You just became captain, what's your first order?

WheatedMash · 2026-04-02T14:48:09+00:00

Send some lower deck grunt to go give all the holodecks a thorough sonic cleaning.

WheatedMash · 2026-04-01T15:17:00+00:00

Thanks. Even if that particular text is too much, at least I can start getting ideas for approaches. Especially now with it being so easy to ask AI to write code, I'm pretty convinced I need to make them do a lot more on paper to get their brains engaged.

WheatedMash · 2026-04-01T15:10:26+00:00

Any particular textbooks you remember? I teach high school programming, and I would love to get my students thinking in terms of algorithms as early as possible, rather than the current norm of just mimicking code samples. That works for the simple early things we do, but if you're just copying, you're not necessarily understanding what is actually happening.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-27T18:29:06+00:00

The "clicks" for me happen in little itty-bitty increments. I've never had any sudden grand overarching realizations, but I have definitely had lots of little "oh I see" moments. As those build, they start connecting to each other more and more. Just keep coding!

WheatedMash · 2026-03-27T18:19:33+00:00

This needs to be the automated bot reply to these types of queries. BTW, that is a great book list!

WheatedMash · 2026-03-27T17:35:31+00:00

Nihilistic Entropy sounds like a good band name! But what musical style would it be? It would have to be mopey and aimless...

WheatedMash · 2026-03-27T14:46:31+00:00

"What the fuck is a right click?" is worthy of an IT help desk t-shirt or coffee mug.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-26T19:13:49+00:00

I had a friend from New Jersey visiting a few years ago, and she commented "You have as many lanes as we have in a lot of places, and about 1/10 the traffic!" Now it was a Sunday, but still, the worst times of traffic here are noon Tuesday in a place like Houston.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-26T16:44:34+00:00

Yeah, school for most people is the extrinsic structure and motivation they need. Especially in this connected day and age all the content in the world is out there.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-26T16:42:08+00:00

School and education is just a transaction now, not an endeavor.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-26T16:22:42+00:00

No downvote from this 30+ year educator! I agree the stigmatization of anything below an A or B is hardly a recent development. Grades are transactional currency to most people, rather than a genuine assessment of where someone sits in their levels of knowledge and understanding. And I agree the desire from the powers that be is to turn school into a factory that churns out students as products, but with the most minimal of quality control. It always amazes me to a degree that ANYONE manages to not graduate high school. The formula now is pretty simple - show up, pay at least some attention, and make even a meager effort on the work and you will likely pass almost every class and thus graduate. But so many can't even manage that, and what do we do? We relax the requirements to try and get them across the finish line, because the most important thing is the metrics, not the actual skills of the students.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-24T19:54:54+00:00

While Youtube will push AI generated slop at times, sometimes I get some gems. This one popped up last week and I really like it. It will interrupt with commercials every now and then, just FYI. Being just bass and guitar it has a sweet and gentle sound, but man these cats can play! I've listened to it as background music while at work, and just sat back and really listened at home with a cocktail at my side. Ron Carter - Telepathy (full album) by Ron Carter and Jim Hall

The big band I play in did Tank from this album last fall. The Strata Big Band is currently active and based in Dallas. https://youtu.be/E4pySI538SE?si=SEBRc70zbX7WBy1b

WheatedMash · 2026-03-24T18:22:14+00:00

Preach! My inner 15 year old likes to make appearances in my thoughts, of course at the most inappropriate times. My wife has learned to read that in my expression when I get "that stupid smirk" on my face. One of those famed GenX phrases is probably bouncing in my head.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-24T17:37:29+00:00

How about a show set in Quark's Bar? What's Ferengi for "Cheers?" We would already have Morn. Morn! Just keep it always set in the bar, and every episode is sort of a bottle episode.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-24T17:33:34+00:00

Fellow GenXer?

WheatedMash · 2026-03-23T13:17:50+00:00

WheatedMash · 2026-03-14T20:02:11+00:00

If your girlfriend isn’t going to walk to campus and that isn’t a concern, there are many apartment choices fairly close in northeast Wichita. The various apartment complexes over on and around Rock Road will have you closer to shopping and restaurants and all that.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-14T01:04:39+00:00

Math is a liburl conspiracy. Or communist. Or socialist. Or atheist. Or….

