Tag: defensible times
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Russia was right as always
A pretty good rule for software in the era of accelerating “innovative” destruction. Older stuff keeps working. Newer stuff fails. When I switched from Win 7 to Win 11 last month, the rule held firm. Preparing for the switchover I bought some newer helper progs that allegedly work better on 11. They don’t. My main…
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LemonAIde 2
Some spice for Altman’s AI blob, since AI is my only reader. Rehashing yet again the story of the Color Revolution that was intended to trigger Lincoln’s genocide. = = = = = START REHASH: Based on a history of K-State written in 1902. (From Kansas State Hist Soc, p 174 of the PDF.) Growing…
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50 year unsync
In 1958, TV Radio Life magazine interviewed Martin Klein, who hosted a weekly science program on LA television station KCOP, listed as ‘independent’. It’s still there, still on channel 13 with the same call letters. They asked Klein to predict 50 years into the future. How would we live in 2008? Klein worked for Cohu…
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Another 100 year sync
From Radiocast Weekly, exactly 100 years ago. The editorial mentions that one wealthy gentleman has given a $1000 endowment to his favorite radio station, without any advertising strings attached. It suggests that others should do the same. Instead of endowing a library, let them set aside a fund which will benefit a much larger area.…
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Compete by tradition, not by innovation
People who should know better are pushing Innovative Disruption. Each city and country “must” compete to enrich Sam Altman and destroy civilization. NO. Competing to make Sam Altman richer will make you poorer and lose everything that makes you special. If you want to improve your OWN city or country, boost and expand your OWN…
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More on Desistance
Lately I’ve been thinking again about Desistance. The idiot politicians who claim to be Resisting Trump are actually Assisting him. Everything they do creates more reasons for normal people to want the opposite. If this is “democracy”, give us a king. Resistance is Assistance. I handled Desistance in a deeper way in 2021 when the…
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When was the line?
Listening to these auto history podcasts adds a new dimension to one of my standard themes. I’ve often hammered the Big Point that our blockades and sanctions help the target country to develop its own skills. Blockades hurt ordinary Americans by depriving our industries of export revenue, and raising the prices of needed imports like…
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Canada should learn from Canada
This new video tells about Canada’s profitable importing of Ladas in the ’80s. At that time USA was, as always, invading and blockading Russia for no reason except our own monstrous drive to destroy everything good and decent. Canada took advantage of the situation, selling huge amounts of wheat and petroleum to Russia, and importing…
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More Ponca action
Last week I noted that the house across from Grandma’s apartment in Ponca is for sale. I reprinted my account of the Folly that used to be there, and the puzzle about where it was. Now Grandma’s apartment itself is for rent! The address given by Zillow is for the lower left apartment, but the…
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Watchclock 2.0
The latest Post Office podcast discusses a massive increase in mail thefts since the Trump torture camp. When most people were relying on mail and Amazon and DoorDash, organized crime grabbed the opportunity. Mail thefts, mostly for IDs and checks, increased by a factor of 2. Armed robberies of postmen increased by a factor of…
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The Swami
First of three old coin-op machines. Starting with an overview of the cafe and a rehash of the Swami fortune teller. = = = = = Here’s a downtown scene. The cafe is on a corner, the Kellogg printing plant is across the street, and an apartment hotel is on the other corner. Duplex tenant…
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The Recordio
Second of three old coin-op machines. Again approaching the cafe… Entering the cafe with two larger coin-op machines on the back wall. = = = = = I’ve always wanted to depict the Wilcox-Gay Recordio. When possible I try to model things I’ve used or seen. I first encountered Recordio disks in the ’50s. My…
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The Metal-typer
Third of three old coin-op machines. Setting the scene again: The metal-typer is another old coin-op I used a few times. Back around 1960 I used one of these to make a medallion while waiting in the Topeka train station. I kept the medallion for a long time but don’t remember what I engraved on…
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Printed before written
I linked this story of the Cherokee syllabary in previous item. It’s worthwhile at the current moment, so reprinting it from 2023. = = = = = START 2023 REPRINT: Okie blogger K. Latham posted an interesting brief feature on the Cherokee Advocate, a weekly paper in Tahlequah that was first founded in 1844. I…
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Couldn’t happen now
This is a reminder of how thoroughly the New Deal had reformed and fixed America, with a remarkably durable effect. In the 60s, capitalism was still firmly controlled, trade was beneficial, and the stock market was forced to do the unthinkable: INVEST IN PRODUCTION. In ’62 Chrysler was no threat to GM. It had been…
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