Archive: July 5, 2015

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taking the fifth

Sunday,  07/05/15  10:09 AM

Good morning all ... and welcome to the fifth of July!  Did you have a nice Fourth? We did ... celebrated by competing in the Westlake Yacht Club's annual Round the Island Race* - in which the competitors must capsize their boats or lower their masts or otherwise navigate underneath a low bridge - and then watched fireworks from the back yard.  The technology of fireworks is amazing, isn't it?  Just thing of all the technology that goes into making cool visuals in the sky :) * sorry but no, I did not win this year, some early and critical boat failures kept me way back, although I did make it under the bridge in fine style... Onward to the Fifth!  Among all the other cool things that are happening this weekend, yesterday saw the start of this year's Tour de France, in Utrecht, in the Netherlands.  I watched the first stage last night and am planning to watch the second in a few minutes, also in the Netherlands, between Utrecht and Zelande.  I am most definitely looking forward to this year's Tour, not only is it a most interesting route, but for the first time in a long time all the favorites are riding, and it will be a horse race among [at least] four strong riders (Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali, and Nairo Quintana). Right now I've decided NOT to follow my previous practice of blogging about each of the stages.  In a weird way this is a result of my blog's Flight feature, which shows my posts on the same day in each previous year.  I've realized that old TDF posts are just not that interesting.  So ... be it. [Update: I did accumulate thoughts and pictures throughout the Tour, which was one of the greatest ever; please see my galactic summary post for a grand report!] Onward!

 

Sunday,  07/05/15  10:27 AM

A fifth filter pass ... I just mentioned this year's Tour de France starts in the Netherlands; apropos, TechCrunch has A look at the World's High-Tech Startup Capital.  "It may seem superficial to say so, but one of the biggest advantages Amsterdam has in the tech world is that it’s a place where people want to live — and can actually afford to, even on a startup budget. Local leaders recognize how attractive their city is, and they're not shy about selling it on those terms."  Vox: 11 things about the Greek crisis you need to know.  Interesting although the confluence of fact and opinion is troubling, as always with Vox.  Biggest thing I learned: Vox thinks Kentucky is supported by Massachusetts.  (!)  I do agree with the central premise, that a single currency spanning multiple countries with varying fiscal policies was bound to run into trouble. Business Insider: Margaret Thatcher was freakishly correct about why the Euro would be such a disaster.  She was, but not sure "freakish" is the right adjective for an experienced leader extrapolating from past experience.  From Nick Szabo*: The Greek financial mess and some ways Bitcoin might help.  * Nick has been rumored to *be* Satori Nakamoto. Cory Doctorow: Not a bug :)  Totally weird: If you divide 1 by 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,998,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 (that's 999 quattuordecillion btw), the Fibonacci sequence neatly pops out. Wow!

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