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Status inversions
Earlier I noticed that leather reversed its status rather suddenly in the mid 30s. Buggies had leather seats because leather is waterproof. The earliest automobiles were buggies plus motors, and continued as fully open vehicles with leather seats. As closed cars became more common in the 20s, cloth upholstery became the sign of status. The…
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Non-random thought
Canadians understand Trump better than US Democrats, Repooflicans and media understand Trump. Canadians recognize that Trump’s words are NOT promises or proposals. Everything he says is aimed at creating emotions in the listener. Sometimes he’s just keeping the cultists in the fold, sometimes he’s threatening a horrible fate to achieve a much smaller goal in…
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Good proposals, won’t happen.
The Edelman outfit has done its annual Trust Barometer. In nearly all countries, normal people hate their leaders of all types. Needless to say, rich fuckheads trust other rich fuckheads, but humans distrust all rich fuckheads. Edelman describes the facts correctly, and even proposes some pretty good solutions. Listen, respect, stop fucking people over, try…
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Following the Cuban model?
Canada seems to be picking up the old Cuba/Persia/Russia attitude. When the US empire sanctions you, DEVELOP YOUR OWN SKILLS so the US monster will have less leverage and less damage. Canada’s officials seem to recognize that Trump is the most unpredictable disaster in the world, so they aren’t counting on his reprieve. Instead, they’re…
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Philco = medieval
The Philco Rule: Sell merchandise that doesn’t come back to customers who do come back. Good manufacturers avoid quantity. They make high-quality products that don’t come back, and they interact with customers to maintain the products. Good lawyers avoid trials and judgments. They negotiate and interact to reach a plea deal or a settlement. Good…
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What does it mean?
This recent upload at Periscope Films is pushing college education, mostly aimed at law school and police careers. It was meant to be shown in high school classes. Key statement: “25 years ago, only 1 out of 12 high school students went on to college. Today, 1 out of 3 go on to college. What…
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This might be good.
Trump has given both Canada and Mexico a reprieve from the tariffs after both have agreed to work together with USA in fighting fentanyl. Fentanyl is the BIGGEST immediate problem, or at least the BIGGEST problem that CAN be solved. Our lack of factories is a much longer-lasting problem, and the crisis with fentanyl and…
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Try to interpret this dream…
Dreamed this morning about Jesse Unruh, the old California political mover and shaker. I was an office manager. Unruh came in the front door along with a uniformed cop. I greeted him warmly. “Always wanted to meet you, Mr Unruh!”** But he was in a hurry, wanted to see the boss. I took him and…
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No QE in nature
Another “leftover” “vestigial” piece of anatomy turns out to be useful after all. The muscles around the outer ear are unquestionably used by most mammals. We can see a dog or cat moving both ears to listen in various directions. The outer ears are also used for emotional signaling, showing fear or alertness or curiosity…
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We weren’t always stupid
I was skimming through some 1966 RCA periodicals at American Radio Library just for jollies. RCA was demonstrating a fancy time and temperature screen generated by one of those newfangled Electric Brains: Ping! That’s KHQ in Spokane! Nah, impossible. The last time I watched broadcast TV was 2010. They couldn’t have been using the same…
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Olympic city
Spokane is trying to beat its own record today! In the last 24 hours we have 10 overdoses, 2 suicides by gun, one suicide by jumping, and two stabbings. The overdoses are coming in fast and furious in the last hour. Must be EBT card time.
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City of stolen ideas
Today’s list of Days includes Marmot Day, an obvious ripoff of Groundhog Day. Marmot Day is a Spokane specialty because we supposedly have a monopoly on marmots. I’ve only seen them in the downtown park, not elsewhere. Sure enough, “local” media had to mark Marmot Day. So Spokane owns two official Days, both plagiarized. Fathers…
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Mexico joins the Allies
Later: Mexico is planning retaliatory tariffs like Canada, but not quite as specific yet. From Reuters: With a universal tariff of 25%, it is estimated that exports could fall by around 12%. Sheinbaum also rejected as “slander” the White House’s allegation that drug cartels have an alliance with the Mexican government, a point Trump’s administration…
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Is this what he’s doing?
Trump was trained by Roy Cohn in Agent Provocateur tricks. Cohn used the tactic on Joe McCarthy and later on the Birchers. He took charge of Joe in the 50s and JBS in the 70s, turning each into a grotesque extreme parody of a rational belief system. The Agent Provocateur trick was first perfected by…
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Unthingable
Now that all the tech tyrants are pursuing the AI stock bubble, previous stock bubbles are popping fast. Before AI, virtual reality was the earth-shaking new technology, the Transformative Universal Fix for all the world’s problems. Facebook and Google already dropped VR last year. Apple is dropping it this year. Meanwhile, AI has already been…
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