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The power of creative work
The animations I’m making for courseware right now have led to a couple of major insights that are now influencing my thinking about other matters. Old rule: teaching is the best way to learn. One insight gives clarity about MLMs and similar phenomena. Substack is full of people who write about writing. This strikes me…
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More on Union Power
Two weeks ago I highlighted WCFL, a Chicago radio station run by a labor federation, which wisely started broadcasting on shortwave in the early 30s. Shortwave was the best way of reaching a worldwide audience with relatively low expense. Now American Radio Library has uploaded a 1929 magazine published by WCFL. It’s a high quality…
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Another failed “average”
Since I’m doing Failed Inventions, one of the Post Office films from around 1961 discusses the many projects of the Post Office’s research lab. Real research was widespread before 1980, active in most industries and governments. Now it’s all gone, replaced by stock manipulation and fast-moving hi tech genocide. Along with zip codes and internal…
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No such thing as “moderate” or “centrist”
One of the Industry On Parade shows that I keep in my bedtime playlist features the Scripto Liquid Lead pencil. (Around the 5 minute mark.) Basically a ballpoint pen with graphite ink. The film shows fine details of the manufacturing process, which was fascinating. The product seemed unlikely to succeed, and in fact it didn’t.…
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When you’re in a hole, excavate faster
Political noise isn’t my department, but this is just too delicious. Alan Lichtman had a good reputation as an election predictor. He missed this time. Ideally, when an expert or scientist makes a big mistake he goes into seclusion to rethink his assumptions. Ideally he modifies his theory, or abandons his theory and starts fresh.…
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Salvage vs Abandon Ship
New thought. This might be a rule, but it’s certainly a sharp distinction. The people who have left the sinking ships of old institutions divide into two camps. Some of them want to pull the ship out of the water, others are happy to let it sink so they can live and work free of…
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The Creeping Thyme solution
Matt Stoller tries his hand at diagnosing the D party’s ailment. = = = = = START STOLLER: For the last few weeks, I’ve been mulling over a question that I think will bedevil all of us in the anti-monopoly space for years, perhaps decades. Anti-monopoly policy is immensely popular, and there hasn’t been an…
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They’re baaack
The one good thing about last week’s “election” was the end of both email and paper political spam. Now it’s starting to come back, copying the scripts of the more permanent Your account SiriusXM will be deleted type of spam. Latest political: Your GOP account is expired. Friend, this can’t be!
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Not accidental
I was reading a defense of the Canadian system of postal codes, which is part alphabetic and part numeric. One example is X0E 0R8 for a region in Northwest Territories. The writer claimed that part-alpha is easier to remember. Nope. When our post office established Zip Codes, they chose 5 numbers. As far as I…
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Graybill at all scales
Another good example of Graybill’s Law, written in the 1880s and massively true now. = = = = = START GRAYBILL: Thus the people of unprotected countries are forced into the business of transportation, merchandising, law, the church, or farming. [DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?] This policy narrows and restricts the ordinary opportunities of men, and…
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The founder of a generation
Thomas Kurtz, creator of BASIC, has died at 96. Unlike later language creators (Kernighan and Ritchie, Linus Torvalds), Kurtz’s name isn’t famous. I’d never heard it before. BASIC taught programming to a whole generation. In early PCs, Basica was right there when you turned on the computer. You just started typing commands and making fun…
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Trump does one thing wright!
Trump will be doing most things wrong, serving Wall Street and bankers instead of America, but he’s got this one absolutely right! Trump has named Chris Wright as his energy secretary. = = = = = START QUOTE: Trump has named Chris Wright, the founder and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, an oilfield services company,…
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A philosopher GETS IT.
Amazing. Sandel is described as a philosopher, but he is a HARDASS REALIST. He gets EVERYTHING right, and describes it perfectly. The idiot “journalist” doesn’t show any signs of learning from Sandel’s REALISM. He clearly thinks everything is perfect if only the brainless peasants would understand. Will the party start listening? I doubt it.
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Goddamn it.
Stupidest statement of the week, which unfortunately encapsulates the views of all experts and economists and media: “The economy is objectively great but subjectively horrible.” Platonism has infected all of our “experts” and academicians. Objective means PHYSICAL REALITY. Subjective means OPINIONS and VIEWPOINTS. Math is NOT physical reality. Math is a VIEWPOINT. And official statistics…
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Missed the oddness
Curbside Classic has an article on the Pontiac Star Chief. The article describes the original model correctly but misses its oddness. Most carmakers were playing the same game in the early 50s. Introduce a special upscale hardtop as your first hardtop, give it a rich and romantic name, then later step the name down through…
Polistra's Mill
Be your own beacon.
Polistra's Mill 