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More on cavefish
EvolutionNews writes about a new study of blind cavefish, showing experimentally that the loss of pigmentation is epigenetic. Not surprising, given the transient nature of cave water. In 2020 I wrote about an earlier study on the eye gene, also showing that it’s a fast-moving epigenetic change, not a slow random mutation. = = =…
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Should learn
The current mess should be a learning experience for people who still believe that the president is an active participant in government. We’ve seen forcefully that the current occupant is not capable of participating. The same thing happened with Reagan, who was senile in the last two or three years of his term (at least).…
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On the end of ends
Cited in previous, worth a reprint. = = = = = WW2 ended precisely and meaningfully with VE and VJ day. Deepstate swore NEVER AGAIN to let a war end. From then on, all wars would continue forever, and the agencies and budgets needed to conduct the wars would go on forever. Korea wasn’t meant…
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Broader thought about narrower thought
Following immediately on the neurological connection of annoyance. Noticed this Chomsky quote in a random selecton of memes. = = = = = START CHOMSKY: The smart way to keep people obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion but allow lively debate within that spectrum, even encourage the more critical and dissident…
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Jectoons is on the mark
I haven’t looked at the work of Jectoons in a while. He’s done several powerful pieces lately, matching his previous definitive statement on AI. Art IS Labour. Capitalists see Art as just another trading card for betting and securitizing.
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It’s just neurology, twice
Two puzzles solved by simple neurology. = = = = = (1) Journalists and politicians wonder why we’ve stopped listening to them. On the D “side”, Repeat JANUARY_6_VIOLENT_INSURRECTION thousands of times, and it becomes a background hum. Repeat EXISTENTIAL_THREAT_TO_OUR_DEMOCRACY thousands of times and it’s no longer salient. On the R “side”, Repeat ZERO_TAX thousands of…
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One big mistake
Michael Kochin makes an excellent proposal but misses the history entirely and treats all the standard consensus positions as real. Kochin is mostly echoing an earlier book by Paul Feyerabend. He says that in the 1700s western culture decided to separate church from state, but didn’t anticipate the later replacement of church by Science. He…
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Uganda reminds me
Uganda’s monetary defense against our cultural imperialism reminds me of this point. I was exploring this concept in late 2019, just in time to have it in my ‘reserves’ when Deepstate’s 2020 holocaust struck. = = = = = START 2019 REPRINT: Continuing with Del Giudice’s magnificently productive question about mental defensible spaces against pathogens.…
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Uganda joins the cultural defense
The move toward a gold standard is spreading through Africa. Uganda is working toward the same goal, though not yet firming up the decision as Zimbabwe did. = = = = = START QUOTE: The Bank of Uganda said it will directly purchase bullion from artisanal miners in a move that will also support government…
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Not a presidential resonance
Allegedly Biden’s latest “make or break” appearance is a press conference tonight, mysteriously named Big Boy. He will continue to have “make or break” appearances, each more broken and each more reassuring to his Cult Of Personality. Big Boy has two resonances in my mind, neither exactly presidential. First, Frisch’s Big Boy is a drivein…
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Taint funny, Fibber
Pamela Anderson has started writing on Substack. Well, there goes the neighborhood. Substack is now past tense.
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It’s all in the TEST DRIVE.
Listening as usual to the auto dealer training films at night. They always emphasize the crucial importance of the TEST DRIVE. Persuasion and advertising might bring the prospect into the office, but only the TEST DRIVE can sell him the car. Duane Jones made the same point for soap and food products. SAMPLE the product…
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Somebody had the right idea
Our cowhands wore boots and chaps to protect their legs from sagebrush and thistles and cactus. I’ve always wondered why they didn’t give their horses similar protection. Via Vintage.es, some French farmers fitted their donkeys with leftover trousers to guard the legs against flies and mosquitoes and thistles. Since the donkeys were just pulling plows…
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Worst of both systems
Continuing from the Person Of The King. I’ve made this comparison hundreds of times now and it’s still valid. Execs of corporations get painlessly retired with a golden parachute when they’re incompetent or unsuitable for any reason. The only exception is when he’s the founder, like Elon or Henry Ford. Even in small businesses the…
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Scrollwave
Random thought. Scrolling through media on the web is the modern equivalent of tuning across the bands on shortwave. Shortwave broadcasting was killed by the web, much more firmly and directly than other media. With a good receiver and good propagation conditions, you could find every kind of entertainment or news in every language, plus…
Polistra's Mill
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