Author: polistra
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No need to interpret this dream.
Unlike the previous one, this morning’s dream was explicit and positive. I was at some kind of party. An older Jewish professor started haranguing me, trying to persuade me to attend Yom Kippur in Virginia Beach (?????) so I would meet a nice Jewish girl and become normal. He got clumsily violent, pushing and prodding…
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Counterintuitive
Pew has a counterintuitive survey about news influencers. The result: ‘News Influencers’ are a lot more balanced than we think. Most of them treated Harris and Trump evenly. The specifically partisan Influencers do fit our stereotype, but partisans are NOT the majority of Influencers. Pew defines a News Influencer as one person, not representing an…
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Hadn’t thought about this.
Somebody made a complaint about social media that I hadn’t heard before. Instagram and other video modes restrict artistic expression by standardizing the video size. Is this a fussy artsy complaint? Not at all. Real design always starts with proportion. The same basic parts can look better, or be more informative, when the proportions are…
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Another good development!
The NGOs that profit from government grants to exploit immigrants and poor people and enrich the CEOs are starting to feel the pinch. Catholic Charities, implementing the Bergoglian mission of ruining local workers by importing cheap labor … which is also uncoincidentally the Wall Street mission … is having to lay off part of its…
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Surprisingly good!
Headline: The end of science’s peacetime. The headline of this article sounds like just another standard defense of the vicious science-deepstate axis. Fortunately I took time to read the article. Like Canada’s response to Trump’s tariffs, the author is pointing out WHY science is vulnerable to threats like Trump. He hits all the points correctly!…
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Firm rule until 2016
Media are noting that Tesla fans are disillusioned with their perfect car and its perfect cult leader. Shouldn’t be a surprise. Getting involved in unnecessary disputes was ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS strictly forbidden by ALL rules of persuasion and salesmanship and advertising, from the New Testament to Dale Carnegie to Duane Jones. Boost the advantages of…
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One obvious, one mystery
For some reason** I just now noticed two firm social patterns in the 1950s. The first is universal and easily explained. The second is highly particular and unexplained. = = = = = 1. Males always called males by last name. Females called everyone by first name. This applied between teachers and students, and among…
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Raking record
Time to start the roof-raking record for this winter. As always, this should be in my private daily worklog, but I started doing it here, so I’ll continue the tradition. = = = = Last winter started late and needed only one raking. 2/6/2025 First raking of the season. EXTREMELY late; normally most of the…
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Utter lunacy
Our “city” “government” has been unspeakably corrupt and incompetent for at least 30 years. It steadfastly refuses to take care of real problems, instead pouring money and effort into bizarre insane symbolic hypershit that nobody needs or wants except the alleged “council” and so-called alleged “mayor”. Latest example, quoted in full: = = = =…
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Status inversions
Earlier I noticed that leather reversed its status rather suddenly in the mid 30s. Buggies had leather seats because leather is waterproof. The earliest automobiles were buggies plus motors, and continued as fully open vehicles with leather seats. As closed cars became more common in the 20s, cloth upholstery became the sign of status. The…
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Non-random thought
Canadians understand Trump better than US Democrats, Repooflicans and media understand Trump. Canadians recognize that Trump’s words are NOT promises or proposals. Everything he says is aimed at creating emotions in the listener. Sometimes he’s just keeping the cultists in the fold, sometimes he’s threatening a horrible fate to achieve a much smaller goal in…
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Good proposals, won’t happen.
The Edelman outfit has done its annual Trust Barometer. In nearly all countries, normal people hate their leaders of all types. Needless to say, rich fuckheads trust other rich fuckheads, but humans distrust all rich fuckheads. Edelman describes the facts correctly, and even proposes some pretty good solutions. Listen, respect, stop fucking people over, try…
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Following the Cuban model?
Canada seems to be picking up the old Cuba/Persia/Russia attitude. When the US empire sanctions you, DEVELOP YOUR OWN SKILLS so the US monster will have less leverage and less damage. Canada’s officials seem to recognize that Trump is the most unpredictable disaster in the world, so they aren’t counting on his reprieve. Instead, they’re…
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Philco = medieval
The Philco Rule: Sell merchandise that doesn’t come back to customers who do come back. Good manufacturers avoid quantity. They make high-quality products that don’t come back, and they interact with customers to maintain the products. Good lawyers avoid trials and judgments. They negotiate and interact to reach a plea deal or a settlement. Good…
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What does it mean?
This recent upload at Periscope Films is pushing college education, mostly aimed at law school and police careers. It was meant to be shown in high school classes. Key statement: “25 years ago, only 1 out of 12 high school students went on to college. Today, 1 out of 3 go on to college. What…
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