GPU's (graphics processing units, a specialized microprocessor for video data, often found on video cards) have not shown a great deal of improvement over the course of 2023. One may wonder whether the long-prophesied failure of Moore's Law is upon us ( Read more... )

Of late I've been thinking about the problem with the argument that even an ethically sourced Large Language Model generative system is still thefty. In particular, how to explain the problem with the idea that payments to artists licensing their work are "a mere pittance," and therefore still effectively stealing from them ( Read more... )

Back in 2008 the housing bubble burst and sent shockwaves through the economy that echoed for years. Some people would argue we've never truly recovered.

Now it looks like office space may be the next big financial crisis. There's too much of it for a workforce that discovers working from home, without the distraction of office politics, can ( Read more... )

Back in 2016, when we were struggling with the tub drain problems, I wrote an article on how small things like our lack of funds to pay a plumber to unclog the drain could become a self-reinforcing downward spiral ( Read more... )

There was a time when most families subsisted on the full-time work of one wage-earner. Other family members might also do paying work, but it generally was part-time -- the lady of the house selling Tupperware, sons mowing lawns or delivering newspapers, daughters babysitting -- and were for spending money rather than actually paying the bills ( Read more... )

All told, we've actually been doing pretty well since shows started happening after the COVID-19 shutdowns. We've had a few that were weak, but none where we outright lost money ( Read more... )

There's an old saying that, if you have a problem, you've got a problem, but if you have two problems, sometimes they can solve each other ( Read more... )

It looks like the food supply chain is is starting to show serious stress from the long-term consequences of the lockdowns of early 2020. However, it's important to distinguish empty shelves from temporary local supply chain disruptions from shortages caused by system-wide strain ( Read more... )

In the wee small hours of this morning, Daylight Saving Time went away for the winter. Unfortunately, unless something changes during that time, it'll be back like a bad penny in March, and once again I'll spend every day scrambling to catch up ( Read more... )

Although SpaceX has built its current success on the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon booster, Elon Musk refuses to rest on his laurels, and is hard at work developing his new Starship. Interestingly enough, it may be a more significant system than people realize, and could quite possibly bring cost to orbit down enough to be a game changer, to the ( Read more... )