h1793673_math_games_and_puzzles\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e is a link to my math blog that has the meat of this post. Also, there will be a PDF version attached.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve finally gotten around to writing another math post. There’s a mix of reasons why I’ve been writing about a lot of other things. First, there have just been other topics in the front of my mind that I felt like writing about in the moment. Second, there were not any particular pieces of math I felt inspired to write about. And third, preparation of a math post is significantly more work for me, as I care a lot about being accurate, precise, and clear in my presentation.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Few Math Games and Puzzles"},{"content":"The other day, I finally finished making my room fairly clean and I tidy. I put together a bookshelf to house some odds and ends, removed the final cardboard boxes still hanging around since I moved in, and sorted my papers. I felt good. But something was still missing.\nThis week\u0026rsquo;s Comical Start episode featured me discussing my desire for a Roomba \u0026ldquo;just to have something that seems like it\u0026rsquo;s alive in my apartment.\u0026rdquo; However, a Roomba is not in my future. After a healthy discussion of why an actual pet is not a possibility right now, Grant and I decided I would get a plant. As a result, I went out Saturday morning and got myself a little succulent.\nMy new pal, Calvin (naturally named after the spiky-haired first-grader Calvin)\nJunior year of college, I purchased a succulent to support a fundraising event on campus. I proudly walked it home, and subsequently knocked it off my desk at least three times. It did not make it through the rest of the year. I now feel much more capable of taking care of an eminently hardy plant such as Calvin here. I successfully repotted it, and it now sits pride of place on my desk.\nThese are the little things that I don\u0026rsquo;t have a grasp on as an adult. Determine the little things that make a space feel just a little more cozy and relaxed, without adding to the clutter. Having my bookshelf set up with two pictures I like was a great start, and now just having something alive besides myself adds to the environment.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t have much else to say here. I\u0026rsquo;m happy I have this little guy, even though it\u0026rsquo;s such a small thing. But doing small things for yourself can help reduce the monotony of daily life.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-new-friend/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe other day, I finally finished making my room fairly clean and I tidy. I put together a bookshelf to house some odds and ends, removed the final cardboard boxes still hanging around since I moved in, and sorted my papers. I felt good. But something was still missing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis week\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"http://comicalstart.buzzsprout.com/186147/965344-31-single-guy-comments\"\u003eComical Start\u003c/a\u003e episode featured me discussing my desire for a Roomba \u0026ldquo;just to have something that seems like it\u0026rsquo;s alive in my apartment.\u0026rdquo; However, a Roomba is not in my future. After a healthy discussion of why an actual pet is not a possibility right now, Grant and I decided I would get a plant. As a result, I went out Saturday morning and got myself a little succulent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://i2.wp.com/markrichard.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/20190223_183457.jpg?fit=525%2C525\u0026ssl=1\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy new pal, Calvin (naturally named after the spiky-haired first-grader Calvin)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e\n\u003c!-- raw HTML omitted --\u003e","title":"A New Friend"},{"content":" And I like large parties. They\u0026rsquo;re so intimate. At small parties there isn\u0026rsquo;t any privacy.\nF. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby\nA few weeks ago I read The Great Gatsby for the first time. It was a pretty good book. I don\u0026rsquo;t have much experience reading Fitzgerald, and the style of his era \u0026ndash; as well as the upper class focus \u0026ndash; is a bit different from what I normally read. I enjoyed the story, but the only thing that really stuck with me was the quote above. It is not central to the book, but I find it particularly profound and relevant today.\nThroughout my life, and particularly in college, I tended to avoid scenes with large groups of people. I consider myself pretty good at talking to new people, but I don\u0026rsquo;t find myself enjoying the process. At least, if I do in the moment, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t stick with me enough to feel better about the next time it happens. So, parties or general large gatherings were always very overwhelming. I needed to be thrown into the situation with no warning, otherwise I would psyche myself out of participating before it even began.\nWhat I find curious about this quote is how it frames the concept of a large party. When I have talked to people in my life, most of them like large parties for two reasons: They\u0026rsquo;re good at being the center of attention, or they prefer to be as anonymous as possible. In either case, it\u0026rsquo;s a sort of release for many people. There isn\u0026rsquo;t much to worry about, and excepting a particularly heinous action, most of what you will do will go unnoticed. There is a safety in crowds (in fact, this is the understanding behind the bystander effect.)\nIt\u0026rsquo;s then a natural extension I\u0026rsquo;ve never made to realize that a large party is the perfect place to meet up with one or two people you want to be thoroughly engaged with. Thinking back throughout college, time alone, with distraction or the threat of it, was incredibly rare. Spaces sufficient for good conversation or serious discussion with another person were sparse. Parties, however, were often at a premium if you knew the right people. And from my understanding, considering how many people know other people, you\u0026rsquo;d find yourself within the 6 degrees of separation necessary to enter.\nSo, when you couple together the availability of parties, and how little attention most people will give you while you\u0026rsquo;re there, they suddenly become an excellent spot to just sit and talk, or share a small moment that nobody else will likely notice. This speaks to the broader mantra of \u0026ldquo;You worry about what other people think about you a lot; if other people spend the same amount of time worrying about themselves, they certainly don\u0026rsquo;t have time to worry about you.\u0026rdquo;\nThere is freedom here. If you can\u0026rsquo;t have an apartment to yourself, and it\u0026rsquo;s raining outside so you can\u0026rsquo;t go to your favorite solitary park, just go to a large bar. People will leave you alone, and typically won\u0026rsquo;t care much about your conversation.\nOf course, the second part of the quote is just as interesting: At small parties there isn\u0026rsquo;t any privacy. Consider a situation where you\u0026rsquo;re on a dinner date with 4 to 8 other people. There\u0026rsquo;s a group of you at a long table, perhaps even around a circular table if the group is a bit smaller (or the restaurant a bit larger). You haven\u0026rsquo;t seen one friend in a particularly long time, and want to tell them, in person, some sensitive information that is really on between the two of you. Is there a way to do this and feel confident nobody else will hear, or notice? In the first case, you may never know, but may be constantly worried the conversation happened to dull somewhere else at the table and a few people caught what you had to say. In the second case, where your private conversation is visually noticed, can be just as bad. Now you have the curiosity of others fighting against you. Not only that, unlike in a large party there is far less attention to be obtained.\nAttention is really the key here. Imagine you are with one other person and you see a squirrel with a neat and abnormal stripe on its back scurry by. You might try to grab the attention of the person you\u0026rsquo;re with (if they aren\u0026rsquo;t in the middle of talking), and point it out. You\u0026rsquo;ll both likely get a bit of enjoyment from that shared moment.\nNow, try to get the attention of 20 or more people fixated on that same squirrel scurrying by a window in a house. You would have to use some pretty weaponized tactics to make that happen in the requisite amount of time. The nature of attention is very dependent on the unit size. The attention of a single person is often fleeting and malleable based on the situation. The attention of people is much harder to sway without grandiose efforts. In this way, it is an intuitive conclusion to reach that small groups offer no privacy, unless the entire group is on the same page.\nSo I find it an interesting mental adjustment to make. I\u0026rsquo;m still uncomfortable in large parties, if only because I like places that are quieter in general, and making connections with a select few people. Yet the idea still sits in my head. It\u0026rsquo;s something to explore a bit more, although large parties are a bit less frequent or available in normal adult life.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/large-parties/","summary":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd I like large parties. They\u0026rsquo;re so intimate. At small parties there isn\u0026rsquo;t any privacy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eF. Scott Fitzgerald, \u003cem\u003eThe Great Gatsby\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA few weeks ago I read \u003cem\u003eThe Great Gatsby\u003c/em\u003e for the first time. It was a pretty good book. I don\u0026rsquo;t have much experience reading Fitzgerald, and the style of his era \u0026ndash; as well as the upper class focus \u0026ndash; is a bit different from what I normally read. I enjoyed the story, but the only thing that really stuck with me was the quote above. It is not central to the book, but I find it particularly profound and relevant today.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Large Parties"},{"content":"During a recent recording of OHAC, we talked about yearly themes. In short, yearly themes are meant to be broader versions of resolutions. They are not necessarily defined by explicit goals, but rather a frame of mind, or a general approach to the upcoming year. We talk about it in that episode, and there are links to episodes of the podcast Cortex with more information about the idea of yearly themes.\nMy theme is the *Year of Focus*. Now that I have more freetime on my hands, I want to use it to help improve my attention span and make significant progress on projects I put off while in college. The first step in this, before it was even official, was the reading binge I\u0026rsquo;ve written about a few times now.\nOnce I got myself back into reading consistently, while maintaining these weekly blog posts in addition to the podcast projects I\u0026rsquo;m a part of, I realized I had been making excellent strides toward the ideal sense of focus I\u0026rsquo;d aspired to throughout college. I dabbled with a few projects this past fall \u0026ndash; I learned to use Google Apps Script to automate a few things with podcast shownotes, I learned the very basics of physics simulations with Blender, and briefly worked through a book about C \u0026ndash; but wanted to commit to a few things that would stick.\nOne piece of research that has stuck with me is how it takes 7 years to become an expert in some area. There\u0026rsquo;s a good SMBC comic about this idea. While I don\u0026rsquo;t feel the need to become an expert, if I branch out with my current knowledge base I believe committing a year or so to various long-term projects will help me make large strides, and provide a greater sense of accomplishment.\nFor this upcoming year, I have a few goals in mind. Of course I still want to keep reading. I\u0026rsquo;ve made it through 3 books a month for the past few months, and would like to keep up that pace. In addition, I want to maintain a balance of 2 or 3 fiction books for every non-fiction book. This isn\u0026rsquo;t a strict limit, but I enjoy literary fiction and want to read a bit more of it right now.\nThe second goal, which is newer and will require more focused effort, is learning Python to a much more proficient level. It is my language of choice (mostly by default), and I want to increase my understanding of computer science through Python. There are a couple of excellent books in the Learn Code the Hard Way series which I highly recommend. I\u0026rsquo;m starting most of the way through the first book to catch myself back up on using Python to do OOP, which I have not done in about 4 years. Then, I\u0026rsquo;ll move onto the second book which has the material consistent with a second year course on algorithms and more advanced computer science topics.\nThe motivation for this project comes from the ultimate goal of being able to contribute to the world of Linux in some small way. Whether that is writing some open-source applications in Python, or transitioning into learning C to help with low-level development, I know I have the ability to learn computer science and want to take advantage of the time I have to do so.\nA third goal has to do with leisure. While this is the year of focus, I\u0026rsquo;m an adult now, and have no desire to burn myself out trying to be overly productive. I can enjoy going to movies (and subsequently reviewing them), or taking advantage of my Nintendo Switch to play some Mario Kart while listening to a podcast. I have these leisure activities available, but I want to focus on enjoying them. When I want to sit down and watch a bit of Netflix, I want to be attentive to the content and make it something I get value from. This may seem a bit esoteric, but it bothers me when I decide to watch YouTube and end up browsing reddit on my phone at the same time. It\u0026rsquo;s a smaller goal, but its broad success will be helpful.\nA final goal is to improve the quality of my writing output. I don\u0026rsquo;t want this blog to be a weekly slog, or a place for rejected writing and projects that did not branch into something larger. I have the time to write a quality post each week (which doesn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily mean a long post), and simply want to set a higher standard for myself. Writing frequently is a good way to improve writing skills, but once the schedule is set, improvement must be made by intentional thought and effort. I\u0026rsquo;m now many months into writing a weekly post without fail, so I can take the next step to put more care into what I post here.\nOne thing I greatly admire about xkcd is Randall\u0026rsquo;s ability to put out three comics a week, and in the background work on a massive project that just comes out like any other comic. I want to do the same. Some posts will be more filler than others, but they can still be quality; in the meantime, I can put in good effort for much larger projects which may find their way onto this blog. I have one in the works which I expect to be done to a satisfactory level within the next month.\nI encourage anybody reading this to think about some yearly theme or guiding thought for the next year, or season, or month. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t need to be yearly precisely, nor must it begin on New Year\u0026rsquo;s. By definition, it is open-ended and should remain as such. As you may notice, the goals I describe above are not very well-defined except in a few cases to provide some guidance. They are a way to approach the time I use, with a few opportunities to gauge how I\u0026rsquo;m doing. Yet when the year is over, the theme is not. It is something I hope to carry forward with me, to change who I am a bit, and then when something else needs to change or improve I can think critically about how that looks. It\u0026rsquo;s a bit of a moving target, but I think that\u0026rsquo;s okay.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/year-of-focus/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDuring a recent recording of \u003ca href=\"https://ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOHAC\u003c/a\u003e, we talked about yearly themes. In short, yearly themes are meant to be broader versions of resolutions. They are not necessarily defined by explicit goals, but rather a frame of mind, or a general approach to the upcoming year. We talk about it in that episode, and there are links to episodes of the podcast \u003ca href=\"https://relay.fm/cortex\"\u003eCortex\u003c/a\u003e with more information about the idea of yearly themes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy theme is the *Year of Focus*. Now that I have more freetime on my hands, I want to use it to help improve my attention span and make significant progress on projects I put off while in college. The first step in this, before it was even official, was the reading binge I\u0026rsquo;ve written about a few times now.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Year of Focus"},{"content":"The Super Bowl ended not too long ago. It was an incredibly boring game (especially when compared to last year\u0026rsquo;s shootout extravaganza.). In a way, that is fitting. I spend a good chunk of time about 7 months out of the year watching baseball. Once baseball is over in early November, I transition to college and professional football. It is less frequent than baseball, but fills the sports-shaped void in my heart well enough.\nNow all that is over. It is a dead period of sports for me. This boring game was the perfect transition, since there was no excitement to get hungover on the next morning.\nOf course there are other sports, if I cared much about them. For example, NBA and NHL seasons are still ongoing (I think?) and there is of course March Madness in a month. But those have never been events I\u0026rsquo;ve taken much liking to watching remotely. I do enjoy attending any sporting event in person, but baseball and football are the main American professional sports whose seasons I actually follow.\nWhat I am curious to discover is if my general feelings change being in California as opposed to Minnesota. In Minnesota, winter was always a tough period for sports because I was not a big hockey fan, and there were no other sports one could play outside. Football was theoretically an option, but organizing games becomes increasingly difficult as you get older. Spring and summer were always the best because you could play any sport outside. Whether it was just playing catch, getting a few friends to play soccer or throw a frisbee around, or just play with my own boomerang, spring and summer were always significantly more active for me. Now that I\u0026rsquo;m in (southern) California, I have less excuses for letting this dead period of sports align with a dead period of fun physical activity for me.\nI do expect to be better this year. I recently moved to a new place where there is a fitness center a very short walk from my door. There are some open parks in the area. I have far more options in general than I had during this time of year in Minnesota, and I want to take advantage of that as much as possible. But for now, I guess I just have to wait until March for baseball\u0026rsquo;s spring training to start up.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/entering-the-dead-period/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe Super Bowl ended not too long ago. It was an incredibly boring game (especially when compared to last year\u0026rsquo;s shootout extravaganza.). In a way, that is fitting. I spend a good chunk of time about 7 months out of the year watching baseball. Once baseball is over in early November, I transition to college and professional football. It is less frequent than baseball, but fills the sports-shaped void in my heart well enough.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Entering the Dead Period"},{"content":"This weekend I went whale watching for the first time. It was a fantastic experience. I went with Offshore Blue Adventures, which I\u0026rsquo;d probably consider the premier experience for anybody who wants to see whales and dolphins up close. They use an inflatable boat, similar to what the Coast Guard or Navy SEALs would use. The benefits of small boats on the ocean is that they ride large swells very easily; the benefits of small boats when whale and dolphin watching is that you can get closer without scaring off the animals.\nWe say quite a few gray whales, far more than our guide would have expected. We also saw two pods of dolphins. I had quite an obsession with whales growing up, yet beyond the odd beluga in an zoo setup, I have never actually seen one. This was one of my favorite mornings I\u0026rsquo;ve spent in San Diego so far.\nHere is a Dropbox folder with a few videos I took. They were on my phone in a moving boat, but I did the best I could.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/whale-watching/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis weekend I went whale watching for the first time. It was a fantastic experience. I went with \u003ca href=\"http://sandiegowhalesanddolphins.com/\"\u003eOffshore Blue Adventures\u003c/a\u003e, which I\u0026rsquo;d probably consider the premier experience for anybody who wants to see whales and dolphins up close. They use an inflatable boat, similar to what the Coast Guard or Navy SEALs would use. The benefits of small boats on the ocean is that they ride large swells very easily; the benefits of small boats when whale and dolphin watching is that you can get closer without scaring off the animals.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Whale Watching"},{"content":"A couple years ago, I watched Split. It was a very engaging movie. I walked away quite thrilled by the psychology of the entire situation. One of the people I saw the movie with mentioned it was a spiritual successor to a movie made about fifteen years prior, Unbreakable. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t clear there was any connection, other than the main character of Unbreakable having a short cameo at the very end of Split. Beyond this brief mention, the movies largely left my mind and I don\u0026rsquo;t recall talking with anyone else who saw Split.\nOver the past few months, I\u0026rsquo;ve been frequenting the movie theater. During the twenty minutes of previews, Glass kept coming up. I immediately recognized James McAvoy\u0026rsquo;s cast of characters in the preview, and really wanted to see it. However, I wanted to perform my due diligence of preparation, so last night I watched Unbreakable. That is another excellent movie, but obviously not the point of this review. Feeling caught up with the story as it stood\u0026ndash;Elijah Price in a mental institution, David Dunn moonlighting in the security business with his adult son (played by the same guy who played the kid in Unbreakable), and Kevin\u0026rsquo;s body inhabited by a split personality still abducting young girls to satiate the Beast\u0026ndash;I proceeded to the theater to watch Glass.\nTo make things clear, I am far from a movie aficionado. In particular, I hold no feelings either way toward M. Night Shyamalan. I believe he\u0026rsquo;s made some great movies, and some not great movies. The idea of a Shyamalan Twist was not on my mind, and I just wanted to enjoy a movie featuring a cast of three characters I found very intriguing. My goal is not to spoil the movie in any major way.\nI would say the characters were as expected. Elijah Price continued to be devilishly witty, David was the \u0026ldquo;reluctant hero\u0026rdquo;, and Kevin \u0026amp; co. had severe issues, and everyone was treated to another superb display of character acting by James McAvoy. I find no fault in their performances, nor their character\u0026rsquo;s motivations. Of course, one gets a free pass on motivation when the characters are institutionalized.\nThe character that bothered me the most was Dr. Staple, the psychologist who took over the treatment of the three main characters. If anything, it was a roller coaster; she started out just bothering me. The actress herself just wasn\u0026rsquo;t my cup of tea. Then, I started to notice a manic look in her that played well throughout the rest of the movie.\nThere was little payoff at the very end. It left things open for another movie, but I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I want it. However, I do value that Shyamalan had the courage of his conviction to finish the movie in a way super hero movies refuse to in most cases.\nI think the most praise I can give this movie is that it had me invested in the characters, and believing the unreliable witnesses we had available to us. The movie was set distinctly in our world, and the ambiguous state throughout kept me engaged. I say see the movie, but only if you can be bothered to watch both Unbreakable and Split, and like them both, and want to see an interaction between those two movies. However, I believe they may be better on their own, as spiritual cousins with shared inspirations.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/movie-review-glass/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA couple years ago, I watched \u003cem\u003eSplit\u003c/em\u003e. It was a very engaging movie. I walked away quite thrilled by the psychology of the entire situation. One of the people I saw the movie with mentioned it was a spiritual successor to a movie made about fifteen years prior, \u003cem\u003eUnbreakable.\u003c/em\u003e It wasn\u0026rsquo;t clear there was any connection, other than the main character of \u003cem\u003eUnbreakable\u003c/em\u003e having a short cameo at the very end of \u003cem\u003eSplit.\u003c/em\u003e Beyond this brief mention, the movies largely left my mind and I don\u0026rsquo;t recall talking with anyone else who saw \u003cem\u003eSplit.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Movie Review: \"Glass\""},{"content":"Last year, I finally began compiling a list of books I have read over the years. While I am sure it is incomplete; the approximate dates I\u0026rsquo;ve given are inaccurate as I go further back; I have not included many of the young adult (or younger) books I read; and I didn\u0026rsquo;t individually list books that are in a series, it has still been informative for me to have this list and remember how much I\u0026rsquo;ve liked getting through a book over the years.\nAround this past Thanksgiving, I started on a reading rampage like I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen in myself for years. I finished three books throughout the month of December, and have finished two thus far in January. I should easily have a third finished before February rolls around.\nIt has been fun. What I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed most is finding new books I normally would not come across. For years, I bought just about every book I read, discovered by perusing the aisles at Barnes and Noble or a recommendation found online. I have finally switched to using eBooks from my local library system, and this has allowed me greater flexibility. Since I find something to enjoy in almost every book I read* I typically had little worry over the books I purchased; yet, removing the financial obligation has given me the ability to explore even further. I now go to the Literature category in my app and sort by \u0026ldquo;Random\u0026rdquo;; then I arbitrarily scroll a little until a title catches my eye. If its rating is more than 2.5 stars, I give it a whirl.\nMy reading binge started with Neurmancer by William Gibson. I discovered this via the /r/AskMen subreddit, which has a monthly book club. It was described as novel which laid the foundation for modern Sci-Fi and Cyberpunk, in that it created the term \u0026ldquo;cyberspace.\u0026rdquo; It took me a bit to get into it, but I still recommend it, especially if you like Blade Runner mixed with The Matrix.\nThen I read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This has been a critical and commercial success for good reason. Published in 2014, it is a just-after-the-apocalypse novel, where \u0026ldquo;the apocalypse\u0026rdquo; is a deadly strain of the flu. It explores what happens in the moment of an apocalypse occurring, and what happens to civilization 20 years later. I read it in two days.\nInspired by this quick turnaround, I figured I should finally move onto the library. I went to the website What Should I Read Next? and came up with The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler. This one was stranger than most books I\u0026rsquo;ve read. It\u0026rsquo;s about a librarian and carnival workers. It is still up in the air whether the supernatural has anything to do with it. I finished this one in two days as well.\nI moved onto a a WWI spy novel, where the \u0026ldquo;spy\u0026rdquo; is an actor with Freudian-like sexual issues at the beginning. Entitled Waiting for Sunrise by William Gibson, I actually thought I was reading an entirely different book until about halfway through; I believed I had rented a fantasy novel with a different title and was rather confused. It was still really enjoyable.\nJust this weekend I finished The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen. Wonderfully Scandinavian (it takes place in a small town of Finland), it also walks the line of supernatural and is just plain weird. It is broadly about a group of writers who were trained by a (locally) famous children\u0026rsquo;s author. The town is very into forest-based mythology. This one was found via my random searching.\nThe book I have just recently begun is Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. On principle, I do not read anything about a book except the first sentence or two of a synopsis found online. So, the only information I have about this book is that the main character\u0026rsquo;s name is Jonathan Safran Foer; this character is not to be confused with the author. This little bit of humor was enough to hook me in.\nReading is fun, and it certainly makes me want to write more as a result. At some point I\u0026rsquo;ll try to write another piece of fiction. My recent outlet for that was a text adventure I wrote for OHAC (and I will soon be writing another one), yet I really want to try my hand once again at proper fiction. I used to enjoy it thoroughly, and I think college beat it out of me; I began to believe essays are the highest form of literature. While my two years writing mathematical proofs has made my literary imagination somewhat limited, it\u0026rsquo;s something I still aspire to do.\n*The only book I have ever read which I actively do not recommend to people is Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva. The book is so poorly written that I have sworn off the author for now. And this was about five years ago I believe. The plot itself was actually wonderful. I had just finished reading the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn (I highly recommend it if you\u0026rsquo;re into Jason Bourne-type novels, but with an even more invincible and badass protagonist) and the plot in Portrait of a Spy is based around art history and espionage. A more refined spy book, if you will. And yet, it seemed Daniel Silva was very against describing any definitive action. I remember finishing it and proclaiming to my dad \u0026ldquo;This was an 800 page summary of a trilogy.\u0026rdquo; I do not recall any specific dialogue or verb used in the present tense. Every single paragraph was a past-tense, brief description of a heroic deed. It was like taking the Wikipedia plot summaries of the TV show 24 and making each season a chapter of a book. Even five years later this is etched in my memory, and I am getting physically upset over it again. Don\u0026rsquo;t read it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/some-recent-reading/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast year, I finally began compiling a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/s/5k06b6ws593z8d3/BookList.md?dl=0\"\u003elist of books\u003c/a\u003e I have read over the years. While I am sure it is incomplete; the approximate dates I\u0026rsquo;ve given are inaccurate as I go further back; I have not included many of the young adult (or younger) books I read; and I didn\u0026rsquo;t individually list books that are in a series, it has still been informative for me to have this list and remember how much I\u0026rsquo;ve liked getting through a book over the years.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAround this past Thanksgiving, I started on a reading rampage like I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen in myself for years. I finished three books throughout the month of December, and have finished two thus far in January. I should easily have a third finished before February rolls around.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some Recent Reading"},{"content":"I was on one of my favorite subreddits today, /r/learnmath (of course I sort by New), and a question came up that ultimately came down to understanding order of operations. These always frustrate me because they stem from a poor understanding of how the order of operations work; furthermore, any problem involving order of operations can be fixed and cleared up with an additional set of parentheses.\nConsider this math problem below \u0026ndash; the type I see making its way around Facebook.\nThe answer is 288. Your calculator can do it, because your calculator knows the order of operations. First you perform the addition in parentheses. Then you do division and multiplication (no preference for one over the other) from left to right. 48 divided by 2 is 24, then multiply 24 by 12. You get 288. And obviously you\u0026rsquo;ll only get this correct if you\u0026rsquo;re smart.\nBut here\u0026rsquo;s the thing: the order of operations are accepted to remove ambiguity and because mathematicians agreed we need some set of rules for this. However, they fall apart in their usefulness if people don\u0026rsquo;t remember them. In reality, no person should ever write the statement above. I would write it in plaintext as (48/2)*(9+3). There. No ambiguity. We recognize we should do parentheses first, then multiply. If I wanted everything divided on the right, I could write 48/(2*(9+3)). Again, no ambiguity.\nI teach mathematics online with my company. One important aspect of these classes is the lack of any audio or video component. It is entirely text-based, and that is one of its strengths. However, it is incumbent on myself as the instructor to teach good habits and proper mathematical writing to the students, as they must type in all of their answers. If a student writes \u0026ldquo;1/2x\u0026rdquo;, regardless of context and whether it is technically correct, I will comment to them to fix it. Strictly speaking, 1/2x means precisely (1/2)*x, or more easily x/2. But almost any student I\u0026rsquo;ve come across would write that to mean 1/(2x). So which is it? The correct answer is \u0026ldquo;It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter. Write it in a way that allows the reader to understand you immediately.\u0026rdquo;\nWhen I was trying to explain this to a the user on /r/learnmath, I came up with the phrase that entitles this post: \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s a bad pirson.\u0026rdquo; Without any context, it\u0026rsquo;s entirely unclear whether that\u0026rsquo;s a typo of person, or a typo of prison. Depending on what precedes the phrase, it could suddenly become clear.\nI remember my visit to Alcatraz last summer. I thought to myself, \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s a bad pirson.\u0026rdquo;\nIt\u0026rsquo;s pretty clear someone did a small goof and meant to type \u0026ldquo;prison\u0026rdquo;. No big deal. It still feels a little clunky, but I know what you mean. In the same way, context can make math clear when typed out:\nWe know the volume V is equal to half the reciprocal of x, and thus we can write 1/2x = V.\nThe reciprocal of x is 1/x, and half of that is 1/(2x). While the order of operations strictly says the usage in the quote above is incorrect, the context before it makes it clear enough to the reader. Of course, sometimes context is insufficient. This is where care needs to be taken.\nI think back on that place, and particularly how the guard treated us and all I can tell people is \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s a bad pirson.\u0026rdquo;\nWell, who or what is a bad pirson? The whole place, or just the guard? Who\u0026rsquo;s to say in this moment? Math can be dealt with similarly. It is incredibly important that you take care to communicate clearly. Don\u0026rsquo;t rely on context clues to cover for your laziness or inattention to detail. Be explicit and clear; if you choose not to be explicit or clear, then have a reason (this applies to casual writing, certainly not mathematical writing.)\nGood writing, both technical and creative, is developed from the details. Focusing on consistency and clarity for the reader will do ninety percent of the leg work, and style can come in after. But if you are unclear, nobody will care about the panache with which you make your cluttered argument. Doing a degree in mathematics made me a significantly better writer. I must focus on the details, understand what is essential to the argument, make decisions on who my audience is, then add in the necessary scaffolding and style to communicate the essential elements to the target audience. This process works for any piece of writing. Whether you are writing an essay in history, a short story for the campus magazine, or a research paper on chemistry, you need to understand what you want to say; then, focus on saying it clearly with no ambiguity. If you don\u0026rsquo;t, your words can be misconstrued and people can view you as a bad pirson. We wouldn\u0026rsquo;t want that.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/thats-a-bad-pirson/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was on one of my favorite subreddits today, \u003ca href=\"https://reddit.com/r/learnmath\"\u003e/r/learnmath\u003c/a\u003e (of course I sort by \u003cem\u003eNew\u003c/em\u003e), and a question came up that ultimately came down to understanding order of operations. These always frustrate me because they stem from a poor understanding of how the order of operations work; furthermore, any problem involving order of operations can be fixed and cleared up with an additional set of parentheses.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider this math problem below \u0026ndash; the type I see making its way around Facebook.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://i0.wp.com/markrichard.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maxresdefault.jpg?fit=525%2C295\u0026ssl=1\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"That's a Bad Pirson"},{"content":"College was a reading blight for me. I had other things to do, classes pulling my attention, and a pretty damaged ability to focus due to the introduction of a smartphone in my life. I was on-and-off reading books for fun, and felt pretty bad for accumulating books that I just was not getting to.\nWhen I was an intern the past summer, I was hoping to change that. Yet I only made it through one book. Now that I\u0026rsquo;m in my real adult life, and settled in a bit, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally boarded the reading train yet again, and it is fantastic. It kicked off with reading Neuromancer by William Gibson over the course of a couple weeks. It was touch-and-go for a while there, but I made it through and very much enjoyed it. The past few fiction books I\u0026rsquo;ve read were sci-fi or technology thrillers of some variety. But I wanted to get back to where I was in high school and early college: able and willing to read just about any book I came across, even if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t very good. So, I recalled a recommendation an acquaintance gave to me, Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. It is classified as a science fiction novel, but really is just a post-apocalyptic novel taking place in modern day, after a particularly deadly strand of swine flu wiped out most of the world. I read the book in only two days.