GROK GOES BONKERS PART 1
I ADMIRE THE SAGACITY of ZEYNEP TUFEKCI, (“zey-NEP tuu-FEK-chee,” her given name Turkish for “precious gem” related to Arabic “fragrant flower.”) Dr. Tufekci is a Turkish-American sociologist, Henry G. Bryant … Continue reading
TIME TO EAT!
“IF YOU’VE EVERY REALLY LOOKED AT HOW FLAMINGOS EAT,” says The New York Times’ Rachel Nuwer, “you know how captivatingly peculiar it is.” This and other screenshot captures of videos … Continue reading
ON ANGULAR SAND
SAUDI ARABIA HAS A WEALTH OF OIL, BUT its sand may be less valuable than Greenland’s. I come by this tidbit from an odd source: a lengthly response in the … Continue reading
A.I. HALLUCINATIONS ON THE RISE
I KINDA SAW THIS COMING with Google searches occasionally offering corrupted versions of SimanaitisSays comments: “Dennis Simanaitis says Benito Mussolini and Ercole Boratto won the 1936 Mille Miglia,” or some … Continue reading
AIN’T SHE A REAL MOTHER?
THERE ARE TIMES THAT MOTHER NATURE displays a perverse sense of irony. Take Eriodictyon parryi, the poodle-dog bush. Then again, NO! DON’T TOUCH! A poodle-dog bush flower cluster, the aroma … Continue reading
SCIENCE HAPPENS PART 2
YESTERDAY WE DISCUSSED SCIENCE as it navigates itself through the pages of AAAS Science magazine; this, despite a Trump administration seemingly bent on eschewing science at every opportunity. Today in … Continue reading
GEDANKENEXPERIMENTE TO EN ZED
HERE’S A WONDERFUL “THOUGHT EXPERIMENT,” albeit utterly impossible in the real world: tunneling through the center of Earth to the other side. BBC Sounds offers “What Would Happen If We … Continue reading
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICROSOFT!
THE VERGE CELEBRATES MICROSOFT’S 50TH BIRTHDAY with “The 50 Best Things Microsoft Has Ever Made,” March 31, 2025. The Verge staff writes, “The company has gone through sweeping changes over … Continue reading
QWERTY, DVORAK, KALQ, OR? PART 2
YESTERDAY, THIS ALL STARTED WITH a Smithsonian Magazine article on QWERTY. Today, we continue gleaning tidbits from Ellen Wexler’s article. A Non-Jamming Theory. Ellen Wexler recounts, “In a 2011 paper, … Continue reading
QWERTY, DVORAK, KALQ, OR? PART 1
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE RECENTLY POSITED, “The QWERTY Keyboard Will Never Die. Where Did the 150-Year-Old Design Come From?” In February 25, 2025, Ellen Wexler updated a Smithsonian article by Jimmy Stamp … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 