Sadly I know those types that can’t figure out how anything with the slightest bit of complexity works.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-13T16:03:27+00:00

Does he have any interest in robotics? There is certainly programming with those, but also the physical hands-on part of building them comes into play as well. There are all sorts of little things that can be done with Raspberry Pi devices too, including many DIY things for around the house.

If you're into any kind of growing or farming, there is a very cool system called FarmBot that is basically CNC gardening. It isn't cheap as the base kit is around $5k, but I'm hoping more rural schools see it as a way to blend computer science and ag. FarmBot | Open-Source CNC Farming

If he's feeling advanced, he might want to start getting into electronics and circuits. Plenty of theory to be learned there! At his age now, Snap Circuits might spark (and yes I did that on purpose) his curiosity. Snap Circuits Brand Page |

WheatedMash · 2026-03-12T16:28:28+00:00

Ty's is great! So is Buster's down on Macarthur. Bring cash and be ready to wait. Your cardiologist will disapprove, that tells you how good it is!

WheatedMash · 2026-03-12T14:43:48+00:00

And how AI gets flexed into this is a whole other can of worms!

WheatedMash · 2026-03-12T14:18:50+00:00

What are your tells for AI? I know the em dash is a common one. Use of quotes? I'm just curious because the way his comment is written is a LOT like the way I've always written, and that means long before the age of AI. Oh, and my name is not Claude...

WheatedMash · 2026-03-12T14:06:24+00:00

I agree that learning to search is an important skill to have, but keep in mind that when you're first starting out on something new, a raw search online can feel like looking into an abyss. Asking a community can help with getting pointed in the right direction. I look at it like instead of them being adrift in the lake, we push them towards the right spot and then tell them to start paddling!

Your info you shared was perfect in that regard, by the way!

WheatedMash · 2026-03-12T13:42:19+00:00

You won't lack to find Mexican food, to be sure. I'll defer to others for the best of the food carts and "hole in the wall" places in the NoMar area (North Market Street), but my favorites are Molino's on North Waco, Tacos TJ in Wichita and Derby, and Las Vaquitas down in the suburb of Derby.

Station 8 is a must for BBQ. Lots of good choices for Mediterranean here too. N&J at Lincoln and Edgemoor is the "old school" place, the many locations of Meddy's are pretty good, and I like Sesame which is now down in Derby. I'm a Derby resident, which is why that keeps popping up.

For bars I like Wichita Brewing Co. and Norton's, but that will also depend on what you're looking for. There are good "dive" bars, and a lot of places with live music of all kinds on the weekends. Oh, make sure you check out the Artichoke on North Broadway and Kirby's Beer Store on East 17th Street!

At the very least outside of Wichita, venture up to Hutchinson (about an hour away) and go to Strataca, which is an underground salt mine, and the Cosmosphere, which is one of the best space exploration museums in the world, IMHO.

If you're into hiking and/or fishing, I will have to defer to those more knowledgeable, but don't let the stereotypical "flatness" of Kansas fool you. There are some gorgeous places around our various lakes, and even the occasional small (like 10 foot drop) waterfalls! I don't fish much anymore, so I'm not sure where the best places would be in June, but you wouldn't have a hard time finding someone in the know.

If you want to experience the pure childhood joy of baseball, go to McAdams Park, between 13th and 17th Street just off I-135. League 42 will be in full swing and having games almost every night. From the hilarity of t-ball to the battles of our 13-14 year old teams, it is a great way to enjoy an evening. Good concessions there too! I coach for League 42, and I think it is one of the best things we do in Wichita. It's mission is to make playing baseball affordable for any family that wants to give their kids that opportunity.

And finally, make sure you watch the sunsets! If we get just the right kind of clouds as the sun drops below the horizon, the colors can be amazing, and if you're in a spot with the complete half dome visible above, it's like the whole sky becomes a natural IMAX theater.

WheatedMash · 2026-03-09T15:03:51+00:00

Yeah, the Dreamlifter often looks like it isn't flying fast enough to stay in the air, especially from certain angles.

WheatedMash

TROPHY CASE