S3.08 We sell holes
Varasanos Pizza in Peach Tree Corners
Originally from the Bronx, Varasano moved to Atlanta in 1998, and soon realized the style of pizza he was accustomed to finding at every turn was not to be found in the Atlanta area. For a man with pizza in his blood, this just would not do. So he set out to perfect his favorite New York pie from Patsy’s in East Harlem. The ten year odyssey included traveling to the world’s best pizzerias, experimenting with countless varieties of flour, sourdough cultures, cheese, tomatoes and temperature control techniques, pushing household appliances beyond their limits, and visiting flour millers and oven manufacturers in the US and Europe. Varasano has studied everything from bread making to thermodynamics in his quest to craft the perfect pie. His journey has resulted in the destruction of several household appliances, a wealth of information available on his website, and the creation of an incredible piece of food, Varasano’s Pizza. Each of these airy light creations is topped with a perfect balance of traditional Italian ingredients and crisped to perfection at 800 degrees.
Chef’s Table Pizza: Chris Bianco
An unprecedented approach to ingredients and technique has made Chris Bianco's Phoenix pizzeria the home of what critics deem the best pies in the world.
Grep
Before it was named, grep was a private utility written by Ken Thompson to search files for certain patterns. Doug McIlroy, unaware of its existence, asked Thompson to write such a program. Responding that he would think about such a utility overnight, Thompson actually corrected bugs and made improvements for about an hour on his own program called s (short for "search"). The next day he presented the program to McIlroy, who said it was exactly what he wanted. Thompson's account may explain the belief that grep was written overnight.
That XKCD cartoon
Who are you?
I'm just this guy, you know? I'm a CNU graduate with a degree in physics. Before starting xkcd, I worked on robots at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. As of June 2007 I live in Massachusetts. In my spare time I climb things, open strange doors, and go to goth clubs dressed as a frat guy so I can stand around and look terribly uncomfortable. At frat parties I do the same thing, but the other way around.
Thanks to Ben Burnes for the link.
Science Fiction Magazines Battle a Flood of Chatbot-Generated Stories
It could be a tale from science fiction itself: a machine that uses artificial intelligence to try to supplant authors working in the genre, turning out story after story without ever hitting writer’s block. And now, it seems, it’s happening in real life.
A sci-fi magazine has cut off submissions after a flood of AI-generated stories
The science fiction and fantasy magazine Clarkesworld has been forced to stop accepting any new submissions from writers after it was bombarded with what it says were AI-generated stories.
The magazine officially shut off submissions on February 20 after a surge in stories that publisher and editor-in-chief Neil Clarke says were clearly machine-written.
Cover art by Julie Dillon/Clarkesworld