Thursday, March 31, 2016
Why streetcars died
Another new KSHS item. A 1910 promo pic for the streetcar line between Cottonwood Falls and Strong City. CF and SC are just two miles apart, highly unusual for Kansas. When towns were that close, they usually merged, or one faded. In this case both survived and remained separate.
You can see why streetcars were doomed. Shouldn't have hired Mr Death as conductor.
= = = = =
Clearly this is the bridge over Cottonwood Falls, the prettiest place I've ever seen.
Googlestreet shows that the bridge itself has been replaced, but part of the railing is still there in the park around the Falls. Possibly saved and moved when the bridge was taken down?
¶ 12:25 PM 
You can see why streetcars were doomed. Shouldn't have hired Mr Death as conductor.
= = = = =
Clearly this is the bridge over Cottonwood Falls, the prettiest place I've ever seen.
Googlestreet shows that the bridge itself has been replaced, but part of the railing is still there in the park around the Falls. Possibly saved and moved when the bridge was taken down?
¶ 12:25 PM
Mechanistic workarounds
Apocryphal story about WA White, famous Commie editor in Emporia:
White was pissed at reporters overusing VERY. He knew that reporters are incapable of processing normal human thinking, so he found a workaround.
"From now on, when you feel like writing VERY, write GODDAMN instead. For instance, The bride's trousseau was goddamn white and goddamn lacy, with goddamn abundant roses on her goddamn graceful veil. Since this is a family paper, the copy desk will delete the GODDAMNS and the result will be readable prose."
A Trump presidency could accomplish a similar goal in a similarly workaroundy way. The existing structure of USA STRONG is incapable of processing normal thinking. There is no way to deport or imprison lethal idiots who have already destroyed the country. But those same idiots are so ferociously enraged by the mere mention of Trump that they will be constantly attempting to kill him. The Secret Service will delete the GODDAMNS and the result will be a usable country.
¶ 8:20 AM
Erratic
Still trying to figure out why the R establishment goes Exorcist-Tourette whenever Trump is mentioned. It can't be solely about borders. Buchanan and Perot threatened Free Trade and Open Borders before, and got demonized and destroyed; but the FEROCITY of the anti-Trump spew is several orders of magnitude greater than the anti-Perot noise. The monsters at NR just can't stop.
One word in the latest toxic vomit gives a strong clue.
Ideology is RELIABLE. Theories are RELIABLE. Experimentation is ERRATIC. Try something, see if it works, then try something else when it doesn't work.
Theoreticians in science or politics always see experimenters as ERRATIC.
FDR was constantly described as ERRATIC.
In some simple cases a reliable constant theory can serve well, as long as Nature doesn't throw a curve. Nature is erratic. PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT. A complex system like a nation is hugely erratic. The only way to adjust or repair a nation is by experimentation. It helps if you know what your goal is, know which levers to pull, know which changes are more likely to approach the goal. The only way to know those things is by previous experimentation. Using those guidelines to inform new fiddling, you can finally determine which parts need replacing and which parts need to be removed permanently.
Fortunately MOST of the needed experimentation on this nation has already been done. FDR's successful work is especially relevant to our current mess, and we can use his lab notebook as guidance.
Given a choice between RELIABLY destroying the country versus ERRATICALLY trying to repair the country, I'll take the latter.
= = = = =
Next day: Can't stay ahead of these monsters. Column by Walter Shapiro, predictably defending tyranny:
Clinton Offers Predictability in an Erratic Political Year
Donald Trump didn’t suddenly change in the past few days, weeks or months. He’s the same guy he always was, the same guy that most of us in the conservative movement and GOP have been staunchly opposing for the past year. He didn’t abruptly become reckless, obnoxious, ill-informed, ERRATIC, hot-tempered, pathologically dishonest, narcissistic, crude and catastrophically unqualified for the presidency overnight.Note the standard long string of cusswords. Most of those cusswords fit all candidates for President. We've turned the office into a crazy mess, and you have to be obnoxious, dishonest, narcissistic, etc, to seek it. One exception. ERRATIC. The Establishment requires candidates who are perfectly reliable in their IDEOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY. Candidates must obey and re-transmit the Party Beacon over and over.
Ideology is RELIABLE. Theories are RELIABLE. Experimentation is ERRATIC. Try something, see if it works, then try something else when it doesn't work.
Theoreticians in science or politics always see experimenters as ERRATIC.
FDR was constantly described as ERRATIC.
In some simple cases a reliable constant theory can serve well, as long as Nature doesn't throw a curve. Nature is erratic. PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT. A complex system like a nation is hugely erratic. The only way to adjust or repair a nation is by experimentation. It helps if you know what your goal is, know which levers to pull, know which changes are more likely to approach the goal. The only way to know those things is by previous experimentation. Using those guidelines to inform new fiddling, you can finally determine which parts need replacing and which parts need to be removed permanently.
Fortunately MOST of the needed experimentation on this nation has already been done. FDR's successful work is especially relevant to our current mess, and we can use his lab notebook as guidance.
Given a choice between RELIABLY destroying the country versus ERRATICALLY trying to repair the country, I'll take the latter.
= = = = =
Next day: Can't stay ahead of these monsters. Column by Walter Shapiro, predictably defending tyranny:
Clinton Offers Predictability in an Erratic Political YearLabels: 20th century Dark Age, Asked and answered, STRONG!
¶ 2:39 AM
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Aptronym rambling
Noticed a new item at Kans State Hist Soc. A hundred-year-old mugshot of a prisoner. Reminded me of my great-grandfather. Tried searching for more info, quickly realized it's an impossible search. The prisoner was named Warren Jury and he was arrested and tried in Leavenworth. The name Jury leads to every trial in history, and Leavenworth leads to nearly all Federal prisoners, even though this dude was not a Federal prisoner.
I'll bet the courts and newspapers had fun with his trial. If the Jury trial was a jury trial, all sorts of strange things would happen.
"Are you on the Jury jury?" "No no, I'm not not. Why why are you you st-st-st-stuttering?"
"We the jury find Jury guilty."
Was he suspected of Jury jury tampering? Jury jury rigging? Was he a peeping Tom, entitled to trial by a jury of Jury's peering peers?
And if the Jury trial wasn't a jury trial ... but how could a Jury trial not be a jury trial? When it's a Jury trial by judge.
= = = = =
How far could a trial descend into aptronym hell? Jury is not an especially common name, but Court, Judge, Clerk, Foreman, Rule, Record, Justice and Law are common names.
Judge Judge ruled against Lawyer Rule and in favor of defendant Rob Banks, but Foreman Foreman objected and Clerk Clerk read the objection to Attorney A.T. Law, transcribed into the Court Record by Court Recorder Court Record.
= = = = =
Later, a little more searching inside KSHS found a little more info. Warren Jury was in for Assault with intent to kill. Aw poop. No fun at all.
Labels: Aptronym Alert
¶ 8:48 AM
Here's how.
Parents give idiot school admins an earful:
Sadness and anger were just some of the reactions from parents at the forum, and for most of the night, parents really wanted to address bullying. The forum came less than a week after a 13-year old committed suicide because her friends and family said she was bullied. "I guarantee you, I have resources I will bring down on the school if this does not stop!," one parent said emphatically. School workers said the meeting is to talk about the problem of teen suicide and to help grieving students at Garry. Psychologists were on hand to answer any questions from worried parents. When it came to discussing the issues facing their kids, Spokane's parents did not hold back. "You wanna prevent suicide, prevent bullying!" another parent said, drawing a large applause from other parents. "These kids are gonna kill themselves!"ON THE DOT. Let's go one more. You wanna prevent both suicide and bullying? 1. CRASH DOWN the all-destroying universe-murdering leftist lie that ALL HUMANS ARE IDENTICAL. Replace it with hard cold reality. Bullies and victims are NOT the same people. Teachers can tell the difference. Most importantly, YOU CAN'T BE ANYTHING YOU WANT. You can't choose to be male or female, you can't choose to be black or white, you can't choose to be smart or dumb, introvert or extrovert. You have a firm destiny, which should be obvious by now. If you are not popular, NOTHING YOU CAN DO will make you popular. Don't waste time and soul trying to get there. IT WON'T HAPPEN. You need to find your niche and sustain your soul in other ways. When you feel productive and useful, you're much less likely to be influenced and controlled by bullies. 2. SELF-DEFENSE. Quietly train the victims to use a few effective techniques, and encourage them to gang up on the bullies. Stopping a bully doesn't require a full beating or a shooting. It does require a SURPRISE. Self-defense is the hard part, not because the victims can't be trained, but because the fucking lead-brained school admins can't be trained. The official court system, at least in places like Spokane, has figured out the importance of self-defense after a costly defeat. The courts will respond rationally. School admins are incapable of rationality. Stopping them DOES require a full beating. Gangs of parents could do wonders. Kuhnian learning.
Labels: defensible spaces, Make or break
¶ 2:16 AM
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Rare sanity
Sorta news:
The Cypriot president said on Tuesday that there was always "woman in the middle," answering to the possibility of a broken heart as the cause which prompted highjacker Seifedeen Mustafa to take the Egyptair airplane. After Mr Anastasiades confirmed that the incident was not terror-related, a reporter asked him "Mr. President, everything was about a woman?", to which he replied: "Always there's a woman in the middle."Exactly. Sometimes the problem is the LACK of a woman, sometimes the LOSS of a woman, but either way it's ALWAYS about a broken heart. ¶ 4:16 PM
Old song
Which form of torture is worse than waterboarding?
Chalkboarding!
For some reason I found myself singing this old TV theme song.....
Verse 1:
Chalkin chalkin chalkin
Xenophobes are chalkin
Trump buffoons are chalkin
GO HIDE!
Don't try to understand em
Just silence, starve and brand em
Soon we'll be livin with Pride.
Chorus:
Chalk em up, tag em up,
mark em up, key em up,
chalk em up, tag em up,
GO HIDE!
Chalk em up, tag em up,
mark em up, key em up,
All symbols are homicide.
Verse 2:
Transin transin transin
dresses skirts and pants on
constantly advancin
the tide,
Breakin walls and borders,
of gender race and order,
We don't need no logic. We're fried.
Chorus:
Dress em up make em up
wig em up clip em off
Dress em up make em up
we're fried;
wig em up clip em off
Dress em up make em up
No genes, we're i-den-ti-fied.
Verse 3:
Lynchin lynchin lynchin,
honkies always lynchin,
leavin loops of rope and
rawhide;
Don't ask who really made em,
just find some whites and raid em.
Fraud is our special skill and pride.
Chorus:
String em up loop em up
rope em up string em up
String em up loop em up
we're tied;
String em up loop em up
rope em up string em up
String em up loop em up
we're tied.
= = = = =
Graphic sidenote: When using those default Poser figures, you're supposed to alter the colors and add hair. In this case the androgynous ET appearance of the default seemed appropriate.
