Rob Tow (@robtow.bsky.social)

Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jul 09, 2024 at 22:52 UTC

Hmmm. So spring rolls are burritos?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 16:42 UTC

How about variants... such as the Casaba Howitzer?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 27, 2024 at 22:05 UTC

Topologically speaking, spring rolls are a calazoni, not a sandwich.

See: www.wikihow.com/Cube-Rule-of...

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 24, 2024 at 14:32 UTC

The outage yesterday was a brief reminder of why we had a generator and a week’s worth of fuel when we lived in California’s Santa Cruz mountains before moving to the Santa Fe area four years ago. Multi day outages, not 20 seconds. I was annoyed to lose several hours of work In Unity.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 23, 2024 at 15:51 UTC

Sometime in 1984; prior to starting work at Schlumberger Palo Alto Research.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 19, 2024 at 21:57 UTC

Lightning, thunder, and a brisk rain squall south of Santa Fe in Ranch Veijo. Quite refreshing.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 19, 2024 at 21:53 UTC

Thank-you, Brenda Laurel, for taking care of me today. …second atrial ablation. All went well. At home, resting.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 14, 2024 at 15:22 UTC

Very nice!

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 11, 2024 at 17:41 UTC

Where the computer "twinkly" noises in movies and tv come from:

slate.com/culture/2015...

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 10, 2024 at 12:44 UTC

I like Ike.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 09, 2024 at 21:50 UTC

Friends don't let friends use Windows 11.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 05, 2024 at 23:40 UTC

I agree there are lots of things... and another one that always gets me is the shampooed hair, flying in the wind. Recently we have been watching some French period pieces, an greatly enjoying the costuming - "Nicolas Le Floch" on Amazon, and "Franklin".

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 05, 2024 at 17:43 UTC

Also there is dentition.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 03, 2024 at 19:45 UTC

Applying the DEFLATE algorithm* to this file gets a lossless compression factor of 2.3. Since the spectrum is not too far from that of pink noise, I don't see it as being possible to do much better - the challenge is impossible. *en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflate

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 03, 2024 at 19:40 UTC

A sample WAV from the challenge data, and a spectral plot:

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 03, 2024 at 19:26 UTC

Thanks for clarifying your own voice. :-)
I agree about the impossibility of compressing the noise component. I also see the signal component as being so variable as to not be highly compressible losslessly. It's informative to look at the sample data provided in the challenge: shorturl.at/Tx0Fz

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Jun 03, 2024 at 13:57 UTC

“Noise” is the wrong word. Shannon would cringe. While some statistics of the signals are noise-like in their variability, they are complex not random. The “challenge” is infeasible. I strongly suspect that the encodings used by biology do come close to a set of optimum compressed representations.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 24, 2024 at 22:10 UTC

“Surly” was misspelled.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 23, 2024 at 03:23 UTC

Number of working worldwide fission power reactors?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 15, 2024 at 00:33 UTC

So did I.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 14, 2024 at 19:23 UTC

Thanks for the pointers - followed.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 13, 2024 at 15:00 UTC

No “Red Plenty” to be had.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 13, 2024 at 04:39 UTC

I have never seen an episode of Seinfeld either.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 07, 2024 at 11:56 UTC

Cardioversion this morning, and left cardiac catheterization with possible stent Friday morning. This old '54 Rambler's engine has been running kinda rough. I've got a good mechanic, but he's not offering an extended warranty.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 04, 2024 at 23:43 UTC

I prefer “how many filled Klein bottles”.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] May 01, 2024 at 01:48 UTC

We have gas heated water that heats under our floor here in Santa Fe. We have an interest in moving away from gas for that, and for the kitchen stove, and for water for taps and bathing. Have found good local resources for such?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 30, 2024 at 01:49 UTC

Nine of Wands. ...hard to kill. Stalwart.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 30, 2024 at 01:35 UTC

So do I.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 29, 2024 at 01:59 UTC

New Mexico sunset. At Nova Lux.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 28, 2024 at 14:32 UTC

“All Along the Watchtower” - Hendrix was better.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 27, 2024 at 17:13 UTC

Hikaru is helping Brenda construct our May Pole.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 21, 2024 at 08:59 UTC

But… Special Circumstances.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 21, 2024 at 08:58 UTC

Exactly…

www.tauzero.com/Rob_Tow/Chem...

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 20, 2024 at 22:13 UTC

Don't be a baby about this. Some Irish whiskey might settle your mood. Let's be Houyhnhnmists, OK?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 19, 2024 at 03:36 UTC

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 19, 2024 at 03:31 UTC

The Sunday edition of the Santa Fe New Mexican is worthy.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 18, 2024 at 18:24 UTC

It is now available for streaming here: l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http...

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 18, 2024 at 16:14 UTC

There is no god, and Bertrand Russel is his prophet.*

*See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_I_A...

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 16, 2024 at 22:21 UTC

Please come to Santa Fe.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 15, 2024 at 04:33 UTC

Indeed. I would have held my tongue as well. You have excellent experiences.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 14, 2024 at 23:03 UTC

But would you shake his hand?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 14, 2024 at 00:46 UTC

Yesterday I had Technetium-99 Injected, and I was scanned. With additives. It appears I have interesting scars in my heart.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 12, 2024 at 16:49 UTC

At hospital for some cardiac nuke medicine. This is the display in the waiting room…

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 10, 2024 at 13:27 UTC

We attended the book signing and conversation at The Lensic. …and he signed my copy of Red Plenty thusly after I told him I was an old Cold Warrior: “Gospodin Robert Tow, spasebo!”

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 08, 2024 at 17:32 UTC

Uniform grey in Rancho Veijo.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 08, 2024 at 02:35 UTC

Something I confront as logistics, in my own body. Severely disrupted by Covid.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 04, 2024 at 23:30 UTC

Managing - accepting - probabilistic risks is pretty basic. I advise the naive to consider how many chambers in the Russian Roulette revolver... is acceptable. ...I carry a Aranet 4 CO2 monitor as a proxy for exposure probabilities in architected spaces. And a N95 mask in my left rear jean pocket.

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 04, 2024 at 19:54 UTC

Do you have a Single Integrated Operational Plan for attacking your anxieties?

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Rob Tow @robtow.bsky.social
[ View ] Apr 04, 2024 at 18:56 UTC