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Who’s royal?
I gave up on Boris when he joined the Ballgag Brigade. Previously I was something of an Anglophile, keeping close track of British stuff. Here’s an event that caught my attention again. Apparently Boris is expected to resign today, or at least make a dramatic statement. Two of his top ministers publicly mocked him in…
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WTF is wrong with insurers, part 541679
I’ve been asking this question since ZIRP started in 2009. Insurers and pension funds are required to stick with dependable interest-bearing investments. When ZIRP started, anyone could see that insurers and pension funds would either collapse or force the banks to retract the terrible decision. But insurers didn’t lobby for changes in their restrictions, and…
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It’s just QC
Chart from the latest Gallup poll: This is a good sign of sanity on the human side. Most people understand who’s human and who’s demon. There’s some predictable R/D difference on media, since media is part of DNC. But even Ds are mostly negative (30% confidence) on newspapers and TV. Last week I was puzzling…
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Renewing the pledge
Polistra and friends stand in solidarity with SCIENCE AS ENTERTAINMENT, attempting to form a counterbalance to the endlessly renewed tyranny of SCIENCE AS DEMONIC TORTURE AND HOLOCAUST. Science as entertainment was first presented here.
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More on the two pies
Continuing from here, on the economic similarity and political distinction between the tech IPOs (unicorns) and the bitcoin world. There’s another similarity, less obvious but possibly more important. Both of these Innovative Disruptions depend on massive quantities of cheap energy. In other words they depend on COAL. Bitcoin is being starved from two sources. The…
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Fuck verified
A few days ago I noticed “ballgags encouraged” in the store, and a verbal announcement in the bus. At that time I didn’t see any official mentions on media or websites. Now it’s verified. Via KXLY: People in six Washington counties should begin wearing strangulation devices indoors in public and on public transportation again, according…
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Neighborhood puzzle
A week ago I heard an odd noise around 5AM. Sounded sort of like a skateboard but not quite. I peeked out the window. It was a young man pulling an office chair down the street. I could see a piece of paper on the chair. AHA! I’ve done the same thing a few times.…
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More Xirn Xibbles
Kirn is making a strong point here, but I can still find a way to quibble! Note to my bumptious unorthodox younger friends: Lots of tricky “honey pots” on this site right now meant to draw you by degrees into anti-whomever grunting neo-primitivism so you can go on a big list to be used against…
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Two pies on the menu
Speaking of Tau, here’s a half-baked thought. Bitcoin and tech unicorn IPOs are opposite political sides of the same economic bubble. Both are aimed at the same demographic group of suckers, young white males. The economic pied-piper is identical for both styles of pie. Standard bubble technique, practiced for 400 years. 1. Central banks blow…
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The ultimate website for Scrip
For many years I’ve been trying to make the point that bitcoin is the EXACT OPPOSITE of decentralized. When all transactions are made and recorded on ONE SINGLE LEDGER, and the ONE SINGLE LEDGER is contained inside NSA’s web, you are ultimately and infinitely centralized in the worst possible way. Ordinary currency is naturally decentralized.…
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Reprint on pure math
The two ‘missed points’ in previous item combine neatly to inspire a reprint from last year. = = = = = Normal people correctly associate heft with value. This makes sense in most real products. A car or house built with thicker materials and bigger beams WILL last longer, and WILL be more resistant to…
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Two missed AI points
Not hugely important, but I’ve started this tradition and might as well maintain it. = = = = = Marks at MindMatters has a long podcast on the latest proposals and projects using AI. There are two notable missed points: = = = = = National Football League is holding a competition to develop AI…
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Hard answer to soft question 2
EnidBuzz asked about best vacation memories. Most were default: Grandma, Beaches, Disney, Branson. Second prize: We ran a farm. What’s a vacation? First prize: Watching squirrels eat my sister’s birthday cake. = = = = = [Previous hard answer contest]
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Giant waste of talent
There’s an interesting desistance movement in videogaming. Influencers are ganging up on game companies that specialize in addictive gambling with REAL MONEY. At the moment the worst offender is Diablo Immortal. The influencers, who have been playing the game intensively, have figured out all the super-complex steps needed to … win? Well, it’s not really…
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Good old CIA-sponsored “resistance”
Checking the latest uploads at American Radio Library, tried a 1966 issue of Downbeat, the jazz magazine. Might be some pretty ’60s girls or some interesting old tech. No pretty girls; jazzMEN were all MEN. No interesting tech; jazzMEN didn’t go for electronics. Instead, some insights into the Deepstate-sponsored “rebellion” of jazz. I’d already noted…
Polistra's Mill
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