Tag: skill-estate
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Anderson and Foy
A Redditor in Europe is complaining that universities are becoming more like secondary schools. Previously the Euro tradition put all the weight on the test. If you aced the final test it didn’t matter whether you attended the lectures. Now they’re requiring attendance at every class. I don’t know if his complaint is valid, but…
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Wincharger addendum
A few months ago I featured Zenith’s Wincharger wind generator systems, part of the farm electrification movement of the New Deal. Noticed this ad in a 1947 broadcast trade journal: The Wincharger factory was already making short towers for the generators. After most farms were hooked up to the grid, Zenith switched to tall towers…
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More on phats
Recently I ran across the peculiar term phats in a union journal and tried to figure it out. Here’s a more specific definition. Phat Man A phat man, found in some offices is a hand compositor who pays to the other compositors a bonus for the privilege of setting the display heads of articles, which,…
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Why the new breed is new
I’ve been watching the new breed of journalists formed by the Sammy trial. These two clips from Carly lead to an observation. Here she’s discussing Sammy’s parents and their failed attempt to manufacture political victories. Carly was finance director for Andrew Yang’s campaign in 2020, so she knows how to run a campaign. When you…
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Vaudeville isn’t dead!
A nice Vaudevillian exchange on Twitter: The AMPTP’s “last best final” proposal would allow them to body scan performers making *more than minimum* in TV and features. Performers would get paid once. But studios would be allowed to profit off their AI likenesses without their approval forever — even after they’re dead. Ever Carradine, granddaughter…
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New translation
JFK’s famous Arsk Not slogan is always portrayed by media and schools as a noble declaration. In fact it was a declaration of independence for monstrous rulers, and specifically a repudiation of FDR. FDR ruled by serving. He created a reciprocal moral obligation by HELPING THE PEOPLE first. He starkly constrained the bankers and monopolists,…
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More on the same
Since I’m reprinting work from an era when my brain functioned, here’s one from 2019, just before the NAZI TORTURE CAMP used up my gumption. = = = = = START REPRINT: Idiot headless-line: Susceptibility to mental illness may have helped humans adapt over the millenia. I didn’t bother to read the brainless article. Headline…
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Henry would be proud
And I mean both Henry Ford and Henry Wallace. UAW is the good news in today’s mess. Through careful and clever analog strategy, they achieved tremendous victories against all of the Big Three. Now the non-union carmakers are starting to feel the pressure, raising their own starting wages to remain competitive. When corporations compete to…
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Would be nice but can’t happen
A new “study” finds an obvious fact of life but misuses it dangerously. = = = = = START QUOTE: With polarization and misinformation on the rise, new research explores a solution using interactive data visualization to inform and engage readers. Getting readers of a news story interested in numbers can be a challenge. But…
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No snappy conclusions
Tiffany gives a short report on Sammy’s actual testimony. After many years of conquering everyone he wants to conquer, many years of confidently promising the world and delivering shit, he ends up mumbling a hundred versions of “I don’t remember”. I can’t think of any snappy conclusions based on Professional Criminal personality traits. This is…
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Used to be a job
Listening to the new breed of journalists covering Sammy. They had to get along without their iPhone mental prostheses. They’re doing a fair job of taking notes on paper, but they admit that they can’t keep up all the time. This used to be a standard job for shorthand stenographers. I wonder if anyone thought…
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Salute to cafes
(Redated and reposted after some additions) Last week I noticed a picture of an old workingman’s cafe in Enid. The picture was self-explanatory. Why did little cafes do a good business? Because they were right next to downtown apartments and rooms where most people lacked kitchens. Decided to do a proper salute to cafes and…
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Oldest rule
Another example of my oldest rule and oldest passion, endlessly repeated in this blog. As I animate electrotyping and stereotyping, I’m having trouble with the chemical aspects. One of the source articles made an error which was probably simple and obvious. I couldn’t spot it until I read several other explanations. I took chemistry in…
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60/40 odds
Via NewSuperstitionist: Coin flipping is controlled by the flipper. = = = = = START QUOTE: Researchers theorised that when a coin is flipped, the flipper’s thumb imparts a slight wobble to it, causing it to spend more time with one side facing upwards while in the air and making it more likely to land…
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Meaningless word peeve
Political spammers keep asking me if I’m proud of Biden or proud of Trump or proud of America. In the first fucking place, I have nothing but hatred toward all excrescences of the national government, with the possible exception of Jerome Powell. In the second fucking place, proud can’t possibly apply to these entities, even…
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