Philip Schrodt
@philip-schrodt.bsky.social
Opinionated old goat ~still~ no longer writing code: conflict forecasting, NLP, and ML before it was cool. Now fully retired, building trails, etc. Head is in Virginia, heart is in Kansas. http://philipschrodt.org and http://asecondmouse.org
The blog revives with an extended set of observations on the chaos of our present time: asecondmouse.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/s...
Seven observations from the first week of the year of the snake
Background This started off as an extended set of stream of consciousness notes accompanying tea and oatmeal on the morning of 4-Feb-2025, with assorted additions over the next week as the chaos co…
asecondmouse.wordpress.com
February 11, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The blog revives with an extended set of observations on the chaos of our present time: asecondmouse.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/s...
I wrote this in October-2013 (!) but it seems, ahem, curiously relevant to events of recent days: asecondmouse.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/h...
History’s Seven Dumbest Self-Inflicted Political Disasters
As I’m sitting here both feral and furloughed—my major source of funding is under a “do not work” order [1]—it seems time for another blog entry before—out-sourcing myself— I head…
asecondmouse.wordpress.com
February 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I wrote this in October-2013 (!) but it seems, ahem, curiously relevant to events of recent days: asecondmouse.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/h...
🏀🌪️🌻🌻 It's Kansas Day!! 🌻🌻🌪️🏀
January 29, 2025 at 3:09 PM
🏀🌪️🌻🌻 It's Kansas Day!! 🌻🌻🌪️🏀
Just set up a WordPress-based web site for a small specialized local group I'm involved with, using a new Gmail account, and I'm going to be quite curious--natural experiment--to see how quickly it accumulates spam. Had a "like" from some utterly irrelevant source (bot?) within an hour.
January 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Just set up a WordPress-based web site for a small specialized local group I'm involved with, using a new Gmail account, and I'm going to be quite curious--natural experiment--to see how quickly it accumulates spam. Had a "like" from some utterly irrelevant source (bot?) within an hour.
I would like to be the first to christen the forthcoming battle royal by innumerable interests with often conflicting objectives over the legacy and institutional powers of the ever weaker and declining Donald Trump as "Game of Toads"
November 7, 2024 at 4:31 PM
I would like to be the first to christen the forthcoming battle royal by innumerable interests with often conflicting objectives over the legacy and institutional powers of the ever weaker and declining Donald Trump as "Game of Toads"
So moving out of my usual lurky posture, some observations. First, this was a populist revolt against the old two-party establishment, more similar to Brexit than a classical ideological shift. As such, there was little Harris could do, though a counter-factual Biden allowing an open Democratic /1
November 6, 2024 at 4:30 PM
So moving out of my usual lurky posture, some observations. First, this was a populist revolt against the old two-party establishment, more similar to Brexit than a classical ideological shift. As such, there was little Harris could do, though a counter-factual Biden allowing an open Democratic /1
Bob Edwards, once of NPR's Morning Edition until let go because, well, he was Bob Edwards and annoyed the suits, just died: many, many fond memories of many quirky interviews and regulars, and stopped listening shortly after he left.
February 12, 2024 at 5:06 PM
Bob Edwards, once of NPR's Morning Edition until let go because, well, he was Bob Edwards and annoyed the suits, just died: many, many fond memories of many quirky interviews and regulars, and stopped listening shortly after he left.
On the one hand, I think it's okay to point out Biden's cognitive issues. On the other, having watched twice -- lucky me -- how a president of a major university descended into serious dementia (brain cancer in #1, age in #2) and were totally shielded by their staff and things mostly went on /1
February 10, 2024 at 4:00 PM
On the one hand, I think it's okay to point out Biden's cognitive issues. On the other, having watched twice -- lucky me -- how a president of a major university descended into serious dementia (brain cancer in #1, age in #2) and were totally shielded by their staff and things mostly went on /1
🌪️🌻🏈 Happy Kansas Day!! 🏀🌻🌪️
January 29, 2024 at 4:52 PM
🌪️🌻🏈 Happy Kansas Day!! 🏀🌻🌪️
PSA to all you US govt subcontractors out there: Government shutdown of uncertain length could commence in 15 days, so adjust your plans and productivity expectations accordingly.
January 4, 2024 at 3:18 PM
PSA to all you US govt subcontractors out there: Government shutdown of uncertain length could commence in 15 days, so adjust your plans and productivity expectations accordingly.
Please tell me that even Israel's right-wing govt is not so insane as to launch attacks in both Beirut and Iran within a 24-hour period...
January 3, 2024 at 6:14 PM
Please tell me that even Israel's right-wing govt is not so insane as to launch attacks in both Beirut and Iran within a 24-hour period...
Live webcam of Iceland volcano: it would make a great screen-saver! www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1e_...
December 19, 2023 at 7:55 PM
Live webcam of Iceland volcano: it would make a great screen-saver! www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1e_...
Serious query, not a troll: so people are leaving Medium in droves due to changes in compensation, and Substack seemed a popular destination. If that's out, what? Or time for a Bluesky for blogs/newsletters? As the Bluesky experiment seems to be working so far.
