Wolmania - Friday, July 29, 2022

Good morning. I am taking a moment to enjoy the slight possibility that the planet might not be completely screwed... But nothing, not even an iota of hope for our future, will stop me from writing this newsletter. Let's start with something boring!

Item 1: a link

Physicists Trace the Rise in Entropy to Quantum Information

At the level of individual particles, the classical laws of motion can be reversed in time. But the second law implies that change must happen in a way that increases entropy. This directionality is widely considered to impose an arrow of time. In this view, time seems to flow from past to future because the universe began — for reasons not fully understood or agreed on — in a low-entropy state and is heading toward one of ever higher entropy. The implication is that eventually heat will be spread completely uniformly and there will be no driving force for further change — a depressing prospect that scientists of the mid-19th century called the heat death of the universe.

I have to admit that I got a bit lost reading through this piece but it's as good an opportunity as any to note that we really need to do something about entropy before it's too late. Start the social media campaign targeting Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema!

Item 2: a list

Potato dishes, ranked

1. Mashed
2. Gnocchi
3. Thin-cut fries
4. Pierogies
5. Tater Tots
6. Latkes
7. Knishes
8. Hash browns
9. Au gratin
10. Twice-baked
11. Roasted in bite-size pieces
12. Baked
13. Thick-cut fries/wedges
14. All unspecified dishes
15. Home fries

(Updating a Facebook Classic™ list from December 2015)

Item 3: a media recommendation

The Katering Show

Very untimely recommendation here. This was a YouTube show made by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan starting back in 2013. It's nominally about one Kate teaching another Kate how to cook food compatible with her food intolerances but mostly it's funny (and profane! you've been warned!) and provides insight into the deranged Aussie mind. Here's the first episode:

And here's one of my favorite episodes:

Item 4: a photograph

See ya!

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend - see you next Friday.