\nInspired by this quick finish, I went to the website whatShouldIReadNext.com and selected the first book I could find which was available as an eBook from the local library. It was The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler. This was further afield than most books I read, following a librarian whose sister, mother, and other females going back have all worked in various circuses, and all die via suicidal drowning. It\u0026rsquo;s unclear how much fantasy magic or legitimate \u0026ldquo;curses\u0026rdquo; are involved, but it was a surprisingly engaging read. I finished that in two days as well.\nThe book I am currently on \u0026ndash; which has taken me longer mainly due to the holidays \u0026ndash; is Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd. I started this book completely on accident: I thought I was getting a different book from the library, and just started. Luckily, it\u0026rsquo;s actually quite engaging. It takes place in WWI-era Europe, and may simply be a \u0026ldquo;follow this person\u0026rsquo;s life\u0026rdquo; book. Either way, I\u0026rsquo;m enjoying it.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s felt great to finally just sit down and read for long stretches of time. I\u0026rsquo;ve avoided some of the other tempting media (podcasts mostly), allowing my attention span to rebuild; this also puts me in a quiet mental space, giving my brain time to process and enjoy the ride a bit more.\nWhile I am not as disconnected as CGP Grey is, and I still go on reddit and participate on the internet, it\u0026rsquo;s been nice to have these quiet moments with a book. It reminds me of when I had far fewer responsibilities, less to worry about, and I believe that\u0026rsquo;s been healthy for me. I suggest finding a way to be quiet, to be comfortable being alone without being lonely. It\u0026rsquo;s a good thing to be able to do.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/sit-down-and-read/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eCollege was a reading blight for me. I had other things to do, classes pulling my attention, and a pretty damaged ability to focus due to the introduction of a smartphone in my life. I was on-and-off reading books for fun, and felt pretty bad for accumulating books that I just was not getting to.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I was an intern the past summer, I was hoping to change that. Yet I only made it through one book. Now that I\u0026rsquo;m in my real adult life, and settled in a bit, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally boarded the reading train yet again, and it is fantastic. It kicked off with reading \u003cem\u003eNeuromancer\u003c/em\u003e by William Gibson over the course of a couple weeks. It was touch-and-go for a while there, but I made it through and very much enjoyed it. The past few fiction books I\u0026rsquo;ve read were sci-fi or technology thrillers of some variety. But I wanted to get back to where I was in high school and early college: able and willing to read just about any book I came across, even if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t very good. So, I recalled a recommendation an acquaintance gave to me, \u003cem\u003eStation Eleven\u003c/em\u003e, by Emily St. John Mandel. It is classified as a science fiction novel, but really is just a post-apocalyptic novel taking place in modern day, after a particularly deadly strand of swine flu wiped out most of the world. I read the book in only two days.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Sit Down and Read"},{"content":"At work the other day, we had a bit of a break to celebrated the month\u0026rsquo;s birthdays. During this time \u0026ndash; my coworkers sitting around a large table, munching on pie and ice cream \u0026ndash; a conversation broke out. How many holes are there in a paper towel roll: 1 or 2?\nOf course, there is the joke that if you claim 1, then there is only one hole of consequence in the human body: that which leads from your mouth to the escape of your digestive system. At that point you\u0026rsquo;re just talking out of your ass.\nBut, being a company full of nerds and pedants, those of us who were sensible had to claim 1; after all, a paper towel has width to it and is thus homeomorphic to a torus (think, bagel).\nTopology is a fun subject. Imagine taking geometry, and saying \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t really care about angles, or lengths, or these things that make geometry what it is. I mainly just care if I can stretch something to make it into something else, and how many holes there are in the shape.\u0026rdquo; That\u0026rsquo;s the base level of topology. An introductory topology course teaches you about homeomorphisms, which means you can continuously stretch, pull, push, or generally manipulate an object without cutting or tearing it.\nImagine you had a very flexible, putty-like bagel. If you mad the bagel very thin, skinny, and tall, you can imagine forming yourself a paper towel roll. This is what we mean when we say they are homeomorphic. We don\u0026rsquo;t put an extra hole anywhere, we just squish and shape things to our will.\nSome people may ask why this is useful, particularly when you learn a coffee mug is also homeomorphic to a torus. The easiest explanation is math is about abstractions and patterns. Sure, a cube and a non-cubic rectangular prism have some differences, insofar as the rectangular prism doesn\u0026rsquo;t have three equal edge lengths. A cube and a triangular prism seem even further removed. Yet, any prism, or more generally polyhedron (which includes pyramids as well!), are all homeomorphic to a sphere. These three dimensional figures share certain properties, most notably that they are solid objects with no holes in them. And there\u0026rsquo;s something to be said for that!\nWhile topology goes well beyond this idea, it gives a good grasp at what mathematicians are interested in. They noticed that we can generalize some of these properties, and map between objects using these homeomorphisms. So, instead of topology being about classes of objects which are the same in some small way, it is really about how we relate these similar objects. Topology is about showing the similarities and patterns between objects. It\u0026rsquo;s interesting that with a consistent set of rules, we can say \u0026ldquo;cube is to sphere as bagel is to paper towel roll.\u0026rdquo; We notice this pattern, and figure out how to make it rigorous and useful.\nThis is an under-appreciated aspect of math. It is not about rules that have no reason, or about abstraction for no reason. It is about finding a pattern, and seeing how other objects follow a similar pattern. This is what make mathematics a very fun subject, yet it is a mindset very few people are able to have. I hope this can change in the future.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/holes-in-a-paper-towel-roll/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAt work the other day, we had a bit of a break to celebrated the month\u0026rsquo;s birthdays. During this time \u0026ndash; my coworkers sitting around a large table, munching on pie and ice cream \u0026ndash; a conversation broke out. How many holes are there in a paper towel roll: 1 or 2?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course, there is the joke that if you claim 1, then there is only one hole of consequence in the human body: that which leads from your mouth to the escape of your digestive system. At that point you\u0026rsquo;re just talking out of your ass.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Holes in a Paper Towel Roll"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been curious how cultural trends adjust our feelings toward various habits people have. The biggest change to me has been that of the hipster blogger, sitting in a coffee shop with their MacBook, doing some personal photo-journalism for the benefit of mankind. I think the common notion of what, and who, a writer is has changed dramatically. No longer is it necessarily someone cramped up in an attic, papers everywhere, a drink at hand; it can be anyone with just about any device. I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are people out there who write posts from their phone \u0026ndash; I know I\u0026rsquo;ve at least edited a few posts from mine.\nOf course, there is still some tongue-in-cheek (and I\u0026rsquo;m sure for some people, legitimate) ridicule for such endeavors. With so many people opening themselves up to the internet in this way, they are also opening themselves up to the critical eye of the internet populace. Many people wanting to blaze their own path end up falling into a broader statistic. But this isn\u0026rsquo;t new, nor what I want to focus on. Particularly because I\u0026rsquo;m writing this post in a Panera before I go to work this morning.\nI want to focus on whether this development is good. Is the ability for people to have these platforms for themselves, to bombard more and more servers with their thoughts, photos, and any other media they wish a positive change in society? My initial reaction is yes, it is good. People are writing more, sharing their ideas, helping others out, and making their experiences known for others to learn from. Not only is it good for a society to voluntarily participate in efforts to make themselves more literate, it is also beneficial to have more information available to compare and make use of.\nIf I attempt to remove my optimist hat, I must acknowledge some of the legitimate gripes people have with this shift. Perhaps the biggest is the lack of credibility on the internet. Due to relative anonymity, people can claim what they want about themselves, and subsequently write what they want about the world from a perceived position of authority that is entirely undeserved. This is what we see in anti-vaccine movements, issues with climate change, and many other anti-science positions that flourish in certain corners of the internet. People with very little knowledge or background in a subject dishonestly post what they believe, framing it with the intent to make it come off as fact, especially to some particularly vulnerable people who roam the internet.\nThis extends to relatively innocuous aspects of thought. For my little corner of the internet, these people are largely crank mathematicians. Prior to the internet, amateur mathematicians would simply mail their ideas to professors, who could pretty quickly disregard anything that said \u0026ldquo;Trisect\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;Squaring a circle\u0026rdquo;. Now, many a young student gets drawn into arguments provided by people with insufficient background, wondering how it could possibly be that 0.999\u0026hellip; is equal to 1, or why Gödel\u0026rsquo;s Incompleteness Theorems don\u0026rsquo;t invalidate all of mathematics. I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are similar situations for just about any field of interest. For example, consider video creation and YouTube. That was quite the democratizing effort, and has provided amazing content. And some horrifying results.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t wish to be so naive as to suggest that only people who \u0026ldquo;should\u0026rdquo; be talking about a particular subject can be allowed to. Ultimately the democratizing aspect of the free internet should win out. We can provide due diligence by educating people (particularly our parents who did not grow up with it) about how to properly navigate information on the internet, but beyond that I still firmly believe that having these platforms is good. Despite very few people reading this blog right now, I\u0026rsquo;m happy this opportunity exists. The same goes for podcasts. It is exciting to create the type of media you enjoy consuming. While I still do not identify as a coffee shop blogger, and likely will never own a MacBook, I\u0026rsquo;m happy people can do it. More power to them.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/coffee-shop-blogger/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been curious how cultural trends adjust our feelings toward various habits people have. The biggest change to me has been that of the hipster blogger, sitting in a coffee shop with their MacBook, doing some personal photo-journalism for the benefit of mankind. I think the common notion of what, and \u003cem\u003ewho\u003c/em\u003e, a writer is has changed dramatically. No longer is it necessarily someone cramped up in an attic, papers everywhere, a drink at hand; it can be anyone with just about any device. I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are people out there who write posts from their phone \u0026ndash; I know I\u0026rsquo;ve at least edited a few posts from mine.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Coffee Shop Blogger"},{"content":"As I come to the realization that a significant part of both my work and personal hobbies involve sitting at a computer, I have become increasingly wary of the stories I hear about things such as repetitive stress injuries (RSI), and what will likely be the impending damage to my eyes. In an effort to avoid, or at least delay, the former issue I have tentatively purchased an ergonomic keyboard. Specifically, the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard from Microsoft. I say tentatively because it\u0026rsquo;s not cheap. I may return it, but so far I\u0026rsquo;ve put a few thousand keystrokes on it and it\u0026rsquo;s feeling pretty good. This review is meant to get as in-depth as a keyboard review can be when written by someone who has never written a keyboard review. I\u0026rsquo;ll briefly explain my rough, but sufficient, testing procedure and what I found out. Then I\u0026rsquo;ll get into some details and comparisons I noted to other keyboards I\u0026rsquo;ve used.\nThe Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. While the head-on view does not make it clear, the empty middle section is a peak, with each side sloping upwards; this encourages your wrists to rotate into prone position.\nThe Methodology\nI\u0026rsquo;m a keyboard snob. I recently purchased a ThinkPad, and at least fifty percent of the reasoning was I needed a better laptop for work, and the keyboard on the one I currently owned just wasn\u0026rsquo;t up to my standards. I read keyboard reviews online (or at least, I read many laptop reviews and they at least mention some information about the keyboard in each one.) The terminology thrown around is often \u0026ldquo;actuation force\u0026rdquo;, key switches, and key travel; this all culminates in the reviewer taking a typing test and comparing it to their average \u0026ndash; I assume an average based on some keyboard they prefer.\nI have no idea how to measure actuation force, I don\u0026rsquo;t have calipers on hand to measure travel to the nearest millimeter, and I don\u0026rsquo;t much skin in the keyboard switch game. Ultimately, my methodology for testing any keyboard, be it on a laptop or used as a peripheral, is simply to type a lot on it. If I can succeed in a 10FastFingers typing test and be comfortable after a long typing session, then I\u0026rsquo;ll feel pretty good about the keyboard. That being said, I\u0026rsquo;ll have some specific comments about this keyboard insofar as it might be relevant; I won\u0026rsquo;t just leave it at \u0026ldquo;This is how fast I typed on it.\u0026rdquo; Particularly with an ergonomic keyboard, there is a good amount to be covered.\nMy methodology was essentially to take the aforementioned typing test; then I sat down and for half an hour and continuously typed, copying the Bible from the beginning (I needed something sufficiently long to type). Then I took another typing test.\nThe Results\nI\u0026rsquo;ll get right to it. I\u0026rsquo;d never used an ergonomic keyboard, and while I am a touch-typist I have a few slight quirks that using this keyboard highlighted for me. I have a tendency to occasionally hit the \u0026ldquo;Y\u0026rdquo; with my left hand, which is not doable on this keyboard. Similarly, I often hit the \u0026ldquo;6\u0026rdquo; with my right hand; again, this is not possible. So, my first typing test suffered. For reference, on both my ThinkPad keyboard and the mechanical keyboard I\u0026rsquo;ve been using at my desk I average between 110 and 120 wpm, and normally around 98-99% accuracy.\nOn the first attempt with the Surface Ergonomic keyboard, I came in around 90 wpm and near 90% accuracy. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t looking good.\nHowever, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. It was a comfortable feeling keyboard, I just wasn\u0026rsquo;t used to it. Rotating my wrists while typing so my palms faced each other a bit more made things more comfortable. The alcantara wrist rest has a very small amount of give, and is quite soft to the touch. So, I decided to go in for the long haul and give the keyboard a fair shake. I opened a Google Doc, and in another window opened up Genesis, and went to town. Ten chapters later, I determined I had likely developed a sufficient feel for this new style of typing and took another typing test. I came within my expected average that time. (I just took another after writing the previous sentence; I got 122 wpm with 99% accuracy.)\nSo, I adjusted.\nThe Good\nAs I said before, the wrist rest is quite comfortable and supportive, although I do make a conscious effort to keep my wrists elevated a bit, as it\u0026rsquo;s both better form and improves my typing speed. I have not felt any of the slight pains I sometimes have when typing on a traditional keyboard. Also, it works fine just sitting in my lap.\nI\u0026rsquo;m someone who needs long key travel. I think part of this comes from playing piano; my fingers are used to moving quickly and striking against a reasonably heavy object (when compared to a finger.) On a keyboard with less resistance, my fingers \u0026ldquo;get ahead of themselves\u0026rdquo;, greatly increasing the errors I have while typing. Nothing drastic is necessary, but the current trend toward minimal-travel chiclet keyboards is not something that works for me. The Surface keyboard is excellent in this way. It is quiet, but still manages deep travel that keeps my fingers happy. The feel of the keys is also excellent, although I could do for some concavity in the center to help my fingers stay in place.\nThis keyboard is run by a AAA battery, which some people view as a negative. I\u0026rsquo;d personally rather have that than a keyboard I need to remember to charge. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to replace a AAA battery; it\u0026rsquo;s no fun to sit around while your keyboard charges. Also, the keyboard is rated to have a 1 year battery life on a single battery. We\u0026rsquo;ll see if that plays out, but even 6 months would be fine by me.\nThe Bluetooth works, which is more than I can say for many Bluetooth peripherals I\u0026rsquo;ve encountered in my time. On a Bluetooth keyboard, a big concern is delay. I\u0026rsquo;ve had many problems with word \u0026ldquo;skipping\u0026rdquo;, or just significant lag, while using a Bluetooth keyboard. I\u0026rsquo;m currently typing this on a system running Kubuntu, and have had no issues with the keyboard connecting right away, and having as good of a response time as the wired mechanical keyboard I\u0026rsquo;ve used until now. The media keys (on the function row) work as expected, both in Windows and Linux.\nWhile I\u0026rsquo;ve mostly used tenkey-less keyboards for the past few years, having a number pad back adds some stability to the keyboard, as well as just being a convenient feature. The Bad\nI would love it if this keyboard supported multiple devices. My mouse does with the touch of a button, and I frequently switch between using it for my desktop and laptop. I wish the keyboard did the same, because\u0026hellip;\nThe biggest downside to using an ergonomic keyboard like this is when you immediately switch to any other keyboard. Having my wrists rotate feels fantastic; then going back to my laptop keyboard gives the sensation that something is missing. My index fingers suddenly must go further down than before, and it is uncomfortable.\nA better alternative to Bluetooth is doing what Logitech does with their unifying receivers. It takes up a USB port, but I have plenty of those on my devices. It\u0026rsquo;s a wireless solution with even less (potential) lag than Bluetooth, and also uses less battery.\nThe surface of the keys is not very nice. While the overall construction feels nice, and the keys are not wobbly, they have more of a plastic feel than I like. The mechanical keyboard I have has very study key caps; my ThinkPad laptop has a soft feel to the keys that is pleasant, and also makes them feel durable. I wish this keyboard came in any other color schemes. Three-toned light gray is not super cool, and doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite work with the aesthetic I have going on at my desk right now.\nConclusion\nI really like this keyboard, and I am happy I decided to give the ergonomic design a try. It\u0026rsquo;s comfortable, the keys have good travel and feedback, and I can still maintain my typing speed despite the adjustment required by having my hands separated from each other while typing.\nHowever, it is a bit expensive. I might try out the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard, which is quite similar, but comes in black (which I prefer), has concave key caps, and is a bit cheaper since it doesn\u0026rsquo;t have the Surface branding to arbitrarily increase the price. We\u0026rsquo;ll see though.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/no-keyboard-for-old-men/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I come to the realization that a significant part of both my work and personal hobbies involve sitting at a computer, I have become increasingly wary of the stories I hear about things such as repetitive stress injuries (RSI), and what will likely be the impending damage to my eyes. In an effort to avoid, or at least delay, the former issue I have tentatively purchased an ergonomic keyboard. Specifically, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/surface-ergonomic-keyboard/90pnc9ljwpx9?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab\"\u003eSurface Ergonomic Keyboard\u003c/a\u003e from Microsoft. I say tentatively because it\u0026rsquo;s not cheap. I may return it, but so far I\u0026rsquo;ve put a few thousand keystrokes on it and it\u0026rsquo;s feeling pretty good. This review is meant to get as in-depth as a keyboard review can be when written by someone who has never written a keyboard review. I\u0026rsquo;ll briefly explain my rough, but sufficient, testing procedure and what I found out. Then I\u0026rsquo;ll get into some details and comparisons I noted to other keyboards I\u0026rsquo;ve used.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"No Keyboard for Old Men"},{"content":"Wordpress (both the .org and .com versions) is rolling out a new native editor. It is a \u0026ldquo;block\u0026rdquo; system, and I am entirely unsure how I feel about it. I figured I would give them the benefit of the doubt and try to write a somewhat complete post using the Wordpress.org back-end, with this new block system, and see how it goes.\nThis block system is meant to be some intuitive organizational effort for people writing blog posts. Anytime I start a new paragraph, it also creates a new logical block in the post. So, to change the font I can go to the settings for the block and click what I want. Other block options I see are photos, files, charts, lists, and quotes. Any \u0026ldquo;object\u0026rdquo; that you would wish to get thrown on a separate line becomes a \u0026ldquo;block\u0026rdquo; in this editing document.\nNow, there are benefits to this. For one, it makes the editor slightly more minimalist than it was before. There is no persistent large editing menu at the top (a la Microsoft Word); instead, there is simply a little \u0026ldquo;add\u0026rdquo; icon to create a new block. If you want to format the text in a block, you can click on the block and a floating edit menu will appear. This is fairly slick, because my priority when writing is to have the most minimal set-up as possible. It helps me focus, and I remember enough keyboard commands that persistent buttons are quite a waste of space.\nFrom my brief writing here, there are two key parts of this block system that stand out. First, they were smart enough to allow blocks to be arbitrarily rearranged within a document. On the left side of a block are up and down arrows, as well as a \u0026ldquo;grab\u0026rdquo; area where you can simply drag a block where you want it. While I don\u0026rsquo;t frequently find myself moving blocks of text all over the place, I can imagine this being quite useful for people who post photos or other media on their blog regularly. Being able to quickly toss the media in, then rearrange at will (without the need for cut and paste) is pretty slick.\nThe second aspect is Reusable Blocks. These are \u0026ldquo;custom blocks\u0026rdquo; you can create, save, and use in other posts. While this particular blog of mine doesn\u0026rsquo;t need them, I can imagine they will be quite useful for OHAC posts, as each has very common links at the beginning which so far, I\u0026rsquo;ve just copied and pasted from previous posts. Being able to have consistent formatting rules without needing to load up a previous post should be quite nice.\nHow exactly these Reusable blocks work is unclear. When I create one in this document, then try to do something else, the editor crashes immediately. So I rewrote the \u0026ldquo;Reusable Block\u0026rdquo; paragraph about 5 times. However, each time I did that it saved the block I created. I can go and insert it now. I\u0026rsquo;ll poke around and see how I can create them outside of a post editor; I don\u0026rsquo;t want to test the waters too much.\nWhen I first logged onto Wordpress a couple of weeks ago and they were heavily pushing this block editor, I was very skeptical. So much writing over the past few years has been done in LaTeX, and I haven\u0026rsquo;t been a fan of WYSIWYG editors for a long time. However, I don\u0026rsquo;t feel like writing in raw HTML, so I think this block editor will be good moving forward.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-wordpress-editor/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWordpress (both the .org and .com versions) is rolling out a new native editor. It is a \u0026ldquo;block\u0026rdquo; system, and I am entirely unsure how I feel about it. I figured I would give them the benefit of the doubt and try to write a somewhat complete post using the Wordpress.org back-end, with this new block system, and see how it goes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Wordpress Editor"},{"content":"At this point in my life, I\u0026rsquo;ve driven from Minnesota to California twice, and done the reverse trip once. I\u0026rsquo;ve also road-tripped from Minnesota to Virginia, Kansas City (twice), and Nashville. I feel pretty confident that if I needed to, I could hop in a car and get where I needed without much effort or worry. It\u0026rsquo;s a mode of transportation I am extremely comfortable with on any scale, and am well-versed in some of its intricacies.\nFlying is a bit different. Prior to beginning my job, I had never flown alone. Also, I had only flown twice before \u0026ndash; a trip to Ohio in 6th grade with my family, and a trip to Orlando for marching band in 12th grade. I was not in charge of much in either of these cases, and had others to help me along. Now, I have flown back to Minnesota twice in the past two months, and will make it three for three when I fly home for Christmas. It\u0026rsquo;s new, and I\u0026rsquo;m getting used to it, but last night was quite a hoot flying back to California.\nI left my carry-on at security.\nI had been a bit rushed due to how busy the airport was, and since I had a laptop, iPad, and Nook \u0026ndash; all of which needed to be taken out since they were larger than my phone \u0026ndash; I was scrambling at the other end to toss them all in my backpack. Then, I just neglected to remember my carry-on at the end of everything. I started hustling to my concourse, and by the time I was within 300 feet of my gate I realized I was traveling a bit lighter than I remembered I should be.\nSo, in a bit of a panic (even though it was about a 5 minute brisk walk, and I had 30 minutes to spare at least) I rushed back to security. Obviously ignoring the massive DO NOT ENTER signs posted, I entered. Luckily, I saw my bag by the Help desk, but didn\u0026rsquo;t know what sort of protocol was to be followed. So, I went up to said desk, and asked a nice TSA lady what to do in this situation; after describing my bag she says \u0026ldquo;Oh, is that it right there?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Ah, yes of course, there\u0026rsquo;s my name and the luggage tag I described! Thank you!\u0026rdquo;\nAnd I was well on my way, with plenty of time to spare. But it was pretty nerve-wracking, and I never stopped thinking I may have forgotten something, or maybe something important would fall out of my pockets or backpack. Traveling takes a bit to get used to, especially a different form of transportation. But within the next few months I think I\u0026rsquo;ll have flying down. Perhaps I\u0026rsquo;ll take up trains next.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/traveling-takes-practice/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAt this point in my life, I\u0026rsquo;ve driven from Minnesota to California twice, and done the reverse trip once. I\u0026rsquo;ve also road-tripped from Minnesota to Virginia, Kansas City (twice), and Nashville. I feel pretty confident that if I needed to, I could hop in a car and get where I needed without much effort or worry. It\u0026rsquo;s a mode of transportation I am extremely comfortable with on any scale, and am well-versed in some of its intricacies.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Traveling Takes Practice"},{"content":"During sophomore year of college, I embarked on a project to put a Linux operating system on my laptop. I had been interested ever since using a computer in one of the engineering labs which ran Ubuntu, one of the most mainstream, user-friendly distributions out there. I was intrigued both by the visual design, and the ease with which complex programs could be run. There was also the intrigue of feeling like a cool hacker, using a terminal and typing commands to get around a file system. I was hooked, and since then I’ve had a Linux distribution running on every computer I’ve owned over the past three years. I want to spend a good chunk of time explaining my growing passion for Linux, and why I think more people should seriously consider it as an option for the computers in their lives. This first post will focus on two of the oft-repeated phrases in the Linux community, and its main inspiration: Linux is free.\nFree as in Freedom The ideological backbone of the Linux community is that Linux is free, as in freedom. It is a mainstay, the reason people are passionate about Linux and its various operating systems. There are many reasons tangential to this which support Linux’s place as a fantastic choice for your computer, but at the core is freedom. The history of Linux is based around free and open-source software. What this means is the core parts of Linux distributions — their source code — can be downloaded, changed, and redistributed. As a normal person on the internet, you can obtain all of the code and amend it to your liking. Similarly, most of the programs and software you would subsequently install work the same way. Their source code is available, and you can use it however you like. You could amend it, add features for yourself, or completely redesign it and distribute it yourself. Of course some operating systems will put restrictions on you, based on how they are written, but you have the freedom to change it regardless. This also gives you freedom over your hardware. Today, if you buy an Apple laptop you know you are getting macOS with it. If you buy some other PC, you will typically get Windows (with ChromeBooks notwithstanding.) Most users are fine with this delineation, and just get the device they need and treat the operating system as an inherent part of the computer, completely tied to the hardware. In the case of Apple, this is largely true. In the case of Windows, it feels mostly true (Windows 10 puts a few hurdles in your way.) Once you work with Linux, you realize you truly have control over your hardware. You can put Linux on your 10 year old desktop that sits in the corner of your office, and with the right distribution it will run beautifully. You can put it on your brand new laptop or desktop, and the right distribution will use the power of your hardware to your advantage. Linux allows you to separate the hardware you buy from the software you use, with no additional cost and a heavy dose of customization. You can find the right distribution for the work you need to get done, and switch when you need to. While the next section will hit on Windows a bit more, this is the section where Apple truly stands out. Between the locked down App (on both macOS and iOS) as well as the locked down hardware, Apple is a nightmare for people who strive for technological freedom. They have a way they want users to use their computers, and doggone it, that’s how they will use the computers. Yes, there are tools to provide some workarounds, but ultimately those are not supported by Apple. In the Linux community, developers are encouraged to make incredibly cool and useful software. If it helps a few people make their computer more enjoyable, then they have achieved their goal. Ultimately, Linux is built upon the idea of community development and support, without corporate entities gumming up the works. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization, develops the Linux kernel (essentially the core of all Linux operating systems), and the community has taken care of the rest. You don’t need to trust a separate entity when they make a claim about what their operating system does (or doesn’t) do while it runs on your computer. Linux is based on trusting in a community to hold each other accountable. It is a community made up of talented and passionate people who believe in the cause of technological freedom. They write documentation, provide support for each other, and will spend far more time trying to fix a small problem on your computer than a support specialist from Microsoft or Apple would. There is a beauty in how successful Linux has become, based only on the principle that technology should be open and available for people to use. I’m with them.\nFree as in Beer While Linux’s ideological focus on freedom is commendable and worth consideration alone, the other aspect which goes hand-in-hand with open-source distributed software is that it is free, as in beer, to get in the first place. Almost all Linux distributions are free to install1, change, do with what you will. Most of the software you would care to install is the same: open-source, free, and customizable. The goal of running Linux is that pirates don’t need to exist to get your cool software, because it’s out there to be used anyway. If you have the cash to spare, a donation is fantastic. But the power of community-driven software is considered to be of more importance than licensing it at a steep cost. This is where the practicalities of running Linux become apparent. We’ll have to make a few comparisons to Windows and macOS to make things clear. First, there is the cost of licensing a Windows installation. To some younger readers, this may not seem like a big deal. Most computers you would buy without an Apple logo will be running Windows as you start, right? Why would you care? Well, there are two reasons. First, with the rare exception of Windows 10 for about a year, users have to pay to upgrade. They have to buy a new license to the new operating system to get their computer to keep working with the newest features available. For comparison, let’s look at Ubuntu, an aforementioned staple of the casual Linux world. They release a new version every 6 months, and these releases are supported for 9 months. Every 2 years, they release a new stable system that is supported for 5 years. Any and all of these upgrades are free. Typically you can click a button, or download it yourself, and get up to date with the newest Ubuntu has to offer in less than an hour. You can count on it. Second, the licensing of a Windows installation is built into the cost of the laptop. While you don’t see an itemized list of why your newest laptop costs what it does, you can guarantee there is an extra $100 or more based solely on the fact it runs Windows. This was demonstrated beautifully a few years ago when Dell released their “Developer Edition” of the XPS 13. You could get some great specifications on it, the same as the normal version; the only difference is that the Developer Edition ran Ubuntu (and for good reason, which we’ll get into at a later time in this series.) For the exact same specifications, the Developer Edition cost $100 less than the normal version, due solely to it running a free operating system. Next, we can look at Apple. First, their is the Apple tax. While I complain about Apple’s pricing structure, I can admit that a part of what you are paying for is the Apple platform. The software that nobody else gets, and the claimed ease of use. But, with ease of use comes lack of functionality and customization; with exclusive software comes exorbitant, if not plain exploitative, pricing. The nature of Apple is that it mostly works fine for most people. This has been effective. But if you are someone who consistently finds themselves pushing the limits of what they are allowed to do on their platform, or are sick of paying for software simply because Apple’s system requires developers to charge an incredible amount of money, then try out Linux. It’s free as in beer: the product is sitting there, you just have to consume it. The main benefit of Linux being economically free to use by individuals and corporations is that it has become widely implemented. Android and ChromeOS are based on the Linux kernel. Most smart appliances — your cool talking refrigerator, many smart watches — are based on the Linux kernel. Nearly all servers (the things that run the internet and store most of your personal data) run on Linux distributions designed specifically for their stability. The ability to modify Linux for your purpose has made it an incredibly powerful piece of technology in the modern world. And you can have a piece of it.\nThis was a long post. There were no pretty screenshots or any specifics about what Linux can actually do for you when compared to Windows and Apple. But ultimately, you’re unlikely to leave one of those platforms if you aren’t onboard with either “Cool, I like this whole open-source idea” or “Awesome, I can stop paying for Windows licenses, or buying a new MacBook just because something got a little screwed up with macOS.” If this post intrigued you, then look forward to future posts. I’ll have specific pieces of software to discuss; some pretty screenshots; things Linux can do for you that macOS and Windows can’t; as well as some drawbacks to using Linux you should consider. I believe everyone can find a beer they like (assuming carbonation isn’t an issue), and I similarly believe anyone can find a Linux distribution they will thoroughly enjoy using over whatever they currently use. It’s a fun exploration, and if corporate technology continues on its current trajectory, Linux will become a vital component to personal freedom in the modern world.