Author: polistra
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Waggles and rods
= = = = = = VECTOR MEASUREMENT PART 1 OF 2 = = = = = Following from the Medieval Metrology series last month. Medieval land measures were vector, not rectangular. The base unit was time and work, not distance and weight. With land as with money, the base was one day of work…
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Waggles and stars
= = = = = VECTOR MEASUREMENT PART 2 OF 2 = = = = = Continued from Part 1 on medieval land area. Surveying is a mechanized way of doing the waggle dance. It includes all three dimensions when measuring the height of a distant building or tree or mountain. I tried a real…
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Weirdest dream
Worth recording…. This morning’s dream surpassed the 2011 WEERDX PEEBLEX dream in outright weirdness. I was kidnapped by a young MALICIOUS descendant of Henry Ford. He gathered us into a cult based on cursive handwriting, drove us around in his Model T, and left us in a hole filled with mosquitoes. I climbed out and…
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Starting to do the right thing!
NPR and PBS are appealing to the public to support them, now that congress has cut off their subsidies. The basic fact, ignored by both “sides” to maintain their shared lies, is that NPR and PBS were already commercial, mainly supported by advertising and pledges. Only 15% of NPR’s money was from the government. I…
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Ready for purchase!
I think Substack is ready to be bought by a Venture Capitalist. It has reached VC Nirvana. 99% MSNBC, only 1% CS Lewis misquotes. The MSNBC is divided into (1) Betty Friedan era feminists discussing nothing but menopause, (2) anti-peasant screechers, and (3) defenders of the “virus” concentration camp. Nearly perfect now, just have to…
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Couldn’t happen now
This is a reminder of how thoroughly the New Deal had reformed and fixed America, with a remarkably durable effect. In the 60s, capitalism was still firmly controlled, trade was beneficial, and the stock market was forced to do the unthinkable: INVEST IN PRODUCTION. In ’62 Chrysler was no threat to GM. It had been…
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Real newspaper
I trust the local Facebook group for news because it gives me NEWS, not a batch of meaningless political gossip. It tells me what’s happening here and now, not what DNC thinks. It also provides some damn good entertainment!
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Shouldn’t be impressive
This is impressive! In a sane world it wouldn’t be impressive; it would be the expected default attitude of a state or provincial governor. We aren’t in a sane world. The premier of New Brunswick says clearly and firmly that her purpose, and the purpose of the province, is to build and strengthen Canada. The…
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Mexico does FDR!
Mexico is getting SERIOUS about implementing the New Deal. I haven’t been looking much at other countries; somebody on Substack mentioned it. I googled it and found very little coverage in any US “news” sources; it was discussed in a few tech insider publications. The protections were signed into law last month after a year…
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Unnecessary offshoring
A few years ago I started eating okra again. It was familiar and loved in Oklahoma, and I still love it. The frozen okra in Safeway comes from China! Why not from Dixie where it’s a common crop? I guess Dixie is still under a complete sanction and blockade. Our insane grudges never go away.…
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Chickenshit cowards
The clickbaiters in “media” and “congress” are playing the usual stupid talking points game with the latest pretend “revelations” about Epstein. Was Trump on the list? “Congress” demands that the admin must release the list. In the first place, “revelations” never reveal. FOIAs are carefully censored. Deepstate never lets out the facts in a meaningful…
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Nicely understated
The back of a Hershey chocolate bar has some recipes under the headline ‘Great for Any Occasion!’ It’s rare to find something cheerful and non-political on a package, amid all the required nonsense about GMO and Gluten and such. But this bit of advertising is actually understated. Nobody needs an Occasion for chocolate! Hershey could…
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Worth supporting
I know that local “elections” are mythical. I still make marks on ballots to register a survey response, though I know decent people will never be allowed to take office. Manweller’s Rule. One candidate for council in this part of town got my “vote” and a donation. Chris Savage is working class. Currently a truck…
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Shocking but didn’t seem right
Saw this pair of graphs, credited to NYTimes. Industry was dominant everywhere in 1990, now healthcare is dominant everywhere. First response was Yup, that’s exactly what happened. Then I stood back and compared with what I know from tech history and experience. On the 1990 end, industry was never dominant in most states. It was…
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Leonardo da Jersey
Postal inspectors busted the latest giant Ponzi, a New Jersey racketeer who called himself NJ Flipper. = = = = = START LONG QUOTE: Cesar Pina provided services for narcotics traffickers, bribed a government official, and defrauded unsuspecting investors out of millions of dollars, all for personal gain. Under the guise of being an entrepreneur…
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