Pluralistic: 21 Mar 2022

Today's links

Podcasting "What Is Peak Indifference?": A theory of change.
To make Big Tech better, make it smaller: Decreasing the salience of tech's errors is as important as reducing their prevalence.
Brazil's "Remuneration Right" will strengthen Big Tech and Big Media: Fix ads, not snippets.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2021
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Marc Laidlaw’s “Underneath the Oversea”

A wondrous fairytale, wondrously read, from the storyteller of Half-Life.

The cover of Skyboat Media’s audio edition of Underneath the Oversea.

I have been a Marc Laidlaw fan since his debut novel, Dad’s Nuke — an apocalyptic, madcap dark comedy/road-trip novel that anticipated Snow Crash and its motif of an America dominated by paranoid, fortresslike gated communities.

I avidly consumed all of his subsequent novels and short stories — especially “400 Boys,” his contribution to Bruce Sterling’s seminal cyberpunk anthology Mirrorshades.

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Pluralistic: 20 Mar 2022

Today's links

Kathe Koja's Dark Factory: Taking Bohemia seriously.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2021
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 18 Mar 2022

Today's links

The market for carbon credit lemons: Bad money drives out good.
This day in history: 2007, 2012, 2017, 2021
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 17 Mar 2022

Today's links

Late stage capitalism is weird capitalism: A planned economy run by Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2002, 2007, 2017, 2021
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 16 Mar 2022

Today's links

The role of prose quality in scholarship: Better-edited papers fare better in peer-reviewed journals.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2012, 2017, 2021
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 15 Mar 2022

Today's links

Fight inflation with a windfall profits tax: Step one: tar. Step two: ???
Russian "ESG" investments were always about financing invasions and murder: Enjoy your rouble-denominated coupons, assholes.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2007, 2012, 2017, 2021
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: 14 Mar 2022

Today's links

Surprise billing's death-spiral may suck in untold patients: The best time to kill Envision Healthcare was before it started (the second best time is now).
Podcasting "Vertically Challenged": We need to investigate the companies Big Tech DOESN'T buy.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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The Byzantine Premium

On the contradiction at the heart of Bitcoin advocacy

Jakub-gdPL and Famartin/CC BA-SA 4.0; Delwar Hossain, BD/CC BY 4.0; Jernej Furman/CC BY 2.0 — (modified)

When you write critically about blockchain, Bitcoin, speculation, NFTs and DeFi, you get an earful back. Advocates for these things are…well, aggressive is a polite term for how many believers respond to critiques of their financial/philosophical/political/technological project.

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Pluralistic: 12 Mar 2022

Today's links

A systemic (not individual) approach to content moderation: All the good stuff happens BEFORE the moderator gets involved.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2012
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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