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Recognizing superior talent
I used to be a clever procrastinator. I could dream up all sorts of “reasons” for not doing a task. I gave up the habit about 20 years ago. Now I do the hard dull stuff first because it frees me to do creative and productive things with no threat darkening the horizon. When I…
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Right culprit, wrong reason
Rushfield writes an extended lament over the parallel collapse of Hollywood and the country. He blames the Boomers for causing the problems. He’s right about the guilt but not about the reason for the guilt. Technical change is NOT INEVITABLE. It’s not gravity or weather. Technical change is a HUMAN DECISION, and in the current…
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Pointless gripe
Old radio announcers were carefully trained to provide clarity in the spoken word. They took pains to distinguish names or words that sounded the same. Modern announcers and podcasters didn’t learn the craft. It’s glaringly obvious in the coverage of Sammy’s trial. They routinely and consistently say SBF and FTX and FTT and FTC and…
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Reprint from Nov 17, 2016
Linked in previous, worth a reprint. The date is important because it proves that Trump’s true nature was visible even before the inauguration. = = = = = START REPRINT: I’m still impressed by the fireworks aimed at a shimmering hologram of “Trump”. The hologram is talking about changing the status quo, and the forces…
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Not astonishing at all
Via DailyMail: Trump lied about abortion, lied about “woke” stuff, and thinks people who live for any purpose except glorifying Trump are suckers and losers. Supposedly this is “astonishing”. No need for secret revelations. All of this was perfectly obvious during the 2016 scampaign. Most of it was obvious from Trump’s life history. He was…
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Nice salute to country papers
American Radio Library added a station album from WTAQ in Green Bay. Most albums are predictable, with a selection of station employees pretending to work, plus a selection of famous network personalities. This one is different. It includes short features on several small towns served by WTAQ. Normally a feature on a small town would…
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The magic lantern oscilloscope
I bumped into this item sideways. I was looking at a peculiar early typewriter designed by Wheatstone. Since I’m addicted to Wheatstone I tried to animate it, but it was poorly described and pictured. The article noted that it was built by a Mr Pickler, so I started looking in that direction for more info.…
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Why is this controversial?
Bloomberg analyzes some important cases for this year’s Supremes. They consistenly treat “adhering to the written law” as far far far far ultra ultra right fascist, and treat “ignoring written law” as moderate and centrist. In ANY OTHER CONTEXT, following the written law would be the automatic default, and ignoring the written law would be…
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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…
Polistra's Mill
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Polistra's Mill 