Blogs

Δv Δv, or delta-v, is what keeps orbital engineers up at night. Simply, delta-v is the change in velocity that is necessary for anything to happen in space. One of the great promises of a momentum-exchange tether is that the system can transfer tremendous amounts of delta-v to a payload without paying exponential costs to do so.1 However, we can’t evaluate these claims in a vacuum (ha). To really get a sense of the unreasonable effectiveness of tethers, let’s first look at the rocket equation more deeply. ...

It was 1999. In my memory, I’m in Mr. Wilson’s chemistry class when I hear about the cause of the crash, but I’m not sure about that. What I am sure about, though, is the feeling: overwhelm at the sheer magnitude of the blunder. $327.6 million spacecraft was lost in seconds. Three years of development. Ten months traveling through space. All because two teams used different units. Could Rust have prevented this disaster? ...

Debugging Claude’s MCP Server with Nix When I first started using Claude with my Nix-managed development environment, I ran into an interesting issue. The default examples for starting a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server with npx were giving me cryptic error messages whenever I tried to restart Claude: Error: spawn ENOENT Investigation My first step was to check the Claude logs at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log using tail. I also used the MCP inspector tool (so snazzy) to verify that my API keys and tools were configured correctly. Running the tools manually with npx in my terminal worked fine, so what was going on? ...

Default On chases doing. Default Off chases resting. Default On is thinking at least one step ahead. Default Off is stuck in reactivity. Default On is present in the task. Default Off is taken away from rest by the task. Default On is pushing, striving, and improving. Default Off is trying to always return to a state of rest. Default On is ready to go to the next task, which is always known. Default Off is striving to take a break from the current task. ...

Jan. 26, Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks Feb. 04, Rain Like Hammers, Brandon Graham 🥈 Feb. 23, Solid State, Coulton, Fraction, Monteys Feb. 27, The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t, Julia Galef 🥈 Mar. 24, The Dip, Seth Godin Apr. 20, Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, book 1), James S. A. Corey 🥈 May 4, Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future, Paul Mason 🥈 May 17, Light of the World, James Lee Burke 👂 🥈 May 18, Drive, James Sallis 👂 🥈 Jun. 29, America Chavez: Made in the USA, Kalinda Vasquez and Carlos Gomez Aug. 3, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie 🥇 Oct. 18, Venom: Lethal Protector, vol. 1 Nov. 6, Sex Criminals, vol. 6, Fraction and Zdarsky Clearly, not much time carved out for reading in the last year! However, I was proud that I finished Postcapitalism because I had started it in 2019; it was a fixture on my nightstand for years. I was wrong to judge How to Win Friends and Influence People based on the title, but a more descriptive one could have been How to Get Along with People in Business and in Life. Burke continues to make me want to visit Montana with his paintings of sweeping vistas and rich sunsets, but that isn’t the point he’s trying to make when describing vicious acts of violence.

Jan. 15, My Neighbor Totoro Jan. 21, Transporter 2† Jan. 26, The Eternals Jan. 29, Prisoners of the Ghostland Feb. 18, Ron’s Gone Wrong Feb. 26, 300† Feb. 27, Pig Mar. 6, The Batman Mar. 6, The King’s Man Mar. 11, Free Guy Mar. 12, Army of Thieves Mar. 18, Spider-Man: No Way Home Apr. 9, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Apr. 15, Surrogates† Apr. 16, Blade† Apr. 19, Tenet† Apr. 23, The Green Knight May 5, 13 Assassins† Jun. 4, Equilibrium† Jun. 11, Eraser† Jun. 14, Ghost in the Shell (2017) Jun. 21, Wrath of Man† Jun. 28, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Jul. 1, 47 Ronin Jul. 2, Nobody Jul. 8, Wild Card Jul. 22, Venom: Let There Be Carnage Jul. 27, Deadpool† Jul. 30, Police Story† Aug. 1, The Dark Knight Rises† Aug. 1, Logan† Aug. 3, Troy Aug. 6, Warrior† Aug. 9, The Paper Tigers Aug. 11, Something Ventured Aug. 12, Prey Aug. 26, Lightyear Sept. 4, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Sept. 8, The Professor: Tai Chi’s Journey to the West Sept. 11, Thor: Love and Thunder Sept. 15, Avengers: Infinity War† Oct. 14, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines† Oct. 15, A Touch of Sin (2013) Oct. 18, Werewolf By Night Oct. 18, Kung-Fu Panda Oct. 30, Black Adam Nov. 21, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Nov. 23, Black Panther† Dec. 17, Casino Royale† Dec. 23, Quantum of Solace† Dec. 24, Strange Worlds Dec. 25, Jurassic Park† Dec. 25, Death on the Nile Dec. 26, Skyfall† Dec. 29, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery † denotes a re-watch ...

