POTD: Chitchat

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Ranakpur Jain Temple in Rajasthan, India. Is the boy being excluded from the women's chitchat? Does he care? Take a close look at what's in his left hand. It looks like a car key to me. My guess is that he's got other things on his mind than what the women are chatting about.

What's Interesting About Richardson?

Are there lots of activities, lots of things to do near you? An update to Google Maps now answers that question for you.

In a shade of pale orange, Google Maps now highlights "areas of interest," or "places where there's a lot of activities and things to do," determined by "an algorithmic process that allows us to highlight the areas with the highest concentration of restaurants, bars and shops," according to the company's blog.

Source: CityLab.

CityLab highlights a few disconcerting findings with Google's choices in other parts of the country. Some neighborhoods, "packed with restaurants, businesses, and schools," but relatively low-income and predominantly Latino, get overlooked by Google's orange highlighting. Areas of interest — to whom? So, take Google's automated algorithms with some reservations.

Still, let's see what Google thinks of Richardson. Spoiler alert: it's pretty accurate, not necessarily in our favor.

Joy (2015)

IMDB

Joy (2015): Many A-list stars, all upstaged by an infomercial mop. Not even earnest Jennifer Lawrence can save this predictable story. C+

POTD: Uplifting of the Soul

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the steps of the Ranakpur Jain Temple in Rajasthan, India. According to the temple's website, "To behold this holy shrine in its spectacularly sublime setting is to experience instant uplifting of the soul." OK then. Surely this family is experiencing fun. And witnessing that fun uplifted my own soul. May this POTD do a little to uplift your soul as well.

I Support Free Trade

From 2015 05 07 Portland

#ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion. I support free trade.

There, I said it. I know it's an unpopular opinion in this election campaign. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders made opposition to free trade a major issue in their campaigns (which differ in almost every other other way). Hillary Clinton has taken to opposing free trade as well, or at least one trade deal, the TPP, although it's reasonable to doubt whether her heart is in it.

Well, my heart is on the side of free trade, even if it's an electoral loser.