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Antonym
I noticed a package of chocolate S’Mores in the grocery store. What about a S’Less? Spinach Cookies. Artichoke Chips. Limburger burger. Liver Krispies. Blood Pudding. Granola Bars. Oops, some of those aren’t fictional. Old-fashioned “health food” was nothing but S’Lesses. Not the best way to sell a basically good thing.
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General Delivery
Our idiot “mayor” and grotesque brainless “council” have passed a new “law” telling businesses to avoid asking for addresses on new employees. Supposedly this will make it easier to hire the homeless. I doubt it. First reaction: WOKE SHIT! Second reaction: Well, like much of the woke shit in education, this is actually a return…
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Daily random pissoff
Random pissoff about “cybersecurity”. In the computer world, because of “cybersecurity”, you have to keep turning on your password every time the computer decides to clear its history. You can’t access a PAID subscription without going through security measures like TSA scanning at the airport or courthouse. In the real world a subscription keeps going…
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NonKarens need not apply
Why churches are mostly made up of Karens. Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, has issued new norms for the posture of the faithful during Mass. To guard against “confusion and disunity,” the archbishop said that the congregation should kneel from the Agnus Dei until after Communion. The archbishop said that the faithful should receive…
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WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?
British energy minister Miliband announced that solar power systems made in China have “kill switches” on the inverters. The switches can be activated by wi-fi, so China can black out large parts of Europe and US whenever it wants. The US government was “aware” of the sabotage but didn’t say anything. Perhaps the “awareness” explains…
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Real hoops, fake hoops
Sometimes the Pharma route, drugs for anxiety and pain, seems attractive. But I’ve managed 75 years without such helps, and probably can continue. I prefer the drug of Little Victories. This old dog knows how to take the Victory drug! When a real hoop like a sudden jury call pops into my path I get…
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Finally getting smart!
A real smart grid: this summer Avista will start burying power lines in some fire-prone areas near Spokane. One is the Dartford area, which seems to be a frequent firer. The huge 1991 firestorm was caused by trees hitting powerlines. So far Avista doesn’t have plans for the city itself, but maybe it will happen…
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Why I read Wolf
I always check Wolf Richter’s column. Often it’s “not in my department”, but sometimes he provides a huge SO THAT’S WHY! His latest AHA is a description of the Treasury General Account, which is exactly like a normal checking account. All regular income (taxes, fees, bond sales) is deposited in the TGA, and all regular…
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I’m not shocked
Bloomberg is shocked by China’s tech progress. I’m not shocked. I saw how it happened. China thinks about its own people and serves its own country. China has long-term plans. China owns its corporations, so the corporations work for China. In the 80s China was sending thousands of students to OUR universities and research facilities,…
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Metrology bitching
Time for my regularly scheduled metrology bitching. One of the literary types on Substack noted that Sam Johnson was paid the miserly sum of 1575 pounds for his dictionary. Modern freelancers should be happy to get more than that. Miserly? Hardly. Depending on the measurement standard, Johnson got somewhere between $300k and $1 million in…
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Reassuring, sort of
I guess it’s reassuring. Amid the invasion by celebrities turning Substack into MSNBC and increasing Andreessen’s share value, the native Substackers are still quibbling about Oxford commas and em-dashes. I stopped using em-dashes about 10 years ago, obviously not because it resembled ChatGPT. Simply because the usual way of doing it—like this—is confusing. Words are…
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Papal elephant
Interesting to see all the blind men examining the new elephant. Analog fans like me are surprised and happy. Chicagoans are happy. Vax obsessers are not happy, accuse him of “vaccine boosterism”. Trads are cautious but hopeful. Catholic neocons are pissed. Earlier they were hoping for a “cold war pope” who would lead the new…
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Foy Rebellion reprint
Linked in previous item about math pope, worth a reprint. = = = = = REPRINT FROM 2022: Yesterday I was discussing the cultural IMPERATIVE to re-employ ordinary men after WW2. France implemented a similar IMPERATIVE after it recovered from the 1789 revolution, which turned its demonic vision of “science” into a god of war…
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Math pope
Prevost is a Villanova grad with a major in math. This could make him a somewhat more significant figure for nerd types. A math pope would prescribe csc as the cure for sin. When sin goes to zero, csc ascends to heaven. He would give absolution as the cure for negative feelings. An inner product…
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Ice vs mercury
Carney continues handling the psychopath correctly. US Democrats could learn something if they were capable of learning, but they aren’t. Russia has been playing this game for centuries, handling first Napoleon then Wilson then Tojo then Hitler then every US president since 1945. Maintain your ground connection. Absorb the punches. Bend back and forth but…
Polistra's Mill
Be your own beacon.
