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Here are three popular blog posts from 2024: "I see the NYT Tech Guild went on strike, so this might be a good time for me to post links to my list of daily puzzle pages…" "The Page Slow Str...
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If a puzzlehunt nerd happens to spam nutrimatic, does that mean they apply something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike ham to something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea? This semi-coh...
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It's a semi-new mural on Irving Street: ...
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I continue to check my little dashboard of San Francisco COVID numbers each morning to figure out whether visiting the nearby university food court for a burrito is a pleasant convenience or the even...
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I bought a new broom today. I chuckled over its brand, "Libman"—do they sell better in "blue states" than in "red?" Curious, I googled [libman broom]. I noted the ads at the top: Which adverti...
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Today I saw a coyote in Golden Gate Park at 0745. This throws cold water on my "I haven't seen coyotes lately because I've been going out later and they're snug in their beds by 0630" theory. Maybe i...
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I have updated the Phraser word and phrase lists. Those of you who find these lists handy for solving/designing word puzzles, rejoice! This update incorporates an epiphany! (It also has updated co...
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I'm not sure how this graffito started out, but it turned into a good explanation of the science behind those online personality quizzes. ...
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Utility box decorated by Marc Wagenseil aka @_leaf_litter@instagram. Irving at 4th Ave, #SanFrancisco ...
- updated phraser again
While investigating the question "Why doesn't phraser know about [[Redacted MIT Mystery Hunt puzzle solution Redacted]]?" I found a bug: When reading Wikipedia, if there was an absurdly long paragrap...
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Seen on Haight Street, San Francisco, USA; applies in all geographries. ...
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I continue to check my little dashboard of San Francisco COVID numbers each morning to figure out whether getting together with a dozen nerds in someone's house to solve puzzles is fun weekend plans ...
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I saw mention of another movie database. I already knew about IMDb, a pretty-good example acquired by Amazon some years back. New to me: TMDb, The Movie Database. I previously figured out how to use ...
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A little over a year ago, the 9th and Irving Starbucks unionized. That's why became a regular. I guess that's also why Starbucks is shutting down this always-busy store. Considering the con...
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I found out about GroceryDB, a data set of grocery ingredients sold at some big chain stores (via the excellent Data is Plural blog). Thus, future versions of the Phraser phrase list will know about ...
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I moved my backups off of Google servers. Many months ago, April 2024, Google fired workers protesting Project Nimbus, a Google-Amazon-Israel project, during an intense period of the Gaza Genoci...
- Book Report: Empire of the Sum
It's a history of arithmetic technology leading up to (and after) the pocket calculator. I wasn't expecting to learn much; but I did learn some. Why wasn't I expecting to learn much? I've read a lo...
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Chalk art at 20th and Irving in San Francisco: ¿dónde están los huevos? ...
- Richmond District Onion Domes
Walking in #SanFrancisco 's Richmond District, I saw a new-to-me (but actually almost a year old) mural by Sorrell Raino-Tsui of the ABG Art Group and/or Athen B. Gallery. Celebrating immigrants who ...
- Book Report: Under a White Sky
Elizabeth Kolbert, science writer, visited scientists trying to undo some of humanity's damage to the ecosystem and perhaps avert the end of all human life. E.g., trying to keep a very-efficient sn...
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Every day, I play the puzzle game Collections. It starts out kinda like the game show Wheel of Fortune: You're looking at three sets of blanks. You ask about some letters. The game shows you where th...
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#SFHellscape ...
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It is once again March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "flow". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish ad...
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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "staff". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish adviser Elon...
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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "psychic". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish adviser El...
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It is once again March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "heart". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish a...
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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "trap". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish advi...
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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "turn". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish advi...