Author: polistra
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Classic Mach
There are two bright spots in the current horrendous landscape: Jerome Powell and Unions. After 50 years of collaborating with the corporate demons, SOME unions are regaining their proper anticorporate gumption. (Or Gomption.) The Hollywood writers have achieved a remarkable victory, getting everything they really wanted. Earlier I was unsure of their tactics and destination,…
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Not so simple.
Denyse says: The CBC, like all similar media, dates back to the days when news was hard to find. That hasn’t been true for decades now. Govt efforts to save them (eg Bill C-18) are stifling Canadians. Americans, look out: Your legacy media might want it for you next. Not quite so simple. News was…
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Social media isn’t monolithic.
One of my father’s science parables: All Aztec Indians walk single-file. At least the one I saw did. = = = = = Lately I’ve been noticing a vague distinction, which sharpened up after Substack introduced its twitteroid ‘Notes’ feature. Now Substack is much more like Twitter, packed with meaningless and VICIOUS disputes between meaningless…
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Metawait 2
I’m deeply enjoying the failure of bitcoin. Fine vintage Schadenfreude**. One of the podcasters mentioned that mining one Bitcoin now costs $45k, but the coin only sells for $26k, with no hope of ever rising again to a profitable level. Wait! Why didn’t I think of this before? Nvidia makes the processors that grind up…
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Metawait!
Listening as usual to old FBI radio shows in my bedtime playlist, grumping as usual about the audacious fakery of the stories. At one point near the end, Special Agent Taylor always slaps his forehead. “Wait! Why didn’t I think of this before? Let’s check those phone records again.” The real FBI never realizes things…
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Landline is better than ever
A couple weeks ago I was bitching as usual about the tech suckers who insist on using NSA’s web for their “decentralized” and “private” bitcoin systems. I said The common carriers are STILL THERE. The wired landline system is still strong and still maintained by Bell Tel. In fact it’s stronger than before. A few…
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Measuring modularity?
Continuing the theme of modularity with a reprint from 2018. = = = = = Why isn’t there a standard Scale for Modularity vs Centralization? As I’ve discussed forever, Nature is perfectly modular. From the ‘organelles’ inside a cell, to cells, to tissues, to organs, to complete organisms, to colonies of organisms, every layer has…
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Not so thorny
Mattingly at GetReligion lists some questions he would ask candidates at “debates”. He’s fully realistic about the idiocy of these “debates”, and acknowledges that he’s dealing in wishful fantasy. Some of the questions are thorny. “If states shouldn’t interfere with parental rights by requiring trans surgery, what about circumcision?” The thorns go away when you…
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1816 = 2023
Looking for more material on Magic Lanterns, this 1816 pamphlet came up. Thaumaturgus, or the Wonders of the Magic Lantern. It’s not a guide to creating Magic Lantern displays. The author uses a Magic Lantern show as an extended conceit to display a harsh picture of society. The situation and the characters are PERFECTLY FAMILIAR…
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Solving a puzzle
Sailer asks why Deepstate is endorsing and undermining Elon at the same time. I’ve always been puzzled by this paradox, starting with Nixon. He served Deepstate much more effectively than other presidents, but he got punished and removed. Trump is identical to Nixon. He gave Wall Street everything it wanted, and gave the CDC demons…
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Statusometer
Curbside Classic features a 1969 Motor Trend article comparing the three luxury brands. As always, MT tested everything from braking to G-force to suspension characteristics. They concluded that Lincoln was the best by car guy standards, but they also recognized that luxury buyers aren’t car guys. So they found a way to test STATUS, which…
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GOOD question
In a Bloomberg podcast today, the host asked a GOOD question. The guest got distracted and didn’t answer the question; I don’t think she was consciously avoiding it. Question: For many years financial media have told us dozens of times each day that The Market Baked In a war or inflation, or The Market Priced…
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Bricsit?
Boris wanted Brexit to free up his own murderous impulses. Even so, disconnecting from EU made sense for Britain, which traditionally traded with its own empire. Britain fought two wars to halt Kraut aggression, and then surrendered to Kraut aggression through EU. Now the old imperial ties are starting to regrow. Via UKExpress, Britain is…
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More interesting fact
I was curious to see if the shutoff of QE has changed the media side of politics yet. Parties might be getting less money from ‘dark’ corporate sources? If there’s any difference, it’s too early to see in publicly available stats. QE halted in early 2022, and the effects are still rippling through various layers.…
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Another Fairness Doctrine comedian
Alex Velluto is another modern comedian who sticks to the Fairness Doctrine and shows a DEEP understanding of the facts of life. Despite meritocracy and Cinderella stories, being popular or unpopular is an innate permanent trait. Unpopular people need to stop wasting effort on an unachievable goal, and seek satisfaction more creatively. Velluto also takes…
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