Tag: defensible times
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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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Cursed weight, sacred weight, part 2 of 2
= = = = = MEDIEVAL METROLOGY PART 4 = = = = = Why has gold been a standard** for so many centuries? Partly because it’s a suitable standard in a metrology sense. It doesn’t mix easily with other elements, it doesn’t degrade with time, and it can be purified and verified. But metrology…
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What good is writing?
If you aren’t writing you aren’t thinking. Variations on this theme, allegedly quoted from the usual suspects, are common in substack and other literary places. It doesn’t make a lick of sense. Humans were thinking in constructive ways LONG before writing was established. They were thinking well enough to selectively breed plants and livestock, to…
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Red and black in daily life
The oldest principle in the ceremonial side of life is Say the black, do the red. Poets, politicians, priests, and publicists followed this rule. Churches formalized it with a series of actions (red) to be performed by the priest and the people, with standard TUNES (black) accompanying each action. Mainline churches and megachurches have abandoned…
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They’re mostly right
The wokies are correct when they complain that ‘Western Civ’ courses are irrelevant and false. Some of the wokies want to replace the falseness with a different brand of falseness, some don’t. Nevertheless the complaint itself is correct. Western Civ classes, including all the “history” and “civics” we memorized in high school, are blatant propaganda…
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Elon = Jim Farley
Listening to old and new podcasts on the Post Office, I’m somewhat immersed in postal lore. The immersion led to a connection. Elon’s role as chief campaigner for Trump is NOT new. More broadly, the Tech Tyrants have replaced the Postmaster General, formerly a ‘patronage’ office. Presidents appointed their chief campaigner as Postmaster. The most…
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The Foy Rebellion HAS ARRIVED.
Headline: Art majors beat computer majors. = = = = = START QUOTE: For computer science and computer engineering, the unemployment rate in those fields was 6.1% and 7.5%, respectively — notably higher than the national average. Finance majors were 3.7%. By comparison, the unemployment rate for art history majors was 3%, and for nutritional…
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