\nFootnotes 1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the most notable exception to this. It provides an incredibly stable operating system for servers. Since it is a proper company, other businesses are typically more willing to rely on their support than the nice folks of the internet.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/why-linux-part-1-free-as-in/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDuring sophomore year of college, I embarked on a project to put a Linux operating system on my laptop. I had been interested ever since using a computer in one of the engineering labs which ran Ubuntu, one of the most mainstream, user-friendly distributions out there. I was intrigued both by the visual design, and the ease with which complex programs could be run. There was also the intrigue of feeling like a cool hacker, using a terminal and typing commands to get around a file system. I was hooked, and since then I’ve had a Linux distribution running on every computer I’ve owned over the past three years. I want to spend a good chunk of time explaining my growing passion for Linux, and why I think more people should seriously consider it as an option for the computers in their lives. This first post will focus on two of the oft-repeated phrases in the Linux community, and its main inspiration: Linux is free.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Why Linux? Part 1: Free As In..."},{"content":"Yesterday I switched over from using Wordpress.com to hosting my blog on Bluehost and using the official Wordpress blogging environment. The main difference here is when you are using Wordpress.com, there is some gray area about who really has control over the content. You are ultimately at the whims of their hosting structure, and also you must pay through the nose to access the various features of the actual Wordpress blogging platform it claims to deal with.\nWordpress is an open-source blogging platform, and is very widely used. Wonderful plug-ins are created to increase its functionality and customizability, and I have enjoyed dealing with it. Wordpress.com, on the other hand, is a company run by one of the people who created the Wordpress platform in the first place, but has various hosting options built in. For people who just want to get things going and keep things simple, that\u0026rsquo;s fine. I still run OHAC on Wordpress.com, and things are going fine. But, I wanted more ability to be in control of my personal blog, and not have to worry about something going wrong that I didn\u0026rsquo;t have control over.\nThis is in large part influenced by the post I have written which will be published this upcoming week, the first part in a long series about why I use Linux. As you will understand once you read it, one main part of using Linux is freedom to customize the software you\u0026rsquo;re using, as well as software being actually free. Wordpress.com provides neither of these; Wordpress as a platform allows both. So, I switched things over, created a simplified dark template, and I\u0026rsquo;m loving it. Hopefully you\u0026rsquo;ll enjoy it a bit as well.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-blog/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYesterday I switched over from using \u003ca href=\"https://wordpress.com\"\u003eWordpress.com\u003c/a\u003e to hosting my blog on \u003ca href=\"https://bluehost.com\"\u003eBluehost\u003c/a\u003e and using the official \u003ca href=\"https://wordpress.org\"\u003eWordpress\u003c/a\u003e blogging environment. The main difference here is when you are using Wordpress.com, there is some gray area about who really has control over the content. You are ultimately at the whims of their hosting structure, and also you must pay through the nose to access the various features of the actual Wordpress blogging platform it claims to deal with.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Blog"},{"content":"I recently discovered that Spongebob Squarepants is available on Amazon Prime Video. Since I am still a subscriber to said service, I enjoyed a fun weekend night watching the first couple of seasons. I\u0026rsquo;ve always had such positive nostalgia for the show, in large part due to how quotable it is. Little did I realize that nearly every line in the show is quotable, and how good each episode was in the early seasons. Even today, they have a certain innocent charm to them, yet the jokes still have enough depth to be legitimately funny now.\nSpongebob was an incredibly important part of my childhood that I remember, much in the way Looney Tunes was for my dad, or the Jetsons and Flintstones for my mom. Each new generation has a set of cartoons that identify them, and they are very formative. I think Spongebob instilled a sense of ridiculous creativity and flagrant optimism that I can track with today. It was also the genesis of my love for blowing bubbles that I still hold today. While much can be said about letting kids watch too much television, I have such fond memories of Spongebob. He is iconic, with the absurdity of the show being just enough to capture our imaginations. It was also interesting to watch everything in order, to remember how each character was introduced and subsequently developed in the show. Each main character was introduced in the first episode, with the exception of Plankton and Mrs. Puff. In fact, the first episode opens with the (French?) narrator describing Bikini Bottom, and their favorite sea critter:\nSpongebob Squarepants. And yes, of course he lives in a pineapple, you silly!\nThis sets the tone so well for the next few seasons. After a calm and serene intro, we are met with the always funny, and alarming, boat horn alarm on Spongebob\u0026rsquo;s bedside. We are quickly introduced to Gary, with no further explanation needed beyond his \u0026ldquo;Meow.\u0026rdquo; As Spongebob goes to the Krusty Krab to try and obtain a job, we meet Patrick, encouraging his friend. We also meet Squidward, who isn\u0026rsquo;t quite as mean or dreary as I remember, but definitely did not want to work with Spongebob. Mr. Krabs, after Spongebob managed to procure the imagined spatula with port and starboard attachments, recognizes his talent and brings him on board. The third segment of the episode introduces us to Sandy, and Spongebob wanting to impress her by first knowing what air is, and subjecting himself to near death by not asking for water. Just the first episode had me so incredibly excited. I really recommend anyone who ever enjoyed the show to any extent to go back and watch it. It still holds up.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/spongebob-is-back/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently discovered that Spongebob Squarepants is available on \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Help-Wanted-Reef-Blowers-Treedome/dp/B000HJ4WLC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;amp;qid=1541867560\u0026amp;amp;sr=8-4\u0026amp;amp;keywords=spongebob+squarepants\"\u003eAmazon Prime Video\u003c/a\u003e. Since I am still a subscriber to said service, I enjoyed a fun weekend night watching the first couple of seasons. I\u0026rsquo;ve always had such positive nostalgia for the show, in large part due to how quotable it is. Little did I realize that nearly every line in the show is quotable, and how good each episode was in the early seasons. Even today, they have a certain innocent charm to them, yet the jokes still have enough depth to be legitimately funny now.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Spongebob is Back"},{"content":"Now that I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten into my full-time job, and I\u0026rsquo;m familiar with the area, a certain novelty that comes with a new situation has worn off. I am not finding brand new things all the time anymore. I know where I\u0026rsquo;m getting my groceries from, I know what I\u0026rsquo;m having for lunch each day, and generally know what I\u0026rsquo;m having for dinner. To a certain extent, I have fallen into a fairly predictable schedule on a weekly basis. Thursdays I have concert band rehearsal. Sunday or Monday I record Comical Start with Grant, and edit it that night. At some point each week, I sit down and try to write a sufficient post for this blog. Every so often a surprise phone call, or an episode of OHAC comes up, which I get to work in with everything else. But overall, I\u0026rsquo;ve developed a schedule.\nIn general, schedules are good. Routines and habits can provide great positive reinforcement in a person\u0026rsquo;s life, and can often reduce stress. However, they also increase the monotony of life. Without some variety, it is difficult (for me) to keep doing the same thing each day or week. College trained me to have a constantly shifting schedule, and to be ready for each new week that came up. New topics to learn, or a test, or an event on campus to plan around, all trained my brain to love variety and really thrive in it. There was a safety in a school environment that opened up my ability to be more flexible in other situations. Moving into a full-time job has flipped this around. While I do seek out opportunities for new experiences at work, ultimately I\u0026rsquo;m doing largely the same thing each week fairly regularly. Unexpected events rarely occur, and even if they do, they are nothing to get worked up about. My brain is trying to adjust to this new situation, where I have significantly more free time each evening, and less responsibility from another authority figure. As long as I show up for work each day, that\u0026rsquo;s all for what I need to do. I have no other outside obligations on my time once I leave work. So, I have been seeking opportunities to self-impose such obligations to increase the variety of what I\u0026rsquo;m doing. This blog and my podcasts are two important elements of that, but even those don\u0026rsquo;t quite fill in the gaps left compared to my time in college. Particularly on the weekend, I don\u0026rsquo;t know how to spend a full Saturday on my own anymore. In college, there was always a piece of homework to complete, or a group of people going to do something. If it really came down to it, I could go home for a night and have dinner with my family. Suddenly, I find myself without these opportunities. I need to entertain myself, without an outside obligation. When you grow up having a lot of external motivation from school, it is difficult to transition into doing things for yourself, despite what passion you hold for it. One area I\u0026rsquo;ve focused on in this regard is learning more mathematics. There are many math classes I passed without learning as much as I wanted, and even more mathematics I wanted to learn but never had the opportunity to take a course for. So, I have great motivation (in theory) and definitely a passion and desire to attack the large repository of math textbooks I have on hand. Some days I\u0026rsquo;m successful in doing so, while others it is difficult to bring myself to do so, when there are so many other projects I finally have the time to do now that I don\u0026rsquo;t have classwork hanging over my head! It\u0026rsquo;s an interesting time in my life. The rambling nature of this post might give the reader an idea of my lack of narrow focus which has become problematic for me. I know that I seek variety in my schedule, while also desiring an attentiveness to the projects I can fill my time with. Hopefully I can find a middle ground soon, and obtain the variety I want while also scratching my itch for a focused task I can work on.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/beating-the-schedule/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eNow that I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten into my full-time job, and I\u0026rsquo;m familiar with the area, a certain novelty that comes with a new situation has worn off. I am not finding brand new things all the time anymore. I know where I\u0026rsquo;m getting my groceries from, I know what I\u0026rsquo;m having for lunch each day, and generally know what I\u0026rsquo;m having for dinner. To a certain extent, I have fallen into a fairly predictable schedule on a weekly basis. Thursdays I have concert band rehearsal. Sunday or Monday I record \u003ca href=\"http://comicalstart.org\"\u003eComical Start\u003c/a\u003e with Grant, and edit it that night. At some point each week, I sit down and try to write a sufficient post for this blog. Every so often a surprise phone call, or an episode of \u003ca href=\"http://ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOHAC\u003c/a\u003e comes up, which I get to work in with everything else. But overall, I\u0026rsquo;ve developed a schedule.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Beating the Schedule"},{"content":"In preparation for an upcoming (not soon) episode of Operation: Have a Conversation, I read the book Tribe by Sebastian Junger. Its description tends to focus on how it explores the way American soldiers who come back from war have trouble integrating themselves back into modern society, as being in the military provides a significant unifying bond that is not felt in today\u0026rsquo;s Western culture. While I\u0026rsquo;m not sure what exactly we\u0026rsquo;ll get into when recording our episode about this book, I\u0026rsquo;d like to give a couple of thoughts that have lingered with me since I finished reading it earlier today. First, this book is important. I think it would be good for everyone to read. It frames much of how we look at modern society very differently than I had ever perceived. It discusses how panic attacks and depression are evolutionary traits, and how society has developed in such a way to make these afflictions more prevalent. It thoroughly discusses our misunderstanding and mistreatment of PTSD, particularly among those who participated in violent conflicts. This book can be very challenging in certain ways. It opens one\u0026rsquo;s eyes to a certain hypocrisy with which we live our lives, and also points out reasons to be somewhat afraid for the future of America. It gives some specific ideas about where we tend to fail as a culture and society, and gives some implications for how we can all work toward getting better. It is hard for me to do this book any sort of justice. My thoughts are still unformed and not particularly cohesive. But after reading it, I\u0026rsquo;m very excited to discuss it with Mikhail and Jack, and hope you\u0026rsquo;ll take a chance to read it as well. The book is less than 100 pages, and the audiobook (if that\u0026rsquo;s your style) is only around 3 hours. Yet there is a lot that happens. I highly recommend it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/book-review-tribe-by-sebastian-junger/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn preparation for an upcoming (not soon) episode of \u003ca href=\"http://ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOperation: Have a Conversation\u003c/a\u003e, I read the book \u003cem\u003eTribe\u003c/em\u003e by Sebastian Junger. Its description tends to focus on how it explores the way American soldiers who come back from war have trouble integrating themselves back into modern society, as being in the military provides a significant unifying bond that is not felt in today\u0026rsquo;s Western culture. While I\u0026rsquo;m not sure what exactly we\u0026rsquo;ll get into when recording our episode about this book, I\u0026rsquo;d like to give a couple of thoughts that have lingered with me since I finished reading it earlier today. First, this book is important. I think it would be good for everyone to read. It frames much of how we look at modern society very differently than I had ever perceived. It discusses how panic attacks and depression are evolutionary traits, and how society has developed in such a way to make these afflictions more prevalent. It thoroughly discusses our misunderstanding and mistreatment of PTSD, particularly among those who participated in violent conflicts. This book can be very challenging in certain ways. It opens one\u0026rsquo;s eyes to a certain hypocrisy with which we live our lives, and also points out reasons to be somewhat afraid for the future of America. It gives some specific ideas about where we tend to fail as a culture and society, and gives some implications for how we can all work toward getting better. It is hard for me to do this book any sort of justice. My thoughts are still unformed and not particularly cohesive. But after reading it, I\u0026rsquo;m very excited to discuss it with Mikhail and Jack, and hope you\u0026rsquo;ll take a chance to read it as well. The book is less than 100 pages, and the audiobook (if that\u0026rsquo;s your style) is only around 3 hours. Yet there is a lot that happens. I highly recommend it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Book Review: “Tribe” by Sebastian Junger"},{"content":"Updated November 23, 2022\nI\u0026rsquo;m going back through my posts and recategorizing them, and noticed this one. My plan for having a secondary spot for math posts didn\u0026rsquo;t take off after I moved my blog to WordPress properly, and discovered the excellent $\\KaTeX$ plugin for rendering math.\nOriginal Post\nI recently remembered my company, AoPS supports blog creation for their users. In particular, it has the full functionality I\u0026rsquo;m used to on their message board. In particular, they have native $\\LaTeX$ support, in addition to support for the Asymptote vector graphics language. This makes writing math significantly easier on my end, and significantly easier to interact with on the reader\u0026rsquo;s end.\nHere is my first post, a rewrite of Introduction to Sets. This shows how much more functionality there is, such as the option for \u0026ldquo;discovery based\u0026rdquo; definitions and problems, by using the native option to \u0026ldquo;hide\u0026rdquo; text for users to click on. There is also support for python code, which I am excited to play around with.\nMoving forward, I\u0026rsquo;ll be porting the current math-related posts of significance to that blog. Any future posts will have an introduction on this blog, so you know what\u0026rsquo;s going on, and then a link to the AoPS blog post.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/notes-on-future-mathematics-posts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUpdated November 23, 2022\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m going back through my posts and recategorizing them, and noticed this one. My plan for having a secondary spot for math posts didn\u0026rsquo;t take off after I \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/new-blog/\"\u003emoved my blog to WordPress properly\u003c/a\u003e, and discovered the excellent $\\KaTeX$ plugin for rendering math.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOriginal Post\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI recently remembered my company, \u003ca href=\"http://artofproblemsolving.com\"\u003eAoPS\u003c/a\u003e supports blog creation for their users. In particular, it has the full functionality I\u0026rsquo;m used to on their message board. In particular, they have native $\\LaTeX$ support, in addition to support for the Asymptote vector graphics language. This makes writing math significantly easier on my end, and significantly easier to interact with on the reader\u0026rsquo;s end.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Notes On Future Mathematics Posts"},{"content":"It is still technically Monday, so I\u0026rsquo;m counting this, but in a sense I have lapsed. It is Monday evening, and so far I\u0026rsquo;ve been good at having each post written a few days before Monday, and then scheduling it to post at the same time each week. However, I went home to Minnesota this weekend, and thinking of a post to write was not on my mind. So, after the fact, I\u0026rsquo;ll write a bit about going home.\nOne of the main feelings I had about going home was it being bittersweet. It was definitely nice to go home, walk around campus, and it also helped that there was some beautiful fall weather and quite the palette of colors on the trees. I really enjoyed seeing my friends who were around, and to see my family. I\u0026rsquo;m lucky that I have a job that will allow me to do this with some regularity. It also made the distance far more apparent. Flying on a plane, seeing people for a few days, then heading back to do work again, makes things feel more permanent. At least when I was an intern, I knew I was coming back. Now, it is coming back just to visit, then going home to San Diego. This is a very strange feeling to work through. It is hard to see people in person so infrequently. I know it is something I\u0026rsquo;ll get used to, because this is a part of growing into an adult life, but it\u0026rsquo;s a period of adjustment. And that is a difficult part of any new chapter in life: adjusting. You want things to become normal pretty quickly, and you immediately forget all the other transitions you had to deal with in life that were tough at first. This is why having a consistent schedule is important, and something I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to do with this blog. The fact that I remembered out of the blue to quickly write something shows it is a long-term habit that is sticking. It\u0026rsquo;s good to know that, because I can rely on this outlet and on my brain to give me a little reminder. This is for me, and I don\u0026rsquo;t want it to become a chore, which is why I haven\u0026rsquo;t set myself any reminders to do it. As long as I keep feeling motivated to do it, and I feel it is helping me, I will continue to write here every week, even if I happen to miss my self-imposed deadline every so often. In a similar vein, I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to use a daily journal app, Journey. I haven\u0026rsquo;t written in it every day, but most days since I started a little over a week ago. The key for me is allowing this blog to be my long form (typing it up properly on a computer with a full keyboard), and if there is something I want to process, I can do that in Journey. But it also is very sufficient for use on my phone, making a quick record of what I did and how I feel, as well as providing a few data points. It automatically checks your location, the weather, and you can insert a little emoticon to track how you\u0026rsquo;re feeling when you write it. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a few efforts at journaling over the past 10 years or so, each with mixed success. My most recent effort lasted about a year, where I wrote a script to generate a markdown document every month, and I could then open it up and go to the relevant day and write. The main limiting factor is that I really needed to be on a computer to use it effectively. An iPad could work, with a good enough app, but the way I had it designed, it was not good for a phone. So, I started using it less frequently during times when I was away from my computer, even if these were often times where I needed to process my life more. Hence, the desire to look for a good app with good features with a good price. I don\u0026rsquo;t have to use it on my phone, but it is very effective when I do. This turned into a fairly decent post. I\u0026rsquo;m not changing the title though.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/lapse/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt is still technically Monday, so I\u0026rsquo;m counting this, but in a sense I have lapsed. It is Monday evening, and so far I\u0026rsquo;ve been good at having each post written a few days before Monday, and then scheduling it to post at the same time each week. However, I went home to Minnesota this weekend, and thinking of a post to write was not on my mind. So, after the fact, I\u0026rsquo;ll write a bit about going home.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lapse"},{"content":"Over the past couple of weeks at work, I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on revising some of the exams for our elementary school curriculum. This has been an interesting task full of challenges. One thing I\u0026rsquo;m constantly working on is putting myself in the headspace of a bright, but still young, elementary school student. What wording can I allow in problems? How long can a problem be before we\u0026rsquo;re testing their reading comprehension instead of their math? How many problems should there be? How many problems of a certain level of difficulty? There are so many questions to discuss, but one is a bit more fundamental than all others, and can help inform the answers to each subsequent question. What do we want our test to test?\nBehind any successful test needs to be a certain ethos, a motive, and information you want it to glean. Do you want your test to check for memorization? Understanding? Talent? Even within a specific subject, how much should a students\u0026rsquo; talents in other fields affect how they can do in the given test? This is particularly true in a math test, where the quantity of information (and the level of critical thinking necessary at all levels) is the focus, and other difficulties with context or wording can obscure the results you want. At my company, we focus on problem solving. It is literally in our name. As such, we try to focus on writing problems that don\u0026rsquo;t necessarily require an incredible breadth of knowledge, but definitely require deep understanding and a level of persistence not found in every student. In the elementary school curriculum, where one expects a lot of knowledge checks and routine, plentiful practice that will be mimicked on the exam, we instead have multiplication puzzles, tricky problems that pull from their understanding of geometry and arithmetic, and a handful or problems we expect at most 10 percent of students to get. Even a company with such a strong ethic for working hard on problems, and focusing on attacking problems, over and over, until they yield to us and our improved understanding, does not do everything perfectly. When the curriculum for our physical center was launched, not everybody was pleased with the initial state of assessment. So much at the elementary school level seemed to be focused on giving a final answer, and were perhaps a bit more difficult than even we wanted. Especially at a young age, getting a 50 percent on a test in the class you\u0026rsquo;re supposed to be in is a bit demoralizing. As a result, a number of conversations were had about how we can change our tests to reflect our philosophy better, and also know what the data we get means. We test for deep understanding, and so we want high scores (say, above 90 percent) to be rather rare cases. But if everybody gets near a 50 percent, that does not provide any useful information. We want to be able to compare between students, teachers, and years as we move forward. How you design a test, word the problems, and organize the problems says a lot about what the test is for, and you want students to believe the test is for more than just a grade, but an actual reflection of their ability and the growth they can have. It should represent something they can use \u0026ndash; not just for meta-gaming the system as many of us learned to do throughout college, figuring out how to pass the test instead of learn the material \u0026ndash; but to improve their understanding of the material and of how they learn. Of course, this is a lofty goal for elementary school kids. Their capacity for self-refection is a bit limited. But instilling in them a sense of ownership for their scores, a desire for doing better, and increased persistence, is important. I went through a lot of school doing well on exams, but knowing that it wasn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily because I was great at the material, it was because I knew how to take a test successfully. Some exams in college \u0026ndash; where professors really knew what they were doing when writing a difficult test to assess your understanding \u0026ndash; confirmed that impression. It is difficult as a student to be faced with these challenges, but growing up with that struggle as much as possible leads to greater success further on. The company I am with has shown this to be true, and I\u0026rsquo;m working on changing my mindset to follow it similarly. It is far more about the journey, and most tests don\u0026rsquo;t reflect that viewpoint.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/what-do-tests-test/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOver the past couple of weeks at work, I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on revising some of the exams for our elementary school curriculum. This has been an interesting task full of challenges. One thing I\u0026rsquo;m constantly working on is putting myself in the headspace of a bright, but still young, elementary school student. What wording can I allow in problems? How long can a problem be before we\u0026rsquo;re testing their reading comprehension instead of their math? How many problems should there be? How many problems of a certain level of difficulty? There are so many questions to discuss, but one is a bit more fundamental than all others, and can help inform the answers to each subsequent question. What do we want our test to test?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"What Do Tests Test?"},{"content":"Now that I\u0026rsquo;m working full-time, I\u0026rsquo;m getting used to spending significantly more time focusing consistently than when I was in school. Back in college, I could break up my work as I saw fit, take rests and roam around, or just slack off a bit any given day. That does not go over particularly well in an actual working environment.\nFor my entire life I have not listened to music while working. In college, during particularly long stretches of time while working on take-home exams, I was known to lock myself away and play some thunder sounds or other atmospheric noise. This had a calming effect without distracting my brain. The issue has always been a musical background. Any music that has any pattern to it (as most music does) is immediately locked onto by my brain. I cannot zone it out and focus on something else. Music with lyrics is significantly worse. Something like podcasts is unimaginable. So, I went through most of school completely baffled by seeing people with earbuds on while working intensely on their projects. Then, I went into the adult world, where I have to focus eight hours a day, five days a week, at a mostly pre-determined timeframe. This itself was not the cause of me finally listening to music while working. Rather, it was the nature of the work. When I was in school, I don\u0026rsquo;t recall ever having work that was mindless to the point of being almost administrative or programmable. When doing math homework, there was significant thought put in during the entire process, including how to write it up in the best way. Now, while my work has these heavily thoughtful aspects, often times I am writing a collection of problems (say, a few sets of subtraction problems for 2nd graders), and once the numbers have been selected to emphasize the skill they are working on, I am left with creating and copying a rather formulaic problem statement and solution. It takes a good chunk of time to input these; but other than making sure I\u0026rsquo;m not making typos or forgetting to change any relevant metadata in a new problem, I\u0026rsquo;m going on autopilot. And finally, I found this space in which I can listen to music. It goes beyond the music that I often have at the ready when driving with other people. I select that music because I enjoy it, but also because a majority of people also do. Now I\u0026rsquo;ve been loading up my phone with various pieces of percussion music, and artists that I hadn\u0026rsquo;t really explored but knew about. One of the best albums I\u0026rsquo;ve had on repeat for quite a while is The Hands That Thieve by Streetlight Manifesto. This was a band a friend of mine introduced me to in high school, but that just never took off because I didn\u0026rsquo;t listen to music. I gave it a chance, and it really pumps me through the day. I\u0026rsquo;m sure to many people reading this, listening to music while working is nothing new. But it is a piece of excitement I\u0026rsquo;ve had that lets me enjoy my day a bit more, explore something new in my life, and have a bit of fun along with it all. It has also been interesting to me to think about how my musical taste has changed (and how it hasn\u0026rsquo;t!) over the years. What do I still listen to, what do I sing along to, and now what can I play while working that still keeps me on task? Beyond that, it is interesting to hear what other people listen to during similar situations. While I\u0026rsquo;m not necessarily looking for suggestions, I think musical taste says a fair amount about most people, or at least provides a bit of insight into their routine. Of course, as I mentioned before, this is still a very compartmentalized aspect of my life. I am certainly not listening to anything as I write this \u0026ndash; that would be awful. In fact, I have been trying to reduce the number of inputs in my life. I\u0026rsquo;m not going as far as C.G.P. Grey has recently, but I understand what he says about losing focus, and it resonates with me. That will be another post at some point. I\u0026rsquo;m just excited to be back with music. My new adult life has allowed me to play music at a church, join a community band, and have some time to practice on my own. It has been a lot of fun, and implementing it into a few more parts of my life has been very enjoyable.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/a-little-more-music/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eNow that I\u0026rsquo;m working full-time, I\u0026rsquo;m getting used to spending significantly more time focusing consistently than when I was in school. Back in college, I could break up my work as I saw fit, take rests and roam around, or just slack off a bit any given day. That does not go over particularly well in an actual working environment.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Little More Music"},{"content":"In this little tutorial, we\u0026rsquo;ll expand on what we\u0026rsquo;ve learned about sets and functions. Specifically, we\u0026rsquo;ll double-down on the claim that sets are vital to everything we do in mathematics. Functions are not just a way to describe interactions between sets: functions are sets!\nMany people will be familiar with the idea of an ordered pair. This is often how we describe \u0026ldquo;points\u0026rdquo; created by the function. When we write the ordered pair $latex (x,y)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ in the context of an existing function $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, we typically mean $latex f(x)=y\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. In this way, a function can be completely described by its set of ordered pairs: $latex \\displaystyle f = \\{(x,y) \\mid f(x)=y\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. This \u0026ldquo;set-builder\u0026rdquo; notation is new, so let\u0026rsquo;s take a tangent and describe it briefly. The first term, $latex (x,y)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is the type, or form, of each element in the set. So, each element in $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ will be an ordered pair. The vertical line can be read as \u0026ldquo;such that\u0026rdquo;, and whatever follows are the conditions on the elements in the set. Therefore, the set notation for $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ can be read as \u0026ldquo;All ordered pairs $latex (x,y)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ such that $latex f(x)=y\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. Now, we have a way to describe a function as a set. Namely, a function is just a set where every element is an ordered pair; each ordered pair describes a rule of the form $latex f(x)=y\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. This is a great first step! We are back to sets being the backbone of everything. Yet, we can go further. An ordered pair is an arbitrary object, not immediately associated with sets. As you may recall from the Introduction to Sets, a set is unordered. In set notation, we would write $latex \\{x,y\\} = \\{y,x\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. So, how do ordered pairs relate to sets? Let\u0026rsquo;s find out. This will be our first dive into further abstraction, analyzing an object we are familiar with and want to express differently. Consider two ordered pairs, $latex (x_1,y_1)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and $latex (x_2,y_2)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. What does it mean for $latex (x_1,y_1) = (x_2,y_2)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$? We could describe this equality by stating $latex (x_1,y_1) = (x_2,y_2)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ whenever $latex x_1=x_2\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and $latex y_1=y_2\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. Next, we want to determine how to capture this information using sets, which are inherently unordered, and cannot have two of the same element. This means we will need at least one set inside of our set, in order to differentiate between the pairs.\nDefinition We define an ordered pair $latex (x,y)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ as the set $latex \\{ \\{x\\}, \\{x,y\\}\\}.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$\nThis strikes most people as quite strange at first. Upon further thought though, it gives us a sense of order. The first element is $latex x\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, the one that exists in both sets. The second element is the element that remains. The payoff is we now have a description definition of a function. Earlier, we discussed how a function is just a set of ordered pairs. Now, we see that an ordered pair is just a set as well (which happens to contain two more sets!) , so a function can be completely described using sets.\nDefinition A function $latex f: A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, with a collection of rules of the form $latex f(a) =b\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, where $latex a\\in A, b\\in B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, is a set:\n$latex \\displaystyle f = \\large{\\{} \\{ \\{a\\}, \\{a,b\\}\\} \\mid f(a) = b\\large{\\}}.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$\nWhen doing mathematics, most people do not concern themselves with this definition. It is crucial to having a rigorous development of math, and is a good way to begin understanding how mathematicians build objects to work with. However, once it is understood, it does not typically need to be something to worry about in the future.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mathbook-functions-as-sets/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn this little tutorial, we\u0026rsquo;ll expand on what we\u0026rsquo;ve learned about \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2018/09/10/mathbook-introduction-to-sets/\"\u003esets\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2018/09/17/mathbook-introduction-to-functions/\"\u003efunctions\u003c/a\u003e. Specifically, we\u0026rsquo;ll double-down on the claim that sets are vital to everything we do in mathematics. Functions are not just a way to describe interactions between sets: functions \u003cem\u003eare\u003c/em\u003e sets!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mathbook: Functions as Sets"},{"content":"I saw this movie a little over a week ago, and have been trying to work through how to write a review of it. It is the type of movie that is funny, but speaks to something much broader; as such, I want to make sure the comedic elements do not overshadow the intention of the movie, but also want to commend the way the movie inserts comedy in such a way that goes against modern comedic sensibilities.