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For the first time…
Amazing! For the first time, an article at NiemanLab gets EVERYTHING right and reaches the correct conclusion. Mathew Jordan, a prof of media studies, writes the 100-year history of AM radio and gets every detail right. He’s talking about a “law” being considered by congress that would require automakers to keep the AM band on…
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Chutzpah
One of the stupid politicians in my email keeps pleading for help. If you don’t contribute, I’ll lose my election and lose my home! Good! Justice! Why in the world should I want to help a politician? The assigned job and purpose of politicians is ruining the world and destroying civilization. They’ll never be punished…
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Smart idea
Seen on Quora. Every ship coming in and out of the Baltic has to pass through the narrow straits around Copenhagen. In the 1700s Denmark charged a toll of 1% of the cargo’s value, to finance maintaining its ports. The ship had to dock and let the tax collector board to pay the toll. An…
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Not responding to the guilt trip
Advocates often insist that everyone MUST read things that disagree with our side, in order to have a chance of changing our mind. Nope. I have no obligation to eat stuff that tastes bad, nor do I have an obligation to mentally consume stuff that tastes bad. I shouldn’t try to PREVENT OTHERS from seeing…
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Reprint on Bimetallism
Mentioned in previous item on HBO’s “reveal” of Satoshi. When I wrote this in 2017, bitcoin wasn’t yet big enough to notice as a new version of bimetallism. I was comparing to Modern Monetary Theory, which was a big deal among leftist types. MMT wasn’t even a system, it was just a fancy way of…
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Real value
This ’57 Ford sales training film starts with a corny intro even by ’50s standards. After that it settles into some useful experience and advice from the best salesmen. Most of the advice is generic. Know the Ford thoroughly and also know Chevies and Plymouths. Know the customer. Develop trust, find out what he wants…
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Might be interesting
On Tuesday HBO will release a documentary claiming to reveal the real identity of Satoshi. Websites are predicting total disaster and total salvation. Given the history of TV “reveals”, I doubt that it will settle the question or even provide a valid answer. And given the amount of hype surrounding this one, I doubt even…
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Color revolution or opportunity?
The hippie movement of the 60s hated profit. In the 70s the stock criminals took over. They also hate profit, and destroy businesses that dare to make a profit. The Tech Tyrants smoothly morphed out of the hippies, and started in the same Frisco. Modern “leftists” continue to hate profit, which continues to make it…
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Assange comes to reality
Looks like Assange has finally caught onto reality. After he Paid The Two Dollars, he was freed. He could have done it a LOT earlier. Now he says = = = = = START QUOTE: I eventually chose freedom over unrealizable justice after being detained for years and facing a 175 year sentence with no…
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Gold rush
At the moment it looks like the AI bubble may be an indirectly productive bubble, like the Gold Rush of the 1840s that didn’t make anyone rich from gold but started lots of cities and several substantial business empires. Many of the companies that poured billions into AI in hopes of wiping out humanity are…
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Sunlight has no effect.
2020 taught me that sunlight is NOT a disinfectant. Real UV light kills real bacteria, but the metaphor is a lie, designed to keep us focused on fake revelations. Before 2020 I hoped that “opening the blackmail” would stop the tyranny. It didn’t. There were lots of leaks and peeks behind the scenes, showing the…
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Classic Nigerian Prince!
Haven’t seen one of these in a long time. Most scammers have moved on to more modern tricks. = = = = = START SWINDLE: Dear (my email), I am a private investigator and have been contracted by a financial institution to ascertain your relationship to an individual who died sometime ago. He died intestate…
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No mystery
Nieman has an article on a nonprofit local news startup in Wichita. It’s failing quickly, and the reasons are not mysterious. 1. The Wichita paper was a branch of a more successful paper in KC, and the management in KC thought they should be handled the same way. I’ve lived in both cities. Wichita is…
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Possible explanation
The basic Machiavelli trick is well-known. Divide people into Team A and Team B, set them against each other. The teams are so busy fighting each other that they have no energy left for resisting the ruler. In the last few years I’ve noticed an imbalance between the teams, which isn’t quite as familiar. When…
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Fessenden’s alternators
Now that I’ve described the alternator itself, back to Fessenden’s unique way of using alternators. In each of these I’m using an unrealistic miniature alternator for convenience. There were some relatively small alternators, but most were huge beasts used as high-power transmitters. These three circuits weren’t among Fessenden’s patents. They were described and diagrammed in…
Polistra's Mill
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