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Starship Vega
According to his cultists, Elon is a genius who has mastered every branch of science and engineering beyond all human imagination. He can make an electric car! He can make a subway! He can make a rocket! All of those achievements were fully mastered in 1910. There’s nothing new in any of it. Now his…
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Who’s the welfare bum?
Following on earlier item about Elon’s “efficiency” crusade, where I showed that Social Security, which Elon wants to destroy for “inefficiency”, is infinitely more efficient than Elon. Elon also complains, along with all Repooflicans in all decades, that federal agencies shouldn’t get any money from taxes. Rich fuckheads shouldn’t be nominally required to pay taxes,…
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Stretching the point
Stretching the point a bit, the Post Office belongs in the same category as Bell. It’s a government regulated monopoly, selling services for a profit but firmly required to serve public purposes. So it does. The public purpose works at the supplier end as well as the customer end. The PO buys its trucks from…
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Proved my point
Somebody on substack claimed that quality is the best way to be read online. If you publish the best account of a subject, better than existing work, people will “beat a path to your door”. I responded that it doesn’t work that way, in science or in social media. I linked to my ACTUAL RESEARCH…
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Just the same!
Bitcoin news site Protos warns people to be super-careful when attending the annual Bitcoin Conference. = = = = = START PROTOS: Long also advised to keep your eyes on your drink to avoid the risk of anyone spiking it. Others suggest watching your back “literally” in case there are any “wrench attacks,” a phrase…
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Lindy pens
Seen in one of the old radio trade mags, an ad for Lindy pens. Pens of this shape were common in the 60s. Now all pens have pretty much converged to the standard shape, except for Bic. I’d totally forgotten about Lindy pens, which seemed to fit my left-handed style better than the usual shape.
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Why philosophy is fucked
Seen on substack: = = = = = Most people don’t realize how ridiculously hard one needs to think in order to thoroughly grasp certain philosophical problems. It took me well over a decade to really grasp the sorites paradox, for instance. And one often needs more years of investigation to realize the depth of…
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We need a Carney
Carney is trying to rebuild Canada’s PHYSICAL industries including petroleum and mining. We haven’t even thought about changing our ways. Here’s a list of 28 “breakout” startup firms, all growing fast and hiring. NOT ONE is physical or even derived from physical. Nobody is developing a new Cellophane Tape or Facial Tissue or Bun Sandwich,…
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Oughta be a word
When I read that yesterday was Cellophane Tape Day, my first thought was “Huh? Is that a newly invented alternative to scotch tape?” No, it’s just the official generic name for scotch tape. When the trademark becomes generic (scotch tape, kleenex, hamburger), reverting to the untrademarked term (cellophane tape, facial tissue, bun sandwich) is a…
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Perfect illustration
Here is a perfect illustration of the problem with Democrats and “journalists”. Both are doing everything possible to guarantee that Trump rules forever. Both have forgotten the basic notion of business or “democracy”. In real business or real “democracy” you have several competing choices, each attempting to offer a BETTER PRODUCT that will be PLEASING…
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What’s the important difference?
Along with the grounding power of tradition, there must be a simpler and more practical reason why Canada was able to learn from Trump’s attack, while the US Democrats have been allegedly opposing Trump since 2015 while ACTUALLY campaigning for him. Constants and variables: Trudeau’s sudden shift toward doing the right thing after many years…
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Black Rod
The king’s presence in parliament was announced by Black Rod. Many years ago I was tickled by the ancient offices with strange names like Portcullis Pursuivant. Each officer and ceremony continues to represent a tradition or an incident. Human memory was meant to be a continuum, not a digital sequence. The old world maintains this…
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Checking an old observation
Several years ago I noticed that online algorithms came in two sharply different types. Commercial algorithms do a splendid job of judging your taste in things. When you buy something online, you immediately see ads for appropriately similar things. The ads don’t steer you into the most popular product right now, or a product that…
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Thanking nature
Nature relentlessly makes beauty whether anyone is seeing and reviewing it or not. The overgrown stand of plums and lilacs and roses west of my house is a good windbreak, helping to protect the house. The wild roses bloom briefly every summer, forming a wall of yellow beauty 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide.…
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Implausible but true
Those old 1950s films about the Post Office mentioned that mail carriers were still using horses in some places. Seemed unlikely to me, but horses were common on urban routes, both milk and mail, until 1950. One of the new PO podcasts describes an even more improbable kind of mail service, which is still fully…
Polistra's Mill
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Polistra's Mill 