I went to the San Diego Safari Park last month and saw some Kangaroos. Here are some pictures I took:

I have been trying to figure out how to be more funny. It would be amazing to be a stand up comic, but I’d settle for just being able to make people I meet laugh. I have done some stand up and I enjoy it, but it doesn’t come naturally. Also, to analyze a joke is like defenestrating a chair or quantum mechanics – as you examine it, it goes away. That’s my humor. Just barely on the edge of making any kind of sense.

There has been some serious studies into the subject. Most recently, I’ve been trying to apply the 11 Funny Filters of Scott Dikkers. Scott knows his stuff as he was the founding editor of the Onion. His stand-up is not that great, but he sure knows how to write it, recognize it, and promote it in others.

It’s probably a bit of a mis-translation, but Aristotle defined humor as a mistake or deformity that doesn’t cause pain or hurt others. I like that definition. It’s the difference between a lie and a joke.

In the podcast Factually! by Adam Conover, he interviews authors Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx of the book That’s Not Funny about what is comedy today and how it is being used for political gain, especially by the right. I liked how they talked about how there is no inherent bias in comedy, but it can easily be used to create a political argument that bypasses logic.

I’ve gotten a lot of tips from these videos by Charisma on Command that talk about some humor hacks you can do like answering a question too literally, punching up and never down, and not giving a straight answer to common questions like “What do you do? Where are you from?” the channel is a little click-baity and is essentially a sales funnel into their $600 Charisma University, but it has some good nuggets of info.

So that’s my non-funny treatise on how to be funny. Basically, do a bunch of online searching and watch some videos.

I forgot that April was A-Z Challenge blogging month, so I am inserting myself into it starting with I. But I’m going to cheat:

I’m going to back-date my posts and do 2 posts a day until I catch up. Sneaky huh?

So if you are reading this, hopefully you’ve read a bunch of posts before this and didn’t notice until now.

Ok, on to write the A post.

In the realm of fantasy literature, there exists a world so captivating and unique that it has enchanted readers for decades. This world is none other than the Discworld, a creation of the brilliant mind of Sir Terry Pratchett. As a devoted fan of Pratchett’s work, I feel compelled to share my passion and delve into the wondrous, comical, and insightful universe of the Discworld.

A Universe Unlike Any Other

Imagine a flat, disc-shaped world perched atop the backs of four enormous elephants, who in turn stand on the back of an even more massive turtle, the Great A’Tuin, as it glides through space. This is the Discworld, a place where the laws of physics and reality are, shall we say, a tad bit flexible. This surreal cosmology sets the stage for a world where magic, myth, and mayhem reign supreme.

One of the most endearing aspects of the Discworld is its astounding diversity. It encompasses a wide array of cities, cultures, and species, all of which are brought to life with Pratchett’s sharp wit and keen observations of the human condition. From the bustling city of Ankh-Morpork, a melting pot of fantasy races and steampunk technology, to the bucolic countryside of the Ramtops, where witches roam and headology is a powerful force, each corner of the Disc offers something unique.

Character Galore

At the heart of the Discworld’s charm are its unforgettable characters. Pratchett’s characterizations are nothing short of brilliant. Whether it’s the bumbling but well-meaning wizard Rincewind, the indomitable Granny Weatherwax, or the personification of Death, each character has depth, quirks, and a penchant for getting into absurdly entertaining situations.

One of my personal favorites is Sam Vimes, the cynical and world-weary commander of the City Watch. Watching him evolve from a reluctant hero into a staunch defender of justice is a testament to Pratchett’s ability to craft complex and relatable characters.

Layers of Satire and Social Commentary

Beneath the veneer of humor and fantastical absurdity, the Discworld novels are a treasure trove of social commentary. Pratchett used his platform to address issues such as inequality, politics, religion, and the human propensity for making the same mistakes throughout history. His satirical take on these topics is both insightful and thought-provoking.

For instance, in “Small Gods,” Pratchett explores the nature of belief and organized religion through the hilarious misadventures of a god who has lost most of his followers. It’s a biting commentary on the power of faith and the absurdity of dogma.

Legacy and Impact

Sir Terry Pratchett’s contribution to literature cannot be overstated. His wit, wisdom, and boundless imagination have left an indelible mark on the world of fantasy and beyond. As a fan, it’s heartening to see how his work continues to resonate with new generations of readers.

The Discworld series consists of over 40 novels, each a gem in its own right. Whether you’re a newcomer or a seasoned Discworld traveler, there’s always something new to discover, a fresh layer of humor or insight to uncover.

In the ever-expanding landscape of fantasy literature, the Discworld stands as a testament to the power of imagination, satire, and storytelling. It’s a place where laughter and contemplation go hand in hand, where the bizarre and the profound coexist harmoniously.

As a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, I can’t help but be grateful for the countless hours of joy, introspection, and amusement this world has brought into my life. If you haven’t yet explored the Discworld, I encourage you to embark on this journey—it’s a world like no other, where the limits of fiction are bound only by the boundaries of imagination. Terry Pratchett’s legacy lives on, and the Discworld awaits your discovery.

PS – this is a total cheat. Although I am a big fan of the Discworld series, this was completely written and not even fact-checked my ChatGPT using this prompt.