\nThe other issue in my mind when writing this review is that of language. This movie deals most directly with racism and antisemitism, and does not shy away from the language that would be used 50 years ago in a town that leaned toward bigoted behavior. Naturally I am no person to be employing the terms used in the movie, despite their usage being vital to the message and impact of the movie. So, I will be rather careful when writing this, and focus mostly on the impact. You can always read a plot summary on Wikipedia.\nIMPACT This movie is important, and I don\u0026rsquo;t think that popular culture will view it in this light. It takes a difficult issue \u0026ndash; race and bigotry \u0026ndash; and turns it on its head by using a true story that is ultimately amusing at its core. The idea of a black cop and white (Jewish) cop teaming up 40 to 50 years ago to infiltrate the KKK is patently absurd on the surface. Yet, once you see it play out, you can understand how it occurred so successfully. The premise being accepted, I could then focus on what the movie was really saying. What it was saying is that to some degree, our society has regressed over the past 50 years. We though we had made, and were actively making, progress towards the equality of every citizen in America, yet the current political climate and the actions that have been enabled by our current President have shown us quite the opposite is true. There are certain statements made throughout the movie that effectively break the fourth wall, and speak directly to the viewer of the movie. When our main character is scoffing at the idea of someone like David Duke being elected president, the other officers set him straight, letting him know that once the face of racism has changed to something more palatable, it can be put in front of the American people as something worth voting for. It can be overlooked if the other talking points of a candidate are sufficiently engaging. This movie is also a plea for peaceful progress and resolution to the race issue in our country. The Black Student Union plays a large role in the movie, and by extension so does the Black Power movement, notorious in its day for their intimidating techniques. Our main character, being a black police officer, keeps emphasizing his belief that systems can be changed from the outside without resorting to more drastic measures. Even in the face of a potentially violent demonstration on both sides, he sticks to these values and shows success, even if it is localized, can occur. The end of the movie is much more explicit. It shows video of the violent and lethal protests in Charleston from 2017, in which a car drove at high speed into a group of demonstrators multiple times. President Trump refused to condemn any particular \u0026ldquo;side\u0026rdquo; of the altercation. Subsequently we are shown video of David Duke (who played a prominent role in the movie) giving a speech, saying that the President\u0026rsquo;s remarks are affirmation of their beliefs of white supremacy. While this movie will not necessarily change the tide of society \u0026ndash; the echo chamber that our world is in makes any one (or thousand) of individuals able to do so \u0026ndash; it draws parallels to an earlier time. It points out that we have not made the progress we believe we have in this country, and there is significant work to do. It is not hopeless, but it is dangerous and frustrating. I highly recommend everybody watch this movie. It will not change people\u0026rsquo;s minds, because our society has become too combative for that. But, it tells a wonderful story about persistence and change, when we live in a world where it is difficult to keep the former and obtain the latter.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/movie-review-blackkklansman/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI saw this movie a little over a week ago, and have been trying to work through how to write a review of it. It is the type of movie that is funny, but speaks to something much broader; as such, I want to make sure the comedic elements do not overshadow the intention of the movie, but also want to commend the way the movie inserts comedy in such a way that goes against modern comedic sensibilities.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Movie Review: BlackKklansman"},{"content":"I recently put a short story I wrote on Amazon. It\u0026rsquo;s called When You Come Back. You can find a link to it here. When I originally wrote it, mental illness was not necessarily on my mind. But, the majority of its readers have told me it resonates with them to a fairly strong degree. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve put it up for $1 and any proceeds I receive will go towards The Trevor Project, in support of mental illness assistance. If you\u0026rsquo;re not interested in the short story, or in providing Amazon with some of the overhead that comes with buying a Kindle book, you can donate to them directly. If you want the story in PDF form, you can contact me.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/trevor-project-donations/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently put a short story I wrote on Amazon. It\u0026rsquo;s called \u003cem\u003eWhen You Come Back\u003c/em\u003e. You can find a link to it \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HF2R6YT/ref=sr_1_1?s=books\u0026amp;amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;amp;qid=1537239131\u0026amp;amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;amp;keywords=when+you+come+back\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e. When I originally wrote it, mental illness was not necessarily on my mind. But, the majority of its readers have told me it resonates with them to a fairly strong degree. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve put it up for $1 and any proceeds I receive will go towards \u003ca href=\"https://www.thetrevorproject.org/\"\u003eThe Trevor Project\u003c/a\u003e, in support of mental illness assistance. If you\u0026rsquo;re not interested in the short story, or in providing Amazon with some of the overhead that comes with buying a Kindle book, you can donate to them directly. If you want the story in PDF form, you can contact me.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Story and Trevor Project Donations"},{"content":"(Edit, 10/29) This post has been ported to a math-focused blog here. The goal of the change is improved typesetting for me, and improved readability and interaction for you. See this post for more information.\nThis is the next post in the series of posts inspired by my brief work for Mathbook. Previously, we talked about sets. Once we have this basic object, we can start to create, define and communicate relationships and patterns between sets. Mathematics uses the language of a function to describe these relationships.\nMost simply, a function is a rule that takes elements of one set (often called inputs) and assigns them to elements of another set (often called outputs.) The one rule to remember to make sure you have a function is a function only has a single output for each input. Let\u0026rsquo;s first look at a simple example of a function, where we take elements in the set $latex S = \\{1,2,3\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, and assign them to another set $latex F = \\{\\text{apples },\\text{bananas }, \\text{strawberries}\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, according to the following set of rules. $latex 1 \\to \\text{bananas}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ $latex 2\\to \\text{strawberries}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ $latex 3\\to \\text{apples}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ There are many notations used to discuss functions. The most common, and the one used by this tutorial, will be the form $latex f:A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. We call $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ the function, where it takes elements from the set $latex A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and assigns them to elements in the set $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. So, we could call the function above $latex g: S\\to F\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. While the letter used to name the function can be arbitrary, it is common to use $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, $latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, or $latex h\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ if no other information is given. It is good to have a common language to describe the sets $latex A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ in the context of a function.\nDefinition Domain: Given the function $latex f: A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, we call the set $latex A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ the domain of the function $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. It can be thought of as the collection of possible inputs to the function. Codomain: Given the function $latex f:A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, we call the set $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ the codomain of the function $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. The codomain is the set that contains all possible outputs. The set of possible outputs is thus a subset of the codomain.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s look at the function from before, $latex g: S\\to F\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. Then $latex S\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is the domain, and $latex F\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is the codomain. Imagine you wanted to tell a friend that our function $latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ took the input $latex 2\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and assigned it to strawberries, but did not want to copy down the list of rules each time. This may not seem like a big deal, but imagine you had a domain with $latex 1,000\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ elements. The need for an easy notation becomes apparent. The accepted notation to tell our friends that $latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ sends $latex 2\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ to strawberries is $latex g(2) = \\text{strawberries}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. This is most commonly read as \u0026ldquo;$latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ of $latex 2\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ equals strawberries.\u0026rdquo; This notation is very flexible, as it allows us to have more than one element as the input. For example, since the subset $latex \\{1,3\\} \\subset S\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ has elements assigned to $latex \\{\\text{bananas},\\text{ apples}\\}\\subset F\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, we can say $latex g(\\{1,3\\}) = \\{\\text{bananas},\\text{ apples}\\}.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ Remember that a set does not have its elements in a specific order, so we can also write $latex g(\\{1,3\\}) = \\{\\text{apples, }\\text{bananas}\\}.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ Given just the above, we cannot tell exactly what $latex f(1)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and $latex f(3)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ are; if we need to communicate that information, we can list them. But there are often situations where you just need to know if a particular element (often $latex 0\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ or $latex 1\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$) is in the output of a set of inputs.\nDefinition Function Notation: Given the function $latex f:A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, where $latex a\\in A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is assigned to the element $latex b\\in B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, we write $latex f(a) = b\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, said as \u0026ldquo;$latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ of $latex a\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is equal to $latex b\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$.\u0026rdquo; Similarly, if $latex A_1\\subset A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is some subset of $latex A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ such that the elements of $latex A_1\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ are assigned exactly to elements in some $latex B_1\\subset B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, we write $latex f(A_1) = B_1\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$.\nAs noted before, given the function $latex f:A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, there is no guarantee that every element in $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is actually an output of the function. We are only guaranteed that $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ contains every output. So, it is then natural to wonder what exactly $latex f(A)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is. Since $latex A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is the domain (set of possible inputs) of $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, every element in $latex A\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ is assigned to some element in $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. So, $latex f(A)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ must be the set of all possible outputs for the function.\nDefinition Range: The range of a function $latex f\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ (also commonly called the image) is defined to be the set $latex f(A)\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, or the set of all possible outputs of the function.\nSince all possible outputs must exist in the codomain $latex B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, for any function $latex f:A\\to B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ we must have $latex f(A)\\subset B\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$. For example, let\u0026rsquo;s introduce another set $latex X = \\{w, x, y, z\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$, and we will define a new function $latex h:S\\to X\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ by the set of rules $latex h(1) = w,\\quad h(2) = y,\\quad h(3) = z.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ Then, $latex h(S) = h(\\{1, 2, 3\\}) = \\{w, y, z\\} \\subset X.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ So, the range of the function does not have to be equal to the codomain. It is good to notice that a function can assign different inputs to the same outputs. For example, we can define a function $latex p:S\\to \\{1\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ by $latex p(1)=1,\\quad p(2) = 1,\\quad p(3)=1.\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$\nExercises Consider the function $latex g:\\{1,2\\} \\to \\{1,2,3\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ defined by $latex g(1) = 3\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ and $latex g(2)=1\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$.\nWhat is the cardinality of the domain of $latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$? What is the codomain of $latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$? What is the image of $latex g\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$? Challenge: How many ways can we define a function $latex h:\\{1,2\\} \\to \\{1,2,3\\}\u0026amp;bg=ffffff$ so that every input is sent to a different output. Note: A function where every input is sent to a different output is called one-to-one or injective, which will be discussed at a later time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mathbook-introduction-to-functions/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e(Edit, 10/29) This post has been ported to a math-focused blog \u003ca href=\"https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c763463h1730738_introduction_to_functions\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e. The goal of the change is improved typesetting for me, and improved readability and interaction for you. See \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2018/10/30/notes-on-future-mathematics-posts/\"\u003ethis\u003c/a\u003e post for more information.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the next post in the series of posts inspired by my brief work for \u003ca href=\"http://mathbook.io\"\u003eMathbook\u003c/a\u003e. Previously, we talked about sets. Once we have this basic object, we can start to create, define and communicate relationships and patterns \u003cem\u003ebetween\u003c/em\u003e sets. Mathematics uses the language of a function to describe these relationships.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mathbook: Introduction to Functions"},{"content":"(Edit 6/7/2020) No more Mathbook. I finally discovered the KaTeX plugin for Wordpress, allowing beautiful typesetting once again.\n(Edit, 10/29) This post has been ported to a math-focused blog here. The goal of the change is improved typesetting for me, and improved readability and interaction for you. See this post for more information.\nQuite a while ago, an endeavoring individual tried to start an open-source repository of mathematical information called Mathbook. I contributed an article, which I\u0026rsquo;ll put down in two parts on this blog. It seems that the project has died, although the website is still available. While this is a bit of a shame, I would like to give some of my own little lessons here. The creator\u0026rsquo;s idea behind Mathbook was to focus on giving people an understanding of why we do math in a certain way. This is missing from mathematical curriculum today, but it is vital to understand that when math was developed, decisions were made for specific reasons. Moving forward, I\u0026rsquo;ll occasionally add a new post here to that effect. The people in my life don\u0026rsquo;t always understand the math I learned, so this is part of my effort in showing it.\nIntroduction to Sets We will learn the basics of how sets are used in mathematics. It is important to understand basic arithmetic before diving in, but nothing else.\nUnderstanding Sets In any field of mathematics, it is important to be able to deal with objects and structures. At the lowest level of mathematical objects and structures are sets. Most simply, a set is a collection of objects. We can think of the set of all flowers in Hawaii, or the set of whole numbers between 10 and 37. Typically, we use curly brackets (braces) to denote a set, such as $\\{1, 2, 3\\}$. If we are using the same set many times in a row, or talking about a set that cannot easily be written down, we can use some other symbol. Throughout this tutorial we will let $ S$ be the set $ \\{1, 2, 3\\}$, and $ H$ be the set of all flowers in Hawaii.\nThere are certain rules and terms used with sets that allow mathematicians to be consistent when using and talking about sets. For example, we want to know what to call the objects in our sets in general, and how we can write sets.\nDEFINITION\nElement: Each object or member of a set is called an element of the set. Each element can only occur once in a set. $\\{1,2,1,3\\}$ is not a valid set since the $ 1$ occurs twice. In addition, the order of elements in a set does not matter. $S = \\{1,2,3\\} = \\{3,1,2\\}$. To say an element $s$ is in the set $S$, we write $s \\in S$.\nIt is also natural to discuss how many elements are in a set.\nDEFINITION\nCardinality: The number of elements in a set is called the cardinality of the set. The cardinality is often denoted by putting vertical bars around the set. For example, since $ S$ has three elements, we write $ |S| = 3.$\nFor this tutorial, we will only be looking at sets with finite cardinality; this means we will always be able to list and count every element in the set. Future tutorials may explore larger sets, which becomes an even more powerful (and fun!) mathematical tool. Often we want to look at some of the elements in a set, but not all of them. For example, we might want the elements of $ H$ which are red flowers. This is a very common pattern in mathematics: given an object or structure, how can we look at smaller objects that have a similar structure?\nDEFINITION\nSubset: If every element in some set $ A$ is in a set $ B$, we say that $ A$ is a subset of $ B$, and we write $ A\\subset B$. For example, the set $ \\{1,3\\}$ is a subset of $ S$.\nWhen doing mathematics, it is good practice to look at the simplest example of any object you are interested in exploring. When it comes to sets, it becomes natural to ask \u0026ldquo;What if my set has no elements?\u0026rdquo;\nDEFINITION\nEmpty Set: The empty set is defined to be the set which has no elements. The most common notation is $ \\emptyset$, but you may see $ \\{\\}$, especially in older math texts. This second notation emphasizes it is a set with no elements.\nAlmost everything you see and do has sets hiding in the background. They are a universal way of communicating mathematical ideas, and are thus very important to understand. In a future post, I\u0026rsquo;ll give the second half of this post: Understanding Functions. Once you have established your structure (the set), and have explored some basic ideas (subsets, the empty set), it is important to discuss how you can have two sets interact. The simplest way to have two sets interact is via a function.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/mathbook-introduction-to-sets/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e(Edit 6/7/2020) No more Mathbook. I finally discovered the KaTeX plugin for Wordpress, allowing beautiful typesetting once again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(Edit, 10/29) This post has been ported to a math-focused blog here. The goal of the change is improved typesetting for me, and improved readability and interaction for you. See this post for more information.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuite a while ago, an endeavoring individual tried to start an open-source repository of mathematical information called Mathbook. I contributed an article, which I\u0026rsquo;ll put down in two parts on this blog. It seems that the project has died, although the website is still available. While this is a bit of a shame, I would like to give some of my own little lessons here. The creator\u0026rsquo;s idea behind Mathbook was to focus on giving people an understanding of why we do math in a certain way. This is missing from mathematical curriculum today, but it is vital to understand that when math was developed, decisions were made for specific reasons. Moving forward, I\u0026rsquo;ll occasionally add a new post here to that effect. The people in my life don\u0026rsquo;t always understand the math I learned, so this is part of my effort in showing it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mathbook: Introduction to Sets"},{"content":"I started my first post-graduation job at Art of Problem Solving this past week. I was an intern here last summer, and I was lucky enough for that to lead to a job. My official role is \u0026ldquo;Curriculum Developer\u0026rdquo;. I work on developing their elementary school math curriculum, as that is their current focus. It\u0026rsquo;s an incredibly good job, with fantastically intelligent and caring people. While it is a great company whose mission I am deeply invested in, and San Diego is a beautiful place to be, these first few days have been very tough. It was weird driving across the country, having a good time, then suddenly getting to work. I\u0026rsquo;m living on my own, in a room I\u0026rsquo;m renting (technically an AirBnB) from a nice lady. I know the area from last summer, but I\u0026rsquo;m still getting over a mental hurdle of actually going out and doing things. Although at the time I write this I\u0026rsquo;ll have only been here a few days, I\u0026rsquo;m already feeling antsy. It\u0026rsquo;s strange. Perhaps the biggest reason for my feelings is that I spent my entire life in Minnesota. I am very rooted there, and despite many friends leaving who have also graduated, there are many people I\u0026rsquo;ve left behind. I\u0026rsquo;m leaving the comfortable world of academia to work at a place where I have no true connections. It\u0026rsquo;s a rather isolating feeling that I am working through. Yet, this is something I correctly anticipated. I have been solidifying Operation: Have a Conversation and Comical Start as ways to keep in contact with people. I\u0026rsquo;ve reached out to people (or luckily have had them reach out to me) to stay in contact via phone calls or letters. And I also committed to myself that I would write weekly on this blog, and not worry about people reading it. It\u0026rsquo;s just a good thing to have on my schedule, both for the purpose of self-reflection, and to stop myself from falling idle after I do a day of work. I already reached out to the San Diego Concert Band, a local community band that has fairly open policies for joining. I\u0026rsquo;ll be rehearsing with them regularly starting next week, which I am incredibly thrilled for. Although my percussion chops are not what they once were, they will improve and I will be better off for having the experience. I also plan on finding a group (or maybe just a person or two) to try and play tennis with. It\u0026rsquo;s an easy sport to play as long as you have another person, and I definitely enjoy playing it. Ideally I\u0026rsquo;d find a softball league as well, and I also have a long book list to get through. Despite a touch of melancholy and some misgivings on traveling so far, I am excited for what is to come. Knowing that my time here is rather indefinite, I can feel more comfortable finding my place and joining new things. I have more opportunity to be involved and help myself as I go along. It\u0026rsquo;s an interesting time.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/new-chapter/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI started my first post-graduation job at \u003ca href=\"http://aops.com\"\u003eArt of Problem Solving\u003c/a\u003e this past week. I was an intern here last summer, and I was lucky enough for that to lead to a job. My official role is \u0026ldquo;Curriculum Developer\u0026rdquo;. I work on developing their elementary school math curriculum, as that is their current focus. It\u0026rsquo;s an incredibly good job, with fantastically intelligent and caring people. While it is a great company whose mission I am deeply invested in, and San Diego is a beautiful place to be, these first few days have been very tough. It was weird driving across the country, having a good time, then suddenly getting to work. I\u0026rsquo;m living on my own, in a room I\u0026rsquo;m renting (technically an AirBnB) from a nice lady. I know the area from last summer, but I\u0026rsquo;m still getting over a mental hurdle of actually going out and doing things. Although at the time I write this I\u0026rsquo;ll have only been here a few days, I\u0026rsquo;m already feeling antsy. It\u0026rsquo;s strange. Perhaps the biggest reason for my feelings is that I spent my entire life in Minnesota. I am very rooted there, and despite many friends leaving who have also graduated, there are many people I\u0026rsquo;ve left behind. I\u0026rsquo;m leaving the comfortable world of academia to work at a place where I have no true connections. It\u0026rsquo;s a rather isolating feeling that I am working through. Yet, this is something I correctly anticipated. I have been solidifying \u003ca href=\"http://ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOperation: Have a Conversation\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http://comicalstart.org\"\u003eComical Start\u003c/a\u003e as ways to keep in contact with people. I\u0026rsquo;ve reached out to people (or luckily have had them reach out to me) to stay in contact via phone calls or letters. And I also committed to myself that I would write weekly on this blog, and not worry about people reading it. It\u0026rsquo;s just a good thing to have on my schedule, both for the purpose of self-reflection, and to stop myself from falling idle after I do a day of work. I already reached out to the San Diego Concert Band, a local community band that has fairly open policies for joining. I\u0026rsquo;ll be rehearsing with them regularly starting next week, which I am incredibly thrilled for. Although my percussion chops are not what they once were, they will improve and I will be better off for having the experience. I also plan on finding a group (or maybe just a person or two) to try and play tennis with. It\u0026rsquo;s an easy sport to play as long as you have another person, and I definitely enjoy playing it. Ideally I\u0026rsquo;d find a softball league as well, and I also have a long book list to get through. Despite a touch of melancholy and some misgivings on traveling so far, I am excited for what is to come. Knowing that my time here is rather indefinite, I can feel more comfortable finding my place and joining new things. I have more opportunity to be involved and help myself as I go along. It\u0026rsquo;s an interesting time.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New Chapter"},{"content":"The other day my girlfriend and I went to see the film Christopher Robin, all about the titular character outgrowing his friends in the 100 acre wood, and slowly finding his way back to childhood. After leaving the movie close to tears (my girlfriend did cry multiple times), here was my one line review:\nThe entire movie was super predictable, but it was so well-done and moving that I didn\u0026rsquo;t even care.\nJust as a bit of context, I\u0026rsquo;ve had a Teddy bear for my entire life. Cleverly named Ted, he\u0026rsquo;s been a mainstay, so I can connect with the imagination and the meaning the characters had in this film. I brought my girlfriend onto the stuffed animal bandwagon right when we started dating, so she has a similar disposition. Those who don\u0026rsquo;t find joy in these lovely little toys may not be as intrigued by the movie. I started this review at first by writing a plot summary. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that\u0026rsquo;s particularly useful for anyone though. Suffice it to say that some shenanigans ensue, some caused by Pooh and some by Christopher Robin\u0026rsquo;s own stubbornness. When it comes down to it, Pooh and friends are able to help Christopher find himself again, and help his entire family join back together as a stronger unit. The first thing I noticed was the choice made to design the stuffed animals in a certain way. Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo were all given a clear felt texture. They looked like an era-specific stuffed animal that happened to also be living. Pooh, as the main character, was given a different look. He was still stuffed, had rounded hands and feet that had no real business grabbing onto some of the things Pooh gets into, but he had a more real texture. There was clear fuzz on his body. He was made a bit differently, that made him more catching to the eye. It was an adorable choice, making him more endearing than he was in the books. The only mistakes were Owl and Hare. Perhaps I\u0026rsquo;m not remembering the books correctly, but they looked like CGI animals that talked. No stuffed aspect to them, just normal animals. Perhaps that\u0026rsquo;s why they did not get to participate in entering the real world. The performance by Ewan McGregor was fantastic. Clean-shaven, he was able to pull off every age he was asked to play, and had the firmness and whimsy necessary to play both the stiff-upper-lip father, and the goofy young man who reenters at the end. Evelyn (played by Hayley Atwell) was also great. You could really see the strength she gained while Christopher was off in the war, and how firm she could be when Christopher was getting into work too much. Madelyn had about two weaker moments, but was otherwise excellent. I was overwhelmed by this movie. I knew I wanted to see it, and knew it was right down my alley, yet it still exceeded my expectations. It was fun, cute, sad, and exciting. I highly recommend it.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/movie-review-christopher-robin/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe other day my girlfriend and I went to see the film \u003cem\u003eChristopher Robin\u003c/em\u003e, all about the titular character outgrowing his friends in the 100 acre wood, and slowly finding his way back to childhood. After leaving the movie close to tears (my girlfriend did cry multiple times), here was my one line review:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe entire movie was super predictable, but it was so well-done and moving that I didn\u0026rsquo;t even care.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e","title":"Movie Review: \u0026quot;Christopher Robin\u0026quot;"},{"content":"(Edited 6/7/2020 for improved typesetting)\nHere is one of my favorite \u0026ldquo;paradoxes\u0026rdquo; in mathematics. Many students learn it in a first year calculus course. It is called Gabriel\u0026rsquo;s Horn.\nFirst, take the function $f(x)=\\dfrac 1x$ on the domain $[1,\\infty)$. So, a graph of this function begins at $(1,1)$ then quickly slopes down towards the $x$-axis, where it approaches horizontal. A plot is shown below.\nImagine taking the curve and rotating it around the $x$-axis, forming an infinitely long shape that looks like the bell of a trumpet, or horn. After doing so, we get a shape that looks roughly like this:\nThere are two things we wish to determine about this new three-dimensional figure: its volume, and its surface area.\nWe can think of the volume as how much stuff is needed to fill it, and the surface area as how much paint we need to coat the surface. We will show this figure has finite volume but infinite surface area. In other words, you would need an infinite amount of paint just to cover the inside surface with a layer of paint. However, if we really wanted to paint the inside, we could take our finite amount of paint and just pour it into the horn. This would fill up the infinite horn with a finite amount of paint, thus painting the inside.\nWe do this calculation in the standard calculus way: Let\u0026rsquo;s consider an arbitrarily thin vertical slice of the horn at the point $x_1.$ The disk we get as a result is circular with radius $r= \\dfrac{1}{x_1}.$\nSo, for any vertical slice taken from our horn we can find its radius, and thus both its circumference $(2\\pi r)$ and area $(\\pi r^2).$\nWe integrate over the entirety of the horn: Integrating using circumference gives us surface area, while integrating using area gives us the volume. For the sake of completeness, I\u0026rsquo;ll do the limits on the improper integrals that result.\nSubstituting $r = \\dfrac 1x$, our surface area integral computation goes as follows.\n$$ \\begin{align*} \\text{Surface area} \u0026amp;= 2\\pi \\int_1^\\infty \\frac{\\mathrm dx}{x} \\\\ \u0026amp;= 2\\pi \\lim_{b \\to \\infty} \\int_1^b \\frac{\\mathrm dx}{x}\\\\ \u0026amp;= 2\\pi \\lim_{b\\to \\infty} (\\ln b - \\ln 1)\\\\ \u0026amp;= \\infty \\end{align*} $$\nNote that since $\\ln 1=0$ we just get the term $\\ln b$ going off to infinity. As promised, the surface area is infinite. We do a similar computation in volume. $$ \\begin{align*} \\text{Volume} \u0026amp;= \\pi \\int_1^\\infty \\frac{\\mathrm dx}{x^2}\\\\ \u0026amp;= \\pi\\lim\\limits_{b\\to\\infty} \\int_1^b \\frac{\\mathrm dx}{x^2} \\\\ \u0026amp;= \\pi\\lim\\limits_{b\\to\\infty}\\left. -\\frac1x \\right|_1^b\\\\ \u0026amp;=\\pi\\lim\\limits_{b\\to\\infty} \\left(-\\frac 1b +1\\right)\\\\ \u0026amp;= \\pi \\end{align*} $$\nHere, the key is that our $b$ term is in the denominator, taking that term to $0$ overall, giving us finite volume.\nThere are many cool problems like this, some with significantly less background necessary to formulate. These will be fun to mix in with other types of posts.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/gabriels-horn/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e(Edited 6/7/2020 for improved typesetting)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is one of my favorite \u0026ldquo;paradoxes\u0026rdquo; in mathematics. Many students learn it in a first year calculus course. It is called \u003cem\u003eGabriel\u0026rsquo;s Horn\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Gabriel's Horn"},{"content":"This past weekend I had the fantastic experience of playing drumset in a musical put together in only 24 hours. My friend Tim, along with his friend Adam, wrote the entirety of the show. We showed up at Friday on 7pm, with nobody having seen the script or music except the writers. We then performed the musical \u0026ndash; lines memorized, music rehearsed, choreography and blocking complete \u0026ndash; at 7pm (and 9pm) Saturday evening. I had an extremely good time. The music was engaging and written with some interpretation allowable, as all the members of the pit were experienced in this musical scenario. We had a lot of fun putting things together quickly, and were quite successful in performing our parts within a few hours. The show was broadly a satirical take on the characters from Scooby-Doo. In addition to the normal gang (whose names are never explicitly stated at any point in the show), there is the scapegoat Brian, who is Daphne\u0026rsquo;s current boyfriend. He is verbally abused throughout the show, with some light slapping. In addition, Scooby-Doo is just a man in a Scooby-Doo outfit (naturally), although an old Hermit we meet at the beginning addresses this fact:\nVelma: Oh, that\u0026rsquo;s our anthropomorphic dog. He loves food, and hates ghosts. So, we keep him on a leash and force him to solve crimes! Hermit (Cooper): That\u0026rsquo;s not a dog! That is clearly a man in constant pain! Fred: (Firmly, maintaining eye contact.) It\u0026rsquo;s a dog.\nThe fact that the gang keeps a man in a suit on a leash, and is either indifferent to this fact or somehow unaware of its humanity, is repeated throughout the show. Every time a character (normally Brian) goes to take his leash, Scooby screams in terror. At one point, a completely silent scene opens with Scooby alone on stage. Scared by the audience, he slowly stands on both legs, moves forward, and proceeds to intently say Help me! to various members of the audience. What I hope to show with these descriptions, as well as the plot description to follow, is the creativity and fun that Tim and Adam bring to the shows they write, as well as some interest in watching their other shows online. Now for the plot. The aforementioned hermit opens the show, describing to Fred and Velma how he was abducted and probed by aliens. Once all the characters were quickly introduced, they were subsequently abducted. During the musical sequence, a small creature, reminiscent of the chest-bursting alien from Alien, kills Fred during the \u0026ldquo;probing\u0026rdquo; procedure. We then meet the head of the ship, Marvin. Shaggy accuses him of working too hard, so he takes Marvin away to \u0026ldquo;relax\u0026rdquo;. We later learn their natural high is Captain Crunch. Daphne falls into a motherly love, with a bit of sexual tension, with the alien in Fred\u0026rsquo;s chest, much to Brian\u0026rsquo;s dismay. Velma proceeds to look for clues, until she meets another female alien with the exact same disposition and actions. Some innuendos occur. Brian sings his heart out to the audience, beautifully I may add. We finally learn the Hermit is on the ship. His plan was to run everybody out of town with talk about aliens, so he could have the oil deposit he discovered entirely to himself. Of course, he is now abducted by aliens so there is not much to do. Brian and Scooby were within earshot, and attempt to tell the rest of the gang. Daphne appears, crazed, yielding a gun, rounding up the aliens and, as Marvin put it, \u0026ldquo;Yelling lines from Alien 3.