Took a guided tour of the NCAR supercomputer facility in Cheyenne, WY yesterday. My son and his SO accompanied me. She runs a climate science group at the U of Wyoming. The computer, named Derecho, appears in the TOP500 list of world's fastest computers twice. The CPU partition is #139. The GPU partition is #256. It's one of the very few of the TOP500 machines where you can actually get into the machine room.
It's been too long since I've done my free-association questions thing, I'm out of practice. Did get a good run after asking about fire suppression in the machine room. (Water, with anti-corrosion additives.) What sort of fire detection? What else do the air sensors check for? Is anything else monitored that closely? How many sensors for all of that together? (120,000.) How does all of the sensor data get collected and sorted out?
The supercomputer resources are provided free of charge to earth science researchers. I was assured by the docent that if I submitted a proposal, it would receive the same consideration as all the others. Except that U of Wyoming proposals get some priority, since the State of Wyoming contributes to the facility. I turned to my son's SO and asked, "Do you need interns?" She paused and then answered "Paid or unpaid?" I never know when people are pulling my leg.
Yes, same size as a plump standard pillow. Traditional Japanese versions are quite a bit smaller and thinner.
I got mediocre marks in cursive penmanship because I insisted right from the beginning on straight up and down strokes instead of slanting it.
Did anyone notice that the toy software actually did a nice job of flattening the notebook pages?
Hmmm, I will take that under advisement in case new pillow number 2 fails. I didn't know about little back-sleeping ones, I assumed normal pillow size. Is your pillow the same size as a regular pillow?
I am now a side sleeper, and I have never worked out exactly what the ideal combination is for that.
I am a side sleeper. My buckwheat pillow is about three times the size of those little back-sleeping ones.
What sort of pillow?
Michael, your story of the buckwheat hull pillow doesn't surprise me. As far as I can work it out, for back sleeping the desired position is to have one's neck fully supported but not raised, and one's head somewhat lower to the point where that is achieved. Those kinds of pillows can achieve that, if you wiggle your head into it just right, as indeed did very over-stuffed goosedown pillows for me for a long time. But I think (after 30 years or so) I am long past that. Now it has to be pillows filled with different kinds and resistances of foam and memory foam, contoured in various ways that are just right for one's particular needs. And it's often, as it has been for me now, a system of trial and error, where you have to try with a particular new pillow for several days to be sure whether or not it's any good.
Unfortunately, I am now a side sleeper, and I have never worked out exactly what the ideal combination is for that. New pillow number 1 professed to be for both back and side sleepers, and was weirdly and alarmingly contoured, but it only seems to be (reasonably) good for back sleeping. The jury is still out on new pillow number 2, but it means I am currently juggling 4 different pillows!
I used to have good handwriting. In my early teens, I read a book on handwriting analysis. I then made a conscious effort to change my handwriting to reflect the characteristics I wished to have as defined by the book. In the process, my handwriting improved. Not so much my character.
It's been so many decades since I've done much handwriting that I now struggle to make my block character writing legible.
I've dabbled in handwriting analysis over the years. What I see is someone who is fascinated by spider webs, likes oatmeal on the thinner side, and shaves against the grain of his beard. I'm about 97.341% sure about all of that.
For wj more than anything...
Got the first toy version of my nonlinear "flattening" software running. Here's the input image I've been using for testing. It's a picture (converted to grayscale) of one of my old work notebooks. The notebook is "curled" in three-space and the camera is: (a) not centered over the notebook; (b) rotated relative to the notebook; and (c) not pointed at the center of the notebook. Here's the output from the toy software. It's an approximation of a scan at a bit under 300 dpi. In the current version I give the toy hints about where the corners are, but then it's on its own. There are errors in the area where the curvature is most extreme. OTOH, in real life such areas are likely to be empty. I'm not unhappy with the result here.
Lots of future work on illumination correction, among other things.
My new pillow arrived today.
