Checkin Tilly’s
Author: Chris Aldrich
I'm a biomedical and electrical engineer with interests in information theory, complexity, evolution, genetics, signal processing, IndieWeb, theoretical mathematics, and big history.
I'm also a talent manager-producer-publisher in the entertainment industry with expertise in representation, distribution, finance, production, content delivery, and new media.
Checkin Old Navy
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📖 Read pages 168-192 of Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary
📖 Read pages 168-192, Chapter 7: The Boy Who Ate Dog Food, of Henry and Beezus by (William Morrow & Company, , ISBN: 978-0062652362)
Again, some unnecessary anti-girl statements that really weren’t necessary. While somewhat funny, not quite as funny a chapter as Cleary’s usual work.
📖 Read pages 195-244 of Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
📖 Read pages 195-244, Part 5: The Custard Continuum, of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by (Scribner, , ISBN: 978-1-4165-661-3)
The Custard Continuum may have been one of my favorite parts of the book. I particularly like that he includes a recipe for butterscotch, which he’s right in saying that there are so few.
👓 Which problems make good research problems? | Back Reaction
Sabine Hossenfelder (Back Reaction)Scientists solve problems; that’s their job. But which problems are promising topics of research? This is the question I set out to answer in Lost in Math at least concerning the foundations of physics. A first, rough, classification of research problems can be made using Thomas Kuhn’s cycle of scientific theories. Kuhn’s cycle consists of a phase of “normal science” followed by “crisis” leading to a paradigm change, after which a new phase of “normal science” begins. This grossly oversimplifies reality, but it will be good enough for what follows.
A nice little article on a question many of us should be asking ourselves more often. This one has some additional nice overview of bits of physics in addition, but circling back around to the original question is always very valuable.
I’m going to have to track down a copy of Sabine Hossenfelder’s book Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray.
👓 As Other Aides Face Trump’s Ire Over Rob Porter’s Departure, Hope Hicks Is Praised | New York Times
The president dismissed an idea circulated by some aides and allies that he’d been unhappy with the role of Hope Hicks in workshopping an initial forceful defense of Mr. Porter.
👓 What Amazon does to wages | The Economist
WHEN Amazon announced in 2010 that it would build a distribution centre in Lexington County, South Carolina, the decision was hailed as a victory for the Palmetto State. Today the e-commerce giant employs thousands of workers at the centre. Just 3.5% of the local workforce is out of work.
It would be nice to have some additional data on some of the subtleties. Lack of rising wages has also been recently noted to be the result of companies giving one time bonuses as well, and this particularly in response to the recent tax incentives. Sadly a one time bonus is not worth nearly as much as an annual raise in the long run.
👓 L.L. Bean ends legendary lifetime return policy, and of course social media is to blame | Mashable
Thanks, internet, for ruining another great thing.
Bad actors will ruin things all the time. Some of their tactics were egregiously bad. The company should have just put the onus back on the bad actors instead of giving up altogether, though I suspect they’ll probably do right by those “playing by the rules.”
🔖 NetSci 2018 11-15 June 2018 in Paris, France
NetSci 2018, the flagship conference of the Network Science Society, aims to bring together leading researchers and practitioners working in the emerging area of network science. The conference fosters interdisciplinary communication and collaboration in network science research across computer and information sciences, physics, mathematics, statistics, the life sciences, neuroscience, environmental sciences, social sciences, finance and business, arts and design. NetSci 2018 in Paris, France will be a combination of: * An International School for students and non-experts (June 11-12, 2018) * Satellite Symposia (June 11-12, 2018) * A 3-day Conference (June 13-15, 2018) featuring research in a wide range of topics and in different formats, including keynote and invited talks, oral presentations, posters, and lightning talks.
Registration Deadlines:
February 8: Registration opens.
March 20: Registration for presenters of accepted contributions ends.
April 10: Early registration ends.
May 28: Online registration ends.
February 8: Registration opens.
March 20: Registration for presenters of accepted contributions ends.
April 10: Early registration ends.
May 28: Online registration ends.
🔖 9th International Conference on Complex Systems | NECSI
The International Conference on Complex Systems is a unique interdisciplinary forum that unifies and bridges the traditional domains of science and a multitude of real world systems. Participants will contribute and be exposed to mind expanding concepts and methods from across the diverse field of complex systems science. The conference will be held July 22-27, 2018, in Cambridge, MA, USA. Special Topic - Artificial Intelligence: This year’s conference will include a day on AI, including its development and potential future. This session will be chaired by Iyad Rahwan of MIT's Media Lab.
A great looking conference coming up with a strong line up of people who’s work I appreciate. It could certainly use some more balance however as it’s almost all white men.
In particular I’d want to see:
Albert-László Barabási (Northeastern University, USA)
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Real World Risk Institute, USA)
Stuart Kauffman (Institute for Systems Biology, USA)
Simon DeDeo (Carnegie Mellon University, USA)
Stephen Wolfram (Wolfram Research)
César Hidalgo (MIT Media Lab, USA)
Others include:
Marta González (University of California Berkeley, USA)
Peter Turchin (University of Connecticut, USA)
Mercedes Pascual (University of Chicago, USA) Pending confirmation
Iyad Rahwan (MIT Media Lab, USA)
Sandy Pentland (MIT Media Lab, USA)
Theresa Whelan (U.S. Department of Defense) Pending DOD approval
H. Eugene Stanley (Boston University, USA)
Ricardo Hausmann (Harvard University, USA)
Stephen Grossberg (Boston University, USA)
Daniela Rus (MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab, USA) Pending confirmation
Olaf Sporns (Indiana University Network Science Institute, USA)
Michelle Girvan (University of Maryland, USA) Pending confirmation
Cameron Kerry (MIT Media Lab, USA)
Irving Epstein (Brandeis University, USA)
👓 American Spies Paid $100,000 to Russian Who Wanted to Sell Material on Trump | New York Times
After months of negotiations, the Russian insisted on including information about the president as part of a deal involving stolen hacking tools.
👓 All Followers Are Fake Followers | The Atlantic
A New York Times exposé of a “black market” for online fame diagnoses the symptom of social-media despair, but misses its cause.
This aptly picks up where the NYT article left off… though of course they go on even further than this article admits.
Checkin Domenico’s
Pizza to go
👓 Newsonomics: Inside Tronc’s sale of the L.A. Times (and all the new questions to come) | Nieman Lab
Tronc is getting a big premium for its flagship asset, and the Times is getting a return to private, local ownership. But a lot of questions remain about where Patrick Soon-Shiong will take his new prize.
An interesting recap on the goings on at the LA Times over the past few years.
👓 Quincy Jones on the Secret Michael Jackson and the Problem With Modern Pop | Vulture
Music legend Quincy Jones on who he thinks killed JFK, the secret Michael Jackson, his relationship with the Trumps, and the problem with modern pop.
I’ve known many older “Hollywood” executives like this. You have to take what they say with a heavy grain of salt, though some of their stories can have some grains of truth to them.