After moving to a new state recently, I’ve started collecting my now thoughts on the go. I limited each category to one tactical task to complete, just one, but found myself overwhelmed by all of the different tasks that still loomed large. Ordered only by happenstance: - Community: Clean up that sidewalk - Vets: GBF monthly donation - Abe: better with people coming over - Oscar: potty training - New babe: infant CPR classes - Long term crazy: skyhook - Work: finishing ACL - Wife: more cooking - Fitness: Simple standard - Nutrition: more protein - Water: 100 oz - House: hang mail basket and then stack washer/dryer and then soil testing - Health: clear up sinus infection then ankle rehab/practice - Rowdy: rain cover This isn’t a small list, and I like to use my now as a way of focusing on just the next step, just on what can be done now, and what must be done now. ...

Jan 17: Agency, William Gibson 🥈 Jan 30: Fully Automated Luxury Communism, Aaron Bastani 🥈 Jan 31: Absolute Carnage, Cates and Stegman Feb ??: Cosmic Ghost Rider, Cates and Burnett Feb 07: Mister Miracle, King & Gerads 🥇 Feb 23: This is Tai Chi: 50 Essential Questions and Answers, Paul Read 👂 Mar 03: How to Become a Straight-A Student, Cal Newport Mar 27: Mind Gym—An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence, Gary Mack with David Cassteven Apr 24: So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Cal Newport ➰ 🥇 Jun 07: The Widower’s Two-Step, Rick Riordan Jun 29: The Immortal Hulk (vol 1), Ewing and Bennett Jun 30: The Immortal Hulk (vol 2), Ewing and Bennett Jul 02: Conan—The Jewels of Gwahkur and other stories, P. Craig Russell (adapted from Robert E. Howard) 🥇 Jul 04: Talking to Humans, Giff Constable Jul 06: Conan—The Death (vol 14), Brian Wood, et al. Jul 14: Stumptown (vol 1), Rucka et al Jul 18: Conan—The Nightmare of the Shallows (vol 15) Jul 23: The Four Agreements—A Toltec Wisdom Book, Don Miguel Ruiz 🥈 Aug 11: The Sheriff of Baghdad, King & Gerads 🥈 Aug 25: The Immortal Hulk (vol 3), Ewing and Bennett Sept 16: The Immortal Hulk (vol 4), Ewing and Bennett Sept 23: The Immortal Hulk (vol 5), Ewing and Bennett Oct ??: The Immortal Hulk (vol 6), Ewing and Bennett Oct ??: The Immortal Hulk (vol 7), Ewing and Bennett Oct 20: Willpower Doesn’t Work, Benjamin Hardy 👂 Nov 13: Zero History, William Gibson ➰ 🥈 Nov 15: The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal, M. Mitchell Waldrop 🥇 Dec 21: Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart 🥇 Some parting thoughts for this year’s list of books finished: lots more comics this year. Marvel monthlies were straight-up popcorn (tasting more and more stale), the Conan works were much more sophisticated than I expected, and King & Gerads slay. Two audiobooks 👂 and two re-reads ➰. I didn’t track the dozens of board books I’ve read to our now-toddler, but I could recite most of them from memory. ...