What sort of pillow? Decades ago now I was waking up with neck pains and bought a buckwheat hull pillow. The common complaint from people who feel it is "But it's so hard." The first time I tried it I sort of wiggled my head into it and got as far as thinking, "Yes, it seems rather..." before I fell asleep. Still using one, with no neck pain for years. All anecdotal endorsements are suspect, of course.
My new pillow arrived today. My fingers are majorly crossed. And for russell and Pro Bono too: may all our physical problems get better, since our political ones (Ubu, Gaza and Ukraine etc) show no immediate sign of doing so. Someone needs to find a way to enforce consequences or else we are in a de facto tyranny.
Absolutely right.
This YouTuber seems to be honest and appears to have the chops to evaluate other YouTubers' claims and medical studies. He has several videos on creatine. Physionic
They're a starting point. LLMs are much better, but can still make mistakes or make stuff up. YouTube videos vary from overhyped BS to good sources on what is currently known about a subject.
But what got me was the subhead: "It’s unclear how the Justice Department will respond to the request." Do you morons not know? It's not a request. It's an order! Not that the Trump administration recognizes the distinction.
If the search bar here is any indication, I have twice mentioned politics and feud in Medieval Iceland in relation to discussions here. Once was in response to regime cleavage and the corruption of the Supreme Court, the second was in response to CharlesWT discussing libertarian capitalism as a governmental philosophy.
Here's number three, and to quote the Violent Femmes "Third verse/Same as the first."
Checks and balances only work if the people in charge actually care to follow the law. You see this all the time in Icelandic saga, when a goði [a political leader in a district] had enough sway over the local politics it was nearly impossible for anyone who was not allied with that goði to get satisfaction within the law, usually leading to extra-judicial solutions (bloodfeud) being pursued.
Basically, you had to join a party to get enough power and influence as a collective to sway the local courts, and you had to have enough wealth and land to even be entitled to legal status in court. Tenant farmers were stuck with whatever their goði or their landlord decided, or else either leave and find a better landlord or take matters into your own hands and risk becoming an outlaw. (Jesse Byock's Feud in the Icelandic Saga is fascinating reading. I pulled most of this info from his chapter on "Feudeme of Advocacy." If you have no advocate, you are exposed to the whims of those with entrenched power.)
This administration is definitely in the place where they think that no one exists with enough compulsive power to make them follow the law. It doesn't matter to them if something is an order. They are going to force a confrontation and dare the opposing party to try to force compliance.
Someone needs to find a way to enforce consequences or else we are in a de facto tyranny.
Sympathies to all the people with health concerns.
My sister's doctors are muttering about another joint rebuild/replacement. If you looked at our respective histories, I'm the one you would expect to have torn up/worn out joints and be getting replacements. But she's the one who has had two knees, a hip, and a shoulder replaced, and an ankle rebuilt. She's talking about having a couple of arthritic knuckles frozen, while all my hand/finger joints are fine. I sometimes doubt that karma payback is a thing, because I don't deserve the joints I've been blessed with.
I reflected that Trump is firmly aligned on the side of Envy, Rapine, and Ignorance, and is, for the moment at least, triumphing over Truth and Learning.
Exactly right. But congratulations to your daughter, Pro Bono. It's an extraordinary and underappreciated achievement for them to keep going in those circumstances.
Agreed.
Charles, thanks for Creatine suggestion. Will look into it.
About a decade ago, I had frozen shoulder syndrome (adhesive capsulitis). First the left, then the right shoulder. I could only sleep about an hour and a half at a time. The pain intensified the longer the shoulder was immobile. Moving my arm would usually reduce the pain enough that I could sleep another hour or so.
Using Dr. Google, I determined that I could pay someone thousands of dollars to cure it in ten to twelve months. Or I could endure it for ten to twelve months, and it would cure itself. Which I did, and it did.