\u0026rdquo; Of course, the alien in Fred\u0026rsquo;s chest talks her down, at which point another chest-bursting alien emerges from Daphne. Those two aliens go to town. Brian explains to Velma that he solved the crime, and attempts to remove the mask (as is customary). Of course, being Brian, he takes some other alien and nearly chokes it. At this point, Scooby goes up to the Hermit, who is wearing a very obvious mask, and removes it. It is revealed the culprit is none other than D.B. Cooper. At this point, we have \u0026ldquo;A case with no loose ends\u0026rdquo;, as Shaggy puts it. Of course we then realize the characters are still on an alien spaceship. Brian asks Marvin if they can be dropped off on Earth. Marvin declines, but makes an allowance that they can stay another day, until they are eaten. Due to the inevitability of their demise, Brian removes Scooby\u0026rsquo;s collar. Scooby rises to his foot, removes the dog head from his head, and embraces Brian. The show ends on this scene. It was an incredible show. Things weren\u0026rsquo;t perfect, but they were as imperfect as the musicals I did pit for that had weeks of rehearsal. It was a great experience, and while Tim and Adam have just graduated college, making another musical unlikely in the near future, I am excited to hear about whatever creative endeavors they have moving forward.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/abducted-a-24-hour-musical/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis past weekend I had the fantastic experience of playing drumset in a musical put together in only 24 hours. My friend Tim, along with his friend Adam, wrote the entirety of the show. We showed up at Friday on 7pm, with nobody having seen the script or music except the writers. We then performed the musical \u0026ndash; lines memorized, music rehearsed, choreography and blocking complete \u0026ndash; at 7pm (and 9pm) Saturday evening. I had an extremely good time. The music was engaging and written with some interpretation allowable, as all the members of the pit were experienced in this musical scenario. We had a lot of fun putting things together quickly, and were quite successful in performing our parts within a few hours. The show was broadly a satirical take on the characters from \u003cem\u003eScooby-Doo\u003c/em\u003e. In addition to the normal gang (whose names are never explicitly stated at any point in the show), there is the scapegoat Brian, who is Daphne\u0026rsquo;s current boyfriend. He is verbally abused throughout the show, with some light slapping. In addition, Scooby-Doo is just a man in a Scooby-Doo outfit (naturally), although an old Hermit we meet at the beginning addresses this fact:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Abducted: A 24-Hour Musical"},{"content":"The cutting edge of technology is particularly awesome these days. Cars are doing more on their own, phones are surpassing some current computers in their performance, and VR is coming into its own finally. I listen to a lot of tech podcasts, and love messing around with technology, but due to my status as a recent college graduate, I am definitely not maintaining a collection of cutting-edge devices. And that\u0026rsquo;s okay. First, let\u0026rsquo;s talk about cars. I recently purchased a post-lease 2015 Honda Civic, LX trim (in other words, the only model more basic comes with a manual instead of a CVT.) The disparity between that car and other higher-end cars from the same year is rather shocking. Sitting in it, I feel super cool. It\u0026rsquo;s a big upgrade from the 1998 EX-L Honda Accord I had been driving. There\u0026rsquo;s a \u0026ldquo;cockpit\u0026rdquo; feeling to it, good Bluetooth connectivity, and a back-up camera. It\u0026rsquo;s relatively zippy for a cheap car, and the gas mileage gained by the CVT cannot be beat. Then, I read a Golf R Review by Casey Liss. He is one of three car enthusiasts on the Accidental Tech Podcast. Not surprisingly, the only one I can identify with is John Siracusa, who to my knowledge has mostly driven manual Civics and Accords for his entire life. Casey though, he complained about the lack of assisted driving and automatic parking. The car needs to be fast, it needs a sunroof, and of course Carplay! This was absolutely baffling to me. I just cannot get my head wrapped around why some of these things are important. These three men have attempted to address it on their podcast, but it still does not click with me. Cars can be purchased only so often to be at all reasonable, and so one cannot even stay on the cutting edge. The other issue is that he recently began working from home exclusively, yet sounded very hesitant to become a one-car family. Oh well, to each their own. Now, obviously cars are a very special case of not staying on the cutting edge. I\u0026rsquo;ve only owned my own car for a few months, and it\u0026rsquo;ll be a number of years before I can even begin to think about getting another. But phones: now that\u0026rsquo;s another matter. I\u0026rsquo;ve had my Galaxy S7 for two years now. Previously, I had a Galaxy S4 for two years, and then some random LG (I think) phone for 4 years throughout high school. In my mind, until I can afford the \u0026ldquo;every year\u0026rdquo; phone upgrade, two years is a reasonable time in these days of mostly non-replaceable phone batteries. So, with my S7 really slowing down and the battery life starting to tank, it was time to figure out what to do. Was the newest Galaxy S9 worth the incredible price tag? Did I want to save some money and get a Pixel XL or a new LG phone, each containing last year\u0026rsquo;s processors, despite them being the newest in the lineup? I ended up choosing a Galaxy S8+. Due to the release of the S9, I got a very good deal on it, and the processing difference (and battery life) between the S7 and S8+ is much larger than the S8+ to a comparable newest generation phone. Once again, I opted to stay on the duller edge of technology. And I am happy with that decision. I tried the S9 in stores, and it truly did not impress me anymore than the S8 does. The S8 was the revolutionary phone (just like the iPhone X, and whatever comes out next will not be quite as lauded). This is what is interesting about technology. So many people are excited to get the newest and best thing. The hype is always there, but the price-to-performance normally isn\u0026rsquo;t. I spent all of last year in school working on a 4-year old Ideapad and a 5-year old refurbished Thinkpad. They performed admirably for me, because like most people, I\u0026rsquo;m not doing much heavy-lifting. Being on the dull edge, and looking out at what is available and what others have, can be fun. I don\u0026rsquo;t think there is anything wrong with living life on some sort of delay with technology. Perhaps as I grow older and make a bit more money, that will change. But for now, I am happy with scouring the internet for good deals, and getting what I actually need for the best price.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/dull-edge/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe cutting edge of technology is particularly awesome these days. Cars are doing more on their own, phones are surpassing some current computers in their performance, and VR is coming into its own finally. I listen to a lot of tech podcasts, and love messing around with technology, but due to my status as a recent college graduate, I am definitely not maintaining a collection of cutting-edge devices. And that\u0026rsquo;s okay. First, let\u0026rsquo;s talk about cars. I recently purchased a post-lease 2015 Honda Civic, LX trim (in other words, the only model more basic comes with a manual instead of a CVT.) The disparity between that car and other higher-end cars from the same year is rather shocking. Sitting in it, I feel super cool. It\u0026rsquo;s a big upgrade from the 1998 EX-L Honda Accord I had been driving. There\u0026rsquo;s a \u0026ldquo;cockpit\u0026rdquo; feeling to it, good Bluetooth connectivity, and a back-up camera. It\u0026rsquo;s relatively zippy for a cheap car, and the gas mileage gained by the CVT cannot be beat. Then, I read a \u003ca href=\"https://www.caseyliss.com/2018/7/30/volkswagen-golf-r\"\u003eGolf R Review\u003c/a\u003e by Casey Liss. He is one of three car enthusiasts on the \u003ca href=\"http://atp.fm\"\u003eAccidental Tech Podcast\u003c/a\u003e. Not surprisingly, the only one I can identify with is John Siracusa, who to my knowledge has mostly driven manual Civics and Accords for his entire life. Casey though, he complained about the lack of assisted driving and automatic parking. The car needs to be \u003cem\u003efast\u003c/em\u003e, it needs a sunroof, and of course Carplay! This was absolutely baffling to me. I just cannot get my head wrapped around why some of these things are important. These three men have attempted to address it on their podcast, but it still does not click with me. Cars can be purchased only so often to be at all reasonable, and so one cannot even stay on the cutting edge. The other issue is that he recently began working from home exclusively, yet sounded very hesitant to become a one-car family. Oh well, to each their own. Now, obviously cars are a very special case of not staying on the cutting edge. I\u0026rsquo;ve only owned my own car for a few months, and it\u0026rsquo;ll be a number of years before I can even begin to think about getting another. But phones: now that\u0026rsquo;s another matter. I\u0026rsquo;ve had my Galaxy S7 for two years now. Previously, I had a Galaxy S4 for two years, and then some random LG (I think) phone for 4 years throughout high school. In my mind, until I can afford the \u0026ldquo;every year\u0026rdquo; phone upgrade, two years is a reasonable time in these days of mostly non-replaceable phone batteries. So, with my S7 really slowing down and the battery life starting to tank, it was time to figure out what to do. Was the newest Galaxy S9 worth the incredible price tag? Did I want to save some money and get a Pixel XL or a new LG phone, each containing last year\u0026rsquo;s processors, despite them being the newest in the lineup? I ended up choosing a Galaxy S8+. Due to the release of the S9, I got a very good deal on it, and the processing difference (and battery life) between the S7 and S8+ is much larger than the S8+ to a comparable newest generation phone. Once again, I opted to stay on the duller edge of technology. And I am happy with that decision. I tried the S9 in stores, and it truly did not impress me anymore than the S8 does. The S8 was the revolutionary phone (just like the iPhone X, and whatever comes out next will not be quite as lauded). This is what is interesting about technology. So many people are excited to get the newest and best thing. The hype is always there, but the price-to-performance normally isn\u0026rsquo;t. I spent all of last year in school working on a 4-year old Ideapad and a 5-year old refurbished Thinkpad. They performed admirably for me, because like most people, I\u0026rsquo;m not doing much heavy-lifting. Being on the dull edge, and looking out at what is available and what others have, can be fun. I don\u0026rsquo;t think there is anything wrong with living life on some sort of delay with technology. Perhaps as I grow older and make a bit more money, that will change. But for now, I am happy with scouring the internet for good deals, and getting what I actually need for the best price.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dull Edge"},{"content":"I think it is important to have a variety of projects capturing one\u0026rsquo;s attention. The breadth and depth of these will vary by individual, but they should be there nonetheless. Someone who is incredibly invested in one particular field or interest will be more aware of the branching-off points, and can thus develop projects related to the disparate branches of that field. Others may be interested in many topics, and have projects related to each. I fall into the latter category, as do a good chunk of my friends. I have become widely interested in many topics throughout college, and this was one of the main reasons I did not immediately pursue higher education. While I love mathematics, I cannot see myself devoting a majority of my life to only studying it for the next five years, and wanted the opportunity to do many things I did not do in college, or double-down on some of the projects I started then. In addition to this blog that I am trying to keep up with better, there are the podcasts Operation: Have a Conversation and Comical Start. There was the joke-blog I announced a couple of weeks ago. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to read more, and still keep up with doing some math so that I can be more effective at my new job I am starting soon. I have been playing tennis more, and joined a softball league while I\u0026rsquo;m still in Minnesota. These projects keep me busy, and keep me happy. I like to have a variety of things to work on, because I\u0026rsquo;ve always loved each subject I\u0026rsquo;ve been introduced to. My passion for them may diminish at times \u0026ndash; I\u0026rsquo;ll always be more invested in math than in biology \u0026ndash; but being able to have conversations or read a few articles about new ideas is exciting. Writing this blog is exciting, and talking with my friends and editing podcasts is invigorating. Playing newer and older sports to me is always a good time, because I like to stretch the muscles I\u0026rsquo;ve worked all my life, but also pick up new skills. The internal growth I want to achieve is being reflected in the growth in new activities I\u0026rsquo;m participating in. There will be more to come about that last sentence.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/side-projects-part-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI think it is important to have a variety of projects capturing one\u0026rsquo;s attention. The breadth and depth of these will vary by individual, but they should be there nonetheless. Someone who is incredibly invested in one particular field or interest will be more aware of the branching-off points, and can thus develop projects related to the disparate branches of that field. Others may be interested in many topics, and have projects related to each. I fall into the latter category, as do a good chunk of my friends. I have become widely interested in many topics throughout college, and this was one of the main reasons I did not immediately pursue higher education. While I love mathematics, I cannot see myself devoting a majority of my life to only studying it for the next five years, and wanted the opportunity to do many things I did not do in college, or double-down on some of the projects I started then. In addition to this blog that I am trying to keep up with better, there are the podcasts \u003ca href=\"http://ohacpodcast.com\"\u003eOperation: Have a Conversation\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http://comicalstart.org\"\u003eComical Start\u003c/a\u003e. There was the \u003ca href=\"https://markrichard.org/2018/07/16/shameless-plug/\"\u003ejoke-blog I announced\u003c/a\u003e a couple of weeks ago. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to read more, and still keep up with doing some math so that I can be more effective at my new job I am starting soon. I have been playing tennis more, and joined a softball league while I\u0026rsquo;m still in Minnesota. These projects keep me busy, and keep me happy. I like to have a variety of things to work on, because I\u0026rsquo;ve always loved each subject I\u0026rsquo;ve been introduced to. My passion for them may diminish at times \u0026ndash; I\u0026rsquo;ll always  be more invested in math than in biology \u0026ndash; but being able to have conversations or read a few articles about new ideas is exciting. Writing this blog is exciting, and talking with my friends and editing podcasts is invigorating. Playing newer and older sports to me is always a good time, because I like to stretch the muscles I\u0026rsquo;ve worked all my life, but also pick up new skills. The internal growth I want to achieve is being reflected in the growth in new activities I\u0026rsquo;m participating in. There will be more to come about that last sentence.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Side Projects (Part 1?)"},{"content":"I had another busy week, so I\u0026rsquo;m taking advantage of old stuff I can recycle. A month or two ago, I was playing a Solitaire variation my parents taught me when I was younger, and I realized that it was a completely deterministic game once the deck was shuffled. That is, unlike traditional solitaire, there was no element of choice by the player. As such, it made it very easy to write a simulation of it and analyze the details. The very brief report I wrote up is here, and the simulation code (which is also linked in the report) is here. The short version, is that it is a break-even game on average, which is pretty interesting. Furthermore, the overall result is normally distributed around breaking even. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to include a more well-rounded amount of content here, since math is still very close to my heart and I\u0026rsquo;d like to only maintain one sight for everything. It will continue to be a mix of things, so that we\u0026rsquo;re all on the same page.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/card-game-simulation/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI had another busy week, so I\u0026rsquo;m taking advantage of old stuff I can recycle.   A month or two ago, I was playing a Solitaire variation my parents taught me when I was younger, and I realized that it was a completely deterministic game once the deck was shuffled. That is, unlike traditional solitaire, there was no element of choice by the player. As such, it made it very easy to write a simulation of it and analyze the details.   The very brief report I wrote up is \u003ca href=\"/images/solitairereport.pdf\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e, and the simulation code (which is also linked in the report) is \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/rich1126/SolitaireSimulation\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e. The short version, is that it is a break-even game on average, which is pretty interesting. Furthermore, the overall result is normally distributed around breaking even.   I\u0026rsquo;m trying to include a more well-rounded amount of content here, since math is still very close to my heart and I\u0026rsquo;d like to only maintain one sight for everything. It will continue to be a mix of things, so that we\u0026rsquo;re all on the same page.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Card Game Simulation"},{"content":"An extension cord walks in on its son, a vacuum (three-pronged cord of course), plugging itself into an electrical outlet. Aghast at what it sees, the extension cord can only cry out: \u0026ldquo;You shameless plug, you\u0026rsquo;re grounded!\u0026rdquo; I\u0026rsquo;m going on vacation this upcoming week. This original joke is the best I could do. The actual shameless plug is my friend Brandon\u0026rsquo;s review blog, as well as my competing review of his blog, where I verbally abuse and critique his writing even if I have not experienced whatever he is reviewing. It\u0026rsquo;s all in good fun.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/shameless-plug/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAn extension cord walks in on its son, a vacuum (three-pronged cord of course), plugging itself into an electrical outlet. Aghast at what it sees, the extension cord can only cry out: \u0026ldquo;You shameless plug, you\u0026rsquo;re grounded!\u0026rdquo;   I\u0026rsquo;m going on vacation this upcoming week. This original joke is the best I could do. The actual shameless plug is my friend Brandon\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"http://dinnerandashowreviews.wordpress.com\"\u003ereview blog\u003c/a\u003e, as well as my competing \u003ca href=\"http://dinnerandashowreviewsreview.wordpress.com\"\u003ereview of his blog\u003c/a\u003e, where I verbally abuse and critique his writing even if I have not experienced whatever he is reviewing. It\u0026rsquo;s all in good fun.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Shameless Plug"},{"content":"Suppose you are at a pizza restaurant with your friends. You all agree you want to buy pizza to maximize your pizza-per-dollar. There\u0026rsquo;s an easy way to make comparisons between pizza sizes and figure out what the best deal is.\nFirst, note that this won\u0026rsquo;t be possible in places that just do a generic \u0026ldquo;Small, Medium, Large\u0026rdquo; set-up (like your Dominoes or Papa John\u0026rsquo;s.) You need the actual size of the pizza in inches. Here\u0026rsquo;s an example of one-topping prices from a local pizza place of mine: 10\u0026quot; : $14.49 12\u0026quot; : $18.29 14\u0026quot; : $21.59 At a glance it might be hard to figure out what your best deal is. The naive mathematical way is to remember that the area of the pizza is $latex \\pi r^2$. Our 10\u0026quot; pizza has a radius of 5\u0026quot;, so its area is $latex \\pi\\cdot 5^2 = 25\\pi \\approx 78.5 \\text{ in}^2.$ Similarly, the area of the 12\u0026quot; is $latex 113.1\\text{ in}^2$, and the 14\u0026quot; is $latex 153.9\\text{ in}^2.$ Then, we divide by the price to determine the amount of pizza we get per dollar spent (ppd). In this case, we have 10\u0026quot; : 5.4 ppd 12\u0026quot; : 6.1 ppd 14\u0026quot; : 7.1 ppd A larger number is better in this metric (assuming you want more pizza for your money), so the 14\u0026quot; is the better deal. This is pretty typical across the food industry, that as you increase in size you get a better deal. There are many reasons for this that are not our concern. We\u0026rsquo;re assuming you\u0026rsquo;re already ordering a certain amount of pizza, and to decide if you should, for example, get two 10\u0026quot; pizzas with different toppings, or just split a 14\u0026quot; pizza. Looking at the raw numbers, a 10\u0026quot; pizza is about half the size of a 14\u0026quot; pizza (78.5 vs 153.9 square inches.) So it would be better to go through the trouble of splitting a 14\u0026quot; pizza. The above reasoning totally works, but is impractical. Why bother multiplying by that pesky $latex \\pi$? Notice that if I directly compare the size of two pizzas, say a pizza with radius $latex r$ and another with radius $latex R$, I get the following: $latex \\dfrac{\\text{area 1}}{\\text{area 2}} = \\dfrac{\\pi r^2}{\\pi R^2} = \\dfrac{r^2}{R^2}$ That $latex \\pi$ just disappears! Since it is just a scale factor, we can ignore it for the comparisons we are making. Now we can just deal in \u0026ldquo;pizza area units\u0026rdquo;, where we only look at the radius squared. Hence, a 10\u0026quot; pizza is $latex 5^2 = 25$ pizza units, and a 14\u0026quot; pizza is $latex 7^2 = 49$ pizza units. Not only is this faster, it actually makes it much more obvious that a 14\u0026quot; pizza is nearly twice as large as a 10\u0026quot; pizza. We can do the same calculations. A 10\u0026quot; pizza from my local pizza place now has a value of $latex 25/14.49 = 1.7$. Similarly, the 12\u0026quot; has a value of 2.0, and the 14\u0026quot; has a value of 2.3. Again we get a better deal from the 14\u0026quot; pizza, with the intermediate values scaling in the same way (increasing by about 0.3 each time, instead of about 1.0 each time above. But this makes since, as $latex 0.3 \\cdot \\pi \\approx 1.$) With some approximations it\u0026rsquo;s possible to get close estimates in your head. So, next time you\u0026rsquo;re in the mood for pizza, this is a simple approach to get your best deal. It\u0026rsquo;s also a good way to figure out how much pizza you may want. Do two people want a 12\u0026quot; pizza? Each 12\u0026quot; pizza has 36 pizza units. Meanwhile, a 16\u0026quot; pizza is 64 pizza units, and an 18\u0026quot; pizza is 81 pizza units. So, it would probably end up being a better deal to split the 18\u0026quot; pizza, and you\u0026rsquo;d get some extra pizza out of the deal. As a side note, this also works for cakes, pies, and any other circular treats you may enjoy.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/purchasing-pizza/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSuppose you are at a pizza restaurant with your friends. You all agree you want to buy pizza to maximize your pizza-per-dollar. There\u0026rsquo;s an easy way to make comparisons between pizza sizes and figure out what the best deal is.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Purchasing Pizza"},{"content":"To begin, a fantastic Calvin and Hobbes comic that has stuck with me through the years. School taught me how motivating a deadline can be, but only within a certain temporal distance from said deadline. There were many assignments that would not have been completed to any degree without a deadline, since so many assignments had very little motivation, interest, or inspiration within themselves. Hence an external factor was required to get me moving. This has long been an issue for me. When an idea strikes, or I am lucky enough to be working on something that grabs my attention, I can attack it with fury and be very pleased with the product, even if little to no revision is performed. Yet the majority of the time I found myself in a position where an assignment had little residual value (beyond the points earned toward a grade), and was on a topic that I had little passion for. This is certainly not a problem unique to me and my experience. I feel fortunate that there were any assignments I felt I could proactive in working on. During my time working as a TA and a tutor, it can be hard to find motivation for many students. This piece of writing is not about those kids, nor about how assignments could better be determined in school to allow kids to really enjoy them. I wish to focus on deadlines. More specifically, how they affect me now that I am not in school.\nWork While I have not started my full-time job yet, I have been working as a contractor with the same company. When I first began soon after my internship ended, things were fairly casual. I would put in a few hours every few days when I had the time, and I enjoyed it for the most part. Aspects of the work can be tedious, but there were times when I was assigned to work on puzzles of some variety, and those remained engaging. As the semester wore on, I became worse at finding the time to sit down and get a good amount of work done. This soon bled over into the following semester, as I began working more earnestly on my thesis (and had other classes with a bit more busy work than the previous semester.) All of a sudden it was March, and I had an email informing me that some of the work really needed to be done by the end of April. I had let some things go, but was able to make good progress. Until a large project was put on my plate, which happened to coincide with a landmark time for my thesis as well as other homework and a project for my classes. This deadline motivated me to work hard on everything, with an intense amount of focus. I made it through, but ultimately had to give up some of the contract work so that I could accomplish everything in school. Now that I am done with school, I am realizing how unhealthy my balance was at times. I often pretended I had things very under control (and truthfully I did at times), yet I neglected to acknowledge when I had put too many things off and couldn\u0026rsquo;t balance it all. I did not seek the help I needed. I would burn myself out near some deadlines, causing me to ricochet the other way and not get anything done for some period of time. It is good to understand this, and work toward finding other motivation to get work done other than last-minute panic. I don\u0026rsquo;t have this sorted out, but I am working on it.\nPlay Between my two podcasts, Operation: Have a Conversation and Comical Start, as well as this website and wanting to read books, I have projects for myself which require deadlines if they are to get done. I have the impression there are certain creative people who can continually work (in some fashion) without much break. They are teeming with new ideas, and a passion to turn them into the medium of their choice. They act on these desires, and some fantastic works are made as a result. I fancy myself a creative person sometimes, who enjoys writing, reading, and podcasting (now that I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten the hang of it.) Yet I do not feel I have the intrinsic motivation to sit down and work on things. If you look at the archive of this website, I would have passionate spurts of writing, interspersed with three or more months of nothing being produced. In some way (though partially due to time constraints) you can see this pattern in OHAC as well. This is why I set up a defined schedule a few weeks ago, and also removed the connection this website had with Facebook. I want the deadlines to be set by me, and followed by me, to improve how I work with them. I work well within a system having some loose constraints. These constraints must make sense to me, and so I set them up myself. I am still struggling with how to properly enforce rules on myself, when I am all three branches of this personal government. But it is a trial in self-discipline, something I will need if I determine I want to continue into grad school, or maybe even work for myself some day doing a combination of many things. That is why I write some of these posts. They usually are not my best writing, but they are always on topics I care about. It keeps me going, no excuses allowed. While I am not Stephen King, writing 4-6 hours alone each day, I am doing things I enjoy and keeping myself active. That is important to me. As I go forward, deadlines will always be something I need to worry about, enforce, and live with. But they don\u0026rsquo;t need to be a burden. For me, they are an incredibly useful tool that keeps me accountable, even when they are for things I truly care about. Some people don\u0026rsquo;t need this motivation, and that is good to know as well. Create a system that works for you. It takes time, trial and error, but it can be done for everybody.\nInspiration and Motivation I have not been consistent when talking about deadlines in terms of motivation and inspiration. Yet I reflexively titled this post Inspirational Deadlines. Are deadlines actually inspirational, as compared to simply being motivational? And what is the difference between these two? First, I do think that deadlines can be inspiring. They put the brain in a different configuration, forcing connections that may never be made otherwise. This is often a thought experiment I put to myself when writing, or even doing math homework. Had I been doing this at a different place, at a different time (if I hadn\u0026rsquo;t chosen to come to the library, if I were on my laptop instead of my desktop) would this all happen very differently? Are these sentences a result of coming back to this article a day later, instead of pushing on? One common factor I can find when looking back at my writing is that what I write under pressure is tangibly different. There is a different inspiration there. The language I use when my passion boils over (see my Election posts) is vastly different from what I may write when I feel there is a time crunch. Despite all this, other than this little essay, deadlines are not inspirational in and of themselves. I believe they are more of a vehicle to make connections. This is very dependent on the person though. Some people shut down when they are overwhelmed by what they must do by some day, while others work significantly harder to get it all done (even if it is impossible.) So it is important to know how this works for you, and what truly motivates you and gets those neurons firing. I remember reading a story about a budding writer who entered an MFA program in creative writing. They essentially failed out because they had nothing they felt they could write about. They took a step back, and moved to medical school (where their parents wanted them) and suddenly the stories flowed, and they are now a successful writer. If this is you, take advantage of you. Go for a breadth of experience in unrelated things, and inspiration may strike. That\u0026rsquo;s part of the fun.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/inspirational-deadlines/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTo begin, a fantastic Calvin and Hobbes comic that has stuck with me through the years. \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/lastminutepanic.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Inspirational Deadlines"},{"content":"Well, spoiler alerts are due. Last night I went and saw Incredibles 2 with my girlfriend. They began with a little disclaimer from the director and the voices of key characters. Acknowledging the 14 years that had passed since The Incredibles was first released, they assured us it was worth the wait.\nTo begin, I had to double check the correct names of the movies. The original was indeed titled The Incredibles, while the second movie dropped the \u0026ldquo;The\u0026rdquo;. This is interesting in its own right. Next, it had been 14 years so I was wondering how duration compared. The Incredibles came out when this whole 3D animation was still relatively new, but they got a full 1 hour, 55 minutes. Incredibles 2 barely surpassed it at 2 hours, 5 minutes. Yet somehow, it felt like a lot more happened. More characters were introduced, and it was clear they had the original audience of children in mind \u0026ndash; who are now in their 20s \u0026ndash; while still making it fun for kids. They did not pull the classic Disney move of subliminal messaging, nor did they participate in the crudeness of Dreamworks stuff (which I really despise, especially the Minions.) It was classic Pixar, coming back to its roots, and having a lot of fun with the audience. Let\u0026rsquo;s go through some things.\nHeroes Of course we have the Parr family, which make up the Incredibles. Frozone makes a more significant appearance, and Jack-Jack becomes a legitimately funny, and useful, character in his own right. In addition to this lineup we were introduced to in the original movie (there was even a throwback scene involving Gazerbeam), some side heroes were used as a part of the plot. The only three I remember by name are Void, Screech, and Reflux. We\u0026rsquo;ll get back to these in a bit. What I was most excited about was how this movie largely focused on Helen, or Elastigirl, getting back into the hero game alone. Her character became more fully developed beyond her role as a mother. She came into her own more, and we got to see a side of her that was thrilled by hero work, a trait we mostly only see in Mr. Incredible during both movies. She was cunning and clever, in addition to being very physically capable. As far as being the face of reintroducing heroes, she was an excellent choice. Frozone also showed us how his seemingly-specific powers can be broadly applied. A loyal, cool guy who truly cared about what he did, it was always a pleasure to have him on screen. As far as total screen time, I\u0026rsquo;m sure it wasn\u0026rsquo;t all that much more than the original movie, yet he had far more impact. While there was no \u0026ldquo;Where is my supersuit?\u0026rdquo; level scene (a weak reference was made when he went to go protect the kids) he also became a character we could actually identify with. As far as Jack-Jack and the kids go, you have to remember the major plot points are likely only a week or two after the events of the first movie. This is glossed over a bit, especially as Violet uses her force field at the beginning in a way we never saw (creating a Thor-hammer-like shockwave), but it was cool to see them take charge in their own sibling-rivalry fashion. Just watch the movie to actually see Jack-Jack. Words will provide nothing. Finally we\u0026rsquo;ll get back to the additional heroes. It was a good idea to add them, both to show a world of superheroes beyond those killed off by Syndrome, and so Pixar could flex their creative chops on what powers they would have. One of the most engaging parts of the Incredibles is the mix of typical powers (super strength, speed, invisibility) with stuff not as much in the public eye (yeah flexibility is in the Fantastic Four, but who really cares?) In particular, you got the feeling these people were in a sort of X-Men type world. They knew they were different, but had no means to deal with it productively. Their powers were incredibly unique. They did not have hero complexes, because many of them (except Reflux) were probably too young to have experienced the glory days of the heroes. Overall, the heroes were fantastic and why we came to this movie. Villains and Plot Overall, I was not impressed with the Villains or how they were used in the movie. We\u0026rsquo;ll start with the Underminer. I think it was a good move to start Incredibles 2 right at the end of the the first movie. It got me engaged right away, because I knew what had just come, and how they struck a collective pose once the Underminer broke ground. However, I had two issues:\nThe Underminer escaped, so he is still completely unresolved. Also, he\u0026rsquo;s a mole-type creature who stole from a bank. What\u0026rsquo;s he going to do? Apparently everybody forgot how the Incredibles had just defeated Syndrome and the giant robot literally minutes prior. Hence the focus on the resulting destruction from fighting the Underminer. How could that possibly spin immediately into support in a matter of weeks? Due to point (1), I\u0026rsquo;m quite afraid they are planning a third movie. I hope they don\u0026rsquo;t. I\u0026rsquo;m quite satisfied with these two. Due to point (2), I became a bit more cynical of the plot. As I noted in the hero section, I still love the characters (mostly), but was a bit miffed by the plot. A key thing to keep in mind is that I am not a seven-year old watching this movie. I\u0026rsquo;m an adult who has seen a lot of movies now, and have watched the first movie countless times. The Incredibles was not very subtle about who the villain was. We were given the background to know why Syndrome was frustrated and vengeful, and specifically was aiming for Mr. Incredible. In the second movie, we were greeted with \u0026ldquo;The Screenslaver\u0026rdquo;, who had many broad things to say about how people use technology for passive activities, yet had no direct reason to be going against heroes on the surface. However, it was clear to me that the intention was for the identity to be some sort of surprise. The major issue was introducing two characters: A boisterous salesman, and his tech-savvy sister, who headed a major telecom company previously run by their deceased father, who was buddy-buddy with superheroes. Now, how could a villain hi-jacking all the screens in a large city possibly be tied to the largest telecom company in said city? Starting about 20 minutes into the movie, I was just sitting around waiting to figure out who of the brother-sister duo was the evil mastermind. I was not surprised when the reveal came. The only small thing was the true motivation. What the Screenslaver said had little to do with the true motivation. This was the low point of the entire movie for me, because it was so predictable. As I said before, Pixar clearly targeted this movie at nostalgic people who had seen the original fourteen years ago. Yet this plot was so weakly developed that I started to second guess what they were going for. Everything after the reveal was great though, so I forgave them. Gender Roles I\u0026rsquo;ll keep this brief. Helen is all worried about her family, and Bob finds out how difficult it is to parent alone all day. Very funny. I felt like Pixar really tried to ram home Bob\u0026rsquo;s masculinity and Helen\u0026rsquo;s need to be a mother. In the first movie it worked a bit better. Here they rubbed it in our faces. There were a few scenes that really seemed like they were from a 60s sitcom that aged somewhat poorly. I would have liked to see something a bit more subtle and clever than what was given. Overall Another fantastic soundtrack, Jack-Jack with powers, new heroes introduced, old heroes developed. Honestly, I really did like this movie and highly recommend it. It was predictable, but at some point it had to be for kids and not for those who saw the original when it came out. They gave us enough with Edna being developed further and various fan-service scenes to hunt down. I think they could have done better with a less ambitious plot that narrowed itself like the first movie, but it was a wonderful follow-up. I was happy they made it, and that cannot be said for all Pixar sequels (Cars.) Go see it, enjoy some nostalgia, have some laughs, and wait for the next new thing Pixar has for us.