Chalkboarding!
For some reason I found myself singing this old TV theme song.....
Verse 1:
Chalkin chalkin chalkin
Xenophobes are chalkin
Trump buffoons are chalkin
GO HIDE!
Don't try to understand em
Just silence, starve and brand em
Soon we'll be livin with Pride.
Chorus:
Chalk em up, tag em up,
mark em up, key em up,
chalk em up, tag em up,
GO HIDE!
Chalk em up, tag em up,
mark em up, key em up,
All symbols are homicide.
Verse 2:
Transin transin transin
dresses skirts and pants on
constantly advancin
the tide,
Breakin walls and borders,
of gender race and order,
We don't need no logic. We're fried.
Chorus:
Dress em up make em up
wig em up clip em off
Dress em up make em up
we're fried;
wig em up clip em off
Dress em up make em up
No genes, we're i-den-ti-fied.
Verse 3:
Lynchin lynchin lynchin,
honkies always lynchin,
leavin loops of rope and
rawhide;
Don't ask who really made em,
just find some whites and raid em.
Fraud is our special skill and pride.
Chorus:
String em up loop em up
rope em up string em up
String em up loop em up
we're tied;
String em up loop em up
rope em up string em up
String em up loop em up
we're tied.
= = = = =
Graphic sidenote: When using those default Poser figures, you're supposed to alter the colors and add hair. In this case the androgynous ET appearance of the default seemed appropriate.
Labels: Age of Stings
¶ 2:48 AM
Monday, March 28, 2016
Eunuch vs Man
First amendment as rewritten by eunuch Nathan Deal:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, unless it gets in the way of bringing a Superbowl to a state. In case the Superbowl conflicts with the free exercise of religion, all believers shall be shot at sunrise.
= = = = =
Compare this Satan-surrendering eunuch with a real man:
Nadie se haga la ilusión de que el pueblo de este noble y abnegado país renunciará a la gloria y los derechos, y a la riqueza espiritual que ha ganado con el desarrollo de la educación, la ciencia y la cultura. Advierto además que somos capaces de producir los alimentos y las riquezas materiales que necesitamos con el esfuerzo y la inteligencia de nuestro pueblo. No necesitamos que el imperio nos regale nada. Nuestros esfuerzos serán legales y pacíficos, porque es nuestro compromiso con la paz y la fraternidad de todos los seres humanos que vivimos en este planeta.Cuba is the extreme test case of Graybill's Law. Free trade atrophies the skills and intelligence and spiritual riches of a country. By blockading trade to Cuba, we forced them to develop their own skills and intelligence and spiritual riches to the maximum. Now Castro is 'adverting' us to be careful; don't assume that Cuba will surrender like Nathan Deal when we try to re-colonialize. = = = = = Sidethought: I was trying to envision what Hamilton and Jefferson would think of a governor who abandons religious freedom to hold a giant sporting event in a giant arena. 1776 had sports (cricket and polo?) but it didn't have giant arenas. Ham and Jeff would think we were talking about ancient Rome. Diocletian. Christians vs Lions. And they'd be right. = = = = = Better sidethought: The real question is WHERE IS THE OPPOSING VECTOR? Who is pulling governors TOWARD survival of humanity? Where is the Repooflican "party"? Why hasn't it disowned Deal and removed him from all party power? We know the answer, of course. It's right there in the word Repooflican. A pack of screeching mincing fairies.
Labels: defensible spaces, skill-estate, swishover
¶ 10:40 AM
See what happens when you LOOK?
After a century of being proper Scientists, biologists have finally decided to abandon Science and start LOOKING at actual factual physical Nature. And they're amazed.
Browne’s videos elicited gasps from the audience because comb jellies, whose lineage evolved long before other animals with through-guts, had been thought to eat and excrete through a single hole leading to a saclike gut. Browne, however, used a sophisticated video setup to continuously monitor two species that he keeps in captivity, Mnemiopsis leidyi and Pleurobrachia bachei. The movies capture the creatures as they ingest tiny crustaceans and zebrafish genetically engineered to glow red. Because comb jellies are translucent, the prey can be seen as it circulates through a network of canals lacing the jellies’ bodies. Fast-forward, and 2 to 3 hours later, indigestible particles exit through the pores on the rear end. Browne also presented a close-up image of the pores, highlighting a ring of muscles surrounding each one. “This is a sphincterlike hole,” he told the audience.One of the biologists said something shocking and astonishing and completely unScientific: “Looks like I’ve been wrong for 30 years,” said George Matsumoto, a marine bio logist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. In most branches of Science you'd get kicked out for questioning ALMIGHTY THEORY. Biology has clearly departed from Science and joined REALITY. REALITY is still a shock, though........ “We have all these traditional notions of a ladderlike view of evolution, and it keeps getting shaken,” says Kevin Kocot, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Well, there are other TRADITIONAL views of evolution that fit the FACTS better. Every newly found FACT moves the timepoints for supposedly "advanced" and "late evolved" structures and functions backward toward zero. Every new FACT increases the support for a single invention, a single design, that contains all the purposes and skills and patterns needed by life. Different creatures use different subsets of the design, but all of it was available at the start. = = = = = Historical sidenote: I googlebooked a 1912 invertebrate biology text. It shows a diagram of those aboral pores and says "it is believed" that the pores are not involved in digestion; "it is believed" that leftover waste exits via the mouth. So we have a century of "believing" and no actual looking, until this year. Seems like the actual looking wouldn't require fancy genetic engineering; you could have done it in 1912 by confining the critter in a small flat tank lighted from below; stocking the tank with opaque or perhaps radium-infused food; and then watching with a time-lapse camera. Considering the taxonomic importance of comb-jellies, why didn't anyone try?
Labels: Grand Blueprint
¶ 2:32 AM
Mother Angelica dies
Can't say RIP.... If the usual vision of Heaven is correct, God is going to be alternately nagged and inspired into straightening out and flying right. Not much peace up there.
Angelica created a huge force on God's side. For this old unbeliever, EWTN has been a constant reference beacon. Started hearing it on SW in the '80s, continued on AM in the '90s. When I want to hear some real Christianity, it's always there.
EWTN has been confused and jumbled in the last two years, trying to placate the satanic US Bishops and the beyond-satan Francine without losing track of God's law. Can't do both. Pick one.
Now that Mother Angelica is in the executive suite, maybe she can talk old Jehovah into picking up the Hot Line and negotiating a deal with Hades LLC. Find a way to move Antichrist Francine into management down there.
¶ 2:13 AM
EWTN has been confused and jumbled in the last two years, trying to placate the satanic US Bishops and the beyond-satan Francine without losing track of God's law. Can't do both. Pick one.
Now that Mother Angelica is in the executive suite, maybe she can talk old Jehovah into picking up the Hot Line and negotiating a deal with Hades LLC. Find a way to move Antichrist Francine into management down there.
¶ 2:13 AM
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Why does Toyota think I'm Vietnamese?????
One truth channel opening
(1) Hillary started the war in Ukraine. Putin ended it.
(2) Hillary started the war in Syria. Putin ended it.
These simple and obvious truths were completely censored by ALL media until a week ago. For unknown reasons the retaking of Palmyra has led to a switch in some media. Reuters, BBC, Deutsche Welle, and even NPR are giving Russia proper credit for helping Assad's troops to perform the job. This is a total reversal for all of them. All had previously UNPERSONED Russia.
CNN, Bloomberg and other USA STRONG media are still holding the original approach, still treating both Assad and Russia as nonexistent TROLLS. Palmyra is a victory for "international agreement", not for Assad or Putin.
THANKS, PUTIN!
¶ 4:11 PM
THANKS, PUTIN!
¶ 4:11 PM
No more dynasties
This set of numbers from Wash state Dem caucuses shows what's happening more dramatically than any birds. It's the same in both "parties", and it's a truly unprecedented switch.
Three words: NO MORE DYNASTIES.
In the list of county results, every single county went for Bernie. I've redone the table with ratios:
Even in the solidly R Palouse the results are in the same range of ratios. Only Garfield, where it looks like two families participated, had a ratio less than 2.
The old strategy of repelling all rational humans and leaving only the mechanical partybots no longer works for the dynasties. In normal years, caucuses yield the MOST RELIABLE results for dynasties. This may still be true on the Repoof side, where caucuses in Kansas and other states went for the substitute heir Cruz. It's NOT true on the D side.
¶ 6:10 AM
| Adams | 6 | 17 | 2.83 |
| Asotin | 21 | 43 | 2.05 |
| Benton | 107 | 385 | 3.60 |
| Chelan | 63 | 160 | 2.54 |
| Clallam | 85 | 188 | 2.21 |
| Clark | 297 | 1080 | 3.64 |
| Columbia | 3 | 10 | 3.33 |
| Cowlitz | 76 | 255 | 3.36 |
| Douglas | 23 | 63 | 2.74 |
| Ferry | 5 | 18 | 3.60 |
| Franklin | 29 | 115 | 3.97 |
| Garfield | 2 | 3 | 1.50 |
| Grant | 29 | 112 | 3.86 |
| Grays Harbor | 65 | 176 | 2.71 |
| Island | 97 | 219 | 2.26 |
| Jefferson | 56 | 135 | 2.41 |
| King | 3246 | 6704 | 2.07 |
| Kitsap | 238 | 631 | 2.65 |
| Kittitas | 31 | 106 | 3.42 |
| Klickitat | 11 | 55 | 5.00 |
| Lewis | 36 | 166 | 4.61 |
| Lincoln | 8 | 22 | 2.75 |
| Mason | 55 | 159 | 2.89 |
| Pacific | 18 | 77 | 4.28 |
| Pend Oreille | 10 | 35 | 3.50 |
| Pierce | 712 | 1968 | 2.76 |
| SanJuan | 25 | 79 | 3.16 |
| Skagit | 116 | 322 | 2.78 |
| Skamania | 5 | 46 | 9.20 |
| Snohomish | 677 | 2165 | 3.20 |
| Spokane | 333 | 1199 | 3.60 |
| Stevens | 23 | 101 | 4.39 |
| Thurston | 245 | 868 | 3.54 |
| Wahkiakum | 2 | 17 | 8.50 |
| Walla Walla | 45 | 109 | 2.42 |
| Whatcom | 166 | 695 | 4.19 |
| Whitman | 28 | 109 | 3.89 |
| Yakima | 123 | 393 | 3.20 |
Even in the solidly R Palouse the results are in the same range of ratios. Only Garfield, where it looks like two families participated, had a ratio less than 2.
The old strategy of repelling all rational humans and leaving only the mechanical partybots no longer works for the dynasties. In normal years, caucuses yield the MOST RELIABLE results for dynasties. This may still be true on the Repoof side, where caucuses in Kansas and other states went for the substitute heir Cruz. It's NOT true on the D side.