Speaking of Trump: I was sitting in the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday, for my daughter's graduation. The Vice-Chancellor favoured us with a shortish speech about the university's values, referencing the ceiling painting Triumph of Truth and Learning over Envy, Rapine, and Ignorance. In amongst the complex emotions I was feeling - joy for my daughter, grief for her mother who wasn't there, faint religious hope that perhaps she was watching from on high, and concern for my elderly father alongside me - I reflected that Trump is firmly aligned on the side of Envy, Rapine, and Ignorance, and is, for the moment at least, triumphing over Truth and Learning.
Talk of neck and shoulder pain gets my attention.
I've had neck pain and associated nerve symptoms in my hands and feet since October. In April I had decompressive surgery on my neck for degenerative cervical myelopathy. Since then I've been had shoulder pain to go with it, which gets severe with prolonged mild exertion - cooking dinner, for example.
The surgeon is hopeful that some of these symptoms will moderate with time.
It is, as Russell says, an eye-opener. I realise that people live with much worse than this from a much younger age. It's an extraordinary and underappreciated achievement for them to keep going in those circumstances.
Taking a Creatine dietary supplement might be helpful.
Thank you Charles, I will look at that!
I have been taking a CoQ10 supplement to help with metabolic function - apparently the virus can f*** up your mitochondria (!) - but it's unclear if that is the root cause of my stuff. Cytokine storms are another possible cause, which the creatine may help with.
Look at me! 15 minutes with Dr. Google and I'm a COVID myalgia expert! Other than possibly improving your mood, Creatine isn't likely to help with 3 1/2 more years of Trump.
LOL. Tru dat.
And GFTNC, sorry to hear about your stuff. Nothing worse IMO than not being able to sleep, for whatever reason.
Better days, y'all!
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “An open thread”
Took a guided tour of the NCAR supercomputer facility in Cheyenne, WY yesterday. My son and his SO accompanied me. She runs a climate science group at the U of Wyoming. The computer, named Derecho, appears in the TOP500 list of world's fastest computers twice. The CPU partition is #139. The GPU partition is #256. It's one of the very few of the TOP500 machines where you can actually get into the machine room.
It's been too long since I've done my free-association questions thing, I'm out of practice. Did get a good run after asking about fire suppression in the machine room. (Water, with anti-corrosion additives.) What sort of fire detection? What else do the air sensors check for? Is anything else monitored that closely? How many sensors for all of that together? (120,000.) How does all of the sensor data get collected and sorted out?
The supercomputer resources are provided free of charge to earth science researchers. I was assured by the docent that if I submitted a proposal, it would receive the same consideration as all the others. Except that U of Wyoming proposals get some priority, since the State of Wyoming contributes to the facility. I turned to my son's SO and asked, "Do you need interns?" She paused and then answered "Paid or unpaid?" I never know when people are pulling my leg.
"
Yes, same size as a plump standard pillow. Traditional Japanese versions are quite a bit smaller and thinner.
I got mediocre marks in cursive penmanship because I insisted right from the beginning on straight up and down strokes instead of slanting it.
Did anyone notice that the toy software actually did a nice job of flattening the notebook pages?
"
Just looked at Michael's handwriting, really has a French feel to it. I remember being confronted with French handwriting when I taught there and was pretty amazed
https://www.frenchliving.co.uk/post/the-serious-matter-of-french-handwriting
"
Hmmm, I will take that under advisement in case new pillow number 2 fails. I didn't know about little back-sleeping ones, I assumed normal pillow size. Is your pillow the same size as a regular pillow?
"
I am now a side sleeper, and I have never worked out exactly what the ideal combination is for that.
I am a side sleeper. My buckwheat pillow is about three times the size of those little back-sleeping ones.
"
What sort of pillow?
Michael, your story of the buckwheat hull pillow doesn't surprise me. As far as I can work it out, for back sleeping the desired position is to have one's neck fully supported but not raised, and one's head somewhat lower to the point where that is achieved. Those kinds of pillows can achieve that, if you wiggle your head into it just right, as indeed did very over-stuffed goosedown pillows for me for a long time. But I think (after 30 years or so) I am long past that. Now it has to be pillows filled with different kinds and resistances of foam and memory foam, contoured in various ways that are just right for one's particular needs. And it's often, as it has been for me now, a system of trial and error, where you have to try with a particular new pillow for several days to be sure whether or not it's any good.
