I finally read an article that explains the sort of uses for technology that the presidential campaigns were trying to innovate. It is perhaps because it's primarily about Narwhal that they go into more details--since it worked, and stuff happened, and it wasn't crippled and pie in the sky: [link]

But bits of the article are weird. I can't tell who the audience is. There's a pretty condescending "let me explain nerds to you" section about the developer leading the charge:

Yet if you've spent a lot of time around tech people, around Burning Man devotees, around startups, around San Francisco, around BBSs, around Reddit, Harper Reed probably makes sense to you. He's a cool hacker. [...]. He supports open source. He likes Japan. He says fuck a lot. He goes to hipster bars that serve vegan Mexican food, and where a quarter of the staff and clientele have mustaches.

That doesn't strike me like it's actually about educating the reader. Most tech guys aren't like him, but that doesn't mean he's a weirdo that's hard to wrap your head around. He's alternative, he's cool, he's bright.

But it sounds like they're setting the tone of not really talking to people they expect to be familiar with his "sort", given the continuation of "ooh look at this!" adulatory description.

Anyroad--then the article quotes a description of Narwhal:

The second part is an API portion. You don't want a million consumers getting data via SQL." The API allowed people to access parts of the data without letting them get at the SQL database on the backend. It provided a safe way for Dashboard, the Call Tool (which helped people make calls), and the Twitter Blaster to pull data

How much sense does that make to people who aren't in IT or are IT adjacent? I don't have the perspective to tell. It did seem a bit opaque to me, but you don't really have to know what an API really is--it just feels acronym heavy and metaphor light.

Dunno.

Speaking of technology, it finally occurred to me that I can click that microphone on my phone's home screen and say "Find me the nearest supermarket" and lo and behold, my decision is pretty much made about which is the best route to take home with the best shopping options. If need be, it will speak back to me to get me there.

Why am I not doing basic stuff like that more?

Der.

their stories can easily be told with 100% accuracy without casting any minorities at all

It's not that I'd ever argue that one show has to shoulder the "burden" of making its cast the 50% white that LA is (naturally that's all LA--no one lives in all LA). But at a higher level, if someone's not doing it, then the numbers are never going to look good.

And given that we know the stories are not being told about Pleasantville, PA I feel it's remarkably disingenuous for people to insist the numbers should match the census of the entire country. Also, the numbers they were looking at were for lead characters only (here: [link] ) and no one was considering if there should be minority families or anything really weird like that. And they defended the first stats, of specified race, but could not explain to me why so many casting calls needed to specify an ethnicity, any ethnicity. Will the stories be ruined if you audition race blind by default? Why be so defensive about that? Are you scared that the coloureds are going to take all the acting jobs like they ruined sports and music if there's a remotely prejudice free selection process?

Ooh--I think this L&O:UK is the hipster grifter chick episode. Was that the one where the cop gets kinda hoodwinked into getting too close to the "victim"?

My hand is still swollen and bruised, and that a friend of mine at brunch today told me I really should get it x-rayed. Urgent care, or ER?

Urgent Care. On a Saturday evening, the ER is already going to be filling up. Urgent Care will likely be (comparatively) faster.

X-Rays? ER.

Do not all Urgent Cares do x-ray? Tim got x-rayed at Urgent Care after the Great Puncture Wound Adventure.

shrift, call your local urgent care before you go and find out if they do X-rays, some do and some don't.

Well, I live next to an ER. I guess I could walk over there are see how busy they are?

If you're breathing properly and not bleeding this is a horrible time for the ER.

Well, you know compared to the happy fun time you were going to have. I agree with sj saying to call UC. The ones I've been to advertised X-Rays, but who needs a wasted trip when you're trying to find a doctor?

Muffin question: I think I must be overmixing. I'm skimming the internet, and THREE strokes? Seriously? I hate biting into a blister of flour and leavening in baked goods. I fold until I can't see any more dry bits and then stop. Are you guys stopping sooner?

(And it does seem using sour/soda as part of the leavening might help, but still...)

If I could find an UC near me, I would do that. But since I don't need this ASAP, I guess I'll keep searching.