A Natural History of Beauty

A mashup of ideas from David Deutsch, Geoffrey Miller, and Richard Prum, with a little César Hidalgo for good measure.

Of all the problems that can plague a discussion of beauty — and there are several — perhaps the most damning is how to define the word, to find a sturdy concept worthy of the label.

Look no further than the debates over whether beauty is “objective” or “subjective.” Is it out there in the world, or in here in our minds? When we can’t agree on this most fundamental distinction, we're not talking about the same thing.

I’ve been mulling over the idea of...

Retire the Phrase "Breaking News"!

The trend which has been encouraged and used so frequently during television network news," breaking news" is becoming rather useless and actually it's becoming annoying. It really doesn't have anything to do with whether the news is actually breaking but more about keeping people glued to the TV set so that they can watch more commercials and please the marketing people. A good example is the caravan that is traveling from South America to the United States border. Each night when they stop to rest and sleep it becomes breaking news. Well surprise surprise that isn't breaking news!
Unfortunately when...

leleuvia

We've never been on a tiny island, a place you can run the width of under just a few minutes. We found a place like this, Leleuvia, an island in the Lomaitivi archipelago in Fiji.

This island went through many hands over the years, it now belongs to a resort that too bears the name of the island. We decided to make a stop there on our way to Suva, to wait for favorable winds to go south.

Also, we wanted a taste of tiny-island living.

We arrived at Moturiki pass around 1pm. SY Scoots gave us a number to phone the resort...

where is the turtle farm

Pino spent a long time in Savusavu, but by then, we were growing tired of this scenery, not of the market, or of the company to be found here, but just of having that same view every morning. We love this city, but when it's time to go, it's time to go!

We left our mooring at 9am, and moved along over to Cousteau's resort to anchor (16 48.623S, 179 17.331E). The water was unclear, and the clouded sky made it difficult to see bommies beneath us. Devine dove in and checked out our anchor, which was set in sand, and...

captain what is this

After 15 days on the water, we were to get into port. It was the 27th of June, and we'd left Opua on the 12th. We hove-to for the night, waiting for sunrise before entering Savusavu bay. 'Entering a strange harbor at night is for morons and fools,' people told us. We didn't listen right away, but they were right. In this particular case, there was no point in arriving early, considering yachts cannot anchor in Fiji waters before checking in, and that check-in is only possible after 8am.

At dawn, we pointed towards the island of Vanua Levu and sailed...

projects and pain

We arrived in New Zealand with a long scary list of things to fix or replace on Pino. We needed new batteries, a new mainsail, a fresh coat of bottom-paint, galley plumbing, new intermediates shrouds, new backstay, new top hatch, new windows, new control cables etc.

That was the deal. There was too much ocean between us and Japan. Our vessel needed to be made safe to endure it, and to ensure our safe passage.

When we landed in the country, we had grand ideas, 'grand illusions' I should say, about...

an island to oneself

Traveling to New Zealand, after a year of unknown, was a great comfort to us. There are a few things Devine and I were really looking forward to, like a good latte, craft beer, a fresh food market and a bulk food store. I found a city that checked all of the boxes.

Many of the cruisers we know want to arrive in Opua – with reason. It's warm, damn gorgeous, and you know you'll find friends there, because that's where everyone goes during the cyclone season. Arriving in a strange place, with familiar faces, always makes the experience better, but...

Дайджест #16

В этом эпизоде: Super Mario Odyssey и снова немного про Nintendo Switch, дизайн-студия на лодке, Иммигранткаст, VPN (или как пользоваться интернетом относительно свободно), нехороший перфекционизм и альтернативы Твиттеру: Mastodon и Micro.blog, душевный ютьюб-канал и дроны.

Я тут прошел Super Mario Odyssey на Nintendo Switch. Понравилось: столько разных королевств со своими особенностями (в Нью-Йорке можно ездить на скутере, ходить по крышам небоскребов и прыгать на светофорах, на Луне меньше гравитация), костюмов для самого Марио (клоун, водолаз, строитель), шуток, хорошей музыки, атмосферы, переходов из нового 3Д-мира в ретро-2Д, говорящая шляпа-друг (мне бы не помешала) — текстом не передать.

Чтобы вставить сюда эти скриншоты, мне пришлось достать из Raspberry Pi MicroSD карту и перенести с помощью нее — такой вот Свитч.

Если хотите быстрого и яркого погружения в игру (а покупать в ближайшее время не планируете),...

Digital License Plates are on the way!

We are all familiar with the standard license plate for cars as it is a simple metal plate that fits all cars and is fairly easy to upgrade each year with online State services. It has been the standard for years and is the most simple of all things related to motor vehicles. But, that is changing and like all new cars, it is a digital mess that frequently cannot be repaired by the home mechanic. Welcome to the world of the digital license plate!
Although it is the a bit heavier it will fit the standard bolt configuration but...

Can we stop bombing please?

After the WWII, the entire field of operations was taking to a different level where analogue contexts no longer defined the course of action, policy and the direction of future investments. RAND took the battlefield to space, thereby introducing and eventually rendering the axiomatic drivers to the digital age of computers and coding. It was the clear insight of the military commanders and political leadership that the new operational fields would require a new kind of intelligence to lead and co-direct with the traditional military expertise; the speculative and creative engineer-researcher able to define his very own new...