Unfortunately, I am now a side sleeper, and I have never worked out exactly what the ideal combination is for that. New pillow number 1 professed to be for both back and side sleepers, and was weirdly and alarmingly contoured, but it only seems to be (reasonably) good for back sleeping. The jury is still out on new pillow number 2, but it means I am currently juggling 4 different pillows!
"
I used to have good handwriting. In my early teens, I read a book on handwriting analysis. I then made a conscious effort to change my handwriting to reflect the characteristics I wished to have as defined by the book. In the process, my handwriting improved. Not so much my character.
It's been so many decades since I've done much handwriting that I now struggle to make my block character writing legible.
"
I've dabbled in handwriting analysis over the years. What I see is someone who is fascinated by spider webs, likes oatmeal on the thinner side, and shaves against the grain of his beard. I'm about 97.341% sure about all of that.
"
I have serious problems with anyone whose handwriting is that good. And that goes double for anyone working in IT.
"
For wj more than anything...
Got the first toy version of my nonlinear "flattening" software running. Here's the input image I've been using for testing. It's a picture (converted to grayscale) of one of my old work notebooks. The notebook is "curled" in three-space and the camera is: (a) not centered over the notebook; (b) rotated relative to the notebook; and (c) not pointed at the center of the notebook.
Here's the output from the toy software. It's an approximation of a scan at a bit under 300 dpi. In the current version I give the toy hints about where the corners are, but then it's on its own. There are errors in the area where the curvature is most extreme. OTOH, in real life such areas are likely to be empty. I'm not unhappy with the result here.
Lots of future work on illumination correction, among other things.
"
My new pillow arrived today.
What sort of pillow? Decades ago now I was waking up with neck pains and bought a buckwheat hull pillow. The common complaint from people who feel it is "But it's so hard." The first time I tried it I sort of wiggled my head into it and got as far as thinking, "Yes, it seems rather..." before I fell asleep. Still using one, with no neck pain for years. All anecdotal endorsements are suspect, of course.
"
My new pillow arrived today. My fingers are majorly crossed. And for russell and Pro Bono too: may all our physical problems get better, since our political ones (Ubu, Gaza and Ukraine etc) show no immediate sign of doing so.
Someone needs to find a way to enforce consequences or else we are in a de facto tyranny.
Absolutely right.
"
This YouTuber seems to be honest and appears to have the chops to evaluate other YouTubers' claims and medical studies. He has several videos on creatine.
Physionic
"
They're a starting point. LLMs are much better, but can still make mistakes or make stuff up. YouTube videos vary from overhyped BS to good sources on what is currently known about a subject.
"
I disrecommend getting medical advice from LLMs or YouTube videos.
"
I disrecommend getting medical advice from LLMs or YouTube videos.
"
russell and GftNC, you're welcome.
If you search for creatine on YouTube, you'll find dozens of videos on it and how to use it.
"
But what got me was the subhead: "It’s unclear how the Justice Department will respond to the request." Do you morons not know? It's not a request. It's an order! Not that the Trump administration recognizes the distinction.
If the search bar here is any indication, I have twice mentioned politics and feud in Medieval Iceland in relation to discussions here. Once was in response to regime cleavage and the corruption of the Supreme Court, the second was in response to CharlesWT discussing libertarian capitalism as a governmental philosophy.
Here's number three, and to quote the Violent Femmes "Third verse/Same as the first."
Checks and balances only work if the people in charge actually care to follow the law. You see this all the time in Icelandic saga, when a goði [a political leader in a district] had enough sway over the local politics it was nearly impossible for anyone who was not allied with that goði to get satisfaction within the law, usually leading to extra-judicial solutions (bloodfeud) being pursued.