¶ 6:10 AM
Thanks, Mexico!
Mexicans burn effigies of Trump.
Doesn't prove that he can actually solve the problem of immigration and outsourcing. He may be blocked or blackmailed or Fort Marcied if he starts to make real progress. But at least the BENEFICIARIES of outsourcing believe he can solve the problem.
¶ 2:44 AM
Truth channels shutting down
For several years UK Telegraph's website was worth reading, and worth the expense of subscribing. Their own writers are identical to Fox, CNN, MSNBC, NYTimes, etc. Infinitely evil superidiots. Worse than most in terms of basic prose and editing.
Commenters were the reason I read the articles. Always smart, often teaching me something I didn't already know.
That's the exact definition of NEWS. Data you couldn't automatically see for yourself, conclusions you couldn't automatically reach.
Over the last few months the Telegraph has been steadily shutting down comments. Not quite zero yet, but close enough to cancel my subscription. To verify, I clicked into all the non-sports stories on today's front page. Out of 20, only one allowed comments.
¶ 2:14 AM
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Straight up
Interesting audience response when the little bird upstaged Bernie. Bernie didn't try to steal the moment. He just spontaneously smiled and sort of shrugged.
The young cool atheist audience looked STRAIGHT UP and cheered. Bernie wasn't up there. The bird was slightly below their line of sight. Wonder what was DIRECTLY OVERHEAD that a young cool atheist would automatically look toward? Can't figure it out.
I have to like old Sanders. Even though he reminds me of my hippie-era Commie mentors, he seems to be far more human than the usual ideologue.
As I said before, Trump and Sanders are beyond the pale because they have FACES and appear to have SOULS. Faces and souls have been completely absent from politics for many decades. The faceless soulless monsters have no idea what's going on.
¶ 5:15 PM
Missing the point 2
Jeff Jacoby is more rational than most people who get paid to write for newspapers, but he's missed this one.
Question: Why are there Muslim ghettos in Belgium but not in US?
Jacoby runs through a bunch of ideological and political explanations but misses the simple answer. Like all other people who get paid to write, he can't break out of the leftist lie ALL PEOPLE ARE IDENTICAL PASSIVE MECHANICAL GRAINS OF SAND. All differences must be caused by ideology and political systems.
The simple answer: In Belgium most of the Muslims are Arabs. In US most of the Muslims are NOT Arabs. They come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds: Arab, Persian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nigerian, Bosnian, Afghan, and converted natives (mainly black). Arabs are not the dominant element, and many of the Arabs here are Lebanese Christians.
Europe's problem is Arabs, not Muslims. Conflation is easy because nearly all Arabs are also Muslim, but in the whole world only about 20% of Muslims are Arabs.
Labels: Asked and answered
¶ 7:03 AM
Missing his own point
Trump seems to be messing up his own brand with this tabloid stuff about Cruz's wife and Cruz's affairs.
THE PROBLEM WITH HEIDI CRUZ IS THAT SHE WORKS FOR GOLDMAN SACHS.
She is deeply involved with Wall Street, therefore Ted also belongs to Wall Street. This doesn't disqualify Ted from running for office. He's already disqualified by being a Canadian, so he shouldn't have been allowed to enter the campaign at all. But the DIRECT Goldman connection should be a constant talking point for an anti-bankster candidate like Trump. Emphasizing the personal stuff distracts and displaces this important brand-identity point.
However .... I shouldn't try to second-guess a master of marketing. Trump is probably confident in his voters by now. He can switch over to discombobulating his opponent. Seems to be working pretty well.
¶ 5:05 AM
Friday, March 25, 2016
Variable weight
One of those little things you notice when life is basically constant for a long time.
The kinesthetic perception system includes a fantastically complex library of per-object memories, containing at least weight and probably inertia and muscle settings for reach, grasp and release. A brand-new object has no expectations, so the hand proceeds experimentally, with guidance from the librarians based on similar-looking things. If the object has a constant weight within the time that you hold it, a memory is formed for the weight. If it's non-constant during hold (eg a coffeepot that gets poured out every time you pick it up) there's no expectation.
The next time you pick it up, even if several days later, you are unsurprised to find approximately the same weight. But if the weight is wrong, you NOTICE IT! SOMETHING IS OFF HERE! DELTA ALERT! DELTA ALERT!
Example: Salt container. Yesterday I noticed the existing container was nearly empty, so I bought a new one at Safeway. The new container looks exactly the same and weighs a pound more than the old one. When I picked it up just now, my hand was ready for the old 1-ounce empty, but found a full pound. SURPRISE! Nearly dropped it.
I don't know how extensive this library of weights is, but I'll bet it includes everything I handle more than once in the course of a year.
= = = = =
Curbside Classic featured an old magazine article on 1966 Rolls Royce technology.
Especially impressive: the fluidic analog computer that controls the suspension.
Semi-quoting:
Height-sensitive devices at front and rear activate pumps in the hi-pressure hydraulic system which pumps fluid into the hydraulic rams between the top of the coil springs and their attachment to the body. Rolls added a separate system which adjusted the height immediately when the car was loaded or unloaded, but didn't alter ride height because of fast suspension movements on the road. They used one slow-response pump and one fast-response pump. The fast-response pump was enabled only when the door switch turned on the courtesy light, since the load changes rapidly when passengers and luggage are being loaded or unloaded. The slow-sensor pump responds to gradual changes in the car's weight, specifically the gradual decrease in the rear as fuel is used up.
Sounds familiar.
I don't know how extensive this library of weights is, but I'll bet it includes everything I handle more than once in the course of a year.
= = = = =
Curbside Classic featured an old magazine article on 1966 Rolls Royce technology.
Especially impressive: the fluidic analog computer that controls the suspension.
Semi-quoting:
Height-sensitive devices at front and rear activate pumps in the hi-pressure hydraulic system which pumps fluid into the hydraulic rams between the top of the coil springs and their attachment to the body. Rolls added a separate system which adjusted the height immediately when the car was loaded or unloaded, but didn't alter ride height because of fast suspension movements on the road. They used one slow-response pump and one fast-response pump. The fast-response pump was enabled only when the door switch turned on the courtesy light, since the load changes rapidly when passengers and luggage are being loaded or unloaded. The slow-sensor pump responds to gradual changes in the car's weight, specifically the gradual decrease in the rear as fuel is used up.
Sounds familiar.Labels: Metrology
¶ 4:58 PM
Man Inflames Tree
When you get those pesky old voices in your head, what to do? Climb a tree and stubbornly sit there? Or burn down a forest and part of a town? Oh dear, oh dear. Such a tough choice. Luther vs Lincoln. Hier steh ich vs Hiroshima.
The Seattle Man In Tree (now id'd as Cody Miller) took the Luther path. The Wenatchee Man Inflames Tree took the Lincoln path, or more precisely the Inslee path. Helping Our Dear Governor to vaporize the state.
Man Inflames Tree made one serious mistake. Burning down the state is called Honoring Gaia And Preserving Our Precious Planet when you are named Inslee. Burning down the state is just arson when you are not named Inslee. Man Inflames Tree is not Inslee, so he's just an arsonist. Should have checked first. "Am I named Inslee? No. Can't get away with it."
The article about Man Inflames Tree is unintentionally hilarious. Clunky writing....
The sheriff’s office says Jeremy J. Kendall, 37, was arrested Wednesday for first-degree arson in connection with the Sleepy Hollow Fire which started in late June. The fire burned 2,900 acres, destroyed 28 homes and several commercial buildings. According to probable cause documents, Kendall confessed to starting the fire. He also allegedly told the sheriff’s office the Department of Health was “somehow transmitting voices to his head and also controlling his body.” He allegedly told deputies the voices in his head and other factors were too much to deal with.Voices in his head and other factors. What other alleged factors belong in the same alleged category as alleged voices? Voices in his head and the alleged heartbreak of psoriasis. Voices in his head and allegedly tasteless nacho chips. Voices in his head and Trump chalkings. That must be it. Nothing else is so totally overpowering.
Labels: Carbon Cult
¶ 8:47 AM
Wildly inconsistent
Well-known fact: Commies use people as weapons. Every new advance toward infinite tyranny is vanguarded by a new 'protected class'.
The trick began in the '50s and '60s with good old Rosa Parks and James Meredith. Blacks were driven into colleges and workplaces where they would fail, so the teachers and bosses could be smashed as racists.
In the '60s women became the weapon. Women were driven into professions and situations where they would fail, so the bosses and men around them could be smashed as sexists.
Satan is accelerating the firing rate. Used to be one weapon per decade, now it's one weapon per year.
Last year Commies drove homosexuals to seek "marriages", which most of them hadn't really wanted, so court clerks and governors could be smashed as homophobes.
Now the Commies are doing something brand new: instead of simply USING people of a certain type or tendency, they are MANUFACTURING the weapons. Forcing young kids to "identify male" or however it's said, and then putting the unfortunate kids through actual surgery to permanently weaponize them. After this irreversible MIRVing, the weapons can then be forced into restrooms or gym classes where they will fail, so the non-MIRVed kids and teachers can be smashed as transphobes.
The most explicit weaponizing, of course, is Muslims. Starting in the '80s we've created APs like al Qaeda and ISIS to make Islam look horrible to everyone including other Muslims. We've killed a million Muslims as a desirable side-effect (blood is a gourmet meal for our aristocrats) but the real goal is to demoralize, disarm and decorticate non-Muslims in EU/US/UK. We train and arm and fund ISIS, which then kills lots of people in Syria and Iraq and EU/US/UK. We then blame those deaths on Islam and create lots of propaganda against Islam in general. When ordinary people respond to this propaganda by attacking or even QUESTIONING local Muslims, we SMASH them as hatecrimers and bigots.
Commies always discard a weapon after using it, just like ejecting shells from the chamber. Each type or tendency finds that their Heroic Proletarian Victory fades after it has helped Satan to commit genocide.
Just realized: This is perfectly inconsistent.
With weapons that are NOT manufactured or modified by Commies, the Commies always insist that the weapon itself is at fault. Removing the weapons will remove the problem, because as we know ALL HUMANS ARE IDENTICAL. Criminals will cease being criminals, radical bombers will cease trying to bomb things, if the bombs and guns are hard to get.
With Commie-made weapons, the weapon itself isn't the problem. The victim is the problem. We need to preserve the weapon and kill the victim to break another part of Nature into dust and vapor.
Labels: 20th century Dark Age
¶ 2:39 AM
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Why did it take so long?
The following two facts are obvious NOW, and are stated often NOW in various literal and metaphorical ways:
1. For introverts, solitude is a vitamin and human interaction is exhausting.
2. For extroverts, solitude is tiring or scary, and interaction is energizing.
These facts were NOT part of conventional wisdom when I was growing up. I didn't see them in print until 2000. The two types were certainly known, but the basic NEEDS of the two types were never discussed.