Jan. 1, Rampage Jan. 1, Fast and Furious 7† Jan. 3, Blood Simple† Jan. 8, Alita Battle Angel Jan. 9, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance Jan. 10, Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back† Jan. 15, Baby Driver† Jan. 16, Birds of Prey and the Emancipation of Harley Quinn Jan. 22, Hobbs and Shaw† Jan. 31, Time Bandits Feb. 3, Pacific Rim Uprising† Feb. 14, The Gentlemen Feb. 21, Captain Marvel† Mar. 6, Too Late† Mar. 14, The Princess Bride Mar. 19, X-Men: Dark Phoenix† Mar. 27, Judas and the Black Messiah Mar. 28, Get Hard Mar. X, Captain America: The First Avenger† Mar. X, The Transporter† Apr. 8, Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) Apr. 11, John Wick 2† Apr. 18, John Wick 3† Apr. 24, Central Intelligence Apr. 25, Mortal Kombat (2021) May 1, Eastern Promises† May 2, Joker May 7, eXistenZ† May 8, Wrath of Man May 15, Galaxy Quest May 16, Tenet May 26, The Take May 26, Army of the Dead May 28, Deadpool† May 28, Thief† May 29, Eurovision Jun. 1, Spy Jun. 4, The Trial of the Chicago 7 Jun. 6, Snyder Cut of Justice League Jun. 7, The Hitman’s Bodyguard Jun. 16, Conan the Barbarian† Jun. 25, Angel Has Fallen Jul. 3, Ava Jul. 10, The Clash of the Titans (1981) Jul. 11, F9 Jul. 24, Under Siege† Jul. 30, Jack Reacher† Jul. 31, Black Widow Aug. 8, Gunpowder Milkshake Aug. 15, The Last Boy Scout Aug. 29, Predator (1987)† Aug. 31, SAS: Rise of the Black Swan Sept. 5, Wrath of Man† Sept. ?, Congo† Sept. 9, Clear and Present Danger† Sept. 17, Chain Reaction† Sept. 22, The Suicide Squad (2021) Oct. 2, The Net Oct. 9, A History of Violence† Oct. 15, Altered Carbon: Resleeved Oct. 30, Get Out† Nov. 6, Blazing Saddles† Nov. 7, Desperado† Nov. 14, Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings Nov. 19, Jungle Cruise (2021) Nov. 22, Dune (2021) Nov. 23, Ready Player One Nov. 25, Casino Royale (2006)† Nov. 26, Quantum of Solace† Nov. 28, Good Time Dec. 1, Skyfall† Dec. ?, Red Notice Dec. 10, Kate Dec. 14, Blade Runner 2049† Dec. 17, Spectre† Dec. 18, The Little Things Dec. 20, Deep Cover Dec. 27, Matrix Resurrections Dec. 28, No Time To Die Dec. 29, Hudson Hawk Dec. 30, Don’t Look Up Dec. 31, Snatch† † denotes a re-watch ...

In the much-vaunted style of literate programming, here’s an emacs-lisp function I wrote recently. The motivation was to convert a shell alias I added this morning, which counts the number of Zettelkasten notes I’ve written that day. (“Jesus, him, too?” Yes, dear reader, I’m afraid that this is one trend I haven’t managed to dodge forever, but my adoption has been cautious and deliberate.) alias today_count="fd $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%d") ~/org/zd | wc -l" Using the lovely fd utility, I find all files in my Zetteldeft directory, which start with today’s date. Then, I pipe that output to wc -l to get the count. Easy peasy, chicken breezy; took me about two minutes to write. Turns out this doesn’t work as an alias; the date isn’t recalculated every time the alias is called. ...