Basically, you had to join a party to get enough power and influence as a collective to sway the local courts, and you had to have enough wealth and land to even be entitled to legal status in court. Tenant farmers were stuck with whatever their goði or their landlord decided, or else either leave and find a better landlord or take matters into your own hands and risk becoming an outlaw. (Jesse Byock's Feud in the Icelandic Saga is fascinating reading. I pulled most of this info from his chapter on "Feudeme of Advocacy." If you have no advocate, you are exposed to the whims of those with entrenched power.)
This administration is definitely in the place where they think that no one exists with enough compulsive power to make them follow the law. It doesn't matter to them if something is an order. They are going to force a confrontation and dare the opposing party to try to force compliance.
Someone needs to find a way to enforce consequences or else we are in a de facto tyranny.
"
Sympathies to all the people with health concerns.
My sister's doctors are muttering about another joint rebuild/replacement. If you looked at our respective histories, I'm the one you would expect to have torn up/worn out joints and be getting replacements. But she's the one who has had two knees, a hip, and a shoulder replaced, and an ankle rebuilt. She's talking about having a couple of arthritic knuckles frozen, while all my hand/finger joints are fine. I sometimes doubt that karma payback is a thing, because I don't deserve the joints I've been blessed with.
"
I reflected that Trump is firmly aligned on the side of Envy, Rapine, and Ignorance, and is, for the moment at least, triumphing over Truth and Learning.
Exactly right. But congratulations to your daughter, Pro Bono.
It's an extraordinary and underappreciated achievement for them to keep going in those circumstances.
Agreed.
Charles, thanks for Creatine suggestion. Will look into it.
"
In April I had decompressive surgery on my neck for degenerative cervical myelopathy.
I think I'm beginning to develop it. :(
"
About a decade ago, I had frozen shoulder syndrome (adhesive capsulitis). First the left, then the right shoulder. I could only sleep about an hour and a half at a time. The pain intensified the longer the shoulder was immobile. Moving my arm would usually reduce the pain enough that I could sleep another hour or so.
Using Dr. Google, I determined that I could pay someone thousands of dollars to cure it in ten to twelve months. Or I could endure it for ten to twelve months, and it would cure itself. Which I did, and it did.
"
Speaking of Trump: I was sitting in the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday, for my daughter's graduation. The Vice-Chancellor favoured us with a shortish speech about the university's values, referencing the ceiling painting Triumph of Truth and Learning over Envy, Rapine, and Ignorance. In amongst the complex emotions I was feeling - joy for my daughter, grief for her mother who wasn't there, faint religious hope that perhaps she was watching from on high, and concern for my elderly father alongside me - I reflected that Trump is firmly aligned on the side of Envy, Rapine, and Ignorance, and is, for the moment at least, triumphing over Truth and Learning.
"
Talk of neck and shoulder pain gets my attention.
I've had neck pain and associated nerve symptoms in my hands and feet since October. In April I had decompressive surgery on my neck for degenerative cervical myelopathy. Since then I've been had shoulder pain to go with it, which gets severe with prolonged mild exertion - cooking dinner, for example.
The surgeon is hopeful that some of these symptoms will moderate with time.
It is, as Russell says, an eye-opener. I realise that people live with much worse than this from a much younger age. It's an extraordinary and underappreciated achievement for them to keep going in those circumstances.
"
Taking a Creatine dietary supplement might be helpful.
Thank you Charles, I will look at that!
I have been taking a CoQ10 supplement to help with metabolic function - apparently the virus can f*** up your mitochondria (!) - but it's unclear if that is the root cause of my stuff. Cytokine storms are another possible cause, which the creatine may help with.
Look at me! 15 minutes with Dr. Google and I'm a COVID myalgia expert!
Other than possibly improving your mood, Creatine isn't likely to help with 3 1/2 more years of Trump.
LOL. Tru dat.
And GFTNC, sorry to hear about your stuff. Nothing worse IMO than not being able to sleep, for whatever reason.
Better days, y'all!
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.