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  Everyone is someone else's weirdo. -- Attributed to C. A. Dykstra (1883-1950) and S. R. Adams (1957-2026) Status of my quest: my extended family, done; my university, done; the Internet at large, well underway.

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  It is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! One of the classic jokes for the occasion: A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel hanging from his belt buckle. The barkeep asks: Do you know you have a wheel over your crotch? The pirate says, "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, and it's driving me nuts.

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  I wish more of our Republican senators were like Mitch McConnell.

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  Highly inspirational: "One day you will wake up, and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now." - Paulo Coelho Okay, maybe TOO inspirational. Who will Venmo some bail money?

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  Some people have praised my problem-solving skills. In fairness, most of those problems were ones I caused.

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  People have complained about my humor. They call it "sick." I'm not sick -- I'm twisted. "Sick" makes it sound as if there's a cure.

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  I just learned that a former colleague has been arrested. What a shock! He has been accused of taking human skin from a medical supply company. He wasn't charged with theft -- it was graft.

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  I've been thinking about what I might do to stay occupied if I retire. Perhaps a dating site for chickens? Without a regular income, I would struggle to make hens meet.

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  Do NOT take the Cyclosporiasis outbreak lightly. Getting it from extra spicy tacos has consequences!

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  A computer science department is a nonempty set of researchers such that each claims to be doing cutting-edge AI, and at least one other will insist that work is merely curve-fitting on a deprecated dataset.

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  The problem isn't that my attention wanders at work. The problem is that it leaves the building to get tacos, gets lost, then goes home to take a nap.

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  This is a great distillation of some important points about risk, cybersecurity, and the NIST CSF. If your work touches on any of those, this is worth a read. https://cyberriskbook.com/ai-wont-save-you-from-weak-cybersecurity-fundamentals/ #cybersecurity #risk #NIST

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  The only thing Flat Earthers fear is sphere itself.

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  If someone near to you has not yet heard the news about Senator Graham, break the news gently. Tell them that Lindsay Graham has gone to caucus with Mitch McConnell.

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  On a recent trip, we had to explain to our niece why there was no floor 13 in a high-rise. Imagine how, in a decade or so, we will have to explain why there are no floors 45 or 47.

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  Over on the CERIAS Blog… Too many people are prone to accepting hype and myths about computing, and that often leads to poor decisions. 20 years ago, my first post in the CERIAS blog addressed an example — the folk wisdom that monthly password changes improve security — a myth that had already survived 30 years and that NIST needed until 2017 to retire. The same mythmaking machinery is at work around AI: the claim that LLMs make software developers, security analysts,… https://spaf.wordpress.c...

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  New entry in the CERIAS blog. Fourth in my series on AI hype. The bill for replacing staff with AI has arrived: most CEOs report no return, AI-use mandates have become token rationing, two-thirds of employers that cut jobs are rehiring, and the new failure modes bypass controls built for human error. https://ceri.as/inv-e

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  Well, we do need to note that MAGA does continue to remind us of questions requiring deep thought.

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  OMB proposes rewriting federal research grant rules. Among other changes, political appointees could override scientific peer review on what gets funded. Comments close July 13. Polite comments of any length must be considered; a paragraph counts. https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2026-0034-0001

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  Asking for, er, a friend. The doctor advises making healthier choices. Which whiskey has the most antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals?

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  It is a bit toasty in the Midwest US this week.

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  Happy Tau Day! (US calendar notation) https://www.tauday.com/state-of-the-tau-current

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  Pentagon warns US unable to fight two ceasefires simultaneously https://www.duffelblog.com/pentagon-warns-us-unable-to-fight-two-ceasefires-simultaneously/

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  Historical comparisons to Roman imperial decline are incorrect. Yes, we have gladiatorial combat staged for the ruler's birthday, plans for a triumphal arch, and oaths of fealty. But the Romans had better roads, principled senators, and respect for science.

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  I am so lucky -- my wife pampers me. Or huggies, or depends ... whatever is on sale.

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  Revisiting the 2017 Ghost in the Shell eight years on: a better film than I remembered, and a line about memory and identity that resonates more now in the age of LLMs. https://spaf.wordpress.com/2026/05/13/revisiting-the-ghost/

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  Remember -- don't let ANYONE ruin your day. Don't empower them. It's YOUR day. Ruin it by yourself.

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