-
Third Shift Workers Day
Today is Third Shift Workers Day. I often worked the graveyard shift, and worked it reliably and solidly. I was completely useless on 8-5. This oil clock was developed in the 1600s as a timer and light for scribes and illuminators working through the night. It provided light for scribal work, and simultaneously measured the…
-
Spies are bunk
A random online article about the spy games played by auto companies reminded me of a larger parallel. = = = = = In the 50s and 60s car mags highlighted the trickery and skullduggery of industrial espionage. Each company guarded its new models and inventions carefully, each company paid spies and defectors to gather…
-
Bitcoin reprint from 2015
Some of us recognized quickly that bitcoin was a fraud. = = = = = START 2015 REPRINT: It’s nice to see attempts to impose facts on the bitslave types. It won’t work, but it leaves the bitiots without ANY excuse for their criminal activity. We already know from simple logic that the entire purpose…
-
Good work but won’t help
Via Spokesman-Review, the suburb of Spokane Valley has banned bitcoin ATMs after a romance scam via bitcoin led to a suicide. Good work, Valley. BUT THIS BAN SHOULD BE NATIONAL, not just a few scattered cities. The whole realm of bitcoin in all of its ramifications should be permanently banned. Of course bitcoin WOULD be…
-
Before wipers
Why did windshield wipers start relatively late in the development of cars? Partly because closed cars with glass windshields were late. But windshields were common for 10 years before wipers became standard. Visors were an adequate solution for quite a while, just as porches and roof overhangs are adequate for houses. Some visors were extensions…
-
Actions count
The “Pope” celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Vatican Press, urging Romans to read printed books. It’s good advice but too late. Rome persecuted printers for a long time until they gained enough control of the technology to encourage it. Rome killed Tyndale. Actions are stronger than words. Leo started out with a strong appeal…
-
Even the redditors hate it!
A couple months ago I was disgusted when Safeway stores turned into prison-like experiences. In a lunatic “city” like Spokane they have no choice. Without the locked doors and turnstiles, the criminals and bums will grab everything. I wrote: = = = = = START REPRINT: The demonic “government” of the “city” of “Spokane” steadfastly…
-
Tired lament and good question
This editorial appeared in Western Architect in 1924. Some of it was the standard generational lament, some of it was specific and accurate. Is the world losing its sense of beauty? It would seem so. Has the ugliness of war, the unrest and delirium of peoples, destroyed all appreciation for things beautiful, and permeated all…
-
Unneeded centralizing
“News” item: Canvas (Instructure) is down nationwide during finals, blocking access to the LMS for thousands of colleges and K-12 schools. Early reports suggest a ransomware or hack with ransom demands, disrupting grading, submissions, and communication. The outage coincides with peak end-of-semester activity, prompting emergency responses and renewed scrutiny of edtech dependencies in higher education.…
-
Other way around
Chatbots are honeytraps. They give respect and affection to starved people in return for cult loyalty. Some activists are calling this loyalty “AI psychosis”. Nope, got it backwards. We don’t need to cure the trapped man, we need to cure the environment that enables the trap. Our culture and economy have been intentionally depriving men…
-
Strange then
Seen on Substack: I’ve asked at several restaurants recently for a business card and the young staff just look at me as if I am crazy. I take it that asking for business cards is an indication of my advanced age, akin to asking for a phone directory or perhaps a wax tablet and a…
-
Baldoleth
Noticing a pretty solid shibboleth. At least 70% of podcasts on Youtube are done by AI now. The speech movements are obviously mechanical, not much better than what Poser and Blender could do 20 years ago. The human figures are MUCH more realistic now. They’re all young and attractive with nice hair. Mostly male, at…
-
Mutuality revives?
Interesting development. Spirit Airlines failed to achieve a merger, so it’s immediately starting to shut down. A crowdfunding movement has so far raised $22 million in pledges toward a MUTUAL OWNERSHIP arrangement. The biggest unanswered question is the existing owners. They’ve already decided to shut down, which is the sole purpose of American capitalism. Kill…
-
Proved my point
Somebody on substack wrote a good (and old) hint for authors: Don’t spend the first part of the book establishing genealogy and motives. Get down to action first, then the reader will be INTERESTED in the reasons for the action. I agreed and added that classical music worked like this until the modernists spoiled it.…
Polistra's Mill
Be your own beacon.
Polistra's Mill 