If I had known these facts when I was young, I could have pursued a more appropriate career path (maybe architecture?) instead of wasting 10 years on preparing to teach and then teaching. After 4 years of actual teaching, I was permanently exhausted and DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY. In retrospect, knowing these two modern facts, it's perfectly obvious.
Just for fun I used googlebooks to explore the conventional wisdom of earlier decades. Were these facts widespread? Was I just out of the loop? The latter is highly unlikely since my father taught psychology among other subjects, and had lots of psych books around the house. Googlebooks doesn't do the '50s because of Steamboat Willie, but a VERY FEW books from the '20s mentioned the two terms. Their discussion was just plain weird, totally removed from reality. Clearly the authors had never encountered an actual human of either type.
Before 1920 the words weren't used for human types at all; introvert appears solely in the peculiar context of a mollusc proboscis.
The condition usually spoken of as a "proboscis" appears to be derived from the condition of a simple rostrum (having the mouth at its extremity) by the process of incomplete introversion of that simple rostrum.
For such a basic and universal aspect of all life (rovers and sitters) it's hard to see why accurate understanding came so late.
Labels: Grand Blueprint, TMI
¶ 3:04 PM
Whorf and revolution
The Whorf Hypothesis was believed by linguists for a long time, until more refined experiments showed that some instances were false. Even though the natives didn't have separate words for blue and green, or yellow and white, they could clearly tell the difference.
Atypically among beliefs held by scientists, Whorf is still called a Hypothesis. Generally a belief held by scientists becomes an unbreakable Law Of Nature whether it's true or not.
Whorf isn't universal but it is useful in some cases. Just noticed one. We use revolution and coup d'etat and overthrow for two TOTALLY DIFFERENT sets of events. (1) Using force to replace a colonial or occupying government by a native government; (2) Using force to replace one native government by a new native government.
Because we don't distinguish these with words, we conflate them in concept. The RESULTS are completely separate and nearly opposite.
Pushing out a colonial power is sort of net neutral. Leads to better life 1/3 of the time, worse about 1/3, net wash about 1/3. Depends on fine details, can't be predicted easily.
Replacing one native gov't with a new native gov't leads to better life exactly ZERO% of the time. Always drastically worse. No exceptions.
A third case appears after cleanly separating the first two. Many colonial pushouts are headfakes sponsored by a different colonial power. African countries got rid of France by bringing in Russia, then brought in China when Russia departed.
A fourth case is rare but maybe the most interesting. Eject the occupying power, then keep everything in place because you like it that way. Belarus.
¶ 6:15 AM
Somewhere west of the Hudson
Predictably, the New Yorker is leading the charge against Trump with invincible ignorance and blind bigotry.
Rather than firing back, Trump turned his attention to Hillary Clinton. “Incompetent Hillary, despite the horrible attack in Brussels today, wants borders to be weak and open-and let the Muslims flow in. No way!” he wrote. For some reason, Clinton didn’t respond. Perhaps it was because she was busy campaigning in Washington State. Or maybe it was because her Twitter account appears to be run by a messaging bot, which lacks the childishness and quick fuse that online wars demand.
Truth is childish. Got it.
Classically NYC:
In Arizona, his assaults on illegal immigrants apparently proved very popular, and he received forty-seven per cent of the vote, defeating Cruz, whose home state is next door, by twenty-two percentage points.
Hmm. Cruz's home state is Alberta, which disqualifies him for the presidency of THIS COUNTRY. But maybe they mean California? Or New Mexico? Checking his bio, I don't see either of those as a residence. Cruz did spend some time in Texas, which is not next to Arizona.
Sidenote: When I googled for his bio, Google's autocomplete told me which country really owns Cruz:
¶ 2:40 AM
Hmm. Cruz's home state is Alberta, which disqualifies him for the presidency of THIS COUNTRY. But maybe they mean California? Or New Mexico? Checking his bio, I don't see either of those as a residence. Cruz did spend some time in Texas, which is not next to Arizona.
Sidenote: When I googled for his bio, Google's autocomplete told me which country really owns Cruz:
¶ 2:40 AM
Must be terrorists
New Zealand's "government" decided the Union Jack was UNACCEPTABLE INTOLERABLE COLONIALIST XENOPHOBIC BUFFOON KOCH KOCH KOCH and spent $17 million to generate and vote on new designs. All normal and proper and EVOLVED.
The people firmly voted to keep the good old UNACCEPTABLE INTOLERABLE COLONIALIST XENOPHOBIC BUFFOON KOCH KOCH KOCH.
What happened next? Absolutely unprecedented. Unimaginable. Unthinkable. The government ALLOWED the vote of the people to stand. I can't imagine this bizarre peculiar sci-fi response. It's UNEVOLVED. Its NOT US. It's TERRORIST. Couldn't happen here!
What is the NZ government drinking? Letting the majority vote decide an issue????!!!!! Failing to immediately overrule it????!!!!! I don't understand!!!!! We need to kick NZ out of the Fellowship of Model Democracies and add it to the Axis Of Evil!!!!
¶ 2:11 AM
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Wright's wrong
FL Wright enjoyed flaunting his wealth, but I wonder if he realized what he was doing in this case.
He bought a '41 Lincoln and had it customized. All wrong.
= = = = =
In houses Wright's theme was constant. Cantilevers and clerestories. Flat roof, strong horizontal lines, NO arches or circles, lots of windows, open spaces, open furniture.
The Lincoln Zephyr was radical, but it was radically OPPOSITE to Wright's radicality. The Zephyr pulled all the 'popouts' of previous cars into a smooth egglike oval. Wright's custom trick added even more eggs; worse, they were clumsily dissonant eggs.
= = = = =
What would a proper Wrightian vehicle look like?
Instant answer: Streetcars. This 'Narragansett' open car piloted by Polistra is just Wright. Flat roof, cantilevers, clerestories. open sides, open furniture.
= = = = =
What was the first automobile to move toward Wright? The Ford Ranch Wagon.
By 1960 most cars had some Wright. Flat roof, long overhangs, lots of strong horizontal lines, minimal pillars. The Corvair even had a flat cantilevered engine.
He bought a '41 Lincoln and had it customized. All wrong.
= = = = =
In houses Wright's theme was constant. Cantilevers and clerestories. Flat roof, strong horizontal lines, NO arches or circles, lots of windows, open spaces, open furniture.
The Lincoln Zephyr was radical, but it was radically OPPOSITE to Wright's radicality. The Zephyr pulled all the 'popouts' of previous cars into a smooth egglike oval. Wright's custom trick added even more eggs; worse, they were clumsily dissonant eggs.
= = = = =
What would a proper Wrightian vehicle look like?
Instant answer: Streetcars. This 'Narragansett' open car piloted by Polistra is just Wright. Flat roof, cantilevers, clerestories. open sides, open furniture.
= = = = =
What was the first automobile to move toward Wright? The Ford Ranch Wagon.
By 1960 most cars had some Wright. Flat roof, long overhangs, lots of strong horizontal lines, minimal pillars. The Corvair even had a flat cantilevered engine.
Labels: Asked and answered
¶ 5:15 PM
Ironic? Paradoxical?
Alleged paradox:
Life in the UK is has objectively improved over the last three years – reflected in everything from falling crime to rising incomes and soaring life expectancy – according to Britain’s official “well-being” index. But experts at the Office for National Statistics analysing changes in key measures, which range from personal happiness to employment rates or air pollution, have been intrigued to find that the better life seemingly becomes, the less it “feels” that way for many.No paradox at all. What is life? Life is conscious awareness. If people are unhappy, life has OBJECTIVELY gotten worse. The apparent contradiction should tell you that your "objective" numbers are irrelevant to the question. You are measuring the wrong things.
Labels: Metrology
¶ 3:09 PM
Thanks, Ralph 380
Aliens In Tree:
Some students said they saw several chalkings of “Trump 2016." At least one said he also saw one message declaring: “Accept the Inevitable: Trump 2016.” No confirmed photos of the alleged chalkings have been published, and the school said it is reviewing security footage for its investigation. The students stood outside the administration building, with sophomore Jonathan Peraza shouting, “You are not listening! Come speak to us, we are in pain!” and “It is our duty to fight for our freedom.”Fight for our freedom. Try it again. Fight for our freedom. Nope, still doesn't compute. Poor old Orwell. He never imagined this. Fortunately, good old Compensation will take care of Jonathan Peraza. Jonathan Peraza** has climbed so far up the tree of insanity that there's no way for Jonathan Peraza to climb down. Jonathan Peraza has no talents or skills at all, and Jonathan Peraza has ruined Jonathan Peraza's future reputation. The trunk of politics sways both ways, but it has an elastic limit. These monsters have pulled it so far in one direction that a snap is inevitable. After the snap, these "freedom fighters" will be completely helpless. Thanks, Ralph! = = = = = ** I have to use the name instead of pronouns because ve or she or he or um has not properly specified ves or ums or her or his gender identity and pronouns. When a module has not specified its or sqmo's or 46's or xxqy's pronouns, no pronoun can be used. = = = = = More seriously: These little monsters could use a lesson in basic philosophy. It's a lesson that normal humans don't need, but overly intellectualized college types do need it. S.I. Hayakawa presented it best; I'll try to modernize his message..... Symbols are not things. Symbols written in ink or chalk or pixels are arbitrary representations that are associated with things in various ways by various people. For instance, a vertical line intersecting a horizontal line is not an illegal invasion of your teensy-weensy calvarium by Evil KKKristianity. It's just a vertical line and a horizontal line. In other contexts the same pair of lines represent the operation of addition, which is not illegal even by your standards. A two-dimensional pattern of lines and curves made with chalk is not the same thing as a human being named Donald J. Trump. The pattern is just a little bit of calcium dust in a peculiar arrangement. If you're allergic to calcium and you actually lick the sidewalk, perhaps the dust can hurt you. But the light waves reflecting on the chalk and entering your retinas cannot hurt you. Pointless. If the EXISTENCE OF OPINIONS DIFFERING FROM YOUR OPINION causes you pain and requires you to eliminate those other opinions, you are a dangerous murderous tyrannical bigot. You are a psychopath. You are unsalvageable.
Labels: Emersonian justice
¶ 1:05 PM
Best TV in years
Watched Man In Tree for a while.
Smart cops finally got him to climb down.
Nobody shouted "Jump!"
The crowd cheered when he touched the ground. Good crowd.
Now. How do we get monsters like these....