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/movie-review-incredibles-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWell, spoiler alerts are due. Last night I went and saw \u003cem\u003eIncredibles 2\u003c/em\u003e with my girlfriend. They began with a little disclaimer from the director and the voices of key characters. Acknowledging the 14 years that had passed since \u003cem\u003eThe Incredibles\u003c/em\u003e was first released, they assured us it was worth the wait.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Movie Review: \u0026quot;Incredibles 2\u0026quot;"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m moving out to San Diego, and with that move comes a very important question: How wholeheartedly do I join the Padres\u0026rsquo; fan-base, and how much do I keep following the Twins? For any of you who don\u0026rsquo;t follow baseball, the key thing to know is that as far as future prospects go, this decision feels like a total wash. The Twins do have a bit of a larger group around them, I believe, but the Padres seem to be making a few moves to help things improve. They care about their fans, and are at ease with their current losing situation. Last year when I was in San Diego, they had deal going where you could pay a flat rate (it wasn\u0026rsquo;t too much) and guarantee at least 10 tickets, and you would get a ticket for every game after that until they won. That is a team aware of their losing, and willing to help bring in fans. I also think they might have a better stadium. Don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I love Target Field. I was there on its opening day, and have been to countless games there over the past nine years. But Petco Park (while being as horrifically branded as ours) has a certain distinct charm to it. First, it allows pets in a green area outside of right field. It seems larger, and it is in San Diego. However, the location, and traveling there, is not quite as good. Public transportation in San Diego is rather sparse, and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t determine a better way to get to the stadium than driving and pre-paying for my parking. Over time, we\u0026rsquo;ll have to see how the teams develop. I am more entrenched in the history and culture of the Twins, and in my mind the Padres have none except for Tony Gwynn. Thinking about who to support, what games to go to, and the relative difficulty of going compared to my current experience in the Twin Cities, is a little stressful. Sports, especially baseball, has been a big part of my life since I could walk. Throughout college I had the freedom of disposable income (kind of) and transportation to attend them at my leisure, as long as I had the time. I am not sure if the San Diego sports scene is quite as accommodating. This gets to a bigger question I\u0026rsquo;ve had in my mind. To what extent does changing states affect my life, my \u0026ldquo;loyalties\u0026rdquo; so to speak, and the bridges I have. In an interconnected world, it seems that physical barriers are not quite as important, but they do put forward some stress testing on friendships and what you know about where you are. I am so familiar with Minnesota culture, the Twin Cities and its surrounding suburbs, everything that is available to me. This information has been obtained through years of living here, driving around, growing up in it. How do I reach that level of comfort in a new place, when I don\u0026rsquo;t know exactly how long I\u0026rsquo;ll stay? What changes do I make in my activities? I know there is so much to explore, but at what point does the awe of exploration turn into either familiarity, or complacency? When I was out there last summer, I quickly latched onto safe places where I could be safe bide my time: Starbucks, Panera, and a single hiking trail I walked about 10 times. It took friends and family visiting to go beyond those places, and even then the exploration was minimal. I spent many weekends feeling sick, watching movies in bed, or just going to a local theater in a mall. I was afraid to strike out by myself. I found a minimally comfortable zone, and wished to stay there. This is what I need to change. I don\u0026rsquo;t need to change teams, or give up on what I love about Minnesota. I can still have that part of me, while appreciating the new things San Diego has to offer. I will always have a pain in my heart when the Twins lose, even if I support the Padres bandwagon for a while. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t make things less scary. It will be a long period of adjustment for me, but it something I know I must do.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/changing-teams/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m moving out to San Diego, and with that move comes a very important question: How wholeheartedly do I join the Padres\u0026rsquo; fan-base, and how much do I keep following the Twins? For any of you who don\u0026rsquo;t follow baseball, the key thing to know is that as far as future prospects go, this decision feels like a total wash. The Twins do have a bit of a larger group around them, I believe, but the Padres seem to be making a few moves to help things improve. They care about their fans, and are at ease with their current losing situation. Last year when I was in San Diego, they had deal going where you could pay a flat rate (it wasn\u0026rsquo;t too much) and guarantee at least 10 tickets, and you would get a ticket for every game after that until they won. That is a team aware of their losing, and willing to help bring in fans. I also think they \u003cem\u003emight\u003c/em\u003e have a better stadium. Don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I love Target Field. I was there on its opening day, and have been to countless games there over the past nine years. But Petco Park (while being as horrifically branded as ours) has a certain distinct charm to it. First, it allows pets in a green area outside of right field. It seems larger, and it is in San Diego. However, the location, and traveling there, is not quite as good. Public transportation in San Diego is rather sparse, and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t determine a better way to get to the stadium than driving and pre-paying for my parking. Over time, we\u0026rsquo;ll have to see how the teams develop. I am more entrenched in the history and culture of the Twins, and in my mind the Padres have none except for Tony Gwynn. Thinking about who to support, what games to go to, and the relative difficulty of going compared to my current experience in the Twin Cities, is a little stressful. Sports, especially baseball, has been a big part of my life since I could walk. Throughout college I had the freedom of disposable income (kind of) and transportation to attend them at my leisure, as long as I had the time. I am not sure if the San Diego sports scene is quite as accommodating.   This gets to a bigger question I\u0026rsquo;ve had in my mind. To what extent does changing states affect my life, my \u0026ldquo;loyalties\u0026rdquo; so to speak, and the bridges I have. In an interconnected world, it seems that physical barriers are not quite as important, but they do put forward some stress testing on friendships and what you know about where you are. I am so familiar with Minnesota culture, the Twin Cities and its surrounding suburbs, everything that is available to me. This information has been obtained through years of living here, driving around, growing up in it. How do I reach that level of comfort in a new place, when I don\u0026rsquo;t know exactly how long I\u0026rsquo;ll stay? What changes do I make in my activities? I know there is so much to explore, but at what point does the awe of exploration turn into either familiarity, or complacency? When I was out there last summer, I quickly latched onto safe places where I could be safe bide my time: Starbucks, Panera, and a single hiking trail I walked about 10 times. It took friends and family visiting to go beyond those places, and even then the exploration was minimal. I spent many weekends feeling sick, watching movies in bed, or just going to a local theater in a mall. I was afraid to strike out by myself. I found a minimally comfortable zone, and wished to stay there. This is what I need to change. I don\u0026rsquo;t need to change teams, or give up on what I love about Minnesota. I can still have that part of me, while appreciating the new things San Diego has to offer. I will always have a pain in my heart when the Twins lose, even if I support the Padres bandwagon for a while. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t make things less scary. It will be a long period of adjustment for me, but it something I know I must do.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Changing Teams"},{"content":" DRY LAND is a play about abortion, the harshness and sweetness of young womanhood, and the sticky ambience of a high school locker room.\nI decided to go see a play last weekend, based solely on the fact that I knew one of the leads, and one of my friends who participated in theater was interested in going. The Facebook event told me the play was called Dry Land, with the promotional picture being two girls in swimsuits (presumably of a racing variety) lying down next to each other. Every so often, with the event upcoming, I would see some pictures from rehearsals. It seemed the set consisted solely of a fake pool locker room with benches. The racing swimsuits were confirmed. Upon buying my ticket, that was all the information I had. I showed up alone, to a small theater on campus, and received my program from what I later learned was one of the producers of the play. The first one in the theater, I sat on the far end of the second row of black chairs. There were only four rows in total, perhaps seating about 20 each. I was within 30 feet of the illuminated set: the same pool locker room floor I had seen online. Opening the program, I scanned the cast and read the biographies printed inside. There were a mix of recent graduates, and those still going to the University of Minnesota, involved in the theater department. Soon I made my way to the summary, where I was met with the description this review begins with. I realized I was at this play alone, mostly to see someone who I had met over a few weeks when I was a pit member for another musical, but who I had hardly seen since. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but I realized this was a rather immature feeling. So I settled in for what would likely be an engaging play. I was completely blown away at the end, fairly close to tears. I won\u0026rsquo;t give much of a plot summary, but let it suffice to say the how we view friendship was questioned, and there was a very long scene where an aborted fetus was being passed, complete with copious amounts of fake blood. Mixed in were fights, complete silence, lonely scenes where a character was on stage for minutes without speaking. Altogether it was a fantastically beautiful play, exploring the dynamics of relationships we have with each other and ourselves at a time period \u0026ndash; between high school and college \u0026ndash; where we are transitioning our lives and determining who will remain as we move forward. While the run of the play is over at this point (it was only on for a weekend) I highly recommend finding other performances online (if available) or locally. I was deeply affected, in a way I can\u0026rsquo;t quite replicate via writing a few days later. While the play was uncomfortable at times, an audience who can take it quietly will come out with a greater sense of empathy.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/review-dry-land-a-play/","summary":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDRY LAND is a play about abortion, the harshness and sweetness of young womanhood, and the sticky ambience of a high school locker room.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI decided to go see a play last weekend, based solely on the fact that I knew one of the leads, and one of my friends who participated in theater was interested in going. The Facebook event told me the play was called \u003cem\u003eDry Land\u003c/em\u003e, with the promotional picture being two girls in swimsuits (presumably of a racing variety) lying down next to each other. Every so often, with the event upcoming, I would see some pictures from rehearsals. It seemed the set consisted solely of a fake pool locker room with benches. The racing swimsuits were confirmed. Upon buying my ticket, that was all the information I had. I showed up alone, to a small theater on campus, and received my program from what I later learned was one of the producers of the play. The first one in the theater, I sat on the far end of the second row of black chairs. There were only four rows in total, perhaps seating about 20 each. I was within 30 feet of the illuminated set: the same pool locker room floor I had seen online. Opening the program, I scanned the cast and read the biographies printed inside. There were a mix of recent graduates, and those still going to the University of Minnesota, involved in the theater department. Soon I made my way to the summary, where I was met with the description this review begins with. I realized I was at this play alone, mostly to see someone who I had met over a few weeks when I was a pit member for another musical, but who I had hardly seen since. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but I realized this was a rather immature feeling. So I settled in for what would likely be an engaging play. I was completely blown away at the end, fairly close to tears. I won\u0026rsquo;t give much of a plot summary, but let it suffice to say the how we view friendship was questioned, and there was a very long scene where an aborted fetus was being passed, complete with copious amounts of fake blood. Mixed in were fights, complete silence, lonely scenes where a character was on stage for minutes without speaking. Altogether it was a fantastically beautiful play, exploring the dynamics of relationships we have with each other and ourselves at a time period \u0026ndash; between high school and college \u0026ndash; where we are transitioning our lives and determining who will remain as we move forward. While the run of the play is over at this point (it was only on for a weekend) I highly recommend finding other performances online (if available) or locally. I was deeply affected, in a way I can\u0026rsquo;t quite replicate via writing a few days later. While the play was uncomfortable at times, an audience who can take it quietly will come out with a greater sense of empathy.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Review: \u0026quot;Dry Land\u0026quot;, A Play"},{"content":"I recently finished reading the book Quiet, by Susan Cain. In it, Susan Cain puts forth her concept of the \u0026ldquo;Extrovert Ideal\u0026rdquo; in western culture, and what introverts can do to help themselves in a world dominated by extroverts. In addition, she makes a case for why introverts are often exceptional leaders at all levels, although this may depend on the dynamic of the workplace itself. As a self-avowed introvert, I found much of what she said to be very appealing and helpful. Most useful to me was the idea of a restorative niche, an environment to which you naturally go whenever you\u0026rsquo;re feeling a bit down or out of place. I enjoy this part of the book in particular, as it is personality-agnostic. She makes a case for having self-awareness of your personal restorative niche, regardless of your introversion or extroversion. The reason being that we all need a place to go and revitalize ourselves. Introverts are often characterized by susceptibility to over-stimulation. As a result, it is often necessary to seek a quiet place of solitude, or perhaps one or two close friends. I know whenever I had to be in front of a large group (anything more than eight for me) I could do it, but then felt very drained. It was imperative that I find a spot to be to recover, or perhaps connect with a single person in that large group quickly so that I have something concrete to focus on. Conversely, the group situation above can often be the restorative niche of an extrovert. After a long day at work or studying, they crave a group of friends to go spend the evening with. Perhaps they work somewhere and find themselves severely under-stimulated (a common occurrence and your average campus job) and just need to unwind with a large group of friends. The key is to know where you stand, and seek out a schedule which maximizes the time spent in your restorative niche. Of course, this is not to say that every introvert should work alone from home all the time, or that extroverts should spend every waking hour at the stock exchange. There is a balance to be struck. But understanding your own mood patterns, as far as they relate to your social habits and preferences, is powerful when trying to form a schedule that suits your needs. Another point of interest is how introverts and extroverts interact with those of similar and opposing dispositions to them. There was a study in which groups of introverts talked with themselves one-on-one, as did extroverts; then the groups were mixed together so that introverts talked with extroverts. In the first part of the conversations, introverts tended to immediately delve into personal topics about each other\u0026rsquo;s lives, or about current events in the world. They often found a common topic of interest very quickly, and were able to stay focused on one or two ideas for most of the time. Extroverts required a bit of warming up, talking about the weather and more surface-level details about the other person\u0026rsquo;s lives. The dynamics were clearly quite different. Once introverts and extroverts joined together, they were able to adapt to each other. Introverts let the conversation become a bit shallower, and the extroverts reported feeling at ease, since they felt heard to a greater extent than when talking to other extroverts. Introverts reported being more at ease, since the other person would lead the conversation. They were both able to interact well, and had very good ratings of how the conversation went. What\u0026rsquo;s important here is that we can all help each other, and serve a role, whatever our social preferences are. Extroverts can often talk about many things very quickly, processing things out loud with other people, and having an introvert who will happily sit quietly just to listen, and respond when appropriate, can be very helpful for this. In addition, an average introvert may not always want to be engaged in incredibly serious discussion, or just wants a bit extra social interaction. Being carried along in a conversation (or some other situation) with an extroverted friend can help move someone out of their comfort zone. This book has some very important ideas for everybody to be aware of. While I did not touch on some of the larger ideas presented (how extroverts dominate the business world, and the ways this effects employees), even just the two things that resonated with me are worthy of significant discussion. Give it a read. It\u0026rsquo;s a very concise narrative style, easy to follow, with great ideas and advice for becoming more aware of how you operate within the wider world. I know it had a great effect on me.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/book-review-quiet-by-susan-cain/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently finished reading the book \u003cem\u003eQuiet\u003c/em\u003e, by Susan Cain. In it, Susan Cain puts forth her concept of the \u0026ldquo;Extrovert Ideal\u0026rdquo; in western culture, and what introverts can do to help themselves in a world dominated by extroverts. In addition, she makes a case for why introverts are often exceptional leaders at all levels, although this may depend on the dynamic of the workplace itself. As a self-avowed introvert, I found much of what she said to be very appealing and helpful. Most useful to me was the idea of a \u003cem\u003erestorative niche\u003c/em\u003e, an environment to which you naturally go whenever you\u0026rsquo;re feeling a bit down or out of place. I enjoy this part of the book in particular, as it is personality-agnostic. She makes a case for having self-awareness of your personal restorative niche, regardless of your introversion or extroversion. The reason being that we all need a place to go and revitalize ourselves. Introverts are often characterized by susceptibility to over-stimulation. As a result, it is often necessary to seek a quiet place of solitude, or perhaps one or two close friends. I know whenever I had to be in front of a large group (anything more than eight for me) I could do it, but then felt very drained. It was imperative that I find a spot to be to recover, or perhaps connect with a single person in that large group quickly so that I have something concrete to focus on. Conversely, the group situation above can often be the restorative niche of an extrovert. After a long day at work or studying, they crave a group of friends to go spend the evening with. Perhaps they work somewhere and find themselves severely under-stimulated (a common occurrence and your average campus job) and just need to unwind with a large group of friends. The key is to know where you stand, and seek out a schedule which maximizes the time spent in your restorative niche. Of course, this is not to say that every introvert should work alone from home all the time, or that extroverts should spend every waking hour at the stock exchange. There is a balance to be struck. But understanding your own mood patterns, as far as they relate to your social habits and preferences, is powerful when trying to form a schedule that suits your needs.   Another point of interest is how introverts and extroverts interact with those of similar and opposing dispositions to them. There was a study in which groups of introverts talked with themselves one-on-one, as did extroverts; then the groups were mixed together so that introverts talked with extroverts. In the first part of the conversations, introverts tended to immediately delve into personal topics about each other\u0026rsquo;s lives, or about current events in the world. They often found a common topic of interest very quickly, and were able to stay focused on one or two ideas for most of the time. Extroverts required a bit of warming up, talking about the weather and more surface-level details about the other person\u0026rsquo;s lives. The dynamics were clearly quite different. Once introverts and extroverts joined together, they were able to adapt to each other. Introverts let the conversation become a bit shallower, and the extroverts reported feeling at ease, since they felt heard to a greater extent than when talking to other extroverts. Introverts reported being more at ease, since the other person would lead the conversation. They were both able to interact well, and had very good ratings of how the conversation went. What\u0026rsquo;s important here is that we can all help each other, and serve a role, whatever our social preferences are. Extroverts can often talk about many things very quickly, processing things out loud with other people, and having an introvert who will happily sit quietly just to listen, and respond when appropriate, can be very helpful for this. In addition, an average introvert may not always want to be engaged in incredibly serious discussion, or just wants a bit extra social interaction. Being carried along in a conversation (or some other situation) with an extroverted friend can help move someone out of their comfort zone.   This book has some very important ideas for everybody to be aware of. While I did not touch on some of the larger ideas presented (how extroverts dominate the business world, and the ways this effects employees), even just the two things that resonated with me are worthy of significant discussion. Give it a read. It\u0026rsquo;s a very concise narrative style, easy to follow, with great ideas and advice for becoming more aware of how you operate within the wider world. I know it had a great effect on me.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Book Review: \u0026quot;Quiet\u0026quot; by Susan Cain"},{"content":"Just to have this out for people to look at, here is my honors thesis from my degree. It is broadly about some of the mathematics behind a particular phenomenon in quantum mechanics.\nThesis\nThesis Formatted as a Book\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/my-senior-thesis/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eJust to have this out for people to look at, here is my honors thesis from my degree. It is broadly about some of the mathematics behind a particular phenomenon in quantum mechanics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/images/thesisofficial.pdf\"\u003eThesis\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/images/thesisprintable.pdf\"\u003eThesis Formatted as a Book\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My Senior Thesis"},{"content":"I recently graduated from college, and while I may touch on that or write a longer post about my experience and what that means for me, all it means in the context of this post is I now have free time. While I objectively had less \u0026ldquo;scheduled\u0026rdquo; time during college, I always felt that I needed to be doing something towards my degree and my future. I only read a handful of books for fun during those four years, as I felt it imperative that I instead spend the time working on my programming skills or looking through math textbooks. I did not want to \u0026ldquo;waste time\u0026rdquo;, and this greatly affected how I spread myself out. I will be moving onto a full-time job fairly soon, and while this obviously eats up a chunk of every day, it is a consistent chunk. I know the time I have left, and all that time is spent on projects that I am invested in. I get to decide on what to do. This summer, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally gotten back into reading. I\u0026rsquo;m also hoping to record my podcast more frequently, especially now that I have taken over editing duties. I began playing baseball again (kind of) and playing music a bit more. There is a lot I can finally begin to do which I put off during my time in college. What that means for my writing here, is that I\u0026rsquo;m going to try and post consistently. My plan is to write a post every week. There is truth to the idea that making a schedule out of something takes the fun out of it, but I know I am the sort of person who needs deadlines to be productive. My goal is to post on Mondays (as I am doing now). I\u0026rsquo;ve also removed my Facebook link to this website, so I don\u0026rsquo;t have an effective way to share it. This was mainly to take pressure off of the writing process. If those who have read it in the past stumble on it again, that\u0026rsquo;s great. But this is just meant to be a place to put my normal \u0026ldquo;personal\u0026rdquo; writing, while allowing it to technically be accessible for those who care. If it obtains a following, that will happen organically. The posts are going to vary as widely as the current posts do. Sometimes it will just be a small piece of math that I find interesting. It may be an explanation of how I work, or what I do in my free time. I want to keep it open, and allow a slog of a week to have a shorter post like this (sub 500 words). For anyone who comes across this, you now have a bit of context for the posts that will (or will not) appear in the future.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/switching-things-up/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently graduated from college, and while I may touch on that or write a longer post about my experience and what that means for me, all it means in the context of this post is I now have free time. While I objectively had less \u0026ldquo;scheduled\u0026rdquo; time during college, I always felt that I needed to be doing something towards my degree and my future. I only read a handful of books for fun during those four years, as I felt it imperative that I instead spend the time working on my programming skills or looking through math textbooks. I did not want to \u0026ldquo;waste time\u0026rdquo;, and this greatly affected how I spread myself out. I will be moving onto a full-time job fairly soon, and while this obviously eats up a chunk of every day, it is a \u003cem\u003econsistent\u003c/em\u003e chunk. I know the time I have left, and all that time is spent on projects that I am invested in. I get to decide on what to do. This summer, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally gotten back into reading. I\u0026rsquo;m also hoping to record \u003ca href=\"https://www.ohacpodcast.com\"\u003emy podcast\u003c/a\u003e more frequently, especially now that I have taken over editing duties. I began playing baseball again (kind of) and playing music a bit more. There is a lot I can finally begin to do which I put off during my time in college. What that means for my writing here, is that I\u0026rsquo;m going to try and post consistently. My plan is to write a post every week. There is truth to the idea that making a schedule out of something takes the fun out of it, but I know I am the sort of person who needs deadlines to be productive. My goal is to post on Mondays (as I am doing now). I\u0026rsquo;ve also removed my Facebook link to this website, so I don\u0026rsquo;t have an effective way to share it. This was mainly to take pressure off of the writing process. If those who have read it in the past stumble on it again, that\u0026rsquo;s great. But this is just meant to be a place to put my normal \u0026ldquo;personal\u0026rdquo; writing, while allowing it to technically be accessible for those who care. If it obtains a following, that will happen organically. The posts are going to vary as widely as the current posts do. Sometimes it will just be a small piece of math that I find interesting. It may be an explanation of how I work, or what I do in my free time. I want to keep it open, and allow a slog of a week to have a shorter post like this (sub 500 words). For anyone who comes across this, you now have a bit of context for the posts that will (or will not) appear in the future.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Switching Things Up"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been struggling a lot over the past few months in starting a new post, or a new piece of writing for myself, and faltering a few paragraphs in, not sure what to do with myself. A large part of this, as was mentioned in a previous post, is due to my habit of editing as I write. I don\u0026rsquo;t often plan my writing ideas, put them in some flow chart or other organizational structure, or summarize the points I want to make before I write. This helps keep my writing natural, and keep its place as a release valve rather than work. This also puts me in the position of sitting down with what seems to be a well-formulated idea, only to have it peter out faster than anticipated. I recently had a conversation with someone who pointed out that this isn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily bad, as it still shows that I\u0026rsquo;m thinking about these topics. I start to second-guess my own thoughts. It also means that I am still writing, even if the finished product does not get produced as prolifically as I would ideally have it. All this has led me to think about the importance of completing projects in life, and to what extent my large folder of draft documents can be justified and excused.\nDrafts Matter I am prolific in writing, or at least beginning, first drafts. However, due to laziness (and the fact that most of my writing is for mental processing, not really for serious consumption) my first drafts become glorified pre-final drafts. Upon a scan for grammar and typos, a small rewording every so often, it transforms into the final draft. I spent a semester in AP Language and Composition poring over every small word in a page-long essay. While the skills are still there (I edit for others quite frequently) I find it difficult to do so for myself. Yet, I cannot shake the feeling that drafts really do matter. Drafts (of anything, not just writing) are the free space where the creator can make mistakes, silly decisions, and grow frustrated with a topic. A draft is something full of liberty, before whatever forces which require a final draft descend to urge real work to occur. I take joy in creating drafts. While I lack the motivators others may have, of both internal and external nature, to eventually form these into final drafts, I still enjoy the process. It lets me begin to work through a topic. Many times I will bring up a topic of conversation with someone that has no business in that particular conversation \u0026ndash; it normally means that I recently started a rough draft, and I need the conversation to push my thoughts out in a way that couldn\u0026rsquo;t be done in a vacuum. This is all a part of the drafting process, and I love it. Drafts matter, so take joy in them, even if they never get advanced beyond a few lines and a couple of minutes\u0026rsquo; thought.\nTime Matters Many times the reason that a draft never moves forward to \u0026ldquo;consumption-level\u0026rdquo; of writing is because I did not let the idea fester in my mind long enough, and I tried to do too much with too little right away. For example, an idea that I was very excited about when it first came in my head was the state of education research in colleges, where many times we are told openly that we are test subjects, and will be submitted to semi-random quizzes about how a class is going. It has always been my experience that this is distracting and unhelpful, leading to students being resentful; even worse, if a method (golden example of the flipped classroom) is deemed worthy of widespread use, it is automatically assumed that this can help make poor teachers better. Everything that I just typed is essentially all I had typed down when I first tried to attack this idea. After a few short conversations with other people, I just could not manage to add to this idea. And so a relatively small idea was smothered to death by too much excitement surrounding it. On the other end of this spectrum, an idea can become so massive that I have to separate myself from it in order to achieve a more general clarity, and potentially break it down into more manageable topics. A good example of this are my thoughts on pushing and pulling: it took almost 5 months before I was able to write a short post, only stating that I had come to no conclusions and was almost entirely overwhelmed by it. The more I write, the more I realize I must find the proper habitable zone for my ideas. When something grabs me, I have to be able to judge how reasonable the idea is, and explore it a bit before deciding if it is worth sitting down to write about it. Beginning the first draft always helps to flesh out where my thoughts are, but not being able to finish a first draft is a mental barrier to me. Even if it\u0026rsquo;s a bad ending, I like to be able to have something completed to work with.\nDoes Completion Matter? If I were to put my money on it, every single motivational speaker and self-help book would say without hesitation that the completion of a project, just doing the thing you want, is the most important part of living a happy and successful life. In many cases, I agree. For example, I\u0026rsquo;d like to create a complete computer game this summer. If I only finish half of it ever, I will have failed without argument. With writing, I am less convinced. Of course, if someone were contracted to actually write something for money, that would be a different matter entirely. But for myself, I have become a bit more at ease with my unfinished thoughts. First, I know they are there, open for conversation with myself and others. Second, they are not failures in themselves, as each draft helps me understand what may be wrong with how I\u0026rsquo;ve approached an idea, find better methods to pick apart my thoughts, and also give me the resolve (and excuse) to be done with an idea for now and move onto something that I am more immediately concerned with. The freedom to find something new, combined with the perseverance to stick with the current project (along with the accumulating experience to help balance the two) is very important to me. Despite having this blog (but acknowledging it\u0026rsquo;s very low readership) on which I do post some of my writing, the process continues to be a way for my to work with interesting ideas, and allow me to hold conversations with people. Even if the completed work never materializes, I know that the thought and work that went into the idea helped me get a lot out.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/drafts-and-completion/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been struggling a lot over the past few months in starting a new post, or a new piece of writing for myself, and faltering a few paragraphs in, not sure what to do with myself. A large part of this, as was mentioned in a \u003ca href=\"https://markrthoughts.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/first-drafts/\"\u003eprevious post\u003c/a\u003e, is due to my habit of editing as I write. I don\u0026rsquo;t often plan my writing ideas, put them in some flow chart or other organizational structure, or summarize the points I want to make before I write. This helps keep my writing natural, and keep its place as a release valve rather than work. This also puts me in the position of sitting down with what seems to be a well-formulated idea, only to have it peter out faster than anticipated. I recently had a conversation with someone who pointed out that this isn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily bad, as it still shows that I\u0026rsquo;m thinking about these topics. I start to second-guess my own thoughts. It also means that I am still writing, even if the finished product does not get produced as prolifically as I would ideally have it. All this has led me to think about the importance of completing projects in life, and to what extent my large folder of draft documents can be justified and excused.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Drafts and Completion"},{"content":"Over the past 6 months or so, the idea of pushing and pulling in education has been on my mind. What I mean by this is whether we should focus on pushing kids who are achieving in a particular subject as much as we can \u0026ndash; advanced study in mathematics and reading, honors classes, extracurricular options \u0026ndash; or focus on pulling kids up who have struggled in some subjects. I have been intrigued by this dichotomy in the education system precisely because I have seen both sides of it, and it makes me feel conflicted.