On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote.
Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.A Large Regular
Chris Lynch's slanted view on sports, politics and entertainment. Please send thoughts or comments to chris.lynch@gmail.com
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Eric Idle - The Philosopher's Song
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Welcoming our new Chatbot Overlords. People should recognize that there's a world of difference between AI (a tool) and AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) which is where sentience will reside. We are a long way from AGI.
- The Biden Administration's war on large appliances.
- The IRS visiting Matt Taibbi's home the same day he was testifying to Congress is not a coincidence. The weaponization of government is becoming more overt.
- Hollywood's Great Awakening. Little skeptical since Christian films are still "niche" in Hollywood but I would not be surprised about a general Christian awakening in America as many are in desperate need of community.
A Modest Proposal
Here's a modest proposal to help fix education in America in a few short steps.
Problem solved. What do you think?
Please Subscribe (reminder - its FREE), hit the Like button, and please if you liked the article share it with others.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"I dream with my eyes open." - Jules Verne
"Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"The reward for our work is not what we get, but what we become." - Paulo Coelho
"Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal. Because it would require total state control over its citizens' lives. Liberty has meaning only if we still believe in it when terrible things happen and a false government security blanket beckons." - Ron Paul
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Nearly 25% of Adult White Women are on Antidepressants
2023 Tax Burden by State
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Interesting timeline of Cannabis Legislation in the US. Looks to be legal in all states in near future.
- How people get rich now. (Paul Graham post from 2021 but worth revisiting)
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The modern mind is overstimulated and the modern body is understimulated and overfed. Meditation, exercise, and fasting restore an ancient balance." - Naval Ravikant
"May you live a thousand years, and never be a worse judge of the right sort than you are at the present moment of your life!" - Charles Dickens
"In your prayers substitute 'protect us from evil' with 'protect us from those who improve things for a salary.'" - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"In America, the young are always ready to give to those who are older than themselves the full benefits of their inexperience." - Oscar Wilde
Monday, March 27, 2023
Life Expectancy in the US
Monday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Guess the people who thought that NIL (name, image, and likeness) in college sports would only lead to the richer getting richer will have a hard time explaining this years' Final Four in basketball. As always please Subscribe, hit the Like button or share with others.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Movement is life, and as we move we get continuous feedback - which leads to discovery, wonder, joy, and all the other experiences you can have throughout life's great adventure. When you are no longer able to process energy, you will be declared dead and your adventure will be over," - Bill Perkins
"Never confuse education with intelligence, you can have a PhD and still be an idiot." - Richard Feynman
"I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." - Robert Heinlein
"Energy and persistence conquer all things." - Benjamin Franklin
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Top NHL Goal Songs
More Linky Links
More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Jimmy Stewart reads a touching poem about his dog Beau.
- Heh Heh
- Interesting look at the history between Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Open AI
- Interesting question - why not put chip manufacturing plants in Canada?
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Darth Vader goes to Walmart (completely scripted and produced by AI)
- Oliver Stone coming out with pro-nuclear energy film, "Nuclear Now"
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"It doesn't take much to convince us that we are smart and healthy, but it takes a lot of facts to convince us of the opposite." - Dan Gilbert
"When people are trying to see how far they can push things, that is the time to let them know that they have already pushed things too far." - Thomas Sowell
"Being alive is great, you can eat at Denny's, you can wear a hat whenever you want to, it's wonderful." - Norm Macdonald
"Hard work isn't punishment. Hard work is the price of admission for the opportunity to reach excellence." - Jay Bilas
78 Years Ago Today the US Marines Secured the Island of Iwo Jima
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Find Something Beautiful Today
A full rainbow photographed at 30,000 feet. Rainbows are actually full circles but we normally only see half. (Photo via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- The Road Not Taken perhaps the most misread poem in history
- Heh Heh
- As we come up on the 2023 Masters a reminder that past Masters are available for viewing on YouTube
- WTF? Bedtime cereal? This must be aimed at people who still wear masks while driving alone.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Doctors won't make you healthy. Nutritionists won't make you slim. Teachers won't make you smart. Gurus won't make you calm. Mentors won't make you rich. Trainers won't make you fit. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility. Save yourself." - Naval Ravikant
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." - Maya Angelou
"Man has been reduced not even to a digestive tube, but to a bag of money that gradually is losing its value... This is both economic history and the history of a spiritual decadence." - Ezra Pound
"Your desires would diminish drastically if you didn't need to impress anyone. - Derren Brown
Friday, March 24, 2023
Rand Paul vs Moderna CEO
More Linky Links
More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Banking crisis far from over - now its Deutsch Bank in trouble. (Of course it could be much worse by the time this posts.)
- Its time to end the speed limit in US airspace. Agree 100%.
- Khan Academy adding AI to help with education.
- Florida State Rep reads fake names into the official record. Mike Hunt and Dick Hertz from Holden could not be reached for comment.
Why Bruins Fans Love Brad Marchand
"You don't hit our captain late. That was a three-second late hit. I love that Marchand did that." - Bruins Coach Jim Montgomery (Photo via)
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- 20,000 years ago our ancestors had the speed of Olympic sprinters but were barefoot running in sand.
- Ford sees $3 billion pretax loss on EV business this year. Only Tesla seems to be able to make a profit on EV sales.
- Coinbase asked the SEC what rules they may be in violation of but got threats back instead. The people who brought you the latest banking crisis don't want anyone escaping their grasp via crypto.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own." - Albert Ellis
"Whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." - Jonathan Swift
"A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
"I'd rather be a poor master of my own fate than a rich servant of someone else's." - Michael Caine