Ryan’s 15-minute address—he took questions afterward—was a high-minded speech from a high-minded speaker. He spoke eloquently and optimistically about why he got into public service, the nation’s founding ideals, his mentor Jack Kemp, and what politics can be. “Ideas, passionately promoted and put to the test—that’s what politics can be.That’s what our country can be,” Ryan said.... to climb down from their high trees? How do we get monsters like Ryan and Podhoretz to stop gesticulating and shouting incoherent curses? How do we reintroduce them to the reality on the ground? How do we confront them with the million people they have killed and the billion lives they have ruined? Seattle Man In Tree clearly has some well-developed talents and skills. He was comfy in his nest while the wind moved the tree around, and after 24 hours without food and water he climbed down smoothly and easily. DC Men In Trees have no skills or talents. They rely on servants to perform daily tasks. JUMP, DC Men In Trees! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!
Labels: skill-estate
¶ 12:06 PM
Reprint and add
A few months ago I noted with amusement that most of the existing candidates had PECULIAR notions of the President's job. Only Trump seemed to conceive the job accurately as a Chief Executive. I rephrased those job descriptions in 1787 Constitutional terms.
Time to reprint the list and add one. Now we have Jeb stating the job description as follows in modern terms:
"For the sake of our party and country, we must move to overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity Donald Trump has brought into the political arena, or we will certainly lose our chance to defeat the Democratic nominee and reverse President Obama’s failed policies,"
Okay, let's add this to the list.
= = = = =START REPRINT:
This is like one of those videogames with several alternate endings. Electing one of the above choices automatically alters the text of the Constitution as follows:
Trump Edition:
1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Carson Edition:
1: The President shall be a Non-Resigner of his Office in case that the Successor to the Presidency shall be, or appear to be, an adherent of the Mohammedan Religion.
Default Repoof Edition:
1: Benghazi. Benghazi. Benghazi. Benghazi. Benghazi.
Carson Edition redux:
1: The President shall be Superman in Chief, when called into Service by his X-ray Vision perceiving an armed Threat upon any School or University.
Lessig Edition:
0x00000001h: The President shall write and enforce Laws and Regulations which absolutely prohibit Citizens from expressing their Opinions by means of Money; and shall thereby guarantee that only the Wealthiest Person in the Nation shall henceforward be qualified for the Office of President.
Biden Edition:
1: The President shall be a Father who is helplessly Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing his Teeth upon the recent Decedence of his Son. No duties can be required of such a tragic Figure.
Carson Edition reredux:
1: The President shall possess Opinions, and may be Elected by Voters who mistakenly believe that he intends to enact said Opinions; but he shall never take Actions which could possibly aid in the enforcement or enactment of said Opinions.
= = = = =END REPRINT. ADDING NEW:
Jeb Edition:
1: The President shall be an Exquisitely Perfumed Eunuch who adores Fine Silks and Delicate Peruques; and shall offer a Wet Kiss to the deliciously Brutal Dark Invading Hordes streaming across our Southern Borders; and shall be a Connoisseur of the Fabulous Vintage Nectar contained in Sheldon Adelson's Noble and Refined Dick.
¶ 4:27 AM
Chatty Cathy is not a plan
Headline: Refugee sets himself alight as EU's grand plan to staunch exodus of asylum seekers unravels
Well, if the "plan" didn't work, then it wasn't a "plan" at all. Article includes a map with numbers of migrants on various Greek islands. Most of those islands have about 2000 migrants. Any competent government can deal with 2000 people at a time. Look at what happened after Katrina. THREE MILLION people from LA and Miss were evacuated into Texas in a few days. Some were settled in Houston, most eventually went back. Nobody starved, nobody ended up without a place to stay. Maximally competent government by Rick Perry, probably the most competent leader in America. Needless to say, Perry was rejected as presidential candidate by the infinitely loony Repooflican leaders.
A proper plan for this situation would start by GETTING THE FUCK OUT of Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and all other countries that have insulted
The next step would be to ship the migrants back to their home countries and pay those countries whatever it takes to rebuild. Reparations in the traditional sense. We were the aggressors, so we should be forced to pay.
The real EU "plan", of course, is the exact opposite. EU wants to slaughter all of its own citizens by proxy. That's why it continues to invade countries that insult Our Prophet, and continues to settle the migrants inside EU, does everything possible to make them maximally violent, and takes all necessary steps to guarantee that EU citizens are totally vulnerable to the violence and incapable of self-defense.
When the migrants follow EU command, EU leaders can then chant the magic incantation: "We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards. We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards. We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards. We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards." And the rest of us can paint our Facebook icons in appropriate colors, which will magically do something or other.
¶ 3:34 AM
The next step would be to ship the migrants back to their home countries and pay those countries whatever it takes to rebuild. Reparations in the traditional sense. We were the aggressors, so we should be forced to pay.
The real EU "plan", of course, is the exact opposite. EU wants to slaughter all of its own citizens by proxy. That's why it continues to invade countries that insult Our Prophet, and continues to settle the migrants inside EU, does everything possible to make them maximally violent, and takes all necessary steps to guarantee that EU citizens are totally vulnerable to the violence and incapable of self-defense.
When the migrants follow EU command, EU leaders can then chant the magic incantation: "We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards. We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards. We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards. We strongly strongly condemn in the strongest strongest terms this cowardly cowardly outrage committed by cowardly cowards." And the rest of us can paint our Facebook icons in appropriate colors, which will magically do something or other.
¶ 3:34 AM
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
They don't need a Trump
The mostly objective writers at 538 point out that Mormons don't favor Trump. In a converse way this proves the bigger point that Trump is running on.
Mormons have succeeded in building their own BORDERS within the larger community. In Utah the borders are literal; the state and the church are pretty much congruent. Elsewhere the LDS church maintains the tradition of the Mutual Benefit Societies that formerly linked all Americans together ethnically or religiously. Families give a lot to the church and get a lot in return, both economically and culturally. In modern terms Mormons are automatically 'networked'.
LDS families are thus partly insulated from the economic rot of ZIRP and QE and offshoring, and strongly insulated from the cultural rot of the external world.
If the rest of us had maintained our MBS's and our figurative borders, we'd be in a lot better shape.
Labels: defensible spaces
¶ 5:35 PM
Toldjaso
Headline:
FBI may have found way to unlock terrorist's iPhone, sidestepping legal dispute
On Monday, prosecutors filed papers at a US District court in Los Angeles saying an outside party had shown the FBI a possible way to unlock the phone at the weekend.
Toldja so.
This was never a tech issue. It was always a pissing contest.
Outside party = NSA, which had the solution long before the contest started. The real questions, which will never be answered, are (1) why Applesatan felt like pissing on Comey, and (2) why Comey decided to halt the contest.
¶ 2:15 AM
Monday, March 21, 2016
Who's got the edge?
Who's got the edge? Self-explanatory numbers:
This video from a helicopter** shows the line for Bernie snaking all around Riverfront Park, across bridges, down sidewalks, across more bridges.... Nearly 10k people showed up for a venue that holds 5k.
Needless to say, Hillary will automatically "win" the D nomination regardless of votes. Romney will automatically "win" the R nomination without even running.
And now we have a third example: RRS Henry Worsley will automatically "win" the boat nomination despite losing the vote.
Boaty McBoatface = Trumpy McTrumpface = Bernie McBernface.
Gonna be a WHOLE LOT of pissed people.
= = = = =
Later note after listening to some of Sanders's speech: He talks about inequality but his appeal to these mostly college-age listeners is just standard D boilerplate, and will actually INCREASE inequality. He doesn't mention the need to return industry, and briefly bounces off the banksters. Mainly he pushes Free College and More Money For Education. In other words, he wants to ENRICH the teacher union thugs and ENRICH college administrators. In most states, these two groups are the main drivers of standard D politics.
Sanders doesn't even try to speak for the interests of ordinary men, both white and black, who have been decimated by Immigration, Free Trade, Environment, and Banksters. Trump owns those groups exclusively.
In other words, Sanders isn't an ideological opponent of the R/D establishment; he's just a personal opponent of Hillary.
= = = = =
**Obviously from a drone, not a helicopter. I'm not modern, not accustomed to thinking of drones.
This video from a helicopter** shows the line for Bernie snaking all around Riverfront Park, across bridges, down sidewalks, across more bridges.... Nearly 10k people showed up for a venue that holds 5k.
Needless to say, Hillary will automatically "win" the D nomination regardless of votes. Romney will automatically "win" the R nomination without even running.
And now we have a third example: RRS Henry Worsley will automatically "win" the boat nomination despite losing the vote.
Boaty McBoatface = Trumpy McTrumpface = Bernie McBernface.
Gonna be a WHOLE LOT of pissed people.
= = = = =
Later note after listening to some of Sanders's speech: He talks about inequality but his appeal to these mostly college-age listeners is just standard D boilerplate, and will actually INCREASE inequality. He doesn't mention the need to return industry, and briefly bounces off the banksters. Mainly he pushes Free College and More Money For Education. In other words, he wants to ENRICH the teacher union thugs and ENRICH college administrators. In most states, these two groups are the main drivers of standard D politics.
Sanders doesn't even try to speak for the interests of ordinary men, both white and black, who have been decimated by Immigration, Free Trade, Environment, and Banksters. Trump owns those groups exclusively.
In other words, Sanders isn't an ideological opponent of the R/D establishment; he's just a personal opponent of Hillary.
= = = = =
**Obviously from a drone, not a helicopter. I'm not modern, not accustomed to thinking of drones.
Labels: Asked and answered
¶ 5:07 PM
At it again
Antichrist Francine is pushing the boundaries of sanity again....
Pope Francis in his Palm Sunday homily decried what he called indifference to the refugees flooding into Europe, making a comparison to authorities who washed their hands of Jesus’ fate ahead of his crucifixion. Francis abandoned his homily text to lament Europe’s handling of the influx of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war, persecution or poverty from Syria, Iraq, Africa and elsewhere. Palm Sunday recalls a crowd’s triumphant welcome of Jesus entering Jerusalem. But soon Jesus would be condemned to be crucified after a series of authorities declined to rule on his fate. Francis drew a parallel to that with some European countries’ refusal to take responsibility for some of the more than 1 million refugees who reached European Union shores last year after risky sea voyages arranged by smugglers. Jesus was “denied every justice,” the pope said. “Jesus also suffered on his own skin indifference, because no one wanted to take on the responsibility for his destiny.”Backwards, of course. Antichrist reverses all facts, all logic, all morality. Jesus was a NATIVE of the country that was ruled from Jerusalem. The authorities were OCCUPIERS, exactly as EU is OCCUPYING most of Europe and imposing criminal migrants on the natives. Jesus was a revolutionary by all normal standards, actively working to overthrow the government. He wasn't an unjustly accused heretic. The Roman occupiers gave Jesus a legally correct trial with plenty of opportunity to recant his revolutionary activities. Much better treatment than EU gives to the COMPLETELY INNOCENT German and Swedish women who are raped by their occupying troops. Haven't heard Antichrist defending those INNOCENT women. ¶ 8:22 AM
Two ways
In the realm of political systems, dictionary definitions are always wrong. Anyone who attempts to prove or disprove an argument with a dictionary definition of Conservative or Liberal or Socialist or Fascist has automatically lost the argument.
