Daryl Sng
@darylsng.com
Public sector sustainability & strategy consulting at Accenture. Former Singapore diplomat & climate policy guy. Proud papa. Loves cities, wordplay, trivia, food, sport. Pronounced “suhng”
Fire yesterday in Bethesda… as you can see from the photo it was a case of St. Elmo’s fire
mocoshow.com/2025/12/01/o...
mocoshow.com/2025/12/01/o...
Office Fire Extinguished at Bethesda Commercial Building - The MoCo Show
Updated to include additional information, including cause of fire and amount in damage. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded Sunday evening to a commercial building on St. Elm...
mocoshow.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Fire yesterday in Bethesda… as you can see from the photo it was a case of St. Elmo’s fire
mocoshow.com/2025/12/01/o...
mocoshow.com/2025/12/01/o...
Had a fun moment at work today where we were just fanpersoning @volts.wtf ‘s podcast
December 2, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Had a fun moment at work today where we were just fanpersoning @volts.wtf ‘s podcast
The solution for those of us who still appreciate the function that an em-dash provides – or simply want a shibboleth – is to adopt the British use of the en-dash. Though of course the AIvestigating zealots probably couldn’t tell the difference
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes
December 1, 2025 at 10:24 PM
The solution for those of us who still appreciate the function that an em-dash provides – or simply want a shibboleth – is to adopt the British use of the en-dash. Though of course the AIvestigating zealots probably couldn’t tell the difference
Reposted by Daryl Sng
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes
November 30, 2025 at 7:48 PM
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes
Really interesting findings here. People project their priors about the cost of 4-year college when they talk about decline in college enrollments, but the decline is actually mostly driven by the decline in community college enrollment (a decline which in turn is driven by strong job markets)
We first note that hand-wringing about the decline in US college enrollments has mistakenly linked such declines to the price of four-year colleges.
But the decline is entirely driven by two-year community colleges (and by for-profit colleges). The four-year sector is the dog that didn't bark.
But the decline is entirely driven by two-year community colleges (and by for-profit colleges). The four-year sector is the dog that didn't bark.
December 1, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Really interesting findings here. People project their priors about the cost of 4-year college when they talk about decline in college enrollments, but the decline is actually mostly driven by the decline in community college enrollment (a decline which in turn is driven by strong job markets)
Reposted by Daryl Sng
I think that evolutionary psychology needs to face a cultural reckoning over the fact that its funding lines (Epstein-tied) coincide with a public history of advocacy for "its adaptive for men to have a harem full of nubile females"
November 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
I think that evolutionary psychology needs to face a cultural reckoning over the fact that its funding lines (Epstein-tied) coincide with a public history of advocacy for "its adaptive for men to have a harem full of nubile females"
Amazing that Everton won despite have 21 fewer shots on goal, worse passing, and playing with 10 men
November 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Amazing that Everton won despite have 21 fewer shots on goal, worse passing, and playing with 10 men
Foods that books tried to convince me are bad but turned out to be good: anchovies on pizza, liverwurst
Foods that books tried to convince me are good but turned out to be bad: licorice, Turkish delight
Foods that books tried to convince me are good but turned out to be bad: licorice, Turkish delight
November 21, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Foods that books tried to convince me are bad but turned out to be good: anchovies on pizza, liverwurst
Foods that books tried to convince me are good but turned out to be bad: licorice, Turkish delight
Foods that books tried to convince me are good but turned out to be bad: licorice, Turkish delight
TIL that a surprisingly high share of the difference in life expectancy between men and women is simply due to the fact that men are taller on average
November 20, 2025 at 1:23 AM
TIL that a surprisingly high share of the difference in life expectancy between men and women is simply due to the fact that men are taller on average
My most Maryland moment: had to fix my in-sink garbage disposal unit because two crab claws had fallen in, causing the motor to jam and the internal overload protector to trip
November 19, 2025 at 4:32 PM
My most Maryland moment: had to fix my in-sink garbage disposal unit because two crab claws had fallen in, causing the motor to jam and the internal overload protector to trip
Wow just watched the 4 goals that put Scotland in the World Cup and they’re all absolute bangers
November 18, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Wow just watched the 4 goals that put Scotland in the World Cup and they’re all absolute bangers
Reposted by Daryl Sng
I think there are a number of people employed at the New York Times -- certainly not all of them, but many! -- who simply do not grasp how badly the paper's credibility has been shaken over the past few years, along several different axes, and for multiple different reasons
November 13, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I think there are a number of people employed at the New York Times -- certainly not all of them, but many! -- who simply do not grasp how badly the paper's credibility has been shaken over the past few years, along several different axes, and for multiple different reasons
Genuinely one of the best use cases for AI is better quality emails for business transactions. Bluesky by its nature skews towards people who already have faculty with words, but a huge portion of the population writes terribly.
Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.
November 12, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Genuinely one of the best use cases for AI is better quality emails for business transactions. Bluesky by its nature skews towards people who already have faculty with words, but a huge portion of the population writes terribly.
Reposted by Daryl Sng
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
November 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
I never realised how much Honoré de Balzac looks like Fak from The Bear
November 12, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I never realised how much Honoré de Balzac looks like Fak from The Bear
This sounds like the robot had a Rocky start
Joke of the day from Moscow: Russia tried to unveil its first humanoid AI robot, Aidol. Key word: tried. The robot collapsed during its debut, forcing organizers to cut the presentation short. Their rushed attempt to lift the prop only made things worse.
November 12, 2025 at 1:01 AM
This sounds like the robot had a Rocky start
This seems like there would be many fixes. M is clearly the code name for the head, why can’t James Bond be the name of whichever agent is 007 st the time? Or just do a straight reboot
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
This seems like there would be many fixes. M is clearly the code name for the head, why can’t James Bond be the name of whichever agent is 007 st the time? Or just do a straight reboot
I bought a pack of scissors that needs a pair of scissors to open
November 9, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I bought a pack of scissors that needs a pair of scissors to open
Hillary Duff’s “Mature” is really catchy.
Also part of a subgenre of song that I love, women calling out men who were creepy or worse to them when they were younger.
Also part of a subgenre of song that I love, women calling out men who were creepy or worse to them when they were younger.
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Hillary Duff’s “Mature” is really catchy.
Also part of a subgenre of song that I love, women calling out men who were creepy or worse to them when they were younger.
Also part of a subgenre of song that I love, women calling out men who were creepy or worse to them when they were younger.
Wow, too cheap to meter
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Wow, too cheap to meter
Insomnia has its advantages sometimes: hit Genius in Spelling Bee in 2 minutes
November 6, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Insomnia has its advantages sometimes: hit Genius in Spelling Bee in 2 minutes
Reading social media about people complaining about not being able to watch Monday Night Football because of the YouTube / ESPN dispute and it’s pretty shocking how many people don’t even know that you can watch MNF free on over the air TV.
November 6, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reading social media about people complaining about not being able to watch Monday Night Football because of the YouTube / ESPN dispute and it’s pretty shocking how many people don’t even know that you can watch MNF free on over the air TV.
I’m still a bit unclear why some states continue to have separate elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
November 5, 2025 at 1:22 AM
I’m still a bit unclear why some states continue to have separate elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Love the pangram in today’s NYT Spelling Bee
November 2, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Love the pangram in today’s NYT Spelling Bee