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Somebody had the right idea
Our cowhands wore boots and chaps to protect their legs from sagebrush and thistles and cactus. I’ve always wondered why they didn’t give their horses similar protection. Via Vintage.es, some French farmers fitted their donkeys with leftover trousers to guard the legs against flies and mosquitoes and thistles. Since the donkeys were just pulling plows…
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Worst of both systems
Continuing from the Person Of The King. I’ve made this comparison hundreds of times now and it’s still valid. Execs of corporations get painlessly retired with a golden parachute when they’re incompetent or unsuitable for any reason. The only exception is when he’s the founder, like Elon or Henry Ford. Even in small businesses the…
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Scrollwave
Random thought. Scrolling through media on the web is the modern equivalent of tuning across the bands on shortwave. Shortwave broadcasting was killed by the web, much more firmly and directly than other media. With a good receiver and good propagation conditions, you could find every kind of entertainment or news in every language, plus…
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Spies in Jeopardy
OpenAI cleverly interrogates its prompters to determine their weak spots and blackmailable spots. By using the “assistant”, the prompter is helping Sam Altman to build a massive power structure. Old-fashioned spies asked questions and listened to answers in Socratic style. OpenAI gathers info by giving answers and listening to questions in Trebek style.
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RIP Jim Inhofe
Jim Inhofe, the only legitimate senator in recent decades, has died at age 89. = = = = = START 2010 REPRINT: James Inhofe, the only legitimate Senator, shows yet again why he owns that title. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe is going down swinging, insisting he’ll still send earmarks to his state even though his…
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I didn’t go far enough
A few days ago I wrote about the return of medieval idiocy. = = = = = START REPRINT: We’re seeing the medieval Personality Cult up close this week. The press and other courtiers are always devoted to the Person of the King. The actions and behavior of the King are utterly irrelevant. It doesn’t…
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First answer is always right.
When LePen started to show signs of success, my first thought was that Macron is not a stupid bettor. He’s Wall Street. He always has a pair of loaded dice in his palm. Last week when LePen mostly won the first round, I got carried away with the usual false optimism. Turns out the first…
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If you wanted…
The Supreme decision on sovereign immunity is being trashed by both “sides” for the same stupid reason. D hates it because it would prevent prosecuting Trump. R hates it because it would prevent prosecuting Biden. Ignore principles. Look at what has actually HAPPENED. Before last week, NO OFFICIAL WAS EVER PROSECUTED FOR CRIMES IN OFFICE.…
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Old idea
Noticed while looking for something else. Back in 2013 I came up with a pretty decent idea, then forgot about it. = = = = = START REPRINT: Was thinking about idiot Repooflican opposition to the Online Sales Tax, when a bigger point struck me. Our entire tax system is designed to discourage local production.…
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Possible explanation?
Seems like a lot of old and new falsehoods are being pulled down lately. Right now the silly little myth of Biden’s eternal youth and omnipotence is being knocked down, most likely for nefarious reasons. The lies about the 2020 “virus” are starting to fall away, more gradually and reluctantly, which indicates less nefarious reasons.…
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Conjugating towns
Oklahoma has two tenses of the same Latin verb. Vinco is a settlement just south of Perkins on the bank of the Cimarron. It has a small leftover grid of streets, probably from an original townsite that never quite jelled. Grandpa lived in Stillwater and bought his cars from Charlie Cheatham, an aptronymic used car…
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Skill pension
Amortizing pays. Storage pays. Never toss a possibly useful product! Now that I’m older and less energetic and less capable of complex programming, I can still USE the thousands of graphics items and Python tools I made during my peak period from 1995 to 2015. It’s a skill pension.
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Makes more sense
Today I learned! On Quora a car dealer tells a story about a Karen who got violent and got a day in jail. He finished with “The customer isn’t always right!” Several commenters clarified that the original saying was, In matters of taste the customer is always right. That makes a LOT more sense than…
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EHD = UFO? EHD = GOD?
Two years ago I was on a UFO kick. I animated Armstrong’s electrohydrodynamic generator, speculating that it might have been the power source for the disc-type UFOs. The same generator led to a different form of speculation in a wonderful 1860 book by Rev Sidney. He explores all the known principles and uses of electricity,…
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If votes mattered…
Playing the “democracy” game for the sake of argument, assuming that my “vote” would make a difference. I judge rulers by what happens when they’re in charge, not by what they say. What happened when Trump was in charge? He imprisoned and waterboarded the entire nation, and the central bank poured 20 trillion dollars into…
Polistra's Mill
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Polistra's Mill 