CurtAdams

Semi-retired biologist with interests in speciation models, urbanism, liberal/left politics, economics, quartertone music theory, boardgames, ambient music, house rabbits, and yoga. He/him.

Last Notes

2026-03-10 17:52:45 UTC

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AI usage requirements + mandatory senior reviews of AI code = one hell of a bottleneck.
Oh, and I would hate to be a senior programmer whose job suddenly become reviewing iffy code that nobody can explain, because they didn't write it.

2026-02-16 02:00:09 UTC

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Our rule, which we have found pretty accurate, is to take the time for the game on the box and double it. Box times only happen with experienced players (thus no teach) and no AP. In one of my regular gaming meetups there's a group of us who pride ourselves in actually being able to knock out Terraforming Mars:
Ares Expedition in the 45 minute box time.

2025-08-28 03:59:00 UTC

ICE agents kidnap active firefighters: https://web.archive.org/web/20250828024358/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/federal-agents-arrest-firefighters-working-on-wa-wildfire/

2025-08-21 13:59:41 UTC

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"Scientific" racism belongs only in scare quotes.

2025-08-15 16:12:22 UTC

Hillary tells it like it is: https://bsky.app/profile/hillaryclinton.bsky.social/post/3lwfkfp4eoc2k

2025-07-22 15:11:59 UTC

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Wow, that's one fast rabbit! I'll show this to my foster for inspiration.

2025-07-22 14:53:30 UTC

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New lows for greenwashing: small amounts of windpower used to deliver transcontinental liquid methane, the very worst fossil fuel for global warming.
There's always a relevant XKCD: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/463:_Voting_Machines

2025-07-20 16:39:16 UTC

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Well, you do have a good deal of influence. You're taking the appropriate road, so "Illegitimi non carborundum".

2025-07-14 03:22:59 UTC

In positive news about energy, solar+battery is now so cheap that California is starting to export electricity at night after the sun has gone down:
https://cdn.masto.host/urbanistssocial/media_attachments/files/114/849/427/777/235/511/original/4e3235daa005b103.png

2025-07-08 15:46:40 UTC

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Not a surprise that the Guadalupe flood were boosted by climate change, given the reports I've seen of structures well above previous high flood marks being destroyed, but it's good to have more precise and scientific verification.

2025-07-07 22:40:14 UTC

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It's a very pretty lettuce too! Reminds me of the time I saw this huge, beautiful, organic leafy cabbage in the supermarket - multicolored, it looked like a giant flower. I just had to buy it! There are only 2 in my household and I knew it would be hard to use it all, but I just couldn't resist.

2025-06-27 14:27:34 UTC

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Where would you get the materials for orbital shipyards? The shipyards will weigh even more than the ships.

2025-06-01 14:38:57 UTC

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Is it nitpicky to complain the Chubby Burrito mascot is eating a taco?

2025-05-20 16:51:01 UTC

We lost our bun Xavier last fall and can't adopt another at present due to family obligations. But, we are able to foster for a while and so we just got Mr. Blue here from the Bunny Bunch rescue.
He's not at all like our late Xavier, a friendly Flemish. He's deaf, like many lops, and panics when he sees something he didn't know about, which is often. He also doesn't like being petted. He does love his cilantro, though!
https://cdn.masto.host/urbanistssocial/media_attachments/files/114/541/162/277/527/278/original/6a97d9a4eda80185.jpeg

2025-05-15 00:21:04 UTC

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Lowered appetite is a pretty reasonable behavior when carrying excess fat. Not a vet, but I'd be very reluctant to do major abdominal surgery to fix that unless there are additional problems. Liposuction in humans can bring some significant complications, and for Sitara there would be an abdominal incision as well.
Where is the mass? Is it around the kidneys? That's the normal area for a bun to carry fat.

2025-05-05 03:28:57 UTC

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And - I found the misplaced piece! I was showing this to my nephew and talking about the almost-fit pieces and as I did I noticed one piece that didn't look quite right. I pulled it out (a bit tricky; I had to slide the puzzle partly off the table to push it out from beneath), swapped the pieces, and bingo! Very satisfying.

2025-05-04 00:41:19 UTC

Arboretum, 1000 pieces, Renegade Game Studios. Time 10:30.
I figured I'd combine my love of boardgames and puzzles, and that the puzzle would be pleasantly tricky. Which it was, until I got to the tree in the center, which was brutal. It had a lot of ambigious fits/matches, several of which I later had to pull out, and in the end the last piece did not quite fit in the last place. Couldn't spot the misplaced piece, maybe one of you could? #jigsawpuzzles
https://cdn.masto.host/urbanistssocial/media_attachments/files/114/446/748/657/715/159/original/6059e9cf22860b3a.jpg

2024-12-07 14:58:42 UTC

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The bigger change in the "duck curve", though, is that the evening peak, previously called an insurmountable obstacle to renewables, has been brought down to the typical night level (by batteries). It isn't really a duck curve anymore, because that was the "head" and now it's no higher than the tail. Compare to 2016, where it was kinda like the silhouette of a duck.
It's more a "glacial valley" curve now.