Orpheus

The Internet: "History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. -Mark Twain" Actual Mark Twain: "History never repeats itself, but the Kaleidoscopic combinations of the pictured present often seem to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends. mark-twain.classic-literature.co.uk/the-gilded-age…

If I were asked to create a monument to Franz Kafka, I'm sure I'd be stymied at the prospect of imagining something surreal and transformative enough. The actual Kafka memorial doesn't disappoint: youtube.com/watch?v=UPR8s-…

@swcollings i.e. "God is so great He can do the contradictory. He has no limits/rules (no morals need apply); only heathens hint otherwise." is no different from "Rev/Guru/Imam/Rabbi is so virtuous/wise that he can fly": worship of a false self-invented test to say my god's better than yours

You may as well ask if God could make a rock so big that God couldn't lift it. It's speculating about what reality would be like if God wasn't God. If God's power was limited, if God's love was limited, what would reality be like? I have no idea, and neither do you. Thank God.

I've never felt need to dissect Five Point Calvinism, and it finally clicked with me why. One of the questions it tries to answer is whether it is possible for fallen man to turn to God without God's help. I find this question absurd to the point that it's not worth two minutes.

@swcollings Even as a child, I felt an almighty god would not desire, much less demand, our adulation, but that it benefits our own development to respect things greater than ourselves. We cannot comprehend the Absolute (see Job). To use it as an irrefutable bludgeon is simply idolatry.

Most people today won't say one good word for Der Führer (and rightfully so), but let's give him his due: he did a thing the combined Allied nations never managed (and not for lack of trying) -- he killed Hitler.

@TrabalCreations It'll be worth it to see "Orph was here" broadcast on the evening news

@OrpheusofExIsle Ah stop it, you Mad Scientist-you PLANTED that there on the lunar surface!

Have you seen the "神秘小屋" ("mystery house") that the Chinese Yutu-2 rover found on the lunar far side? It's the somewhat cubic shape on the horizon in this image, just ~80 meters north of the rover which is now en route to investigate it. pbs.twimg.com/media/FFqtylRX…

Courtesy of the Mimbari Embassy on Babylon 5 (the Prince Regent, if you recall, is the son of an EIer) Anyone care to tell us more? (it was suggested that I got more engagement in EtU threads when I posted ambiguously vs. explicating) youtube.com/watch?v=9bzQYK…

The Chinese unmanned Chang'e 4 mission is humanity's first/only soft landing on the far side (Jan 3, 2019). It and its Yutu-2 rover are about to begin their 3rd year of actively exploring the lunar far side. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yutu-2

Here's a lunar satellite image with Yutu-2's route, and rover shut down sites for each 2 week lunar night. "Myster House" is at 400M N, 450M W. (Craters are shadowed on the east side, sunlit on the west. Upright objects are sunlit on the east side) pbs.twimg.com/media/FFrZJkMX…

I'll be taking this account in a different direction for a while, testing a workflow for a new account I'm considering ,"Orphic Wonders", about cool thing in sci, tech, culture, design, etc.

Now that we are running out of letters in the Greek Alphabet to name COVID variants. Can I suggest we use Spock’s Vulcan alphabet next? As it would be nice to Live Long and Prosper.

@BenKrasnow I used a Riudeng/RD buck-boost converter [Alibaba] and built it into a tiny DollarTree "fishing tackle" box. I'm still very happy with it after 2 years, though Riudeng/RD came out with much fancier front ends and capabilities a month later

A while ago I built a portable bench power supply, and have found it to be super useful. I designed a simple 3D-printed enclosure to attach a Makita battery to a power supply in a similar way: github.com/benkrasnow/Mak…

@BenKrasnow I did this with Ryobi One+. Starter drills or battery packs come with a mini wall-wart charger + cradle/cap. Since I have their better benchtop charger, I cut the cap/cradle to use as a DC output adapter. A soldered 2-pin adapter lets me still connect the wall-wart as a charger

Today is the 85thanniversary of Schroedinger's famous paper with the infamous cat experiment. Which, I am reliably informed, is not a reliable defense for the dead hooker in your trunk.

@jeremyfaust I've always found swimming to be a poor choice as a placebo or baseline control state.

As someone who spent large portions of my life either swimming or singing, I always found this study oddly specific.

Only a minor thermal issue remains. Due to high operating temperature, I can currently only convert them into hot dogs.

Just made a billion dollar breakthrough in cat converter technology! It converts them into DOGS!

@dontpanicgeo Apparently your podcast didn't make the transfer to my new phone. I was too busy to notice... ...until I noticed that the company my medical practice sends DNA analysis stool samples to is "Exact Sciences". Maybe you should be glad you're not an exact science.

He: Hey baby, whaddya say we head upstairs? I'll Nauka you up. When I dock your port, you'll flip sideways and upside down. She: Yes, I imagine docking with you would completely change my orientation .