Category: Misc

Anscombe’s Quartet Let’s be Frank; this data set is interesting. Buford Lister (personal communication)   Yale statistician Frank Anscombe published a short paper in 1973.  As I recall, around that time, Tony Orlando hoped to see a yellow ribbon wrapped around an old oak tree while The Godfather dominated award season in the film industry. […]

A Few Thoughts from the Big City Do any of us set out to live an uneventful, pedestrian life? My guess is that, yes, many of us want nothing more than a decent partner, a job that pays the bills, and kids that don’t end up as axe murderers. In the land of low expectations, […]

An Unwelcome Memoir I guess it is simply a function of getting older, right?  No matter their age, these people I once knew are dying too young.  I am 60, but I am only 60.  I am not 85 or 90.  People I met when we were young should not be dying, yet here we […]

More Thoughts on the Great Tara Westover I had a bit of an epiphany a few moments ago.  I am sitting on my couch, listening to the transcendent music of Mozart, my favorite composer (the greatest who has ever lived, by the way).  I am drinking a few beers, a luxury in my post-60-year-old existence.  […]

ChatGPT This morning, I had an interesting interaction with an Artificial Intelligence “thing.”  I didn’t know if I should type entity or machine, so I settled on “thing.”  Turns out, it identifies as a Language Model that is not conscious.  How do I know that?  I asked.  Here is the conversation. RTNM: Please write python […]

Hillbilly Bona Fides, Exile from Eden, and Wittgenstein’s Rhino (or elephant if you prefer) Here we go again.  Yes, another essay on hillbillies and my unrepentant aggravation when they cross my path.  Try as I might, I cannot insulate myself from their nonsensical wrath, nor can I just forget and move on. I have often […]

An Interview with Warren Andrew Slay, Part 23 I know it is unlikely that any reader will notice that parts 9 through 22 of my interviews with Warren Andrew Slay are missing.  The interviews were conducted, but he wouldn’t let me publish them.  Why?  Excellent question.  I can tell you what he told me; he […]

Bingo Belly 1 X Perhaps I should break with my usual style and include a detailed outline in this essay. I have my reasons; they will become clear as you scroll down the page. One. In this instance, I prefer to write out the number one. It has something to do with the essay I […]