The wrongest of all is Socialism = State Owns Means Of Production.
When you compare allegedly Socialist countries like Sweden with allegedly Capitalist countries like USA, you find that Sweden has less state ownership.
Reality stubbornly refuses to conform to theory, but you can still use the definitions as learning tools. Convective thought:
There are two ways of reaching the Socialist condition, State Owns Means Of Production. Additive and subtractive.
You can do it the classic additive way, confiscating and nationalizing industries. OR you can subtract all production that isn't owned by the state.
The former is typical of third world revolutions like Venezuela and Cuba. Doesn't work well, because people will continue to make and sell things via the black market. [Sidenote: It worked better in Russia because Russia hadn't developed entrepreneur-style capitalism. In 1917 Russia was closer to feudal, more inclined to collective and cooperative action.]
The latter is what we have in US/UK, but not quite yet in EU. We are eliminating all production of REAL VALUE, eliminating every business that MAKES THINGS. The only PRODUCTION that remains is the production of ABSTRACT NUMBERS by the Federal Reserve, which is the State.
¶ 6:28 AM
More on stability
Continuing the topic of stability.......
I've lived in this house for nearly 25 years. Before this, I was typically changing address every year and changing jobs every three years. Those fast-changing years were more exciting and interesting, but I never had the time to develop and observe baselines. After years of stability, I can perform all sorts of experiments on daily activities and behavior, and observe little things that demonstrate laws of physics and biology.
Lately I've noticed a couple of odd Pavlovian learned responses. (1) When I take bus 22 to the NW Blvd Safeway, I always get sleepy at the same point on the route. When I'm actually short on sleep, the urge is nearly irresistible; when I'm adequate, the urge can be controlled. Makes no sense on the days with adequate sleep. Has to be Pavlovian. (2) I figured out by experiment that a little exercise around 5 AM helps to boost a good dump at 6 AM. With real exercise like shoveling snow or hacking weeds, this makes good sense. Move the upper body for 10 minutes, loosen up the innards. But it works equally well if I simply take out the trash at 5 AM. This isn't exercise at all; maybe 50 footsteps and no upper-body action. Has to be a Pavlovian response to the symbol of Being Outside.
A typical school science course has no time for baselines. The book mentions subject 1 and you read a few factoids about subject 1 and the book mentions subject 2 and you read a few factoids about subject 2 and the book mentions subject 3 and you read a few factoids about subject 3 and the book mentions subject 4 and you read a few ....
This is not science. This is just word-processing.
Ideally a science course would start a job-relevant project in first grade, then complicate and extend the project in each year thereafter. Time to form a baseline, time to acquire deep expertise on your project, time to notice the little things that really matter.
¶ 5:41 AM
Pick one, Pomeroy
Pomeroy at RCS worries about the rapid extinction of aboriginal and obscure languages. English is rolling over everything else. As people in obscure places feel the need to Go Global, they are obliged to Go English. There's no advantage in passing on the deep culture and deep metaphors of an insular language.
Needless to say, Pomeroy ALSO worries about XENOPHOBIC BUFFOON TRUMP and his parallels in EU. This column doesn't explicitly mention Trump, but it pictures him above a paragraph about Hitler and Stalin. Conclusion obvious.
Can't have both. Pick one.
If you want REAL DIVERSITY in human types and human cultures, you need WALLS. You need STRICT CONTROLS ON TRADE AND IMMIGRATION. As Shamir pointed out, immigration hurts both ends of the road. The destination country gets workers who undercut the natives, and criminals who steal from the natives. The donor country is better off without the criminal types, but it's damaged by losing dynamic and intelligent workers. (ie Brain Drain)
This is a corollary of Graybill's Law. Requoting:
The people of Free-Trade countries are therefore driven into the few occupations which are left, by reason of the destruction of their formerly more varied pursuits. Hence those diversified talents with which men are endowed are not developed but remain latent and unused, an incalculable detriment to the prosperity of their respective countries.
When you move labor around, either as laborers or as offshored manufacturing, you destroy the REAL DIVERSITY of both ends.
= = = = =
Preserving cultures and skills also requires STABILITY and SAVING. If you can't count on the laws and culture to remain constant, you aren't going to bother starting a business or a marriage. If you can't rely on a way to store value or values, you can't invest in a business or a marriage.
Fast-moving stock markets benefit only the insiders who are driving the movement. Goldman wins, everyone else loses.
Fast-moving cultures benefit only the insiders who are driving the movement. Tim Cook wins, everyone else loses.
A desire for borders and stability is NOT NOSTALGIA. It's simply SURVIVAL.
We're blowing up all of those requirements. We're fucked.
Labels: defensible spaces, Make or break, skill-estate
¶ 2:49 AM
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Speaking of the Switchover.....
I mentioned a while ago that the Fatima message needs to be switched to correspond to the Switchover of world forces.
I was uninformed!
Turns out the main organization pushing the Fatima message GETS IT in a full and proper way.
Father Apostoli believes that the 1950s was an era of “intense appreciation” of the message of Fatima, as America confronted the geopolitical challenges of Soviet communism, but by the 1970s and ’80s, interest had “fallen off” considerably, as it was “eclipsed by different things and was forgotten.” In the past 15 years, however, he believes interest has been renewed, as the United States and Western Europe have been enveloped by a different kind of communism, “atheistic secularism.” He said, “In my lifetime, we’ve seen the whole secularization of society. We’ve become a post-Christian nation. We’re not going to turn it around through politics or economics or the military — we have to respond to the requests of Our Lady of Fatima.”ON. THE. DOT. I'm not sure if prayer will help, but I'm damn sure that no secular path can help us now. We just have to watch the monsters implode.
Labels: swishover, switchover
¶ 11:11 AM
PFP syndrome
Article I didn't bother to read accuses Obama of having "Progressive Foreign Policy".
I don't think the term can be defined properly since the 1989 Switchover. Before the Switchover, the symptoms of PFP were clear in an objective sense. We were doing everything Stalin wanted us to do, while pretending to be acting in our own interests. Truman began the trick. Eisenhower partly relieved the syndrome, then JFK brought it back in full.
1. Make war against China while pretending to be fighting Russia. eg Korea and Vietnam.
2. Maintain sanctions against Cuba, helping to cement the otherwise shaky bond between Russia and Cuba.
3. Clumsy support of anti-populist regimes in Africa, allowing Russia to support the more beneficial regimes.
4. Keep making new "nuclear disarmament" treaties, always giving the advantage to Russia.
5. Use FBI to maintain false-flag "pro-Soviet" and "anti-Soviet" groups in USA. eg Socialist Workers, John Birch. Use this isometric exercise to keep America cramped and distracted so we can't see the real collaboration.
6. Use Sputnik to weaken our education system under the guise of strengthening it.
I suppose one or two of these could have been accidental, but the pattern is so consistent that I doubt it. Maximum paranoia is never enough.
What about Obama? I assume the article is bitching about his loosening of Persia and Cuba. Both of those moves are Ike-like backoffs from PFP. Relieving sanctions allows both countries to return to normal. In the historical normal both countries were generally friendly with America, and both had solid cultural and commercial connections with America. How is that Progressive?
Article I didn't bother to read accuses Obama of having "Progressive Foreign Policy".
I don't think the term can be defined properly since the 1989 Switchover. Before the Switchover, the symptoms of PFP were clear in an objective sense. We were doing everything Stalin wanted us to do, while pretending to be acting in our own interests. Truman began the trick. Eisenhower partly relieved the syndrome, then JFK brought it back in full.
1. Make war against China while pretending to be fighting Russia. eg Korea and Vietnam.
2. Maintain sanctions against Cuba, helping to cement the otherwise shaky bond between Russia and Cuba.
3. Clumsy support of anti-populist regimes in Africa, allowing Russia to support the more beneficial regimes.
4. Keep making new "nuclear disarmament" treaties, always giving the advantage to Russia.
5. Use FBI to maintain false-flag "pro-Soviet" and "anti-Soviet" groups in USA. eg Socialist Workers, John Birch. Use this isometric exercise to keep America cramped and distracted so we can't see the real collaboration.
6. Use Sputnik to weaken our education system under the guise of strengthening it.
I suppose one or two of these could have been accidental, but the pattern is so consistent that I doubt it. Maximum paranoia is never enough.
What about Obama? I assume the article is bitching about his loosening of Persia and Cuba. Both of those moves are Ike-like backoffs from PFP. Relieving sanctions allows both countries to return to normal. In the historical normal both countries were generally friendly with America, and both had solid cultural and commercial connections with America. How is that Progressive?
Labels: switchover
¶ 9:07 AM
Non-bark
Always trying to spot the non-bark....
The Trump phenomenon has accomplished several good things without even trying.
First: By consistently telling the truth and refusing to back down when confronted, Trump has brought several hundred previously UNTHINKABLE truths into the open, and empowered other truth-tellers.
Second: Many people have finally realized that the Repoofs are not about "Principle" or "Preserving Our Freedoms" or "Standing Athwart History And Yelling Stop" or any of that egregious shit. The Repoofs are only about Sheldon Adelson's dick.
Third: Many people have finally realized that Fox News is a false flag operation. Murdoch is identical to other media owners. He cynically decided to serve Repooflicans (NOT CONSERVATIVES OR RIGHT-WINGERS) as a profit-making venture. The Fox stars are an evil pile of commie fags and hags, indistinguishable from MSNBC or CNN.
Fourth: Just noticed this non-barker. Since the Trump thing got running, the media has completely lost its previous BIG STORY of "cops slaughtering unarmed African-American teens." Haven't seen one of those stories in months. Two explanations, not mutually exclusive: (1) The black-"owned" NGOs that collaborate with gangs and media to run "activism" can see the BIG STORY has shifted, so they've stopped pushing young punks into suicide. (2) Not related to Trump. Part of the pressure was coming from the infinitely evil Eric Holder. When Obama replaced Holder, the pressure decreased. Regardless of explanation, this change is good for cops AND good for young blacks.
¶ 2:19 AM
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Campaign note
Campaigners are starting to appear and produce ads here in Wash, which is unusual. In the normal procedure, both parties are totally done by now; primaries after Super Tuesday are pointless. This year is refreshingly abnormal.
Bill Clinton and Bernie will both be around here tomorrow. I'm hearing Bernie ads on the radio. And it looks like Marquito Rubio is showing up incognito.
¶ 4:52 PM
Blogday 11
Approximately the 11th anniversary of starting this blog. 10th required a long piece with picture; 11th only triggers one small thought.
As I noted before, 1950's radio and TV shows constantly used drama and comedy to help us spot frauds and scams. Media now do the opposite because everything is a scam.
