!["Hi family I was writing to say that since we live in clown world and it's getting even clownier, I thought maybe we should come up with a safe word. You know since Al is stealing peoples, voices and identities and with all the scammers around... Anyhow, I think our safe word should be Jesus.."](/clownworld.jpeg) # Town Hall #23: Clown World ## Fun Stuff - ☆ [Against the Advice of My Superintelligence](/my-superintelligence) - ☆ ["work hard, play hard"](/work-hard-play-hard) - [Urgent/Optimistic Meeting Matrix](/urgent-optimistic) - [To Chelsea & Mom, Happy Mothers' Day](/mothers-day-2024) ## Tech Stuff - [Publishable Network Contracts in Scrapscript](/unsound-2024-cfp) - [VisionOS Dev: Taylor's Opinionated and Already-Outdated Guide (2024)](/visionos) - [Metabootstrapped Messaging Protocols](/sle-2024-cfp) - ☆ [The Acme of Software](/acme-software) - ☆ [Kyle Explains "Legacy Software" to the Aliens](/legacy) ## Appearances - [POSETTE 2024: How/Why to Sweep Async Tasks...](/posette-2024) - [Elm Town #75: The Great Wall of Code](/elm-town-75) ## Catch Me Outside | | | | | ------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 2024.08.01-04 | Idyllwild, US | [FWB](https://www.fwbfest.xyz) | | 2024.08.24-25 | Santa Cruz, US | [!!Con](https://bangbangcon.com/speakers.html#taylor-troesh) | | 2024.10.14-18 | Porto, PT | [NDC Porto](https://ndcporto.com/agenda/a-history-of-knobs-on-microwaves-08g4/0bc4laxs43b) | | 2024.10.19-21 | Las Vegas, US | [WWWY](https://www.whenwewereyoungfestival.com) | | 2024.10.21-25 | Los Angeles, US | [SPLASH](https://2024.splashcon.org) | | 2024.10.25-28 | Los Angeles, US | [RIPPLE](/ripple.png) | | 2024.11.06-08 | Malmö, SE | [Øredev](https://oredev.org/program) | | 2024.11.09-10 | Ontario, US | [AX Chibi](https://www.anime-expo.org/anime-expo-chibi/) | ## Books | | | | | ----: | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | ★★★★★ | [review](/books#sellout) | _The Sellout_ :: Paul Beatty | | ★★ | [review](/books#slow-productivity) | _Slow Productivity_ :: Cal Newport | | | [review](/books#quantations) | _Quantations_ :: Joseph A. Stirt, M.D. | | ★★★★ | [review](/books#sparrow) | _The Sparrow_ :: Mary Doria Russell | | ★★ | [review](/books#co-intelligence) | _Co-Intelligence_ :: Ethan Mollick | | ★★★ | [review](/books#politics-of-design) | _The Politics of Design_ :: Ruben Pater | | ★★ | [review](/books#the-overstory) | _The Overstory_ :: Richard Powers | | ★★★ | [review](/books#user-friendly) | _User-Friendly_ :: Cliff Kuang & Robert Fabricant | | ★★★ | [review](/books#cold-start) | _The Cold Start Problem_ :: Andrew Chen | | ★★ | [review](/books#going-infinite) | _Going Infinite_ :: Michael Lewis | | ★★ | [review](/books#build) | _Build_ :: Tony Fadell | | ★★★★★ | [review](/books#rise-of-td) | _The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt_ :: Edmund Morris | | ★★ | [review](/books#grabcad) | _The Art of Product Design_ :: Hardi Meybaum | | ★★★★ | [review](/books#ender) | _Speaker for the Dead_ :: Orson Scott Card | | ★★★★ | [review](/books#ender) | _Ender's Game_ :: Orson Scott Card | | ★★ | [review](/books#effortless) | _Effortless_ :: Greg McKeown | | ★★★★ | [review](/books#fifth-season) | _The Fifth Season_ :: N. K. Jemisin | | ★★★★ | [review](/books#distrust) | _Distrust that Particular Flavor_ :: William Gibson | | ★★★ | [review](/books#player-games) | _The Player of Games_ :: Iain M. Banks | ## Thoughts [^note]: Follow this microblog via [rss](/feed.xml), [x.com](https://x.com/surprisetalk), and [mastodon](https://mastodon.social/@surprisetalk). | | | | ---------: | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 2024.07.25 | why do they put "no trespassing" signs on all the places i want to go | | 2024.07.22 | Isn’t it weird how books are broadly sorted into “fake” and “not fake”? | | 2024.07.22 | IMHO Norah Jones was probably Ravi Shankar's greatest work | | 2024.07.12 | "The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe; for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them." | | 2024.07.07 | "This performance inspired me years ago. It made me want to play the guitar really badly. Now after years of study dedication and hard work, I'm proud to say I can play the guitar really badly." | | 2024.06.15 | y'all'n't ready for this spreadsheet demo | | 2024.06.09 | jet lag. 4:30 in norway. daytime? people call taxis, laughing with the cops. a girl in heels chases me, barking, while her friends giggle. | | 2024.05.31 | i'm wearing three sticks of deodorant today; the people will see me long before they smell me | | 2024.05.28 | my cicadian rhythm is wrecked -- i've been waking up every twelve years | | 2024.05.09 | "that's called a shantytown, and it's where the city draws its surplus unskilled labour from." via The Player of Games | ## Finds [^note]: Follow this microblog via [rss](/feed.xml), [x.com](https://x.com/surprisetalk), and [mastodon](https://mastodon.social/@surprisetalk). | | | | ---------: | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 2024.07.25 | [the final shebang](https://bangbangcon.com) | | 2024.07.24 | [ya like jazz?