The traditional turkey gumbo.

I have been a fan of Arm processors for HPC workloads since at least the Mont Blanc project at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. Amazon AWS has been quietly displacing the standard Intel x86 server platforms with their homegrown Arm solution for a few years now. It will be interesting to see how this one goes.

AWS launches Graviton3E, its new Arm-based chip for HPC workloads

Good read from A Wealth of Common Sense blog. Seems tech companies are only about 2% of the US workforce. Did not realize it was that low.

The S&P 500 is Not the Economy

The only Substack I subscribe to is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Today he goes off on Louisiana for not voting against slavery — in a 2022 election.

Louisiana Gets Slavery

Summary: In the midterm elections, several states voted to change their constitutions to ban slavery and involuntary servitude as a criminal punishment in the form of forced prison labor. Vermont, Tennessee, Alabama, and Oregon voted to ban slavery—but Louisiana voted 60.9% to keep it. The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery, but kept an exception to allow involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime.

My Take: Out of the 50 states, Louisiana ranks 46 in health care, 48 in education, 48 in opportunity, 49 in natural environment, and 50 in crime and corrections. In overall ranking of states by U.S. News & World Report, it ranks 50. The bottom.

Apparently, they can sink even lower.

A few days ago, I was trying to remember the name of an old colleague. He may have popped up in a dream, or at least someone who resembled him did. I could distinctly remember his face and lots of little bits of related information (where he lived, number of children, places we has met up over the years). I could remember bits related to the company he worked for, but not the actual company name. Nor could I remember his actual name, but I did remember it was one of those names common to men my age. John? No. Bob. No, but close. Finally it hit me (Don) and the rest fell into place like dominoes tumbling. Sent him an email and renewed an old friendship (but didn’t mention I somehow struggled to remember his name). I suppose he never looked like a guy named “Don” to me, whatever that means. BBC digs a little deeper.

Forgetfulness: Why your mind going blank can be a benefit

From The Poke.

Chuck Jones’ ground rules for Road Runner and Wile E Coyote are just fabulous

From MoneyGeek. Lots of other data. Takeaways: three of the ten worst cities are in Louisiana, with one more in nearby Mississippi. Tiny Monroe, LA gets a special mention for mass shootings. On the good side, who knew El Paso and Meza, AZ are some of the safest places in the US?

The Safest Cities in America: The Cost of Crime in Our Communities

This is the first I’ve heard of this, but it isn’t surprising. Solar / battery systems generate DC voltage, and houses run on AC. These inverters convert the DC to AC, but they can be expensive and problematic. I have seen all sorts of equipment these days that run on 24V DC, aimed at RVers and campers. I wonder if there will ever be a trend to have DC in houses and eliminate these inverters. Nothing in a house requires AC current. Of course, if you still tie to the grid you will need an AC to DC converter, I suppose.

Weekend read: Elusive longevity

Where do facts come from? Sometimes they are just made up. From the BBC.

Alan MacMasters: How the great online toaster hoax was exposed

A short story about one of the great fraudsters of the 20th century. Funny, I’ve never heard of this guy. From a Wealth of Common Sense.

Sam Bankman-Fried vs. The Match King