The best rule was given in complete and exact form by 'This Is Your FBI':
You can't cheat a careful man who checks things before acting on them.
Checking things was somewhat difficult in 1950; now it's easy but too many people still fail to check. Investment schemes still use nonexistent patents or dummy corporations, and still fool upper-middle victims like doctors and lawyers who could afford an investigator.
The last part of the sentence, before acting, is crucial as a constraint. You can't spend time checking everything that you believe or hear or think about. Some of your beliefs and thoughts are going to be based on poor assumptions or bad facts. Unavoidable. But you need to check before you use the belief to spend money, or make war against a country that didn't attack you, or write the belief in a published and paid book, or turn the world into a black hole. Those ACTS have a wide range of consequences, but all of them are big enough to justify CHECKING.
Acting on a belief, even at the limited stage of writing, seems to trigger an innate need to check. I noticed this inverse effect after a couple years of writing this blog and making pictures where Polistra interacts with the beliefs. Before I started committing my thoughts to "paper", I trusted the government to make war. The assumptions looked wrong, but I hadn't laid them out and examined them. After I organized them with Polistra's help, I could see that Bush was not acting for America. I still haven't figured out exactly WHO he was working for; probably a combination of Israeli and Saudi interests; but it's dead certain that he's not on our side.
One more step: When you see someone acting consequentially and profitably on an assumption that you KNOW to be wrong, you can conclude someone is a criminal. The Global Warming scammers have ALL the resources necessary to check their theory. They can read the long-term temperature records just as well as anyone else. But they read the records backwards. No doubt about it, no accident. The data is perfectly clear, and the reversal is perfectly clear. Therefore the Global Warming pushers are running a racket. Same with economics. Nearly all economists use theories and "facts" about human economic behavior that are INSTANTLY disprovable, TRANSPARENTLY bizarre. Wrong in the same way as assuming that people walk upside down using their hair for pseudopods. You've never seen anyone walking on their hair, so an entire discipline based on that assumption would be laughed out of existence.
The econ assumptions about 'substitutable' purchases and 'equilibrium' are equally absurd and laughable, but we allow econs to destroy the world. Why?
= = = = =
Well, that was a long piece with picture after all.
¶ 2:48 AM
The econ assumptions about 'substitutable' purchases and 'equilibrium' are equally absurd and laughable, but we allow econs to destroy the world. Why?
= = = = =
Well, that was a long piece with picture after all.
¶ 2:48 AM
Trump the exorcist
From the start the Trump litmus has worked in a remarkable way on the Deep State. Enforcers of orthodoxy, accustomed to ruling without opposition, accustomed to living in a perfect structure of lies, have been unable to stop Trump by the usual insinuations. Their normal reversed sentences have no effect. So they start vomiting imprecations, spinning their evil heads at gyroscope speed and spraying green toxin across the landscape.
Latest puker is Brooks. I'm sort of surprised; until now Brooks had seemed capable of observing a limited slice of reality. As in Usher Syndrome, his vision was blocked except for a few degrees at the periphery. Once in a while he was able to observe and describe a truth outside of Deepstate World.
Even in the middle of this LP puke-anthem, Brooks emits a scrap of truth.... but this time the truth is reversed, used as a lie.
[Trump] has already shredded the unspoken rules of political civility that make conversation possible. In his savage regime, public life is just a dog-eat-dog war of all against all.
Clever. Civility of behavior, enforced by custom, does make it possible to discuss a range of ideas. Unfortunately we no longer live in a world where civility exists. We are in Savage Regime. Trump didn't create and impose Savage Regime. You did. Alinsky defeated civility a long time ago. Unorthodox ideas are instantly shouted down by all sides, INCLUDING BROOKS, as Brooks demonstrates in this column. So invoking civility is just a sneaky trap.
It won't work. Trump doesn't give a fuck. He is not locked into the normal rules of careerism. He enjoys saying true things and watching the gyroscopes respond.
¶ 1:58 AM
Friday, March 18, 2016
More plus ca
Just a brief item from a 1920 streetcar trade journal....
Sounds a little too familiar. Maybe Uber-familiar.
The writers at that time understood the basic problem, which hasn't changed much in 90 years. Automobiles as such weren't killing public transit and STILL haven't killed public transit. Carriage owners would never ride a streetcar. Carriage owners became auto owners who would never ride a bus.
In a dense enough city, public transit was then, and still is, the best way for poor people to get around.
Public transit was damaged and diminished by cities built purely for auto traffic. In LA or OKC or Overland Park, you simply can't get along without a car.
¶ 5:32 PM
Sounds a little too familiar. Maybe Uber-familiar.
The writers at that time understood the basic problem, which hasn't changed much in 90 years. Automobiles as such weren't killing public transit and STILL haven't killed public transit. Carriage owners would never ride a streetcar. Carriage owners became auto owners who would never ride a bus.
In a dense enough city, public transit was then, and still is, the best way for poor people to get around.
Public transit was damaged and diminished by cities built purely for auto traffic. In LA or OKC or Overland Park, you simply can't get along without a car.
¶ 5:32 PM
Astounding blindness
This article by two academic "economists", both with good tribal credentials, goes beyond the usual leftist bigotry and blindness. The authors not only miss the entire picture of what's happening in USA, they ignore the actual words of actual politicians!
Income inequality in particular has animated voters on both sides of the partisan divide, but the solutions advocated by candidates from each party are markedly different. Democrats claim higher taxes on the rich and more benefits for the poor are the best ways to reduce inequality. Republicans argue what we really need is more growth, accomplished by lowering taxes to spur work and investment with, it seems, benefit cuts to make up lost revenue.This was true in several previous elections, and partly true a year ago. It's emphatically untrue in the current election. The 'standard' Rs and the one 'standard' D are still stuck in that universe where Zero Tax is the only issue; but those 'standard' politicians aren't even talking about economics this year. They're only talking about BENGHAZI and UNIFIER NOT DIVIDER and XENOPHOBIC BUFFOONS and OUR FREEDOMS and NOT MY AMERICA. Trump and Sanders have departed from that hyperloony universe and discussed the REAL problems. Free trade, immigration, offshoring, transfer of economic power from business to abstract finance, ZIRP/NIRP/QE, profit replaced by share value. Those are the ACTUAL PROBLEMS, and Trump and Sanders are having an ACTUAL DISCUSSION of most if not all. I read this entire article to be sure the quoted paragraph wasn't just an oversight, and to be sure they weren't discussing past elections. Nope, they claim to be analyzing this year, and the real problems are not mentioned even once. Instead, the authors cobble up a complicated set of statistics that measure nothing, and then use their useless numbers to analyze a discussion that isn't happening. Their numbers are pointless because wealth is not measured as a single static number. Humans don't measure anything that way. We sense everything, INCLUDING WEALTH, as a temporal and spatial delta. Am I richer now than last year? Am I richer than my neighbors, or richer than As Seen On TV? Those are the measures that count. Again both Trump and Sanders are dealing with real human measures. Except for the Tribe and its Economists, most normal Americans are notably poorer now than last year and last decade. We work harder and get less REAL STUFF in exchange for our work. Less food, less housing, less education, less health care. Most of us understand the reason for this delta. We know it's not ZERO TAX or BENGHAZI. It's feral capitalism.
Labels: Blinded by Stats, Grand Blueprint
¶ 11:29 AM
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Drably predictable
Obama picks a corporate lawyer for Supreme Satans. Brings out the standard bigotries of BOTH sides.
Commies, who should be hotly smashing YET ANOTHER CORPORATIST, are praising the choice as sensible.
Repoofs, who should be wildly happy at YET ANOTHER CORPORATIST, are bashing the choice of yet another pro-abort.
In plain fact Obama is identical to all previous presidents, and the new nominee is identical to all nominees. Since 1803 all decisions have favored the super-rich, enforcing the satanic values of the Chosen and enforcing the monopolistic power of giant corporations. Some of the alleged "conservatives" will write contrary MINORITY opinions to maintain the facade, but only after carefully guaranteeing that the ENFORCED MAJORITY RESULT favors Satan.
Nothing has changed since the Coup of 1803.
Solution? Partial solution would be to switch the Supreme to a normal jury-based court. Full solution is to delete the entire Federal court system. It performs no useful service and creates massive quantities of raw evil. State courts can certainly do evil, but their evil would necessarily be localized and 'patchy'. International corporations require uniform international evil to kill the maximum number of poor and destroy the maximum number of normal businesses. With a patchy arrangement of tyranny in some places and comparative non-tyranny in other places, smaller businesses would have a sporting chance to survive.
Poland's new populist government is taking big steps in the correct direction, simply ignoring the criminal "decisions" of their illegitimate Supremes.
¶ 2:41 AM
Beautiful takedown
Typical satanic Numbnuts, writing in Antinature, sort of halfway gets the fact that scientists have helped to collapse their own empire by conspiring with politicians. Mainly he sees a threat to this criminal monstrosity from newly empowered Unpersons like LePen or Orban or Trump. We can't allow Unpersons to get into power! They might start to cut our empire!
Starts out okay:
The problem extends down into the community itself. We like to talk about ‘engaging the public’, but many scientists really just want to talk at them. And too many ordinary scientists hold politicians in utter intellectual contempt — even though it is the scientists who have chosen a career that allows them to pursue relatively simple problems (such as building a machine to detect gravitational waves) rather than genuinely difficult ones (such as running a social-care programme in a small town).True and valid. After this proper criticism of the usual leftist blind ignorance and bigotry, Numbnuts descends into the usual leftist blind ignorance and bigotry. Why should scientists stand back from politics? His example:
For example, they support free-trade agreements that cede the right of democratic governments to control things such as cigarette advertising or pesticide use without hard, scientific evidence. This is a political position that is pursued with great dedication by global corporations — and that is haplessly bought into by many scientists without a thought for its consequences.The only problem with free-trade treaties is that they limit the ability of nations to run HARSHER AND MORE LETHAL GENOCIDES?????????? He doesn't even begin to see the REAL problem with free-trade treaties, namely that they starve the poor and enrich the Chosen, including Big Science. Fortunately, Antinature didn't shut off comments on the article, and (so far) all the commenters have taken Numbnuts down. Nobody defends him. Highly satisfying response from several different TRUE angles. ¶ 1:47 AM
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Perfect sign
Listening to money-talk radio, noticing as always that the music on non-music radio stations is always Beatles. Popup question: Is there any music that celebrates or honors frugality, savings, thrift?
Bach did it perfectly, of course. BWV 84,THE best music. Painfully precise metaphor:
Im Schweiße meines Angesichts
will ich indes mein Brot genießen,
und wenn mein Lebenslauf,
mein Lebensabend wird beschließen,
so teilt mir Gott den Groschen aus,
da steht der Himmel drauf.
O! wenn ich diese Gabe
zu meinem Gnadenlohne habe,
so brauch ich weiter nichts.