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fIXI_Rx9M) | | 2024.07.24 | [curated collection of free font faces](https://www.freefaces.gallery) | | 2024.07.24 | [a blog about an esoteric hypercard game](https://whirlitzer-of-wisdom.blogspot.com) | | 2024.07.22 | [monstera fruit](https://www.swiss-miss.com/2024/06/monstera-fruit.html) | | 2024.07.22 | [cool HN story stats](https://news.social-protocols.org) | | 2024.07.21 | [The Library of Unconventional Lives](https://thelul.org/special/index) | | 2024.07.21 | [simplifier](https://simplifier.neocities.org) | | 2024.07.19 | [christina's desktop](https://kottke.org/24/07/christinas-world-the-windows-xp-wallpaper-version) | | 2024.07.18 | [happy aitee](https://www.reddit.com/r/Throawaylien/comments/1e62g01/july_aitee_4_megathread/) | | 2024.07.17 | [steve irwin v. conan o'brien](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-xUaT7ncnk) | | 2024.07.11 | [o jo esun e ni](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-toki-pona-edition-l-frank-baum/21098825?ean=9780978292379) | | 2024.07.10 | [reminder](/uhii8bfwrkkc1.jpeg) | | 2024.07.09 | [mike tyson v. pinklon thomas (1987)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvQ89GqYz-U) | | 2024.07.08 | [bananas](https://manifold.markets/ManifoldPolitics/who-will-win-the-2024-democratic-pr-47576e90fa38) | | 2024.07.08 | [the artwork is surprisingly good too](https://www.mangaclassics.com/titles) | | 2024.07.07 | [literally an anime/manga series about quality assurance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Assurance_in_Another_World) | | 2024.07.07 | [wringing the neck of eleanor rigby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGoGyGSnVuA) | | 2024.07.03 | [5 ways to put up with a society you don't like](https://42m.me/society/) | | 2024.07.03 | [pls tread on me](https://taylor.town/tread.jpg) | | 2024.07.03 | [when your network connection is delayed in the zoom meeting](https://youtu.be/T3W4Mx2aSGE) | | 2024.06.29 | [i submitted a 33-page rant on plant law. wish me luck!](https://www.experimental-history.com/p/the-summer-2024-blog-post-competition) | | 2024.06.28 | [explain this to the aliens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmK1f3y05tI) | | 2024.06.25 | [dank speedrun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02CUIazTmzk) | | 2024.06.25 | [hide yo windows hide yo heat pumps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNlDu_ZHIo8) | | 2024.06.25 | [fifteen years of growing plants](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtsJ5m6C7dU) | | 2024.06.24 | [how to use a cat inhaler to treat feline asthma](https://www.trudellanimalhealth.com/learn/further-reading/how-to-give-cat-asthma-inhaler) | | 2024.06.19 | [looking for a bed bug subscription service? six months for $750 at cheapbedbugs.com](https://www.cheapbedbugs.com/product-page/6-month-subscription) | | 2024.06.19 | [president obama was constantly chewing gum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6APLi8Hq1I8) | | 2024.06.19 | [ass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3gZOt1Lo4A) | | 2024.06.19 | [you are not incompressible](https://stevenscrawls.com/not-incompressible) | | 2024.06.19 | [unfair robot fight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0MffPksN4M) | | 2024.06.16 | [LIVING IS URGENT](https://42m.me/vivir) | | 2024.06.14 | [How/Why to Sweep Async Tasks Under a Postgres Table](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXXJuz_spcU&list=PLlrxD0HtieHg5ldHlEn3nMMpClX0RUntH&index=29) | | 2024.05.24 | [circumcise me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRAkBNFMHk) | | 2024.05.23 | [one electron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpSDGUcdWfM) | | 2024.05.22 | [ten years in eighty-five seconds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejbNVWES4LI) | | 2024.05.20 | ["the wardrobe gets bad signal in that corner"](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fsek60ph4kgt51.jpg) | | 2024.05.20 | [worlds: 800% slower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vL4DQeRe_4) | | 2024.05.18 | ["Think of all the people around you and the people cheering you on!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGRhd_iWuE) | | 2024.05.18 | [derive two benefits from one singular action](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71gilEP4aJY) | | 2024.05.15 | [another unforgettable video from an underrated youtuber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RIEPKEhE2s) | | 2024.05.12 | [happy mothers' day to everybody's favorite nanny state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_with_the_Death_Penalty) | | 2024.05.09 | [dead or dormant?](https://www.treepeople.org/2023/12/05/how-to-know-if-your-tree-is-dead-or-just-dormant/) | | 2024.05.09 | [wooden pixel art](/timur-zagirov-02.jpg) by [Timur Zagirov](https://stowe-gallery.com/collections/timur-zagirov) | | 2024.05.09 | [sewerslvt is back](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-so13zBdSsY) |