December 15, 2023 at 8:45 PM
Serious query, not a troll: so people are leaving Medium in droves due to changes in compensation, and Substack seemed a popular destination. If that's out, what? Or time for a Bluesky for blogs/newsletters? As the Bluesky experiment seems to be working so far.
TFW you get a 7-page PDF filled with countless inscrutable acronyms to close out a government sub-sub-contract for which your last invoice was submitted in August-2022. Presumably translated from a Roman document that was circulating for signatures as the Goths were breaking down the walls in 410CE.
December 15, 2023 at 6:31 PM
TFW you get a 7-page PDF filled with countless inscrutable acronyms to close out a government sub-sub-contract for which your last invoice was submitted in August-2022. Presumably translated from a Roman document that was circulating for signatures as the Goths were breaking down the walls in 410CE.
Has anyone tallied the total productivity lost due to having a leaf blower going outside one's office window for the better part of an hour (and oh by the way, almost all of the leaves fell weeks ago...)
December 12, 2023 at 5:47 PM
Has anyone tallied the total productivity lost due to having a leaf blower going outside one's office window for the better part of an hour (and oh by the way, almost all of the leaves fell weeks ago...)
Washington Post or The Onion?: [headline] "Biden turns 81, pardons turkeys, confuses Britney for Taylor"
November 20, 2023 at 8:51 PM
Washington Post or The Onion?: [headline] "Biden turns 81, pardons turkeys, confuses Britney for Taylor"
My, things have changed: from an email from a US NGO doing work in Palestine: "[We held] a demonstration at the Israeli Embassy in 1980. It was a good showing. There were 25 of us, and we all knew each other by name. There were 300,000 demonstrating in Washington, DC, on November 4!"
November 17, 2023 at 2:25 PM
My, things have changed: from an email from a US NGO doing work in Palestine: "[We held] a demonstration at the Israeli Embassy in 1980. It was a good showing. There were 25 of us, and we all knew each other by name. There were 300,000 demonstrating in Washington, DC, on November 4!"
Hey, get with the program, people! (from *Political Analysis* landing page at Cambridge "University Press"...): X is NOT cool!!
November 10, 2023 at 7:31 PM
Hey, get with the program, people! (from *Political Analysis* landing page at Cambridge "University Press"...): X is NOT cool!!
All I want for Christmas is a $31,000 6" Half Round Ironman Gutter Machine, or so the current ads I'm getting from the NY Times would indicate.
November 10, 2023 at 7:17 PM
All I want for Christmas is a $31,000 6" Half Round Ironman Gutter Machine, or so the current ads I'm getting from the NY Times would indicate.
On the seventh day, it seems, God created the leaf blower. And saw that it was good.
November 6, 2023 at 6:06 PM
On the seventh day, it seems, God created the leaf blower. And saw that it was good.
TFW you are trying to decide whether or not to make travel arrangements for a Tuesday meeting which will be cancelled if the govt shuts down, and in the meantime your far-right so-called representative, Bob Good, claims no one in his district would be least inconvenienced by a shutdown.
September 27, 2023 at 7:40 PM
TFW you are trying to decide whether or not to make travel arrangements for a Tuesday meeting which will be cancelled if the govt shuts down, and in the meantime your far-right so-called representative, Bob Good, claims no one in his district would be least inconvenienced by a shutdown.
Just saw the news that Bruce Russett had died, and wanted to add my observation that both in his individual/co-authored research & more critically in his long-term editorship of JCR, he was absolutely fundamental to the development of "quantitative IR", as it was known at the time, in the 2nd /more
September 27, 2023 at 4:44 PM
Just saw the news that Bruce Russett had died, and wanted to add my observation that both in his individual/co-authored research & more critically in his long-term editorship of JCR, he was absolutely fundamental to the development of "quantitative IR", as it was known at the time, in the 2nd /more
Remember how Ronald Reagan said the worst words you can hear are "We're from the government and we're here to help."? Now the most dreaded words are "Download our app to complete your transaction."
September 17, 2023 at 2:19 PM
Remember how Ronald Reagan said the worst words you can hear are "We're from the government and we're here to help."? Now the most dreaded words are "Download our app to complete your transaction."
If Chinese contractors use the cheesy tools sold by Temu, their entire infrastructure is doomed to fall apart. But I suspect they are smarter than that.
September 13, 2023 at 11:53 PM
If Chinese contractors use the cheesy tools sold by Temu, their entire infrastructure is doomed to fall apart. But I suspect they are smarter than that.
Re: Musk/UKR: "If you roll a 20, a maniacal wizard transforms all plate armor in your kingdom to silk for the next seven turns. Knights are ineffective unless they previously trained as berserkers."
September 7, 2023 at 11:16 PM
Re: Musk/UKR: "If you roll a 20, a maniacal wizard transforms all plate armor in your kingdom to silk for the next seven turns. Knights are ineffective unless they previously trained as berserkers."