\nWhen I started my degree, I worked at a local charter high school with a student populace that consists largely of teenagers with broken families, who are working almost full-time, or may have kids of their own. As a result, many of these students have missed time in regular public schools, and need one-on-one attention in many subjects to help. This was very much a situation of pulling students to meet the standards that society has created for them. There is much that was either not taught to them well, or it has been such a long time since they were consistently in school that a lot of knowledge has just escaped. It was a very powerful experience for me, forcing me to recognize the privilege I had growing up in my school district. It also put me face-to-face with many of the injustices present in our education system, and why many students become incredibly bored of school. These students had so much going on in their lives, they had to be adults at such a young age, that learning how to factor polynomials was not high on their list at the time. Yet, without certain knowledge and abilities, society deems them incapable of contributing at a certain level. The public school system couldn\u0026rsquo;t help them in their situations, so they came to this charter high school Over the past couple of years, and especially this summer, I saw the opposite side of this divide. Kids who were pushed, kids who were excellent at math \u0026ndash; many much better than I currently am in a certain way \u0026ndash; and were looking for more than even the public school system had to offer. I work for an advanced math program for middle school students, allowing them to take advanced versions of high school mathematics classes. This summer, I worked for the Art of Problem Solving, a math contest juggernaut that also excels in teaching kids excellent mathematics at a level higher than would ever be taught in a public school. These kids were constantly pushing the ceiling on their abilities, and were relentless in attacking problems. So, we continue to throw more at them. But they outran the opportunities at their school, and in order to not stagnate in their education had to seek outside instruction. These two situations are incredibly different: in one case, we have disadvantaged students who don\u0026rsquo;t even have the time in the day to attend a regular public school; in the other, we have young, precocious students destined to attend incredibly selective universities and do some very cool things. And yet, the public school system has failed both of these groups. I would bet that the number of students in each group is roughly the same. This is what worries me, and causes conflict in my head. Where should the public schools focus? It seems that their business is in a Harrison Bergeron-esque future, where the world is easier if we all regress (or progress) to the mean. In fact, it seems that high schools (in particular) were built for the express purpose of teaching to a small \u0026ldquo;average\u0026rdquo; part of the population while simultaneously attempting to support students who have fallen behind and lack a foundation in their education, and providing opportunities to those who are ahead of the standard curriculum. As a result, a very small percentage of students are in the correct spot at their school. Everybody else is frustrated: the classes are not engaging, or are too difficult, or any other number of complaints that have very strong merit in today\u0026rsquo;s schools. I don\u0026rsquo;t know of a good solution, but this seems to be the fundamental problem in education today: we don\u0026rsquo;t know what to do to help our students. We try and treat them as a homogeneous group, and balk when a student needs something special. We need to take a serious look at why we have students in schools, and precisely what they need to get out of it. As of right now, nobody seems to be able to say, and the people who are suffering most are the students.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/pushing-and-pulling/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOver the past 6 months or so, the idea of pushing and pulling in education has been on my mind. What I mean by this is whether we should focus on \u003cem\u003epushing\u003c/em\u003e kids who are achieving in a particular subject as much as we can \u0026ndash; advanced study in mathematics and reading, honors classes, extracurricular options \u0026ndash; or focus on \u003cem\u003epulling\u003c/em\u003e kids up who have struggled in some subjects. I have been intrigued by this dichotomy in the education system precisely because I have seen both sides of it, and it makes me feel conflicted.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Pushing and Pulling"},{"content":"I learned an interesting fact in my Stochastic Processes class the other day, and I managed to come up with an easier way to present it than using Markov chains (which are really cool, but not conducive to making a good blog post).\nThe question was about the expected number of flips with a fair coin before seeing two tails in a row (TT), compared to a head then a tail (HT). Intuitively, most people (including myself and the professor) thought the expected number of flips should be the same. There\u0026rsquo;s an equal chance of getting a head as a tail, so why would it make a difference? Let\u0026rsquo;s walk through the calculation though. I don\u0026rsquo;t have good intuition as to why it makes since we get the answer we do, but it is fun either way! Let\u0026rsquo;s call the expected (see: average) number of flips before seeing two consecutive tails $latex E_{TT}$, and let\u0026rsquo;s start flipping some coins! If our first flip is a head, which occurs half of the time, our new expected number of flips is $latex \\frac{1}{2}(1+E_{TT})$, as we got a flip that occurs half of the time, and we only flipped once. What if we flipped a tail (so close!) but then a head? This happens with probability $latex 1/4$, so the adjusted expected value would be $latex \\frac{1}{4}(2 +E_{TT})$. Finally, what if we were able to flip 2 tails in a row, which occurs with probability $latex 1/4$? Well that is just 2 flips, so the expected number of flips would be 2. Thus in total we get the equation $latex E_{TT} = \\frac{1}{2}(1+E_{TT}) + \\frac{1}{4}(2+E_{TT}) + \\frac{1}{2}(2)$ Solving this (I won\u0026rsquo;t show my work), you end up with $latex E_{TT} = 6$. Thus we expect to need 6 flips before getting consecutive tails. So what about $latex E_{HT}$? Our equations will look a little different, since if we flip $latex HH$ we \u0026ldquo;miss\u0026rdquo; our target, but still end up closer to our target than starting at zero flips. So suppose we flip a tail. Then the expected number is $latex \\frac{1}{2}(1+E_{HT})$ similar to before. But if we flip two heads in a row, we are 1 flip away now, so our expected number of flips will be $latex \\frac{1}{4}(2+E_{HT}/2)$. Finally, if we flip a head then tail the expected number is $latex \\frac{1}{4}(2)$. So in total we have $latex E_{HT} = \\frac{1}{2}(1+E_{HT}) + \\frac{1}{4}(2+E_{HT}/2) + \\frac{1}{2}(2)$ Solving this we get that $latex E_{HT} = 4$. Well that seems odd. It takes fewer flips on average to obtain a head then a tail, than to get two tails in a row. As I said before, I still don\u0026rsquo;t have great intuition on this result, but it is interesting (and true!) Probability is always a fun little game.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/fun-coin-flips/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI learned an interesting fact in my Stochastic Processes class the other day, and I managed to come up with an easier way to present it than using Markov chains (which are really cool, but not conducive to making a good blog post).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Fun Coin Flips"},{"content":"Much of the rhetoric that has been pervasive over the past year, and especially with the election of President Trump, is related to how much value society places on qualifications when it comes to hiring and listening to people to help run the government.\nMuch has been made of President Trump\u0026rsquo;s cabinet picks, as well as his administration\u0026rsquo;s choices about what information they use when making decisions about policy, and thus it is important to understand how qualifications have changed over time and how that has affected decision-making at all levels of society. When I consider qualifications in society, I believe that there has been inflation. More people are named (by themselves or institutions) as experts in some field, and this has caused valid qualifications to become less valuable than they would be otherwise. I believe that the main factors that have led to this are independent certifications, a lack of effective communication between experts and the public, the prevalence of information available on the internet coupled with a lack of education on how to handle this information, and belief in a political dichotomy. Perhaps the most mild of effects, yet what comes to mind immediately I first begin thinking about qualifications, is the existence of independent certifications. I chose the phrase to be intentionally broad, as it can encompass independent organizations (particularly online) that provide some rudimentary courses, where upon payment one can receive certification of some accomplishment. People have used such methods to be able to testify in court, be present on news organizations and create a following for themselves that generally results in misinformation for many. I also wish to include employers that provide job titles or internal training that certifies someone for a certain task, or people who certify themselves as knowledgable or capable after a brief stint on *YouTube* and *Wikipedia*. There is a significant amount of damage that someone can bring when they have the appearance of a qualification, yet do not provide a means to check it. There are two main ways that independent certifications have affected how society values qualifications: undercutting the value of legitimate qualifications, and cluttering the information available to people. The first issue is related to the inflation mentioned above. As more people obtain qualifications to speak on a certain subject, it becomes harder to check who is *reasonably* qualified, and thus likely to provide better insight. Once those who have qualifications disagree, it then becomes easy to pick sides and reduce the influence any one person can have. Many times I see people speaking on a subject that they know about solely from rudimentary internet searches, and then news organizations and other media present these people equally against someone with an exceptional amount of education and first-hand experience researching the topic. This is most clearly shown on climate change debates, where a single person who denies climate change is put against a single person who believes in it. This is not representative of the facts of the situation, where a majority of scientists agree on climate change, and the few studies that do not agree often have significant conflicts of interest. Yet the qualifications asserted by these people are taken at face value, and reduce the value other qualifications hold. So we move into the issue of having too much information coming from these independently certified people. Media organizations use these people\u0026rsquo;s poorly formulated opinions on an objective topic and report them as facts, or worse, allow these people to take objective facts and measurements and turn them into debatable opinions. Once we devolve into this realm, qualifications become almost meaningless. Anyone who deems themselves qualified can chime in, further cluttering the information and making it nearly impossible for anyone to figure out what is true and worth considering. In this way the process of determining what is debatable, what is truth, and who to listen to for these things becomes difficult. Due to the amount of information available and the ease with which someone can call themselves qualified, listening to experts in a field no longer seems reasonable as there is generally an easier, more appealing way of looking at an issue, thought it likely may be incorrect. Hence we begin to think about communication, and why the link between the scientific community and the public has been broken to such an extent that for many people, quack science has come to the forefront as even moderately believable, and studies funded by partisan organizations, research done by those with a strong conflict of interest, is taken seriously when deciding on policy. What happened to the communication, and how has it affected qualifications? I do not believe the way that scientists communicate with the public has fundamentally changed in recent history. They still publish in journals that are not widely accessible, while a few wonderful individuals reach out to the public through lectures, documentaries and books. What has changed is how the public reacts to science, and their perception of what science is. In recent years people have become critical of scientists, particularly when it comes to their influence in developing policy. From my perspective, many people have the sense that scientists are dictating terms from \u0026ldquo;on high\u0026rdquo;, talking down to the public. Naturally this does not settle well, and I understand that this is problematic. As I stated, I do not believe scientists have changed their form of communication, but this is where the issue is. The world has changed significantly, and with new people bringing information in the need for effective communication has increased. Others summarize (often incorrectly) studies that are put out, and with the increasing use of these intermediaries, communication readily breaks down. What this has led to is a misunderstanding of what science is for and how it operates, which discredits the qualifications of scientists, putting them closer to the level of those who interpret their work or comment on the validity of the claims put forth in research. There are a few levels to this misunderstanding, including funding, methods and purpose for research. Funding is obviously a hot topic when it comes to political issues, especially when it concerns research in fields that lawmakers do not universally agree provides any utility, or in fact may be harmful to society. These lawmakers are for some reason seen as reasonable people to dissect and evaluate arguments related to funding for complex scientific research, despite many hearings showing their lack of humility, without any willingness to either learn about the topics or concede to those with far more experience. There seems to be an inherent distrust today as people weave narratives about scientists perpetuating hoaxes through irresponsible research for the sole reason of obtaining funding and keeping their job. Of course the irony in the situation is that these politicians are simply projecting their own experiences and faults onto scientists. The main cause for these misunderstandings, and the true reason for the coomplete disregard of scientific qualification, is that the general public, as well as politicians, have little experience with science and do not understand how it works. Because of this, people feel qualified to discuss scientific research without fully understanding it, and as we know there are few things more dangerous than having just enough knowledge to not realize you have no real knowledge at all. People are under the impression that scientists work in absolutes, and that their results are unchanging and immediate. This is the most damaging belief held by the public, as it leads them to believe in headlines (see Chocolate and Cancer) without understanding that a single study proves nothing, and does not give a substantial basis for further action other than more research. A famous example is the senator who brought a snowball into a Senate meeting for the purpose of \u0026ldquo;disproving\u0026rdquo; climate change. This event, along with many more, show how little regard scientific qualifications are given as a result of a fundamental misunderstanding of science. While I could easily splinter off and rant about science for a while, I would like to stay on track and begin discussing how the internet has also damaged the worth of qualifications today. Naturally I make great use of the internet and think that it has done a lot of good for people. The amount of information available is by all accounts a good thing. My issue is that people do not know how to properly parse the information they find on the internet. When it is so easy to find information supporting any opinion someone holds, the desire to check the information for accuracy is beat out by the desire to have some confirmation of a belief. Further than that, it gives people the feeling that their information has equal weight, importance and validity as the information produced and distributed by scientists. As with many issues that crop up in a society, a significant obstacle in the way of adjusting how people interact with information on the internet is that not everyone admits that it is an issue, nor are they committed to fixing the issue as it stands. From an anecdotal standpoint \u0026ndash; which I try my best to avoid as it is dangerous to cite personal experience as grounds for a large scale policy \u0026ndash; this is made all the more frustrating as I grew up while people were trying to figure out how to use the rapidly increasing amount of information available to us. Every year we had lessons about proper research techniques, making sure a website was reputable and useful to us, and properly citing our information while also spending time analyzing why one source may not be useful in certain cases. And today I cannot figure out if people have not learned this lessons, of if they have gone too far into the depths of bias and convenient skepticism. In some cases, it is clear that people have not learned how to deal with information on the internet. Social media posts are all about shock value and intriguing headlines, similar to popular science writing that I mentioned above. Due to this, few people seek out the sources of the information or check whether the people involved in presenting the information had a compelling reason for their efforts. Were they trying to push a particular view? Were they engaging in click-bait to increase page views, despite the content being subpar? Or were they genuinely interested in being a reasonable source of information? Based on what I see in the media, whether it be social, the news or other outlets, there seems to be little value placed on where information comes from. If this is true, it clearly explains why people do not care about qualifications. When all information is regarded equally, ideas that have grown throughout a long and rigorous process become jumbled with the musings of someone like me (yes I acknowledge I\u0026rsquo;m feeding the fire), and people have no reason to consider qualifications. What do they know that I cannot find immediately on the internet? But perhaps people have gone too far in the other direction. What if instead of disregarding the issues that poor information management presents, they are being hypercritical of what they believe to be opinions, and thus feel justified in taking note of the \u0026ldquo;bias\u0026rdquo; that they believe exists? In some ways this is the more dangerous situation, since people are applying what they think they have learned, but are doing so in a way that is detrimental to themselves and those around them. If they believe that information that is presented by professionals is biased in some way, it ultimately reduces the meaning of their qualifications and lessens the impact their opinions can have in society. There is much that can be said about the information available on the internet, but one outstanding issue that has developed in the most recent presidential campaign is that of a political dichotomy. People are put into either the conservative or liberal camps, and once placed there are expected to believe everything the other side thinks they stand for. If you are a liberal, you automatically wish to ban firearms, destroy business, leave the country undefended and wreck the foundations that the country was founded on. If you are conservative you are rich or uneducated, you don\u0026rsquo;t agree with the utility of science, you hate the idea of preserving the globe and are against minority rights. There is surely much that can be said about the various causes of this issue in society, but right now we are concerned only with the effects. When the population becomes split like this, it becomes unbelievable that people could not be on a side or could straddle many sides of an argument. Thus groups (see: non-partisan research labs) are unfairly cast into the debates, and what they bring to the table is suddenly disregarded by the side that has now become \u0026ldquo;opposite\u0026rdquo; to them. Both sides are guilty of this, and ultimately it is society as a whole that loses. When we become blinded by political fights, and our representatives fail to represent us anymore, we lose the ability to use the best information available to us. We are reduced to what each side accuses the other of becoming: blind to the world, incapable of thought or reasoning through things. When we think of each other as that, when we do not allow the ability to talk outside of our circles, nobody wins. As this year progresses, I am afraid that qualifications have no meaning right now. But we must remember this is not the fault of the institution of the government, but the fault of society, of everyone who does not leave room within themselves to learn about someone else, to look outside what immediately affects them. We need to care about the information we have and how we obtain it. It matters. The healthy skepticism that is taught in school is important, and is why the scientific process is so robust. We need to trust in it again and move forward together, so that there is meaning to what people say and do. Without that, we might all as well be quiet anyway.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/qualifications/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMuch of the rhetoric that has been pervasive over the past year, and especially with the election of President Trump, is related to how much value society places on qualifications when it comes to hiring and listening to people to help run the government.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Qualifications"},{"content":"As I have progressed through college I have found it necessary to look for and invest in the right tools for the tasks I have at hand. I think it is important to be aware of how I work, and test out ways to improve my efficiency.\nThis is often dangerous, as it is very easy to spend more time trying to find the right tool than actually using some tool to just get the work done. However, it has proven useful for me and I have been able to create a workflow that has helped increase my productivity and my ability to get work done. I would like to lay out some of the ways I have gone through this, and hopefully it will convince the reader to do the same for themselves. Naturally what I have found works for me will not work for everyone else; I just wish to convey that it may be good to self-evaluate what could be better about the way in which you work. I will start simple and discuss basic health and daily routines. While this may not be considered a \u0026ldquo;tool\u0026rdquo; for productivity or work, I believe that it is inseparable from getting work done at a reasonable pace. At a base level, when I eat well and exercise, I get more sleep and feel better in the morning. When I wake up at a good time to shower, shave and brush my teeth, I have a better morning overall and this extends into the day. And throughout this past semester I have taken steps to increase the regularity of this, determining a schedule that helps me feel much better. The first thing changed was when I woke up and what I chose to do in the morning. Because I start my classes and work each day at 8, I had to make a judgement as to when I would get up in the morning. Some nights I have no choice but to be up until at least 11:30, so despite wanting to be able to workout, shower and eat in the morning, I could not accomplish all of these without sacrificing more sleep than I was willing. I decided on showering and eating, so I began getting up at 6:30 in the morning. Then when the dining halls opened at 7, I could be ready and in line at the omelet bar, ready to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. My next tool that I have been exploring this semester (and longer) is technology. Last year I had a small Android tablet to carry around with me. For the most part it was nice, since it fit nicely in my hand, I could easily read textbooks and course documents on it, as well as surf the internet or watch videos idly. The battery life was great (especially compared to my phone), and I even had a small keyboard. However, I realized it could not do everything I needed to do and ultimately did not significantly help my productivity. The reason I bought it at all is because my laptop is 17 inches and pushes 5 pounds. It is a behemoth, which I love to have, but hate to carry anywhere. The battery life is miserable to top it all off. Thus the tablet. When this year came I decided to make a change. I traded in my tablet and got a small 11 inch laptop, thinking I could write up notes and homework on it, do a little programming, respond to emails and just get some work done on the go that would be tedious or impossible to do on my phone or the tablet. For a while this worked wonderfully. I was able to typeset my homework and notes in LaTeX (if you are in math or physics you have probably heard of it; it is just a fancy and efficient way to type math), work on some computer programs, mess around online, read textbooks, everything I wanted to do without needing to be in my room. But then it backfired. I did not spend much money on this computer, and so it began freezing on me regularly while on the internet. Eventually it froze while typing up my homework and I lost a significant amount of work. This was not acceptable. I immediately began researching alternatives and decided on an iPad Air 2. I realized this was what I had been waiting for all this time, the ultimate tool for me to be productive (or just about). The iPad allows me to do everything I wanted to do \u0026ndash; typeset notes and homework, respond to emails, read books on a screen (which is far better than the laptop) \u0026ndash; in addition to being able to take notes while also restricting me from distractions. The main issue with having a computer in general is the ease with which I could go onto YouTube or Netflix or any other number of distractions. With an iPad though, if I do not install the apps, I have no temptation to use these. The only downside is that there is no good way to write any complex or robust code on the iPad and run it easily, but this is not much of an issue. Overall I have been more focused and more organized because of the iPad, and it has proven a wonderful piece of technology for the tasks I have. For people who know me well, this last topic will not be surprising, and I find it to be the most important: writing utensils and paper. While the iPad is helpful at times, it cannot compare to the feel of doing math with pen and paper. As a mathematics major, it is absolutely necessary that I have writing tools on hand that I can rely on and which help me work efficiently. For example, with all things related to scratch work I absolutely hate using lined notebook paper. The lines feel limiting, the paper is thin (and not uniformly so), and pens and pencils just do not look quite as good on lined paper to me. The next best thing is graphing paper. I have a dull-yellow, faint blue-grid quad-ruled notebook which I like a lot. Black pen looks good on it, the grid is not too obvious so my brain does not feel the same limitations that it associates with lined paper, and the paper is thick enough that I can use both sides. But then they are spiral-bound. This is a big issue since spiral bound notebooks get stuck together, the paper rips sometimes when you flip through them, and when writing on the left side of the notebook my hand bumps against the spirals, which is very uncomfortable. Ideally I would take all of my notes on plain white paper, but binding these in a way that does not have the same issues as a spiral bound, yet still allows me to lay the notebook down flat, is problematic. So this is an aspect of my work that is still up in the air. Naturally paper requires a writing utensil, and this is an eternal struggle for me. While I have momentarily solved my pencil issue \u0026ndash; I use two wonderful TUL brand mechanical pencils with 0.5mm lead and an extra block eraser \u0026ndash; I write all of my notes and scratch work in pen. Pencils are reserved for tests. So I have been on a long search for a pen that does not bleed through paper horribly, yet has clear, dark ink and does not have any \u0026ldquo;stop and go\u0026rdquo; to its ink flow. The nib/tip needs to be of a particular size which I can only determine is appropriate by trying it out. Again, I have momentarily solved this issue with a roller-ball uni-ball Vision Elite pen in black and blue, as well as two personalized ballpoint pens for things like essays (I cannot use ballpoint for math.) While the rollerball bleeds a bit more than I would wish, it is not unreasonable. The ink flows perfectly each time, and it feels good in my hand. Yet there is room for improvement. I would love a pen that is a bit more ergonomic and has more weight behind it, and potentially has cartridge replacements. This has been a passion and a struggle for me since middle school, but I believe that my ability to be creative in my work (yes, math is a creative subject) is tied to what I am writing with, as a good pen allows me to not think about using the pen or fighting with it; it just feels to be an extension of my brain. There are even more tools I have purchased or played around with (a bike, for example) that have helped me but are not entirely worth mentioning. I find it necessary to keep thinking about how I work and how I can improve my processes and tools I surround myself with. College is a great time to be doing this, since we are enveloped with tasks and responsibilities, and to handle everything being thrown at us it is important to be efficient and effective.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-right-tool/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I have progressed through college I have found it necessary to look for and invest in the right tools for the tasks I have at hand. I think it is important to be aware of how I work, and test out ways to improve my efficiency.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Right Tool"},{"content":"The way that I approach a first draft is not quite the same way that other (more experienced and successful) people approach one. The general advice is to hack through it without looking back. Particularly in writing, it is important to not focus on any grammatical errors, any misspelled words or issues with flow. One needs to get all of their ideas onto the page before they can hope to begin the process of refining those ideas. I do the opposite.\nI will consistently go back and change my words and phrasing. At times I will delete entire paragraphs or move them to a completely different spot on the fly, only to change everything back five minutes later. My first draft is a continuous process. The purpose of this blog is to have a place for first drafts. Everything that I have written so far (and intend to write in the future) on this site is written in one fell swoop, on a wind of excitement about a topic. Sometimes the wind settles quickly, and I do not finish the article at a level I am happy with. Other times the passion stays and I can finish in a matter of minutes. But what you read here is written within a few hours through my first draft process. I begin with the idea, and I start writing the first thing in my mind. Often times it works as an introduction, other times it creates a section entirely its own or guides me to a separate topic of interest. I re-read every few sentences for phrases that could become leaner or meaner, for words that could give more pop for the reader. This process is fluid and natural for me; it is how I have always written. For school essays I only made more than two drafts if it was required for my grade. Sometimes I handed in what was essentially a \u0026ldquo;rough\u0026rdquo; draft. I do not dwell on my words, as I believe that at the time of writing I am forming the best expressions I could in a reasonable amount of time. I have learned the process of rigorous revision from an absolutely amazing instructor, and this is not lost on me. Yet I prefer this natural writing, this stream of consciousness that is only ordered due to the ordering of my mind. The intention of these posts were originally (with the election articles) to be an outlet in a moment where I had nowhere else to process. As I began to think more about education, I became enamored with sharing many of my favorite things about math. Now that I have contributed three articles to each of these sections, I finally felt that I should make clear what I have realized this site is for. I hope you appreciate some of the ramblings of my mind. While some of these articles may be thought out beforehand (as are the Mathematics essays), others (like this one) are of a less predictable nature. All are written as first drafts. I encourage you to engage in journalistic first drafts, to think critically about your thought flow and how you can use writing to improve your daily thoughts. Begin ordering your mind and explore your interests beyond the depth they currently lie. Learn to share your piece of the world with someone else, whether it be through story, writing, music or any other medium. Know your experiences and thoughts are worth having and will change, and allow them to. Remember that your life is a first draft, and an only draft, so go with your passions and share them as best you can.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/first-drafts/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe way that I approach a first draft is not quite the same way that other (more experienced and successful) people approach one. The general advice is to hack through it without looking back. Particularly in writing, it is important to not focus on any grammatical errors, any misspelled words or issues with flow. One needs to get all of their ideas onto the page before they can hope to begin the process of refining those ideas. I do the opposite.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"First Drafts"},{"content":"Today we will be looking at two problems in probability: the Monty Hall problem and Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin. These are two common probability \u0026ldquo;brain teasers\u0026rdquo;. For the Monty Hall problem, it feels paradoxical when you first learn about it, while the Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin is instructive and important as you go forward in life. With that brief introduction, let us begin! There was a game show (so I have been told, though I am too young to have watched it) hosted by Monty Hall. One of the main elements of the show was a classic three-door setup, where behind two doors there were goats, and behind the third door there was a brand new car waiting to be won. The way this would go is that Monty Hall would ask you, the contestant, what door you wished to select. You picked door one, two or three. Then Monty Hall, bold and clever, would open up one of the two doors that you did not pick, only to reveal one of the goats! At this point in the game he would come back to you with a smirk, asking if you wished to stay with the door you picked at first, or if you wanted to switch to the other closed door. The problem is: in order to maximize the probability that you win the car, do you switch or stay (or does it even matter)?\nThink about what your intuition says. Do you think it matters? Should you switch half the time and stay half the time? Always stay? Convince yourself of an answer and consider why you think it, then keep on reading. I will not begin by giving you the answer, since that is no fun. We have to derive the answer from what we know. First, what is the probability that you picked the car correctly on your initial pick? 1/3 right? Definitely. So that is a good start. Now here is the more important part: What is the probability that you did NOT pick the car correctly? 2/3 of course. Now we get to the interesting part. You are standing there, knowing that you only had a 1 in 3 chance of getting the car on your first pick; Monty Hall opens up one of the doors you did not pick and a goat walks out. How have the probabilities changed? This is the tricky part: they haven\u0026rsquo;t! You still have a 1/3 probability that you picked the correct door, and there is still a 2/3 probability that you did not pick the correct door. Just because a door was opened, this does not change. However, since a door was opened, you now know there is a 2/3 probability that the car is in the unopened door that you did not pick. Thus you should switch doors when asked. Wait, what? Were you expecting that? It feels weird, because it is weird. Many people assume it doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter, since once the door is opened the probabilities switched to 1/2 for the car, 1/2 against. But that answer is obtained by switching the wrong probabilities. What is actually happening is that the 2/3 probability of the car being in the other two doors gets concentrated in the door you did not pick! If you still don\u0026rsquo;t believe me, I have two more ways of explaining it: another example and a picture. Let\u0026rsquo;s start with the other example. Assume instead of 3 doors, we have 100 doors. Then the probability that you pick the car initially is 1/100. Now suppose that Monty Hall opens up 98 doors you did not pick, each having a goat behind them, leaving only your door and one other door. At this point it generally becomes more clear that there is not a 50-50 chance of getting the car. The probability that you picked the car correctly to start is so slim that you dramatically increase your chances of winning by switching. Now from my experience, there will still be many people who are not convinced by this argument, so let the following picture explain a bit. [ This diagram lays out the problem very nicely. It displays how when you pick the car (situation 1) you will lose by switching, but if you switch in the other 2 cases you win. Thus 2 out of 3 times you win by switching. Keep looking at this, and eventually it will begin to click. One problem many people have is in situation 1. They see two options for you, depending on which door the host opens. However we do not count these separately, since they are indisitinguishable events, so whether the host reveals goat A or B, it is the same event. This problem was much more difficult to grasp than our next topic, but it did help us think critically about probability and how to carefully navigate situations where chance is involved. This will be helpful as we talk about the Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin. This is another classic in probability, which addresses how people in gambling games feel that a certain outcome is \u0026ldquo;due\u0026rdquo; after a long string of another outcome.  