Tag: Constants and Variables
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Who’s the obstacle?
Lee Fang was praising Bernie for pushing a futile “law” to restrict the H1B treason. Fang said Bernie will “expose fissures in the Republicans”. HOW IS THAT GOING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM? The Repooflicans are solidly united and incapable of disobeying TrumpGod and ElonGod. They won’t quake in fear when you expose fissures, they’ll just…
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The corner store
Got thinking about why some cities grow and some don’t. Atchinson was supposed to be the gateway to the west, but KC dominated quickly because it’s the junction of the Kansas and Missouri. Downstream, St Louis is the corner of the Missouri and Mississippi and New Orleans is the corner of Mississippi and Gulf. Upstream…
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Constants and Variables, interstate edition
Constantly quoted by the usual quoters: Central planning always fails, THEREFORE we should trust freedom-loving Libertarian anti-centralizers like Larry Fink and Jeff Bezos and Elon. If you think Larry and Elon are the opposite of central, you’re too stupid to breathe. Variable truth: Central planning by government is VITALLY NECESSARY when it helps ordinary people.…
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Simple difference
A long time ago I got permanently tired of the word flipflop. Both sides use it all the time as an insult when the opponent CHANGES HIS MIND IN RESPONSE TO CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES. Responding to change is what LIVING THINGS do. NEGATIVE FEEDBACK IS LIFE. Remaining the same through all changes is what INANIMATE OBJECTS…
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It’s just transfer functions
In hot weather I’m not trying to do any tech history items or serious items. Will make do with occasional stupid takes. Today’s stupid take: Somebody posted a pic of a kid drinking a Coke. Wrote “Poor kid probably got diabetes in 2nd grade.” Nope, it didn’t work that way. We consumed HUGE amounts of…
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Should learn
The current mess should be a learning experience for people who still believe that the president is an active participant in government. We’ve seen forcefully that the current occupant is not capable of participating. The same thing happened with Reagan, who was senile in the last two or three years of his term (at least).…
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What’s the inverse?
In previous item I distinguished Tech Talk and Patron Talk, which turned out to be a useful variable. = = = = = START REPRINT: When we see absurd crap floating around the media and ask Do they really think we’re stupid? we’re asking a meaningless question. We don’t count. We aren’t in the loop.…
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Back one level
The best troubleshooting trick is: Step back. Less tersely, if a problem or decision at one level seems to be getting nowhere, go back to the choice above this choice, or the choice before this choice, especially if the next level up is NOT SEEN AS A CHOICE. In programming, when I can’t figure out…
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Better distinction
Thinking about publishers vs carriers, ran into a concept that isn’t usually included. Carriers are roads, postal systems, railroads, telegraphs, telephones, and the hardware of the Web. A carrier makes money by quantity, not quality. Roads formerly charged tolls by weight, and a few still do. Postal systems charge by weight and volume. Railroads and…
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Unusually good question
Somebody on substack asked a sharp question. Would a new draft start a civil war? Normally I ignore threats of a civil war. Side R expects Side D to start a civil war and vice versa. This specific question might be valid. Our warmakers have been able to run wild since 1975 because there’s no…
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Another natural parallel
I don’t grasp fashion or fashionable drugs, so I had no idea this was a problem. Ozempic is so common now that snack food companies are losing money. No munchies, no profit. Snack food companies are taking nature’s route when demand drops. Experiment. Try different variations. Expand your audience by appealing to different types of…
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Three counterexamples
Constants and Variables: Booker T vs the Meritocrats. Before the “rights” crowd started playing their vicious game in the 1700s, caste and locality worked together to keep cultures strong and give most men and women a position that fitted their abilities and tendencies. The meritocrats busted up both caste and locality with the fraudulent claims…
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Started later there
Worth reading! A detailed history from a former British government official in charge of science grants. Briefly: Until 1997, Britain made grants the right way, providing an annual ‘block grant’ to each lab or university to use however they wanted. In 1997 the Major admin adopted the US system of single grants awarded competitively for…
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