mnxc https://www.mnxc.online/ Essays from rural Minnesota on skiing, endurance, winter, AI, and economics by Justin Eberhardt. en-us The Optional Part https://www.mnxc.online/optional.html https://www.mnxc.online/optional.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0500 Training on a 140-foot Minnesota hill for a rim-to-rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon: 40+ miles, 12,000 vertical feet, and a surprise solar eclipse. A Morning Hike in Nikko https://www.mnxc.online/nikko.html https://www.mnxc.online/nikko.html Thu, 13 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0600 A predawn solo hike on mountain trails above Nikko, Japan, far from Tokyo's crowds. The Limits of AI Pattern Recognition https://www.mnxc.online/AIlimits.html https://www.mnxc.online/AIlimits.html Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0500 AI excels at pattern recognition, but interpolation isn't extrapolation. Why some discoveries remain beyond machine learning. The $5 Trillion Bet https://www.mnxc.online/5trillion_bet.html https://www.mnxc.online/5trillion_bet.html Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0500 A college instructor builds an AI tutoring app on a $2900 Mac and considers what fast-improving consumer hardware means for the $5 trillion AI infrastructure bet. Pokemon, Bitcoin, and Bubbles https://www.mnxc.online/bitmon.html https://www.mnxc.online/bitmon.html Mon, 20 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0500 What Pokemon card collecting can teach us about Bitcoin, speculation, and bubbles. Fast Wax and PFAS https://www.mnxc.online/fluoro.html https://www.mnxc.online/fluoro.html Sun, 21 Feb 2021 12:00:00 -0600 From a 1997 Minnesota high school ski meet to PFAS bans: a skier's history of fluoro wax. An Open Letter to Critics of Winter https://www.mnxc.online/winter.html https://www.mnxc.online/winter.html Thu, 19 Dec 2019 12:00:00 -0600 An open letter to critics of winter, in defense of the season 95% of people rank last. Minnesota's Backcountry https://www.mnxc.online/backcountry.html https://www.mnxc.online/backcountry.html Sun, 01 Dec 2019 12:00:00 -0600 Skiing Minnesota's less-traveled, ungroomed trails: the state's version of backcountry skiing. 2019 Birkebeinerrennet, Heia! https://www.mnxc.online/birken.html https://www.mnxc.online/birken.html Wed, 20 Mar 2019 12:00:00 -0500 Race report from the 2019 Birkebeinerrennet: 54km on skis across the mountains from Rena to Lillehammer. Trondelag Traditions https://www.mnxc.online/trondelag.html https://www.mnxc.online/trondelag.html Tue, 12 Mar 2019 12:00:00 -0500 Skiing the Bymarka near Trondheim and discovering the ski hut traditions of Trondelag, Norway.