Randomer Things

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I aspire to get bored in the new year

I've realized that chess has been eating my downtime. Because it lives on my phone (Lichess), it is frictionless to start a bullet game, and get a quick dopamine hit.

The problem is that I no longer get bored. That is bad. I need to get bored so I can start to imagine, daydream, think, self-reflect, plan, or even get mentally prepared for things (like the Stoics talked about). I badly need that empty space back.

So bye chess. Nothing personal. I will play only when teaching/playing with my daughters. I may occasionally cheat and play a bullet game on my wife's phone. But no more chess apps on my phone.

While I was at it, I installed the  Website Blocker extension for Chrome. I noticed my hands typing reddit or twitter at the first hint of boredom. The blocker is easy to disable, but that is fine. I only need that slight friction to catch myself before opening the site on autopilot.


I am disappointed by online discourse

In 2008, Reddit had a popular thread on Attacking Generals problem with about 300 confident and largely misguided comments. I shared it with two senior distributed researchers, with the subject line "Proof that distributed reasoning is really tricky".

One asked: "Who are these people and where do they come from?" The other mentioned this book: "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future"

Today, Hacker News is at the same threshold. People with little understanding discuss opinions with other uninformed people back and forth.

I am aware this comes across cranky. I am not angry, and I am not trying to gatekeep or anything. I am glad to see interest in these topics. I just want to see a higher signal to noise ratio in these discussions. Right now, maybe less than 10% of the comments say something useful or substantial. 

Marc Brooker has a quadrant model to explain why this discourse happens. As he also admits, we can do better, and the forums can design incentives that reward insight instead of noise.


I like Trader Joe’s

A Trader Joe's opened nearby. Now we eat simit for breakfast. Trader Joe's simit is spot-on authentic. As a Turk, this is an amazing treat. Simit is deeply nostalgic. Every kid loves it. Adults too. It's simple, inexpensive, and perfect. 

They also had frozen baklava. It was very fresh, authentic, delicious, and inexpensive as well. Past tense because, it turns out this was seasonal. 

Acquired did an episode on Trader Joe's. Worth a listen. I am always impressed by how helpful the Trader's Joe associates are. Shopping should feel like this. Hey Trader Joe's, after this shout-out, you should sponsor me with unlimited simit. Or at least make baklava year-round. Please.


I also like Qamaria

A Yemeni coffee chain opened nearby. This appears to be the year of pistachio. First Dubai chocolate, now this. We tried pistachio lattes, hot and cold. The cold one was better, and looked better too. Both were very sweet. I had to return the hot one, and ask for a replacement with less Pistaschio paste, so I don't die of sweet Pistaschio overdose on the spot. The caramel tres leches was excellent. Really light, soft, and moist. 

Yemeni coffee tastes better. I am done with Starbucks. The Starbucks branch near us is consistently awful. Some locations are better, but overall, I am finished with it. I hear good things about Luckin Coffee. That is next on my list.


I have been watching things

Zootopia 1 was better.

What happened to scriptwriting? The industry no longer seems to try. No creativity. Not even basic logic. In most movies, there are plot holes large enough to drive a garbage truck through.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery was good, but not as engaging as the first.

I did like The Great Flood, a Korean movie on Netflix. At least it is an engaging machine learning movie.

No good Christmas movie this year? Time to watch Die Hard again.

Baby vs Man: Rowan Atkinson is brilliant. Unfortunately, I have a strong stress reaction to watching stupidity unfold slowly and inevitably. Atkinson is exceptionally good at this, which is exactly why I cannot bring myself to watch it.

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