An app to help the blind to “see themselves“ for the first time. That’s an intriguing and useful application of AI.
Generically Dependent Continuant
A genetically dependent continuant (GDC) is something which depends on a substrate to “exist”.
Latin as a dead language could be thought of as a GDC which survives until today even though as a language it is not used within any culture.
Another example is the Inca culture. It survives not because the culture has survived but because the descendants see evidence of it and remembers because of objects relating to Inca culture have survived and reminded them of its past presence.
Once all people who know of the Inca culture, and once all related objects disappear Inca culture will vanish, that is, seize to exist.
Aoinishiki
Congratulations to Aoinishiki. He will undoubtedly become the next Yokozuna. In the three year since his debut he has lost all but 34 times from over five-hundred bouts. Amazing record. His win this January was astounding including the final day’s match. The kubinage (neck throw) move was clean and mature for someone so young. Looking forward to the next tournament already.
John Field: Complete Nocturnes
The best classical album I heard in 2025. Alice Sara Ott is amazing.
One and done? Nah!
I have found my one-and-done watch—the Hamilton Murph 38mm on the bracelet. Great watch. Simple. Useful. Beautiful. Durable. Reliable. The best for the price.
After six months of almost wearing it everyday I have finally gotten a little sick of it. I have two watches on bracelet (a Jazzmaster GMT and Seiko 5 GMT), and a diver (an Orient Star ISO compliant) on the rubber strap which I can wear during the summer. So sometimes, like today, I want to wear something different. This is particularly true of the weekends. I like to wear something different (just as I don’t like wearing my casual weekend clothes for work).
I just couldn’t wear the same watch everyday and weekend. Such is being a fashion victim.
So like clothes we choose accessories to match. Not everything matches, though some watches can go with a lot.
I would probably take the Murph with me on trips since it is so versatile. But at home, I can keep a choice.
Not to lose oneself
Non-self is not to lose oneself to emptiness or nothingness. This is to gain a different kind of self that is utterly full and truly something.
Pilot Lightive
I just bought a Pilot Lightive in black. I needed something for work. My other fountain pens in my collection, except for my Platinum Procyon, dry out quickly. Apart from this one pen the others are snap lock lids with no seals. This had meant the pens dry out quickly.
The Procyon being a screw lid with seal means it does not dry out as easily. Nor does it seem to leak. This is impressive. Hats off to Platinum.
This Lightive, although is a snap lock lids, has a seal. so it should not dry out like my Cocoon (Metropolitan) does. The pen is light as it is made of higher grade plastic but it is plastic nonetheless. Only time will tell how long it will last. I am guessing durability will be an issue because of the material.
The Prefect Guide to Sumo
Just finished reading this book on sumo. Excellent bilingual work written by a former top level referee (gyoji) and translated by a top sumo commentator.
Accessible format. Lots of insider information about life as a sumo wrestler, referee, and other “actors” in the sumo world.
An outline of Buddhism
ChatGPT: Buddhism is a spiritual tradition, philosophy, and practice founded by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, in the 5th–4th century BCE in ancient India. It is centered around understanding the nature of suffering, the path to liberation, and achieving enlightenment or awakening.
The core teachings of Buddhism are summarized in the Four Noble Truths. The first is that life involves suffering, dissatisfaction, and impermanence (dukkha). The second is that suffering arises from craving, attachment, and ignorance (samudaya). The third is that it is possible to overcome and end suffering (nirodha). The fourth is that the way to end suffering is through the Noble Eightfold Path (magga).
The Noble Eightfold Path provides a practical guide for ethical living, mental discipline, and wisdom. It includes right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Buddhism emphasizes key concepts such as karma, the law of cause and effect where actions have consequences; rebirth, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara) driven by karma; and nirvana, liberation from samsara and the cessation of suffering. Other important ideas include impermanence (anicca), non-self (anatta), and the acknowledgment of pervasive dissatisfaction in life (dukkha).
Buddhism has three main schools. Theravāda focuses on individual liberation through meditation and the Pali Canon. Mahāyāna emphasizes compassion and the bodhisattva path to help all beings achieve enlightenment. Vajrayāna incorporates rituals, esoteric practices, and tantric elements to achieve enlightenment quickly.
Buddhist practices include meditation, mindfulness, and ethical conduct. Meditation involves mindfulness (vipassana) and concentration (samatha) practices. Ethical conduct includes following precepts, such as refraining from harming living beings and stealing. Mindfulness cultivates present-moment awareness in daily life, while compassion emphasizes kindness to all beings.
Buddhism spread from India to other parts of Asia, including Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan, adapting to local cultures and traditions. Today, it is practiced worldwide and continues to inspire people seeking a practical path to inner peace and understanding.
Buddhism’s emphasis on mindfulness, meditation, and ethical living has made it particularly influential in contemporary fields such as psychology, neuroscience, and wellness. Secular adaptations of Buddhist practices, such as mindfulness meditation, are widely used for stress reduction and mental health.
Power reserve and automatic watches?
A power reserve indicator is a complication on mechanical watches that tell the wearer how much power is left before the watch stops running. Mostly found today on automatic watches it is a sign of a watch manufacturer’s prowess.
But I would argue it is more logical that this complication be on manual wind watches instead.
Automatic watches wind themselves from the movement of your wrist, hence its name. A watch that is worn everyday will generally be still charged the next morning when you put on the watch, and thus be recharged.
Manual watches on the other hand will only be wound if the wearer does so. If he or she forgets to wind the watch for a couple of days the watch will stop running because of the lack of power and typical mechanical watch will have 40 hours of power reserve). Therefore daily wearers of automatic watches will not need to worry about power. So it does not make sense to have a power reserve on an automatic. Or at least it makes more sense to have a power reserve indicator on a manual watch.
So I scratch my head as to why watch makers do not marry the right complication with the watches’ functions.
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