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Matthew McDowell-Sweet

@msms

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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Seems like a recurring utopian sentiment that'll remain unfeasible at scale until the knowledge worker stack becomes sufficiently protocolised and/or gets absorbed into the operating system layer of consumer devices.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Ooo that lands actually.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Today's reading: The Alchemy of Air. Learned about the early German dyeing firms—BASF, Bayer etc.; proto chemical engineering orgs—and initial attempts to prise apart bonded nitrogen elements, as well as Haber's research, his collaboration with Bosch, and the subsequent commercialisation by BASF. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/73464/the-alchemy-of-air-by-thomas-hager-author-of-the-demon-under-the-microscope/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Has anyone come across anything at the intersection of personal logging / journaling practices and new(ish?) trends in observability engineering? Currently eyeing up Day One and Drafts apps for some new log-journal-note-taking behaviour and thinking that obs-eng practices could eliminate much of the personal-infra setup headaches that inevitably arise. https://isburmistrov.substack.com/p/all-you-need-is-wide-events-not-metrics
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Training log, no-gi: drilled some Uchi Mata throws into quarter guard, then incorporated a back step into the saddle position and some leg attacks from there (achilles lock, Aoki lock). We also looked at a rolling back take from a saddle position escape, as well as a rolling saddle entry from the Uchi Mata position. Sparring was 10 x 5 minute rounds, as usual. A few fast-paced, scramble-filled rolls mixed with some more balanced, steady rounds, plus a round being on the receiving end of some real sneaky foot attacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evmsOeYxxzc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-9-KpVAH1k
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Today's read: Lying for Money. Worked through the chapters on counterfeiting and book-cooking, going from Alves dos Reis and the Portuguese bank note scandal of 1925 to Enron's dodgy accounting in the 90s/00s. https://profilebooks.com/work/lying-for-money/
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Today's reading: on the escapades of James Cook and Joseph Banks in David Hunt's Girt; about the nitrate industry, the War of the Pacific and the Iquique massacre in Hager's The Alchemy of Air. https://davidhuntwriter.com/book/girt-the-unauthorised-history-of-australia/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/73464/the-alchemy-of-air-by-thomas-hager-author-of-the-demon-under-the-microscope/
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
This guy can move. https://youtu.be/duJendMuh9w
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Training log, gi: worked on a few passes from HQ / mission control—knee cuts, switch and staple etc.—and capped it off with a rolling entry to a loop choke. Sparring: nine x five minute rounds. Took a few rounds to mentally lock in, at which point I managed to bruise my wrist. This meant a fun constraint for the remainder: no posting or framing with my left hand and minimal gripping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCGLrC6q2yM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNASDxyjcAA
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Today's reading: kicked off two new texts. First, I read about the different types of fraud—long firming, counterfeiting, control frauds, and market frauds—in Lying for Money. Second, I read about the many discoveries of Australia by Spain, Holland, Britain and China. https://profilebooks.com/work/lying-for-money/ https://davidhuntwriter.com/book/girt-the-unauthorised-history-of-australia/
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Doubtful. I think I'm too sincere to meme effectively.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Or the practice of mindfulness (which we'll be generous and assume is a proxy for the attempted attainment of enlightenment). The most basic behaviour is attentiveness, awareness, observation. And once one begins observing standards inevitably emerge.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
This lodged in my brain and wouldn't leave. Realised why. Standards vs. no standards is a more important distinction than high vs. low standards. A passage from Vaillant's The Tiger: "The most terrifying and important test for a human being is to be in absolute isolation,” he explained. “A human being is a very social creature, and ninety percent of what he does is done only because other people are watching. Alone, with no witnesses, he starts to learn about himself—who is he really? Sometimes, this brings staggering discoveries. Because nobody’s watching, you can easily become an animal: it is not necessary to shave, or to wash, or to keep your winter quarters clean—you can live in shit and no one will see. You can shoot tigers, or choose not to shoot. You can run in fear and nobody will know. You have to have something—some force, which allows and helps you to survive without witnesses." That force: standards. https://warpcast.com/na/0x0ce453bd
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Aiming to come back to vols 2/3 of Braudel's epic work in December. In the meantime, diverting into some more fun, digital reads. Which means that tomorrow is New Book Day.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
An aside: Braudel's sublime survey of towns and cities across the globe and three centuries (!) brought to mind two things: Paris' rejuvenation and Praxis' city birth. Two distinct undertakings in pursuit of a similar outcome? https://www.grandparisexpress.fr/benefit-metro-ile-de-france https://www.praxisnation.com
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Today's reading: finished up Braudel's Civilisation and Capitalism. The final chapter? Towns and cities. Perhaps my favourite section of all from vol. one. https://www.ucpress.edu/books/civilization-and-capitalism-15th-18th-century-vol-i/paper
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Pressure gradient from def. tech to non-def. tech isn't enough to force some dislodging?
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Sir, this is an incomplete meme.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Assume this happens and defence tech amasses disproportionate amounts of attention and capital on the back of its continued advances. Does this spillover into non-defence tech and day-to-day civilisational operations like the early Silicon Valley defence tech did? Prev: missiles and rockets ... PCs Next: drone armies ... ???
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
That’d be fun!
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