Picture yourself at a simple casino game, where the employee residing over it flips a fair coin for you. In a roulette style betting, you can put money on either heads or tails. You sit at the table for a while, watching some other people play and seeing how everyone is doing. After a while, you notice that there have been 11 heads in a row. Feeling that the next one is very likely to be tails, you take a seat at the table and bet 5 times in a row on tails, only to be disappointed. There were now 16 heads in a row, and you feel cheated by the gods of chance. Surely this is improbable! If you feel this way reading through this, let us have a little chat about independence of events in probability. Suppose I flip a coin. What is the probability I get heads? It\u0026rsquo;s 1/2 of course. It is also the same for tails. Now suppose that I just flipped and got a heads, and now I flip again. What is the new probability of getting a tails? Have the probabilities changed? Of course not! Each flip is independent of each other flip, and the prior outcomes do not affect the next toss. Let us return to our casino. You realize there have been 11 heads in a row, which you feel is rather improbable, and knowing that over time the number of heads and tails should average out to be almost equal, you believe that tails is due. However, let me ask you this: Is it more probable to get 12 heads in a row, or 11 heads in a row followed by 1 tail? They are actually equal! The issue with the Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin is two-fold: people try and use averages on independent events to determine the next outcome, and they also use aggregate probabilities instead of individual probabilities. We will look at each of these (potentially confusing) results. First is the idea of averaging. We will again think about the coin example. After 11 heads in a row, you expect there to be a tails because \u0026ldquo;they need to average out\u0026rdquo;. Indeed, this is a valid interpretation of probability, that eventually outcomes in aggregate will have occurred according to their probabilities. One issue with applying this in our case is that 11 is a tiny number with regards to probability. We expect the results to average out as we approach infinity. Thus we need thousands or millions or billions of trials to be sure of averaging out. However, this still would not help, and this is simply because the events are independent. No matter what occurred before, we can consider each new flip of the coin (or roll of a die, deal of a deck, spin of a wheel) independent from the previous ones. The probability still remains the same. The second issue is attempting to apply aggregate probabilities to individual events. What I referenced before is that the probability of obtaining 1 tail after 11 heads is exactly the same as obtaining 12 heads in a row. However, people will focus on the probability of obtaining 1 tail over the course of 12 flips, which is entirely different. Naturally it is more likely to obtain 1 tail over the course of 12 flips than obtaining all heads, but this is not relevant to the issue at hand. One should focus on the next event, and only the next event. The Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin is called such because it is a truly dangerous mindset to have when in a gambling situation. It applies all over the place: card games, the lottery, roulette, dice. The only place it may not apply as much is slot machines, but this is because there is a legal mandate about the winnings released so they do not only take money. So as you go forward, continue to think critically about probability and use the information in your decisions. It is extremely helpful and rewarding in the long run!\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/monty-hall/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we will be looking at two problems in probability: the Monty Hall problem and Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin. These are two common probability \u0026ldquo;brain teasers\u0026rdquo;. For the Monty Hall problem, it feels paradoxical when you first learn about it, while the Gambler\u0026rsquo;s Ruin is instructive and important as you go forward in life. With that brief introduction, let us begin! There was a game show (so I have been told, though I am too young to have watched it) hosted by Monty Hall. One of the main elements of the show was a classic three-door setup, where behind two doors there were goats, and behind the third door there was a brand new car waiting to be won. The way this would go is that Monty Hall would ask you, the contestant, what door you wished to select. You picked door one, two or three. Then Monty Hall, bold and clever, would open up one of the two doors that you did not pick, only to reveal one of the goats! At this point in the game he would come back to you with a smirk, asking if you wished to stay with the door you picked at first, or if you wanted to switch to the other closed door. The problem is: in order to maximize the probability that you win the car, do you switch or stay (or does it even matter)?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Monty Hall and Gambler's Ruin: A Third Small Step into Mathematics"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;That sounds hard. I used to like math, but then I had a bad teacher and realized I just wasn\u0026rsquo;t any good at it anymore. I think it\u0026rsquo;s really cool that you like it though, and that you can teach other people about it. That\u0026rsquo;s what you want to do, right? Become a math teacher? That sounds really great. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be a teacher, especially for math, that sounds way too difficult.\n\u0026ldquo;What always bothered me about my math classes was that we never did anything useful. I\u0026rsquo;m over twenty years old now, and I haven\u0026rsquo;t had to use the quadratic formula, or know how to find the area of a pentagon or multiply matrices. And guess what? They never even taught us how to do our taxes. That would be useful in a math class. Also understanding loans. \u0026ldquo;It just seems so ridiculous that they put us through so many years of stuff we don\u0026rsquo;t need to know for our job. Engineers and scientists should have to take it, but I don\u0026rsquo;t want to do any of that. I just want to go into business and be able to do my taxes and make sure I\u0026rsquo;m not getting taken for a ride if I buy a house.\u0026rdquo; And so goes many conversations I have about being a mathematics major. I don\u0026rsquo;t wish to encourage everyone to study math, nor am I writing to tell you of the wonderful contrived applications of math that you hear about in school and see infographics about when discussing the need for STEM majors in college. What I am aiming for in writing these Small Steps into Mathematics, is to help people develop an appreciation for math beyond its utility and difficulty. Most people are aware that we need math in order to be at the technological level that we are at, and that math, on the whole, is a rather difficult subject for many people. I hope to show that math transcends these characteristics and can be understood on a level of beauty and passion, similar to art. I likely lost many of you in that last sentence. How can math be related to art, how is it beautiful and full of passion that is not hatred? Some of what will follow will be largely influenced by A Mathematician\u0026rsquo;s Lament by Paul Lockhart (do read it!). So let us begin our first small step into the wonderful world of mathematics. When I tell people how math is like art, I am greeted by many puzzled glances but also a certain curiosity. To some extent, I believe there is a visual beauty to some particular formulas in math, such as Euler\u0026rsquo;s Identity: $e^{i\\pi}+1=0$ If you have done math through precalculus, you might be familiar with this formula, how it has five of the (arguably) most important numbers in mathematics, all cohesively together. If you have not gone through this level, or it has been quite a while since you have looked at any math, that is alright! I hope that you can find some excitement in the mess of symbols either way. However, this visual beauty is not the main similarity I think of between math and art. I think of creativity, the ability to create a world that is your own, explore new meanings and find new ways to view the world. Consider the process of creating art. It is something most people begin to do as soon as they can get paint on their fingers or a crayon in their hand. They represent the world in different colors, textures and forms. As we grow older we often doodle, idly making creations to occupy our brains. We go through school and learn certain rules about aspects of art. We learn our colors, we develop fine motor skills to improve our ability create art, we may learn different techniques to create works of art on our own. Math can be like this as well. Math is about exploring our world in new and different ways. Using shapes, symbols and numbers we find a way to explore our perception of the world. We create different realities where we view mathematical objects as something tangible. We expand our definitions of these objects, and begin refining where we can get with them. Math creates a brand new world to play with and enjoy with far less background than most people believe is necessary. It encourages creativity and exploration into realms that we can control. To see this, I\u0026rsquo;ll give a simple example, a small step, where hopefully you can see some of the beauty and creativity that is inherent to mathematics. A good example is a conjecture based only on arithmetic. It is a rather simple problem to state, one that was likely an idle musing of a mathematician, yet has evaded all attempts at solving it. It is called the Collatz Conjecture. Here is what it states:\nLet us begin with a positive whole number $n$. If it is even, then divide it by 2. If it is odd, then we multiply by three and add 1. Take your new number and repeat the process. Eventually you will obtain the number 1.\nThen no matter what positive whole number we begin with, if we repeat this cycle we will eventually reach 1. For a concrete example, let us start with $n=10$. 10 is even, so we divide by 2 and get 5. Now 5 is odd, so we multiply by 3 and add 1. We have $5\\cdot 3 = 15$, and adding 1 we get 16. Well 16 is even, so we divide by two and get 8. Then we get 4, then 2, finally 1. We have run computers that have shown if we start with any number up to around $2^{60}$, which is a monstrously big number, we eventually get to 1. Yet we haven\u0026rsquo;t proven it yet. This is the sort of wonder and excitement and strangeness inherent in mathematics. It takes creativity to attack a problem like this, and it is fantastic that such a simple statement has gone unproven for a very long time. This is today\u0026rsquo;s small step into mathematics. While there is much more to be said about how math is a wonderful and beautiful subject, I will devote another post to this in a more direct way. To those of you wondering why I chose to major in math, and why others do: The subject is rich and beautiful and forces creativity. At a certain level, computational prowess and memorization is not enough. It is challenging and fun and frustrating and rewarding in the best of ways, and no matter what job I end up with the time I spend doing math will always influence how I experience life.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/oh-youre-studying-math-a-first-small-step-into-mathematics/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;That sounds hard. I used to like math, but then I had a bad teacher and realized I just wasn\u0026rsquo;t any good at it anymore. I think it\u0026rsquo;s really cool that you like it though, and that you can teach other people about it. That\u0026rsquo;s what you want to do, right? Become a math teacher? That sounds really great. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be a teacher, especially for math, that sounds way too difficult.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"\u0026quot;Oh, You\u0026#039;re Studying Math?\u0026quot; A First Small Step into Mathematics"},{"content":"One of the main themes that has come up in the two days after the election is change.\nMany people believe that much of what occurred is a result of people wanting change after having eight (or more) years of the government not listening to them. The Democratic party did not listen to this, putting up a candidate that was perceived as having no potential for anything different from what President Obama has done, while the Republicans were taken by someone who spoke of nothing but radical change, all the change against the current system that anyone could possibly want. Protecting the borders, opening up trade, reducing government expenditure and regulations, as well as social issues. As a result there was a significant part of the populace who gravitated towards Trump, wanting change and believing he was the only candidate who could make it happen.\nAs I thought about this, I did not want to focus too much on particular policies so I apologize if I become too critical of certain proposals. There is no proof that any policy, conservative or liberal, actually works as well as anyone wants. There are so many factors and much coincidence involved in when a certain policy is enacted during a period of time that, to me, much of what has gone on (in particular, economically) in our nation has become a wash. In my math jargon, it is an undecidable problem. Due to this, I want to focus on the dynamics of change in general and how reasonable it is to expect change, as well as how the change being called for by Trump supporters compares to the change that was hoped for by many Americans who opposed him.\nThe world is always changing, and each section of the world as you subdivide it is changing. Cultures change, beliefs change, morals change, people change. This is fundamental. Democracy allows us the chance to try and influence change in many aspects of our lives; it gives us a sense of control and a way to react to issues. This election came at a particular point where many people began to lose hope in how democracy operates. A large majority of Americans were not feeling represented, that the money involved in politics did not allow them to influence the way this country was heading. I believe this is key to what happened in this election.\nEach side had their candidate who represented a change from the norm: Bernie Sanders micro-funding his campaign, a lawmaker who had a consistent record and was about as clean as any presidential candidate could be. Donald Trump, a business man who self-funded his campaign, believed in the American dream, wanted to protect America and deny the current culture of politics. As the primaries moved forward, there was conflict among Democrats as some were enthusiastic about change while others were enthusiastic about having a woman president and staying within the establishment. On the Republican side, it was easier to follow Trump as there had been eight years of resentment among conservatives regarding many policies of President Obama. Trump embodied the antiestablishment, bringing more change and excitement than any of his opponents. Thus when the dust cleared, we had Clinton and Trump at the forefront.\nIn hindsight it is rather straightforward to see how the election was a result of massive resentment among Americans, a lack of trust in the political system and this yearning for change. I do not deny the need for change either way, and like many others I was unhappy with the status quo when I filled out my ballot. Thus it became a measured decision about who could offer the most change that seemed positive to my view. Of course everyone will see this differently, and I do not wish to come off as unwilling to look at another side of the argument. In my first post, which was my most passionate, I came off a bit more strongly at times. I do not apologize for this, as I was describing how I have been processing this election in a measured way, yet was upset for many reasons. However this is somewhat tangential to my original point.\nWhen I think about the change each candidate offered America, I agree with many people that Clinton had little. I agree that she was a product of the establishment, and as highly qualified as she was I would not say I was enthusiastic in my support for her. Where I tend to disagree is that a \u0026ldquo;third term Obama\u0026rdquo; would be the worst thing for this country. Everyone has their view on this, but in mine the drastic changes that would be effected by Trump, no matter how positive some seemed, did not cancel with the changes that would be destructive for many people. No level of policy will please everyone and fix everybody\u0026rsquo;s lives. There are some people who rely on the Affordable Care Act, and there are people who it hurt drastically. There are some people who will benefit from reduced regulations and some who will be hurt by it. There are some who will be negatively affected by some of the proposed closed border and deportation policies, while others view it as a safer and reasonable stance to take. On many of these I am rather ambivalent, as they can potentially be done in a way that will make everyone equally unhappy as always, minimizing overall impact without targeting any specific freedoms. Thus the change I was invested in was social change.\nIn a time where we are greatly affected by our biases, and they have been shown to us more than ever in our current situation, many are in denial of their inherent privilege and many seek to hurt minorities more than they have been in the past. We have worked hard as a nation to provide freedoms to everyone, and this has required an expansive federal government. States have shown they are incapable of protecting all citizens, and thus we have the rule of law that we currently do. However, Trump\u0026rsquo;s influence in picking Supreme Court justices instilled fear in many, fear that many of their freedoms could be taken away.\nI focused on this freedom. The freedom that our Founding Fathers did not quite understand at the time, but what we have come to realize it should be. The freedom to go to a school that provides you with all the tools necessary to excel in our world, no matter your race or socioeconomic status. The freedom to apply for a job and not be worried you will be passed over due to your identities, but only based on your merit and ability to handle the work required. The freedom to love who you want, and just the freedom to eat where you want. The freedom for women to walk around and just be people, not objects or targets.\nThese freedoms, which should be reasonable given the quality of life we pursue in the United States, were regularly endangered by Trump\u0026rsquo;s proposed policies and views. Many will say his policies did not officially touch many of these items, and thus there is no real reason to be worried. Yes, I will not argue with facts. However, the culture he perpetuated has been shown to be dangerous in the first two days after the election. His remarks have made it acceptable in the eyes of many to mentally and physically attack oppressed identities, causing more harm than I personally imagined could be done as a result of any policy. The images I have seen reflecting the rhetoric of Trump\u0026rsquo;s campaign have been appalling. The hypocrisy that has followed his victory has been disturbing. In my view, the economics, the foreign policy, healthcare can all be given to the roll of dice or a computer. I am concerned about the culture our youth will be growing up in for the next four years, the only thing that people are truly responsible for.\n\u0026ldquo;But,\u0026rdquo; someone begins to say, \u0026ldquo;you are the one that will be teaching your kids respect, you are the one who can make that difference. Trump cannot legislate culture.\u0026rdquo;\nI have read this argument multiple times now, in many different forms, and to some extent I agree. Whenever I become a father I do hope to instill respect for everyone into my children, teach them to measure arguments by their content, not their delivery and to seek information from credible sources. However, it is no state secret that parents do very little overall to influence their children on the whole. School forms our children more than parents do. I know I have been shaped far more by interactions with my friends than my parents. I learn social cues from those around me, from the television I watch and what I read on the internet. I do not wish to fall into the fallacy of asserting my experiences as scientific fact, but from peer-influence compared to parental influence, and time spent in school versus home environments, this seems clear to me. Children are far more connected outside of their family now than ever before. Parents can try to hold onto influence, but ultimately it is a fruitless and alienating experience for children and parents alike.\nSo as I contemplate the culture we have become entrenched in, I truly hope that Trump can work to fix some of the major damage he has done. I hope that the hateful speech grinds to a halt and that he can focus on legitimate policies which can hopefully be beneficial to many Americans. While it will be a struggle for so many who are hurt by the shift in mood we are faced with, I hope we can make strides in mending our interactions, discourse and culture. While I find it hypocritical for Republicans to call Democrats out on being unsupportive and unaccepting, despite the Republican outcry between 2008 and now, I do sincerely hope that Congress will finally achieve something useful for America. I hope we can begin to reform our political system into something that is manageable and navigable, that we can use information gathered by true experts and seek to remove our biases, then gain a better understanding. Political debate has become deathly, so we must engage in dialogue. We need change, I just hope we did not get more than we bargained for.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-election-and-change-election-processing-part-3/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the main themes that has come up in the two days after the election is change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people believe that much of what occurred is a result of people wanting change after having eight (or more) years of the government not listening to them. The Democratic party did not listen to this, putting up a candidate that was perceived as having no potential for anything different from what President Obama has done, while the Republicans were taken by someone who spoke of nothing but radical change, all the change against the current system that anyone could possibly want. Protecting the borders, opening up trade, reducing government expenditure and regulations, as well as social issues. As a result there was a significant part of the populace who gravitated towards Trump, wanting change and believing he was the only candidate who could make it happen.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs I thought about this, I did not want to focus too much on particular policies so I apologize if I become too critical of certain proposals. There is no proof that any policy, conservative or liberal, actually works as well as anyone wants. There are so many factors and much coincidence involved in when a certain policy is enacted during a period of time that, to me, much of what has gone on (in particular, economically) in our nation has become a wash. In my math jargon, it is an undecidable problem. Due to this, I want to focus on the dynamics of change in general and how reasonable it is to expect change, as well as how the change being called for by Trump supporters compares to the change that was hoped for by many Americans who opposed him.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Election and Change (Election Processing Part 3)"},{"content":"While I have no doubt that these words will likely fade into the backdrop of the political discourse that is occurring as a result of the recent election, I need to write this for my own sake, to make sense of what America will become over the next four years and beyond.\nI watched election coverage last night, switching between the analytical CBS coverage and the rather fiery CNN coverage, which had two panels of people vehemently debating the outcome. I also watched Stephen Colbert\u0026rsquo;s live election special, where he was able to show such an incredible amount of compassion and thought, as he has done since starting at the Late Show. I recommend you compare the opening (the Dawn of the Donald) against the closing. While the former was the embodiment of every joke and caricature of Trump, the latter was somber yet hopeful, reminding us that we all play a part in this democracy and need to support each other.\nWhile I watched, and it became increasingly clear that Trump was likely going to win, I began to struggle emotionally. I could feel a certain despair wrapping around myself and others I talked with, exacerbated by the falling financial markets and doomsday predictions of political analysts. Coming from an extremely privileged identity, I was not concerned about myself, but the residents on my floor who have to work through this, my coworkers who come from so many oppressed backgrounds, as well as everyone nationwide who could be targets of Trump\u0026rsquo;s proposed policies. I know people who have been victims of sexual assault, as well as misogyny and harassment from men who do not understand the issue with their actions. These people are all hurting; scarred from their past, they are now being forced to relive it, as a candidate who seems to encourage and perform everything that has hurt them is being brought to the forefront of our nation\u0026rsquo;s leadership.\nOnce it was all but official, around 1:30 a.m. Central time, all that was left to do was figure out what got us here. I began reading the articles posted by Trump-supporting acquaintances on Facebook with a far more critical yet open thought process. I looked at the demographics of people who voted for him and tried to work through the appeal, what led them to look past the multiple transgressions of Trump and decide that his policies, however uniformly impossible they are, were the best bet for themselves. I also looked at those who voted third party, what demographics did that and how that played into the results of the election. This is what I found.\nOne of the first articles I came across about Trump supporters was concerning the small segment of the LGBTQ+ community that were behind him. The rationale was that Trump had (occasionally) been supportive, or at least not condemning, of gay marriage. They quoted his positive response to Elton John\u0026rsquo;s marriage four years ago, and that they were not concerned about Pence\u0026rsquo;s track record as he would not play a crucial role in policy. They were okay with leaving transgender policies to states, following the popular states-rights view of the Republican party.\nThe next article that I re-read, having scanned it earlier in the day, was posted by someone from my high school a few years younger than me. It talked about why women should support Trump. The article discusses how Clinton would be a terrible face for the country, especially as the first woman president. Her past, which included significant time as a defense attorney, led to multiple cases where potential sexual offenders were let off, and that Trump\u0026rsquo;s lewd talk was nothing compared to actively working to defend rapists, allowing them to go free in society, and also ruining the lives of those who accused her husband of sexual assault. It stated that, while a female president would be an amazing success, they were unwilling to vote for Clinton for only that reason. They thought the honesty and fresh ideas of Trump that went against the grain of the political norm were admirable, compared to the political manipulation and suspect background of Hillary.\nThe final article I read was simply taking quotes from Trump supporters in Florida. Most of these were just repetitions of the catchphrases used throughout Trump\u0026rsquo;s campaign: building the wall, deportation of illegal immigrants and repealing the Affordable Care Act. A few people acknowledged that the wall was likely not going to happen, but that borders needed to be closed and that the Affordable Care Act needed to be struck down immediately.\nThese articles provided insight into the minds of Trump supporters. Many viewed him as the lesser evil compared to Hillary, while some simply held him and his policies in high regard. Others still stated that it was only a matter of him being the candidate for the Republican party, so they voted for him. For myself, the most sobering statistic I saw was an exit poll on CNN, discussing the top reasons why voters chose the candidate they did. Over 90 percent of those polled who voted for Trump stated their highest priority was possibility for change, and they believed Trump offered the best option. What this change would be was not clear, but they knew they wanted something different. This contrasts with barely 15 percent who voted for Hillary who were looking for and expected significant change.\nThere are many arguments against the views that I read. Trump has been on record stating that he is for traditional marriage only, as recently as one month ago. He is planning on severely restricting rights related to reproduction. His immigration policies will be damning for anyone who is not a white citizen as fear-mongering will cause great harm to anyone who seems foreign in any respect. He has no record of honesty, only being loud and confident. His perpetuation of rape culture is far more impactful and dangerous than any due diligence by our justice system that assumes innocence first. He has no record as a successful businessman, only a rich, privileged childhood that allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Finally, repealing the Affordable Care Act will only contribute to the terrible situation that our healthcare industry is in, destroying the ability of Americans to obtain aid as they grow older or are in employment ruts.\nDespite all this, it seemed to come down to what people thought was important. Those who bought into the fear, believing we were in serious danger from those without and within looked to the simple rhetoric of Trump. In an election season where there was little policy nuance debated, it was clear where he stood: Deport anyone who is not supposed to be here and protect the borders. Everything else will fall into place. Those who were concerned about more broad foreign policy and the economy generally looked toward Clinton, who had far more experience in these areas despite certain scandals related to security. Also, those who were progressive with respect to social issues wanted anybody except for Trump, and those looking for conservative justices on the Supreme Court eyed the Republican candidate to help protect the Constitution and traditional America.\nOne aspect that will come to light soon, but was not thoroughly discussed during the election, was the presence of third party candidates in many states, the most prevalent being Gary Johnson. There are many parallels between the election this year and the 2000 election, with these third parties drawing votes from either candidates being a strong one. Florida would have been much more hotly contested without the third party candidates, as well as many other states swinging more clearly in one direction or the other. I am not saying that third party candidates are bad. I think that they are useful in showing candidates what is important, and especially this year they brought attention to how upset the populace was with the available candidates. However, this year also brought attention to the privilege present in the way many people voted. Voting third party this year meant that you would not be affected by the racist and misogynist views of Trump, that you needed nothing extra from Clinton and could simply \u0026ldquo;protest\u0026rdquo; in a race where protesting could destroy the lives of so many. I understand voting your conscience, and showing Clinton and Trump that you are dissatisfied with what they stood for and wanted for this country, but the reality is that people are hurting from this. Far from the made up issues people had with a Clinton presidency, what Trump\u0026rsquo;s victory is forcing people to face is salient and disastrous for many people. This election will cause unforeseen ripples in the world and in our culture, and I am personally scared for the future. As someone who is privileged, as I stated in the beginning of this essay, I am worried that funding for science and education will be reduced, that issues with teen pregnancy and drug use will be made more prevalent due to a lack of proper education and protection. Trump, and many conservatives in general, are afraid to face the realities present in this country, the many truths that exist for many citizens and how the oppressive nature of their policies will systematically remove the freedoms of our people.\nI know at the end of that paragraph I went a bit more off the rails than the rest of this, but it is true that many people are in danger with Trump in office. The lack of trust and reasonable discourse throughout this cycle is troubling, and I hope that we will learn to move forward from this and make the best of the situation we have put ourselves in. For some people, this is exactly what they wanted, yet I hope we will still keep the rights of all of our citizens, not just those who are white and straight, in mind moving forward.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/regarding-the-election/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhile I have no doubt that these words will likely fade into the backdrop of the political discourse that is occurring as a result of the recent election, I need to write this for my own sake, to make sense of what America will become over the next four years and beyond.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Regarding the Election (Election Processing Part 1)"},{"content":" Read part 1 here.\nIn light of the election, I have been on a bit of a thought and writing spree. While I recently processed through a fair bit of the election as a whole, there is so much that will be affected that I need to take it bit by bit. Right now I am thinking about education, particularly mathematics education, as this is something very near to me and something I have a strong passion for.\nWhen I consider the current state of education, I am not very optimistic on a systemic level. The past two large-scale attempts at reforming the public school system \u0026ndash; No Child Left Behind and the Common Core \u0026ndash; have seemed to be rather unsuccessful. When considering mathematics specifically, we seem to focus on topics that are not what math is for, leaving students with an inaccurate sense of what math provides society. People wear \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m bad at math\u0026rdquo; as a badge of honor, which is very worrisome. To steal ideas from A Mathematician\u0026rsquo;s Lament by Paul Lockhart (an awesome read for those interested), someone who is not talented in art or languages or music would likely not pride themselves on this fact. Nobody goes around complaining how they never need to know the importance of the Cross of Gold speech from William Jennings Bryan anymore, nor even that they have no use for an understanding of mitosis. However, all you will hear about math is that they never use it, and they don\u0026rsquo;t know how to do taxes.\nThese complaints are a direct result of exam-focused mathematics that emphasizes the ability to test a child on their knowledge. A focus on word problems and computations that are devoid of anything interesting attempts to give kids incredibly contrived applications of math, and thus ruins the beauty of the topic. So they go through life believing math is about doing what a calculator or computer can do much faster than we can, and are upset when they aren\u0026rsquo;t taught how to do their taxes or create a budget or understand a mortgage, since these seem to fall solidly into the realm of math for them.\nIn short, the exam-based topical mathematics curricula that have been developed over the last sixteen years have forced an incredibly poor view of mathematics, and this makes me pessimistic about where education is at a systemic level. Thus I am pushed to look at a more personal level, whether this be at a district, school or classroom level. As we go down levels, on the whole I become more optimistic. It is easier to put people in these positions to positively influence students, even though they are restricted by the requirements of the curriculum and funding that is inevitably tied to performance.\nI tend to view the classroom level, the teacher-student interaction, as the most significant. While curriculum will be what it will be, and no matter what it is likely that algebra, geometry and precalculus are here to stay, a teach can make a huge difference. From my interactions in college thus far, the majority of people fall into one of three categories:\nI still love math (whether or not I am good at it.)\nI used to love math, but then it became too difficult.\nI used to love math (and was good or bad), but then I had this one math teacher\u0026hellip;\nFew people fall into (1), and while we can consider (2), this is common in any subject. Naturally, (3) is where my concern is. The difference between someone appreciating math and hating math is often one semester with a single teacher. Once the crucial experience with the inept teacher occurs, there is rarely a rebound.\nAt this point, some of you who made it this far may be wondering how I got from the election to here. The first reason is how this election will affect the ability of teachers to be successful. It is now likely that college students will be offered no more relief from their increasing debt, and this will greatly affect how many excellent teachers we can get into schools. The racial stratification in our public schools is also not likely to improve as a result of this education, and may get worse. The socioeconomic gap in educational achievement has not been discussed in this election cycle from all I\u0026rsquo;ve heard, and this is concerning.\nThese schools that have so little resources reinforce an oppressive cycle in our education system that is nearly impossible to escape. More needs to be done to improve funding and recruiting excellent educators in the future, and this does not seem to be anything that will be discussed in the near future.\nThe second reason is more specific to STEM education: statistical and scientific literacy. This has long been a point of contention between the public and lawmakers. The lack of literacy on modern scientific issues, the insistence that these issues are a plot perpetrated by whomever, and what seems to be an incapability to process relevant data and use it to make effective laws is totally shocking. From my perspective, this seems to be a continuing issue due to a lack of public statistical and scientific literacy. If the public and the media are not calling for lawmakers who can understand scientific arguments, and forcing their hands by not electing them, there is no pressure to improve the situation. We need people in our government who can enact change, and are willing to look at relevant data. They must believe that government-funded, objective studies are actually more useful than their rudimentary understanding based solely on opinions formed without any reasoning.\nCritical thinking and abstract thought needs to be focused on. The lack of rational argument and respectful discourse on both sides has resulted in this election cycle, and ultimately it comes down to our education. Something needs to be done, but this does not seem likely after the election. That is scary.\n","permalink":"https://markrichard.org/the-election-and-education-election-processing-part-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://markrthoughts.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/regarding-the-election/\"\u003eRead part 1 here.\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nIn light of the election, I have been on a bit of a thought and writing spree. While I recently processed through a fair bit of the election as a whole, there is so much that will be affected that I need to take it bit by bit. Right now I am thinking about education, particularly mathematics education, as this is something very near to me and something I have a strong passion for.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Election and Education (Election Processing Part 2)"}]