No ZIRP in heaven.
Modern music? Can't think of any. Beatles explicitly mocked frugality with Mean Mr Mustard.
Back in the '40s there was a novelty number Stub your toe on the moon. Theme: Try for success but be proud of a more modest path after you find you're not meant to be President or Cary Grant or JP Morgan. Tolerating humility if not quite celebrating.
Literature? Emerson did it perfectly, of course. Transposed BWV 84 into prose.
Modern writing is pure Satan. A recent book had the SPECIFIC title Worst Man In The World. Why was he the worst? Because he was modest and humble and normal. Not because he was humbly concealing evil like Uriah Heep. Exactly purely completely because he was NOT A MURDEROUS PSYCHOPATH. Only psychopathic serial killers (with appropriate ethnic credentials and gender credentials and degrees, of course) are good.
You want the perfect sign of Satan's total victory? That's it.
Back in the '40s plenty of writers honored simplicity. It was the norm, not the outlier. Steinbeck and his forgotten superior competitor Kelland were all about boundaries and humility.
Cannery Row, my alltime favorite book, was explicitly about borders and subtly about frugality in various forms. Mack and Dora, the Row's social arbiters, were constantly building walls and drawing borders and defining appropriate behaviors within boundaries. Nobody had money, but everybody had unique ways of saving up labor or car parts or flog or puppies.
How about visual arts? Drama, theater, radio, TV? Pretty much zero in ALL eras. Painters in Bach's time survived by deifying the super-rich, and the habit continues. Even when evil artists are paid by governments, they still concentrate on mocking the poor and deifying the fashionable.
In the '40s, wartime posters advised us to save fats, save rubber, save gas ... but those were not promoting thrift as a permanent lifestyle. They promised postwar wealth if we could suffer through the duration. Radio and TV have always mocked thrift. Bashing the cheapskate is the easiest form of humor.
How about visual arts? Drama, theater, radio, TV? Pretty much zero in ALL eras. Painters in Bach's time survived by deifying the super-rich, and the habit continues. Even when evil artists are paid by governments, they still concentrate on mocking the poor and deifying the fashionable.
In the '40s, wartime posters advised us to save fats, save rubber, save gas ... but those were not promoting thrift as a permanent lifestyle. They promised postwar wealth if we could suffer through the duration. Radio and TV have always mocked thrift. Bashing the cheapskate is the easiest form of humor.Labels: defensible spaces
¶ 10:47 AM
Cool vs smelly
Spokane Transit is preparing another bond referendum. Yet again they're whoring after the COOOOOOOOL people in Browne's Addition by proposing COOOOOOL streetcars. Yet again they're doing NOTHING for the ordinary smelly uncool poor people who ACTUALLY RIDE THE FUCKING BUS. Service declines, stops are removed, cost goes up.
Uncool people pay more and get less. Must satisfy the COOOL ONES. Only problem is that the COOOOOL ONES will NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER RIDE A BUS no matter how cool you make it look.
Exact parallel to the Repooflican elite. Never paying any attention to the smelly horrible voters who might actually want to vote for a non-Communist candidate. Always whoring after COOOOOL Sheldon Adelson, even though Sheldon never actually donates. Doesn't matter because the mere act of offering an open ass to Sheldon Adelson's Holy Dick is sufficient to acquire God's Grace.
The Browne's Addition hippies never actually ride, but the mere act of offering an open ass to the Cool Ones is sufficient to acquire God's Grace.
It's a hyperobscene secular version of Divine Adoration or Manifest Election.
= = = = =
Disclaimer of sorts: I agree that streetcars look cool. That's why I make pictures like this....
... but I also understand that the people who actually rode streetcars before 1940 hated them, and were deliriously happy when buses replaced streetcars. Buses were more comfortable, more economical, and far more flexible.
¶ 5:29 AM
... but I also understand that the people who actually rode streetcars before 1940 hated them, and were deliriously happy when buses replaced streetcars. Buses were more comfortable, more economical, and far more flexible.
¶ 5:29 AM
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Teensy dots
Totally random and stupid thought.
Why did car stylists hate lights for so many years? They did everything possible to eliminate taillights entirely, and often tried to hide headlights behind tricky and troublesome hatches. Before 1950 the typical taillight was about one inch in diameter. Coming up on a car at night, you couldn't tell distance or width until you were too close to need lights.
This tendency was international. US, British, German, Italian cars all had teensy dots for taillights until the '50s. It couldn't be a matter of cost; the wiring and installation were the same, and the materials might have been different by a penny or two. Installing a 6" item is easier and faster than installing a 1" item, so the labor time would compensate for the pennies.
Now taillights are BIG. Maybe too big in some cases, but that's a much better deviation from midline.
Same goes for signal lights of all sorts. Directional signals came late and didn't become standard until the early '60s. Modern cars have directional indicators all over the place. Front, back, mirrors, side. Again maybe a tad too much, again it's better to err on the side of MORE visibility.
¶ 4:32 AM
This tendency was international. US, British, German, Italian cars all had teensy dots for taillights until the '50s. It couldn't be a matter of cost; the wiring and installation were the same, and the materials might have been different by a penny or two. Installing a 6" item is easier and faster than installing a 1" item, so the labor time would compensate for the pennies.
Now taillights are BIG. Maybe too big in some cases, but that's a much better deviation from midline.
Same goes for signal lights of all sorts. Directional signals came late and didn't become standard until the early '60s. Modern cars have directional indicators all over the place. Front, back, mirrors, side. Again maybe a tad too much, again it's better to err on the side of MORE visibility.
¶ 4:32 AM
Fucking reprint
The monsters involved in the Flint water mess are pointing fingers and playing the old Nobody Could Have Expected This game. Mass-murdering ratshit as always.
There are no new problems. All facts are known.
All experiments have been done, and we have all the results. Some of the info is much easier to reach now through the Web, some is harder than before. But it's all there and all accessible if you have a FEW SECONDS available.
Time for a fucking reprint, from January.
= = = = = START FUCKING REPRINT:
The most lethal idea in history is all humans are identical. No competition there.
What's Number Two? The economic parallel of Number One. Economists like to build their genocide on the foundation that all purchases are substitutable. This leads to the idiot notion of "shopping around". The most obvious recent case is Romneycare, based on "shopping around" for health care.
You can't shop around. Absolutely impossible. Getting approved by an insurer or HMO is a long and uncertain process. It can take six months, and you're completely at risk during those months. Bad enough before insurance was REQUIRED; now the uncertainty puts you in an illegal position with no definite way out.
It doesn't matter which insurer has a better advertised price. The only SANE AND LEGAL approach is to HOLD what you've got.
There is EXACTLY ONE instance where price by itself determines purchase. When two gas stations are on opposite corners, the one with a lower price on the sign will get more business. That's it. That's the ONLY ONE.
Today's news features a literally lethal instance of economoid thinking:
Disclaimer: Polistra is not really puzzled by this choice. She agreed, for a NON-CHEAP price, to simulate puzzlement for the sake of the cartoon.
= = = = = END FUCKING REPRINT.
Note especially the ref to 1920 MUNICIPAL journal. That means ABOUT CITIES. Flint is a CITY. I found the info about corrosive water in 30 seconds. Didn't need to hire any consultants because I didn't want a way to hide my actions or displace blame. I just wanted FACTS and I found FACTS that have been KNOWN FOR 90 FUCKING YEARS.
¶ 1:51 AM
All experiments have been done, and we have all the results. Some of the info is much easier to reach now through the Web, some is harder than before. But it's all there and all accessible if you have a FEW SECONDS available.
Time for a fucking reprint, from January.
= = = = = START FUCKING REPRINT:
The most lethal idea in history is all humans are identical. No competition there.
What's Number Two? The economic parallel of Number One. Economists like to build their genocide on the foundation that all purchases are substitutable. This leads to the idiot notion of "shopping around". The most obvious recent case is Romneycare, based on "shopping around" for health care.
You can't shop around. Absolutely impossible. Getting approved by an insurer or HMO is a long and uncertain process. It can take six months, and you're completely at risk during those months. Bad enough before insurance was REQUIRED; now the uncertainty puts you in an illegal position with no definite way out.
It doesn't matter which insurer has a better advertised price. The only SANE AND LEGAL approach is to HOLD what you've got.
There is EXACTLY ONE instance where price by itself determines purchase. When two gas stations are on opposite corners, the one with a lower price on the sign will get more business. That's it. That's the ONLY ONE.
Today's news features a literally lethal instance of economoid thinking:
The damage stems from a decision two years ago by the state -- which had taken over the city's budget amid a financial emergency -- to save money by switching Flint's water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. It was billed as a temporary cost-saving measure until a new supply line to Lake Huron was ready. It turned out the river water was highly corrosive -- 19 times more corrosive than the water in Lake Huron ... the water was eroding the iron water mains, turning water brown. The corrosive water also sent lead into the water supply, because about half of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead.Gasoline price-shopping is possible because all gasoline has been manufactured to a single standard. That's simply not true of water. Didn't they even do a chemical analysis before making the switch? Jesus. Not exactly a new concept. 1920 Municipal Journal lists the corrosive compounds that can ruin iron pipe.
Disclaimer: Polistra is not really puzzled by this choice. She agreed, for a NON-CHEAP price, to simulate puzzlement for the sake of the cartoon.
= = = = = END FUCKING REPRINT.
Note especially the ref to 1920 MUNICIPAL journal. That means ABOUT CITIES. Flint is a CITY. I found the info about corrosive water in 30 seconds. Didn't need to hire any consultants because I didn't want a way to hide my actions or displace blame. I just wanted FACTS and I found FACTS that have been KNOWN FOR 90 FUCKING YEARS.
¶ 1:51 AM
Monday, March 14, 2016
Why robots aren't ready yet
Fairly breezy today. Lots of 25, occasional 35, and ... 159?????
This record is from an automated weather station. Amazingly, the Weather Bureau's software detected a potential problem. Normally it would let such a reading pass.
Fairly breezy today. Lots of 25, occasional 35, and ... 159?????
This record is from an automated weather station. Amazingly, the Weather Bureau's software detected a potential problem. Normally it would let such a reading pass.Labels: Metrology
¶ 5:32 PM
WOW!
Putin starts pulling out of Syria.
Get in. End war. Get out.
This is how HEROIC NATIONS behave.
THANKS, PUTIN!
We won't learn anything, of course. Most likely we'll restart the war to resume satisfying the infinite blood-hunger of Our Prophet Netanyahu. The only good part is that we won't be able to blame Russia for the restart. The whole world will know that the infinite evil is OURS, ALL OURS.
TOLDJA SO. TOLDJA SO. TOLDJA SO.
TOLDJA SO. TOLDJA SO. TOLDJA SO.Labels: Гром победы
¶ 12:34 PM
