Tom Lehrer died , at 97.

Posted on Posted in overnight notes

Thomas Andrew Lehrer (/ˈlɛərər/; April 9, 1928 – July 26, 2025) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater

In 2020 Lehrer publicly revealed that he had been assigned to the NSA; since the mere fact of the NSA’s existence was classified at the time, Lehrer found himself in the position of implicitly using nuclear weapons work as a cover story for something more sensitive

In 1972, Lehrer joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz, teaching an introductory course entitled “The Nature of Mathematics” to liberal arts majors—”math for tenors”, according to Lehrer

He told one concert audience, “I don’t like people to get the idea that I have to do this for a living. I mean, it isn’t as though I had to do this. I could be making, oh, $3,000 a year just teaching.”

The Written Web

Posted on Posted in da net, Farcebook, K Street Y, minimum daily requirementTagged , , , ,

exists, hypertext, however,  not so much .. The written web replaced the blog. The blog was managed by a person who traveled from blog blog by links.. now those written pieces are hosted on commercial space.. you provide the filler to their ads or you buy off the space…

Facebook doesn’t seem to permit the buy off; you will never own any piece of Facebook .. that’s also the path of Reddit..you are filler. . Substack you buy, as you can with WordPress..

The commercial web gave you ease of technical and took away your rights of privacy and profit .. you no longer have control because the technology has control… The things of the world have always been the world; owners of the things , even if they are digital things, own you

TELLING TALES

again and again. Making them taller, making your shadow longer. Done to impress the civilian, the non-participant, the one on the sidelines. Making a grand stand.

The difference between the part-timer and the full-timer. The committed and the interested in getting a story to tell. A tattoo for table talk. These aren’t scars, the are scarves.

Much of this can be seen in all message/gossip boards.. both among the “bro-vets” and the pho-photogs. As much about glorification of their small efforts..

They bought the boots, the perfect laces, compass and map; have taken a course on following course, even going so far as hiring a guide, once. And, now, the laces are knot free, the map is in a drawer, somewhere. 

The online answer boards are the ending gasp of film, chemical lab photography. They wouldn’t believe this. They don’t believe it. How could they be the ones killing what they want to survive. With error. Error of fact. By error of purpose is the greater weight the new would have to overcome.