When you pop a cork of champagne, it should be as quiet as a nun’s fart. Here’s a great infographic I found about how to correctly open a bottle.

I’m am starting to be more and more convinced that Bitcoin in bullshit.

It took me a long time to get here. I first bought a bitcoin in 2010 or 2011. At that time I was I was curious and just wanted to to see what it was about. A friend was setting up a site to sell stuff with bitcoin so I bought some bitcoin and used it to buy a couple of silver-dollar sized coins that had the ฿ symbol on them. I think I spent a little over $100 and I got 4 bitcoin. Whatever was left is long gone as the hash that would give me access to it was on a hard-drive that has probably been destroyed and in a landfill somewhere.

I went through a phase where I was trying to explain to people what bitcoin was. I understand how it works, but I find it difficult to explain it in simple terms. I’m not being elitist, it’s just that it really is kind of a weird concept. It’s a lot like explaining how a car works – you have to explain a whole bunch of other concepts, and in the end it’s not that interesting to most people anyway.

So I’ve been puttering along for years learning about bitcoin and then learning about economics in general. It turns out that all money is really a house of cards. Bitcoin is especially house-of-cardsy though.

Let’s take for granted that bitcoin is a real thing, has value, and ignore the complicated mechanism that makes it work. Let’s do the same for US dollars, and compare the two.

In an over-simplified metaphor, Bitcoin is backed by an algorithm, the US dollar is backed by guns. This makes US dollar more secure, but give a point to bitcoin for being less deadly. Or to be more fair, the dollar is backed by the US Government (which is backed by a strong military).

To create this algorithm, bitcoin needs lots of energy. Not to get too far into the weeds, but mining bitcoin requires proof that you crunched a bunch of numbers to run through iterations of a simple equation, that requires a bunch computing power, and computer power requires energy. So much that it’s creating environmental problems.

But comparing it to the US dollar is a complicated mess. Do you count just printing the money, or would you count the environmental impact of having a nation state? What about all the electronic transfers? To get real esoteric, how about the electrical signals between neurons that it collectively takes to believe in the currency? It could be considered a tie, or maybe its more like smoking cigarettes – it’s not the leading cause of cancer, but there is a clear, direct link to it that we can easily identify.

One thing that makes bitcoin bullshit is that it’s not really currency and never will be. You need to convert it to currency to spend it. And to do that, it’s really expensive. It’s actually just a store of value. It’s like gold or real estate, except that it has no intrinsic value like being used in electronics or providing a place to store your mother in law.

A big thing that makes it bullshit is what it touted as its main feature – it’s anonymity. This is often misunderstood to mean that it’s untraceable. It’s actually extremely traceable, even more so than actual currency. Each transaction is recorded in a ledger, so unless every single block in that chain has been anonymized, then none of them are anonymous. Giving someone cash is much more anonymous. Especially if it’s in small-denomination unmarked bills.

What anonymity in bitcoin really means is that transactions only require a string of letters and numbers and not a verified ID or anything like in a bank. So if you accidentally capitalize one of those letters in a string of 64 characters when sending bitcoin or receiving bitcoin, poof! It’s gone forever.

But the main thing that makes it bullshit is that it is essentially a pyramid scheme. The early adopters (myself NOT included) can stand to make a lot of money at the expense of those who hold out if it eventually implodes. There are plenty of legal pyramid schemes out there – we call them “multi level marketing” – but bitcoin is unregulated. This means that things that would be illegal in other markets – gold, stocks, utilities – is legal when trading bitcoin.

Combine all these factors, and I am ever increasingly convinced that bitcoin is bullshit.

I love infographics. They’ve been an obsession of mine for a while, but recently I’ve been collecting them a lot. One of my favorite sources for finding them is the /coolguides Subreddit. I have recently been combing through almost every day.

Last month I was hosting a Chinese friend and they were interested in apples. We bought some Cosmic Crisp apples which are one of the more recently commercialized variety. There’s a great podcast from Planet Money about the how the Cosmic Crips came about. I love these rabbit holes that podcasts like this go down.

So, for the “A” post this month, I’m going to drop some Apple infographics.

Here’s one about the Cosmic Crisp:

I like this one because it’s simple. But it doesn’t have the Cosmic Crisp:

This one has the Cosmic Crisp and a bunch of other ones, but it is a little complicated. It combines super sweet, sweet, mild, tangy and tart & tangy. I’m not sure how an apple can be all 5 different flavor profiles at once as some of them seem to be. But it has the logos for the apple types where available which is pretty cool.

Here’s a video of me playing ukulele for an English class I taught in Xi’an, China.

I have been working on a new project called the Mask Reborn Box. It was my friend Kalimov’s idea because he wanted to do something to help with the pandemic. He asked me for some English translation (he’s Chinese) and I have become the CEO of the company. I’ve helped with marketing and we’ve done a few hackathons.

We’ve already built a prototype and we’re looking for 100 first followers to buy one for $100 each so we can have our first run. We attempted a Kickstarter, but they denied us, so we went to Indigogo. We couldn’t get traction on Indigogo because it was my first time trying to do a crowdsourcing campaign, but we learned a lot.

The box is awesome and works really well. We just have to figure out marketing. I’m the marketing guy for the project, so I’m kind of taking a crash course in it. Wish me luck!