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Great line
Denyse at MindMatters turns out a couple of classic lines! But an overarching theme has been the need to promote the idea of a gradual development of human-like intelligence. As it happens, ancestors way stupider than their descendants are just not what paleontologists have been digging up. And histories that are made up rather than…
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Can’t walk and chew bombs
Alisdair MacLeod discusses international banking. He has an important observation around the 15 minute mark. In our frenzied permanent obsession with obliterating Russia, we took our attention off the Middle East. Those countries realized that our Machiavellian dividing force was absent, so they made peace! All the fake enemies we created are now getting along…
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This one is personal
One of the Substackers went back to the martyrdom of Magufuli, and mentioned that Dlamini, the prime minister of Swaziland, also died “of” “the” “virus” in late 2020. I hadn’t heard this before. Checking BBC, it’s true. Unlike Magufuli, this martyrdom is sort of indirectly personal for me. Back in the ’90s one of the…
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Three steals
I finally had to sign up for Twitter (indirectly via Google) because Elon has blocked all non-members. I have no desire to write anything there, but I do need to see the Weather Bureau’s storm info. The Bureau has its own website and Facebook feed, but only the Twitter keeps up with fast-moving storms. Lots…
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Big Bezos is watching
AOL’s mail was recently remodeled to feature an ad along with every inbox. Today’s ad reveals what we already know: the ad servers are always watching. Amazon sees that I’ve been writing about Zenith. Admittedly this isn’t nearly as intrusive as the ads that respond to what you’ve been whispering near your cellphone, but I…
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Bungalow topology
On yesterday’s walk through an unfamiliar block, noticed an atypical house. It’s a rancher turned sideways, with the narrow end forward. These houses were a common way of creating ‘variety’ in the 50s, but not common around here. First thought: Ranchers were originally bungalows turned sideways, so a rancher turned sideways is just a bungalow…
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Needs more AI
Noticed this on Reddit: I was in Virginia this week and made some subs. Just edited this piece and wrote “Small town Virginia”, now its under Niantic review. I forgot about “Virgin” being a no-no word. It has too be frustrating for those who live there or West Virginia. I don’t know what Niantic is,…
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Repetition isn’t bad
Denyse at MindMatters says: Hollywood has been developing a culture that welcomes AI-generated content with its tendency to pressure writers to fit a formulaic narrative structure instead of encouraging them to pursue real creativity and collaboration. Well, this is hardly new. Mass entertainment has always been a repetitive product, and that’s a good thing. Humans…
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Reversion to preversion
RFK has turned the “conservatives” back into environmentalists, which is where the movement started. Before 1968, the OCD obsession with dirt was mainly associated with Birchers and evangelicals. See preverting my vital bodily fluids and see Late Great Planet Earth. Suddenly the “conservatives” are TRUSTING Federal reports when the reports make the case for Horrible…
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Zenith origins
Earlier this year I modeled some of Zenith’s more famous and interesting products. How did Zenith start? It was a classic garage inventor story. Ralph Mathews had a unique talent for mechanical invention, and he also had pretty good connections and luck. He started the right business at the right time. Mathews was building and…
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Another pop, another 2019 reprint
Another 2019 reprint, this time with a new thought appended. = = = = = START REPRINT: KSHS has resumed adding new items regularly. One of the new items, a store ledger, triggered curiosity which led to a much more interesting older item. A ledger from the store that was outfitting fur traders in the…
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Popped, so reprinted
For no particular reason, this concept popped into what’s left of my mind. Decided to reprint in honor of the pop. = = = = = START 2019 REPRINT: I wonder what Sam Johnson would think. He defined a lexicographer as a harmless drudge. Modern lexicographers are mass murderers. Words have always been weapons for…
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Dixie frustration
The Dixie takeover was already underway before the “virus” NAZI TORTURE CAMP advanced it dramatically. Governors who assisted this takeover have a huge argument on their side. They could be saying: I gave my state peace and prosperity and freedom, while other governors were giving their states riots and strangulation and unemployment. If you elect…
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Making the case, fucking the case
Perfect contrast between two pieces on the writers strike and AI and such. (1) The Ankler flawlessly makes the case that AI is worth worrying about, and a strike to control it is worth supporting. He rigorously avoids all politics and religion and cultural crap, following the oldest persuasive advice to perfection. Fairness Doctrine all…
Polistra's Mill
Be your own beacon.
Polistra's Mill 